John McLaren and Bill Bavasi Might Want to Start Looking Through the Want Ads

The Mariners will be finishing up a six-game road trip this afternoon at Yankee Stadium, and they'll be hoping to avoid going 0-6. Still, you have to wonder, despite the fact that they haven't won a game on this trip, do they really even want to go back home to Seattle? At least while they're in New York, the home fans can't kill them, so they're safer on the road.

There's probably also some fear in manager John McLaren and general manager Bill Bavasi that they may not hold those titles for much longer. The fans wouldn't exactly cry themselves to sleep at night knowing those two were gone, and they may be getting their wish soon as both have received the dreaded votes of confidence from team president Chuck Armstrong.

"Their positions are secure," Armstrong told MLB.com from his Bellevue, Wash., home. "They are not to be blamed for what's going on.

"In my 23 years, I have never ever seen anything like this. We saw it the other way in 2001. I mean, you have to ask yourself, 'How did the Mariners win 116 games that season with that roster, compared to this roster?' This is just as inexplicable the other way."

Considering that John McClaren was never really supposed to be the Mariners manager, he only got the job because Mike Hargrove quit unexpectedly, I don't think it should be that difficult to fire him. Replacing managers mid-season two years in a row is never something an organization wants to do, but it may be the best option for Seattle right now. Is it really McLaren's fault the team is underperforming? Probably not, but you can't fire the team.

As for Bavasi, what was the last free agent signing he made or trade that actually worked out for Seattle? Adrian Beltre has never matched the numbers he had in his last year with the Dodgers before Seattle signed him, but he's been a solid player. Unfortunately, for every Adrian Beltre (or even Raul Ibanez) there's a Richie Sexson or a Jeff Weaver. His trades have been even worse, giving up Freddy Garcia for Miguel Olivo, Jeremy Reed, and Mike Morse (the White Sox won that trade). He traded Carlos Guillen for Ramon Santiago (Detroit won that trade). Of course, the Erik Bedard trade is still too fresh to decide, but I wouldn't be surprised if Baltimore wins that in the long run as well.

Maybe Chuck should be placing more of the blame on Bavasi.