FanHouse Kim Ng

This handsome devil, former Vice President Dick Cheney pitcher Erik Bedard, is on the disabled list again, this time because of inflammation in his left shoulder. Wikipedia tells me that about half of the letters in Erik Bedard's name are supposed to have accent marks over them, but I don't know how to put an accent over a capital E. The Mariners are hanging in there in the AL West and even closer to a Wild Card, so losing one of their top pitchers right here in the middle of the season when they can't use him or trade him is tough.

Tonight's Dugout deals with this important talking point and others (for example, "why does Don Wakamatsu's face look like that in his photo day picture, I mean were they shining a light in his face or what"), after the jump.

So the Seattle Mariners fired general manager Bill Bavasi back in June, yet they still haven't made any ground in figuring out who their next general manager is going to be. They've interviewed four candidates for the job, including Kim Ng who would be the first female general manager in baseball history. Aside from Ng, they've also talked to Arizona's Jerry DiPoto, Toronto's Tony LaCava, and Milwaukee's Jack Zduriencik.

Now there was some speculation that the Mariners would announce their choice today, but at the moment it doesn't look like that's going to happen, which could be a problem once the World Series starts tomorrow night. MLB isn't too fond of major announcements during the World Series.

Of course, if the Mariners want to they can ask Bud Selig for a waiver to allow them to dare interrupt the World Series, and though team President Chuck Armstrong says he isn't sure whether or not he's going to ask, I am. He's not, and the Mariners won't have their general manager before the World Series is over anyway.

The reason for this is because they're waiting for Pat Gillick. Gillick is a former Mariners GM, and he's currently the Phillies general manager. He has made it clear, though, that he'd like to retire at the end of the year. I have no doubt that Seattle's plan is to wait out the Series and then gauge Gillick's interest in returning to Seattle as head of baseball operations, and then having him choose the new general manager.

The world we live in sure is changing. All one has to do is look at this year's Presidential election to see that. No matter what happens, we're either going to have our first black President, or our first female Vice President. Obviously, the fine folks in MLB have taken notice of these changes, and now they want to show that they're pretty hip and with the times as well.

Which is why the Seattle Mariners have dropped hints that they may be hiring current Dodgers assistant GM, Kim Ng, to be their next general manager.

Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said his team is vetting a wide range of general manager candidates, pointedly leaving open the possibility of Seattle hiring the first female general manager in major league history.

"It's time for some fresh thinking," Armstrong said at the end of his 23rd season with the team - what he called his worst and most "miserable" one.

"We're color blind, gender blind," he went on to say. "We just want the best person that we think would be the best person for the Mariners as we move forward," Armstrong said.

The Mariners have also been talent blind lately, and they're hoping Ng could be the woman to fix that. If nothing else, she'll probably at least get the team to start dressing better.

Baseball, not too shockingly, has never had a female general manger. Ever. Even in the 1930's! But Kim Ng, an assistant GM with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been given permission by Ned Colletti to speak to the Seattle Mariners (note: should they actually ask), so sayeth the L.A. Times.

As has Logan White (not a female, but also a Dodger employee).

"They're both worthy," Colletti said.

Ng is believed to be interested in the Seattle job but declined to comment. White, who played in the Mariners' minor league system and scouted for the team, said he would be interested in discussing the position.

I back the no comment on this one as well -- there's no need for starting any sort of media firestorm (a.k.a. getting asked how she felt about being the first female GM in MLB history 1,000 times a day) before actually applying/interviewing for or getting the job. Or before the M's show some reciprocal interest.

As the Times notes, Ng interviewed with the Dodgers for the job that Colletti eventually received. And there is probably a lengthy process in store for the M's before they permanently replace Bill Bavisi, but if Colletti is making a capable female member of his staff available, I'd be shocked if Seattle did not at least interview her or include her on the short list of candidates.

When managerial jobs open up, Major League Baseball usually requires that team interview at least one minority for the position. In the case of the Dodgers, though, they're getting a pass in their quest to hire Joe Torre. From the Los Angeles Times (via SbB)

The Dodgers were allowed to skip the interviews of minorities because of their hiring record. Selig issued a memorandum in 1990 directing teams to notify his office of minority candidates they planned to interview for vacancies in decision-making positions.

Assistant general managers Kim Ng and De Jon Watson are minorities -- Ng is an Asian-American woman and Watson is African American -- and president Jamie McCourt is the highest-ranking female executive in baseball.

(Update: As pointed out in the comments, the LA Times is incorrect: Faye Vincent was actually the commish of baseball in 1990.)

While it's true that the Dodgers have one of the most diverse front offices in the game, that's not why they should be given a free pass on this. No, the reason should be because pretending to show interest to another candidate -- no matter what race, gender or creed -- would be an absolute farce. The Dodgers fired Grady Little for one reason and one reason only: to hire Joe Torre. Pausing for a moment so the front office can go through the charade of feigning interest in another guy with a darker complexion would make a mockery of the rule, which is to create opportunities. There is no opportunity, the Dodgers want Torre and that's it.