NEW YORK - Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon summed up the vast gap between expectations and reality so far by getting philosophical with reporters Friday at Yankee Stadium.
"One of the things I pointed out to the club is that we had a bad first half," McClendon said. "One of the great things about the second half is you can put the first half behind you. It's like a new beginning."
That isn't quite true, of course. This isn't 1981, with its strike-inspired split season. And so the Mariners carry that disappointing 41-48 mark into the season's second half, which started on a sour note - a 4-3 loss to the Yankees.