Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez breaks silence on Scott Servais firing

The Seattle Mariners have decided that they needed a new voice from their managerial seat and they fired Scott Servais and replaced him former Mariners All-Star catcher Dan Wilson. The team has slumped badly after building a double-digit lead in the American League West, and the Mariners now trail the Houston Astros by 5.5 games. Seattle outfielder Julio Rodriguez did not act surprised by the dismissal of his manager.

“I’m just focused on playing baseball. Those decisions are outside the players. That’s obviously higher up. We’re employees here, just like everybody is, so we’ve just got to show up and play baseball.”

While many observers were not expecting the Mariners to fire Servais, Rodriguez did not rush to his manager’s defense.

The Mariners had been successful earlier in the year because their pitching staff had been dominant. Their hitting has been an issue all season, and it has gotten worse in recent weeks.

Servais had a long run with the Mariners

Servais had been in his ninth season with the Mariners and he had put together a career record of 680-642. He was tied with Dave Roberts of the Dodgers in having the second-longest tenure of any manager in the major leagues.

The Mariners were 13 games over .500 as of June 18, but they have struggled badly since then and they have fallen t0 64-64 as they prepare for a three-game weekend series at home against the San Francisco Giants.

Seattle had lost eight of nine games on their recent road trip, and that slump had preceded the Servais firing. The Mariners were swept in a series by the Detroit Tigers, losing two of three to a Pittsburgh Pirates team that had lost 10 games in a row and then dropped all three in a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Wilson played 14 seasons in the big leagues, and 12 of those seasons were with the Mariners. He was an All-Star in 1996, but he has never managed at any professional level.