http://0rz.tw/0kxKn M's CEO: 2013 was'most disappointing and frustrating'season Even to the man in charge of it all, the Seattle Mariners’ 2013 season looked like a step in the wrong direction. Team CEO Howard Lincoln saw what we all saw back in February, when the M’s started spring training: a good-looking team with young talent and strong veteran presence, starting a promising make-or-break third year under manager Eric Wedge and supported by promising prospects in the minors. Even ESPN named Seattle a sleeper team with potential to make a postseason run. That didn’t happen. Despite some promising stints of great baseball, the Mariners once again floundered in 2013. After Sunday’s season finale, a fitting 9-0 loss to the A’s at Safeco Field, the 71-91 M’s ended up with four more losses than a year ago. “This was the most disappointing and frustrating season I’ve ever endured, without any question,” Lincoln said in an interview Tuesday with Ryan Divish of The (Tacoma) News Tribune. “And the reason I say that: At spring training our expectations were very high. And I think that was justified. You were there; this looked really good. I didn’t expect we were going to go to the World Series, but I thought we were going to be very, very competitive.” “So I was very disappointed,” he added, “probably more disappointed than any season that I’ve gone through. But there were good things that happened. And I think our fans see that, too. They see that young talent, and we just have to be — ‘patient’ is not a good word because our fans have been more than patient — but we certainly have to stay the course. We have to work with this young talent and develop it. So that’s where I’m at.” It was all but necessary for Lincoln to tell Mariners fans where he’s at, as he and the rest of team management are now mired in not just another challenging offseason, but also in a search for a new skipper. Wedge up and quit last week, citing philosophical differences between him and Mariners brass, despite the team’s apparent desire to bring him back for 2014. Wedge’s decision to leave, now that his three-year contract has expired, of course sparked further turmoil among M’s fans. As has seemingly become the routine in Seattle, many fans are calling for the ouster of not just GM Jack Zduriencik, but also the senior management — Lincoln and team President Chuck Armstrong. Nevertheless, all three of those guys will remain at Safeco next year. Asked whether he still has faith in Zduriencik, who is now heading into his sixth year with the organization, Lincoln said Zduriencik has done a “superb job” of scouting for baseball talent but has had to learn on the job to be an MLB general manager. “I think he’s done a fair job, OK job in the composition of the major-league roster,” Lincoln said. “I think he’s made his share of mistakes, but no general manager bats 1.000. I think he learns from his mistakes, which is positive. “I think you have to be fair when you recognize general managers are going to make mistakes. And even decisions that are not mistakes turn out to be bad because the player gets injured, or the player doesn’t perform up to expectations based on history and whatnot. So overall, I continue to have confidence in Jack going forward.” The entire interview — all of which Divish valiantly transcribed — is worth a read on the TNT’s website. In his comments, Lincoln addresses questions regarding the Mariners’ focus on profitability versus baseball prowess, how the team spreads its money between payroll and other expenses, what kind of talent the ballclub wants to acquire this offseason, and even where he sees himself and the organization in five years. --

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