What's next?

[TellItToTheDA]

Really good article by Shannon Drayer about the dugout scuffle last night:

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=374&sid=346469

Why Figgins? Why Now and What Next?

The season of losing has taken a toll as tempers flared tonight when Don Wakamatsu took Chone Figgins out of game for failing to back up a play at second base. The ball thrown by Michael Saunders skipped by him and Mike Cameron was able to take third base on what should have been a double.

The visiting NESN cameras caught the argument that ensued in the dugout. Figgins had to be separated from Wak For an account here is my post from earlier tonight.

When Wak addressed the media he said that the issue at hand was another mistake. Why bench Figgins after all of the mistakes we have seen this season? In his eyes this was different. This wasn't a mental lapse, this was about effort.

While I don't think there is any excuse to go after the manager, I do think I can offer some insight into why Figgins got so fired up.

Figgins believes he gives maximum effort at all times. It is his personal identity. It is work that got him to where he is today. He sticks to strict routines. He says he loves the game so much that when he is not playing baseball he's watching it on television. Baseball is his life.

"I come to play," is his motto. I actually talked to him about what this meant before today's game.

"You come to play every day and you want to take the field for your nine innings and take your five at bats regardless of if it is going good or if it is going bad. Give me my nine innings, give me my five at bats and I will give you everything I have got whether it is good or bad and I will try to help you win. Just come to play every day."

If Figgins believed he gave everything on that play then in that moment being taken out was an insult and he reacted when he was not able to get his point across in the heat of the battle. Emotions are at a different level during a game. Things are different. I am not defending Figgins actions here, I am just telling you what I think happened from what I know of him.

Russell Branyan who defended Wakamatsu both in the dugout and in his postgame interview. He also looked out for his teammate heading back down to the clubhouse to talk to Figgins later in the game.

"I think he is a litlle misinterpreted at times. He sat right there in his chair and watched the rest of the game supporting his team. I know a lot of guys in that situation would have come in showered up and went home."

Why did he go check on Figgins?

"I think it was needed. When you have a situation like that you want to keep your group together. You don't want to have guys straying away and going on their own. We are a twenty-five man team here and we want to keep it that way."

Things like this happen in challenging years. The atmosphere is not good and it is a struggle just to keep it together. Just this week a player told me that the dugout was like a morgue during games. Another player told me that Sweeney's presence is missed. Tensions are high as guys become increasingly frustrated with their inability to produce at the plate. It doesn't help one bit that they are for the most part all in the same boat.

What now? Well for starters Wak and Figgins need to find understanding. I have little doubt that Wak knew this move would not set well but he was doing his job. Still, maybe Figgins needs to be heard. The Seattle Times is reporting Jack Zduriencik will meet with both tomorrow.

Something is not right with Figgins and maybe Jack can help get to the bottom of that. In talking to people in Anaheim last week I got the very clear picture that the Figgins we are seeing here both on the field and in the clubhouse is not the Figgins they saw there. Maybe it is the losing. Maybe he is not comfortable in his new surroundings. He is a part of the future of this team and this needs to get figured out.

As for the rest of the team, all they can do is continue to work.

[JosephC]

That is good. Thanks for sharing!

Things like this happen in challenging years.

2008 - Richie Sexson's charge of the mound
2010 - Figgins tears Lopez's shirt right off
2012 - Dustin Ackley For President!

[Igoe4Mariners]

Ichiro taking a crap in the outfield during the middle of a game.

[clarknova]

I'm glad we have a "fracas" thread, or as someone on lookoutlanding hilariously put it, the "hootennany".
Here's my take on the "incident":

Wakamatsu is a hurtin' scene. He's obviously not respected by all of his players. I think a lot of them resent him for the way that Griffey exited and that spreads like a disease. Remember Snell, and Figgins earlier in the season publicly calling him out, and that veiled shot in Griffey's "farewell address" regarding playing time and not being able to get going offensively (while ignoring the obvious reciprocating effect of producing). Griffey seemed to think that because he's Griffey, he should be allowed to pretty much do what he wants. This is the same attitude that Figgins exudes. The above Drayer article underlines that. Wak came in as a guy that a lot of players respected when he was coaching at different levels, and he seemed to do well last year. Losing really puts a magnifying glass on things and from what I've seen he does not effectively handle failure. I think that this could eventually be his downfall. Moving Figgins down to the bottom of the order, but running Lopez out there in the cleanup spot night after night? The main problem I see is this whole "belief system" bullshit. What exactly do you mean by that? And talking about "accountability" all the time. Wak! Heads up! That's what your job is! Your not there to just fill out line up cards, and change pitchers. There is a reason why the players answer to you. It's called accountability, and if you can't figure out what that really means, you're screwed. By allowing failure without accountability for more than half a season, then suddenly deciding you're Lou Piniella- you can't really act surprised when that doesn't go well for you or when the guy you call out starts pointing fingers around the dugout. Respect is earned, and a lot of these guys are under much bigger contracts than you, I'd remember that if I were you.

Figgins acted childishly. I can understand his position because he doesn't suck more than Jack Wilson, and he sucks just about as much as Jose Lopez this year (and Lopez TOTALLY sucks), so why call him out? Right, well what he did is effectively the same as getting pulled over for speeding and pointing at all the other cars on the road. He was "going with the flow of the suckfest". It doesn't make it OK. I've watched that play a dozen times since last night and his "come out to play" effort totally sucked. He was standing a foot away from second base with a ball off the wall and Cameron coming at him and he literally stood there with his hands at his sides. The dude did it on purpose. Is that the way he punishes Saunders for the throw being off the mark? A veteran player adjusts. A good ball player does not stand on 2nd with this "second base is over here, dumb ass!" look on his face (his face is painfully similar to the character Donkey from the Shrek movie series, I just had to say that, it kills me every time I see him). I can see why Wakamatsu was pissed. True, there have been some terrible plays made on the bases and in the field, but this really looked like apathy by Figgins, not over or under-thinking like most of the other bone head moves I've seen. I don't like hearing Figgins little dissertation on his own entitlement. How about this one Donkey, I as a fan am entitled to more than unapologetic Bush League baseball. Why don't you give ME something for my money that pads your pocket. Or, if you're having a tough go this year, how about taking some personal responsibility for yourself instead of considering your effort a fair price for my attention. If you showed half the frustration you show for anyone questioning your play (that you curiously equate to effort) with the results of your play, maybe I wouldn't think you were such a goat! (or Donkey, as it were). You sound just like Sexson with his whole "If the fans understood I'm trying real real hard!" line. Dude, I'm sorry but this isn't the Special Olympics. Everyone doesn't get an F'n medal, and you are not Rudy. You aren't going to get carried off the field for being the best tryer. Hit or F off. Make plays or F off. Or at the very least, blame yourself for yourself. You are getting paid WAY, WAY more than you're worth, so don't act like you're special and you get to play no matter what. That is not how it works. The team owes it to the fans to put a winner on the field, they owe you $36 million dollars, they do not owe you your 5 at bats and 9 innings. That's super that you try hard. It's not working right now. Hopefully that changes. Until then, either try something different, or accept it when the team does. It's not their fault you can't hit this year. Get a grip!

As for Lopez... Maybe tearing his jersey off was symbolic. I was hoping that was the team's way of letting him know he'd been traded... Guess not (yet!).

In closing. I am not a fan of Wakamatsu OR Figgins right now, but Wakamatsu has the authority to do what he did. It's also likely his fault that his authority is not respected. This team is beyond bad. This is like keeping tabs on Lindsey Lohan.

I'll be interested to see how the team, and those involved, handle this.

End rant.

[JosephC]

Haha, great rant. My favorite part which I completely agree with:

You sound just like Sexson with his whole "If the fans understood I'm trying real real hard!" line. Dude, I'm sorry but this isn't the Special Olympics. Everyone doesn't get an F'n medal, and you are not Rudy. You aren't going to get carried off the field for being the best tryer. Hit or F off. Make plays or F off.

[TellItToTheDA]

Figgins refuses to discuss said hullabaloo:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/baseball/archives/215675.asp

Chone Figgins sat at his locker but Casey Kotchman became his unofficial spokesperson telling waiting media that Figgins was not ready to talk about it yet. When approached again later, Figgins chose not to speak.

That left manager Don Wakamatsu to comment. The team had what Wakamatsu said was a five-minute meeting to talk about last night, accountability and coming together as a club.

"I said it last night, there's a lot of guys in this clubhouse and coaches, we want to win every ballgame we're in," Wakamatsu said. "There (are) a lot of emotions that fly. We're playing some pretty good baseball. We talk about the offensive woes, but you look at last night's ballgame, there (are) a lot of positives we can take out of that. It was a 2-1 game against a good club over there and guys didn't give up. That's the kind of stuff we talked about."

Wakamatsu, Figgins and general manager Jack Zduriencik met earlier in the day.

"Again, it's more about the play, it's not so much about the individual," Wakamatsu said. "There's some accountability, not just him, we're asking of everybody. Again, when there (are) tight ballgames and one or two plays affect the outcome it seems to be more critical, obviously."

[clarknova]

Jesus! Man up Donkey.

Wakamatsu: "We have a belief system about accountability. It just doesn't appear that way because I have Tourette's Syndrome and don't actually know what those things mean. They're my ticks. *Cough* Belief System."

[TellItToTheDA]

http://blog.seattlepi.com/baseball/archives/215680.asp

Figgins says he is not past Friday night

Chone Figgins and Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu are still ironing things out. (Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images)

Chone Figgins was back in the lineup and went 1-for-4 on Saturday night in the Mariners' 5-1 win over the Red Sox.

Figgins doubled down the right field line in the three-run eighth inning and made a diving backhand stop in the third inning. He didn't talk in specifics about the events of Friday night, but did say he had not put it in the past.

"No. Not necessarily," Figgins said. "When I get my thoughts together and I decide to talk about it, I'm going to talk about it. Right now, I'm just enjoying tonight."

Figgins was also asked if he thought he and manager Don Wakamatsu were on the same page.

"That's hard to say," Figgins said. "Same page is winning for me."

The 32-year-old spoke in a solid, but not angry tone. When asked about being right back in the lineup on Saturday, Figgins was defiant.

"There's nobody in this clubhouse, in this game that can stop me from going out and competing every day," Figgins said. "No matter what the situation is. I have emotions because that's how I play. Regardless of what situation comes up, I'm going to be out there to play and I'm going to show my emotions."

[JosephC]

what a little cry baby. Chone the JA needs to learn how to grow up. I don't mean height wise either.