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Mariners hire Eric Wedge

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The naming of Eric Wedge as the new manager of the Seattle Mariners -- announced officially by the team Monday -- is getting a solid chorus of thumbs up from the non-Seattle baseball community.

"He's a very good guy and a very good manager," said Kerry Wood, the New York Yankees setup man who was the closer with the Indians a year ago when Wedge was winding down his seven-year stint in Cleveland. "He's got great expectations for his players, and he does everything he can to get the best out of them.

"He respects the game and wants everyone else to respect it, too."

Cliff Lee, who is the Texas Rangers' starting pitcher in Monday's American League Championship Series against the Yankees, was once sent down to the minor leagues by Wedge in the middle of what was for Lee a disastrous 5-8, 6.29 season with the Indians.

Lee could be expected to harbor a grudge, but given that he found his game during his eight starts at AAA Buffalo and has come back to be one of the best pitchers in the game, including winning the 2008 Cy Young Award, the left-hander is solidly in Wedge's camp.

"I think they've got a very good manager in Eric Wedge," Lee said. The southpaw pitched for the Mariners this year until a July trade to the Rangers.

"He's good makeup and a great knowledge of the game. Guys like playing for him. I liked playing for him."

There is a suggestion that Wedge is intense to the point of distraction, and that intensity is seen by his players and coaches, not so much by the media and the fans.

"He is intense, and I think that's a good trait to have in a manager," Lee said. "It projects out. He has high expectations of his players, and I think most players need those kinds of expectations."

Texas skipper Ron Washington, who has managed against Wedge for years, said the Mariners "are making a really good choice."

"He built that team in Cleveland up from a group of kids to a real contender," Washington said admiringly. "He's great with kids, and that's the kind of team he's going to have in Seattle to start with.

"And don't forget that he was a catcher when he played. Catchers have to see the whole game when they play, and that translates well if they become managers. He's a solid baseball guy and a good person."

The Mariners are expected to make the announcement at 4 p.m. ET Monday.

In the release naming Wedge -- whose name got out on Friday -- Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said the 42-year-old Wedge was the right man for the Mariners at this stage, coming off 101 losses in perhaps the franchise's most disappointing single season.

"Eric brings the energy, passion and leadership that we think is important as we move forward," Zduriencik said in the release, "and he has a track record of winning at the major league and minor league levels. As a former Manager of the Year he has experience working with both veteran and younger players, and as we move ahead we look forward to his contributions."

Wedge, hired in 2003, had one first-place finish, one second-place finish and two 90-win seasons with Cleveland. The Indians at the time developed two Cy Young Award-winners, CC Sabathia, now with the Yankees, and Lee. It was when Sabathia was gone and Lee was traded that the team went downhill to the point where Wedge was fired in 2009.

But over a five-year span 2004-2008, Wedge was 428-382 (.528). He was the American League Manager of the Year when the Indians won the AL Central in 2007.

"I think this is a terrific opportunity and I am excited to be a part of it," Wedge said in the Mariners' release. "Seattle is a great city for me and my family. With the fan support, the ballpark, the ownership and management, the Mariners are in a great position to be very successful."

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/10/18/mariners-announce-hiring-of-eric-wedge-move-praised-by-wood-le/

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