(more) Profound clubhouse thoughts

"The thing that is special about Ricky (Romero) is his competitiveness."

1 star out of 5 on the "cliche-meter": Blue Jays bench coach, Don Wakamatsu shows that he is managerial material.

Finally!

Last night, Mariners manager, Don Wakamatsu did something he had never done before in his first 202 games of "managing" in the major leagues.

Have you used up all your guesses?

No, he didn't wake up Junior in the clubhouse or give Mike Sweeney a sedative.

Ok. He got thrown out of a game!

How this manager got through his first 202 games without getting thrown out is beyond me. I was not the slightest bit impressed, frankly.

I know one thing. The umpires felt very comfortable umpiring Mariners games all of last year and up until last night.

Hey Don! Now that your players (maybe) have a little respect for you, your managing career can truly begin.

Also, Bobby Cox is sending a congratulatory card welcoming you to the profession.

This is going to be good

Mike Salk of ESPN Radio 710 Seattle reports that Seattle Mariner Milton Bradley left his team last night in the middle of the game after striking out looking in the sixth inning with the bases loaded.

Apparently Bradley yelled at the umpire from the bench before being told by manager Don Wakamatsu to stop. Wakamatsu then said that he would handle the umpire himself and Bradley responded that someone had to say something and if Wakamatsu wouldn't, then he would.

Apparently a few minutes later Bradley walked back to his manager and said, "I'm packing my stuff, I'm out of here." Then he left.

My take?

You have a manager who is now in his second year of managing and has never ever been thrown out of a game and shows zero inclination to do anything to get thrown out.*

You also have an ill-tempered (to say the least) player who loves to argue with umpires and expects to be supported and/or protected by his manager.

The center won't hold here.

It just won't.

Stay tuned.

*I am not saying he should necessarily get thrown out for Bradley but Wakamatsu has got to "man up" one day and get thrown out for "something". It's well past "time". He can call up Bobby Cox if he needs any pointers.

Training wheels off!

So I see that Milton Bradley got thrown out of a second straight spring training game for arguing balls and strikes (though to be fair I don't think he did any arguing in the first one but the umpire didn't seem to like that he dropped a bat and immediately picked it up after a called strike?!?)

Now previously I have commented here that Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu somehow managed to get through the 2009 season without getting thrown out once by an umpire. (I was not at all impressed). As a matter of fact, he has never been thrown out of a game as a manager. (Embarrassing!)

Well with Milton Bradley now on the Mariners, I know one thing and that is this situation is about to change. Yes, Don Wakamatsu cannot carry that goose egg much longer. He is going to have to be a much more well-rounded manager if you ask me.

You can't be very chummy with umpires when Milton Bradley is on your team. You just can't.

Off with the training wheels, Don!

You are going to do some managing this year whether you like it or not!

Now get out there and defend your player whether he deserves it or not!

Life ain't a bowl of cherries, you know.

Don Wakamatsu's last chance

Today is a very significant day in the career of Seattle Mariner manager Don Wakamatsu. You see today is the last game of the year and Wakamatsu has somehow made it through his first season as manager without being ejected from a game. How he got into this position, I will never know but he just cannot go down in history as a manager who had zero ejections in his first (or any) year. He will never live it down. As the Violent Femmes once said, "THIS WILL GO DOWN ON YOUR PERMANENT RECORD."

Don, you cannot finish the year with a goose egg. You just can't.

You know what you have to do today.

The baseball world is watching.

DO NOT SQUANDER THIS OPPORTUNITY!

Umpires love Don Wakamatsu

There is an article in the Wall Street Journal by Dave Cameron titled "The Dying Art of the Ballpark Tantrum" which talks about how manager ejections are down 30% this year.

What! I love seeing managers get ejected! What is this?!

Ok, let's read further.

Cameron mentions how the Seattle Mariners have not had a single player, coach or manager ejected in a game this year.

OH COME ON NOW! What do their season ticket holders think about this?

Seattle manager, Don Wakamatsu who is described as a "cerebral" type says, "I think that players tend to follow my tendencies," adding that he's "never subscribed to the idea that I have to get kicked out of a game to motivate my players."

Ok, done reading. Don't need to go further. This is nuts.

Don, you are kind of missing the point here. Actually, motivating players is only a small part of this as I think ALMOST all managers know that you must throw a tantrum (on-field of course) every now and then to keep the umpires "honest" so they don't make a "mistake" which negatively affects your team. It doesn't really matter if the game is called correctly. You just cannot have them making calls against your team.

Dude, the players' salaries should provide their sole motivation (though admittedly this does not always work in practice); but that is not the primary purpose for getting thrown out of a game. With this threat of an on-field eruption, you are in a way managing the umpires' behavior as much as you are managing your own players.

Don't believe me?

Imagine this. There is a very close call in an important game which can go either way. You are in one dugout and Lou Piniella is in the other. Ok, with me? The umpire knows at worst, with you he will get a rational, intellectual argument which will eventually end with you walking back to the dugout "agreeing to disagree." With Lou Piniella, he knows that he is in for a face full of spittle, he might end on Sportscenter that night and he has to complete a lengthy report after the game to the league explaining the ejection. Who needs that? Do you know who is going to get the call? Probably not you.

Here is a little tip. Getting obnoxious and crazy with an umpire is a lot like fighting in hockey. Yeah, there are technically rules against it but really it is "allowed". In fact, the leagues tacitly encourage it because the fans like it and the leagues know that where the fans are, the money follows. Now you will never get an official memo from the league explicitly saying this but it is true. It is.

In other words, Don, you need to get with the program here!

Now get there, let your wild side out and go hurl some abuse at an umpire who dared to make a call against your team. It's not too late. The season is not over yet. You do not want to finish the year with a goose egg because they might put that on the back of your baseball card next year and little kids might, you know, laugh about it.

You will feel better too.