BALTIMORE - Eddie Murray believes he's found the right job at the perfect time.
The Hall of Famer hopes the people in charge of picking the Orioles' new manager feel the same way.
Murray on Thursday became the first person interviewed for the post, which became open with the dismissal of Mike Hargrove. Murray met with Mike Flanagan and Jim Beattie, the vice presidents who oversee baseball operations, for about four hours.
"Things went well. I felt good about it, and I hope they did," Murray said. "There are some things I can bring to the table here. ... I just think this is the right time for me to step in and try to do this."
Flanagan and Beattie will resume interviews Oct. 14. Candidates include Orioles coaches Rick Dempsey and Sam Perlozzo.
Cal Ripken is not a candidate.
Ripken spokesman John Maroon said: "Cal was very flattered that the Orioles asked about his interest in the job. While he does have interest in returning to major-league baseball, the idea of managing does not appeal to him at this time because it would obligate him to follow the same travel schedule he had as player."
Murray, however, would like nothing better than to make the jump from Cleveland's hitting coach to manager of the Orioles.
"It could be a special situation here," Murray said. "It's a place that I know. Believe it or not, I'm comfortable. It could be fun."
FOX RATINGS IMPROVE: The national ratings for Fox's Saturday coverage were up 8 percent from last season and were the highest since 1999.
The games earned an average national rating of 2.7 with an 8 share over 18 weeks of coverage. That's up from the 2.5 rating and 8 share in 2002. It's the best since the network's 2.9 rating in 1999.
Baseball's regular-season network coverage also outrated the NBA for the first time in 15 years. ABC averaged a 2.6 rating last season for its regular-season coverage of the NBA.
A ratings point on Fox represents 1.067-million households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 106.7-million TV homes. The share is the percentage of homes with sets in use.
Ratings on ESPN went from 1.06 to 1.04.
ROSE PAPERS IN HALL: Details of the Pete Rose gambling investigation will be available to the public - but not for several years. John Dowd, the lawyer who headed the probe that led to Rose's lifetime ban from baseball, has donated boxes of materials on Rose to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. It will take several years to have them available.
D'BACKS: Arizona declined to pick up a $5-million option for next season on pitcher Miguel Batista, but said it wants to retain him at a lower price. Batista will get a $300,000 buyout. But the Diamondbacks hold the negotiating rights until 15 days after the World Series ends.
PIRATES: Left-hander Jeff D'Amico of Northeast was released when Pittsburgh added Padres minor-league left-hander Cory Stewart as the player to be named in the Brian Giles trade. D'Amico was unhappy when the Pirates shuffled their rotation during the final week, costing him a 30th start that would have kicked in a $125,000 bonus clause.
