Regarding his attitude “problems”, I can’t help but wonder how the average player would feel when told that he would be platooning with a LH who is batting .215 with no power. So, he would get many less AB’s, and bat 6th or so in the lineup, while the .215 platoon-partner with no power gets to bat cleanup. If it were me, I’d probably say “what a crock”.

What a crock….

“Having him sitting in the bullpen didn’t help his case any,” Riggleman said Thursday. “The question is, ‘Why did he go down there?’ It’s happened before with other guys, and usually it’s just a playful thing. But you have to wonder, didn’t he want to be on the bench with us?”

Well, yeah, technically two out of the three are better. And it’s not like they signed him to be a slugger or anything.

And, as Meatloaf once said, “two out of three ain’t bad.”

They lost slugger Jose Guillen to free agency, replacing him in right field with Brad Wilkerson. That seems like a drop off, but the team hopes to make up for that with an improved year from first baseman Richie Sexson, who can’t help but do better than he did in an awful ’07 (.205 batting average, .295 on-base percentage, .399 slugging percentage).

Final line for Sexson (with the M’s), 2008:
.218 / .315 / .381
Well, yeah, technically two out of the three are better. And it’s not like they signed him to be a slugger or anything.

As someone who has employed up to 250 people, I learned a long time ago that employer decisions are hard for others to understand. Why this guy? Why now?

Well, as Jeff Nye points out: why does that matter? We all agreed Richie needed to go. So did management. So, be happy.

Some reasons for NOW:

1. Lee took a phone call from a GM who said : ‘You know, we could use Richie, but only off waivers.’
Act of class/kindness by the M’s. A favor to be remembered perhaps.

2.Richie became torqued off enough to become a problem. This is hinted at. ‘Play me or trade me!’…’Well, neither of those is really an option, how about this!’.

3.Hard-nosed performance based management. OK, quit laughing. Really. Maybe this is the start.

skipj

I don’t feel bad because he made a lot of money he didn’t altogether earn with his performance, which was excruciating to watch as a fan. The lion’s share of the blame goes to the people who probably could have moved him for something more than once before last season, but instead let him keep trotting out there looking worse and worse until he had no trade value left at all, which to me is reminiscent of what they did with Pineiro.

And now, since this is at best makes us suck a little less and at worst makes us even a little crappier, I can focus my ire on Turbo’s sucktastic lack of value and Willie’s AAAA skill set. Hopefully the taking out of the garbage until we get down to some kind of useful, non-rotten frame to build on.

I gotta say I didn’t hate Richie Sexson — but the long-term dull ache of disappointment gets pretty old, too.

While I have to say best of luck to Richie, I’ll also admit that watching him the past year-and-a-half was a bit like watching Jimmy Smits’ final six episodes on NYPD Blue — i.e. you knew what the hell was gonna happen to him as he slowly faded away, but you couldn’t stop watching anyway.

I wonder how the fans at Safeco have not turned on Turbo yet?

Because there’s still food available at the concession stands…he hasn’t gotten around to them yet.

The $7M for the second half is a fixed cost. We aren’t opening up 1B to let a prospect (or even a pseduo prospect) like Clement or LaHair. We’re replacing Sexson with worse hitters in Vidro and Cairo. Small sample size caveats apply, but Sexson was pretty good against lefties and decent on the road, away from the physical and psychological problems with Safeco. Could we not keep Sexson as a platoon 1B/DH? Is it just “not cool” to take a veteran making $14M and make him a bench warmer?

My God, I watch them now for the same reason someone might poke a bloated carcass with a sharp stick…..morbid curiosity.

This was the right move,

I don’t see how releasing the better player can ever be the right move.