SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners looked beyond the big-money contracts to players who haven’t delivered and losing seasons that put general manager Bavasi on the now-renowned “hot seat.”
They didn’t let the 15 losses in 17 games — a monumental slide that cost them a place in the playoffs this year — cloud what they thought of manager John McLaren.
The Mariners, particularly CEO Howard Lincoln and president Chuck Armstrong, considered the big picture in determining the futures of general manager and manager.
Thursday, they decided that both Bavasi and McLaren would return in 2008 despite criticism from fans and media during what was a frustrating, yet a winning, season.
“It’s so easy to give up on people and fall into the trap of fans who are yelling for people’s heads all the time,” Lincoln said.
Players were told of the decisions during a team meeting Thursday afternoon, and they applauded McLaren.
“I’m glad it was announced before the offseason,” outfielder Raul Ibanez said. “It’s nice to know there’s going to be stability.”
Lincoln, whose “hot seat” comment early last offseason put Bavasi and former manager Mike Hargrove on notice that their jobs would be in jeopardy if the team struggled again, said he was satisfied with the Mariners’ progress this year.
“Chuck (Armstrong) and I feel that Bill has met the challenge we gave him, the old hot-seat challenge,” Lincoln said. “The challenge was to at least get this thing turned around and have a winning season. We did it with players who helped contribute to that winning season who he brought in.”
Bavasi and his front office added such hitters as Jose Guillen and Jose Vidro, and they helped transform the M’s from one of the worst offensive teams in the American League to one of the best. He also signed free agent pitcher Miguel Batista, who has a career-best 15 victories going into his start Saturday night.
But, in rebuilding three-fifths of the starting rotation with veterans he hoped would add stability, Bavasi also signed Jeff Weaver, who is 7-13 entering tonight’s start, and traded for Horacio Ramirez, who was 8-7 and struggled so badly that he was pulled from the rotation early this month.
The trade hurt the club in two ways. Ramirez struggled and the player who Bavasi traded to the Atlanta Braves, highly regarded relief pitcher Rafael Soriano, has pitched well.
Bavasi added free agent veterans Chris Reitsma and Arthur Rhodes last offseason, but they both suffered elbow injuries and weren’t factors.
It left the Mariners with a young bullpen, especially in middle and setup relief, that wore down when the starting pitchers failed to work deep into games.
That became a key element in the Mariners’ slump in late August and early September, when they won two of 17 games.
Bavasi’s reign also is responsible for Richie Sexson, who hasn’t been the impact power hitter the Mariners envisioned when they signed him to a four-year, $50 million contract in 2004. And Weaver is making $8.325 million this season.
With a $113 million player payroll in 2007, many expected more of the Mariners.
Armstrong said the payroll probably would be similar in 2008, when the Mariners’ main goal is to improve the starting pitching. There’s little doubt there will be an even greater expectation of winning the division title.
“We had to balance the disappointment of not making the playoffs against the winning season that we have,” Lincoln said. “On balance, we come out feeling that we are making steady progress. Certainly not as much progress as I was hoping for when we started the season, but nevertheless progress.”
Armstrong and Lincoln also said they were encouraged by changes Bavasi has made to the scouting and player development departments, another factor in their decision to retain him. Every minor league team in the system except rookie-level Peoria finished with a losing record, but Armstrong said more prospects seem ready for the major leagues than before, naming outfielder Adam Jones and catcher Jeff Clement.
McLaren has a 40-41 record since taking over the team after Hargrove’s surprise resignation on July 2.
“John took a club at as bad a time as you could ever take a club,” Bavasi said.
McLaren said he was confident he would return, but also was prepared if the team wouldn’t bring him back.
“I’m not saying I wasn’t anxious, but I had confidence,” he said. “I felt it would work out, and if it didn’t I was ready for anything.”
McLaren’s future may have been saved by the team’s performance after their stretch of losses in August and September. Entering Thursday, the Mariners had won nine of 15 games.
“They rallied for McLaren,” Armstrong said. “That’s one of the things we took into consideration. As down as they were after losing 15 of 17, they hitched up their pants and fought hard all the way to the end.
“We’re going to finish second in the American League West, which I feel is the toughest division in baseball.”
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