The optimistic take to the GM's 'non-response'? ... is simply that it's easier for Capt Jack to sell a GM on a "change of scenery" scenario, if Figgins isn't benched the week leading up to the trade deadline. Do you want to park your star's keister on the bench and then tell your friends to go scout him?
If Zduriencik apprised Wok of this, back channel, that he's working some things ... then Wok can go about his business with no loss of face.
It would be a Betancourt reprise -- he plays for a little while but at the first chance, he's off the team. The Betancourt Powerflush swirled the Mariner bowl for a long time.
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=== Saavik'm Dept. ===
On the other hand, if Zduriencik were giving players a blank check to mouth off to Wok in the dugout, then I would agree with MC'ers that this makes Wakamatsu a 'dead man walking.' If the trade deadline passes with Figgins still here, SSI will regard Wakamatsu as a lame-duck manager. ... we'll see.
It's one thing for a player and a manager to go at it, in private.
It's a completely different thing for a ballplayer to tell a manager to kiss his patootie, with the cameras rolling. That doesn't happen in a good organization. If it does, the inmate gets Jose Guillened to Kansas City, regardless of what it means to the performance of the lineup. By letting the players do this, you'd be setting yourself up to become a real joke around the league.
If that were the case, I would either (1) revise my sky-high opinion of the exec skills present in Seattle, or (2) need some kind of explanation as to why the front office is responding with such weakness.
Since my opinion of the execs is indeed sky-high ... and that's not off-the-cuff; it's a considered opinion relative to what we've seen in F-500 ... we'll assume that the non-response presages a move.
Crazy as it sounds, it's the only logical explanation. When you've ruled out the impossible, Saavik, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true.
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=== Albatross? ===
If I'm an opposing GM, I'm very interested in a Figgins reclamation project. The years are a little long, but $9M for a third baseman as good as Figgins can be (say +30 runs RLP), that's a nice piece to the puzzle.
Folks keep opining that Figgins has an albatross contract, and maybe they're right, but it doesn't look like one to me.
GM's know the same thing that we know: that (1) Figgins has been a 30-60 runs player, that (2) he came to Seattle and it was a disaster there, and that (3) when he leaves he'll probably revert to playing well.
Adrian Beltre's situation, Carlos Silva's, Brandon Morrow's, will only serve to embolden GM's in this interpretation. A picture's worth 1,000 words. GM's have three of them.
How those dynamics translate into actual trade possibilities, I have no earthly idea. But I give GM's a lot of credit for being willing and able to look past the sound bites.
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The M's are a joke on the field and off it, right now, but don't say that none of their young players have talent. Because some of them sure as shootin' do. Great year to be at Cheney.
Cheers,
Jeff
Been busy and am trying to get caught up on some your articles Doc. Thanks for the consistent time you put into it!! What a crazy chemistry situation from how it was supposed to be after carrying Jr off last season. More like a high school stink bomb was ignited. Long seasons in baseball can expose those things. Agree with you about a good future..just how to get there in the most direct route. Thanks!
Figgins has the right to be upset in this circumstance. Figgins did not have the right to act the way he did and I think he knows that. But if Z is able to parlay this situation into unloading Chone, well, that'll just be one more gold-plated feather in his cheiftan headdress.
The moment Ackley arrives Chone will be redundant. Three leadoff hitters does not an offense make.
I understand the reasoning behind the Figgins signing. A combination of overpaying to win in 2010, the idea that you can't build your current club around what a prospect MIGHT turn into, establishing a support system for Ichiro by bringing in somebody with a similar work ethic, setting the clubhouse example that quality at bats and OBP are important, etc. etc.
It sucks that it didn't work out but that's life sometimes. And now Z has a situation fall into his lap that grants him every excuse to back the organization out of what turned out to be a bad deal. If he has the stones to pull it off...well...you can color me quite impressed.
Its hard to see how they'll trade Figgins without eating at least part of the deal. Nobody was willing to match the Ms offer in the offseason and that was coming off a career year..
That said, the Angels might mike the most sense. Brandon Wood hasn't exactly worked out and they were 2nd in the bidding.
The Mariners are lame-ducking Wak with good reason. He's a lousy manager. This team has played so incredibly BELOW expectations that you have to look to the top to explain it. Sorry Doc...I know you love Wak...but I think he's a weak-willed players-manager and when guys like that have a bad year, the players lose all respect for him.
It is interesting how the difficulties in the clubhouse began with the abrupt and acrimonious departure of Griffey after he his playing time was reduced, the very circumstance agreed upon as a condition for his resigning last winter. Griffey and Sweeney, though similar in their ability to influence other players, could not be more dissimilar in their motivation.
My impression is that Griffey has never really been a team-first player (I remember his grousing years ago when Edgar had more fan support signs in the crowd than he did), while Sweeney is the quintessential team-first guy.
If Griffey had stepped down with grace and appreciation to the organization for giving him a last farewell opportunity even though his skill was gone, I don't think we would be having this problem. Lopez and Figgins are not mature enough to see Griffey's character, or lack thereof, but blame Wakamatsu.
The first order of business in any organization, be it business, family, or baseball club, is the authority structure that must be in place. No authority structure, no long term success. The one in charge must be in charge--with love, compassion, grace, concern--but very firmly in charge as the decision maker. Those who will not yield to that leadership must be kindly and with tears removed. It is time for the Mariner leaders to be in charge.
Great post. :cpoints:
Ya, the vets in the clubhouse got wrapped around the axle in Griffey's point of view, resenting his PT cut on his behalf as it were... that seems to have been the beginning of the end...
Perhaps a touch naive on my part, and on the front office's, to assume that a handshake deal with Griffey would produce a friendly end to his career. Emotions wind up riding high.
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As we discussed with 95Mariners offline ... last year, Wok’s ultra low key style worked out because Griff, Sweeney and indeed Branyan seemed to practically manage the clubhouse for him..
This year, the raingear isn’t holding up well in the hurricane…
May not be Wakamatsu's fault in any way, but his personality may just not be up to the sorts of issues that a chronically-losing franchise faces... am being forced to revise my earlier accolades, not because they're losing, but because of the dynamics that are evolving underneath Wok...
Not many here are Bobby V fans but there is a lot to be said for that kind of heavyweight personality in this situation...
The Mets fans want Valentine for the same reason you do, Doc. I go to 12-14 games a year at Citi with ardent Mets fans and they have been calling for Valentine since last May. What we need is a Billy Martin for three years, THEN a Wakamatsu. :)
I certainly could be wrong, but I believe that personality is not the chief characteristic of leadersnhip--it is the ability to make the tough, unpopular decision in the face of opposition. It can be done quietly and compassionately but it must be done. The leader is not the one who blusters and talks the most confidently, but the one who can make the tough, final decision based on what he feels is the right one.
I think Wakamatsu can do that. His benching of Griffey was that kind of a decision but he didn't make it soon enough, in my estimation. He hasn't lost the clubhouse, witness the play of the last two days. I think he should do exactly what he feels is the best way to go and let the chips fall--be it with Figgins, Ichiro, etc. His firm handling of Felix in this type situation last year change his season.
What I've seen with Wak to date is a REPEATED pattern of waiting far too long to react to very, very obvious problems.
Mind you ... as a general rule, I find myself being vastly MORE patient than other fans. I understand you cannot run around like a chicken with its head cut off ... but Wak has watched player after player after player go completely down the tubes ... either NEVER reacting, or only making a change in response to injury.
In 2009, Beltre got the following team games off before he hit the DL ... #40 (May 18th), #70 - (June 23rd). He had a 30 game DL stretch, and an 18-game DL stretch, and got 1 other day off for the entire season. He was hitting .544 through 40 games WITHOUT A DAY OFF.
Branyan, with a history of back issues, got an early 5 game rest in April (injury), then got a single day off between April 24th and June 18th. From June 23rd until the end of the season, he never got another "rest" day that was not a result of injury. From June 23rd, Branyan's OPS dropped from 1004 to .867 (August 28th), which is when his season ended (on the DL).
Gutierrez got some days off in the first half. But, after a rest day at the start of August, didn't get an off day for the rest of the season.
In 2010, it's been worse - with Griffey not only not getting benched while hitting like a pitcher ... but not even moved down in the lineup. His final OPS was .454 ... yet he started 23 games batting 5th and a grand total of TWO elsewhere (1 each in 6th and 7th).
Wak is making Hargrove look like a lineup genius in regards to veteran entitlement. Heck, they had to DFA Byrnes to get him off THAT horse. The team leader in OBP (Langerhans) got 7 starts (30 PAs) in May and had an .895 OPS. He got 3 starts in June (21 PAs) and 4 in July (19 PAs). While Kotchman was hitting like Ronny Cedeno's little sister, Langerhans continued to sit on the bench. Okay - TODAY with Smoak and Branyan on the roster, no need to play him ... but Figgins and Lopez play 98 games, and you can't get the only bench bat (not on the DL) with an OPS+ over 100 appears in less than 1/3 of games - and STILL has almost 40 fewer PAs than the .454 hitting DH who was DFAed at the end of May.
Make the HARD decisions? Wak hasn't made *ANY* decisions.
With Figgins, the world is SCREAMING that Figgins needs a day off or to be moved down in the lineup ... of flipped with Ichiro ... SOMETHING for almost a month. *AFTER* Figgy finally starts hitting for 2 weeks THEN Wak drops him to 9th. You want to know why Figgins doesn't respect Wak? THAT is why. On May 26th, Figgins is hitting .563, and deserves to be dropped in the lineup (or FROM the lineup). By June 5th, his OPS was up to .607. He had posted an .830 OPS over the previous 9 games, (11 for 40 with 6 walks) and THEN was moved to the #9 hole. During those 9 games, Figgy was one of the HOTTEST bats on the whole team.
A manage who takes his HOTTEST bats and moves them to 9th in the order is a moron. If your #8 hitter is hot and your #2 hitter slumping ... yes, you flip them. The #2 hitter may not be happy - but the move at least makes some sense. Players UNDERSTAND that guys streak and slump. And they know if the #8 hitter is hot (and helping the team), then shifting him to #2 in the order for a couple of weeks is likely good for the team. They can "respect" the decision, even if they dislike being moved.
But, when you move your HOT hitter to #9 in the order, it's just dumb.
Bradley replaced Figgins in the #2 slot. You know what Bradley had hit from May 28th - June 5th? .129/.176/.129 (.306). Bradley had posted a .306 OPS while Figgins was posting an .830 OPS ... and Wak puts the .306 guy into the #2 hole, and the .830 bat in the 9 slot. That's not a hard choice ... that's idiocy in the extreme. That move OBVIOUSLY lost him the respect of Figgins ... but likely also lost him the respect of any guy on the team paying attention. If you're going to reward failure and punish success, why SHOULD players respect you - or try to succeed?
Great post, Sandy.
This is what I was referring to when I was talking about Wak being the wrong man to run a Billy Beane rebuild. The reality is...Wak likes his players too much and doesn't like making changes that need to be made. Even in the case of Figgins...he waited so long because he was afraid to tick Figgins off...and naturally...this led to ticking Figgins off.
The Mariners need to fire Wakamatsu as soon as it's politically acceptible to do so...the longer he's running this show...the longer it will take to identify the talent we do have on the roster and clear the deadwood.
Yes, there's no doubt that this year is quickly resembling 2008. And for all the player's talk about accountability after Cliff Lee left town for Texas the overall quality of play has been altogether embarrassing. To dove tail onto Geoff Baker's blog post today, it's time that the front office demonstrates some vocal outward leadership and not just keep all of the M's fans hoping this is not the team culture they are desiring to build. At least Bavasis and McLaren tried to shake things up a bit in June of 2008. Don't know if it's the greatest display of leadership but at least it was innovative. See Bavasi's quote from 2008, it's quite relevant today.
General manager Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren ordered all of the food, beer and even towels removed from the clubhouse after losing 5-4 to the Los Angeles Angels. The doors were opened to the media immediately after the game — without providing the usual 10-minute cooling-off period — forcing players to explain their struggles without dodging the media.
"It's a completely demoralizing position we're in right now," Bavasi says, "based on legitimate expectations. It's true you have to be optimistic, but it's also true you have to get fed up at some point."
Change that picture from flushing to maybe the need for the plunger? All kind of stinks! Hey, great thing it is only America's "Pastime!"
Makes for an interesting last two months.
I see it very contrary. This is a poor team. No matter how well the stats are adjusted and cue balls are aligned for trick shots you still have a very poor team. Sure a few adjustmens here or there may have helped a bit, but this team is simply over matched. I see a group of under perfomers and a demoralized team dealing with the agony of defeat. It will take a little time to bail this thing out. Me...I'm hoping for a winter trading blizzard none the less.
Even after his meeting with Wak and Z, Figgins is still unapolagetic about his open, petulant insubordination. The situation is indeed crystalizing into a Figgins-or-Wak situation, as Doc predicted.
I like Wak, I dislike Figgins, and I didn't like the signing. While I would like nothing more than for Figgins to be gone by the deadline, I think the M's can wait to let Figgins regain some of his former value and get rid of him this winter.
The M's are playing for next year, so Figgins' undermining behavoir does not stand to cost them in the standings, as was the concern for the Angels when they jettisoned Guillen.
Trade him this winter to KC for Alex Gordon :-)