One high-profile Orioles managerial candidate is out, another interviewed Wednesday and two more, including fan favorite Rick Dempsey, will talk formally with Andy MacPhail about the position in the near future.
Buck Showalter, the ESPN baseball analyst who has managed three major league organizations, met with MacPhail, the Orioles president of baseball operations, and principal owner Peter Angelos for about three hours at Angelos' law office Wednesday.
Hours earlier, the Orioles learned that Bobby Valentine, the former New York Mets and Texas Rangers manager who interviewed with MacPhail and Angelos on June 11, had withdrawn his interest in the job to "direct my energies in another direction," according to an ESPN The Magazine report.
It is believed those energies point south to the Florida Marlins, who fired manager Fredi Gonzalez on Wednesday morning, before their game against the Orioles at Camden Yards. Marlins president David Samson confirmed that Valentine, a good friend of Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, has been contacted and is a candidate for the job.
MacPhail said he didn't hear directly from Valentine, an ESPN analyst who also didn't respond to multiple calls from The Sun, but was contacted by his agent.
"I haven't seen the statement, but I did talk to his agent so I do believe the thing is accurate," MacPhail said. "We will [abide] by his wishes and keep him out of consideration."
Valentine's withdrawal could position Showalter as the favorite for the job held by interim manager Juan Samuel, who replaced Dave Trembley on June 4.
Showalter, 54, would not go into specifics about the meeting, what was discussed or whether he has significant interest in the post.
"I am not going to comment on it at all," said Showalter, who has compiled an 882-833 record with the New York Yankees, Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks and has won two American League Manager of the Year awards.
MacPhail also would not comment specifically about the interview, saying: "It was enjoyable. I find these things pretty educational. You get some different perspectives. It's not a process that anybody enjoys doing, but like anything, there are some silver linings to it."
It was the third interview MacPhail has conducted in his search and the second in which Angelos has participated. MacPhail interviewed former Indians manager Eric Wedge in Cleveland on June 9.
Wedge, 42, who was the 2007 AL Manager of the Year, is expected to meet with MacPhail and Angelos in Baltimore for a second interview, but that meeting has not been scheduled.
MacPhail is also expected to schedule an interview with MASN broadcaster and former Orioles catcher Dempsey in the near future, an industry source confirmed. Dempsey, 60, has interviewed for the Orioles' managerial post three other times and told The Sun this month that he wanted one more chance at leading the club that he helped to its last World Series title in 1983.
MacPhail reiterated that he would consider interviewing candidates currently employed by other organizations and that there is no specific timetable for hiring a new manager. He said he didn't expect it to happen before the All-Star Break in mid-July.
"I think we're still along those lines. I can always be surprised. You don't know. If you're going to take the time to go through the process, then you ought to be persuaded by the process," he said. "You may wake up one day and go, 'This is it.' On the other hand, it may drag on longer than you expect. You just don't know. I don't know."
Feeling for the other side
Samuel said that now that he has joined the managerial fraternity, firings hit a little closer to home, like Gonzalez's did.
"You feel it. This is my first shot at this," Samuel said. "It's just sad to see people lose their job, but it is part of the game. They say you are fired the day you are hired, and it has been going on way before we came to this sport. We just have to focus on doing what we do, and hopefully Fredi will bounce back somewhere."
Samuel was asked whether he had any advice for Edwin Rodriguez, the Marlins' interim manager who had spent the past year and a half managing the organization's Triple-A affiliate and now, at least temporarily, takes over a club that was 34-36 heading into Wednesday.
"Maybe I need some myself, instead of giving some of those guys advice," joked Samuel, whose club was a majors-worst
19-51 heading into Wednesday. "I am trying to do what I can do with my club to get them going, and I am sure he is going to do the same."
Uehara back in Baltimore
Reliever Koji Uehara (strained right forearm) was back with the team Wednesday and will pitch a simulated game against big league hitters Thursday in front of Samuel and pitching coach Rick Kranitz.
The team will then decide whether to send him on a minor league rehabilitation assignment or, possibly, activate him. He threw 30 pitches from flat ground Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla. He has not pitched in a game since May 19 in Texas. When he returns, it likely will be for one-inning stints.
"We are just going to wait and see how he throws, and then we will map out the situation of our bullpen," Samuel said.
Around the horn
Gonzalez, who had a 276-279 record in three-plus seasons with the Marlins, is considered a leading candidate to take over the Atlanta Braves' managerial job when his former boss, Bobby Cox, retires at season's end. Therefore, Gonzalez, the Braves' former third base coach, is not viewed as a serious candidate for the Orioles. ÃÂÃÂ Tom Kelly, who managed the Minnesota Twins to two World Series titles while MacPhail was in Minnesota, also is not believed to have any interest in returning to managing. ÃÂÃÂ Outfielder Felix Pie (torn back muscle) has not played in the field in his two games with the Gulf Coast League Orioles because the organization does not want him to re-injure himself while throwing. If Pie's bat is deemed ready, Samuel said, Pie could return to the Orioles to serve as designated hitter while building arm strength.