Go Crazy - I think you meant to say BrotherBri, not Bleacher
Bri manages to slip in here once every blue moon.
He needs to do so more often. His posts are always enlighting & thoughtful. We need more like him.
Right now, as I told EWT recently, I on the proverbial fence post. Part of me says sell off, part of me says we still have 18 games remaining with the Brewers and Cubs and we still have a shot. TLR's teams, with the exception of last year, have been pretty strong in the last 2 months of a season.
My gut says this will be TLR's last year here. He's had a pretty good run here. Will he step down before the end of the year? I doubt it. But, I think Dewitt's emphasis on upgrading the farm system, tell's you where this team is headed in the near future. They'll get younger. As in Oakland, I think TLR will not want to be part of a "youth" movement. Its coming and he'll step aside.
Will WJ go at that point? 60/40 chance that he'll leave the organization at the same time. TLR & WJ are pretty much joined at the hip in their philosphies of how to build a team. I don't see them hanging around as Dewitt puts his "stamp" on the big club.
If that happens, here's a couple of names in the organization that I would like to see considered for the big teams staff. Oquendo seems to have been groomed for a shot as the manager. 4 people who may get their shot under him - Ron "Pop" Warner, the Springfield manager. His teams at Palm Beach/Springfield have all performed well under him. Young and has the respect of all those who have played under him. Derrick May, Springfields hitting coach. May get more out of his players than the guy who's the hitting coach at Memphis - Rick Eckstein. Dylar Miller, pitching coach at Memphis. Great rep as a handler of pitchers. Keith Mitchell, Quad Cities manager. I've been impressed with the way his teams always seem to bounce back after a tough loss.