Wakamatsu's caring touch guiding once-adrift Mariners

NEW YORK -- Russell Branyan has 19 home runs. Felix Hernandez has eight wins. Ichiro Suzuki had a 27-game hitting streak.

The most impressive Mariner this year?

Try Don Wakamatsu.

The first-year manager is making a great first impression, inside and outside the clubhouse, and inside and outside the organization.

"He's turned around the culture of that club," said one scout who watched the Mariners recently. "You used to go up to Seattle, and no one talked to anyone. He's been able to institute a 'Let's all pull on the same rope' deal."

Don Wakamatsu's calm demeanor is rubbing off on the M's, players say. (Getty Images)

There seems no doubt that the culture has changed, and that what had been one of baseball's worst clubhouses now ranks among the best. Some of the credit goes to Ken Griffey Jr., some to Mike Sweeney, and a whole bunch to Wakamatsu, who gets high marks for his communication, honesty, preparation and consistency.

"When you have a calmness like he does, everybody around you stays the same," Griffey said.

Other Mariner players rave about the way Wakamatsu shows how much he cares about them as people. Wakamatsu's coaches rave about his instincts.

"He's got an unbelievable feel [for pitching]," pitching coach Rick Adair said. "He's unbelievable. He's going to do well for a long time."

Wakamatsu has made such a good impression that you wonder why more people didn't talk about him as a managerial candidate before the M's hired him last November. And even though Ron Washington has done well with the Rangers, you wonder why Texas didn't promote Wakamatsu, who was Buck Showalter's bench coach.

Even the Mariners talked to 32 candidates and interviewed seven in person before settling on Wakamatsu.

"At the end, I was really satisfied with what Don was going to be," general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "I like the relationship he and I have. He's set a real nice tone for the club. He has a chance to be a real good manager."

Zduriencik said he didn't know Wakamatsu before the interview process began, but he did remember scouting him when Wakamatsu played at Arizona State.

"I told him he was a better manager than a hitter," Zduriencik said.

Good thing, too. Wakamatsu hit .258 in 12 minor league seasons and went 7 for 31 with no RBI in one brief major-league stop with the 1991 White Sox.

Along the way, though, Wakamatsu learned what makes a good manager.

"I was so blessed to be around so many different managers," he said. "I was in spring training with Phil Garner one year, and he would walk the outfield during batting practice. He'd come over and ask, 'How's your wife?' And I was the 60th guy in camp.

"You remember what makes you feel good."

Sure enough, Wakamatsu walks the Mariners outfield every day during batting practice. Sure enough, he asks about players' families.

Sure enough, he makes them feel good.

The M's have played better than expected, but they still need to find more players to become a true contender.

They do appear to have found the right manager.

Around the majors

Griffey seems near the end as a player, but by all accounts he has been a tremendously positive influence in the Mariner clubhouse. One member of the M's traveling party credited Griffey when he said, "We've laughed more in three months than we did in the last three years."

Wakamatsu admits that he wondered at first how the superstar would be with a first-year manager.

"He's been just a blessing for me," Wakamatsu said. "He's been wonderful. Junior brings a calmness to me."

• While Zduriencik says he'd like to be a buyer and a seller at the same time this month, it seems clear that he's open to trading Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn and even Adrian Beltre, if he can come back from injury. The M's entered play Thursday just 3½ games out of first place, but it's hard to see them challenging the Angels and Rangers for the American League West crown.

"I don't think anyone's ready to throw in the towel," Zduriencik said. "[But] I don't think anyone has false expectations."

• The Dodgers have been cautioning against expecting Manny-like numbers the moment Manny Ramirez returns from his suspension (Friday night in San Diego). But it's clear that the Dodgers are counting on Ramirez to lift their offense. The Dodgers' trade efforts continue to focus on acquiring a starting pitcher (Washburn is one they've been interested in), and a left-handed reliever.

• Washburn has had a nice first half for the Mariners, but his pitching coach is impressed by more than just the numbers. "Best veteran I've ever been around," Adair said. "The ultimate team player."

• The "indefinite" time out of the lineup didn't seem to work for Magglio Ordonez, and you really have to wonder if the Tigers can continue to justify playing him every day. It's true that one-time stars sometimes come out of even the deepest slumps (Carlos Delgado last year, David Ortiz this year), but right now Ordonez's body language speaks louder than his stats, and the message is that there's little sign he's going to get going.

• The Cardinals have suggested that they don't have enough money for another acquisition after Mark DeRosa. The Reds have suggested that they don't have money for any big acquisition at all. The A's have suggested that they may not trade Matt Holliday. All that said, some people familiar with all three teams believe Holliday could still end up in either St. Louis or Cincinnati.

• The talk has already begun that Tony La Russa will end up with the Reds next year, rejoining his old boss Walt Jocketty. One person who knows La Russa said he considers it very unlikely, and even said that he can't see La Russa managing anywhere in the National League, other than St. Louis.

• Other general managers keep talking about how hard it is to make deals this year. Meanwhile, the Pirates have made three trades, and there's every chance they'll make more. It's believed that general manager Neal Huntington will listen on just about anyone, including closer Matt Capps and starters Paul Maholm and Zach Duke (although all three would carry high price tags).

As for the heat he has taken among fans and Pirate players, Huntington said, "We feel like we've been able to infuse talent without conceding the season, which is not what our fans feel."

• Dating back to 2007 (and including two starts this year), Johan Santana is 0-3 with a 12.86 ERA in his last three games with Jim Wolf umpiring behind the plate. Not only that, but Santana also lost the last time he matched up with then-Padres starter Randy Wolf, who is Jim's brother.