The Associated Press

SEATTLE - Mariners general manager Pat Gillick is leaving the job after four seasons.

Gillick will remain in his position until a successor is found, then become a consultant for the team. Seattle went 93-69 this year but finished three games behind Oakland in the American League West and missed the playoffs.

"After much thought, I've decided to step away from my current role with the Mariners," Gillick said Tuesday in a statement. "I've had four chances at the brass ring here and think maybe it's time for someone else to take a shot at taking this team to a higher level."

In Gillick's four years as GM, the Mariners won more games (393) than any other team in the majors and twice reached the AL Championship Series, losing to the New York Yankees in 2000 and 2001.

"We wanted Pat to stay on as our general manager, but we respect his decision to step back and serve as a consultant," Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said in a statement.

ORIOLES: Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro gave Baltimore permission to interview former Orioles star Eddie Murray, the Indians' hitting coach, for its managerial opening. Murray is not under contract with Cleveland for next year, but Shapiro said Murray has been asked to rejoin the Indians' staff.

ANGELS: Reliever Brendan Donnelly had arthroscopic surgery to remove four loose bodies from his right elbow and repair the medial meniscus in his left knee.

METS: Vern Ruhle was removed as pitching coach and will be reassigned within the organization. The Mets were 10th in the National League with a 4.48 ERA.

BREWERS: A state appeals court in Madison, Wis., threw out a $94 million punitive damage award to the families of three ironworkers killed when a crane collapsed during the construction of Milwaukee's Miller Park. The judges voted 2-1 that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America did not intentionally cause the three deaths, nor was its conduct certain to cause injury.

The court left intact a $27 million award for compensatory damages for the 1999 collapse. The families plan to appeal.