Dodger Candidates Are Twisting in the Wind

The unhurried Dodger managerial search had candidates worrying, wondering and wandering Sunday.

It has been 13 days since Jerry Royster interviewed for the opening and it was all he thought about until Hurricane Wilma moved toward his home in Jupiter, Fla. Royster and his family evacuated, driving north to the Jacksonville home of former Dodger pitcher Rick Rhoden.

“Basically that’s what it took to get my mind off it -- a hurricane,” Royster said.

It has been 10 days since Terry Collins interviewed, and he has been on pins and needles too. But hurricane preparations kept him busy the last several days. Collins, the Dodger farm director, cut the Florida instructional league season short by two days, sending players home from Vero Beach on Thursday and Friday.

He boarded a flight from St. Petersburg, Fla., to Los Angeles on Sunday night, one day earlier than planned, because he wasn’t certain he’d be able to get out after the storm hits today.

Collins, said to be the leading candidate by several Dodger sources, isn’t necessarily making the trip for a second interview or to accept the job. He will present an overview of the team’s minor league system at organizational meetings at Dodger Stadium beginning Tuesday.

Will it be awkward addressing front-office decision-makers when they are the same people who will determine whether he becomes the next manager?

“I’ll be very comfortable,” he said. “... I’ll give a rundown on our top 20 to 25 prospects and what the future may hold for them.”

It has been eight days since General Manager Paul DePodesta said he would include former Dodger players in expanding the list of candidates from the original five interviewed, who also include San Francisco bench coach Ron Wotus, fired Detroit manager Alan Trammell and Cleveland minor league manager Torey Lovullo.

Turns out only former Dodger pitching great Orel Hershiser was given an interview, although DePodesta said several other candidates were “talked to or about.” Hershiser flew home to Dallas on Sunday after attending a college football game Saturday and does not expect to be interviewed until at least Tuesday.

The organizational meetings conclude Thursday, meaning Hershiser either would be interviewed during the meetings or get the undivided attention of Dodger brass Friday. It’s conceivable he could bump into Collins in a hallway before Collins leaves Thursday to watch Dodger minor leaguers playing in the Arizona Fall League.

“If we do it during the meetings, I could be interviewed by different people at different times,” Hershiser said.

Owner Frank McCourt wants to meet with the finalists and DePodesta has said a manager won’t be hired until after the World Series.

Collins and Royster said they weren’t bothered by the lengthy process. When Collins interviewed for the Houston Astro opening in 1994, he heard nothing for a week after his interview.

“Then I went back and got the job,” he said. “You never know.”

Royster, who reached Orlando with his family by nightfall, will keep his cellphone nearby.

“It’s like when you’re having a baby and waiting to see it it’s going to be a boy or girl,” he said, laughing. “But it’s a very, very important hire for Paul and Frank and Jamie McCourt. I don’t mind them being as thorough as they possibly can.”