The Lone Granger Here!

[The Lone Granger]

Hey what's up guys? I'm TLG, and I follow all sports practically. Mainly MLB, NBA, and NFL. I look forward to discussing the Mariners here, although I'm mainly a Cubs fan ;).

[John]

Welcome to Mariners Forum TLG! I look forward to posting with you around the forums. Enjoy your stay here. ;)

[JosephC]

Well then tell us about Lou there buddy, what's your take on him? In Seattle he is an icon to say the least. Are you guys gonna miss him if he walks next season?
Welcome to our forum.

[The Lone Granger]

No sir I am not going to miss Lou at all. I just don't think he understands how to work with a young team, and we are going to be a young team next year. I'll always appreciate what he did for us in the past few years when we were one of the best teams in the majors, but now that we'll be sellers at the trade deadline and probably moving guys like Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Theriot, and the rest of the older guys that could help a contending team, I think it's time to rebuild around a new, younger manager.

[JosephC]

Interesting take and I like to hear that. Mariners fans would give anything to have him back, so it's good to have a less biased view on his managing skills. We still remember the 2001 Mariners with him at the wheel leading us to 116 wins. I'm afraid those days of Lou's career are long over.

[The Lone Granger]

Lou still has a great baseball mind, but in all honesty his body is failing him. I do realize that the body of a manager doesn't really mean a ton, but the dude is old, he panics to much now days in my opinion. Remember a few years ago when we won almost every night and people were surprised when we didn't? Yeah that's what Lou was capable of doing when he was in the prime of his managing career, and like you just stated, 116 wins in 2001, he could do that, but those days are long gone.

[clarknova]

Hey TLG! Not to be a Lou apologist, but I can see both sides of the situation. He's always had trouble with younger players especially pitchers. He was like that when he was in Seattle too. It's a double edged sword and I think it's important to find a balance. Wakamatsu strikes me as having the opposite problem- it seems like no matter how crappy a guy is, Waks going to keep running him out there day after day. He doesn't pinch hit when he should, he doesn't play to the odds or match ups. It's almost like he's gambling and running the team with his gut. Lou's issue starts to be an issue when the team isn't winning. he's so passionate that he just doesn't deal well with losing. He also has to have the right team.
The issue I see as well is that kids aren't raised the way they used to be, and this lunatic drill sargent/endearing grandfather routine only works with certain players. A-Rod looked at him like a father. Rob Dibble threw a punch at him. I just think that approach only works with certain guys, and more and more guys are coming up that aren't going to respond to that. He's definitely on his last legs and I was glad I got to see him manage in Seattle one more time, because he wont be back.
Still my favorite all time manager.

[MrBigShot_23]

A fellow PSA member. Nice. Welcome to the board.