Manager search link dump:
Barry's being Barry in this article, but the article also had an interesting snippet at the end:
New name to be added to the mix: Cecil Cooper. This one comes from the Houston Chronicle. That's another name in the interesting column, though the only things I know about Cooper is that he could mash in the `80s, and I always thought he was in the movie Top Secret! when I was a kid. Apparently, I was just being racist.
Joe Girardi is mentioned in reference to the Giants here, though I can't see him going anywhere but Chicago.
Other random names thrown out by the San Jose Mercury News: Joel Skinner, Bob Geren, and Chris Chambliss. Geren was the best man at Billy Beane's wedding, so it could be that Geren isn't a fan of giving away outs in the tradition of Beaneology. That would also mean he isn't a great fit for the old skool Giants. I don't think the Mercury writer just made picked those names out of his shoebox of Donruss cards, though. There had to be a source somewhere that brought them up off the record.
Bob Brenly articles from the Chronicle yesterday, and the Sun-Times today. Thom Brennaman isn't going to announce Arizona games anymore, which would leave an opening in the Diamondback booth. Announcing does seem like an easier way to make a buck, to be sure. My unscientificalistic study: Google search for "'Bob Brenly' `Good Manager'" gets 643 hits, while a search for "'Bob Brenly' `Bad Manager'" gets only 181 hits. However, the latter results are much more entertaining.
Martin sums up the qualities Sabean is looking for here. There were also some good roundups here and here.
Looking forward to some non-Pinella, non-Brenly closure.