The rumor mill is in overdrive....with the elimination of the Yankees on Saturday by the Tigers several reports out of New York are indicating that George Steinbrenner will soon fire Joe Torre, who has 1-year left on his contract, and replace him with Lou Piniella. The New York Daily news broke the story and has been picked up by ESPN TV and Radio as well as XM Radio. Several are speculating that if Piniella does return to the Yankees, Girardi will be named the Cubs manager soon.
Here is the latest....
The Cubs reportedly have not formally interviewed either Piniella or Girardi while the Washington Nationals have interview both of them. There were several reports out of Chicago on Saturday that stated the Jim Hendry will not announce a manager until the end of October but his main candidates might have already found employment by then.
Dusty Baker was the front-runner for the job in Washington according to several reports until Girardi was formally dismissed last week. The Nationals are reported to be very interested in Girardi mainly due to the fact he worked very well with a young team with a limited budget....just like what would await him in D.C.
Piniella has made it no secret that he wants to manage the Yankees again. He stated that fact several times last season and it was reported that Steinbrenner had contacted him last season. All of the reports are missing that Girardi reportedly had two "outs" in his contract with the Marlins, one for the Cubs and the other for the Yankees. But the main reason for Piniella going back to the Bronx has been stated as one....Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod flourished under Piniella with the Mariners and that is rumored to be one of the main reasons for Piniella's return.
Trey Hillman is reportedly drawing a lot of interest by the Texas Rangers and Bob Brenly is rumored to be very interested in the Giants job.
While MLB does not like major announcements during the World Series and the League Championship series, Jim Hendry might not have a choice.
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