Coffee, tea or better baseball?

SEATTLE - Don Wakamatsu sipped at a cup of coffee as he entered the Mariners dugout to meet local media at Safeco Field for the first time since All-Star break.

At least we assume it was coffee. There was a lid on the cup, so we’re left to speculate. If it had been something with greater sedative powers, few could blame him.

His Mariners were 20 games under .500 with an under-manned roster of mostly under-achieving players as they prepared to open a series against the Chicago White Sox on Monday evening.

They’d lost 12 times in the previous 15 games, have the least productive offense in the American League, and traded away one of the best pitchers for prospects.

And how’s this stat as an indicator of manager heartburn? The Mariners have lost a major-league high 19 games on opponents’ final at-bat.

With the season an official disaster, Wakamatsu finds himself caught in a manager’s minefield, trying to win games at a time when the organization is committed to rebuilding.

Yet the only time Wakamatsu appeared frustrated Monday was when he was repeatedly asked if he was frustrated.

“It’s never enjoyable going through a stretch like that,” he said.

Yet the manager’s demeanor is not visibly changed from last season, when he led the M’s to a surprising 24-win improvement in his first campaign as a manager.

Back then, we touted his steady hand and unflappable manner. Some question now whether the team would be better, and feel a little more heat to produce, if he’d be somewhat more “flappable” in light of the struggles.

But it’s when managers and coaches start trying to assume false personas that they lose credibility. So Wakamatsu continues to be unwavering in his delivery of a positive message.

“It’s not productive to look back when you have no control over that,” he said. “We’re looking, from an organizational standpoint, at what we can do to protect the assets we have and how we can build on those assets.”

That’s a political way to say: “Have you seen this roster? We don’t have a prayer to contend. And who’s going to be there to protect my ‘assets’ until these kids start producing wins?”

He’s got to look pretty hard to find positives, but he found some to note in a recent one-run loss and an extra-inning win in Anaheim. Coming back from a five-run deficit in the loss showed good effort, he said, and the 10th-inning win was “something we haven’t done in a long time.”

With every veteran position player performing below career numbers, Wakamatsu focused on the promise of the new blood, such as pitcher Jason Vargas, who is eighth in the AL with a 2.97 ERA.

First baseman Justin Smoak, meanwhile, had two homers in six games since coming over in the Cliff Lee trade.

“He came up with some huge hits,” Wakamatsu said of Smoak’s performance against the Angels.

Outfielder Michael Saunders is out with a finger injury, and is batting .228, but he, too, is someone Wakamatsu cited as a potential building block.

Even for a confessed glass-half-full guy like Wakamatsu, that’s straining to find a little sunshine.

He’s got little choice since his vets aren’t doing much to laud, especially after a weekend when Wakamatsu saw inexplicable baserunning blunders by vets Ichiro Suzuki and Jack Wilson.

“It was not good baseball,” he commented, in about as pointed a criticism as he’s apt to make.

Well, it hasn’t been good baseball all season. And the losses keep piling up on Wakamatsu’s career spread sheet.

How to deal with that?

“You look at your lineup every day, and say, ‘What gives us the best chance to win?’” he said. “Roster-wise, where we are right now, those (young) guys are going to get a chance to play ...”

In the meantime, keep the coffee coming for this manager. And don’t ask him if he’s getting frustrated.

Dave Boling: 253-597-8440 dave.boling@thenewstribune.com