Seattle Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln lashed out at the media covering the team in a private e-mail obtained by the Seattle Times' Geoff Baker. In response to perceived attacks on the organization by local media and "bloggers," Lincoln quotes a Mark Cuban blog post that called the media "the dumbest people in the room."
Baker has the full email up on his blog. Below is an excerpt from Lincoln's rant, which appears to make reference to a recent column by Seattle Times columnist Steve Kelley.
We're getting hit like never before--or at least never before in recent memory! Indeed, if you read between the lines, you get the clear impression that at least one beat reporter would love nothing better than to step right in and run the Mariners. (Don't worry, that's not going to happen!)
None of us likes to read about our organization being "dysfunctional" or in "panic" or that we fire employees without good cause or that we'd be much better off if a few heads at the top were lopped off.
This is an absolute public relations nightmare for the Mariners. A leaked email criticizing the people charged with covering the team on a day-to-day basis creates more fires for the Mariners' public relations team to put out.
It's not just the media, either. Lincoln's handling of the Josh Leuke story casts the Mariners' front office in a poor light to a fanbase already angry about the on-field product. Striking such a defiant tone in a season already filled to the brim with turmoil shows weakness when the opposite was intended.
Unfortunately, a disastrous season on the field has turned into a nightmare off the field for the Mariners.
For more from SB Nation Seattle on the Josh Lueke situation, click here.
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