As D.J. said last night, the Mets announced their second round of interviews, and they include Terry Collins, Bob Melvin, Chip Hale and Wally Backman. But Joel Sherman is throwing cold water on the notion that this is truly a four-man race:
I guess Hale, in particular, has a chance to throw a Hail Mary and get the job. But this is as close to a rigged event as possible with Collins as the favorite and Melvin as a very in-the-competition second choice.
Sherman also notes that, while Backman and Hale are coming back for second interviews, in some ways it’s just an extension of his first because “his two main new assistants, Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi, were not yet on board” when those two were first interviewed. In contrast, DePodesta and Ricciardi were both involved in earlier discussions with Melvin and Collins.
