Tag Archives: Seattle Mariners manager search

Revisiting Zduriencik’s Infamous 2010 Letter

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As the Mariners begin their search for their third manager in five seasons, we at Mission Mariner are reminded of the letter Jack Zduriencik e-mailed to season ticket holders the last time the Mariners found themselves in this very position.

The letter written after the fateful 2010 season, which saw the Mariners lose 101 games, and was highlighted by the firing of manager Don Wakamatsu midway through the season.

The letter where Zduriencik stood tall and defied all those know-it-all arm chair general managers by confidently assuring everyone that there were “plenty of reasons to believe that our long-term plan is working.”

It’s now been three years since that bold assertion made by Zduriencik. An assertion that teetered   on arrogance considering the calamity that transpired both on and off the field that season. Nonetheless, it served as a direct response to the cynics who now had 2010 to use as confirmation for their dissension, while providing reason, for those thinking of jumping ship, to stay on board a little while longer.

First, the farm system.

“We’ve got a flock of top-rated prospects on their way to the big club. These include position players Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Carlos Peguero, Nick Franklin, Kyle Seager, Johermyn Chavez, Greg Halman and Matt Mangini, along with hard-throwing pitchers like Michael Pineda, Blake Beavan, Dan Cortes, Mauricio Robles, Maikel Cleto and Anthony Varvaro. Many of our best prospects are headed for winter ball and the fall instructional league – they’re driven to improve and play at the next level.

Some of these youngsters will develop faster than others, but we’ve got a rich pipeline of talent. Impressive, considering how thin our minor league system was just a couple of years ago. Plus there are more top prospects coming: We have the #2 pick in the 2011 June draft and we continue to scout and sign top international players.”

Now, fourteen “top prospects” and a top draft pick – eventual selection Danny Hultzen – coming down a “rich pipeline” all of whom are “driven to improve and play at the next level” is pretty impressive.  Most every franchise would be lucky to have such talent in their farm system.

Except, today, eight of those top prospects are no longer with the team (Chavez, Halman, Mangini, Pineda, Cortes, Robles, Cleto and Varvaro), one is still in the minors (Peguero), one is dealing with a serious rotator injury (Hultzen), and four are still trying to prove they should stick on a big league roster (Smoak, Ackley, Franklin and Beavan).

Of that group of fourteen, only one has solidified himself as a productive everyday major league player (Seager).

So, the minor league talent hasn’t panned out as Zduriencik projected back in 2010.  No problem. There’s talent on the big league club, right?

“At the big league level, Mariners pitchers tied for the third best ERA in the American League in 2010. Felix Hernandez has fulfilled his potential as a perennial Cy Young candidate. Jason Vargas, Doug Fister and Luke French made major strides in 2010. We like our pitching; our staff is young, developing and hungry.

Two young players, catcher Adam Moore and outfielder Michael Saunders, got valuable playing time and impressed scouts around the league. Meanwhile, our four core players – Ichiro, Felix, Guti and Chone Figgins  – are signed to long-term deals.”

This time, Zduriencik names nine major league players, four of whom he specifically labels as “core” players, as well as group of pitchers singled out as essentially young, developing, top flight rotation arms.

And what franchise wouldn’t want that?   Not knowing any better, one would surmise the Mariners were sporting a solid core group of players to build around, two young impressive up-the-middle defenders, and one of the best young rotations in baseball.

Unfortunately, of those nine players named, six are no longer with the team (Vargas, Fister, French, Moore, Ichiro, Figgins), one spends more time on the DL than on the field (Guti), and one is still struggling to show he belongs on a big league roster (Saunders).

Of the four deemed “core” players, only Felix has lived up to the billing.  Regarding those Mariners pitchers who tied for the third best ERA in the American League?  Just Felix remains.

So, what does all this mean?

It means you can crumble up that letter from 2010 and throw it into the recycle bin.  Because all that’s really remaining from all of those “top prospects” and “core” major league players that Zduriencik boasted about is Seager, Felix and, um, well…that’s about it.

Seager and Felix.

It also means that for as much hope and excitement the Mariners want you to feel with the newest wave of top prospects to have reached the big leagues – Mike Zunino, Brad Miller, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, and Nick Franklin – the 2010 season and the Zduriencik letter is a yet another stark reminder that prospect rankings are meaningless as it relates to future MLB success.

Because when the 2013 season kicked off, the Mariners started four of the top 30 prospects from 2010 – Montero (4), Ackley (11), Smoak (13) and Saunders (30).

All of whom were collectively ranked higher than the next subsequent catcher/infielder/first baseman/outfielder quartet ranked on that list – Buster Posey (7), Alceides Escobar (12), Logan Morrison (20) and Todd Frazier (43).  A group of players that every GM in baseball today would probably take over the foursome the Mariners had accumulated.

And if we are keeping it real, most every GM in baseball would probably just take Posey over Montero, Ackley, Smoak and Saunders

Which isn’t to say that those four can’t eventually live up to expectations.  Or that Zunino, Miller, Walker, Paxton, or Franklin won’t end up being productive major league players.  Rather, audacious boasting of unproven players will prove foolhardy more often than not, no matter what number precedes a player’s name on some prospect rankings list.

Which is probably why Howard Lincoln talked strictly about baseball operations instead of player evaluations when recently asked his personal thoughts on the current state of the team.  And considering how Lincoln, Zduriencik and the rest of the Mariners’ upper management team has seemingly adopted a dormant approach when it comes to expounding on organizational decision making, it’s not really surprising that Lincoln quickly side-stepped the opportunity to offer his opinion regarding the young players on the big league roster.

Or maybe Lincoln, Zduriencik and the rest of the Mariners’ upper management team learned their lesson from 2010, and are not prepared to make the same mistake twice.

Because Zduriencik’s 2010 letter – that infamous letter meant to show season ticket holders that the Mariners were, in fact, doing things right despite losing 101 games – now stands as a glaring beacon of irony, warning the baseball world of the dangers that come from prognosticating the future of prospects, especially by a franchise who’s successful return to playing competitive and meaningful baseball hinges on an uncompromising prospect-only rebuild methodology.

Lou Piniella Rejects the Mariners

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The mystic chords of memory.

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln gave his first inaugural address to a fractured nation, proclaiming that, despite the uncertainties of the time, the county’s shared grandeur of the past would soon be resurrected, thereby uniting a diminished populace.

This past week, another Lincoln (Howard, that is), Jack Zduriencik and the Seattle Mariners reminded Mariners fans that we, too – despite uncertain times – are forever united by a common history.

A common history of success that Lincoln and Zduriencik also hoped could be resurrected, thereby uniting a fractured and diminished fan base.

Recent reports from the hot stove indicate that Jack Zduriencik contacted Lou Piniella to see if he would be interested in managing the rudderless Mariners.  Some reports suggest the Mariners put on a “full court press” in an attempt to coax the 70-year old out of retirement, although Mariners officials are now refuting such accounts.  However aggressive the Mariners’ efforts were, it wasn’t enough as Piniella turned down the chance to once again don Mariner blue and teal.

Now, watching Sweet Lou once again out on Safeco Field lighting a fire under his players, shot putting bases into the outfield, and getting up close and personal with umpires when they’ve made a bad call would be a welcomed sight after being exposed to the managerial malaise of Eric Wedge the past three seasons.

But given the track record of this franchise since 2003 – a track record of focusing managerial pursuits on assistant coaches looking for first opportunities, or ex-managers seeking second chances – the anti Piniella types, if you will – the news of a Piniella re-hiring was indeed surprising.

Perhaps even baffling, in a “hey, let’s go out and acquire four DH’s” type of way.

And, of course, in this day and age of advanced statistics, there is the question of whether an old-school manager like Piniella, who isn’t the best at handling pitching staffs, and who puts more of a premium on player production than he does on player hand holding, is actually the right fit for team that, well, – let’s be honest – has needed a lot of hand holding the past few years.

And while most of my Mariner brethren are scratching their heads over an attempted Mariners-Piniella reunion, I’m wondering if there might be a little bit of intellect behind the move?

Perhaps a reboot  in tactic last seen since, yes, the hiring of Lou Piniella.

This past season, many had high expectations for a Mariner club coming off a 75-87 record, their third straight improved season.

With the additions of power hitters Kendrys Morales and Mike Morse to stabilize the middle of the order, expected improvements from their young core players, a solid bullpen, and the return of starting pitcher Felix Hernandez, many expected at least a .500 season with a playoff berth a possibility.

As things turned out, Morse struggled with injury all season, and never was able to display the power he produced in years prior.  The young core was unable to take any significant steps forward.  The bullpen was shaky at best.  And Felix wasn’t the dominating ace everyone has come to expect.

The result was a season where the Mariners finished 71-91 – the sixth worst record in all of baseball – while finishing 25 games back from division winner Oakland.

In the eyes of most, the M’s not only failed to reach expectations, but more concerning, took a big step backwards when most predicted continued steps forward.

Which now, unexpectedly, has the Mariners reaching out to Piniella to try and turn things around.

Sound vaguely familiar?

It should.

In 1991, Jim Lefebvre and the Seattle Mariners finally accomplished what its long suffering, infinitesimal fan base had been waiting for – a .500 season.

Led by a fairly young (yet fairly accomplished) core headed by 21 year-old Ken Griffey Jr., the Mariners finished 83-79 marking the first winning season in franchise history.

Riding a wave of optimism into the offseason, the front office traded for slugger Kevin Mitchell to bolster the middle of its offense.  Mitchell averaged 36 homeruns during the three previous seasons, and with his bat hitting cleanup behind Martinez and Griffey, and in front of Buhner, the Mariners envisioned a potent middle-of-the-order lineup that could make playoff contention possible.

But, as such the story so often goes, that vision never came to fruition.

Mitchell suffered through an injury plagued season, playing in only 99 games due to an early season wrist injury, and then a broken foot suffered the first week of September, placing him on the disabled list for the remainder of the year.  The vaunted power Mitchell had previously displayed evaporated that season, having managed only 9 homeruns and a .428 slugging percentage.

Adding insult to (Mitchell’s) injury, the departures of Bill Swift and Mike Jackson – the central pieces used to acquire Mitchell – left a Mariner bullpen short on quality arms.  The result was a relief corps that posted a 4.84 runs allowed in save situations, and 4.72 runs allowed overall.

In a season that began with high expectations and talks of the playoffs, the Mariners floundered.

Badly.

They ended the year with a 64-98 record – the second worst record in all of baseball – finishing 32 games behind first place Oakland

Much like 2013, the 1992 season exposed the Mariners for what they were – a fairly young and talented up and coming team, lacking confidence, and still trying to figure out how to win at the MLB level.

So the Mariners went out and did something that shocked most everyone in the MLB world:  they invested a significant amount of money on a manager who expected nothing less than winning.

Enter Lou Piniella and his three World Series rings – two as a player and one as manager of the Reds just three years prior.

No more Jim Snyders.  No more Jim Lefebvres.  No more Bill Plummers.

Most of all, no more coddling the kids.

This time, the hiring was about bringing in a leader who would set the tone and direction, not only for the players but the franchise as well.

Simply put, it was about attitude. It was about winning.  And as we all know, that’s all Piniella did with the M’s, posting  7 winning seasons over the next 10 years, including four 90+ win seasons, four playoff appearances and the historic 116 win season of 2001.

Now, 10 years removed from the Piniella era, the Mariners are again coming off a season where they failed to reach heightened expectations, and are again searching for a manager to help turn things around.

And like all those years since Piniella last managed the Mariners, the names that have surfaced in the media have been more of the usual suspects – assistant coaches looking for their first shot to manage in the big leagues.

Guys like Bryan Price, Joey Cora, Chip Hale, and internal candidates Daren Brown, Robby Thompson and even Ted Simmons.

But maybe the attempted Piniella hiring is a sign that this time around, the Mariners are looking for something more than just a low cost manager who won’t rock the boat.

An indication the Mariners are looking for a manager to first and foremost lead players, not pamper and tutor players.

Someone overflowing with so much moxy, the surrounding players will become saturated in excellence, confidence, and that “refuse to lose” arrogance that defined the Piniella years.

Maybe, just maybe,  this time around Zduriencik has come to realize that with youth and rawness on the field, it’s best to have success and experience in the dugout.

And that our own mystic chords of memory can cast a light upon the pathway back towards success.