~ Baltimore talked with the reigning NL manager of the year.

BALTIMORE -- Joe Girardi was interviewed Tuesday by Baltimore Orioles executives, a day after the team fired manager Sam Perlozzo.

The interview took place in Chicago, a baseball official familiar with the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no public statements were authorized.

Girardi was a first-time manager last season when he led Florida to a 78-84 record, keeping the youthful Marlins in contention until late September.

The former big league catcher was fired at the end of the season following a rift with owner Jeffrey Loria, then was voted NL Manager of the Year -- the first to win the award with a losing record.

A former coach for Yankees manager Joe Torre, Girardi returned to New York this season as a broadcaster for the YES Network.

When he accepted the job as the Orioles' 16th manager, Perlozzo was determined to rescue the franchise from a steady wave of losing seasons.

Perlozzo had been with the team for a decade before signing a three-year contract in October 2005.

"I'd been in the organization a long time, so I pretty much knew what I was getting into," Perlozzo said Tuesday. "I felt I could make a difference. I truly believed I was the guy that could do it."

Instead, Perlozzo became the latest Orioles manager to be dismissed without achieving so much as one winning season. After the Orioles went 70-92 last year -- Baltimore's ninth consecutive losing season -- Perlozzo was fired Monday with the Orioles in last place in the AL East.

Perlozzo knew his job was in jeopardy after Baltimore lost 13 of 15, including eight straight that ended a 1-8 homestand. He hoped to be given the chance to right the team during the West Coast swing that started Tuesday, but his fate was sealed late Sunday night during a meeting between owner Peter Angelos and team executives Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette.