Mariners Need to Say No to "Yes Man" Hires

First, hitting coach Jeff Pentland was fired, then General Manager Bill Bavasi was shown the door, and yesterday it was John McLaren's turn to up the state's unemployment rate.

All casualties of the worst record in baseball.

Since Lou Piniella got frustrated with the front office and left following the 2002 season, President Chuck Armstrong and CEO Howard Lincoln have hired a series of "yes men" which they could control. This is what they get.

When Armstrong berated the coaching staff prior to a game earlier this month, it felt like someone covering their car with gasoline, setting it on fire, and then yelling at the firemen when they couldn't put out the blaze.

We agree with Jim Moore's trepidation over Armstrong, once again, heading the search for the team's next GM. We can only hope that Armstrong/Lincoln have learned their lesson, and will look for a difficult, yet talented, manager and GM.

So while this week has been quite tumultuous, at least we were left with our favorite Bavasi quote. When asked why his prize acquisition, Erik Bedard, was only making it into the fifth inning of games, he told the media, who get worked up over Bedard's lack of access, that they would have to ask him, and:

"He'll have a stupid answer for you, you can count on it…He'll have some dumbass answer.''

Speaking of funny, The Onion suggests that one Mariner player might prefer his old boss manage the team.

2009 Opening Day is March 30.