Wedge not happy, calls play unacceptable

The lobby outside the clubhouse in Kansas City was loud, but not loud
enough to completely muffle the sounds of yelling coming from the
Mariners clubhouse after their 7-0 loss to the Royals. Eric Wedge had seen
enough and he let his team know about it.

When we were let in the skipper was still a little red-faced, but didn’t
try to hide his dissatisfaction. Sean O’Sullivan was the latest to hold the
Mariners scoreless. The team was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position
and fell to 1-for-15 with the bases loaded this season. If it pains you to
watch it, it pains Wedge too.

“Same thing, different day,” he said in his office once when we were let
in. “It’s unacceptable. We are not going to keep watching this. We are going
to get better. We are not going to keep doing what we are doing.”

When asked if he had relayed this to the team he said he had.

“I talked to them after the game,” Wedge said. “I had a few choice
words for them. I am not real happy right now. I made it real clear how we
are going to go about our business here.”

The clubhouse was quiet when we left the managers’ office. Brendan
Ryan, Jack Cust and Adam Kennedy were huddled in one corner talking.
Felix Hernandez was at his locker waiting for the media.

“No one is happy with this. We have got to keep trying,” Hernandez
said. “We have got to keep trying. You have got to keep working hard, keep
trying to hit, keep trying to pitch, that is all we can do.”

David Aardsma, who is ready to be sent out on his rehab assignment,
said that Wedge’s message came through loud and clear.

“You have got to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘what am I doing
to help my team or what am I not doing to help them?'” he said.

Aardsma went on to say that Wedge calling out the team was a good
thing in this situation.

“He is a very emotional coach. As a manager he should be. It’s
awesome. We need that. We need someone to come in here and let us know
what he think, let us know what we are doing and not doing and kick our
butts a little,” he said. “It’s something you have to have, that is something a
manager should be doing and it is actually refreshing, getting right in our
faces and telling us we should demand more of ourselves. And we need to
do it.”

The skipper has spoken. Are his words enough to help drive in a few
runs? We shall see.