The Mariners fired Zduriencik's scouting director  -- you know, the one who was in place when Nick Franklin was drafted and in place during the general transition of Mariners minor league baseball from "joke" to "scary good." 

Spec says:  

From a raw inside perspective, having one of your first hires and a long-time personal friend fired out from under you is a very bad sign of one's standing within an organization.

I'm not sure if Z was just caught up in the moment or what, but the Lueke saga has burned up a TON of his inside capital if you read between the lines.  Lots of fudging and blame-shifting and, now, scapegoating of a buddy.  It's not clear who's right, but Z doesn't end up pure no matter how if ends up being sliced.  He either had no idea, or had some idea and fudged, and either way it's a dark spot.  And his story doesn't line up with Adair's or the Rangers' versions.

It's REALLY too bad that his moment of great triumph could also put him on thin ice.

Spot on as usual, bro'.

.

Q.  What do you mean, "compass"?

A.  For those of you just joined us, Dr. Detecto has spent more time chairing Fortune 500 steering committees than has the average Mariners blogger.  We mention it because it's relevant.

And Dr. D has generally walked around the food fight involving Josh Leuke.  However, the Mariners' firing of Carmen Fusco has moved us to chime in.

We also work our day job around ethics and philosophy, as you probably know.  This, of course, does not mean that we're always right.  It does mean that there have been 25 years or so of sorting through food fights to try to find the reasonable middle ground.

We've got no preconceived position on Josh Leuke's criminal background and its appropriate professional ramifications.

.

Q.  In a corporate setting, what is the message sent here?

A.  When my 5th-level manager (the VP) fired the (e.g.) best friend and right-hand man of my 4th-level Director, I took that to mean that the VP didn't like the Director any more. 

It meant, in the companies I was around, that the 4th-level would be tolerated for as long as he was perfect:  no important timelines missed, all budgets come in nicely under, no defect rates or customer issues, okay, we'll see what happens for another year.

Maybe Lincoln and Armstrong mean something different.  Maybe those two, with Zduriencik, strategized to make Fusco the scapegoat.  I seriously doubt it, but:  who knows, right?  I wasn't in that meeting, as it were.

.

Q.  Is that an overreaction by the 5th-level for this kind of foulup, or is it the job of the 3rd- and 4th-levels to keep their feet off land mines?

A.  It is certainly the job of the 3rd- and 4th-levels to stay away from land mines -- visible or invisible land mines.

If you're a Director and you foul up badly, embarrassing the Company in public, they can and will fire you for it.  The more so in a Japanese company, which is where Lincoln was born and raised.

Was it an accident?  Were your intentions good?  Was it totally not your fault?  It doesn't matter.  You foul up huge, you get moved.

Lincoln probably views himself as being very lenient towards Zduriencik with this decision.  In the abstract, I would agree with him.

.

Part 2

.