We’ve heard rumblings this week that there is an increasing riff between the Mariners front office and the coaching staff, including manager Don Wakamatsu. This came up when Chone Figgins was openly defiant of Wakamatsu in the dugout the other day yet wasn’t disciplined in any way. Geoff Baker reports today, however, that the problems go all the way back to this past offseason.
Baker reports that the Mariners’ coaching staff begging for more offense, but that in their eyes “the front office did zero to make the offense better.” Adrian Beltre was allowed to walk without an offer. Figgins came in but, because of other holes, was moved to second base. No one had any confidence in the Milton Bradley or Casey Kotchman trades. They viewed the Mike Sweeney signing as a sign of desperation. Baker also writes that “they knew Ken Griffey Jr. was done like an overcooked Thanksgiving turkey.” A
Finally, and most damningly for front office/dugout relations, Baker writes that Wakamatsu and company were dumbfounded when, after the team got off to such a slow start, Jack Z fired hitting coach Alan Cockrell. It was the roster’s fault, the staff believed. Not Cockrell’s.
It’s striking, isn’t it, that despite all the hype surrounding the Mariners’ offseason moves -- and remember back to January-March; there was a ton of hype -- those moves not only proved to be poor ones in large part, but have served to create no small amount of in-house friction in Seattle.
Runnin’ a baseball team: it ain’t an easy business.