We're only halfway through the 2008 season, and already the Seattle Mariners have undergone quite a few changes. First and foremost this year, they went from being a team that was supposed to contend for a divisional title or playoff appearance to being the worst team in baseball.As is often the case when your horrible, people start to lose their jobs, and that's exactly what happened to general manager Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren. Still, there's another change on the horizon in Seattle, as controlling owner Hiroshi Yamauchi (the former president of Nintendo) is rumored to be trying to sell off his stake in the team.
It's being said that minority owner Chris Larson is interested in buying Yamauchi's share in the team, and he'll be bringing in a familiar face as one of his partners.
One fascinating rumor making the industry rounds has an investment group led by Microsoft executive and current Mariners minority owner Chris Larson and former Seattle GM Pat Gillick taking control of the Mariners sometime in the near future, with Gillick running the baseball operation and naming the new GM.Gillick is currently the general manager in Philadelphia, but he's gone on record as saying that he plans to retire at the end of the season, so it would seem the timing is right. It should also be noted that Gillick (who is Canadian) has sold his home in Toronto, and that his wife has sold the Toronto art gallery that she owned.
So if you've got a mansion in the Seattle area you'd like to part ways with, maybe you should give Mr. Gillick a call.
