Well the thought of Lou Piniella managing the Giants lasted all but about 2 days as he quickly removed his name from the Giants runnings a day before taking over the Cubs opening managing position. The Giants are now shifting their attention elsewhere as Brian Sabean has asked permission of the Anaheim Angels to talk with their pitching coach Bud Black. Black may now become the front-runner for the position as the Giants have already scheduled an interview with Black. Current bench coach Ron Wotus has already been in for an interview, but it seems unlikely the Giants will go that route. Wotus was also considered a candidate to replace Dusty Baker back in 2002 when Baker departed. He has all the credentials to take over the job, and has been with the organazation for 20+ seasons. The thing that seems like it's keeping Wotus back is the fact that he isn't quite as a name as the Giants last to managers. Some say Wotus would help bring along the Giants young talent as the team is set to approach a rebuilding stage, only problem is, the Giants don't have a plether of young talent coming from their farm system, so I wouldn't hire Ron Wotus for that reason alone. The Giants are going to go after some free-agents this winter and they are going to want to have a manager at the helm who players know and respect. No disrespect to Ron Wotus, but I wouldn't be surprised if half of players out there don't even know who Ron Wotus is.Bruce Bochy has also entered the mix as well. Bochy still has a year left on his contract with the Padres, but has expressed a desire to manage
elsewhere do to differences with the front office. Bochy has a reputation for catering to the older ballplayers, so this does clash with the Giants philosophy, but if Bochy does depart, San Francisco seems like the most likely destanation. Although the A's have an opening that may interest Bochy somewhat, his experiecne in the National Leauge and the NL West may keep him from wanting to switch leagues. The one guy who doesn't appear to be as high of candidate as I thought he would be is Bob Brenly. As far as I've heard, the Giants have expressed interst in Brenly, but they haven't gone any farther in the process than that. The Giants also want to speak to Mets' coaches Manny Acta and Jerry Manuel as soon as the Mets season ends. They have already been granted permission to speak with Manny Acta. As we stand, the top three candidates sound like they are Bud Black, Ron Wotus, Bruce Bochy and in that order.
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