A day after he talked about adding a candidate or two to his list of possibilities for managing the Seattle Mariners, GM Jack Zduriencik said that was now ‘unlikely’ – and opened the possibility that a decision could come as early as Sunday.

“There may be second interviews for a guy or two we talked to this week, but. I may be satisfied through the weekend and the conversations I’ll have by telephone with all of them,” Zduriencik said.

“I vetted them all before the interviews began and was happy with the seven guys we brought in. I’m going to call each of them in the next couple of days, and my discussions with these gentlemen will determine what I do next.”

What Zduriencik hopes to do today and Sunday is give each candidate a chance to talk about their interview – and about what they’ve thought about since.”

“I want to give each of them the chance to talk to me again.”

That means calls to Arizona’s Chip Hale, Boston coaches DeMarlo Hale and Brad Mills and DeMarloHale, Athletics bench coach Don Wakamatsu, Portland Beavers manager Randy Ready, Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo and White Sox bench coach Joey Cora.

Has Zduriencik shortened that list in his mind?

“Is there a pecking order right now? There is some form of a pecking ordr,” he said. “But I’ll do my due diligence with all of them. I owe them that.”

He will also make calls to others in the game to talk about the two or three top candidates as he pares the list down.

And then?

“It’s unlikely I’ll add more candidates – but I’ll leave it open a little,” he said. “I should know what direction we’re going in by Sunday afternoon.”

Randy Johnson is leaving the Arizona Diamondbacks and - as was the case with the Mariners, Astros and Yankees - he won't be missed.

That's stunning for a guy with Hall of Fame numbers like his 295 career wins.

In Arizona this season, however, Johnson berated his bullpen and young defense. After making a September start, the 'Big Unit' declined to make the rest of the road trip with the team.

When it became obvious he wasn't going to win No. 300 last year, he simply stopped caring - and stopped talking to most teammates.

That's what they're saying in Arizona, and among those saying it is columnist Dan Bickley, and you can read his thoughts here.

When Johnson wins his 300th, and he will, he will do it at the end of a magnificent pitching career - one that should have included friends throughout the game.

It won't, because he alienated managers, coaches and teammates with his self-absorbtion.

Once a clubhouse comedian and gentle eccentric, Johnson is now a dark, selfish, bitter man.

What you get every fifth day might be rock-solid. The tragedy of Johnson's legacy is that his teams got nothing in the four days between starts.