Seattle Mariners fire Manager John McLaren

Bill Jempty | Friday, June 20, 2008

The team has the worst record in baseball at present. From AP-

SEATTLE — John McLaren is the latest member of the Seattle Mariners to get cut loose. He probably won’t be the last.

On the day McLaren was fired as manager, Seattle executives said they agree with franchise cornerstone Ichiro Suzuki that players should also be jettisoned from the team with the worst record in the majors.

After beginning the year with playoff expectations, the Mariners are now in the midst of what appears to be a lost season. They fired general manager Bill Bavasi this week and followed by dismissing McLaren on Thursday.

Bench coach Jim Riggleman was promoted to run the team, starting Friday night in Atlanta. He became Seattle’s fifth manager in six seasons.

It is too early to tell, but the Mariners may have regressed to the franchise’s early days when they were the laughingstock of the American League. Among the Mariner’s worst misadventures in that period, was the hiring of Maury Wills as manager. Despite the disappointment this season, McLaren’s time as manager wasn’t the worst in Mariner history.

Jim Riggleman has managed twice before in the majors, with the Cubs and Padres. Rob Neyer blogged ‘Riggleman probably will be gone after this season unless the Mariners play .600 ball the rest of the way’. And even that might not be enough to save his job. Firing managers in mid-seasons, with the exception of Jack McKeon taking over the Florida Marlins in 2003 as one example, rarely turn things around for a team. Seattle fans are at least a year away from the team being respectable again. If not longer.

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Tags | MLB Bill Jempty, Florida Marlins, Seattle Mariners

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