Chief executive officer Howard Lincoln announced today at an afternoon press conference, that the Mariners will be relieving General Manager Bill Bavasi of his duties with the club. Assistant GM, and team V.P. Lee Pelekoudas will take over as the interim General Manager, effective immediately. Lincoln announced that Pelekoudas, who has been with the organization for 29 years, would be considered permanently for the position, but the team does plan an immediate search outside the organization.
Bavasi was in his 5th season as M’s GM. He took over for Pat Gillick in November of 2003. In Bavasi’s tenure, the team only finished with one winning season. After a surprising 88 win season in 2007, The Mariners 24-45 record in 2008 is the worst in baseball despite having a 116 million dollar payroll.
This move comes one week after hitting coach Jeff Pentland was fired. Mariners fans must wonder….who’s next?
Great read here in a post by Darrin Beane in “the news tribune.com” in Tacoma, who chronicles “The Bavasi Years” displaying every major transaction made since November 2003. Readers beware as this may bring back scary flashbacks of the ghosts of Mariners past.
