What are the Mariners deal really?

So far this season for the Mariners have had only one problem. Wait a minute, they have way more then one problem. The Mariners could be at or around .500 if it wasn't for that 7 game losing streak. Now, another problem for the Mariners has been Michael Saunders. Saunders started the season off great. In the second game where the Mariners played the Yankees Saunders went 2-4, since then he has gone 7-59 (.118) lowering his batting average by 68 points, he has also struck out 28 times. Right now Saunders to me needs some work in Tacoma to work on his swing, why not send him down and call up Eric Thames? 

Now, last night I heard that Franklin Gutierrez will need more time to recuperate from his hamstring injury. ROOT Sports analyst reported that Guti couldn't go more then 3 days without needing a break. Now, Guti's contract is up at the end of this year so why not release him now? Guti hasn't played a full season since 2010, he's nothing but an injury risk and not worth the money anymore.

Now, who could we get to replace Guti? Well, we have Jason Bay who the Mariners might likely resign after this year, Endy Chavez can also be a great replacement for Guti in center, Julio Morbon is another target for a good replacement he's shown us that he can hit the ball and play the outfield at the same time, the last candidate is the guy who we got in exchange for Shawn Kelley, Abraham Almonte. Almonte has been tearing things up in Triple A so far going 22-46 (.478). All of these players are terrific candidates to replace Gutierrez in centerfield along with Michael Saunders (if he can get his bat going again). Now, another problem that has popped up is Tom Wilhelmsen's ability to be consistent and locate his pitches. He was able to locate his pitches last night but before that he has blown 3 saves out of 4 attempts. Before 

Tommy boy blew his first our of 3 in Cleveland he was 11 out of 11 in save opportunities with a 0.50 ERA, since then he has gone 1 out of 4 in save opportunities and his ERA has rose to 2.13. Now if Tommy boy loses his position as the closer I would think that either Carter Capps or Oliver Perez would be the two likely candidates for taking the closer position. Carter Capps has been able to come in for the Mariners and get them out of tight situations along with having one of the nastiest breaking ball and slider I've ever seen. Perez has also been just as reliable, in his last 10 games he has pitched 7.2 innings while striking out 16 batters. Capps in his last 10 games has pitch 9 innings allowing only 1 run and striking out 11 batters. Both these relievers are perfect candidates for replacing Tom if necessary.

Now by the end of this season there has to be one more change made to this team, either Eric Wedge or Jack Zduriencik has to go. Zduriencik has made some impressive signings and has drafted excellent talent but the thing is, is that Zduriencik has said "this team is currently rebuilding" now when he came to the team in 2008 he said the same thing. Mariners fans are tired of him saying that and we should have been rebuilding the team this long, the fans want to see this team in the playoffs and were not going to get there when Zduriencik keeps rebuilding. Now, Eric Wedge is one of the biggest pushover managers in baseball in my opinion. Wedge consistently makes excuses for poor performances and in games where he needs to make a pitching change he just stands there with his thumb in his ass watching the team fail. In the saves that Wilhelmsen has blown a normal manager would have gotten someone warmed up in the bullpen and ready to go after watching him walk two straight batters. Wedge never shows his emotions on the field just in the clubhouse........yeah that does not make a good manager.

 Lou Pinella and Ozzie Guillen are great examples of when a manager shows his emotions on and off the field and in the clubhouse they get great results. Pinella's tough managerial skills saw the Mariners have their first winning season in his first season as manager and in his third year saw the team winning their first AL West title. Pinella's skills as a red hot manager saw the Mariners go to the playoffs 3 more times including the 116 win season and after that saw the Mariners win 93 games in two of his last 3 years of managing the team. Guillen saw his White Sox win the World Series in his second year of managing the team, in Ozzie's 8 years of managing the White Sox, his team win 83, 99, 90, 72, 88, 79, 88, and 79 games making the playoffs 5 times and winning one World Series.

Changes must be made on the Mariners roster and in their front office if this team would like to see the playoffs.