One of the intriguing dynamics in this winter's free-agent sweepstakes is the time frame on the Big Four, Ramirez, Mussina, Alex Rodriguez and Mike Hampton. "It's not only the players, it's the rivalry between Scott Boras and Jeff Moorad that may drag things out because the Rodriguez-Ramirez contracts are a rivalry unto themselves," says one GM. "What each could do is set some incredibly high bar, and the only way the player will get signed fast is if someone like Jerry Reinsdorf swoops in and meets the asking price."

That presumes Williams returns, which seems likely. But that doesn't stop Dan Duquette from the occasional jab at his manager, or, specifically, his lineups. In his online chat this week, Duquette brought up the fact that the Sox were 36-21 when Jose Offerman started at second base. Translated, that means that Duquette believes that their best lineup had Offerman at second and a legitimate first baseman beside him. While Duquette is trying to move Troy O'Leary to make room for a power-hitting left fielder, in his chat he held out hope that Cuban Juan Diaz and Dernell Stenson might get into the first base mix in 2001. Meanwhile, another first base/hitter prospect, Shea Hillenbrand, is off to a big offensive start in the Arizona Fall League.

Bait-and-see for the Marlins
One of the most interesting teams to watch in 2001 is Florida, if -- and that's if -- owner John Henry gets some hope of a new stadium. "We played at $20 million this last year," says GM Dave Dombrowski, "but $7 million of that was tied up in one person who didn't play (Alex Fernandez), so we were really a $13 million team. We've made a lot of progress and some young players developed, but it's hard to know how far they're going and exactly how good we can be."

Dombrowski thinks Ryan Dempster is a legitimate No. 2 starter and likens him to Tim Hudson, is pleased with his bullpen and the progress made by Derrek Lee, Preston Wilson, Mark Kotsay, Luis Castillo and Mike Lowell. Alex Gonzalez? Not so pleased. "What we have to see is if Lee can be a more consistent RBI producer, for instance," says Dombrowski. "He made tremendous improvement this season and usually that RBI knack takes a few years to develop, so we're hopeful."

There have been rumblings that the Marlins would like to get Charles Johnson back, but if Henry doesn't have a park in sight, it seems hard to believe that he'll have the cash for a 30-homer catcher.

Will Suzuki join Sasaki?
Ichiro Suzuki is one of the greatest hitters in the world. His average for the Orix Blue Wave this season was .387, which follows seasons in which he batted .385, .342, .356, .345, .358 and .343. He has announced he will jump to the U.S. this winter, which will set up a huge bidding war, led by the Mariners. Oh, yes. He turns 27 on Oct. 22.

"He trained with us two springs ago, and believe me, you'd love him," says Lou Piniella. "He is a slasher. He hits the ball hard in the alleys, makes good contact, a good baserunner. He reminds me a lot of Johnny Damon. Same kind of player. He doesn't run as well as Damon, but he is a good right fielder with an outstanding right-field arm. He'll be a terrific sign."

Since Damon and agent Scott Boras are going to dump Kansas City and either force a Shawn Green deal or play it out for next fall's free agency, there are many who have speculated that should Alex Rodriguez leave Seattle, the M's would go after Damon with young pitching to offer. But perhaps Suzuki could be their Damon, and the pitching could be used to get a power bat.

From the booth to the field
The broadcast booth seems to be a better training ground for major-league managers than the minor leagues. If, as expected, Bob Brenly and Buck Martinez get the Arizona and Toronto jobs, they will join Larry Dierker in the move from the booth to the dugout without ever managing in the minors. In contrast, looking at the last 20 Baseball America minor-league managers of the year, only Eddie Haas, Kevin Kennedy, Butch Hobson, Buck Showalter, Terry Francona and Jim Lefebvre got the chance to manage in the majors.

Dierker managed the Astros into the playoffs three straight years. Brenly was a respected coach with the Giants before moving into the booth, while Martinez has been one of the most respected and thorough analysts in the business for years. "A lot of the traditional baseball people are disgusted by these types of moves," says one GM. "But if they get the right coaches -- especially a bench coach similar to Bill Virdon with Dierker his first season -- it can work. The job has changed. It's a people business, and Brenly and Buck are great people persons who know what makes young players tick and are smart enough to appreciate that they have to surround themselves with good staffs."

There is no question that not only could Tim McCarver have been an extraordinary manager, he might still be able to walk down and do it; but then, there aren't many people like Tim McCarver.

One current manager isn't quite as approving of the notion. "How come Brenly, Buck, Kennedy, Jeff Torborg and guys like that talk about how good they have it because they can walk home as soon as the game is over? But they still want to manage?" Because it's in their blood. Kennedy has a terrific job with Fox, but he rode a lot of buses to get to the bigs, he felt that he was unfairly fired in both Texas and Boston and knows he can prove his worth with one more opportunity.

Other thoughts

Seeking relief
There are several teams looking to upgrade their bullpens -- the Royals, Blue Jays, Orioles, Indians, Angels, Rangers, Phillies, Pirates, Dodgers, Diamondbacks. Problem is, the reliever free-agent market is terribly thin. "Virtually every team is looking for another left-hander," says one agent. "But essentially, the market is Rheal Cormier, John Franco, Dan Plesac and Mark Guthrie, and Jeff Fassero and Terry Mulholland as swingmen. And you know Franco is going to stay with the Mets." Fassero threw better out of the pen the last month than he threw as a starter, so he is a sleeper. "Everyone will be looking for the Graeme Lloyd deal," says the agent.

The Royals are trying to re-sign Ricky Bottalico, Boston is trying to work out deals with Rod Beck and Tom Gordon without picking up their $4.5M options and Toronto is likely to pick up the option on Paul Quantrill. John Wetteland may be forced to retire because of back problems. So that leaves Rick Aguilera, who threw well this season, and middlemen like Turk Wendell, Jeff Nelson, Curtis Leskanic, Julian Tavarez, Hector Carrasco, Jose Mesa and Doug Henry.

"When we see what Wendell, Nelson and Leskanic get on the open market," says one GM, "we're going to appreciate how smart the Mets and A's were to go get Rick White and Jim Mecir at the trading deadline. Teams with low-cost relievers available can make some interesting prospect deals, as Tampa Bay did acquiring Paul Wilson, Jason Tyner and Jesus Colome for White and Mecir, or how the Brewers got Richie Sexson from the Indians for pitching depth."

Final thoughts

"People say there'll be a lot of turnover and that this is a critical offseason," says GM Brian Cashman. "But we've had turnover like this and decisions like this almost every offseason. If you think back to what's happened since 1996, there were decisions on Jimmy Key, John Wetteland, David Cone, Joe Girardi. A lot of guys. We've added Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Mike Stanton, Scott Brosius and others of importance. This offseason won't be any different than any other. Even if you're in the playoffs, you have to lay the groundwork for moves."

Which is why the Mets and Yanks both are calling on Mussina as well as other free agents. As for Ramirez, three baseball people I deeply respect have called Manny "the best hitter I've ever seen" and he's probably a better pure hitter than people recognize. Years ago, Mariners players called Edgar Martinez "Cellophane Man," because, as Jay Buhner says, "He was one of the best hitters in the league and no one knew it. Now we're calling him 'Cellophane Man' again because he knocked in 147 runs and hardly anyone notices."

Bowden asked for permission to talk to Ted Simmons for his vacant managerial job, a creative choice, but Simmons declined interest to focus on his job running the Padres development system.