Ichiro and the Mariners' struggles

The Seattle P-I today breaks the story that Ichiro recently took the Mariners to task in an interview published in Japan. On its face, anyone who watched Ichiro last year and saw him struggle on the field, and saw him obviously not having much fun around the dugout, knows that he wasn't too happy. And why should he be, given the team's 90+ losses the past two seasons.

The core of the matter is the team's commitment to winning. Not so much, it seems, at the management level. Spending $115 million on Beltre and Sexson suggests at least an interest in winning. The problem seems to be in the clubhouse and dugout.

He was upset to see his teammates playing cards so frequently, and was dismayed that no coach or veteran scolded them for doing so.

Midway through the season, he felt as though his teammates had given up on the rest of the year.

Ex-Mariner Bobby Madritsch agrees, saying in the article:

"A lot of guys gave up on the season too early. The veterans who make the most money, none of them stepped up. We had no leadership. When you have a young team like we did, you look to the veterans, the older guys. But they weren't saying much. Playing cards is not how you prepare for a game, but that's what we did."

And inexplicably, Jeff Nelson -- who should never be allowed the chance to coach at any level if this is his attitude -- says it's wrong to stress winning to young players.

"With guys like (Yuniesky) Betancourt or (Jose) Lopez, it's hard to tell them, 'Hey, it's time to win.' It's overwhelming. Give them some time to shine. Maybe next year you tell them that it's time to buckle down."

Say what??!!

JP Morosi seems to focus attention on Bill Bavasi for the Mariners' reply to all this, but the real burden here is on Mike Hargrove. If there are problems of effort and commitment in the clubhouse, the manager has to fix that with the players he has. If there are problems with the makeup of the roster, with guys who aren't committed to winning collecting a paycheck, then Bavasi needs to get rid of them.

The Seahawks cleaned house in one off-season and look where it's gotten them. There's little chance the same kind of quick turnaround is possible with the Mariners, because baseball's long season doesn't usually allow for dramatic turnarounds or improvements from one season to the next like the NFL does. But the Mariners obviously have to start somewhere. The clock is ticking. And Ichiro is watching.