Major League Baseball

Cardinals interview manager candidates

Published Nov. 4, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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A person with knowledge of the search tells The Associated Press that former St. Louis catcher Mike Matheny has been interviewed for the Cardinals' vacant manager's job. He is the third person to be interviewed since Tony La Russa retired following the team's World Series championship.

All three candidates have organizational ties. White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing played for the Cardinals, and Chris Maloney has managed their Triple-A Memphis affiliate the last five years.

The person familiar with the search is not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

No more interviews were planned until Tuesday. The Cardinals hope to find a successor to La Russa in the next few weeks.

The 40-year-old Matheny Is a minor league instructor with the Cardinals with no managing experience. He played for St. Louis from 2000-04 and won three Gold Gloves. He won another with San Francisco.

McEwing, a super sub with St. Louis in 1999, was hired as third base coach for new Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura earlier this week after success at the minor league level. Maloney has managed the Cardinals Triple-A Memphis affiliate the last five years.

Ryne Sandberg, ruled out earlier this week for the Chicago Cubs' managing vacancy, is among other candidates who will be interviewing with the Cardinals.

Sandberg managed the Philadelphia Phillies' Triple-A team last season and the Phillies said they have granted the Cardinals permission to talk to him.

General manager John Mozeliak said in an email to the AP that the Cardinals had not determined a public strategy for the search to find a new manager. La Russa resigned this week, three days after the team won the World Series.

Terry Francona and an in-house candidate, third base coach Jose Oquendo, are also believed to be on the Cardinals' list. Theo Epstein, the Cubs new president of baseball operations, told Sandberg on Wednesday that he wasn't a candidate to replace the fired Mike Quade.

The 39-year-old McEwing was a reserve most of his nine-year major league career. The exception was 1999, when he played at six positions while batting .275 with nine homers and 44 RBIs in 152 games.

McEwing joined the White Sox in 2008 as hitting coach at Triple-A Charlotte and managed at Triple-A Charlotte last season.

The 50-year-old Maloney has been a minor league coach or manager the last 20 years, and joined the Cardinals staff this fall after Memphis' second-place finish in the Pacific Coast League. Memphis won the title in 2010.

Earlier this week, team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said the Cardinals would not be in a ''rush'' to hire a replacement. La Russa resigned on Monday but the front office was aware of his plans to step down since August.

DeWitt was noncommittal whether major league experience was necessary for the job.

''There are good young talents out there. Everyone starts somewhere,'' DeWitt said. ''It should be a very desirable situation and I know there will be candidates out there calling, texting, writing, whatever they do.''