A quick look at April-May for the M's over the last decade to me shows that there is something else going on. It transcends managers, GMs, and players. I don't know what it is, but you'll find a 3-13, 2-8, 5-16 stretch in just about every early season. I know almost every team has tough stretches, but we seem to have ours early in seasons frequently.
When the regular season starting gun fires, this team, regardless of personnel, seems to have a very hard time getting started. Is it culture? Is it weather? I don't know, but digging holes early seems to be a Mariner tradition. If you can't isolate this specifically to Servais, and when you see 8 guys in your lineup hitting worse than pitchers over the first week it most likely is not the manager, I think you have to look at other things.
I honestly have absolutely. no. idea.
Except that this team seems to get my focus on the NFL draft every year.....