According to Bill Brink of the Post Gazette, Ken Macha is out of the running for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ management position. Macha was told by General Manager Neal Huntington that he was no longer under consideration for the position.
Macha was somewhat of a surprise interview, since he wasn’t considered a candidate the last time the Pirates were looking for a manager, and hasn’t done much to improve his stock since then, especially with his trouble relating to the younger players in Milwaukee. The Pirates have interviewed seven people, with Macha being the third person off the board. Yesterday we learned that John Gibbons was out of the running, and earlier in the week the Seattle Mariners hired Eric Wedge.
The remaining candidates are Jeff Banister, Dale Sveum, Carlos Tosca, and Bo Porter, although Porter has been mentioned as a front runner for the Florida Marlins’ job. There has been a lot of speculation that the Pirates are targeting someone from the current teams in the playoffs. The eliminations the last two days suggest that the Pirates are done with their interviews from the pool of available interviewees. Tony Pena seems to be the crowd favorite of the contending coaches, and could become eligible if the New York Yankees are eliminated tonight.
