ESPN.com is reporting that Buck Sholwalter this weekend met again with Orioles' brass, but no other information was released. Buck is apparently still the heavy favorite.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5371761

Dan, anything to this?

What are we waiting for?

Let's get under way with Buck Showalter as the manager of the Baltimore Orioles.

I'm with Barry, what possible advantage is there to dragging this out? Just make it happen. I'm not a huge Showalter fan, but what the hell, if that's the guy you want, then quit screwing around and just do it.

What is wrong with the job Mr.Samuel is doing?

Hey tremendous sweep of the Rangers.

Well if Buck Showalter gets the job,
Good Luck to you!
Let's Go O's!

A wish list for Buck S

1.) I hope he is given the power and means necessary to be successful here.

2.) A mentor for Matt Wieters.
Damon Berryhill or Carlton Fisk would be good chocies.

3.) An outfield coach to help bring consistency to our promising but "inconsistent" outfield.
Andre Dawson or Garry Maddox could help here.

Andy is on vacation! Getting ready to be the head hotdog..Comish

Has Andy MacPhail interviewed a minority candidate? If so, I don't recall seeing it reported. Don't they still have to do that in baseball before they can hire anyone from outside of the organization?

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that the Orioles and Buck Showalter are "close to terms" and the announcement should be sometime after the All-Star break.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/07/orioles-showalter-close-to-terms.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MlbTradeRumors+%28MLB+Trade+Rumors%29

I'm more interested in knowing when the new 1B, SS, CF, DH, 2B, #1, & #2 starting pitchers will be hired. Without those pieces Showalter will nothing more than another Lee Mazzilli.

Is it possible that the front office is taking it's time because the ball club seems to be responding to Juan Samuel? What's his future if Showalter is named manager? It looks like the players have improved and play hard for Samuel.

Good job Juan! 14-20 is a dramatic improvement over the 15-39 record he inherited. It looks like he has their attention so I would give him a chance. If he can run his own record to .500 by season end then keep him, obviously.

NO, NO, No. All reports say Sholwater is an idiot with poor social skills. We don't need that. Keep Samuel. Why spoil his magic with someone who is a retread. He must not be that good if he is not coaching.

what about andy etchebarren?

I understand why the O's are going after a big name manager and it probably is necessary, but I'm willing to bet that Juan Samuel is going to be a very successful manager someday.

The team is 14-20 under Juan, which I would argue is about as good as this team can expect. In other words, they were underperforming under Trembley and Samuel has them playing to their potential and they are improving steadily.

He has the bullpen functioning better than it has in a decade, the young starters are pitching with more confidence and he is getting them out of games in time to build their confidence, instead of leaving them in to the point of failure as Trembley had done.

Even the offense is playing with renewed energy. This is never going to be a good offensive team with a mid-level utility player (our "all-star") batting clean-up, but it's playing about as well as it can.

I realize Juan is not going to get a chance to stay, and that's probably the right thing for the franchise, but he has earned more than that and he should get a tremendous amount of credit for not only keeping the team afloat but greatly improving its performance.

What is with everyone and Samuel's "MAGIC"? He's 14-20. Have we really reached the point where that is worth giving someone a job for over someone with proven credentials at the major league level. We went through 3 years of 14-20 with dave trembley already

Just one more thing.....

The word on the street is....
Showalter is to have said by sources to have laid out a plan for a major turnaround for the Orioles in his first interview via large-scale revamping.

That is fine but......

If Showalter has a plan and MacPhail has a plan in place already.

How are the two plans going to coexist?
Especially, if MacPhail feels his plan is the greatest thing since sliced cheese.
Sounds kinda incongruent to me.

Showalter and O's front office are probably still debating authority and salary. If it can't be settled soon, they will probably just keep Samuel. He fits more neatly into their mode of operating.

Showalter??? Come on O's! We can do much better. In my estimation, Juan Samuel should at least be given the opportunity to finish the season. He has slowly but surely breathed some much needed life into this team. The O's need to get this right and not make a managerial change just to make a move. Let's see if Samuel can continue to inspire and build on this season before we act hastily and bring in someone who has been at best average in every place he has managed.

The trend is positive with Samuel. Injuries and youth considered, Samuel is likely maxing out the hand he has been dealt. We don't need some prima donna manager in Baltimore. Not the style of the place. Just let Samuel finish out the season and then see where we are. We also don't need someone trumping McPhail's plan. Let it play out. If you muddle things, we will not have a clear idea if he has it figured out or not.

The Os are playing better under Sammuel. A manager change at this point will only hurt the team because the players would have to have time to re-adjust to a new manager. If Sammuel starts out as the manager after the All-Star break and the team continues to win as much or better than it has, then he will probably finish the season as manager. I don't think Oriole management has to pursue any rash changes to improve the team. The team is only beginning to play as well as it was expected to play early this season.