The silly season is upon us. We can either avoid it or bask in its' glory. Here on the Ohio Sports Buzz, we're baskers, which is why we're tracking every rumor we can find about the Reds managerial job opening, especially now that the Reds are "making a list".
Today adds a whole slew of names that have been floated, for better or worse, and we're happy to count them down for you. For easy sorting, we've broken these names down to three simple categories: Contacted by Reds, Floated by writers and Out of the Running.
CONTACTED BY REDS
BRYAN PRICE: Current pitching coach, has reportedly been contacted about the job. John Fay considers him the frontrunner if the Reds look internally. Prince says that he's interested in the job, and would probably get interest from other teams if the Reds pass.
JIM RIGGLEMAN: Manager at Triple-A Louisville and one-time Washington Nationals manager, has reportedly been contacted about the job
NAMES FLOATED BY WRITERS
WALLY BACKMAN: Floated by John Erardi of Cincinnati.com as a potential Lou Piniella-type who has "attitude and confidence" and "something to prove".
BILLY HATCHER: An an internal candidate who has not yet been contacted by the team.
DAVEY JOHNSON: Floated by Hal McCoy, Johnson is fresh off the bench in Washington, and had the honor of being fired by Marge Schott despite good performance by the Reds under his leadership.
BARRY LARKIN: Floated by just about every Reds writer, Larkin is considered unlikely to leave his current role. As of 10/8, Larkin had not reached out to the Reds, and already has a nice gig as a TV analyst. Still, the Reds might not be the only team interested, as his name has also been associated with the Washington Nationals. And here's some more speculation about Larkin from the NY Daily News.
JOE MORGAN: Floated by Paul Daughtery, but considered unlikely to leave his current role.
EDUARDO PEREZ: Floated by The Houston Chronicle, Perez is a young coach currently working for an abysmal Houston Astros franchise. He brings Cincinnati connections, and a high level of regard within MLB circles.
SCOTT ROLEN: Floated by Paul Daughtery, Rolen is already on the Reds payroll, but considered an unlikely candidatae.
CHRIS SPIER: Floated by Paul Daughtery, Spier is an internal candidate who has not yet been contacted by the team. Daughtery calls him his "dark horse candidate".
RICK SWEET: Floated by Hal McCoy, Sweet has experience with a number of the current Reds due to his serving as manager at Louisville.
OUT OF THE RUNNING
TONY LARUSSA: Per the Chicago Tribune, he's not interested in the gig, despite his past history with Walt Jocketty.
