HeraldNet: Mariners' GM list shrinks again: Avila is out



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Mariners Blog

October 14, 2008

Mariners' GM list shrinks again: Avila is out

Posted at 8:03 pm by By Kirby Arnold

The list of candidates who won't get a chance to interview for the Mariners' general manager job grew again today. The Mariners' request to talk with Al Avila, the assistant GM for the Detroit Tigers, was denied.

"The Mariners asked (Tigers GM) Dave Dombrowski for permission and permission was not granted by the Tigers," said Tim Hevly, the Mariners' director of baseball information.

If you're scoring at home, that makes at least six who either pulled their names from consideration or weren't allowed to speak with the Mariners by their teams. The Mariners were denied in their attempt to speak with Avila, White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn and Padres GM Kevin Towers. Three other assistant GMs -- David Forst of the A's, Jed Hoyer of the Red Sox and Chris Antonetti of the Indians -- chose to remain with their teams.

Who's left?

Two in-house candidates remain -- longtime assistant GM Lee Pelekoudas, who took over after Bill Bavasi was fired in June, and Bob Engle, who is the club's vice president of international operations.

Five outside candidates have been interviewed -- Mets player development director Tony Bernazard, Diamondbacks player personnel director Jerry DiPoto, Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, Dodgers assistant GM Kim Ng and Diamondbacks assistant GM Peter Woodfork.

Who are the Mariners favoring? They're not saying.

Baseball executives contacted in the past week seem to lean toward DiPoto, LaCava and Ng. The 32-year-old Woodfork is considered one of the bright young executives in the game but sources in the National League West believe he doesn't yet have a feel for player evaluation that would make him a fit for a GM job at this time.

All the Mariners say, besides confirming they were denied permission to speak with Avila, is that they plan to have a new GM in place by the end of this month. With so many individuals peeling off their list, the M's could be close to finishing the first round of interviews this week. They'll pare the field and conduct a second round of interviews before making a decision, and there's a chance they'll have their man or woman in place before the World Series begins next Wednesday.

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