First thing’s first: Ron Washington deserves to be the next manager of the Oakland A’s. Oakland’s loyal, underrated third base/infielder’s coach has turned Eric Chavez into a perennial gold glover at third base, fixed Miguel Tejada’s inability to make the routine play, and has made Mark Ellis the American League’s best defensive second baseman. Heck, the man turned Scott Hatteberg into an above average first baseman. The players love him. The fans love him. Even the media is pulling for him. Washington has said it would be a dream come true to manage in the big leagues. And, this is why I hope he DOES NOT get the Oakland job. 
         Don’t get me wrong; Washington absolutely deserves to be a major league manager. He has paid his dues and his stock has never been higher. But, Washington also deserves to be in control of his players, coaches and clubhouse. As long as Billy Beane is running things in Oakland, he, or anyone else, will never have that opportunity. 
         Billy Beane parted ways with Ken Macha for the second time in two years. This time, he won’t be back. Days after the A’s were swept by Detroit in the ALCS, Beane cited “communication” problems with Macha and fired him. Usually when a manager takes a $60 million dollar payroll to the ALCS, communication problems work themselves out. Not in Oakland. Macha, growing tired Beane’s my way or the highway approach, began voicing his frustrations in the media, and Beane noticed. While many things in life are questioned, the fact that Billy Beane is the commander in chief in Oakland is not one of them. To question this is the equivalent of begging to be fired. Macha did. His services are now available.
         We all know Beane does not think too highly of the managerial occupation. If it were up to him, he’d probably abolish any rule that says a team has to have a manager. They are there to not screw up the cast of players Beane has assembled. They are, in a sense, Beane’s puppets. Sounds like a real dream job, huh? 
         Ron Washington has worked his way up the ladder of the coaching ranks. Many feel he should already be a manager. And while I hope he finally does get the chance to manage his own team, I hope for his sake it is nowhere near Billy Beane. Now that would be a dream come true. Just ask Ken Macha.  www.oldskoolsports.com