SEATTLE – Richie Sexson has crossed the line from his status as a victim caught in a troublesome slump to just … trouble.
Jeff Weaver is as good as his emotions will allow him to be on a given night, which means every start is a coin flip.
Raul Ibanez hasn’t been Raul Ibanez all season, and the fact that Adam Jones was called up from Tacoma Wednesday won’t quell the calls for the youngster to play every day.
Just because the Mariners didn’t make a major deal at the trading deadline doesn’t mean they don’t have issues that may well keep them out of a spot in the playoffs.
And as the last two months of the season wear on, manager John McLaren will base his personnel decisions less on loyalty and patience and more on productivity.
We saw signs of that in the series finale against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Ben Broussard started at first for Sexson, whose struggles with the bat show no signs of letting up. And McLaren let it be known that the team can no longer afford Sexson’s problems at the plate.
Here’s McLaren’s quandary: Sexson’s history suggests he will snap out of it starting about now. But how long does McLaren wait for him to get hot before he benches him permanently in favor of Broussard, who has been more than serviceable even in a part-time basis?
“I’m not going to say that Richie is a platoon player by any stretch of the imagination,” McLaren said. “But it’s four months and Richie has to get going. He’s working hard and we keep thinking today’s going to be the day.”
So far, going into today’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox, Sexson needs to rally to reach the Mendoza Line, although he has 17 homers and 54 RBI. (If you are hitting below .200, you are said to be hitting below the Mendoza Line. Sexson goes into tonight’s game batting .198.)
Sexson looked completely lost Wednesday night after entering the game as a pinch hitter, with two strikeouts and a weak ground out. The boos rained down harder than ever.
Sexson’s thrashing about puts Broussard in a delicate position. As much as Broussard wants to play regularly, he is one of Sexson’s closest friends on the team.
“I think he’s going to carry us,” Broussard said. “I was here last year, when he had a strong second half. He’s one of those types of guys who can carry a team … It’s not like I’m trying to take his position or take his ABs away. Who knows what my role will be?”
Yet, if Sexson fails to ignite, McLaren can’t afford to keep him in the lineup every day.
Weaver’s status is more solid, despite a 2-10 record, because he has suffered from a lack of run support in many of his starts (3.21 runs per start). Yes, the Angels lit him up for six runs in four innings Tuesday, but Weaver has been very good too many times to yank him.
Ibanez has three hits in the last two games after starting the homestand 3-for-21. Is he finally snapping out of it or is this a temporary respite out of the doldrums? McLaren hopes for the former, which would allow him to avoid a decision he doesn’t want to make: to push out a formerly effective veteran for a kid.
It’s a delicate issue and a gamble, one fraught with questions. The team has been winning, but will Jones put them over the top? And what about chemistry? How much of a disruption will Jones’ presence be, especially if he supplants an Ibanez or a Jose Vidro or even Jose Guillen?
Yes, Jones is tearing up the Pacific Coast League, but the majors are a different animal. He struggled last year in a short stint with the Mariners, both at the plate and in the field. Will that experience help him now?
Guillen is one doubter.
“This team has been good with what we have and I don’t think that’s what we need,” he said. “He’s a No. 1 prospect and he’s going to be here sooner or later somehow, some way, but I just completely don’t understand that move. I don’t know what they’re trying to do. I hope they don’t do something stupid to mess with the lineup that we have, because I believe we have a pretty good one.”
Welcome, my friends, to a pennant race.
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com
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