ESPN reported yesterday that the Brewers' search for their new manager has ended, and Bob Brenly was not selected.  So much for all our speculation about who would replace him in the booth.

Although, to be fair, I would be a little surprised if there were no other new managers brought onto the scene this off season.  While I haven't heard of any teams actively searching for a new skipper, Brenly might yet still find himself in a dugout next year, rather than in the broadcast booth.

And even then - if Brenly isn't signed to manage a team this winter, then it's probably only a matter of time before he is.  Sooner or later, and probably sooner, the Cubs will have a new broadcast team in their booth.

Word on the streat is that Bob Brenly has been offered a chance by the Milwaukee Brewers to hop back into the saddle and manage the team.  The rumored deal is worth 1.25 million a year.

Although he just signed a 4 year, 3.5 million extension with WGN on September 13th, Brenly very well might take this gig - lord knows he's wanted another crack at managing a team.  It'll be an interesting scenario for the Cubs if only because a) Brenly has seen the team a lot which theoretically gives him a managerial advantage and b) he's actually a mediocre skipper so he'd need any advantage possible to win.  Not to mention c) the Brewers had their chance, but they're about to become middling again.

If Brenly does find himself Cheeseward Bound, Len Kasper will be without a partner and the Cubs will probably have a little bit of trouble filling his shoes.  Basically, the problem is that, while Bob Brenly is certainly no Steve Stone, there aren't many available guys out there who are Bob Brenly.  However, here's a short list of the team's options, primarily consisting only of guys I can think of off the top of my head, and the odds of their taking the job.

Steve Stone - 0. Sorry, folks.  The Pompous-But-Lovable-Douchebag that is Steve Stone is locked up for 6 years with the White Sox.  I'm afraid he'll never again call a game for the Cubs.

Rick Sutcliffe - 20 to 1. It's like if Harry Caray and Steve Stone had a lovechild.  A Cy Young pitcher with a keen understanding of the game who loves his booze and often sounds as though a denist injected him with a little too much Novocaine.  Sutcliffe will always have a warm spot in his heart for the Cubs, but he probably won't take the job.  He had an opportunity for the gig Back Before Brenly, but he refused it because he wasn't keen on working 162 games.  In fact, that's a major problem.  In many cases, guys don't want to work a full schedule anymore.

Dan Plesac - 5 to 1. Plesac already works for Comcast Chicago, covering Cubs games.  Perhaps the biggest compliment and strongest criticism I can make about Plesac is that, although I'm sure I've heard him call games in the past, I have no memory of his delivery or style.  I guess that means he's boring, which is better than annoying, but worse than good.  (Side note: Some people are far more critical of Plesac than I am.  It appears as though he actually sucks quite horrifically.  One person actually said "I'd take Joe Carter over Dan Plesac."  Ouch.)

Joe Carter - 100 to 1. Pleasegodnopleasegodnopleasegodnopleasegodno.  Joe Carter and Chip Caray had to have equaled, bar none, the worst broadcasting team in the history of the world, even counting the Stuttering Charlie and Beepo the Monkey experiment executed by the Browns back in the Veek days.

Dave Otto - 4 to 1. Otto is another guy who hangs his hat in Chicago, often filling in for Ron Santo on the radio side.  He also worked along side with ::shudders:: Chip Caray back in what I like to call The Dark Ages.  He's probably a better choice than Plesac.

Mark Grace - 4 to 2. A long-time favorite of Cub fans, Grace would probably punch his own grandmother for the chance to work the booth in WGN.  The only unfortunate part of this - he's not very good and, more importantly, he may be too much of an uncontrollable element for the Cubs to trust him calling the games.  He just might be a bit too critical.

Ron Santo - 50 to 1. Actually, I think I'd really enjoy Santo joining Kasper, even though he's an unbearable homer at times.  The thing is, Santo really has a niche on the radio side, and I don't think the Cubs would want to break up the Santo-Hughes team.

Dark Horse Candidates, according to speculation at Desipio: Doug Glanville, Keith Moreland, Eric Karros.

Kurt's Preferred Choice: Bob Brenly.  Sorry, Fire Bob Brenly, I don't think any of the available options would do as good a job.

The Daily Herald is reporting that Bob Brenly has signed a contract extension with the Cubs that will keep him in Chicago until 2012.

Photo Courtesy of WGN TV

Brenly has been a pleasant surprise in the booth.  He was the direct replacement to Steve Stone, but with memories of Joe Carter still crapping about in our heads, it would've been hard for him to be a bad pick on the part of the Tribune.

I think many people are surprised because Brenly probably wants to manage again someday, but there are two things to remember:

1. Lou's probably gone after another year, and while bench coach and ex Tigers skipper Alan Trammell is probably the first in line to get the gig, Brenly knows that Hendry would probably consider him, too.

2. If another team comes calling, much as San Diego almost did two years ago, then Brenly probably reserves the right in his contract to leave for other pastures.

I know that some of us want what's on the other side of the fence - a return by Stone would have been nice, as he's a legend, and Mark Grace will always be the one that got away.  But while Stoney is without a doubt the best in the business, I've heard nothing to believe that Gracie is better than Brenly.  The Cubs have a great duo in the booth these days, let's be happy about it and let's hope that Chip Caray, Joe Carter and their ilk remain a thing of the distant, painful, can't-forget-soon-enough past.

GOATRIDER, PESTILENCE,
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF ALL CHICAGO CUBS FANS WATCHING THE CUBS GAME ON 3 JUNE 2008 AT 00:04.

Plaintiffs

v.

COMCAST SPORTSNET CHICAGO,
UNNAMED PRODUCER OF COMCAST SPORTSNET CHICAGO,
UNNAMED CAMERAMAN OF COMCAST SPORTSNET CHICAGO,
KASPER, LEN,
BRENLY, BOB,
BARRETT, MICHAEL,
WOOD, KERRY,
MARMOL, CARLOS,
GONZALEZ, ADRIAN,
SAN DIEGO PADRES,
CHICAGO NATIONAL LEAGUE BALL CLUB,

Defendants.

Plaintiffs, by and through their undersigned attorneys, for the Complaint in this action, hereby allege as follows:

1. This action is filed by the victims of unnecessarily dramatic coverage of the final out of the Chicago Cubs game started on June 2, 2008 and finishing shortly after midnight on June 3, 2008. Plaintiffs are the loyalest of Cubs fans, brave enough to stay up after their bed time in hopes of witnessing the Cubs' eighth consecutive victory. The defendants together conspired to perpetrate unnecessary drama at the end of said game.

2. Pestilence is a Chicago Cubs fan who suffered heart failure immediately before the final out of the game was recorded. Pestilence is filing this action on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of viewers who are likely to have suffered similarly. Pestilence and the undersigned attorneys will seek to elevate this matter as a class-action complaint.

3. Comcast Sports Net Chicago is the broadcast outlet that aired the game in the greater metropolitan Chicago area, and select households subscribing to MLB EXTRA INNINGS.

4. Carlos Marmol is the Chicago Cubs pitcher who set the table for the unneccessary drama by allowing two runners to reach base before grooving a pitch over the heart of the plate.

5. Adrian Gonzales is the San Diego batter who crushed said grooved pitch into the seats closing the 4 run lead to 1 run.

6. Michael Barrett is the San Diego Padres catcher who is primarily responsible for the underlying action that caused the unnecessary drama. Barrett is a former Chicago Cub who left the team under dubious circumstances. Had his warning track flyball been a home run, the emotional scarring of this home run would have been more significant than if another Padre, who had not been a former Cub, had tied the game. Barrett has a propensity for hitting dramatic home runs.

7. Kerry Wood is the Chicago Cubs closer who relieved Carlos Marmol. Wood also hung the slider that Michael Barrett hit for a warning track flyball.

8. The Unnamed Comcast Cameraman filmed the 9th inning of said game. This cameraman willfully filmed a much higher trajectory of the flyball than was necessary. Due to this high trajectory camera angle, hundreds of thousands of Cubs fans were momentarily led to panic as they assumed Michael Barrett's warning track flyball was indeed of home run distance sufficient to reach the Western Metal Supply Co. warehouse far beyond the left field fence.

9. The Unnamed Comcast producer chose to use the unnamed cameraman's feed of the flyball. This decision contributed to the heart attack suffered by Cubs fans everywhere.

10. Len Kasper and Bob Brenly are the Comcast announcers who emphasized the unnecessary drama by not reassuring viewers early enough that the baseball would remain within the confines of the playing field.