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Mariners close to entering the danger zone
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Chuck Armstrong, the team's president and chief operating officer, gave that indication tonight in talking to the media informally before the Rangers' game.
He said Manager John McLaren's job is not in immediately jeopardy. “.jpg)
I think he's doing fine. I like the staff. They give him good support.''
But the fans haven't been so supportive. The team is eighth in the league in attendance, averaging 26,008 per game. The 15,818 who showed up Tuesday were part of the smallest crowd in Safeco Field history.
Armstrong said, “it's been my experience that we draw better in April than we do during May.''
But owners have put $116 million into this Mariners' team, among the highest team salaries in baseball. Everyone is looking for a return on the investment. A 14-20 record and last place – 7 1/2 games out of first place – doesn't do it.
“To be where we are right now with the schedule we started with, I'm disappointed,'' Armstrong said. “We're all disappointed. We have a good team here. We should be playing better than what we are.''
McLaren said there are no excuses.
“I certainly accept the responsibility,'' he told us before the game. “This is something that we work hard on every day. We talk about what do differently.''
He said a guys will get a couple hits one game then go three or four games without doing anything. “I don't have to name names. They know who they are,'' he said. “I'm not trying to embarrass anybody. It's just a matter of getting them going.
We can name names. How about this Mariners' murderers row: Jose Vidro (.192), Richie Sexson (.209), Kenji Johjima (.189), Jeff Clement (.150) and Miguel Cairo (.000, hitless in 11 at-bats).
All the speculation about acquiring Ken Griffey, Jr. is something Armstrong couldn't address, for risk of tampering. But he said one player can't do sustain attendance.
“Can a player help attendance? I think for a period of time a player can, but after that it gets down to winning and losing,'' Armstrong said. “We have some very exciting players here now. We have one of the best left-hander starters in all baseball tonight in Erik Bedard and I doubt the crowd will be much bigger than (Tuesday).''
Erik Bedard likely wouldn't draw people to cross a street, but Griffey would. The question is: Can Griffey make this a winning team?
For me, it worth the effort to find out.
Topics: Mariners , MLB , Losing , Griffey
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