In case you did not hear, Seattle Mariners hitting coach Jeff Pentland has been fired. The team replaced him with special assistant Lee Elia, the teams hitting coach from 1993-97. McLaren spoke to the media about Elia after the announcement.
"Lee is vocal. He can pat you on the back and cheerlead you and, if he needs to, he can get in your face and challenge you. I've seen both sides of him."
The 2008 Mariners have needed to make changes for some time now. This is a good way to do it. Start getting rid of the coaches who's specialty have been underachieving. If none of those coaching changes do anything to get the team towards the right track, then you move to the General Manager/Manager. The problem with that, is Mariners' leadership has voiced unwavering support for Bavasi and McLaren, something you never should do in a time of crisis.
Hopefully, this will lead to loads of changes. The Mariners still don't really have a chance to make the playoffs, as they have dug themselves into too much of a hole. A positive finish could pay big dividends for next season.
Keywords: Bavasi, Jeff Pentland, Lee Elia, McLaren, Seattle Mariners
