SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners opened another round of interviews Monday with two of the four finalists for the team's vacant managerial job, shuffling the schedule after Jim Riggleman's flight was delayed by storms back East.

Riggleman missed his interview -- scheduled for Monday morning -- after problems with a connection in Atlanta.

''We told him we wanted to simulate a Seattle road trip,'' general manager Pat Gillick joked.

Team officials met first with Baltimore bench coach Sam Perlozzo and in the evening with Riggleman, bench coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Each of the men also visited with Mariners chairman Howard Lincoln and president Chuck Armstrong, which did not happen last week.

The other two finalists, former Detroit and Colorado manager Buddy Bell and Arizona bench coach Bob Melvin, will be interviewed Tuesday.

Unlike last week, when the Mariners questioned 12 candidates about managerial styles, communications skills and baseball philosophy, most of this week's questions are about operations.

''The way we operate here, the way we want to operate the organization,'' Gillick explained. ''Protocol, chain of command, things of that nature.''

Though he indicated last week there was a possibility that a fifth finalist would emerge, he said Monday that hasn't happened.

And he said it's possible the Mariners could name a new manager by the end of the week.

''I've said before we're comfortable with these people,'' Gillick said. ''We're fine with the four of them.''

Seattle needs a manager to replace Lou Piniella, who asked to be released from his contract after 10 seasons to be closer to his family in Florida. He was hired as Tampa Bay's new manager last month.