Toby's thoughts on Don Wakamatsu getting fired.

(Please think of circus music in your head while reading this)

The Seattle Mariners fired Don Wakamatsu Monday afternoon and it raises some big questions. Jack Zurendcik “lost confidence” in Wak and the decision was “solely” his decision. I highly doubt that. There has been rumors abound that Ken Griffey Jr. stated that he would have nothing to do with the Mariners until Don Wakamatsu was gone from the organization. Did this play out behind closed doors—I doubt that this weighed at all on Jackie Z’s decision. But I highly doubt that Jack made the decision without thinking of himself and his longevity as the GM of the Mariners.

I tip my cap to Jack for one thing though. He has now publicly said that he screwed up with the hiring of Don Wakamatsu. Admitting your faults is a good start.

The M’s have shook up the players, they’ve changed the batting order, so now shaking up the coaching staff was really all that was left. We don’t have any players at AAA that we are waiting on to be called up—(OK maybe Micheal Pineda) so this was the only change left to be made. Why not wait till the end of the season? I would answer that question with a question—Why wait till the end of the season? If the M’s made the decision to move on then move on—it puts the M’s in a position to at least pursue/recruit the next manager for a good long time. Maybe they’ll make a good choice—so long as Chuck Armstrong and Howard Lincoln keep their noses out of the search.

It does make sense to put Tacoma manager Daren Brown in as the new interim manager since the majority of the M’s team in August and even more so in September will be up from Tacoma.
We can now look forward Ken Griffey Jr. Appreciation Night and maybe even a Stand Up and Fight Night with Mike Sweeney in the future as well. At this point I would also urge you to add Nintendo to the list of boycotted companies because they screwed Seattle sports with Starbucks and Seattles Best Coffee and anything owned by Ken Behring.

Toby Howell
The LockerRoom

PS- If anyone sees Jack Wilson near a bathroom please report it immediately so proper precautions can be put in place.