Real Talk by Mark Grace

McCain who? Mark Grace is the true conductor of the "Straight Talk Express."

Want proof? Read Chris DeLuca in today's Chicago Sun-Times.

Summing up the Cubs' brief appearance in the postseason, Grace said they ''rolled over'' and should be humiliated.

''They [bleeped] it up, honestly,'' said Grace, who's covering the World Series as an analyst for Fox. ''That's twice now that this same group of players has gone out and played tight. ... I mean, come on, dude, are you kidding me?

Grace would likely be the top candidate to replace Bob Brenly as the TV color analyst if BB takes the Milwaukee Brewers managerial gig.

And before you ask, no, he doesn't believe in curses. I like that.

''No, because it was the same [stuff] all year long,'' he said. ''It wasn't the first time they heard about it. I have to say no on that. Honestly, that team for some reason, when [James] Loney hit that grand slam, you're only down two runs with five innings to play and that team just laid down. The place turned into a tomb. Damn, you're just down two, and you had come back all year. The team laid down.

I was at that game and that's how it felt from the crowd. The air was let out of the balloon and a majority of the folks that were there (you know, the corporate bandwagon type) hopped on their Blackberries and probably started making connections for later that night.

Lucky for them, they were able to drink their sorrows away in Wrigleyville. Some of us had a 5+ hour drive back to Carbondale to deal with this mess.

I digress.

More from DeLuca, there is no news on the Brenly/Brewers front. However, Grace puts a scare in me if BB does get the job in Milwaukee.

''I guess I would call him an anti-Ned Yost. He's a little more loose. The fun meter will go a little higher for whoever he manages. He's a world champion.''

As much as I love Lou Piniella and wanted Piniella to manage the Cubs to a World Series, I always throught Brenly would have been the PERFECT fit for this group. I said it when Dusty Baker was fired. I said it in 2006 when he should have been fired. My pleas to the Cubs seem to always go on deaf ears.

Pop quiz: who has managed more World Champions?

Answer: Both have managed 1. But Brenly's came in 2001. Piniella's came in 1990. Think BB knows how to get it done in this day-in-age? I do. I'd hate for him to go and do it 90 miles north of Wrigley.

Grace dis: Cubs rolled over [Chicago Sun-Times]

Bye-bye Brenly?

I guess this is what I get for enjoying the managerial foibles of the Milwaukee Brewers.

One of their top candidates to replace Dale Sveum is none other than the best color analyst in baseball, the Chicago Cubs' own Bob Brenly.

Personally, if I was BB, I wouldn't touch that job with a 10-foot pole even though it provides a classic good news/bad news scenario.

Bad news first: No CC. No Sheets. No closer. No Prince? Rickie Weeks, yes. Bill Hall, yes. Eric Gagne, yes.

Good news: No chance for a classic Brew Crew collapse.

Losing BB would be a sad day for those of us who enjoy the snarky/analytical remarks of Brenly, who like his predecessor Steve Stone (who wasn't as much of a pompous douche as he is now) was willing to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the state of the Cubs.

Ask Alfonso Soriano. Remember this?

"You can throw a dart at the visitors dugout and find a better defensive outfielder than Alfonso Soriano."

I do.

But the more pressing issue here isn't finding a better defensive outfielder than Fonzie or finding a better gig for BB. It's finding a replacement once BB leaves. You know he's been itching for a managerial gig. I know he's been itching for a managerial gig. Let the man move on and then we can move on with our lives.

At least we'll have Len.

So let's run down the candidates?

1. Mark Grace

• Pros: He's got ties to the franchise and he's been great in Arizona and on FOX.
• Cons: He'd take the quality tail away from me in Wrigleyville.

2. Rick Sutcliffe

• Pros: He's got an awesome beard and can provide a great point of view from a pitchers standpoint.
• Cons: He scares away the love of my life, Erin Andrews.

3. Eric Karros

• Pros: He was likable when he was on the '03 Cubs and does a kick-ass job on FOX.
• Cons: He's a true Dodger and that would just remind me of the suck job the Cubs did against Los Angeles' original team.

4. Gary Matthews, Sr.

• Pros: He was a fan favorite and currently works with one of baseball's best minds, Philadelphia's Harry Kalas.
• Cons: He worked under Dusty Baker, so that means he knows nothing about baseball.

5. Luis C. Medina

• Pros: He's a baseball purist. He's young, full of insight and would be willing to work for cheap.
• Cons: Is still in college, currently working as the Assistant Sports Editor at the Daily Egyptian and is the Godchild of Sports Blogging. He won't be available until May, 2009.

6. Brian Feldt

• Pros: He's forgotten more baseball than Dusty Baker knows.
• Cons: He's a Cardinals fan and has yet to blog for TBDS.

7. Stile Smith

• Pros: Would fit under the minority hiring act for hiring someone who has a learning disability.
• Cons: Also is a Cardinals fan, which was a result of his learning disability.