Some Mets people were said to feel slightly less confident in their pursuit of Craig Counsell after his New York visit.

Mets baseball president David Stearns said they could never be sure because Counsell plays things “close to the vest,” and we know now he is an excellent secret keeper.

Counsell met privately with Cubs baseball president Jed Hoyer at an undisclosed location on Chicago’s North Side, and of course they needed to keep secret their meeting as the Cubs already had a manager, David Ross, who led them to a nice season.

The Brewers were said to have bid about $20M over four years, plus a $250,000 consulting contract after he’s done managing. Counsell never sought a final bid from the Mets because he didn’t want old friend Stearns bidding for no reason, but the belief is they would have come in higher than the Brewers (but still well below the Cubs’ winning $40M, five-year deal).

Good job by the Angels to hire Ron Washington to manage. Washington won plaudits for aiding the Braves’ machine in the years since managing the Rangers to two World Series appearances, and one hope is he can inspire Anthony Rendon to past greatness.

Ex-Cardinals manager Mike Schildt is the favorite for the Padres job. Ryan Flaherty and ex-Angels manager Phil Nevin also are being considered.

Joe Espada looks like a possible favorite in Houston, where Brad Ausmus is also in the mix.

Pat Murphy would do well in Milwaukee, but being Counsell’s mentor and right-hand man may be seen as a positive or negative. If he doesn’t get it, the expectation is he’ll assist Counsell again.

Don Mattingly and Dodgers first-base coach Clayton McCullough are also in the Milwaukee mix, as Ken Rosenthal reported.