DODGERS LET GO OF DEPODESTA SOURCE: MCCOURT TARGETING GILLICK.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

In a contrived, hastily arranged news conference in which he talked for half an hour but said virtually nothing, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt formally announced the anticipated firing of general manager Paul DePodesta on Saturday, a strangely timed move considering it came four weeks into the search for a new manager.

McCourt offered no details on DePodesta's likely replacement, other than a cryptic outline of the qualities he will be looking for.

``Leadership is a very important characteristic,'' McCourt said. ``A GM has to have a keen eye for baseball talent, and I want a good communicator.''

While McCourt wouldn't name candidates, it's a safe bet he wants to at least talk to Pat Gillick, the veteran GM who put together consecutive World Series championship clubs in Toronto and playoff teams in Baltimore and Seattle.

Gillick wanted the job two winters ago, when McCourt had just bought the club and ultimately hired DePodesta to replace Dan Evans, but McCourt never seriously considered him. But a source with knowledge of the situation said Saturday that Dodgers Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, now a special advisor to McCourt and arguably McCourt's most trusted confidant, is a strong supporter of Gillick.

Another possible successor is Texas pitching coach and Dodgers pitching legend Orel Hershiser, who was one of three finalists for the manager's job when DePodesta was conducting the search. Hershiser flew to Los Angeles last Tuesday for a formal interview, during which he went to dinner with McCourt and Lasorda.

DePodesta, who had spoken with Hershiser previously by telephone, was conspicuously absent from that meeting, and the Daily News has learned that McCourt actually told DePodesta not to attend. That could be an indication McCourt wanted to evaluate Hershiser for the GM job, as well, although he was prohibited from actually mentioning that position to Hershiser because the Rangers had given the Dodgers permission to interview him only for the manager's job.

Hershiser's desire to one day be a general manager is well known. But when reached Saturday on his cell phone, Hershiser said neither McCourt nor Lasorda specifically mentioned the GM job.

``It came up in general conversation,'' Hershiser said. ``Things came up like, 'What are your life goals?' or `What would you like to do?' But I didn't talk about (the GM job) specifically in this time frame. I just talked about the manager's job.''

Hershiser, 47, also is engaged in talks with the Rangers about a contract extension as pitching coach. But his current deal expires at midnight on Monday, making him a free agent Tuesday. At that point, the Dodgers could talk to Hershiser about any job in their organization without getting permission from the Rangers.

Lasorda was Hershiser's manager from 1983-94, and the two remain close. But while Lasorda's opinion seems to carry tremendous weight with McCourt, Lasorda offered what seemed like a less-than-ringing endorsement of the 1988 World Series Most Valuable Player on Saturday.

``I would think for this (club) here, you would want to get somebody who knows the (GM) job,'' Lasorda said. ``That's what I would look for if I were (McCourt). I would get a guy with experience. It's not an easy job to walk into.''

Lasorda then was asked specifically if Hershiser - who has no experience as a minor-league or major-league manager or as a GM - was qualified for the job.

``He's not qualified because he has never done it,'' Lasorda said.

McCourt informed DePodesta of his firing on Saturday morning, although sources close to DePodesta say he had sensed it might be coming ever since his exclusion from the Hershiser meeting. McCourt then called the three finalists DePodesta had identified for the manager's job - Hershiser, Dodgers player development director Terry Collins and former Detroit manager Alan Trammell - to tell them that search, which has been on-going since Jim Tracy left on Oct. 3 in what was termed a ``mutual agreement,'' was on hold until a general manager could be hired.

Because a new GM likely will be allowed to choose the next manager, the managerial search could start again from scratch. One person who wasn't among the six original candidates DePodesta identified but who might now be thrust into the mix is former Dodgers outfielder Bobby Valentine, who last week managed the Chiba Lotte Marines to a four- game sweep of the Hanshin Tigers for the Japan Series title.

Valentine, 55, also is a longtime Lasorda associate who previously managed the Rangers and New York Mets, guiding the Mets to the National League wild card in 1999 and 2000 and the World Series in 2000.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Dodgers owner Frank McCourt announces the firing of general manager Paul DePodesta at a news conference Saturday.

Agustin Tabares/Associated Press