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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Mariners losses cost Bavasi his job 6/16/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, May 26, 2008 'Accountability' needs to begin at the top with M's By John Sleeper Herald Columnist Raise your hand if you're sick of the word "accountability" where it concerns professional athletes. That's the buzz word Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi is tossing around now. Players have to be accountable to their teammates, coaching staff, the front office, fans and themselves. They have to practice accountability every day, every game, every at-bat. Well, no kidding, Bill. But the question could be raised about when it might start with this team. It wasn't long ago that the Mariners could count on starting pitching to keep them in most games. That was the plan in the off-season when Bavasi traded for Erik Bedard and picked up Carlos Silva from free agency. It was widely thought before the season that the Mariners had one of the most formidable starting rotations in baseball. It was conceded that they may have trouble scoring runs, but with their starters routinely lasting into the seventh and eighth innings, the team would more often be in a position to win. That was the thought, anyway. But now, even the starting pitching is failing, giving manager John McLaren yet another problem to solve -- along with team hitting, fielding, relief pitching, psyche and day-to-day preparation. Going into Sunday's game, the M's had lost five straight and 18 of their past 23. They'd been outscored by the Yankees 44-12. On the road trip through Detroit and New York, two teams that started the week last in their respective divisions, Seattle had been outscored, 55-22. So Bavasi, in an 18-minute press conference during Saturday's 12-6 defeat (his apparent thought: there was nothing of note going on in the game, so he might as well chat up the media), threw the players under the bus and said McLaren's job is safe. Bavasi, to his credit, took responsibility for the team with the worst record in the American League, but the brunt of the news conference was dedicated to blasting the players. The team's payroll is a franchise-record $115 million, ninth-highest in the majors. Most expected the M's to challenge the Angels for the AL West title and at least be in the running for a Wild Card berth. Instead, they're the biggest disappointment in baseball. They have had breakdowns in nearly every aspect of the game and have been in last place in the division since May 7. Bavasi said the team lacks a vocal leader who will demand nothing but maximum, focused effort. "I think they need that player that will grab somebody by the throat and say, 'We don't do that here,'" Bavasi said. "The best teams take care of stuff in the clubhouse. They make demands of each other, and I'm not sure we've got that going on right now." Bavasi didn't mention names, but it was clear he was talking about the team's veterans -- Adrian Beltre, Richie Sexson, Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki -- and hoping against hope that one or more might take that role. Fat chance that'll happen. None of the above has that type of personality. If one pops a gasket and turns over the post-game buffet table, it would do more harm than good because he would be seen as showing fake rage and considered a phony. If the M's showed even a sign of breaking out of whatever funk they're in, it would be easy to point out that the All-Star break is weeks away and that they can turn it around. Increasingly, however, it's getting more difficult to find anything positive going on with this bunch. The problems that plague the M's go far beyond what a vocal leader and an overturned buffet table can solve. Accountability has to include upper management. The suits have to recognize what's going on here. Then they have to deal with it, either now or at the end of this lost season. Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. To reach Sleeper's blog, "Dangling Participles," go to www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.

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