When I confirmed this afternoon that the Reds had indeed interviewed Dusty Baker about their manager's opening, I began to think: is this just complying with the Major League Baseball edict to interview minority candidates or is Baker is legitimate contender for the job?

Baker is an interesting study. He was a terrific hitter as a player. He's been successful as a hitting coach in his career. And he also led the Giants to the World Series five years ago. He's unfairly remembered as flaming out in Chicago, managing the Cubs and being at the center of the Sammy Sosa meltdown. But he knows the game, knows hitting. And that could help immensely with current Reds Adam Dunn, Josh Hamilton and Edwin Encarnacion. All three showed both brilliance and frustration at the plate this past season.

My gut still tells me the Reds aren't 'there' on Baker yet. There is still some interest, I'm sure, in Joe Girardi, possibly even Bob Brenly. Putting everything on hold is Joe Torre's situation in New York. If Torre stays, it may open the door to negotiate with Tony LaRussa, who almost certainly is done in St. Louis. It would also open the door for Yankee manager-wannabe Girardi to look elsewhere for his next opportunity.

But if it's Baker, I wouldn't be disappointed. Any manager worth his salt has been recycled. Maybe for Dusty, and the Reds, the third time is the charm.

As another famous Ohio University alum likes to say...things that make you go hmmmm.

The St. Louis Cardinals fired General Manager Walt Jocketty today. Fired the guy who constructed one of the more solid franchises in baseball. Jocketty and his owner, Bill DeWitt, haven't seen eye to eye in over a year. Now, Jocketty is out. The current Reds' owner, Bob Castellini, is a former Cardinals minority owner. In fact, he's been a business partner of DeWitt's in St. Louis and in Baltimore, when they both were minorty shareholders with Peter Angelos. They also were in business with President Bush, as minority shareholders with the Texas Rangers, back in the mid-90's.

Would Castellini pick up the phone and call his buddy DeWitt (they both live in the Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill) and ask him all about Jocketty? And if Jocketty and DeWitt didn't part by tossing grenades at each other, would Castellini then entertain the idea of signing Jocketty as his GM in Cincinnati, knowing that might be the carrot to lure Tony LaRussa here to manage the Reds. Current GM, Wayne Krivsky, would have to be sent packing. But to get a package deal of the best GM-Manager tandem in baseball, is that not a price worth paying?

Things that make you go, hmmmmm.

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Here's your chance to play Reds owner. You are now free to spend Bob Castellini's money, without retribution. Whom would you like for your new manager?

Would you go to the Yankees and try to pry Joe Girardi from the broadcast booth? Or to Chicago and do the same with current Cubs broadcaster, Bob Brenly. Do you wait until the end of the season and hope the Yankees part ways with Joe Torre? Maybe the Cardinals will do the same with Tony LaRussa. You know that Castellini covets anyone with that St. Louis franchise.

Any one of those candidates will cost you between $2-5 million dollars. You might get Girardi for less, it might cost you more for LaRussa.

My choice? It'd be Bob Brenly. OK, enough with the Ohio University stuff. I'd like this guy managing the Reds even if he wasn't a fellow Bobcat. I think he's patient (he stuck with Tony Womack as his lead off hitter for three years in Arizona even though Womack's OBP was bad) and he's a winner. The Diamondbacks contended every year he was there and won it all in 2001. And, Brenly is from Ohio. He even lived in Cincinnati for a year, before taking the manager's gig in Phoenix.

Torre would be nice, in the fact that he brings a pedigree second to none. And, his wife's family lives in Cincinnati, another nice connection. I seriously doubt LaRussa would leave the Cardinals. They'd be nuts to let him walk. And as for Girardi, he'd be the tough no nonsense guy a lot of these current Reds need. But despite winning the NL manager of the year award with the Marlins, he had a celebrated blow up with his owner that ultimately cost him his job. But still, he's a winner.

This short list is impressive. But I'm still touting Brenly. I know he's interested. I hope the Reds are too.