Mariners fire Manager John McLaren

SEATTLE, June 19 (UPI) -- John McLaren was fired Thursday as manager of the Seattle Mariners and replaced by bench coach Jim Riggleman.

The Mariners are 25-47 this season and 17 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Western Division.

Seattle earlier this week fired General Manager Bill Bavasi. Lee Pelekoudas is filling that spot on an interim basis. Riggleman, whom the Mariners said would manage the team the rest of the season, also carries "interim" on his title.

"John worked extremely hard, but our team continued to underperform compared to our expectations of them," said Pelekoudas. "With 90 games left on our schedule, we owe it to ourselves and our fans to do everything we can to win as many games as possible."

McLaren was named the Mariners' manager on July 2, 2007, after Mike Hargrove stepped down. He had been with the organization as a coach for 11 years. Seattle was 43-41 last season under McLaren but this year's mark is the worst in baseball.

Riggleman previously managed the San Diego Padres (1992-94) and Chicago Cubs (1995-99) and has a 486-598 managerial record.

It is the second time this week a manager was fired and replaced by his bench coach. Early Tuesday morning, the New York Mets replaced Willie Randolph with Jerry Manuel.