Hargrove excited, optimistic for 2007
Manager believes Mariners can contend for AL West crown
SEATTLE -- Seattle manager Mike Hargrove has sat through plenty of Spring Training luncheons in a managerial career that has spanned 15 seasons with three different teams.
The routine is typically the same: You say some nice things about the upcoming season, field a few questions from reporters and move on to the lunch segment of the afternoon.
Only Hargrove didn't quite follow the typical script during the Mariners' recent luncheon at Safeco Field. Instead, he openly gushed about his excitement for the upcoming season.
And that, he said, isn't really like him.
"I don't say that lightly," Hargrove said. "I'm more excited going into this spring than I've ever been. In my heart I believe we have a chance to [win the division]."
Hargrove enters the third and final year of his contract with a 147-176 record in Seattle. Management showed faith in Hargrove by retaining him after the team enjoyed a nine-game improvement from the miserable 92-loss season in 2005.
The article goes through the changes that Seattle has made to their roster this off-season and why the manager is confident. The closing paragraph:
"You can say all you want that Hargrove is full of it," Hargrove said. "But in my heart, I don't believe that. I believe we have a chance to do some really good things this year and I'm excited. I'm really, honestly, excited to get to work. I don't know of a spring that I've felt this way in the 15 years that I've been in the big leagues."
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