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It seemed very quiet this October Monday, two days before the World Series, and then:
Sources: Leyland stepping down as #Tigers manager. Told team after end of ALCS. Team has called news conference for 11:30 AM ET.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 21, 2013
So that now makes five teams looking for a manager, many more than you might have thought when this season ended: the Cubs, Mariners, Reds, Nationals and Tigers all have vacancies in the field-manager slot, and two of those teams were in the postseason in 2013. Go figure, right?
The question I pose to you, and you can discuss as this week begins: will another managerial vacancy affect who the Cubs go after? Will it make Theo and Jed's search go any faster? Will they want to hire someone before he's snatched away by another team?
All of these teams have different criteria for whoever they hire, obviously, since they are at different stages of development and contending. The Tigers are still in "win-now" mode; the Cubs, obviously, aren't.
All right, that's enough from me on this. Have at it.