SEATTLE (AP) -Slugger Richie Sexson, stuck in a two-year slump, was back in the Seattle Mariners’ lineup Monday night after sitting the previous five games with little explanation accompanying his benching.
Manager John McLaren said before Monday’s game it was his plan all along to sit Sexson for an extended stint, after spending much of the last week saying his decision to sit Sexson and play Miguel Cairo and first base was based off Cairo’s play during his opportunity.
McLaren’s goal was to get Sexson in a better frame of mind and hopefully solve some of his issues at the plate.
“This has been our game plan,” McLaren said. “He’s been working extremely hard behind the scenes.”
Sexson, who has declined all comment on the situation, spent most of the previous five days in the batting cage under Safeco Field, working on rectifying the gaps in his swing, contributing to his paltry .200 average, McLaren said.
Fueling debate on the situation was McLaren’s decision not to use Sexson in the bottom of the ninth of Sunday’s 7-5 loss to Detroit. With a runner on and two outs, McLaren allowed Cairo to hit against Detroit closer Todd Jones instead of pinch-hitting Sexson, who was 5-for-11 with three homers in his career against Jones.
“I want him (to get) a fresh start,” McLaren said. “He cleared his mind, he worked hard and tonight he is going to get that start. … We need him.”
Sexson, making $14 million in the final year of his contract and subject to constant badgering from fans at home, hit a career-worst .205 with 21 homers and 100 strikeouts in 2007. With everyone in the organization saying it was an aberration, Sexson has continued to slump. He has struck out 53 times in just 155 at-bats, with only 31 hits and nine homers.
“It reached a point where he was striking out and I wasn’t sure if it was a mental thing that was getting him down or if he needed to make some adjustments with some swings,” McLaren said. “I’m just anxious to see him out there playing again. This was never anything personal between him and I. It was just something that happened.”
Cairo performed well both in the field and at the plate in the last week, going 5-for-17 at the plate in the five games he started. But McLaren reiterated that Sexson is back to being his full-time first baseman.
“Richie’s back. I’m going to let him play,” McLaren said.
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