Having allowed Art Howe to depart for New York, Oakland introduced Ken Macha as their new manager on Tuesday. At 52, Macha has thoroughly paid his dues and deserves this opportunity. He reportedly signed a multi-year contract of unspecified length for approximately $1M per season. I'm pleased that Oakland took action to insure that he would stay with the Athletics. Macha would likely have improved any franchise he joined, but I think his talents will be most appreciated in Oakland. He also has the added benefit of a pre-established relationship and familiarity with the A's players.

We took a general look at Macha's background last week. On a more specific level, he spent two seasons managing AA Trenton and two seasons at AAA Pawtucket. Macha credits his Civil Engineering degree from the University of Pittsburgh with providing him with a sense of order, and his time as a player in the Japanese League gave him a more patient outlook.

Oakland currently plans to make very few changes to the coaching staff. Macha will pick his bench coach, although they could merely promote a coach already on the staff and then bring in someone to fill the secondary vacancy. I expect the A's to basically continue winning without Howe, perhaps even with a more pronounced emphasis on the organization's core philosophies.

With Macha removed from contention, Milwaukee settled on Ned Yost, reportedly signing him to a two year contract with a club option for a third season. We reviewed Yost briefly when discussing managerial candidates earlier this month. He leaves the Braves' coaching staff, where he was third base coach for the past four seasons and bullpen coach for eight years prior to transferring. Yost spent most of his professional catching career in the minors, but he debuted with the Brewers and played with them during the playoff runs of Harvey's Wallbangers in the early 80's. The 47-year-old understandably views that time with a great deal of nostalgia and apparently hopes to recapture his old experiences by returning to the Brewers.

Yost's interview did nothing to dissuade me from my concerns that he'll place too much value on pitching and defense. His last and only managerial experience came from 88-90 with Class A Sumter, which is better than nothing yet still a considerable time ago. I thought the Brewers were a good candidate for a rookie manager, but I'm afraid Yost won't have any more success than his predecessors. Milwaukee isn't going to add a lot to their roster and a positive attitude will only get him so far. However, I do think he was a better choice than any of the other non-Macha candidates interviewed by the Brewers.

Meanwhile, Cleveland announced that they have replaced interim manager Joel Skinner with Eric Wedge. Wedge signed a two-year contract of indeterminate financial value that includes club options for two additional seasons. Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro has a multi-year relationship with Wedge after initially bringing him into the organization while serving as farm director.

Wedge appeared in the majors briefly during four seasons of his career as a professional catcher, which lasted only nine years due to knee problems. He took a position with the Cleveland organization in 1998 as the manager of A Columbus immediately following his retirement from the playing field. In 1999, Wedge advanced to A+ Kinston before continuing up the organizational ladder to AA Akron the following year. He took over as manager of AAA Buffalo for the past two seasons.

The 34-year-old will be the youngest manager in the majors and has no major league coaching experience. Several members of his team could be older than him. However, he comes highly recommended after receiving accolades for his minor league managerial work.

I'm confused by the Indians' choice to hire Wedge now rather than retain Skinner. If Shapiro is as fond of Wedge as he seemed, I don't understand why Skinner assumed the job in mid-season rather than Wedge. Skinner has agreed to stay on as the third base coach, so if anything should happen to Wedge, the Indians have a reserve candidate waiting, although at this point I'd expect Shapiro to conduct more interviews before naming Skinner as Wedge's successor.

In the interview, I found Wedge's manner to be rather abrasive. Based on nothing beyond his apparently macho attitude, I'm concerned that he won't have much use for pitch counts and similar measures aimed at protecting the health of players. His credentials appear adequate, and he could work out quite well for the Indians, but his demeanor does not put me at ease. I think Fredi Gonzalez would have been a much better selection if Shapiro wasn't happy with Skinner.