Days from a third consecutive last-place finish in the AL West, the Seattle Mariners announced Thursday they will bring back general manager Bill Bavasi and manager Mike Hargrove.
An annual letter sent to the team's approximately 15,000 season ticket-holders stated: ``We have more work to do. And we believe that we have the right people in place to get the job done. Bill Bavasi will continue to lead our baseball operations and Mike Hargrove will continue to manage the team.
``We believe that they are the right people to lead us to the next level. We have great confidence in their abilities. In our view, continuity of leadership is extremely important at this point in time.''
The letter was signed by Mariners chief executive officer Howard Lincoln and chief operating officer Chuck Armstrong.
Bavasi was hired in November 2003. Hargrove is finishing his second season in Seattle.
The Mariners were 76-83 and 16{ games behind division-leading Oakland entering Thursday. The Mariners were on the fringes of contention until an 11-game losing streak in August buried them _ and renewed calls from an increasingly frustrated fan base for Bavasi and/or Hargrove to be fired.
Seattle was 2-16 this season against the Athletics, an indication of how much work Bavasi and Hargrove will apparently inherit in 2007. Only two starting pitchers are signed for next season, Jarrod Washburn and Felix Hernandez.
``We are well aware that your patience is not infinite. Neither is ours,'' the letter told the season ticket-holders. ``Like you, we wish the rebuilding process was much quicker and that the Mariners would be in the playoffs next week.''
Lincoln and Armstrong lauded Bavasi for restocking the Mariners' minor league system with talent and Hargrove _ a former Indians and Orioles manager _ for being ``uniquely equipped to lead a young team.''
The letter noted that before major league rosters expanded on Sept. 1, 19 of the 25 players on Seattle's roster were either products of its farm system or originally signed by the Mariners.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
