Reds still haven#039;t reached decision on manager

Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 4, 2003

CINCINNATI - Two weeks after they pared down their list of manager candidates, the Cincinnati Reds haven't picked one.

The club has interviewed four candidates for the job, which it originally hoped to fill before Thanksgiving. General manager Dan O'Brien said Tuesday that no other candidates are being considered.

Interim manager Dave Miley, former White Sox manager Jerry Manuel, Pittsburgh player development director Brian Graham and Tampa Bay coach John McLaren were interviewed last month.

O'Brien said there are no plans for a second round of interviews.

''Granted, we're being very deliberate, but that's with the express purpose of trying to make the right decision,'' O'Brien said. ''We're trying to be as thorough as we can.''

The decision isn't entirely up to O'Brien, who was hired on Oct. 27. Chief operating officer John Allen and owner Carl Lindner also are involved in picking the manager who will take over a team in transition.

The Reds moved into Great American Ball Park last season but fared so poorly that manager Bob Boone and general manager Jim Bowden were fired on July 28. The club then went on a payroll-slashing spree, trading its top veterans to other teams for pitching prospects.

Lindner is expected to cut the payroll significantly for next season, limiting what O'Brien can do in his first job as a general manager.

Miley was considered the front-runner based upon his 24 years of experience in the organization. He got the interim managing job - his first chance to run a major league team - after Boone was fired.

The Reds went 22-35 under Miley, who had to deal with a team in flux because of the flurry of trades.

O'Brien wants to have a manager picked before baseball's winter meetings Dec. 12-15 in New Orleans. The club has its annual fan festival this weekend.