Where's the accountability for M's lost season?

As the losses stack, so do the votes of confidence.

The manager's job is safe, supposedly.

The general manager's job is safe, allegedly.

The players' jobs are safe, definitely.

So the $117 million, last-place Mariners aren't just the worst team in baseball. They're the disaster that won't go away. They lumber through the losing, ignorant of accountability, yet wondering why this horrible thing has happened. As long as there are no significant repercussions, the nightmare will continue.

Where's the accountability?

Say it again: Where's the accountability?

One last time: Where is the accountability for this wretched killjoy impersonating a baseball team?

They can't all be safe. Last week, manager John McLaren received a love pat from general manager Bill Bavasi, who received a love pat from president Chuck Armstrong. Presumably, if it needed to go further, Armstrong would get a love pat from chief executive officer Howard Lincoln, who answers to a mysterious Japanese owner who is believed to exist.

Since he's not here to experience the fan vitriol, Hiroshi Yamauchi is probably satisfied as long as the Mariners keep making double-digit profits, and he gets to give Kenji Johjima $24 million to be a semi-regular starting catcher.

The Mariners made $17.8 million last year, $23.3 million in 2006. Until those numbers shrink, they will remain Yamauchi's forgotten toy. Accountability must be a mandate from the top, and when your owner has never seen the team play, the pressure to perform will never reach George Steinbrenner proportions.

But that's what the Mariners desperately need now — a punishing kick from the boss.

Though unintended, the pledges of support from Armstrong and Bavasi made the situation even worse. It would have been better for both to express disappointment, say the team is searching for answers and vow to do everything possible to end this nightmare.

When a team that pledged to make the playoffs loses seven straight games, and 20 of 25, there should be no votes of confidence. The fear of firings, as well as trades and releases, should hover. It can make for a poisonous atmosphere, sure, but the Mariners have been poisoned for weeks.

When asked Monday about the vote of confidence Bavasi gave him, McLaren was both thankful and realistic.

"All they want is wins," he said of fans, "and that's all I want. That's all I care about, if we win tonight."

And on most days, the Mariners stumble upon another way to lose. They've lost with great pitching, lost with poor pitching. They've lost games early, lost games late. They've lost with bad defense. They've lost because they can't move runners. They've lost with embarrassment, lost with heartbreak.

How many more ways can they lose?

Another reporter mentioned forfeit. I'll leave that one alone.

The Mariners have searched within themselves, but personal accountability is never enough. This team has good players and good character, but they don't know how to win. They lack edge. And there is no threat of a hammer.

The answer isn't to fire McLaren. This team wasn't built to be a winner, no matter how solid it once looked on paper. So Bavasi stands as the problem, but the Mariners appear more inclined to let him fix this mess than dismiss him.

Most teams would cut their losses with both men. The Mariners aren't most teams, however. In fact, this season, they're below most teams.

In their world, erroneous as it may be, there's only one real solution for some accountability: Get rid of some players.

During his defense of McLaren last week, Bavasi ripped the players for things outsiders have been complaining about for months, maybe even years. No leadership. No execution. Not enough fire.

The response from the players: They shrugged him off. With the exception of a rant from Carlos Silva, they dismissed their obvious problems.

The Mariners are a team in denial. They need to be shocked straight. They need to be torn apart.

Until then, the losses will continue to pile up. A team with no accountability is a team with no chance.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. For his Extra Points blog, visit seattletimes.com/sports.