Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reported earlier today that the Mets have not yet really gotten into filling their managerial vacancy yet. Which makes sense, because they haven’t formally announced their new GM yet, and you have to assume Sandy Alderson will drive that train. Rubin nonetheless listed a handful of “logical candidates” for the job, including John Gibbons, Chip Hale, Clint Hurdle, Lee Mazzilli, Bob Melvin and Ken Oberkfell. If Alderson stays true to form and wants, for lack of a better term, a company man in the dugout, those are all logical choices.
Except you can take Gibbons out of the mix. Andy Martino of the Daily News just tweeted that Gibbons will not interview for the job. It’s unclear whether the Mets just aren’t interested in talking to him or if Gibbons has taken himself out of the running. Which is what he did in Pittsburgh recently.
Martino mentions a new name, though: Pete Mackanin, current Phillies bench coach. Mackanin has had a couple of stints as an interim manager but has never gotten a full time gig. His presence on a Mets short list might give Phillies fans some indigestion. They’re already not happy that the Mets have made a good choice for a GM, so they might just go bonkers if they poach their own Little Cholly from them.
