Mariners fire Don Wakamatsu

[Bucky]

The Seattle Mariners, a truly fucked baseball team this year, fired Don Wakamatsu their manager today.

The Mariners have fired manager Don Wakamatsu.

Bench coach Ty Van Burkleo, pitching coach Rick Adair and performance coach Steve Hecht were also fired Monday by the Mariners, who are 42-70 and in last place in the American League West.

"I have concluded that these changes needed to be made now and that they are in the best interest of the Mariners as we move forward," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a release from the team. "Don, Ty and Rick are all good baseball men and they have done their very best. But we are where we are. I no longer have confidence that Don, Ty and Rick are the right long-term fit for our organization. New leadership is needed and it is needed now."

more

An interesting side note to the timing of this termination is that Monday night is Japan Heritage Night at Safeco Field for the Mariners . . . and they fire their Japanese-American manager before the game.

[AssKissinger]

They have a huge payroll and that expensive as shit new stadium with the retractable roof. I can understand why they expect better results.

[Greji]

They have a huge payroll and that expensive as shit new stadium with the retractable roof. I can understand why they expect better results.

Among other things, they're still paying off their part of the 30 million dollar three contract that the Nintendo asshole gave Dr. Strangeglove, otherwise known as Jojima. Hanshin did not pick it all of those costs.

[TennoChinko]

This...
http://twitter.com/pgammo/status/21328274264



and, soon after this...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2012635716_gammons_ichiro_lobbies_for_bob.html

Gammons: Ichiro lobbies for Bobby Valentine. Mariners: "No basis" to the report

Larry Stone
Update 2 p.m.: I've now been informed that Ichiro told a Mariners official that he has not talked to anyone about any manager, and would not. Ichiro told the official that would be disrespecteful to his teammates and his manager.

A very interesting tweet from Peter Gammons was sent about 9:30 this morning, and it's getting a lot of attention. Here's what Gammons, now with MLB.com after a long stint with ESPN, wrote:

One Mariners person says Ichiro has talked to ownership about hiring Bobby Valentine, Suzuki's preference
Gammons, of course, is a legendary baseball reporter and probably the most well-connected person in the business. Not sure exactly what a "Mariners person" is, but I've always trusted Gammons sources. He's right far more often than he's wrong -- that's why he was presented the Spink Award at the Hall of Fame a few years ago.

That said, I just checked with a Mariners official (a "Mariners person", if you will), who said that "to the best of our knowledge, there's no truth to it."

The official said he had talked to Howard Lincoln, the Mariners' chairman and CEO, who said there was "no basis" to the report.

Of course, the obvious question is whether the "ownership" to which Gammons referred is Hiroshi Yamauchi, the Nintendo chairman and the top person in the Mariners' hierarchy.

If Ichiro indeed went straight to Yamauchi in Japan and lobbied for Valentine -- and it's at least conceivable he did that without informing anyone else in the Mariners organization -- it's a hugely significant development. It's no secret that Yamauchi has a special relationship with Ichiro, and his endorsement would be powerful. Lincoln, however, said he had no knowledge of any conversation between Ichiro and Yamauchi regarding Valentine, according to the spokesman.