M's sweepstakes down to four

SEATTLE -- There is a three-in-four chance that the Mariners' next manager will be a virtual stranger to the organization. A day that began with Lee Elia, a potential replacement for Lou Piniella, deciding to join the former Mariners skipper in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, ended with Seattle general manager Pat Gillick announcing the four finalists to replace Piniella.

Three are current bench coaches and the other is a two-time former MLB manager.

They are: Jim Riggleman (Dodgers bench coach), Bob Melvin (Diamondbacks bench coach), Sam Perlozzo (Orioles bench coach) and Buddy Bell (most recently the Rockies manager).

All four will return to Seattle next week for a second interview, this time with Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln and club president Chuck Armstrong involved in the sessions.

In somewhat of a surprise, the Mariners decided to go outside the organization. Bench coach John McLaren, pitching coach Bryan Price and Triple-A Tacoma manager Dan Rohn were among the 12 candidates.

Also eliminated from the race were former managers Terry Francona and Tony Muser, Yankees third-base coach Willie Randolph and Angels third-base coach Ron Roenicke, who was interviewed on Tuesday.

Gillick said it is unlikely that anyone else will be interviewed, even if Dusty Baker becomes available on Thursday, which will happen if the three-time NL Manager of Year doesn't re-sign with the Giants.

"I wouldn't say that is etched in stone," he said, "but I think one of these four will be our next manager."

Of those who didn't get invited back for a second interview, McLaren probably was the most disappointed.

"I am disappointed, no question about that," McLaren said from his Peoria, Ariz., home. "I gave it my best shot, and it didn't work out. But I'm not going to cry over spilt milk. I appreciate them giving me consideration."

Said Price, considered a longshot from the beginning: "I would say disappointment goes with it, but from going from not even contemplating managerial position to be asking to be interviewed was the highlight of my life as a baseball person. At the same time, I didn't get my hopes up to be frontrunner."

Perlozzo becomes the only finalist with previous employment with Seattle, serving as third-base coach from 1993-95. He has been in Baltimore since the '95 season, first as the Orioles' third-base coach and most recently as manager Mike Hargrove's bench coach.

"He knew the organization backward and forward," Gillick said of Perlozzo. "Two of his strongest points are he's a good teacher and good communicator."

Those are two of the criteria Gillick named when asked what he was looking for in a manager.

One thing Pelozzo doesn't have is managing experience.

Three things Riggleman and Bell have in common:

Both have managed Major League teams.

Both have overall losing records.

Both were fired.

None of that seems to faze Gillick, who pointed out that the Cubs reached the NL playoffs in 1998 under Riggleman and Bell had some bad teams with the Tigers and Rockies.

"Neither of them managed a team coming off a 93-win season," he said.

Joe Torre, after all, didn't become a Hall of Fame manager until he took over the talent-rich Yankees in 1996. He also managed non-championship teams in Atlanta, St. Louis and Anaheim.

The first shot of the day occurred early, when Gillick received a phone call from Elia, considered by some to be a leading candidate to replace Piniella.

"To be frank, I was shocked that he pulled out," Gillick said. "I had dinner with Lee Sunday night and felt comfortable that he wanted to be the manager."

Elia was Seattle's bench coach in 1993 and doubled as bench coach/hitting coach from 1994-97 before returning to Tampa, Fla., to be closer to his wife, Priscilla, and daughter Ashley (13). He accepted a two-year offer from the Devil Rays on Tuesday morning to become their hitting coach.

"It was a very difficult decision," Elia said from his home. "Seattle is a great organization and things were going well, but it was weighing heavy on my head. So I called them this morning and said I have decided to pull out [of the manager's race] and give it a shot with the Devil Rays."

Elia interviewed for the Mariners vacancy last Thursday in Seattle. He returned home to Florida, wondering what would happen if he actually got the Mariners job.

"My wife and daughter love Seattle, but for whatever reason, it just didn't seem to work for me," he said. "I felt that I had a good chance of being one of the finalists, but I didn't want to come back for a second interview if I wasn't 100 percent sure I would take the job if it had been offered."

Elia said he called Piniella, told him he had decided to take his name out of the Seattle managerial derby and asked Piniella if there was a chance of becoming a coach on his staff.

He was offered a two-year contract on the spot, accepted it and notified the Mariners.

"It was not an easy call to make," Elia said. "I am very fond of Pat [Gillick] and Lee [Pelekoudas]. They don't come any better and I have been part of that family for a long time.

"But you have to understand, Lou Piniella is a very good man to work for. What he brings to a ballclub, you can't always explain. He has a great work ethic and he knows how to win, but he also does a lot of little things no one sees that really make a difference."

The Devil Rays also have asked permission to talk to McLaren, who said Tuesday night that he has talked to Rays GM Chuck LaMar. Both decided to wait until the Mariners' managerial situation was settled before making contact again.

There is a chance the new manager will want McLaren to return as his bench coach, but possibly an even better chance that he will become Piniella's bench coach in Tampa.

Price said he expects to return next season as Seattle's pitching coach, but nothing is certain at the moment.

Gillick said the new manager would be able to select some coaches, but some of Piniella's former staff could return for the 2003 season.