State of the Mariners Address: An Interview with the Seattle Times’ Larry Stone

Sep 23, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik presents Seattle Mariners left fielder

(28) with a “300th Career Home Run” plaque prior to the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Kansas City Royals at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

How would you describe the state of the Mariners’ organization in one phrase or sentence?

LS: “There is a lot of internal turmoil that needs to be fixed up to improve the product on the field going forward.”

Internal turmoil can mean a lot of things for baseball teams: it could be the Josh Hamilton cycle of addiction that fractures the Manager-Player relationship. Where Ron Washington is insinuating that it would have been better for Hamilton to wait until the end of the season to kick his tobacco habits. It could also be the 2011 Red Sox, where there was booze and chicken wings and a culture of lacking respect for a manager. But for the Mariners it is different.

LS: “The disconnect [for the Mariners] seems to exist between the front office and the coaching staff. The last two regimes of managers haven’t worked out between the GM and the Manager… two managers leaving in the span of three years is not good.”

What Larry is referring to, if it wasn’t already abundantly clear and painful, is the firing of former M’s manager Don Wakamatsu and the unexpected departure of manager Eric Wedge at the end of last season. Wedge cited a disconnect between his approach and the approach of the front office as a large part of his departure.

Speaking of managers…