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

July 12, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers designated hitter

(41) receives congratulations from batting coach

(8) after scoring in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Yay or nay on Lloyd McClendon?

LS: “I would give a qualified yay. I think he deserves another shot.”

If you weren’t already familiar, McClendon was the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2001-2005 before joining Jim Leyland‘s staff in Detroit in 2006.

Going a little further I asked Larry about whether or not he thought McClendon would be good for this Mariners team.

LS: “So many managers have come and gone recently, it is hard to get excited about anyone until we see what he does on the field.”

Which means waiting until mid-June in 2014?

LS: “He’s got a shot to do a good job… it’s hard to hold problems of the organization against McClendon. The general consensus is ‘yea yea’ let’s see it now. But we won’t know even until [the] 2015 [season]. We can’t come to any concrete decision on managerial ability with only one season.”

So at this point the Mariners faithful must hope McClendon finds his groove in 2014 and can develop a healthy and productive relationship with the M’s front office.

That relationship will have to start now, though, this offseason, with some targeted free agent signings and trades…