Melvin may be wondering what life is like elsewhere

Is it time for Bob Melvin to mosey on down the road?

Probably won’t happen. The popular A’s skipper still has one season left on his contract, and if baseball boss Billy Beane doesn’t give Melvin a long, rich extension ASAP, we will all enjoy a good laugh about how bogus the A’s are with their talk of building a real team.

If Melvin slips out the door now, the A’s lock up Chump of the Year award in a landslide. They would throw a wet blanket on this incredible season. So, yes, Melvin’s agent does have some sweet leverage.

But what if Melvin said, “Thanks, but no extension. I’m going to manage out my final season, then see what the world has to offer.”

He wouldn’t do it for the money. If Melvin left, it would be for two reasons:  To manage a team whose owner wants to win and will spend actual money. The A’s say they need a new ballpark in order to afford a competitive payroll. That means at least four more seasons in the (Coliseum) poorhouse, literally and figuratively. Is Melvin convinced that owner John Fisher will jack up the payroll next season to keep key guys, then be ready to spend really big when the young stars need to get paid?

 To manage. Beane helped pioneer analytics in baseball, and also pioneered the concept of ubermanager. Beane calls a lot of the shots that baseball tradition says should be called by the manager.

Other teams have followed that model. It’s baseball’s silly secret that a lot of managers don’t do all the managing. The general managers (or whatever their fancy titles be) and the analytics guys make a lot of on-field decisions. For Melvin, a sharp baseball mind, that’s got to be frustrating.

The A’s wouldn’t let the Yankees talk to Melvin last winter, so Beane apparently plans to keep his skipper for the long haul.

But you wonder whether Melvin wonders about life beyond the A’s.

Chang W. Lee / New York Times Bob Melvin has a year left on his contract. He is 634-599 in eight seasons as the A’s manager.