64 replies to this topic

[HriniakPosterChild]

Tonight's Red Sox / M's game included an altercation in the dugout between, at a minimum, Chone ("call me Joan") Figgins and manager Don Wakamatsu. Russell Branyan, Jose Lopez may have been involved, but video evidence was inconclusive. As reported earlier, Branyan's last decision was a loss in an altercation with a hotel coffee table.

General Manager Jack Zduriencik missed all the fun because he was in Tacoma to watch Michael Pineda pitch. But Z is going to have a closed-door meeting with Wak and Figgins tomorrow and somebody's got some ’splainin’ to do. Figgins is signed to a 4 year/$36M deal that began this season.

From the blog of Geoff Baker:

From what we could determine tonight, a heated exchange erupted once Wakamatsu told Figgins he was being pulled from the contest after failing to back up that Michael Saunders throw in the fifth inning. Figgins tried to argue his case and things deteriorated from there.

In the end, players were jumping in left and right to separate the two and pull each other away. Jose Lopez had his jersey pulled off when a coach yanked him away from the fray. We could not determine whether Lopez was part of the initial fight or a separate one, though the more likely explanation seems that he was merely one of those intervening between Wakamatsu and Figgins. A television replay I saw seemed to suggest that.

[Sausage in Section 17]

Tough year to be an M's fans. Not that I really care, as when I attend games there I find them to be fairly insufferable and generally as interested in what Mariner Moose might be doing as the game. Other than that it's a great place to watch a game. I know you can't ignore park factors and things like lineup protection, but with his stats so far Bill Hall would be leading the team in HR's and SLG. Their offense is offensive.

[Joe D Reid]

I'm taking a SoSH timeout because it had been eating up too much of my life. But I had to come back for the Wak-Desmond fight. As an added bonus, I got a site redesign and an appearance from SiS17! My cup runneth over.

USS Mariner posted an epic anti-Lopez screed the other day, but this incident highlights the fact that the real problem is with the guys on longer-term deals. So long as this club is running out two massively underperforming crazy guys in Desmond and Bradley (who, to be fair, has just been massively underperfoming and not crazy recently), it's tough to see how they'll ever do anything in this division. Texas should be better next year, after adjusting for the Cliff Lee rental, and you'd figure that LAA will reload. But SEA are stuck with Figgins for the next three years, and Bradley for at least one more. I think they have to play, if only to re-establish their trade value, but underperforming expensive vets + inconsistent kids is not a winning formula.

This team had a very small window for success, and I think it has pretty much slammed shut across their fingers.

[HriniakPosterChild]

Tough year to be an M's fans. Not that I really care, as when I attend games there I find them to be fairly insufferable and generally as interested in what Mariner Moose might be doing as the game. Other than that it's a great place to watch a game. I know you can't ignore park factors and things like lineup protection, but with his stats so far Bill Hall would be leading the team in HR's and SLG. Their offense is offensive.

Thursday night's game told the story going forward, too. Warm July evening, kids out of school, marquee opponent: published attendance (tickets sold) of 28,074. All the excuses are gone, and the stadium is really half empty.

That's 20,000 empty seats that should have butts in them, 20,000+ unserved cups of expensive beer, 10,000+ unsold hot dogs, etc.

Is Shea Hillenbrand available to write "The Ship Is Sinking" on Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong's door?

[Rudy Pemberton]

The Mariners have combined for an aggregate battings line of 235 / 303 / 339. To put that in perspective, it's a lower OPS than Jason Kendall (645) and Yuniesky Betancourt (669).

Mariners are on pace to score 534 runs this season. The Red Sox have scored 532 runs, so far.

Mariner's DH's are hitting 186 / 244 / 294. Only two slots in the batting order have an OPS over 700 (1st- 743, 6th- 704). Two are under 560 (5th & 7th).

Yay, Jack Z. What a fucking disaster.

[drtooth]

Mariners clean house

With the Mariners mired in last place in the American League West, Seattle chose to part ways with manager Don Wakamatsu on Monday.

Daren Brown, manager of the Mariners' Triple-A Tacoma affiliate, will take over at the helm as interim manager for the remainder of the 2010 season.

"I have concluded that these changes needed to be made now and that they are in the best interest of the Mariners as we move forward," general manager Jack Zduriencik said in the club's official announcement. "Don, Ty and Rick are all good baseball men and they have done their very best. But we are where we are. I no longer have confidence that Don, Ty and Rick are the right long-term fit for our organization. New leadership is needed and it is needed now."

In addition to the managerial change, the Mariners also decided to shake up the coaching staff. Zduriencik replaced bench coach Ty Van Burkleo with Minor League catching coordinator Roger Hansen. Carl Willis, the Mariners' Minor League pitching coordinator, will take over as pitching coach for Rick Adair, who was relieved of his duties. Performance coach Steve Hecht was also released from his contract.

"Daren is an experienced manager with over a decade of Minor League managing experience. He is intimately familiar with our club; he was with the club in Spring Training and managed many of the players on our current roster in the Minors. I believe he will do a fine job," Zduriencik said.

The Mariners finished the offseason with strong expectations to contend for the division title and more, but they are just 42-70 this season. Wakamatsu, 47, was named manager of the Mariners on Nov. 19, 2008, and tallied an 85-77 mark last season.

"We want to thank Don, Ty and Rick for their service," Zduriencik added. "We appreciate their efforts and wish them all the best in the future."

[Rudy Pemberton]

Seems like Wakamatsu is being made the scapegoat here, nearly every move that the great Jack Z has made (including trades of Carlos Silva and Bill Hall, for chrissake), has turned out to be disastrous. This thing turned to shit pretty fast, huh?

[BucketOBalls]

USSM has a take on why Wak was fired.

[jon abbey]

Joe Pos:

http://joeposnanski....riners-edition/

[Sprowl]

I call it Pythagoras' Revenge.

Signing Wilson worked out about as expected. Trading for Kotchman and League worked out about as should have been expected. Defense is a wonderful thing, to be sure, but Hitting can't be overlooked, even in Safeco.

Toronto is grateful for Brandon Morrow. Really. We say thank you a lot, and sorry even more often, but this time we mean it.

[HriniakPosterChild]

He said, he said makes it to the Seattle Times front page: Coach says Mariners were told of Josh Lueke's criminal past

Executive summary: Josh Lueke is a minor league player obtained from the Rangers in the Cliff Lee deal. He entered a no-contest plea (equivalent to a guilty plea) in a rape and sodomy case in Bakersfield while in the Rangers system. The team was shocked, shocked to discover this when the news broke immediately after the trade, but now the word from the M's former pitching coach is that he knew about the case and told GM Jack Zduriencik about it well before the deal closed. M's president Chuck Armstrong claimed that he demanded that Jack Z call Texas back and get a PTBNL substituted, but that the Rangers refused. Rangers GM Jon Daniels said that Texas has offered to take him back and that the offer stands.

The M's, for at least 10 years, have sponsored a "Refuse to Abuse" campaign, so having this convicted felon in the organization is something of an embarrassment.

[ForceAtHome]

He said, he said makes it to the Seattle Times front page: Coach says Mariners were told of Josh Lueke's criminal past

Executive summary: Josh Lueke is a minor league player obtained from the Rangers in the Cliff Lee deal. He entered a no-contest plea (equivalent to a guilty plea) in a rape and sodomy case in Bakersfield while in the Rangers system. The team was shocked, shocked to discover this when the news broke immediately after the trade, but now the word from the M's former pitching coach is that he knew about the case and told GM Jack Zduriencik about it well before the deal closed. M's president Chuck Armstrong claimed that he demanded that Jack Z call Texas back and get a PTBNL substituted, but that the Rangers refused. Rangers GM Jon Daniels said that Texas has offered to take him back and that the offer stands.

The M's, for at least 10 years, have sponsored a "Refuse to Abuse" campaign, so having this convicted felon in the organization is something of an embarrassment.

I'd imagine it went something like this:
The Mariners found out about his criminal history before the trade was finalized, talked to Texas about replacing him, but the Rangers would only give up a lesser prospect. The Mariners then decided to take the better player (Lueke) and then feign outrage over it, claiming that they are demanding another player. Texas offered to take him back, but the Mariners demanded better players than the Rangers originally offered knowing full well that they don't want to downgrade their prospect. The M's then tried to either have Lueke's history fly under the radar or put themselves into a position where they can try to say with a straight face, "We didn't know... we tried to get someone else... we don't approve of his actions." And at the end of the day, they drool over his awesome K/9 and mid-90's heat. I think Jack Z summed it up best when he said, "We're moving forward and he's pitching for us."

The only reason there's any dilemma, of course, is because Lueke is very good at pitching. Between Single-A and Triple-A this year, he has 91 strikeouts in 59.2 IP, recording more Ks than IP at every stop along the way. He also has a WHIP under 1.00 on the year. He's on the older side, but those strikeout rates are still superb.

[HriniakPosterChild]

I'd imagine it went something like this:
The Mariners found out about his criminal history before the trade was finalized, talked to Texas about replacing him, but the Rangers would only give up a lesser prospect. The Mariners then decided to take the better player (Lueke) and then feign outrage over it, claiming that they are demanding another player. Texas offered to take him back, but the Mariners demanded better players than the Rangers originally offered knowing full well that they don't want to downgrade their prospect. The M's then tried to either have Lueke's history fly under the radar or put themselves into a position where they can try to say with a straight face, "We didn't know... we tried to get someone else... we don't approve of his actions." And at the end of the day, they drool over his awesome K/9 and mid-90's heat. I think Jack Z summed it up best when he said, "We're moving forward and he's pitching for us."

The only reason there's any dilemma, of course, is because Lueke is very good at pitching. Between Single-A and Triple-A this year, he has 91 strikeouts in 59.2 IP, recording more Ks than IP at every stop along the way. He also has a WHIP under 1.00 on the year. He's on the older side, but those strikeout rates are still superb.

Probably not too far off the mark.

It's an irritant for the team because of Refuse to Abuse (which has had a sign in Safeco field since it opened in 1999). This especially true in light of their former pitcher Julio Mateo and his domestic violence history as well Carl Everett's problems with Family Court when he was with the Mets. Now this: a convicted felon.

"Refuse to Abuse" unless you can play baseball, in which case we'll look the other way.

[HriniakPosterChild]

Seattle Times: Mariners fire pro scouting director Carmen Fusco

The dismissal, first reported by KING-5, is effective immediately, general manager Jack Zduriencik confirmed today.

Zduriencik declined to comment when asked if Fusco's firing is related to the controversial acquisition of Josh Lueke from the Rangers in the Cliff Lee trade. As pro scouting director, Fusco was responsible for overseeing the scouting of major- and minor-league teams.

But Josh Lueke is, of course, keeping his job.

In Geoff Baker's blog:

Zduriencik and Armstrong say the team did not perform a basic internet search before the trade that would have brought up details of Lueke's court case and plea. The team has since revamped its policy and now makes such searches mandatory.

Apparently the M's have now had their Wally Backman moment.

[dbn]

Will the 2010 Seattle Mariners -- the trendy pre-season pick to win the AL West -- set the record for fewest runs scored by an AL team in DBN's lifetime? Unless they average 8.4 runs per game over their final five games, the answer will be yes.

year, team, fewest RS in AL:
1979 OAK 573
1980 CWS 587
1981 strike
1982 TEX 590
1983 SEA 558
1984 MIL 641
1985 TEX 617
1986 CWS 644
1987 KC 715
1988 BAL 550
1989 CLE 604
1990 NYY 603
1991 CLE 576
1992 CAL 579
1993 KC 675
1994 CAL 543
1995 KC 629
1996 KC 746
1997 TOR 654
1998 TB 620
1999 MIN 686
2000 TB 733
2001 TB 672
2002 DET 575
2003 DET 591
2004 TB 714
2005 MIN 688
2006 TB 689
2007 CWS 693
2008 OAK 646
2009 Sea 640
2010 SEA 501 through 157 games