But out of the guys who have gotten interviews, I'd prefer Bud Black. He seems to understand that our understanding of baseball has undergone an evolution in the last 20 years. I winced when I heard Dusty Baker lament the disappearance of "RBI men" in today's game on the TBS broadcast. I know that Black utilized defensive shifts while in San Diego and he's comfortable mixing up his line-up based on match-ups.

Matt Williams was a Dusty Baker disciple. Hiring Dusty Baker when people were going ape shit over Matt Williams' bullpen decisions and in-game strategies makes little sense to me. Now Dusty Baker is exponentially better with player relations and could probably work out because guys would play for him and there is enough talent to compete.

But I trust Black's ability to evolve a little more than Baker's. I think with Baker, what you see is what you get. Now and forever. Aroldis Chapman is going to sit in the bullpen on the road until there is a 1-3 run lead because (in the words of the departed Matt Williams) "He's our closer".

From what I can see, for the first time in his managerial career, Bud Black used his closer twice in 2015 in tie games on the road. It's a small thing, but after watching Matt Williams manage like he was reading from a pre-written script, it's enough to give me hope that Bruce Bochy isn't going to be laughing on the bench from the other dug out during a deciding playoff game if Black is pulling the levers.