While the rest of the baseball world lambasts commissioner Bud Selig for his handling of Monday night's aborted World Series game -- and rightfully so -- it goes unnoticed what the weather delay does to those looking to start important offseason work. The Milwaukee Brewers are a perfect example.

In a 30-minute interview Monday, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin told me he was hoping the World Series would end in Game 5 -- not because he is rooting for the Phillies, but because he wants to get on with the business of naming the team's new manager. A news blackout during the Series keeps the Brewers from doing that now.

Putting a little extra squeeze on the Brewers -- especially now that Game 5's continuation has been postponed until Wednesday -- is that Melvin said he is scheduled to leave for the West Coast Friday for next week's general manager meetings.

As Bud Selig would say -- and probably did often on Monday night -- the window of opportunity is closing.

Melvin would not tell me who the next manager is going to be but reading between the blurry lines he left me, my best guess is Ken Macha, the former Oakland manager who had a chance to take the Brewers' job six years ago when Melvin eventually hired Ned Yost.

The announcement could come as early as Thursday, if the Phillies should end the Series. But if Tampa Bay comes back, the announcement could be pushed back to next week unless baseball eases on the gag rule during the Series.

Melvin did have a good answer for only interviewing three candidates -- Willie Randoplh and Bob Brenly are the others -- instead of opening the search to those who have never managed in the majors. Melvin said this time is different than last time because the Brewers are an established club that needs the occasional tweaking, not the club he inherited as general manager that needed a complete renovation.

Besides, he wondered aloud, who are the young and up-and-comers out there. When I threw out the name of Pat Listach, the former Brewers shortstop who managed the Chicago Cubs' Class AAA team this year before taking a coaching job with the Washington Nationals last week, Melvin said he had heard that. But he wondered, as Lou Piniella gets up in years, why the Cubs would not try to hang on to Listach for the future if he's the bright new star on the horizon.

Personally, I thought there were a few other candidates worthy of an interview. Someone like Don Money, who has managed in the Brewers' system for years and has managed in the minors many of the players on the current roster, or Buck Martinez, the former major leaguer who managed in Toronto and now is one of the sharper analysts on television.

But as often is the case, it's hard to question Melvin's judgment. He doesn't make many mistakes.