SEATTLE Mariners choose experienced Hargrove to be next skipper

Bob Melvin was fired after two lackluster seasons.
SEATTLE (AP) -- After gambling on an inexperienced manager following Lou Piniella's move to Tampa Bay two years ago, the Seattle Mariners decided that experience was paramount this time.
That's why they turned to Mike Hargrove.
"He's got a heck of a resume as a manager and a player," general manager Bill Bavasi said Wednesday when Hargrove was introduced as the 13th manager in the Mariners' history.
Hargrove, who managed the Cleveland Indians for nine seasons and the Baltimore Orioles for four, replaces Bob Melvin, who failed as a rookie manager in Seattle as Piniella's replacement.
"His resume is real, real strong," Bavasi said. "He's had a lot of success and he's been through some real tough times."
Melvin and his coaching staff, with the exception of pitching coach Bryan Price, were fired a day after the Mariners completed a 63-99 season -- the fourth-worst in the franchise's 28-year history.
Hargrove returns
Hargrove, who hit .290 in a 12-year major league career with Texas, San Diego and Cleveland that ended in 1985, suffered through seasons of 98, 95 and 91 losses in his final three years as manager in Baltimore. He was fired after the 2003 season.
"I think you manage to the talent you have," Hargrove said.
Talent is pretty sparse in Seattle. The Mariners have Ichiro Suzuki, baseball's new single-season hits king, coming back, but not much else. They're going to have to get some free agent help this winter and productive free agent help.
The Mariners gave Hargrove a three-year contract. Bavasi has two years remaining on his three-year deal. Scott Spiezio and Rich Aurilia, two of the free agents Bavasi brought to Seattle last winter, were major busts. Aurilia didn't even finish the season with the Mariners.
"We're going to have to have a lot of outside influence this winter," Bavasi said.
But the Mariners aren't looking for a quick fix after having the third-worst record in the majors in 2004 and the worst in the team's history since the 1983 club lost 102 games.
Hargrove, who turns 56 next Tuesday, knows he has a difficult task ahead.
"We want to get back, obviously, to Seattle's tradition of winning as quickly as possible," he said. "But we want this thing to last a long time."
Contenders
Bavasi said Hargrove was chosen over three other former managers: Grady Little, Terry Collins and Jerry Manuel.
Bavasi emphasized that experience was the key to Hargrove's resume.
Hargrove was called two weeks ago by the Mariners, who wanted to have a manager in place before the start of the World Series this weekend.
Teams aren't allowed to make managerial announcements during the World Series because baseball doesn't want to detract from its showcase event.
Hargrove and Bavasi will pick the coaching staff in Seattle, and it might include a new pitching coach.
Mark Wiley, Hargrove's pitching coach in Cleveland and Baltimore, is a possible candidate for that job in Seattle if Price isn't retained.
"I'm very fond of Mark," Hargrove said of Wiley, who is unemployed. "But I also know the Seattle people have a lot of trust in Bryan. We'll just see where it goes."
Hargrove spent last season as an assistant to Indians GM Mark Shapiro. He has a career major league managerial record of 996-963, including 721-591 with the Indians from 1991-99.
He led the Indians to five consecutive AL Central Division titles from 1995-99, and World Series appearances in 1995 and '97. He managed Baltimore from 2000-03.
Hargrove, who also was fired by the Indians, was the manager when Cleveland knocked Seattle out of the 1995 ALCS in six games.