The Seattle Mariners front office is, according to former manager Eric Wedge, plagued by "dysfunction and a lack of leadership," according to a new piece by Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
Wedge and former special assistant Tony Blengino, who came to Seattle with Jack Zduriencik and who was recently fired, speak on the records, and with great specificity, of a front office situation that they say is rotten from the top down under CEO Howard Lincoln and president Chuck Armstrong.
In particular, Blengino attacks the notion that Jack Z is a stats guy, saying:
"Jack portrayed himself as a scouting/stats hybrid because that’s what he needed to get the job," Blengino said. "But Jack never has understood one iota about statistical analysis. To this day, he evaluates hitters by homers, RBI and batting average and pitchers by wins and ERA. Statistical analysis was foreign to him. But he knew he needed it to get in the door."
There's also stuff in there about Lincoln and Armstrong trying to micromanage Wedge, and an overall picture painted of an organization that is a mess.
Seriously. Read the whole thing. It is remarkable.