As a reformed Mariner fan (I wanted to get that out of the way up front) I want to point out to those of you who are still enthralled with the Major League Baseball team in Seattle that the only thing the owners of this team care about is the bottom line. It’s not a question of fielding a championship team it’s only a question of providing a show, something to draw in paying customers. Look around you Mariner fans, when it was a question of saving baseball in Seattle, the owners actually put some money on the line in terms of a strong management group built with good baseball people. They then went about assembling a team that came oh so close to the ultimate prize. The effort resulted in the franchise staying in the Emerald City and the construction of a wonderful new facility, but that is where the ownership’s commitment to excellence ended. The Seattle Mariners had a huge following. The team sold out their new Safeco Field on a regular basis for many years. But suddenly it didn’t seem to matter whether they were challenging for the playoffs anymore. So it came as no surprise when Lou Piniella appealed to management for pitching help to put the team over the top before the trading deadline one season when they were in the running for a playoff spot, nothing was forthcoming. The team lost one of the best managers in the game as a result. Lou Piniella is a winner. He exudes winning and can’t bring himself to settle for anything less. He knew his time was over in Seattle when his requests for help fell on deaf ears. Less than one year after Lou excused himself, the team’s gem o####eneral manager, Pat Gillick, the man responsible for assembling the 2001 team that won 116 games, was also gone. Just like Lou, Gillick was not through with baseball, he was just through with the Mariners. Both men left of their own volition, the writing was on the wall and both were too proud to hang with a bunch of also rans. I lay both of these blunders right at the feet of the ownership group who were unwilling to go that one extra yard for the fans of the Seattle Mariners. This chain of events has led to what amounts to six years of rebuilding under the guidance of General Manager Bill Bavasi. Three different Field Managers dealing with several new faces on the field later and the team seemingly can’t put runs on the board while their pitchers struggle with injuries.
Now, after years of futility, the fans have finally begun turning their backs on baseball, Mariners style… Seven of the smallest crowds in the history of this new ballpark have been seen in the first five weeks of the 2008 season. Now the red flags have been run up the flagpoles around Safeco. The bottom line is being threatened and that will never do! What is the answer in the eyes of the team’s upper management? Bring back one of the biggest Mariner stars from their glory days, Ken Griffey, Jr. Is this a move to make the team championship caliber? No it’s not. This is a pure and simple move to put fans back in the seats. It has nothing to do with what should be the primary goal of any professional team in sports, that being to win the title. What will it take to bring Ken back into the fold? Oh, I’d say the team will be forced to mortgage their future by sending a couple of up and coming stars to the Cincinnati Reds. All for the sake of maintaining a short-term positive cash flow.
Safeco Field - The Good Old Days! 2008????
Ken, if it comes to pass that you actually rejoin the team of your youth, the team where you enjoyed your greatest success, that will be great, but it’s not to win a championship. To you and all the loyal Mariners fans, don’t delude yourself that this is a move toward the championship. It’s just to remind the Seattle baseball fans of the heady days of Junior, Edgar, the Big Unit, Bone and Alex. Those sunny afternoons watching Jamie Moyer spin his magic and John Olerud wearing a batting helmet out at first base and lacing line drives into right field are long gone.
The fans will return to see one of the most dynamic ball players to ever don a Mariners uniform. The future Hall of Famer will have his moments, but it won’t be the same.
For all the hype and hope heaped upon this team at the start of the 2008 season, it has turned into business as usual.
I was just watching the news here in Seattle and they are saying despite Safeco having the lowest attendance in the Stadiums history, we still have the 5th highest in the AL......go figure? It's pretty bad up here. I am a die-hard M's fan and a HUGE Griffey fan. Next to Gary Payton, Griffey is one of my favorite Seattle pro-athletes. I don't think Griffey will bring us a championship, but he will put people in the seats. And that might....just might inspire the rest of the team to step it up? I don't know though? I am scratching my head right now. You're right about Griffey costing us. The Reds have too many needs and we have a great farm system.
I was at the M's game against the Athletics the other day and my son and I watched two Red Sox fans beating up a Yankees fan. This was an M's game. It's getting pretty bad up here.
I watch most of the games still and defend the M's on the main message boards while I watch. I really start getting truly concerned after the All-Star Break. Sometimes you see two different teams after the break, but I might be reaching on that theory.
Anyways, later buddy
Good read.
GO M's!!!!!!
Last edited by TALES-FROM-THE-DARK-SIDE on May 8th at 11:11 PM.
Maybe I'm too cynical... The Mariners traded what they need on one hand, speed, power and defense to Baltimore for something else they needed, starting pitching this last off season. There's an up and coming centerfielder now playing for a young and much improved Oriole team and the Mariners end up with a moody, tempermental, oft-injuried starting pitcher. They knew going into the season that they needed a clutch hitter or two... Nothing... I just don't care for what appears to be missteps in evaluating talent. Now it appears the fan base is eroding...
I hope you can see why I'm disgruntled with a team that came so close and then let the people mainly responsible, walk on them... There hasn't been much to cheer about since. Last season was just another case in point. The Mariners had a shot to be in the playoffs as the trade deadline rolled around, they just needed help pitching and, as usual, a clutch hitter. What did upper management do to aid the cause? Nothing. Heck, they're in the top 10 in payroll and there are teams spending a fraction of what the Mariners do that beat them like a drum. What does that tell you? It tells me that whoever evaluates talent with this team is doing a rotten job. They're pulling at strings and obviously throwing good money away using the wait and see theory rather than sound baseball reasoning. I'm truly sorry for you loyal fans. You deserve better than what you're getting...
Guess what... I also follow the team of my youth, the San Francisco Giants! Oh what a world!
I'm enjoying the youthful vigor these Rays are exhibiting. They are a genuine breath of fresh air... 4 - 5 on the three city roadtrip with your Bosox putting a pin in their bubble there in Boston... If they can just play .500 ball on the road and win 2 out of three at home we're talking playoffs!
The Mariners will wake up when no one is sitting in the stands...
I had forgotten how loaded that team was until you listed them, and i still think Sweet Lou is the best in the buisines, I'd take him over Dull Willie, in a heart beat. Hard to imagine they didn't win it all. Thought you were a S.F. fan?
I grew up with the Giants then started following the Mariners as well since I'd move to Washington and they were in the AL. I attended games in the old Kingdome (what a disaster that ill conceived stadium built on the cheap was...) before they started putting things together as other cities began courting them... The current owners just don't get it and the only way they are going to come around is when nobody is sitting in the stands eating the tofu...
These days I've started following the Rays (been to a couple of games this year now) and I like Lou Piniella enough to pull for the Cubbies! I guess I like to multi-task! lol
I'd have to respectfully disagree that Ken wouldn't be part of a championship effort in Seattle. Bring him on as a DH and that's easily our best hitter. The problem as you alluded to is the whole "Win now, sell future" philosophy that I so distastefully loathe. In this case though I think it is needed to get this team on track in the long run, get these guys on the same page. I have an interesting tidbit for you...after all these seasons not being competitive it's not like the M's have gotten any younger. Even now they are the oldest team (average age) in the West. While Griffey certainly won't make them younger I think it would be a moral booster for our other aging veterans.
I'm a sports fanatic living on the west coast of Florida. I'm a rare bird that moved here from the left coast a couple of years ago. I advocate an even playing field in all of life's endeavors.
best slot
for pitching help to put the team over the top before the trading deadline one season when they were in the running for a playoff spot, nothing was forthcoming. The team lost one of the best managers in the game as a result. Lou Piniella is a winner. He exudes winning and can’t bring himself to settle for anything less. He knew his time was over in Seattle when his requests for help fell on deaf ears. Less than one year after Lou excused himself, the team’s gem o
was not through with baseball, he was just through with the Mariners. Both men left of their own volition, the writing was on the wall and both were too proud to hang with a bunch of also rans. I lay both of these blunders right at the feet of the ownership group who were unwilling to go that one extra yard for the fans of the Seattle Mariners. This chain of events has led to what amounts to six years of rebuilding under the guidance of General Manager Bill Bavasi. Three different Field Managers dealing with several new faces on the field later and the team seemingly can’t put runs on the board while their pitchers struggle with injuries. 
