Mariners get close again, but lose 5-4 to Angels

One room away from where manager John McLaren stood at the podium, the ashen scowl on his face a sign of the livid words to follow, the Mariners sat in silence.

Before the top popped on McLaren's tirade, the rustling of bags, the jingling of belt buckles, and the whispers of the media permeated the quiet in the locker room. Some players threw or kicked equipment in anger after the Mariners lost 5-4 to the Los Angeles Angels. Others sat still, staring into the space in front of them.

Then the manager let loose with his expletive-filled rant.

As McLaren's words echoed from next door, his sentiments resonated with the club.

"It's embarrassing what's going on, the games that we're losing," left fielder Raul Ibanez said. "He's got to be extremely frustrated, we're extremely frustrated. Everybody here knows that the way we're not winning is unacceptable."

Here are the unsightly numbers, in one long breath: the Mariners lost four straight and six of nine games on this homestand; they have won only seven of 27, eight of 33 and 10 of 39; and they have all but lost sight of the Angels, sitting 15 ½ games back only 60 games into the season.

"It wears on everyone," said Brandon Morrow, who extended his streak without allowing an earned run to eight innings after pitching the ninth.

Some ills that have ailed the Mariners are easier to diagnose than others. Four regular starters are hitting .236 or poorer, including Jose Vidro and Adrian Beltre, Wednesday's fourth and fifth hitters. Three-fifths of the rotation has an ERA of 5.90 or higher. And the Mariners rank last in the American League in defensive efficiency.

"There's only so much we can do for them," McLaren said before the Mariners' 12th one-run loss. The manager added that not a single Mariner was exempt from criticism on a team now 18 games under .500. When asked whether players should begin to fear losing their jobs if their slides continue, he suggested perhaps it's time.

"We might be a little complacent," he said, later adding, "Addition by subtraction has worked, and I'm not saying we're at that point, but I'm sure ownership's not happy putting $120 million on the board and [being] 17 games [actually 18] under .500. There should be some people knowing that we can't go on like this."

Of his recent conversations with chairman and CEO Howard Lincoln and team president Chuck Armstrong, McLaren said, "They're not happy. They shouldn't be happy. I'm sure ownership and our fans, they're not happy. Anybody that's happy in this clubhouse, there's something wrong with them."

No one looked happy in that quiet clubhouse as the M's packed for a trip to Boston and Toronto. Yet starter Carlos Silva, who allowed five runs in eight innings, expressed his ire with the players he believes have remained content.

"I know everybody has to do their job, but don't forget you play for a team," Silva said. "There's a lot of people who play for themselves. If they got two hits, 'that's my day. I made my day.' If we lose, 'who cares?' "

Vidro, who went hitless Wednesday in the cleanup role, stood up for his teammates. He still sees their hustle, he said, and he doesn't believe anyone has given up. But he understood McLaren's frustration, after watching a team that held so much promise take over the title of the major leagues' worst team on Wednesday.

"He's pretty much in love with what he does, and that pretty much will happen when you have a thing that you expected so much out of and things don't happen," Vidro said. "He's in every right of being like that ... Bottom line, it's up to us to do our job between the lines."

Note

• The Mariners stayed in Wednesday's game in large part because of Jose Lopez, who had three hits and three RBI. He hit a solo home run, his third in as many days, in the first inning, and hit a two-run single in the fourth.

Lopez was on deck in the sixth inning when third-base coach Sam Perlozzo waved home Yuniesky Betancourt all the way from first on an Ichiro single. The throw home beat Betancourt comfortably, and the out ended the inning.

Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com

For the record

Streak: L4

Home: 14-18

Road: 7-21

vs. AL West: 10-14

vs. L.A.: 3-6

vs. Oakland: 3-2

vs. Texas: 4-6

vs. AL East: 5-14

vs. AL Cent.: 4-10

vs. NL: 2-1

vs. LHP: 4-12

vs. RHP: 17-27

Day: 7-12

Night: 14-27

One-run: 5-12

Extra innings: 2-2

Home attendance

Wednesday's crowd: 32,774

Season total: 931,985

Biggest crowd: 46,334 (March 31)

Smallest crowd: 15,818 (May 6)

Average (33 dates): 28,242

2007 average (32 dates): 28,728