Lots of focus on Kosuke and steroids of late so I thought I'd throw out a different baseball topic for discussion. A few weeks ago I was sitting around with some friends who happen to be Michigan football fans and we were talking about their coaching situation. Eventually one of us asked "if you could have any coach in college football, who would it be." We actually found this hard to answer but it would seem to translate to an easier question in regards to baseball.

So I thought it would be interesting to toss it out to the group to see what baseball manager they'd prefer to see managing their team. I'll be honest in saying right now that Lou Piniella may be my guy, but for the sake of this conversation, lets say that Piniella isn't an option. If you were a GM and had the opportunity to hire anyone to manage your team, who would it be. Preferably this will be from the current world of baseball. Could be someone in the minors who is a manager in waiting or someone who is a fixture in another city.

I'd have to cast my vote with Jim Leyland. He seems to strike a great balance between letting his players play and stepping in when he has to. He'll blow his top and call his guys out when necessary. And ultimately he seems to get the most out of his players without being a doormat. The man flat out knows how to manage.

Other thoughts?

DmL