Fired Manager Cottier Gives His Opinion of Owner Argyros

Fired Seattle Mariners Manager Chuck Cottier had a few choice comments Saturday about the owner of the franchise, saying that George Argyros embarrassed him on many occasions.

Cottier, 50, was fired by the Mariners Thursday, and Dick Williams was hired as the Mariners’ new skipper Friday.

“Other owners walk through, ask, ‘How you doing? How’s the family?’ and leave,” Cottier said. “Not George. He had to apply his pressure. It was embarrassing.”

Argyros, a Southern California resident in his sixth season as owner of the Mariners, made almost daily telephone calls to Cottier, the former manager said.

“Something has to be changed here or the team may always struggle,” Cottier said. “As long as George owns the team if every day you walk into the ball park feeling pressure, he is going about owning the wrong way.

“And every day, as a manager, coach or player, there are calls or visits, and George says, ‘We have to win today,’ because of the lease or because of attendance clauses.”

Argyros’ most frequent visits were in Anaheim and in Seattle, Cottier said.

“He always was asking, ‘How is so-and-so today? How is our pitcher?’ And the guy usually hadn’t even come to the park yet,” Cottier said.

“The worst thing was him going around to the players and telling them, ‘We have to win today.’ It’s like they weren’t trying to win every game they could.”