And the new manager of the Oakland A's is...

Drumroll, please...

Out last week after three seasons managing the Oakland Athletics, he called general manager Billy Beane one last time to say thanks -- and wound up Friday with a three-year deal to return.

"I think both of us felt this would be best for himself, best for myself and best for the club," Macha said. "I think Billy has a lot of trust in what I do on the field, and I have a lot of trust in what he does off the field."

This sounds like how it should be between a GM and a manager. Maybe I'm giving this too much weight, but when Macha left, it was over something that seemed, to me, to be very trivial. They did the well-wishing and I figured it was just standard BS, whether they meant it or not. And now it's back to how it was, so that must mean both sides wanted Macha back. And I'd say he did a great job with a team that played itself out of the pennant race before it ever got warm, then played itself right back in.

Oakland is a franchise deserving of admiration, I've said that before and I'll say it as long as it's true. I'm no A's fan, but they have their shit together over there, and it's hard not to envy a little.