A.L. EAST Little wants chance at Orioles' job

He was the eighth person to interview for the position.
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Grady Little is ready to become a major league manager again, in spite of his experience with the Boston Red Sox.
Four days after being let go by the Red Sox, Little interviewed Friday to become manager of the Baltimore Orioles. He met for several hours with Orioles vice presidents Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan, who hope to reach a decision by late next week.
Earlier this week, Little was home playing with his grandchildren, considering the possibility of taking a lengthy break from baseball.
"I did think about that, but I've got a lot of confidence in what I can do," Little said. "I feel like I've got a lot left to offer on the baseball field. It's going to be somewhere."
Little won more than 90 games in each of his two season with Boston, but was dismissed soon after the Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees in the AL championship series.
The series turned in Game 7, when Little stuck with ace Pedro Martinez during a three-run eighth inning that enabled the Yankees to pull into a 5-5 tie. New York won it in the 11th.
"We had a great season in Boston. It didn't turn out well in the end," he said. "I made a decision to leave a pitcher in the game, and that decision got bad results. And so, there you go."
Little figured his time in Boston was probably up anyway.
"When nothing was done about my contract coming out of spring training, you don't know what's going on," he said. "This is a new ownership group in Boston, and they've got some ideas to go in a different direction. I think those ideas started long before the seventh game in Boston."
Little was the eighth person to interview for the job that became vacant when Baltimore fired Mike Hargrove was fired Sept. 29. Little is one of only two applicants -- along with Terry Francona -- with major league managerial experience.