Managing expectations, Day 23: Second interviews are coming, but who’s in the group? Update.

Kirk Gibson

Former Arizona Diamondbacks manager and 1988 World Series hero Kirk Gibson is no longer a candidate to get a second interview for the Dodgers’ managerial vacancy. (Getty Images)

ESPN.com reported today that the Dodgers will hold second interviews with four managerial candidates from a group including Gabe Kapler, Dave Roberts, Darin Erstad, Bud Black and Kirk Gibson.

Two sources familiar with the process told me that this is not entirely accurate. One source told me that three candidates, not four, will get second interviews, and that one of the three might not be from the group of five ESPN reported. So we’ll see. The Dodgers aren’t confirming a specific number of second-interview candidates yet.

Update (1:07 p.m.): Two more relevant nuggets as the Dodgers whittle down the field:

Update (10 p.m.): Erstad is out, and ESPN has scratched Gibson from the list on its original report.
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Managing expectations, Day 14: Bob Geren and Kirk Gibson, opposite ends of the spectrum. Update.

Kirk Gibson

Kirk Gibson will reportedly interview for the Dodgers’ managerial vacancy. (Getty Images)

Kirk Gibson could have done practically anything with his life after October 15, 1988, and none of it would change how Dodger fans remember him first and foremost. Gibson’s home run off Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series is number one on many lists in these parts.

Ranked somewhere far behind that in Gibson’s L.A. story: he will be counted among those who interviewed to replace Don Mattingly as the Dodgers’ manager, according to multiple reports Wednesday. The Dodgers have also received permission from the New York Mets to interview bench coach Bob Geren.

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Managing expectations, Day 9: Darin Erstad, why not?

Darin Erstad

Playing for the Angels, Darin Erstad caught the final out of the 2002 World Series. (Getty Images)

Before we get to today’s news, two things to keep in mind about the Dodgers’ search for a new manager:

  1. They have no major league coaches under contract.
  2. The favored candidate for the manager’s job, farm director Gabe Kapler, already holds a key position within the organization. Potentially, that affords him a level of access to information about the hiring process that an external candidate might not have.

To that end, knowing the front office wants a manager “who’s a teacher and a leader, (who can) help guys get over the hump to the big leagues,” why wouldn’t the farm director at least be part of the team collaborating on this decision?

So, the news. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com and Jon Heyman of CBSsports.com are reporting that Darin Erstad will get an interview. Erstad is the head coach at the University of Nebraska and a 14-year major league veteran.

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