Straight from the best sportswriter in the city:

In search of a replacement for Bill Bavasi, who was fired on June 16, the Mariners will interview Peter Woodfork, the Arizona Diamondbacks assistant general manager; Jerry DiPoto, Diamondbacks director of player personnel; Tony Bernazard, New York Mets vice president of player development; Kim Ng, Los Angeles Dodgers assistant general manager; and Tony LaCava, Toronto Blue Jays assistant general manager.
...
The Mariners are expected to talk to more candidates next week as they aim for an announcement shortly after the World Series.

When you're dealing with people who don't have any prior GM'ing experience, it's impossible to say what they'd be like once granted total control of a roster, but based on a little quick Googling, none of these executives rode the nepotism escalator too close to the sun, so that's a step up from our last guy. There's pretty much no possible way we come out of this looking worse. It's just up to the suits in charge to maximize the degree to which we get better.

Of these five, I think I'm most fond of Woodfork (Harvard! Epstein!) and least fond of Bernazard (Controversy! Subterfuge!), but honestly, I can't say for sure, because we just don't know enough about these people to draw conclusions. It's a mystery, and as easy as it would be to simply judge the candidates based on the organizations for whom they've worked in the past, that's a dangerous and highly misleading approach, because a single organization will employ people with a million different philosophies. Mat Olkin and Bill Bavasi worked for the same team, remember. The same goes for Paul DePodesta and Randy Smith. Hiring someone who worked for the Red Sox isn't guaranteed to work out better than hiring someone who worked for the Orioles, because every front office is a mixed bag. We just have to hope that Armstrong and Lincoln know what they're doing, which, uhhhhh

We'll see which other names come up next week. Barring some nightmare, I think I'll be happy just as long as we avoid hiring some leathery retread. In this case, I'd say better the devil we don't know than the devil we do. If this organization is to persist as a failure, here's to failing differently.

I didn't really know much about John Mozeliak before. Now I do. He is bad.

The Cardinals expected to finalize a four-year extension with Lohse this morning. Lohse skipped his scheduled start Sunday for a physical and said afterward he hopes a deal is on the horizon.
...
General manager John Mozeliak declined to discuss details but confirmed negotiating with Lohse's representative. Multiple sources indicated that the deal could be similar to the four-year, $48 million contract signed by Carlos Silva with Seattle last winter, and that the average annual value of Lohse's deal will exceed $10 million.

The Cardinals have scheduled a news conference for 4:30 p.m. today (FSN Midwest).

The Cardinals grabbed Lohse off of the scrap heap last March and were rewarded with a sub-4 ERA over 200 innings. The lesson they learned from this is that, if dipping into the bargain barrel works once with a player, you better make damn sure he never gets away.

Kyle Lohse is the same pitcher he's always been. Nothing's different about the way he pitches. He gets a couple more groundballs now, but those come at the expense of infield pop-ups, and he just posted the lowest swinging strike rate of his life despite having spent the majority of his career in the tougher league. He turns 30 this weekend.

Stupid. Kyle Lohse is a #4 starter being paid like someone way better than that, and while he may not be as thoroughly unlikable as Carlos Silva, his contract is likely to be almost as much of a problem down the road. If not immediately.

Facing an offseason in which there's more talent on the free agent market than there has been in ages, Kyle Lohse is on the verge of signing a monster four-year contract. Either the Cardinals are batshit insane or the league's front offices have communally looked at last year's reasonable spending and decided that that was really silly of them. Whatever the case may be, I don't know if I've ever been happier to be in a Bavasi-less position. God only knows what kind of ideas he'd be getting.

I can think of less ominous contracts to begin the winter.

Draft Signing Window Closed

In the end, the posturing by Scott Boras ended up being just that as his clients mostly ended up signed and only Yonder Alonso and Brian Matusz got big league deals. Three first rounds did not sign and all of them are significant. 

JOSH FIELDS, #20, MARINERS
Yep, no official signing. However, this isn't what you might think at first. Fields is a college senior which means the August 15 deadline never applied to him in the first place. Instead, the Mariners own his rights all the way until June 1st, 2009.

The underground rumblings have been saying for some time that this deal has been all but sewn for around $2MM (relative slot: $1.3MM) and that the Mariners were just holding off on announcing it in order not to incur the wrath of Selig for being the first to wreck the slot. Until you hear a good source say otherwise, assume this will get announced at some point this year and possibly soon as now there's no reason to hold off.

GERRIT COLE, #28, YANKEES
It's always nice to see the Yankees miss out on a good prospect. The Yankees will acquire the #30 overall pick in the 2009 draft as compensation.

But potentially much bigger than these

AARON CROW, #9, NATIONALS
The Nationals and Crow could not agree to a contract with the reported difference only being about $500,000 in bonus money. Why should we care? Well this means the Nationals get an additional draft pick at what I believe will be #10 for 2009. This means the Nationals will have both a top-3 and another top-10 pick.

We see from this year's draft that the #10 pick is going to be costing around the $3-4MM mark in bonus to sign and that top-3 picks are typically going to check in around $6MM. Do the Nationals, who just let Crow walk away over $500-750K, splurge $10MM+ next summer on just those two picks? Furthermore, the Nationals will be under pressure to take a pick they know they'll sign at #10 because if they fail again they get no compensation.

All of this means that the Nationals might be a lot more cost-conscious with their first pick, the potential first overall. If the Mariners are able to hang on and snag the second overall, they just got more likely to be able to have their choice of the top talent after Washington pulls a Royals and tabs a first overall pick for signability/cost reasons.

Team sources have indicated that pitcher Jarrod Washburn cleared waivers and can now be traded without fear of a claim to block a move.

Source

This isn't horrible news, because Washburn could still be traded and it is actually good news in that sense since we are now free to trade him anywhere and if we do manage to get something back that person just has to be not part of the team's 40-man roster. However, I might have preferred someone to claim Washburn and have Seattle just say "okay". I want to be Washburn-free more than I want to hold out for something potentially useful far down the line in return. 

At least they were smart enough to put him on waivers.

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Asked earlier this year about what he expects in the off-season, he said he wanted a four-year-contract, and though he’s likely to get an offer or two in that range, a three-year deal seems more like what Seattle would request.

For how much? The bidding for a man coming off three consecutive 100-RBI seasons – and being a good citizen and clubhouse force, to boot – would probably start in the $10-$11 million a year range.

Source

Anyone still think Raul might accept arbitration? He won't. And while you're down there praying for the Ms to trade Washburn you might as well tack on an extra one that the Mariners do not hand Raul a 3Y/$36MM (my prediction since back in February) contract.

And so it's upon us. The big story is, of course, the whole saga with Manny Ramirez, but Pelekoudas shouldn't be worrying about that, because he's got a lot of work to do, and - as of this writing - less than twelve hours to do it. It's going to be a busy day. I don't think he'll be sleeping in.

If the Mariners are to get any value in return for Jarrod Washburn, today's the day it's going to happen. Not only would waiting until August reduce the amount of difference he could make for another team, but waiver rules make anything other than a simple salary dump highly unlikely. Waiting until the offseason wouldn't make much sense in this regard, either, since there'll be so many other arms floating around. Now's the last chance for Pelekoudas to try and turn Washburn into something useful for the future. I wish him luck. And I do think he can do it, provided he backs down from his unreasonable previous demands. Although I should take this opportunity to re-state that all I really want is for Washburn to go away. I just want his salary and roster spot to be available going forward. So I'll try not to flip out too much if he isn't moved today, just because it won't be our last chance to dump him.

Arthur Rhodes should be shipped away for the best offer. Hands down. No point in keeping him.

Raul Ibanez is drawing interest, but Pelekoudas has affixed a high price tag, and for good reason. Not because he's a good player, but because the Elias free agent rankings think he's a good player. If he gets moved, it's because another front office caved at the last minute.

Adrian Beltre is drawing interest, but there's maybe a 1-in-25 chance that someone out there ponies up enough to pry him loose.

JJ is drawing interest, but Pelekoudas isn't about to sell at a value trench, so he'll only get traded if another GM pays as if he's been pitching effectively.

Not much else going on. But being that we possess two of the most highly sought-after players on the market, today should be anything but dull.

Just don't do anything stupid, Lee. It's all I ask.

Pravda:

OAKLAND -- Seattle Mariners Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Lee Pelekoudas announced today that the Mariners have released first baseman Richie Sexson.

"We felt that at this time it was in the best interest of the ballclub, and in Richie's best interest, to make this move" Pelekoudas said.

Thanks for the Funk Blasts, you clumsy giant.

Batista has suffered through his share of maladies this season, ranging from a sore back in spring training to a pulled groin and foot issues. But he was quick to point out that he hasn’t missed any games because of those injuries.

"This is frustrating. It's embarrassing. I'm supposed to be helping the team win, but the way I'm pitching, it's not helping. I have to make sure I get myself healthy before I go out there again, because I'm the only guy trying to pitch through it. Everybody else, every time they feel pain, they go on the DL, or they take a rest, and I haven't."

-Miguel Batista, 6/25

UPDATE -- Miguel Batista came out of the game with what the team says is a right groin strain, three pitches into the bottom of the third.

Way to go, stupid.

RRS for starter.

Post-bases-clearing-double update: shut up I don't care

LaPorta + two other prospects, Alcides Escobar not among them.

More as I get it.

Milwaukee Newspaper Link

Baker:

Just got the word. John McLaren is out as manager of the Mariners. Bench coach Jim Riggleman has been promoted to the position. Press conference at 11:30 a.m.

Everyone knew it was coming, but for as bad as he was at strategics, John McLaren is by all reports a wonderful person, and so this isn't all that easy to deal with. I mean, on the one hand, he was genetically programmed to love Jose Vidro until his legs fall off (and quite possibly beyond), but on the other, it's a shame when a good person gets stuck in a shitty situation over which he has little control, so I'm a little torn. I don't know, I guess I'm just a sucker for a sympathetic face. I mean, for God's sake, look at this:

One of these guys looks like he talks to cute bunnies in the park and always leaves room for people merging on the freeway. The other guy looks like he throws rocks at cute bunnies in the park and erratically tails the car in front of him on the freeway while shotgunning a Pabst. Why do nice people always have to be so bad at their jobs? And why must they frequently be replaced by worse people who are equally bad? Mind you, I don't know the first thing about Jim Riggleman the man, but based on his picture and my awesome level of perception, I bet he's never cried in a press conference. When Hargrove resigned Riggleman probably would've said "whatever queer" and given that fake handshake where he extends his hand then pulls it away behind his ear and laughs like a dick. I hope this isn't libel. 

John McLaren is almost certainly done as a Major League manager, but for his sake, I hope he's able to stick around. Not necessarily because he's megaqualified to hold any position requiring insight and intelligence, but because there are so many stupid assholes in the league that he's more than deserving of a chance to be happy again, if only because he's pleasant to be around. Jim Riggleman could probably use a new bench coach...

Something that just came to mind - you know what's a good mark of a terrible team? When the dismissal of its GM, manager, first baseman, and DH means that none of them will ever land the same position ever again. Forget Mojo Risin'; the real team slogan should've been 2008 Seattle Mariners: Career Destroyer. God we suck.

John - provided you never again find yourself in charge of the M's or the Rays or the Seahawks or the Sens somehow, I wish you only the best of luck in all your future endeavors. On a scale from zero to Ichiro likes you, you did as much as that of which you were capable, and it's not your fault you flew too close to the sun. For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, you won't have to have any more sleepless nights agonizing over how bad we are. Cherish that freedom. You've earned it.

In the press conference, I hope you can give us one last squint. For old times' sake.

I'll miss your sling.

Wow.