Or at least that's how it's looking right now says Lancaster. He says that he expects an announcement to come in the next few days, even tomorrow. Looks like media pressure is still very effective with this front office.
Here's the post's article:
MILWAUKEE - The party line since the day Jerry Narron was named interim manager of the Reds has been that the team would wait until after the season to determine whether Narron would get the full-time job.
That apparently has changed.
General manager Dan O'Brien, who is on the road with the team, said Tuesday he and Narron have discussed the position, though nothing has been finalized.
"We have talked a lot about a variety of things associated with that, yes," said O'Brien. "As we speak, let's just say we're still talking."
Is it possible an announcement could come before the season ends Sunday?
"It's possible, yes," said O'Brien.
Is it probable?
"I don't know that I can say that," he said.
Regardless, the fact that the two have put the issue on the table is a strong indication that Narron's status will be resolved by Monday at the latest.
Despite the front office's stated determination to wait it out, such an outcome wouldn't be a complete surprise. Before the team departed Cincinnati late Sunday afternoon, Narron hinted that he expected to know one way or the other before the end of the season.
"I'm almost sure I will," Narron said then. "So I'm really not worried about it."
If O'Brien and the front office decide Narron is their man - there have been no rumblings to the contrary - and a contract agreement is reached, a couple of hurdles would have to be cleared before it becomes official. Reds ownership will have to sign off on the hire, and it will have to be run by baseball commissioner Bud Selig's office in some way, shape or form.
Neither step should be much more than a formality, though Reds officials have learned over the years that majority owner and chief executive officer Carl Lindner's whims are not always predictable.
Eliminating the suspense by the beginning of next week would serve a practical purpose for the Reds. Their annual organizational meetings run next Tuesday-Sunday in Sarasota, and O'Brien has said it would be "ideal" to have a manager in place by then. It goes without saying that Narron is the only candidate that could be installed in time - though that's no guarantee that he will be.
The only member of the Reds' coaching staff scheduled to attend the organizational meetings is pitching coach Vern Ruhle, but he was already set to visit Sarasota for some Instructional League tutoring beginning next week.
Over the course of this road trip, O'Brien and assistant general manager Dean Taylor are sitting down with each of the coaches individually to get their perspectives on their area of expertise and the team as a whole in advance of the meetings.
"Right now, we're working to ensure that we try to make these meetings as productive as we can with the coaching staff," said O'Brien. "So far, it's been great."