Mariners
Notebook: Seattle to interview Minaya for GM

By The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times

	Omar Minaya
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

NEW YORK — Montreal Expos general manager Omar Minaya will interview for the vacant GM job in Seattle and still is talking with the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets, a source said.

Minaya is among several candidates for the Mariners job, a group that includes former Angels GM Mike Port. Minaya is expected to interview with the Mariners within a few days, a baseball official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity yesterday.

Minaya already has had one interview with the Reds and probably will have another, according to the source.

Pat Gillick, who had been Seattle's general manager for the past four seasons, said after the Mariners' final game of the year that he would resign.

The Mariners (93-69) finished three games back in the American League West and two behind Boston in the wild-card race. The Mets, who expected to contend, were last in the NL East at 66-95, while Cincinnati was fifth in the NL Central at 69-93.

M's may face Angels in Japan in 2004

NEW YORK — The Angels could open the 2004 season in Japan, against Japanese hero Ichiro and the Mariners, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"We're trying to arrange for the season to open in Japan next year," Major League Baseball president Bob DuPuy said yesterday. "It's our goal to get it done."

The Mariners and Oakland Athletics were scheduled to open the 2003 season in Japan, a series canceled by commissioner Bud Selig amid international tension on the eve of war against Iraq.

Major League officials prefer to include the Mariners because their roster includes Ichiro and closer Kazu Sasaki.

The Mariners and Angels are tentatively scheduled to open their seasons April 5 in Seattle, but a series in Japan would take place in late March. DuPuy said Major League officials hope to make a decision by the end of October.

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company