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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   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: Sunday, July 20, 2008 M's fans deserve more By John Sleeper Herald Columnist The Mariners drew better than 42,000 Friday night. It was Felix Hernandez bobblehead doll night. On Saturday, nearly 38,000 turned out to watch Miguel Batista give up seven earned runs in two innings to the Indians and see the M's make 0-5 Jeremy Sowers look like Walter (Big Train) Johnson. Bless the fans. Anyone who still doesn't believe Seattle is a baseball town is just missing it. That, or the garlic fries are out of this world. The team is fighting it out with the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals for the worst record in organized baseball. With no World Series appearances and just four postseason playoffs since their inception into the majors in 1977, expectations are roughly equal to those of the Washington Generals. Season 2008 counts as one of the low-water marks in team history, rivaling that of the Bill Plummer year of 1992, when the M's managed just 64 victories. They're better than an even shot to finish in last place in the AL West five years from now. And still, the team's 2008 attendance averages better than 28,000, just under that of the Chicago White Sox. Fans deserve more. Priced a night out at Safeco Field lately? Game ticket, parking, franks and drinks and a family of four is looking at the national budget of Bulgaria. What keeps them coming around? They deserve more than Richie Sexson's release. More than a new general manager. More than a new field manager. Fans deserve a change in direction. They deserve a change at the top. Why is it that CEO Howard Lincoln and team president Chuck Armstrong continue to call the shots here, when they head a team that very well could be the first 100-game loser with a $100 million payroll? Former GM Bill Bavasi took the brunt of the blame for the team's regression during his reign, but Lincoln and Armstrong have been the long-term constants in the team's sometimes-on, mostly-off ride since that magical, franchise-saving year of 1995. Lose 'em, I say. Lose 'em now and allow someone else to hire the GM, manager and sign off on the upcoming multiple player transactions. While it's true that Lincoln and Armstrong oversaw the 2001 season, when the M's won 116 games, it also is true that the team had GM Pat Gillick and manager Lou Piniella as their head baseball guys. And they let both get away in less than friendly departures. Recent personnel decisions, approved by Lincoln and Armstrong, give clues as to what chased good people away. Who signed off on aging, unproductive Kenji Johjima's three-year, $24 million deal when budding star Jeff Clement was getting ready to join the varsity? Erik Bedard's aching shoulder will make it next to impossible for the M's to unload him before the July 31 trading deadline, which makes the five-for-one swap for the moody, ineffective Bedard even more laughable. How many disasters do we allow under Lincoln's and Armstrong's watch? Just in the past few years, we have Sexson; Jeff Weaver; Johjima; Bedard; Carlos Silva; Rich Aurilia; Brad Wilkerson; Jose Vidro; Scott Spezio; the trade that sent Carlos Guillen to Detroit for Juan Gonzalez and Ramon Santiago, Jeff Cirillo, Miguel Olivo, Jarrod Washburn (four years, $37 million for a No. 3 starter at best), Carl Everett. Bavasi was the fall guy for most of the above. His bosses had their hands in the moves as well. Fans deserve better. Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, "Dangling Participles," go to www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.

1. Big rig crash shuts down 41st Street onramp to I-5 2. Race for governor will be another close fight 3. Here's your 12-day Evergreen State Fair planner 4. IRS attempts to seize homes of Arlington woman accused of embezzlement 5. Longtime Herald photographer Jim Leo honored with lights and sirens 6. The Herald restructures, cuts 10 jobs 7. Big workload for Frye 8. Everett Guard members prepare for deployment to Iraq 9. Incumbent Eric Lucas holds slim lead over David Hulbert in Snohomish County Superior Court race 10. Rep. Rick Larsen and former sheriff Rick Bart advance in 2nd Congressional District race 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

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