Forst pulls out of Mariners' GM search

Olympian News Services • Published October 11, 2008

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The Seattle Mariners have lost another candidate in their search for a general manager — Oakland assistant GM David Forst has decided not to interview for the position.

Forst, 31, is a Billy Beane disciple who is considered one of the top young assistants in the game.

It was Beane, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, who said that Forst had withdrawn from consideration.

Coming less than a week after Cleveland assistant Chris Antonetti declined to interview with Seattle, the loss of Forst as a candidate is another blow to the Mariners' search. Along with those two withdrawals, the Mariners have been denied permission to speak to candidates with the San Diego Padres.

Among remaining candidates are Kim Ng of the Dodgers, Jerry DiPoto and Peter Woodfork of the Diamondbacks, Tony LaCava of the Blue Jays, Rick Hahn of the White Sox and Tony Bernazard of the Mets.

Mariners executives Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong will continue interviews next week, and hope to announce a hiring late this month.

• CANSECO DETAINED AT BORDER: Jose Canseco was held for nearly 10 hours by immigration authorities after agents said they stopped the former baseball star as he attempted to bring a fertility drug from Mexico, his lawyer said Friday.

Canceco was detained at San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing Thursday after agents searched his vehicle and said they found human chorionic gonadotropin, which is illegal without a prescription, said his attorney, Gregory Emerson.

• AROUND THE HORN: The Texas Rangers promoted former catcher Jim Sundberg to senior executive vice president Friday. Sundberg will assist team president Nolan Ryan in oversight of the Rangers, and become the liaison for the club's spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz. ... What remains of Tiger Stadium in Detroit will remain standing at least until March 1 while preservationists raise money to renovate the stadium and reopen it as a recreational and educational complex. The stadium will be demolished if enough money is not raised. ... San Diego Padres catcher Michael Barrett, who missed 115 games this season because of injuries, has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers. The Padres claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.