Mariners News

Local Japanese Americans applaud the Mariners' hiring of Don Wakamatsu
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November 20
Seattle Times
 
"Even before Don Wakamatsu was introduced as new Mariners manager, comments began pouring into Web sites and talk-radio stations suggesting that he was being considered only because of the team's Japanese ownership and its investment in Japanese players. But several local Japanese Americans, while crediting the Mariners for having the courage to break barriers in hiring the first Asian-American manager in major-league history, suggest it would be folly to assume that Wakamatsu was hired for any reason other than his baseball credentials. "Man, give the guy a break," said Rep. Bob Hasegawa. "More power to him." Hasegawa, a legislator from Seattle who is Japanese American, said he doesn't ..."
GM Jack Zduriencik did his homework - and received positive feedback on "Wak"
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November 20
Seattle Times
 
"Buck Showalter said he shared some of the greatest belly laughs of his career while working with Don Wakamatsu. "He's got an electric smile, a great personality," said the former manager of the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Rangers. "You'll see that in Seattle." Ah, but don't underestimate the toughness of the new Mariners skipper, cautions Showalter, for whom Wakamatsu served four seasons as Texas' bench coach, from 2003 to 2006. "If you see his left eye quivering, he's about to snap," Showalter said. "It's a beautiful thing. When Wak starts to twitch in his left eye, get out of the way." Showalter was one of the last people that Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik talked to during a ..."
Don Wakamatsu's hire as manager means a fresh start for Mariners
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November 20
Seattle Times
 columnist Steve Kelley
"By any definition, by any complicated Sabermetric formula, by any standard ever set in the sport, the Mariners were a disaster last season. This was the most disappointing team in baseball. A bust. A mess. And everybody in the game knew it. Don Wakamatsu knew it. He knew about the troubles in the clubhouse. He heard about the ruckus in the room when one of the Mariners players wanted to go after Ichiro. He heard about the bad vibes and the bad chemistry, because gossip swirls around baseball like a 5-4-3 double play. So, even though the new Mariners manager Wakamatsu was diplomatic at Wednesday afternoon's introductory news conference, he knows the problems existed. And he knows they have ..."
Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik made final call on Don Wakamatsu's hiring
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November 20
Seattle Times
 
"Several prominent members of the Mariners' front office were seated near the rear of a Safeco Field conference room Wednesday as Don Wakamatsu was introduced as the team's newest manager. Among them was chief executive officer Howard Lincoln, the team's highest ranking official outside of absentee Japanese billionaire owner Hiroshi Yamauchi. But while a few of the newer executives were pointed out to the media, none were asked to speak and Lincoln maintained a conspicuously low profile. The show instead was left entirely in the hands of general manager Jack Zduriencik, fitting because he alone had final say over who his new field boss would be. Some top officials, including team president ..."
Wakamatsu gets first chance to manage in the majors
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November 20
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
 
"History was not the primary concern for Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik when he hired Don Wakamatsu as the team's manager, handing the Oakland Athletics bench coach the responsibility of resurrecting a 101-loss team. Yet, the historical significance could not be ignored Wednesday at Safeco Field when Wakamatsu, a Japanese-American, became the first Asian-American manager of a major league team. In a region with a thriving Asian population, Wakamatsu accepted his place in history with humility, but his focus was on his new job. "I'm honored to have a history and to carry that on in a sense," said Wakamatsu, a native of Hood River, Ore., who spent part of his childhood in Bremerton. ..."
Mariners' talent search was well handled
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November 20
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
 columnist Art Thiel
"LET'S FACE IT. As long as he didn't also sign Jeff Weaver, or trade Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez, Jack Zduriencik could have hired most any pleasant person to manage the Mariners and it would have gone over all right. Sports fans here are so desperate for relief that Martha Stewart could have been introduced as manager Wednesday, and as long as she was packing warm cookies, no one would have asked if she had a plan to get Yuniesky Betancourt to take ball one for the first time in his career. Don Wakamatsu is considerably more than Martha in spikes, but the occupant of the manager position has been among the lesser causes for the Mariners' long, languid swoon from the heavens to ..."
Mariners' Ibanez might be on Phillies' radar
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November 20
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"As other teams turn up the hot stove with talk about CC Sabathia, Manny Ramirez and Jake Peavy, the Phillies are looking for ways to tweak their World Series championship roster.There are indications inside the organization that there is interest in free-agent leftfielder Raul Ibanez, who hit .293 with 23 home runs and 110 RBIs last season with the Seattle Mariners. What is interesting about Ibanez, 36, is that he hits lefthanded. That would seem to work against manager Charlie Manuel's vision of a balanced lineup, given that Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are also lefthanded hitters.But Ibanez hit .305 last season against lefthanders compared to .288 against righthanders, so the Phillies ..."
Nervous? New M's skipper told the edgy truth