Now Batting: WFB... Are You SERIOUS???

With Brad Wilkerson actually having a decent day, John McLaren decides to pinch-hit Willie Bloomquist for him in the 9th. Yes, the M's had just taken the lead on an Adrian Beltre 3-run bomb. And Richie walked ahead of him. McLaren put Cairo in to pinch run for Sexson, and then unexplicably pulled a heating-up Wilkerson for a woeful Willie Bloomquist. Seriously -- I realize Wilkerson's having a tough start to the season, and I'm on the bandwagon for replacing him sooner rather than later, but Bloomquist as a pinch hitter? At that moment in the game -- yeah, the M's had a 3-run lead already built up, and they still had outs to spare in the 9th -- with the way the 'pen has been shaky lately, a 3-run lead didn't feel comfortable. There were better options.

Greg Norton was on the bench, having just had a couple of successful games. He could've hit for Wilkerson if you REALLY want to ignore Wilkerson's reverse platoon splits. Then, with the lead, stick Willie in RF for defense.

You know things are bad when your manager pinch hits WFB for you. Vidro had some important hits, too, including an RBI double. Maybe the news that Clement and Balentien were not in the Tacoma lineup and that McLaren said they'd both be up "sooner than later" actually helped wake them up. I still think Wlad and Clement are better options, but whatever.

GS52 Watch:

Walked B.J. Upton, but got the save to push Baltimore into first place in the AL East.

Putz-less in Seattle???

What. The. Heck???

Is there something wrong with JJ Putz that the team isn't letting out?

Rick White is not a major league quality pitcher, let alone one that can be counted on in a high-leverage situation. He proved that with the Vlad Guerrero at-bat. He proved it again tonight with a game-losing bases-loaded walk. There's no way he should've pitched tonight, especially in that situation.

I had high hopes for Johnny Mac. I gave him a break for making his managerial debut in historically unique and challenging circumstances. But now, in the middle of a pennant race, when he's been Lou's sounding board during MANY pennant races, I'm cutting him no more slack.

The only excuse for bringing in White in the situations he was brought in over the last couple games (last night was probably OK -- after the game was well out of hand) is if JJ Putz is injured. Even still, Rick White has proven his value -- it's as the top player on the DFA list, followed by Horacio Ramirez.

I mean John McLaren can't be THAT big of an idiot. Can he???

Dear John:

Um. Hai.

While I've also noticed how badly Jose Lopez is struggling at the plate recently -- so much so that I've argued with some pretty smart baseball people that it's not entirely illogical to experiment with having Jose Vidro playing second base defensively -- today isn't the day to experiment with that. It's NOT the day to punt infield defense for the sake of any potential offensive gain, when you've got a groundballer like Felix on the mound.

One of my arguments is that as long as you pay attention to the pitcher that's on the mound and see that he's more of an extreme flyballer, the number of balls that Vidro would have to field would decrease, therefore lessening the risk of Vidro missing a ball that Lopez would've gotten to. Well, it's clear to me that you have other things you're paying attention to -- and, well, ignoring...

Not only that, but you're also decreasing the defense quality at third base, by replacing Adrian Beltre with Willie Bloomquist. Unless Adrian's hurting, it's probably a bad idea to give him the night off. I could make some argument for getting Willie's bat into the lineup -- heck, it might even make sense to have him play second. But third base? Taking Adrian out? Ugh.

Please tell Felix to strike everyone out tonight, and be choosy with his fastball.

KTHXBYE!!!

...But McLaren's the Right Man for the Job

How amazing is it that the M's could start their road trip losing a series against the Royals, yet still gain a half a game in the division race? After a tough battle for a loss in extras, followed by a Feierabend meltdown for a complete blowout, McLaren had a tough job to do to inspire the troops to avoid the sweep.

Sure, a manager's direct effect on the win-loss totals is likely fairly low. But having a manager that players are excited about playing for might actually inspire the players to perhaps dig a little deeper and give a little more to contribute to the team's overall success. I'd bet that the players had some respect for Hargrove and liked him as a manager. But McLaren's been in there all along drinking a morning coffee w/JJ Putz during the winter, putting "Sisler" on tongue depressors as a makeshift bat holder for Ichiro's special bats, etc. That kind of relationship can help a coach or a manager help connect with his or her underlings so much better, and is more likely to motivate them even slightly to perform more to his/her expectations.

To me, that's huge. He's got the respect of the players, already, and as mentioned in Andriesen's article linked above, the coaches. That sort of thing is very important when transitioning from one manager to another. Especially in the middle of the season, during a winning campaign, with a decent shot of competing for the playoffs. Of course, this current situation, where the manager resigns during a winning streak and the team on a big roll, never happens, so having a guy like McLaren take the reins and make the transition seemless is very important.

From Baker:

McLaren got a post-game beer shower to celebrate his first win since taking over for Hargrove on Monday. Richie Sexson actually gave him a plastic sheet to cover himself and McLaren was allowed to remove his cap, glasses and a sling his arm has been in since shoulder surgery last week. He also got the game ball, lineup card and a bottle of Dom Perignon autographed by the entire team.

I could be wrong, but I would be very surprised if Hargrove got the same treatment after his first victory. Checking the PI archives from April 2005, I'm not seeing any such mention. Maybe it's unfair, since Baker's a n00b and a pretty darn good reporter, and the other beat writers, well, sucked back then, and we didn't really get access to this type of info. And maybe it's unfair to make the comparison between manager types, since Hargrove's always been a quiet, reserved type and McLaren took classes from Lou Piniella's charm school (and skipped his special education courses on how to properly flip out and get ejected). But I'm guessing it's no small thing that McLaren got a bottle of Dom Perignon autographed by the entire team.

It shows, ever so slightly, how the team feels about him. It shows, perhaps, too, that he's already won over the team. He's certainly won over Ichiro, whose latest comment, as LaRue reports in the Tacoma News Tribune, seems less enigmatic or philosophical than other comments Ichiro has made regarding the manager:

"We don’t know what the future holds for manager John McLaren," Ichiro Suzuki said. "But to be part of his first victory was emotional for all of us. I want to help him win a lot of games in his career."

With Ichiro in his corner, McLaren's got clear control over this team from the get-go. He'll keep them loose, but give them the leadership and motivation they need when things aren't going so well.

I don't know about you, but I'm most certainly excited about the Mariners now. I love the little insights that McLaren gives us on why he makes the moves he makes. Sure, we'll all probably second-guess him constantly. But at least we'll be a little more likely to understand the reason behind those decisions.

McLaren's a guy who, through the media, can connect with the fans, too. We haven't had a manager like that for awhile. That will go at least a little way to winning back fan loyalty. As will, of course, winning.

McLaren's gonna help that, too.