Richie Sexson's suckiness is having a large ripple effect throughout the Mariners. Last year, he batted .205 and slugged a mere .399. This year, he's compiled an incredible .091 batting average, including an impressive strikeout with the bases loaded. Here are the ways that his awful play is hurting the team:
1) He is ruining the production of the players before him. Raul Ibanez especially, who is already seeing multiple intentional walks just so pitchers can get to Sexson. He is also not going to see nearly the amount of good pitches than he saw last season.
2) By killing his team's batting, he is causing his pitchers more stress, which is not a good thing when you have a young star like Felix Hernandez who is trying not to become the next Mark Prior or Kerry Wood.
3) He is costing his team $12.5 million per year, and is signed through this year and next year.
In my opinion, Richie Sexson will be the SOLE reason the Mariners don't win that division this year, and possibly next year as well. Even if he hits 30 home runs, it's not nearly worth it. Ultimatum to the Mariners: get Richie Sexson off your team, or he will continue to wreak havoc on your franchise.