Jack Z Axed

No one in Mariner land was surprised that Jack Z. was fired but doing it on Aug. 28 I am sure made people surprised by the move. I know when I heard about it this morning after going out for breakfast I thought OK Mariners. I figured they would make the move after the season ended but I am glad the move is done now so the search can be in process. If the Mariners hire the new general manager in the next few weeks than he can watch the team to see what moves he may want to be made during the off season. On the other hand most likely the man to replace Jack Z. I am sure has seen the team play already.

 I have no idea who the candidates the Mariners will be looking at  but the positions likely be filled by mid-October. For the time being Jeff Kingston who was Jack Z assistant is now the acting General Manager. Also, he is a candidate for the position as well. The advantage of Kingston is that he knows the in workings of the Mariners which may help him; however, it could hurt him to.

Though he has been in the organization for a while Kevin Mather the President of the Mariners is finishing his second term, and he was not the person who was responsible in hiring Jack Z. that was the former President Chuck Armstrong. Now Mather will put his stamp of approval on the organization in hiring the next general manager. If the Mariners had not won eighty-seven games last season the chances Jack Z. would have been out then when his contract was up. According to Mather the responsibility of the Mariners season started at the top because he recommends that Lloyd McClendon be retained manager; however, it will be up to the new general manager if that happens or not.

Another moved surprised me was that the Mariners optioned catcher Mike Zunino to triple-A since their season ends on the weekend where he likely will be called up to finish the season. The reason could be the Mariners are letting Zunino know that he is on the block and they may look into going another direction next season. Thursday I thought the Mariners should sit Zunino for most of September to watch the opposing pitchers to learn what they are throwing. Since he has been up with the Mariners he was thrown into the fire so he had to learn how the pitchers on the Mariners threw pitches but no so much the other teams.  There is no question that Zunino is a very good defensive catcher but at this time he should not be the starting catcher of the Mariners.  Going into next season he will need to compete for the position and not just handed it. The Mariners likely will have to go outside the organization to get a catcher because none of the existing catchers in the organization are ready to take over as the full time catcher.

In the next few weeks I will give some ideas what the Mariners should do to the lineup. We can hope that the team and Lloyd will feel relaxed when playing the remaining thirty-four games. Of course, it will still mean changes will happen. Go Mariners!