FanHouse LeePelekoudas

My colleague Andrew Johnson dubbed the Mariners one of his losers of the trade deadline, and I couldn't agree more. The Mariners are challenging the Nationals for the worst record in the league, and although they managed to pull one minor deal (sending Arthur Rhodes to the Marlins), they sat on their hands when they could have dumped a lot of salary -- and make no mistake, there were teams calling trying to get a deal done. From Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

And talks had remained all but non-existent as the deadline neared between the Yanks and Mariners about Jarrod Washburn. [...] Yankee GM Brian Cashman had talked with Lee Pelekoudas, the Mariners' interim GM, in recent days to try to mend fences. The Mariners were angry that discussions on this front had leaked into the media and the perception had formed that the Yanks would be fleecing Seattle. What the Yanks have tried to stress to the Mariners is that absorbing $14 million is a big return for a rebuilding team such as the Mariners.

Washburn is the epitome of a back of the rotation pitcher -- on a good year he might be worthy of being a No. 3 pitcher on a good team, but by and large his numbers usually hover just below the league average. And for that the Mariners are paying him $9.8 million this year and $10.3 million next. Awesome.

Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln announced that GM Bill Bavasi has been officially relieved of duties, naming Vice President/Associate GM Lee Pelekoudas as the team's interim GM. From the team's press release:

"Change is in order." Lincoln said. "We have determined new leadership is needed in the GM position. With a new leader will come a new plan and a new approach. A search will begin immediately for a permanent GM, and Lee will be a candidate for the position."

Bavasi served as the Mariners' general manager since 2003, during which time the team has posted two winning seasons while going through three managers. He's responsible for the monster contracts given to Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre, and Carlos Silva, not to mention trading Carlos Guillen for Ramon Santiao, one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory. Adding insult to injury, he's also the last GM to sign Jeff Weaver to a big league contract.