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Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times is reporting that Mariners manager Mike Hargrove is going to resign today. The Mariners will hold a press conference at 11:30 am PT to announce this.
More to follow.
Update 1 - Sports Ticker confirms the report and says John McLaren will take over as manager after today's game.
Update 2 - The Mariners website reports that Hargrove said in a statement that his "passion has begun to fade" and it would not be "fair to myself or the team" to continue.
Update 3 - In a press conference, Hargrove asserts that he just had lost his passion for the job and there are no other reasons for his resignation. He felt that if he wasn't giving his best on the job, he can't ask his players to do so. He thought that his players could tell this in recent days. He had been mulling the decision for about 10 days.
Update 4 - Mariners GM Bill Bavasi said he tried to talk Hargrove out of the decision and said the team wasn't prepared for the change.
Update 5 - Hargrove insisted his health was fine and he truly had just lost his passion. New manager John McLaren sensed something was up about a week to 10 days ago when Hargrove seemed to be less interested in the outcomes of the games. Hargrove is not having a dispute with management or his players.
Moneyball taught us how to find the under appreciated players and construct a team to win, but how do you ensure your hard work is not ruined by your good ol' boy manager. Read on as we follow the Seattle Mariners and their ascent to contention thanks to a new principle we are dubbing Apathyball.
Not that that would mean he'd really been fired, but if he and the star don't get along, it might have contributed to his waning enthusiasm.
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