Jeff at Brew Crew Ball is happy the Cubs are spending a lot of money on Lou Piniella.

I'm getting off-topic here, but I wonder if this shouldn't be the next way in which "smart" teams keep payroll down. True, the difference between a nobody and Piniella/Baker is only $2-$2.5 million, but if there's no real performance difference between a decent manager and a famous one (note I don't say "good") that's money down the drain. After all, the Devil Rays spent a lot of money paying Piniella to lead them to the cellar.

I'm not sure about this. You can do this with players because skills decline over time, and you also have three to six years in which you control a players' salary. But if something works for a manager at age 40, it's probably going to work just as well at age 60. So, if you actually find someone who is good, you're not going to jettison him just to save money. Whereas you can let a 30-year-old all-star go and spend a lot less money to make up most of the lost production.