Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times wrote a fascinating article about the Mariners’ dysfunctional front office, featuring vicious quotes from former manager Eric Wedge and former assistant to the general manager Tony Blengino. And now general manager Jack Zduriencik has issued a statement in response.
It’s too long to reprint in its entirety--you can get the full transcript by clicking here--but a couple excerpts stood out. First, on Wedge:
Eric approached me numerous times throughout the year expressing his desire for a long-term contract. Even the day before he quit, Eric called a meeting with me and demanded a contract extension.
And then on Blengino and the team’s statistical analysis department:
I can also say that our current statistical analysis group is doing excellent work. Our dedicated staff and the tools they are using are a key component in our decision making process, and are light years ahead of where we have been. I am engaged with their work on a daily basis and very excited in the improvements made.
Wedge basically accused the front office of being an absolute nightmare to work under and Blengino flat-out said Zduriencik lied about being well-versed in statistical analysis while having zero interest in valuing it.