Yes, it's true that Eric Wedge ripped a big chunk of the lid off of the Pandora's Box within which lies the realm of the Mariners brass.
And, combined with the timing of Geoff Baker leaving the Mariners beat, and the end of another frustrating season, among other things, all manner of passion was unleashed.
Not a bad thing.
But hold the phone just a minute.
Though there's nothing wrong with a little "Front Office = Bad; Those fighting Front Office = Good" it seems like maybe a little perspective is lost.
There are many issues, of course, with respect to the state of the organization, but it seems to me that two lessons were learned from the Bavasi era:
Clearly, pursuing Prince Fielder or Josh Hamilton would not constitute a "Silva" contract; and trading for Justin Upton would not be a "Choo" trade.
Now ... what, specifically, was Eric Wedge asking for, and should he have gotten it?
1. He says the organization should "stick with" kids.
The "kids" that should have been stuck with -- Ackley, Smoak, Saunders, Montero -- were certainly stuck with. I'm not sure what the gripe is.
If he means the club should have tried harder to squeeze something out of Carlos Peguero or Casper Wells or Trayvon Robinson or Alex Liddi ... well, he's just wrong. Other teams have come to same conclusion.
Doug Fister was a huge mistake, but not because the club didn't "stick with him." Zduriencik viewed him, in NFL terms, as a backup quarterback he could cash in for draft picks. Not only was he wrong, his draft picks mostly flopped. But that's not the failure that Wedge is indicting him for.
2. He says the organization needed more veterans with long-term deals
Given that the organization did pursue Fielder, Hamilton and Upton, the only way you can read this indictment is a demand for "Silva" contracts or "Choo" trades.
Zduriencik has, indeed, been steadfast in not doing that. Whether that is from him, or from the upper brass reacting to the Bavasi fallout, I don't know.
But I don't think it's grounds for criticism.
I think they are right to keep their powder dry. It may be frustrating to go with Bay or Harang types, but why make a commitment in years or players for guys who aren't any better?
3. Had Wedge earned the right to demand different moves from the brass?
No.
In the economic world there are "commodity" products/services and "value-added" products/services.
"Commodities" are difficult to distinguish one source from the other. You generally don't go seek out oranges from a specific farm or oil from a specific refinery.
Wedge is a "commodity" manager in my book. He meets the minimum standards, but doesn't necessarily bring anything out of the ordinary to the table.
[Aside: Zduriencik may well be a "commodity" GM as well, but he brings with him McNamara, who is very much a "value-added" draft guru.]
Some managers might earn the right to expect certain personnel from the front office, but I don't really think Wedge has.
So he may be the bold "truth-teller" and deserve credit for that, but that doesn't mean he's right.
As it relates to Z. In siding with "them" (LincStong), he's not being selfish. He's not just protecting himself, his employment, and his $500k salary. He's protecting many others in the FO, close friends like McNamara, etc. Sure he cut out Fusco and Blengino, but Z getting canned over principle means those other guys go as well. And maybe don't have such an easy time finding another spot.
One curious item to add is that if Wedge did disagree so much with the brass; re all the items you mentioned why is he deciding now to be the "bold truth teller."
Fact is he's only finished 1st once in 10 years as manager with a 48% for his career. He deserves a lot of blame for 3 losing seasons and can't seem to take the heat.
With 99 percent of everything you say here. Good summation of the facts on the ground.
well put
Sincere thanks from me to Wedgie for his refusal to take the 1 year extension offered by the M's Brain Trust, apparently twice - once in the last off season and again at the end of this uplifting year. I personally could not stomach another year of Wedgie as M's Field General; literally anyone will be better from my viewpoint. So again, Wedgie, thanks for being stubbon-stupid and not accepting the extension the M's were foolish enough to offer to you.
IMO, Wedgie will never get another MLB manager position, for 3 reasons:
1) He's a loser as an MLB manager - 2 winning seasons in 10 years isn't going to draw him any offers.
2) He's a major health risk - would you want to be the GM that hires Wedgie as manager and then watch him collapse as he arugues with an ump over a bad call? Oh that's right, Wedgie never argues with umps because he never sticks up for his players during games , but you get the idea - Wedgie represents an unreasonable health risk in a high pressure position.
3) Would you hire a manager that has gone on a tirade against his bosses in the front office like Wedgie has done in the last week? He has burnt every bridge he had with the M's front office, and no other GM is going to risk that behavior by hiring him.
So, good luck, Wedgie, wherever you end up -- I hear there's an opening as Field Director in Miguel Olivo's newly-opened Advanced School for Catching Fundamentals & OBP-Based Hitting Approach -- maybe you should apply.
By the way, Scoscia does not have a contract for next year either,... and when the press asked him, he said it was not February yet.
Is that it may be well known that the M's are full of it. And that doesn't seem too far fetched given the M's trouble of getting major FAs.
Point 1... I think this is more about Carp, Kelley, Delabar and others that have been traded due to 40-man pressure that's been slowly coming up. Bay over Carp comes to mind. The M's almost ALWAYS go with the Veteran over Youth if the Veteran does even 90% of the Youth Option.
Point 2... I think this is variation on more or less the Piniella argument that Howie & Chuckie don't know how to win. The M's have always 'gone' for players, but they almost never go for the kill. When combined with Part 1, this is more or less a stars & scrubs argument because the M's never had a need for a Civic.
Also, Z's problem really has been the fact that he's been stuck with going with Plan C and Plan D because Plan A or B never even get close to the light of day. Some of it might be Howie & Chuckie. But Plan C and D also are barely coherent because they're plans like having 5 DHs on the roster. That's like being a 12 year old and playing Fantasy Baseball for the first time.
There are some organizations that are simply seen as circus clown acts. One team is the Marlins. Unfortunately, the M's might be on that list as well.
With regard to Wedge, If I remember, there have been other managers who did similar things to owners like Angelos and Wilpon.
And Wedge is smart. When your local beat is lauding you for walking away, it's kinda obvious that Wedge saw that he could throw down without hurting is career.
Wedge will be back. I wouldn't be surprised if he popped up with the Rangers after their third year of failure.
I think he ends up as a Jimy Williams, as bench coach to a manager that respects his knowledge. Whether he gets the chance to manage again is a bit harder - there's only 30. But I agree leaving the M's this way will not be looked at the same way as Riggleman bailing on the Nats, or a former M's manager and his red pickup.
If he lands with the Rangers (if they dump Ron Washington) it will be as bench coach to a Matt Williams - type. The Texas brain trust will hire at the top end.