The Buck stops here (updated twice)

Finally, the headline everyone was waiting to read. ESPN's Tim Kurkjian reports that the Orioles reached agreement with Buck Showalter to take over as manager on Tuesday, when the Orioles begin their next homestand. Interesting timing that president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail had to take another call earlier today just as I asked him about the managerial situation. Could Showalter have been on the other end? Update: A team official confirmed the hiring, and the Orioles are expected to send out a press release later today. Interim manager Juan Samuel has been informed, and he spoke to MacPhail this morning. Showalter had to inform ESPN of his plans, since he's been serving as an analyst. That explains why the network knew about it first. Update II: The coaching staff is expected to remain intact for now (with Samuel returning to third base). I don't have any more details, since the Orioles haven't actually announced it. We figured all along that Showalter was the favorite to land the job, but many details needed to be worked out. At this point, the Orioles are still waiting to receive a formal letter of confirmation. We can eliminate the theory that Showalter didn't want to step into this mess. He's apparently willing to jump in with both feet. And the Orioles weren't in danger of another team swooping in and hiring him. He's been out of the dugout for quite a while now. It's not like he's been turning down offers while waiting for the Orioles' job to open up.