Narron will be the man

[Wally Mo Pena]

Or at least that's how it's looking right now says Lancaster. He says that he expects an announcement to come in the next few days, even tomorrow. Looks like media pressure is still very effective with this front office.

Here's the post's article:

MILWAUKEE - The party line since the day Jerry Narron was named interim manager of the Reds has been that the team would wait until after the season to determine whether Narron would get the full-time job.

That apparently has changed.

General manager Dan O'Brien, who is on the road with the team, said Tuesday he and Narron have discussed the position, though nothing has been finalized.

"We have talked a lot about a variety of things associated with that, yes," said O'Brien. "As we speak, let's just say we're still talking."

Is it possible an announcement could come before the season ends Sunday?

"It's possible, yes," said O'Brien.

Is it probable?

"I don't know that I can say that," he said.

Regardless, the fact that the two have put the issue on the table is a strong indication that Narron's status will be resolved by Monday at the latest.

Despite the front office's stated determination to wait it out, such an outcome wouldn't be a complete surprise. Before the team departed Cincinnati late Sunday afternoon, Narron hinted that he expected to know one way or the other before the end of the season.

"I'm almost sure I will," Narron said then. "So I'm really not worried about it."

If O'Brien and the front office decide Narron is their man - there have been no rumblings to the contrary - and a contract agreement is reached, a couple of hurdles would have to be cleared before it becomes official. Reds ownership will have to sign off on the hire, and it will have to be run by baseball commissioner Bud Selig's office in some way, shape or form.

Neither step should be much more than a formality, though Reds officials have learned over the years that majority owner and chief executive officer Carl Lindner's whims are not always predictable.

Eliminating the suspense by the beginning of next week would serve a practical purpose for the Reds. Their annual organizational meetings run next Tuesday-Sunday in Sarasota, and O'Brien has said it would be "ideal" to have a manager in place by then. It goes without saying that Narron is the only candidate that could be installed in time - though that's no guarantee that he will be.

The only member of the Reds' coaching staff scheduled to attend the organizational meetings is pitching coach Vern Ruhle, but he was already set to visit Sarasota for some Instructional League tutoring beginning next week.

Over the course of this road trip, O'Brien and assistant general manager Dean Taylor are sitting down with each of the coaches individually to get their perspectives on their area of expertise and the team as a whole in advance of the meetings.

"Right now, we're working to ensure that we try to make these meetings as productive as we can with the coaching staff," said O'Brien. "So far, it's been great."

[CincyRedsFan30]

O'Brien is a joke.

I can't take this anymore. Next season will certainly be Dan's favorite word: "status quo."

At least we have the Bengals to wach now.

The only good thing about this is there are more O'Brien quotes to add to my ever-growing list.

[missionhockey21]

I don't get it. Maybe I am not old school enough (which sadly most of the front office is) but what has Narron done that has been so impressive? Many of the things he stressed in his press confrence he hasnt carried out and how much of the success can be attributed to his moves versus the actual talent playing to a higher level? Really, I didn't see much that was a good deal better than what Miley did.

Is this the front office basically coming out and saying although there are better options out there, we know we will not have the cash to make a move for one of those guys so we'll go with the tried and true? If they want to pick Narron at least explore the other options and try to convince us that Narron is without a doubt the top pick.

[Geki Ace]

Narron has done two things. He's gotten lucky that the team played up to its potential for a while, and he'll cost next to nothing. He's a joke, but he fits right in with the rest of the Reds organization, I suppose.

[Slyder]

I don't get it. Maybe I am not old school enough (which sadly most of the front office is) but what has Narron done that has been so impressive? Many of the things he stressed in his press confrence he hasnt carried out and how much of the success can be attributed to his moves versus the actual talent playing to a higher level? Really, I didn't see much that was a good deal better than what Miley did.

Is this the front office basically coming out and saying although there are better options out there, we know we will not have the cash to make a move for one of those guys so we'll go with the tried and true? If they want to pick Narron at least explore the other options and try to convince us that Narron is without a doubt the top pick.

That would require work, and this Front Office is allergic to actually having to do work and use common sense . I mean how much common sense would it have taken to know that the spects we got for Aurilia would be more valuable in a couple years than he was now on a bad team?

[missionhockey21]

But he brings a veteran presence... blah, blah. Don't get me wrong, Aurilia has been fine for what he was brought in to do but a team who was dead and gone from the race quite awhile ago didnt need to be playing the vets that dont have a part of the future. I really dont understand why this team is so cautious and reliant on the vets. I am not for rushing players but no one can honestly tell me that there are better options than throwing Milton out every five days to get knocked around. You know, somneone who could use the MLB experience and perhaps could develop as a result of seeing big league hitting. Or someone like Bergolla or Olmedo getting AB's for Aurilia. But none of this is a surprise with the people we got in charge all the way through the system.

Reds 2006 Motto: "Cautiosly Roundin' Third and Heading For Home"

[Geki Ace]

Rich Aurilia's Home OPS: .941
Rich Aurilia's Road OPS: .605

He's purely a product of GAB, and that's probably a big reason why he wasn't traded.