The one thing McLaren and Bill Bavasi have left themselves open to on the criticism front is the makeup of their 25-man roster and the decision to keep Sexson in limbo.

The one thing Geoff? Please.

I still think a better solution is to put Joh at 1st, Clement at catcher, and Ibanez at DH. That puts Reed and Balentien in every day. There are some other OF's in the minors, but ours are not quite ready.
Putz cannot pitch well without a lead, as he has shown several times this year.
We do have potential starters in AAA, Feierabend (I finally learned how to spell that), and a new guy Jab something. (I'll call him Jaberwocky for the time being).
Tonight will be a blow-out (Washed-up-bum) starting for us. At least Dickey will get in another good 5 innings - he should be starting.
Anyway, Geoff, welcome back, you're getting back to normal for this job.

Richie is 5-11 3hrs against Jones he should of pinch hit at leats we had a chance to tie with him at the plate.

Geoff,

Cruel and unusual punishment?? You must be referring to the the Ms paying Sexson 13 million for this season, right? I can't imagine you would be referring to bringing in a "professional" hitter off of the bench (who supposedly has been working behind the scenes to stay fresh) to bat against one of the few pitchers that he has eye-popping numbers against.

Why I dislike McLaren as manager, exhibit G, #12: Mismanagement of a team's bench.

I really don't have much of a problem with benching Sexson in Favor of Cairo for the short term, however yesterday's game BEGGED for Sexson to pinch-hit for Cairo in the 9th with the Ms down by two runs.

Sexson is 5 for 11 off of Todd Jones with 3 HRs. Do you think he might have given us a better chance to tie up the game than Cairo who hasn't hit a HR since 2005?

If McLaren didn't want to use Sexson because he is "benched", how about any batter with a little power in his bat (Balentien?). A manager's job is to use the weapons at his disposal and to put them in advantageous situations to exploit their talent. As long as Sexson remains on this roster, he must be (though I am loathe to use this term) an asset for this team. If not, then he needs to be released as of yesterday.

This is not the first time that McLaren has failed to use history based on statistics to put his players in favorable positions. I'm starting to wonder if he even has quick access to situational statistics, as is common for all competent managers in MLB.

At this point, I would rather have McLovin manage this team rather than McLaren...at least he could buy booze for us to make things entertaining.

Take a chance on Wlad or Sexson, at best you could come up with an RBI double, maybe a game-tying homer.
Take a chance on Cairo, at best you could come up with a single and moving the runners over.

If their numbers are all roughly equivalent, why wouldn't you take out the guy who's already had 3 plate appearances (and nothing to show for it) to take a chance on more?

Yesterday's bewilderment was not about love for Sexson. It was about maximizing chances. It was about putting the best team on the field.

I agree with everything else you're laying out for options for 1b and Clement (esp. since we've all been saying it for weeks :) ).

They should have had Norton pinch hit in the ninth. Oh........damn.

ownage is ownage, and Sexson owns Jones.

BB = WW pt 2

GEOFF, let's watch the M's sweep the Angel's and get to within 9.5 games back. They'll then hover within theoretical contention, before finally tanking in late August. Then, the team will nave done NOTHING to prepare itself for 2009, by really testing what they have with Reed, Balentien, Clement, LaHair and a stretched out Morrow.

In other words, it would be the worst of scenarios.

The vast majority of closers don't dominate for more than three years, if that. Their best bet is to hope Putz gets back to his dominate self and then flip him before the trade deadline ... although considering the way he's pitching right now, look for Bavasi to give him a long term deal.

Geoff -

Sexson has had a lot of success against Jones, and Cairo is feeling good if he just hits the ball in the air. In that situation, with the Ms down 1 run and one runner on, Sexson (or Balentein) are better options than Cairo. As bad as Sexson is, he also gives you a chance to tie the game up.

You've obviously been spending a lot of time with the team. I have no other way of explaining why you would think Cairo is anything but baggage that should be immediately shipped out with Sexson and Vidro.

Geoff--what loss on offense? You move Raul to 1B then you still get his offense. You're essentially replacing Vidro's bat by letting Reed play and there's no way his little hot streak is for real. He still looks lost up there and has a sub-.300 OBP. I'd rather have a sub-.300 OBP with good defense than Jose Vidro wasting at bats on a team going nowhere in 2008. Let's see what Reed can do, and even if it's nothing who cares, the season is lost anyway. We need to be seeing what we've got for 2009 at this point.

Honestly I would rather move Kenji to first or DH, and have Clement catch. Why not see what you have before you make a change, we've seen what Kenji brings behind the plate.

Also if this season's over why play Vidro and Cairo at all and why not see if the M's have an answer or possible answer in the minors before 2009.

Anybody else notice that Frank Thomas is now batting .319 with an OBP of .417 and an OPS of .933?

Sure am glad we didn't pick up that future Hall of Famer for $350,000 when the opportunity presented itself.

I would MUCH rather see Cairo/Sexson/Vidro in the lineup instead!

Sorry, but I can hardly agree with Clement to 1B.

You take a good-hitting AAA catcher and make a marginal 1B out of him. Of course, this is the Mariner Way. I am surprised that people keep coming up with this stuff.

Obviously, giving Joh an extension, the Ms are positioning Clement for a trade. (For the more literal-minded, the last sentence was typed with heavy irony)

It doesn't matter whether or not Clement "wants'' to do it. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

I'd say the same thing about Ibanez and 1B/DH.

It's pretty simple, if Los Marineros won't use Sexson's bat against Todd Jones, a pitcher he's dominated, than he has no business being on the roster.

It's dishonest to say they're trying to get Richie on track, when that non-move is strong signal to your player that you don't value what he brings to the table. Although, with McLaren, 'value' is rarely if ever part of the equation, so Sexsy shouldn't take it personal. Johnny Mac was just working on a 'feeling'... how else can you qualify his laughable (but folksy!) explanation?

Geoff,

R.E. your commentary on moving Raul to first base...

Yes, that would leave two somewhat unproven corner outfielders. But - this is not about measuring Reed's and Balentien's offense relative to some hypothetical amalgam of corner outfielders. It's about the guys who are actually on the M's roster, and as such you're measuring their offense vs. either Jose Vidro or Miguel Cairo. And, as long as their offense is as good as those guys, or even marginally worse, the improved defense in the outfield more than makes up for that change.

Plus - no one could disagree that Reed and Wlad have more potential upside than Cairo and Vidro, and that they both can at least possibly be part of the future for 2009 and beyond, whereas we all know that Vidro and Cairo are gone at the end of the year if not sooner.

All of this with no disrespect to Jose Vidro. He was a tremendous ballplayer. And, he's still a pretty good hitter. But, all things considered, on this team right now he should mostly be pinch hitting and DH'ing vs. lefties.

"Most of you wanted Sexson gone a month ago. Now, he's the team's savior? Not sure I get it."

Geoff,

This is where you lose credibility on this blog. Are joking about this, or are you actually that dense. The fact that he has been stinking up the joint doesn't have anything to do with it. The guy does have 9 HR's this season, and he had good number historically against Jones. We are down 2 with two outs, you have to take a shot there. If not Sexson then Wlad.

Wabubba, offer up as many "exhibits" as you wish, but Geoff will not criticize McLaren. Geoff will continually analyze the team in terms of player accountability or player performance but won't direct the same discussion regarding any accountability or performance by McLaren. He just won't do it. And I don't recall him explaining why, either.

It's frustrating enough when the manager, day after day, makes poor game decisions that arguably cost the the team a win. It gets worse when the media writes as if those things never happened.

Re Putz-Morrow: Geoff says 1-make up your minds, folks, I thought you wanted Morrow to be a starter, and 2-a temporay role reversal may help until JJ gets back up to speed. But he doesn't address the issue of why yesterday, given the tie game and the way Morrow pitched (on only 9 pitches), why McLaren pulled him so quickly? McLaren gave his answer-that he didn't think about it he just automatically just uses Morrow in the 8th and JJ in the 9th, even in a tie game. Ok, so what does Geoff think about that "strategy"? Most of us probably think it's a poor decision, but what does the guy who runs this blog think about it? We'll never know because he refuses to critically discuss McLaren.

Bavasi has already come out and publicly said that the losing and problems with this team has nothing to do with McLaren. Are we to infer from Geoff's lack of criticism of McLaren that Geoff agrees with Bavasi?

You know it is bad when the bloggers on the fantasy baseball websites, even the bad ones, are openly mocking the GM.

I disagree with Geoff about there not being an easy fix. There is one: fire Bavasi and the entire FO. He is going to continue damaging this club with bad contracts and bad trades.

Let's look at two relatively small things
1) Morrow. This team will need to replace Washburn, Batista, and Silva next year. (Yes, I said Silva. The guy is terrible now. He'll be even worse next year.) They won't be able to find three guys next year, but they have two potential starting candidates in Morrow and Rowland-Smith. Either get them in the rotation here or send them to Tacoma with the goal of calling them up in Sept. I fail to see what's hard about this.

2) Clement. He should be here - catching - now. If the new GM gives him the summer and it just doesn't seem to be working out, send him to instructional league to learn to play 1B. Let Clement and Johjima platoon at C and DH, put Ibanez at 1B, and let Balentien play RF. Again, not hard, unless you don't know what you are doing.

As for whether or not the team has "two fourth outfielders manning the corners," even if it is true so what? With Ibanez there now you have a DH manning the corner. With Bloomie out there you have a utility guy. This is the same team that started Sexson and Vidro at power hitting positions, two guys who are clearly done. I honestly can't believe Geoff would even raise this as a concern.

The worst that could happen is that this team continues to lose games. Actually, the best thing that could happen is for this team to continue to lose games so we get the first pick in the draft and get rid of Bavasi.

Chris Antonetti in '08

"Had he popped up weakly to third base, I think we'd have more of a debate here."

Hey Geoff, if I blow all my savings on lotto tickets and beat the odds to win the jackpot, does that make it a good decision? If Cairo had hit a home run it still would have been a stupid decision. Needing a home run to tie the game, McLaren chose to go with a guy who hasn't hit one since July '05. He had a guy who has hit 9 this year and another guy (Wlad) who has hit 4 this year on the bench. Both of these players have better OBP and SLG than Cairo.

"You can't bring a struggling guy like Sexson in cold to face a closer in his first at-bat in a week."

Yes, you can. You tell him, "Richie, you're hitting." Not that hard. Richie's been taking batting practice every game, it's not like he hasn't swung a bat since being benched. Or put in Wlad. Also, Todd Jones isn't exactly the most dominating of closers.

"Most of you wanted Sexson gone a month ago. Now, he's the team's savior? Not sure I get it."

You're putting words in people's mouths. No one said he's the teams savior. Heck, he probably would have struck out. But we needed a home run, and we had the option of Wlad, Richie, or Cairo. We went with Miguel Cairo. Miguel. Cairo. Doh.

The new MSN power rankings are out for the week - we finally hit the bottom.

Geoff, I'm going to give you a pass since you weren't at the game, but you really stirred up the pot.

Eburg T - Dead on. Why is it acceptable to make a rookie play first base and not acceptable to make a veteran, that has played the position before, play first base? Clement has played zero innings at first base, including Tacoma. They are working him a C/DH in AAA, so give him that role in Seattle. Release Burke and give Jeff his role. He can catch Bedard and Washburn and DH the other games. You need to give Ibanez everyday starts at 1B to decide if you want to re-sign him or let him go. He simply cannot be in left field in 2009.

fc - Got Geoff again. No one is saying Sexson is a "saviour". They simply are saying that in the bottom of the ninth we needed a power hitter to tie it up. Cairo hasn't hit a home run in 3 years. Let Sexson or Wlad take a shot and maybe we can tie the game. I would pinch hit for Vidro or any of our other slap hitters in the same situation as well.

"But a team that does not have a pinch-hitting option to replace Cairo with in the ninth is a team with some serious design flaws."

A team with Miguel Cairo on its roster has some serious design flaws.

A game without your future on the field is another game in '09 that person will be learning the position. As the season goes on with this collection of players, we might want to think about kissing next year good bye.

BIG RICHIE.....small average.

Without Putz, this team's going nowhere now or in 2009.

Really? So when did we suddenly resolve the offense, defense, starting pitching, general manger and manager issues?

Why not give Sexson a chance? Because he would have STRUCK OUT!!!!!!! Then he would have been booed mercilessly, then you genuises who say the situation begged for him to hit would have called the idiot manager an idiot yet again.

I don't know what is worse, watching the M's play or reading the posts from you closet GM and managers afterwards. Pinch hit Sexson? PLEASE.

Loss of offense? Geoff, please. Are you trying to tell me that Sexson or Cairo bring more offense than Balentein and/or Reed? They may be 4th outfielders, but they're a heck of a lot better options for the TEAM than either Cairo or Sexson.

Anyone with a brain the size of a squirrel sack would know that cairo should not be batting with any game on the line. And does anyone else think maybe just maybe Mac could try using another reliever to come in the 9th besides throwing Putz out there for a third straight game without a save on the line. I guess no one else in the BP can pitch a scoreless innning according to Mac.

The team needs to think long term at this point. That means acting like Sexson isn't around anymore because he won't be after September at the latest. Start Raul at 1st to see how it works and keep Reed in left and Wlad in right for the same reason. They need to find out what these guys are capable of actually doing in these positions as everyday players so that a shopping list can be put together for next year.

"There is no easy fix here."

Why do you play this up as such an excruciating decision? If the M's management wanted to be honest with its fanbase, they would overtly admit that they are finished with the fantasy of contending in 2008, and just release Sexson and be done with it. I truly fail to see why this is such a difficult thing to do - the man is playing absolutely terrible baseball, and I believe that fans understand that in a performance-based industry, you perform or you're gone. Whatever shuffling they do after that is irrelevant for this season, with the possible exception of playing Clement at 1B if that's his future position.

"If a team is going to play itself out of contention"

PLAYED. Past tense. The M's are out of contention. Admitting that will make your columns much more focused.

This whole debate is just like arguing whether a squirrel or a chipmunk will put up a better fight against a steamroller. Either way the result is flat, flat, flat!

This team and entire organization is in deep trouble. Even 2009 is starting to look like a lost season.

sexson should be traded, dfa'd or whatever. putz? god only knows what happened to him but how he lost his location and velocity so quickly is sure mysterious. his injury in april sure sounded minor enough. but yes morrow to close sure makes some sense for the short term. ah and the angels are coming to town. fun!

Sure, Sexson's numbers against Jones came a long time ago. He can still hit a home run, right? This is the choice Mac faced: Cairo plus the next hitter and probably the next getting a hit v. Sexson or even better Balentien having a chance to do something. I still say it was a really dumb move, given the M's inability to string hits together this year.

Sexson should have pinch hit?? Come on. He should have been dumped. Would Clement rather catch in AAA or play 1b/dh in the bigs? No contest. Bring him up, let him catch, play 1b, dh. Move Kenji to dh half time, Raul to 1b and dh, try something a little daring, Mac!! What do you have to lose? Your job? Nope, it, and BB's are already lost!

Any truth to the Scott Hatteberg to Seatle rumors? Maybe he could provide a more adequate platoon partner for Richie and or Jeff Clement.

Here's hoping the team calls up Clement pronto. I hear he's raking in Tacoma again.

I don't know if Geoff agrees with Bavasi when he says the M's main problem isn't the field manager, but I sure do. Actually, I assume Geoff does agree, because it's frigging obvious, or it should be. The problem with the M's is a lack of ability. They aren't very good this year, no matter what any of us thought before the season. No manager ever born could change that. I'm not saying this to defend Mac. I'm indifferent toward Mac. I just think you are focussed on the wrong thing by hammering him. He had no good options yesterday in the 9th. As someone else noted, if Richie had PH and made a weak out, there would be a fresh round of howling about Mac's idiotic loyalty to washed up veterans. If all you want to see is somebody's legs twitching at the end of a rope, fine. But don't call a hang 'em high attitude combined with perfect hindsight a logical argument. We lost the game yesterday because our ace closer blew up, not because of the manager, and not because of Cairo. You can't put yourself in a position to need 4 runs in the 9th. Any team in MLB will lose 90% of those games.

I definitely will back Geoff on his main point. The '08 season is over. This team isn't good enough to compete. That is largely a General Manager problem to be sure, and I am quite sure that Bavasi understood the mea culpa subtext to his defense of MacLaren. I can't imagine there is anybody left who doesn't believe that Bavasi and MacLaren will both be gone at the end of the season. So will Richie, Vidro, and Cairo. Let's discuss people and decisions that actually matter, like who is going to boost this teams anemic run production when the games count again - next April.

Look at the 9th inning this way: What is the chance that Sexson hits a HR? His BA is .200 (all numbers approximate). He hits a HR about every 4th hit – thereBY scoring 2 runs: That’s a 0.05 probability. Leave in Cairo – BA .225 to get a single. Then Bettancourt .275 to get a single. Then Ichiro .290 to get a single to tie. You need all three – that’s .225 times .275 times .290 equals 0.018, OR ABOUT ONE-THIRD the probability of Sexson’s HR. That’s why you put in Sexon (or even Vlad).
Tell Mac to get a $5 hand calculator to figure that out.

Hey - maybe if we're really lucky we can be 9.5 games back of the Angels in a few days!!! Woo... and then get swept by the red sox...

Let's see which Washburn we get tonight - the mediocre one or the crappy one.

On Geoff's point - Greg Norton would have been a great PH option last night... we should have gone with him.

I agree we shouldn't cherry-pick:

Sexson, .690 OPS in 2008.
Cairo, .516 OPS in 2008.

And never mind the career OPS numbers, or just OPS for the last three years.

Look, this isn't necessarily a debate about Sexson vs. Cairo. It's a debate about what in the world goes through John McLaren's head when he's faced with a decision.

Geoff, you say Sexson's previous stats vs. Jones are irrelevant. Can't disagree with that. However, McLaren has argued that a player's track record is important. He did so when he let Miguel Cairo start against Mussina in Yankee Stadium early in May. Yet yesterday he completely ignored track record.

He's also said he believes Sexson's suspsension hurt him, yet now he's sitting him for five days.

It's also about giving Jeff Clement 15 days to prove himself, and then taking ABs away from him and Wlad Balentien just so they can keep Raul's glove in LF and Vidro's bat in the lineup.

It's about incompetence, pure and simple. McLaren could turn a steaming pile of excrement into gold and we'd still rightly critcize him for it.

If i was the Queen of Sheba I would do 2 things. First i would marry the King of Dugandorfer. Second I would fire Mac.

What does Mac mean when he ends a sentence with "and so forth and so on"? Was there intended to be more to his statement? Or was he just using extra words because he like to hear himself talk? The man is a buffoon when it comes to in=game management.

I can't believe you even posted that Sexson bit......lets not use any common sense, or baseball sense when it doesn't support our argument...is that your theory?

Honestly Geoff, you crank out a few good articles, then throw the ol' credibility machine into reverse when you post a stinker like that.

ChicoV, I agree. All of you "after the fact" observers need to put a sock in it. Had Mac pinch hit Sexson and he struck out, which he has done in seven of his last ten AB's, you would be howling about bringing in Richie in that situation. He hasn't hit Jones in two years and now you suddenly think he is going to come in, with incredible pressure on him, and hit one out? We didn't have to have a home run, just not an out to extend the inning.

I think we shouldn't be fighting over that pinch hit - we were down 4 going into the half inning and it only seemed slightly managable because Raul made that a 2 run deficit... but it is still a reach to win that game. If the best you can hope for is to put in a guy with a .690 OPS in Sexson, then something, as Geoff said, is very wrong with the construction of the bench.

As for what McLaren has been saying about Sexson and others all year - he's a player's manager and is going to protect them in the public. He's not going to say he's benching Richie because Richie flat out lost it. He's going to come up with whatever excuse he can find and hope that Richie proves his true beliefs to be false.

Ok, just read the little addendum.......by your logic anyone who sits out a couple of games should never ever again get off the bench and be used in a game....

Also, if the friggin choice is Cairo, i'm all for letting Sexson flail away cluelessly 5 times a game.

LOL RBC. Good one.

career numbers vs a pitcher is cherry picking? give me a break. the Detroit announcers didn't think so, as they were very surprised sexson didn't hit.

The fact that we are even having this discussion makes clear what a poor job of roster construction/management this team has done. It's mind-boggling that they pinned their hopes at first on a declining streaky hitter or a no-talent benchwarmer who shouldn't even be on anybody's bench. It's disgusting, and the method of praying for the unfathomable to carry you through a season as an upper management tool has just caught up with the Mariners.

"If i was the Queen of Sheba I would do 2 things. First i would marry the King of Dugandorfer. Second I would fire Mac. "

well half of this post made sense at least.

So, for those of you bringing up Jones, I expect to hear no more harping about Sexson the rest of the season. Fair enough?

Wow, feisty! So, you'd prefer to deal with the criticisms of the manager by silencing the Sexson critics??

"If we're going to cherry pick here to further some agenda regarding managerial decisions, why not go all the way?"

Cherry picking? How about this Geoff. There is no way you are going to convince anyone who knows what they are talking about that Miguel Cairo is a better hitter than the current Richie Sexson. This shouldn't even be a discussion.

In fact, Miguel Cairo is easily the worst hitter on the team, and it borders on criminal to let him hit with the game on the line.

I can't read your blog any longer, Geoff. I don't understand your logic. I think you're frequently off-base with many of your assertions. I'm off to USS Mariner, where I can enjoy enlightened analysis, zero flashbacks to the Blue Jays and no frustration.

Anyone else see how terrible Steve Kelley's article was today? I've never seen someone try so hard to be something that they're not (an eloquent writer capable of coherent thoughts). He unsuccessfully tries to evoke some sort of sentiment too, which is more annoying to read than anything. I love Baker's analysis and anything at USS Mariner is great. Kelley is the worst writer in Seattle (giving Jim Moore a run for his money).

I am with Montlake Mike - tired of Geoff's bad attitude and snarky responses that do nothing but pile-on to the terrible summer of baseball we will be treated to by Los Marineros - who exactly do you write this blog for, Debbie Downer? Bob Condotta manages to keep things upbeat between himself, the Huskies, and the readers with similar craptastic season after season on his blog, what gives here? I get enough animosity and flak at my crappy job daily, don't need it in my blog. Off to USSM.

Don't know why I'm reading all this s*%t. It's giving me a headache.

"If he used Sexson as a pinch-hitter and Sexson struck out, the thunder of boos could have been devastating. And if McLaren had chosen Wladimir Balentien, instead of Sexson, to bat for Cairo, it also would have fueled Sexson's funk.What's a manager to do?" -- Steve Kelley, on the art of coddling an incompetent manager and a sensitive player.

Excuse me while I go throw up!

I think it's pretty obvious that the team and Sexson have agreed that his time with this team is over, and that Bavasi will now do whatever he can to get him traded to another team. They are basically playing with a 24-man roster until that gets done.

I'm defending Mac's decision thusly: If you're Mac in the 9th yesterday, you are simply playing the odds. What are the odds that Sexson will NOT strikeout, vs the odds that Cairo will NOT get a hit? Plus if you fail to make the right call, you want the anger focused on YOU, not Sexson.

Ah, and yes...Steve Kelly. Master of the cheap story with shallow and obvious conclusion. Truly the opposite of Baker.

This thread of comments shows, in a nutshell, why the Seattle fan base is constantly ridiculed as ignorant and fair weather.
No one has wanted Richie anywhere near the plate all year. Now, in the clutch, when he is cold and unprepared, you want him to come through in the clutch?
Listen people, it's just not going to happen.
You say we need a power hitter up? Why? They will fail much more than they will succeed. You are better off having someone up who will keep the rally going.
I just wish M's fans could take a more rational look at the reality of their situation.

I guess its the job of the reporter, particularly in his blog, to state his opinion. Yours is that the season in over for the M's. By that, you mean they are out of playoff contention. I agree that this is a realistic prediction, but in no way I am going to write off the team just a third of the way through the season. If they can remain competitive like they did against the Red Sox and Tigers, it will still be fun to watch Mariner games. I guess when you say the season is over, its like we shouldn't really care or watch the Mariners anymore or read your blog for that matter.

"So far, if Ibanez moves to first base, the team arguably has two fourth outfielders manning the corners. Yes, the defense would improve. But it would have to improve a whole lot more to compensate for the loss in offense."

Uh, how do you say that Reed OR Balentien are a loss of offense over Miguel Cairo? That statement makes absolutely zero sense. Balentien has produced more offense than Cairo and Reed will, even if he merely sticks to his career averages. That, plus the defensive contributions each will make above the guys they're replacing, makes it fairly obvious that this is a no-brainer.

If you want to debate whether this team should have been constructed so that a rookie and never has been aren't your best options, then fine. But your original statement, quite frankly, just isn't a very intelligent statement given the current state of the team.

And RationalFan's last post is an excellent example of why most of us have a problem with this comment section. Personal attacks against an entire fanbase should be a good way to get banned. Please try to make your point without dissing others. It's not that hard.

Let's just hope that with the MLB draft this Thursday, Lincoln and Armstrong show some foresight (if capable?) and boot both Bavasi and Mac mid-season. A new GM, perhaps with an interim manager, can then get a head-start on planning for 2009-10. Getting rid of the deadwood players such as Vidro, Sexson, etc. and making some decisions on Beltre, JJ, and Bedard while they still have trade value are important steps to consider.

Geoff has his good articles and his bad ones. This is one of those bad ones. It reeks of sticking up for McLaren, like always.

I also like how attack the younger players and don't hold anything back, yet when it comes to one of the vets, all you'll do is use some McLaren quote why the player is playing and say, "fair enough".

"I just wish M's fans could take a more rational look at the reality of their situation."

If your idea of rationality includes EVER having Cairo up with the game on the line (or starting on a major league roster for that matter) I'm not sure I'd be advertising that. He's not a major-league quality player, he's just not. I'm not saying Sexson is a good hitter any more, but if the choice is between awful (Sexson) and incomprehensibly devestatingly crappy (Cairo), I guess you'd take awful, wouldn't you? We can talk about how the team got there to have 2 bad choices, but it is there, so the order of pinch hitting in that game should have gone - 1. any hitter but Sexson not currently in the game; 2. Sexson; 3. leave Cairo in.

Now that's rational thought.

"So far, if Ibanez moves to first base, the team arguably has two fourth outfielders manning the corners. Yes, the defense would improve. But it would have to improve a whole lot more to compensate for the loss in offense. "

Um, no it wouldn't. At this point Reed & Balentien only have to hit as well as Cairo.

ChicoV, Dana, and RationalFan:

As a manager, it is about using the weapons (players) available to you to the best of your ability. I don't look at Sexson as a "savior" (as Geoff put it), just someone who has had great career success off of Todd Jones.

Had Sexson been used, I would have completely understood McLaren's rationale regardless of the outcome...even the liklihood of Sexson striking out. As it was, I have no idea what McLaren was thinking by allowing Cairo to bat while both Sexson and Balentien remained in the dugout.

McLovin, not McLaren, for manager! He'll at least be able to buy us booze to make this season a little more entertaining.

" I expect to hear no more harping about Sexson the rest of the season. Fair enough? Otherwise, time to re-examine the logic being applied."

Geoff,

This is why your blog is headed down hill just like the M's season. You are getting in peeing matches with individual bloggers and lumping all of your audience together with transparent passive aggressive attacks.

Just state your opinion and leave the taunting out. I could respect that.

Someone needs to tell Geoffcoat to remember the Sabbath. As gasey as he is, lets just hope he has his own office.

Geoff,

Your additional note is just pathetic.

Career numbers do matter. If Sexson cannot be used against pitchers where he has enjoyed historical success, when would you play him? It's doubtful that Jones is the same pitcher he was two years ago too.

As a batter, there are just certain pitchers that you are more comfortable batting against. Even those who just played Whiffleball in the backyard know that. I would be against using Sexson every day, but for starting him (or pinch hitting him) against pitchers where he has demonstrated success in the past.

Let's forget about Sexson for a second. How do you defend McLaren not using Balentien in that situation instead?

I'm waiting...

"This is why your blog is headed down hill just like the M's season."

By the All-Star break with a 30-under .500 record - the blog should be pretty quiet anyway.

I'm shocked at the outcry over Richie being used to pinch hit. Not that some of the rationale doesn't make sense - but the dude is a zero. Cairo might be a zero too - but sometimes you have to make decisions based on feel rather than OPS. Sure, Mac has proven he never has a real good feel for the game - but that's the point. The problems run so deep, that one decision can't be reason enough for everyone to jump on the Richie bandwagon while the past month has been "cut your losses and DFA Richie".

Geoff - you do sound like an ass dude. Everyone points at you because you seem to take this whole debacle personally. The blog allows you to share your opinion, but you are a journalist. Share the news, share the views and let the blog roll on its' own. You create the "harping".

My head hurts after reading all this stuff. Bottom line is the Seattle Mariners are a real mess. JJ the Putz should be getting crucified here, but instead we're stuck on stupid arguing about who between dumb and dumber should have hit to try and tie the game. Not win it mind you, just to try and tie it.

Love the passion though.

But on a positive note, how about them Cubbies?!?

I'd like to correct Ziasudra's numbers, using up-to-date stats:
Richie: BA .200, with 9 HR in 31 hits equals probability of 0.058, or, 1 chance in 17 of a tie game.
Cairo BA: .208
Bet BA .296
Ich BA .288
Three hits in a row from them is 0.017; but you have to allow for Betancourt hitting a 2-bagger (14 our of his 56 AB) adding to the third number (0.0745 + .288) to get a probability of sucess with mac's decision = 0.0233, or 1 chance in 44.
Which would you do?

Will the foolishness never end? That is why it so frustrating for all of us and nothing anyone has suggested will work until major change occurs!! Not tomorrow or next month or at the end of the season. Now!!! Sexson absolutely needs to go. And why is Washout being sent out again tonight? Does McLaren think his former team will have sympathy on him and let him win? Cairo/Vidro probably should go also. But they could still be bench players and possibly contibute. While moving Sexson and Washout will be the best thing that could happen for the Mariners now because it would open the door for implementing any or all of the other potential possibilities mentioned by everyone on this blog. Management needs to do whatever it takes to move Sexson and Washout. But it has been their inability to make quick good decisions that is the problem. So the foolishness marches on!!!!

Right on, Geoff. I would not even consider using Sexon as a pinch hitter. He should be gone. He's reached the point where he is a cancer.

"In fact, Miguel Cairo is easily the worst hitter on the team, and it borders on criminal to let him hit with the game on the line."
Cairo might easily be the worst hitter in the league, especially when you compare him to anyone else who doesn't play SS or C.

It is becoming clear that the fame and stardom have gone to Geoffcoats head. He can't keep the ego in check without talk about his sucess. Anyone else realize that ever since his blog went national he has become less of an average joe and more prima dona.

I usually agree with you, Geoff, on a lot of your opinions on the state of the franchise, and the moves being made/not being made. However, I have to vehemently disagree with you on the move to let Cairo hit in the bottom of the 9th. In fact, I'll go as far as to say I'm SHOCKED that you'd even suggest that was the right move!!

We're down two with two outs and a man on...Sure, Sexson may not have come through, but he's a power hitter with good numbers against a mediocre (at best) closer in Todd Jones. One swing could've tied it up. I've never seen a guy give up more hard-hit balls than Jones every time he pitches. He's got to be the luckiest man this side of Bob Wickman ever to be put in a closer role. He and Borowski must have been born under a lucky star. Luckily for him, half those screamers get hit right at people. But I digress...back to Sexson...He's your guy there...PERIOD. You know it...and you can damn well bet Sexson knew it!! "Cruel and unusual punishment..."??? Are you kidding me? If he wasn't champing at the bit to get in there and do some damage in that situation, then he should be cut today!! Of course he'd have been booed off the field if he struck out...but he's a professional baseball player. It's his friggin' job to go in there and give it his best shot!! I hope he was upset that he didn't even get the opportunity to try in that situation!! In fact, he better be upset (or at the very least disappointed), or I'm questioning his heart! Even if Cairo had laced a double that scored one, and been driven in by the following hitter to tie it up, it STILL would have been the wrong move, that somehow didn't backfire.

Putz was the guy who cost us the game (AGAIN), no question there...and he's barely a shell of who he was last year. That's pretty damned depressing really. But Mac's move to let Cairo hit there, only made certain that Putz remained the goat.

What an awful season this has been...and wow is there way too much of it left to endure!!

Re: your update - fair enough. But Ziasudra's math still holds. Sexson or Wlad had the chance to tie it up with one hit. The same result would require Cairo, Betancourt and possibly Ichiro to achieve.

Oh man this is hilarious. The M's have driven the entire fanbase to the brink. I cannot believe people are up in arms because Sexson was not brought in to pinch hit. Sexson SUCKS people. Who cares. He is hitting .158 at home with a .485 OPS. Horrible! .682 at home last year. And I do hope the people citing his numbers against Jones are not the same who cry small sample size everyday. If that is the case don't miss Cairo's devastating .643 OPS at home. Yep he is out hitting Sexson at Safeco, not to mention Richie's buck-sixty-nine AVG in May with 25 SO in 59 AB and just 2 BB. Get the picture. Why he is still around at all is anybodies guess.

Speaking of which, anybody else see Guillen in LF and think why are the M's the only team in baseball that cannot move their players around and make quick decisive moves (like dumping Sexson now). Slow and inflexible defines the M's entire management and ownership. This season has convinced me that no matter how much talent this organization has, unless there is a leadership/cultural change this team will never be a winner in the long run and rarely in the short run.

Again, this is not about Sexson as much as it is about the fact that McLaren believed Cairo is the best hitting option in ANY situation.

"As for whether or not Sexson should have been pinch-hitting in yesterday's ninth inning, let's make sure we're all on the same page. We're talking about the same guy, right? The same Sexson? The one with a .277 on-base percentage for the season?"

Well yeah, but Cairo has a .271 OBP. If you're hoping for a miracle, then Sexson is stronger and slightly more likely to put one in the seats.

I mean, I don't entirely disagree with you, but if the M's think that Sexson's current stats are the true measure of his level of talent, then what the heck is he doing on the club? He's not going to start, he's not going to pinch hit, why is he on the team? Because we're actively trying to lose? If the FO has no confidence in Sexson he needs to be gone.

"You could also move Raul Ibanez to first base on a more permanent basis. The trouble with that move is, the M's don't have corner outfielders who've shown they can play on a full-time basis."

All they have to do to improve the team is hit better than Cairo or Sexson, which Reed and Ballentien can almost certainly do, even if they still suck. And Ibanez is clearly not a major league fielder in the outfield.

Why NOT give your prospects a chance to show what they have. Even if it's a long shot, what's the worst that can happen? We aren't going to contend this year anyway.

Dude that is saying the same thing. Sexson can stay home as far as I'm concerned. The guy can no longer hit ML pitching period. How could not calling him in possibly be a problem. Having him there at all is the problem.

My previous post was referencing:

"this is not about Sexson as much as it is about the fact that McLaren believed Cairo is the best hitting option in ANY situation."

Stop the madness.

It's like Geoff is purposely misunderstanding the Sexson argument just so he has something to write about.

Nobody is saying Sexson became the Mariners' personal Jesus overnight. In that one specific, solitary situation, Sexson was the better option than Cairo. I have no idea why that is difficult for him to understand.

Again, echoing Adam's post...some of you are missing the point....It's not about Sexson..it's about Mac believing that letting Cairo hit in that situation was the best move. It wasn't...can't see how anyone could logically argue otherwise.

Maybe those of us who question and critcize Geoff's analysis are wrongly assuming his sincerity. Geoff's job, besides writing articles recapping the game, is hosting this blog, which gets Geoff lots of recognition because of its popularity. And let's assume Geoff makes extra money for running a popular blog. Well, controversial posts lead to plenty of criticisms, debates and discussions. The more distorted and disingenuous the better-it's nothing more than a formula for success. "The Sexson Quandry" may be an example of the ingredients of that formula.

"It is becoming clear that the fame and stardom have gone to Geoffcoats head. He can't keep the ego in check without talk about his sucess. Anyone else realize that ever since his blog went national he has become less of an average joe and more prima donna."

lol, this is an interesting assesment.

FIRE BAVASI.

Has there been any dicussion as to why, with first base open, JJ pitched to Ordonez? Going in to that at bat he was 4-8 vs JJ.

Since we have to enter our Display Name and Email Address, why can't the regular posters get their Display Name reserved and can only be used by the person with the matching e-mail address?

Not a real big deal, but I hate when I want to have an intelligent conversation with certain bloggers, and then find I'm talking to a poser. Certain regulars have lost some credibility because posers have posted false claims as them.

In looking ahead, the free agent class in 1B for next year is very thin, other than Mark Teixeira.

So the Ms either need to find one of their own for the position (Raul) or have Bavasi look into a trade for a productive bat at 1B.

Or better yet, Bavasi could look into getting himself fired and make it someone else's problem.

In baseball there are times when you are in a zone, and can't wait until your next at bat. Then there are times that you dread heading to the plate because the pitcher that day "owns" you. Both situations are more mental, than physical, situations.

What's not being said in all this is that I bet the Safeco curse is getting to Richie. I'm sure behind closed doors Richie has expressed to Mac his lack of confidence he has at the plate in his home stadium. This makes Mac not want to put him in the situation when mentally he's already prepared to fail.

Cairo brings very little to the table, but it's no coincidence that the team is playing better with him in the lineup. Richie has lost confidence in hitting at Safeco, and the team has lost confidence in him. Miguel is a team player and will give you everything that he's got. It's not much, but his team mates know they can count on him.

McLaren can't tell the press any of this, of course. He gets painted into a corner on the issue from time to time so he comes up with the "and so forth and so on" quotes to move on to the next subject. Read between the lines and you'll understand the "Sexson quandry"

The problem isn't that the manager picked the wrong .200 hitter to have in the box with the game on the line in the 9th, folks. The chances that Sexson would have done anything more than Cairo are slight. The real problem here is the utter lack of talent available in that situation.

Maybe Mac wouldn't know what to do with a talented bench if he had one but we will never know. Bavasi stuck him with the worst bench in modern MLB history.

DC if you wanna talk about JJ's crap game and crap pitching you'll have to find another venue.

This one is for bashing Geoff and Mac for all of the Mariners woes.

As a matter a fact Mac should have known JJ was going to blow it again and sat him next to Sexson and let Silva pitch the ninth. Man that Mac burns me up!

and....... weren't the M's winning while Geoff was on vacation. Go back on vacation you jinx!!!!! God that Geoff Baker burns me up!

Ian's post at 11:59, snide and pissy though it is, raises a good point. Why watch the M's any more in 2008, since the season is "over", as in they ain't going to make the playoffs?

It's a legit question, and I can think of several possible answers:

1) Because they haven't been mathematically eliminated and therefore still technically have a chance.

2) Because baseball is an inherently entertaining game, even when winning individual games no longer has the potential to propel your team to a championship.

3) Because there is always next year.

4) Because you like picking things apart, and picking this team apart is like shooting fish in a barrel.

5) Because the team tricked me into caring about the season, some SOB is going to pay for that, and I want to watch him get what's coming to him.

6) Because I still have tickets left in my 16 game plan.

If you answer is primarily 1), I don't have much to say really. I respect the right of people to delude themselves, just as I respect the right of people who are bad at math to throw money away on lottery tickets.

2) is my main answer. I will always be a baseball fan first and a M's fan second. Most seasons end in futility, just as most at bats end in outs, and I can deal with that without losing interest. Crashing this early is certainly a bummer, but there is enough fun and entertainment in individual performances and games to justify watching for me, even though I know this won't be our year - again.

3) is my secondary answer. Part of the denouement of the season is setting things up for next year. I really want to see some intelligent analysis of what went so horribly wrong out of the gate this year and see some measures taken to improve next year. There are no material reasons why we can't be competitive. This isn't your father's poor cousin Seattle Mariners.

4) Boring. Get a job. Ok, in Geoff's case, this is partially his job, but I don't think he needs it to be so easy. I think he could handle dissecting a good team just fine.

5) Even more boring. Try therapy.

6) I feel your pain a little here. I have decent seats tonight for my wife's birthday. When I picked the game back in March, my theory suggested it would be an important series in the standings. Reality is I get to watch Washburn pitch for the worst team in the AL. Well, at least the grass will be green, the sky will be kinda bright gray, and they will have all the $8.50 draft beers I can afford. Best of all, my wife is hot and she likes baseball. I think I'll survive.

There are lots of very interesting questions to be asked and answered about this team between now and Oct. For me, none of them involve Richie Sexson in any way, shape, or form. His sad legacy is assured, but in 2008, he's as irrelevant as our predicted record coming out of ST. I'm still going to watch and enjoy what I can, but I'm a lot more interested in reading about players who will still be here after the curtain drops on this sorry season.

Your right ChicoV, That Baker guy is a jinx! The Times should send him out to cover that pucking game those redwinged penguins are playing.

Geoff, I enjoy your blogs, but "Now he's the team savior"? is insulting to your readers. Nobody here is that stupid. I'm pretty sure that everybody, given the choice between having someone up there you sucks but can hit home runs and someone who sucks and can't hit home runs, would take the guy who sucks but can hit home runs in that situation.

For me, the real failing of in-game management yesterday was pulling Morrow after a 9 pitch 8th inning. Are the "meaningful" innings McLaren has in mind for Morrow just 8th inning situations?

Donovan - You win the thread. Specially for #5, which I'm unfortunately a lot closer to than #2, these days.

Fortunately, my wife is very much in the #2 camp, and helps me have some perspective when we take our 4-year-old to the game (so that he enjoys it, as he should, rather than getting all ranty about it, like his dad).

And can the Geoff-haters get a hug or a hobby, pretty-f'in-please? It's possible to disagree with him (even fun to disagree with him) without insulting him.

We get it, you think he's a hack, you're going to USSM, you're leaving the blog, you're coming back to the blog, it's funny to make obscure jokes about him, funny to want to send him back to Canada, funny to imitate other frequent posters on the blog, har-de-shut-up-har. It's not original, and just reminds me for the umpteenth time why there should be some kind of moderation / display name reservation here.

Are people, including Geoff, seriously having trouble with the simple logic concerning the Sexson-Cairo debate? As a simple one-time decision it really was an easy choice to pinch hit for Cairo. If Mac is telling the truth and Richie is making progress in the cage then this was a perfect chance to try it out given his record against Jones.

But obviously Mac is not only a crappy manager but a liar as well. Even if Sexson was only a margianlly better choice, he should have been the choice. Period.

But yes, I believe he would have struck out.

Surely, at this point, there can be no further hope for the '08 season and for that matter Richie Sexson. The Big K has no trade value and even McLaren has lost confidence in him, even to the point of effectively ignoring his past history and sticking with the weak sticked Cairo when a pinch hitter was in order.

While Sexson is a big fish, there are bigger fish to fry at this point. The M's need to move to a talent evaluation mode - let's see what we have in our system and prepare for '09. In doing so, some long overdue cuts should be made - dfa Sexson, Cairo and Vidro. Move Ibanez to DH and bring up some of the talent from the farm with every intention of playing them so as to learn what we have for '09.

In the same vein, there is need to make astute trades that built for the future. Just about any of the veterans who have trade value should be marketed and carefully offered for the best pieces available to make the '09 team viable. Veterans such as Johjima, Ibanez, Beltre, Washburn, Batista, and Putz might have a decent to excellent trade value that could pry loose some excellent major league ready prospects at the trade deadline.

Given this strategy, it would also be best to dismiss McLaren as he has no eye for talent and never seems to use his bench. So we really can't expect him to play and evaluate young players. Giving the team over to evaluating talent and trading for quality pieces necessary to build for '09 would produce a much more interesting season than wondering about using the Big K as a pinch hitter and watching the same old tired veterans flail away with middling results. The M's are going nowhere this season, so lets put an exciting young team on the field and look to '09.

"... the real failing of in-game management yesterday was pulling Morrow after a 9 pitch 8th inning."

Exactly. Morrow was throwing 100 mph and nobody could touch his stuff + it was still a tie game. Putz has a BB / 9 this year of over 7.0 so something is clearly not right with him.

It is obvious that Sexson is done. Even with those long arms of his, he cannot reach the fork stuck in his back. At this point he is just wasting a roster spot. Trade him if you can, if not DFA him, whatever. You gave us two good years DIck, thanks, good luck.

As far as Morrow and Putz go. Have Putz mentor Morrow on the way of the closer. Then trade Putz for players that will help our future.

Finally the good news. FLUFFY is the one we will have to rely on for a W tonight. Against the #1 Angels Ouch.

Posted by matt:

"For me, the real failing of in-game management yesterday was pulling Morrow after a 9 pitch 8th inning. Are the "meaningful" innings McLaren has in mind for Morrow just 8th inning situations?"

Absolutely! This just in: JJ was not in a save situation. What if the game goes 3 or 4 extras? You just used your two best (theoretically) best late inning pitchers just to get to the bottom of the ninth tied.

In light of Morrow's nine pitches that was horrible planning.

Ya know, i gotta say....as much as i dislike the all knowing attitude of the USSM, and their Kool aid drinking drones........at least they understand the game and can back it up with reason.

Geoff, this sealed the deal for me......you have absolutely no clue about the game of baseball, fraud and phony comes to mind.

I'll keep reading the blog because there are some fun and interesting people contributing here, but your work has no credibility, and borders on inane babbling.

The fact that you can't see the difference between Cairo hitting in that situation and sexson hitting in that situation speaks volumes.....you have no friggin clue.....but hey, you fit in well with this organization.

love the Mariners and will continue to watch them. I moved here from the Midwest, when the Royals were a competing team (George Brett, Willie Wilson, Frank White, etc.) and loved watching the Mariners. I stepped it up a notch in 1995 when I saw a team that was having fun, win over the overrated Yankees. Since then, I've been hooked. I still watch the games and root for them. I won't stop. I like seeing them lose as much as anyone does - not at all. They are missing something and it hasn't been in Mariner baseball since 2004. Fun playing the game. They look like they're trying too hard instead of relaxing and playing like it's fun. You can all bitch about their season, and I probably will too, for dumb, overcompensating decisions by Mac and Bavasi. But the Red Sox had to wait nearly a century for success and they Yanks are overpaying a bunch of losers themselves. GO MARINERS!!!

As to the Morrow thing........JJ needs the work, the bullpen has been managed as poorly, if not more poorly than the lineup.......

Ideally, JJ would have pitched a lot better, and Ibanez would have homered to end it, but it didn't work out that way. However, if JJ is injured in any way, he shouldn't be pitching period (I am a firm believer that something is wrong).

That was a tough call.....but Morrow could/should have gone another inning in a tie game......if JJ comes in and no one scores, you have to get someone else up to throw, which burns even one or two more arms.

Although some closers do it well, multi-inning stints are not every closers deal. We saw this in NY when JJ came in in the 8th and got shelled. You warm up differently if you are coming in for one batter, one innining, two innings, etc. JJ is at his best when he can really heat up in the pen. When he has to crank it down a bit to perhaps go longer I really think he loses his edge.

Bottom line is I still think JJ is okay, just mismanaged along with the rest of the franchise.

This roster is poorly constructed enough without having the manager hamstrung by a slugger whose bosses are afraid to see him fail.

If Sexson can't play -- I mean, if he can't even match the production and defensive ability of Miguel Cairo -- aren't we at least owed a legitimate first baseman? What would it take to pry Joe Koshansky from Colorado, or Bryan Myrow from San Diego, or some other Ken Phelps clone to hit seventh and hold the spot until next year?

It really is puzzling why McLaren pulled Morrow as he did. Capo makes a good point that JJ could end up pitching an inning or two and the game is still tied. Then who pitches? and is it really more important for JJ to pitch the 9th and maybe also the 10th more than it is for him to pitch, say, the 11th or 12th? Maybe I could understand Mac's reasoning if he thought "I'll put in JJ now because I think we can win this game in the bottom of the 9th with the hitters I have or plan to have up at the plate." But I don't think that could have been the reason because he sent Cairo back out to hit.

I think our first mistake of this season was having Brad Wilkerson in RF for so long and Mike Morse on the bench when he hit 400 in ST. Then he gets hurt. Morse should've been starting that first series but now niether of those guys are on the bench. Every other problem has been a domino-effect from that.