Firing Melvin should be first step toward M`s recovery
When Martinez came back out of the dugout to doff his cap Sunday after hitting into a double play in his last at-bat, when the man tapped his chest and pointed to the crowd, when the sellout stadium responded with a haunting, echoing ``Ed-gar, Ed-gar`` chant, reality finally hit.
And sometimes reality bites.
Heartwarming as it was, this season-ending festival was like spraying air freshener on a garbage truck. Nothing ultimately covers the stench of a 99-loss season for a franchise that billed itself as the best in baseball over the previous four years.
Today begins the business of ``what next?`` for an organization still rich in revenues and flush with fan support, given the final attendance tally of 2.94 million, third best in the American League behind division winners New York and Anaheim.
First up figures to be a decision on manager Bob Melvin, the captain of a ship that went Titanic during his watch. There has been considerable media support for the manager, considering the unprecedented plunge from 93 wins to 99 losses in a single year.
Most of us have been quick to point out that Melvin isn`t the biggest problem for a club that died on the vine. But it should also be noted that Melvin did little to fix any problems. He was the perfect spokesman for a team of such disappointment. He shielded his players from criticism, pointed no fingers and took the public disgruntlement on his own shoulders.
Yet Melvin`s protective nature was at least partially to blame for the collapse. He played the nice guy to perfection, but thus struck no fear in his troops. His players like Melvin, perhaps too much for his - and their - own good.
``He is the type of manager who is great for the players who can look at themselves and evaluate themselves and don`t need criticism or words to become better players,`` said Ichiro, the one man who exceeded expectations under Melvin`s tutelage this season. ``He is the type who, for a player who can make his own adjustments, was definitely a great manager.``
Apparently the 2004 Mariners were shy on such self-starters, which seems odd given the number of established veterans who began the year with the club.
Melvin pulled all the right strings Sunday, letting Martinez go out to the mound to change pitchers in his place in the ninth for one last ovation, replacing Ichiro in right field with one out in the ninth to another roar of the crowd. But unfortunately the manager couldn`t motivate the masses - including his own club - earlier in the season when it counted.
No, this team didn`t quit on Melvin. It just never got started. I remember talking to veteran shortstop Rich Aurilia in the second week of the season.
``This is an aberration,`` said Aurilia. ``You look at the standings under the `Last 10 games` and we`re 2-8. You`ll probably never see that again all year. There`s too much talent on this team.``
Unfortunately, all that talent picked the same year to slump. The bad start never turned around. The Mariners never even had a winning month and finished with their worst record since 1983, the year Edgar began his pro career in Bellingham.
No, not all blame falls on the manager. But neither is Melvin immune from responsibility for the most underachieving club in franchise history.
Melvin was hired because CEO Howard Lincoln went 180 degrees from fiercely independent predecessor Lou Piniella. And, indeed, for all his positives, Piniella did rub some the wrong way, including a few players who wilted under the wrath.
But that`s the point. You can`t please everyone on a Major League ballclub and leadership comes more from a man with the strength and respect to demand excellence at all times than from a fellow willing to excuse failure as part of the game.
Melvin has a place in baseball. His nurturing nature is necessary in a supporting role. There`s a reason he`s well liked by the local media as well as the men in his clubhouse. He`s a first-class individual. But as the man out front, as the guy setting the tenor for a team, he failed miserably this year. Unless the tenor you want is a dial tone when you`re actually in need of a 9-1-1 operator.
So it is general manager Bill Bavasi`s chore to decide whether Melvin`s considerable strengths as a baseball mind are outweighed by large leadership concerns. And whether the Mariners can afford to give him another season in order to find a definitive answer.
If you ask me, it`s time for a change. This club is in transition anyway. Hitting coach Paul Molitor is certainly on the way out. If the Mariners are smart, they`ll approach Edgar immediately to see if he`d be interested in assuming a role in coaching, even though he says he`s looking only for family time at this point.
Pitching coach Bryan Price deserves a chance to stay if he wants, given his loyalty and prior success.
But former M`s pitcher and Piniella coach Chris Bosio is looking for work and would be a capable replacement if Price chooses to move on in a staff-wide shakeup.
It`s time to put this club in Bavasi`s hands and let him figure out a plan. If (or when) he fires Melvin, I don`t want to see the team go through another tortured interview process. Bavasi is well connected in baseball circles. Surely he has an idea already of who would be the right field manager for this franchise.
Let him go get that man and begin the process of surrounding him with players capable of winning the AL West. The Mariners have money to spend, but it`s going to take smart decisions. This team needs an infusion of power. It needs a pitching push. It needs to decide which youth is ready to be served and what veterans can be brought in to fill the considerable gaps.
In other words, this is an offseason of critical importance. And the first order of business is saying goodbye to Bob Melvin and getting a manager who can instill confidence both in the team and the fans who have stayed faithful through a season of unimaginable failure.
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