Mariners' woes finally overflow for McLaren

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SEATTLE -- Four games into June, the number of things the Seattle Mariners have not yet done this season remains a can't-do list that helps explain a season of utter frustration. The team has not, for instance, won more than three games in a row - or rallied to win a game it trailed after eight innings. The Mariners have not overcome a deficit larger than two runs to win a game.And, after losing to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, 5-4, the Mariners have not won a game this month.What they can't say now, however, is that they've never seen their manager erupt after a game."We play our (bleep) off every day and got nothing to show for it," McLaren shouted. " I'm tired of (bleeping) losing. I'm tired of getting my (bleep) beat and so are those guys. We're going to change this (bleeping bleep) around and get after it. "Only we can do it. The fans are (bleeped) off and I'm (bleeped) off and the players are (bleeped) off. There's no (bleeping) easy way out of this. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We've got to (bleeping) buckle it up and get after it. I'm tired of (bleeping) losing every (bleeping) night. It's got to be a total team (bleeping) effort to turn this thing around."For those not scoring at home, that was 13 bleeps from a normally composed man protective of his team and his players.Some will say all that's overdue, or that McLaren's passion has come too late in the season. The simplest truth, perhaps, is that 60 games into the Seattle season, the Mariners' manager had reached the end of his patience.No more waiting for the offense or the starting pitching, the bullpen or the infield defense.Now, McLaren said, players should fear for their jobs."There's a concept of addition by subtraction," McLaren said. "Ownership can't be happy putting up $120 million for this. Fans aren't happy -- and nobody in this clubhouse is happy."People have had it. They want some results."What they got Wednesday was another close loss, one in which the Mariners fell behind in the first inning, 3-0, and never did catch up. And one in which the potential tying run was thrown out at the plate in the sixth inning.What was clear afterward was that McLaren's frustrations were shared in the Seattle clubhouse.General manager Bill Bavasi, weary of team veterans dodging the post-game media, ordered all Mariners players to stay in the clubhouse -- and closed the food room for the day.Still, players such as Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson did not talk afterward.Others did."We're not starting to get frustrated," reliever Brandon Morrow said. "We've been frustrated. It weighs on all of us, every day."Raul Ibanez seemed in pain talking about the season so far."It's terrible right now. It's difficult. It's embarrassing," Ibanez said. "The only thing I know to do in this situation is to go forward, work harder and find a way."Someone asked if that was the universal attitude in the clubhouse. "It better be. The only way we're going to turn it around is if everybody fights, claws, scratches, bites, finds a way," Ibanez said. "Whatever you've got to do. Dig down deep and find a way." The post-game fireworks by McLaren came after team president Chuck Armstrong berated members of the coaching staff earlier Wednesday.Armstrong refused to comment to the media about the outburst."What's said between me and the coaches stays between me and the coaches," Armstrong said through a team spokesman.However, about an hour after Armstrong's rage, McLaren had a closed-door session with Bavasi. Two weeks after Bavasi said McLaren's job was safe, Bavasi did so again Wednesday, saying it's a player issue, not a managerial one.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)