SEATTLE -- Lloyd McClendon was hired as manager of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, taking over a rebuilding job that Eric Wedge walked away from. McClendon becomes the third manager hired by general manager Jack Zduriencik. Wedge quit at the end of the Mariners fourth straight losing season, citing differences with the front office on how to move forward with improving the team. Wedges three-year contract expired after the season. The 54-year-old McClendon is the 16th full-time manager in club history. He takes over a club that went 71-91 last year. He will be formally introduced by the team on Thursday. "I am extremely excited about the opportunity to manage the Seattle Mariners," McClendon said in a statement. "Seattle has a tremendous group of talented players and the fans and city should be excited about the clubs future. Im looking for this group to take a big step forward." Seattle is the fourth club to fill its managerial vacancy. The Washington Nationals hired Matt Williams to replace Davey Johnson. The Cincinnati Reds, who fired Dusty Baker after a 90-win season, went with pitching coach Bryan Price as their new manager and Detroit chose Brad Ausmus to take over for Jim Leyland -- a job McClendon interviewed for. The Chicago Cubs are still looking for a manager. McClendon was the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2001-05, going 336-446 during the Pirates 20-year stretch of losing seasons. Pittsburgh never won more than 75 games or finished higher than fourth in the NL Central during his tenure and he was fired in early September of the 2005 season. After Pittsburgh, McClendon settled into a stable role Leylands staff in Detroit. For eight seasons, McClendon was a coach for the Tigers, including the last seven as hitting coach. He interviewed for managerial positions in Seattle and Miami during that stretch, but never got an offer. "Lloyd is a bright and articulate guy," Zduriencik said in the statement. "He has major league managerial experience and has served in a vital capacity in Detroit under one of the games best managers. He is a tireless worker and is very respected by the players with whom he has worked. We look forward to Lloyd embracing our players as we move the Mariners forward." Zduriencik didnt expect to be in this position. As of late September, Zduriencik was preparing for Wedge to be around to continue to rebuild Seattle into a contender. Instead Wedge left and Zduriencik was tasked with hiring the eighth manager or interim manager for the franchise since 2002. McClendon was one of five reported finalists for the Mariners job, a list that included Joey Cora, Oakland bench coach Chip Hale, Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach and San Diego bench coach Rick Renteria. McClendon was the only one of the group with previous major league managerial experience. Cora had ties to the Mariners franchise from his time as a player in Seattle. McClendon spent eight seasons in the majors as a player with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and the Chicago Cubs. He immediately transitioned from a playing career into coaching, serving as a hitting coach for the Pirates in 1995 until he accepted their managerial position before the 2001 season. McClendon will likely need time to build a winner in Seattle even with a starting rotation anchored by AL Cy Young award finalist Hisashi Iwakuma and 2010 Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez. The Mariners havent been to the post-season since 2001, and there are numerous roster questions for the club playing in one of baseballs toughest divisions. Seattle has high hopes for young catcher Mike Zunino, shortstop Brad Miller and second baseman Nick Franklin. Justin Smoak solidified himself at first base after showing some consistency at the plate last season and third baseman Kyle Seager was the Mariners most reliable everyday player. But even with making a qualifying offer, it seems unlikely slugging designated hitter Kendrys Morales will accept a $14.1 million, one-year deal when there could be a bigger pot in free agency. Raul Ibanez hit 29 homers at age 41, but there its unclear if Seattle wants to bring him back, and hes not a long-term solution. The rest of the Mariners outfield is unproven and their bullpen struggled for stretches of the season. Air Jordan 1 Retro Cheap . No, really, his head. Late in the game, the St. Louis goalie craned his neck into the air to block a shot, taking a puck square in the mask. Air Jordan 1 For Sale Cheap . -- Jonathan Diaz is easy to spot in the Blue Jays clubhouse. http://www.airjordan1wholesale.com/ . Napoli hit two home runs, Jonny Gomes and prized rookie Xander Bogaerts also connected, and the Red Sox kept up their dizzying scoring spree at Yankee Stadium by bashing New York 13-9 Saturday for a fifth straight win. Air Jordan 1 Sale . Fans can also watch the game on the newly launched TSN GO (currently available to Bell TV and Rogers customers), which gives TSN subscribers the freedom to live stream the networks programming from their smartphones, tablets, and computers at no additional charge – just as they would watch Canadas Sports Leader on TV at home. The following week, MLS ON TSN is at BMO Field in Toronto to deliver live coverage of TFCs home opener vs. D.C. United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p. Air Jordan 1 Wholesale Free Shipping .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45.Last Thursday night, we saw the rejuvenation of the previously dormant Ottawa Rough Riders transitioned into the Ottawa Redblacks and, in the most simple of terms, it felt good . I put little value in trying to make accurate evaluations by watching exhibition games, so this first regular season game spoke to the truth and reality of how good this football organization could be and how the future may unfold. My biggest observation is they looked confident and organized. To go on the road and put up 21 points says that, but even as the game progressed the Redblacks did not look or act like an expansion team . The first quarter was awesome, but the next three quarters were not so awesome and thats to be expected. For Ottawa to really compete for 18 games, the young guys , about 20 on the present roster, have to play with maturity and as much polish as the old guys do. And the old guys have to remain young, athletically and enthusiastically, throughout the season. I saw that in bursts in different points of the game. Nolan MacMillan, #66 out of the University of Iowa and the Redblacks first-ever draft pick played like he had veteran experience in his first CFL game . As a right tackle, you never know what you have until the pads go on and Ottawa has a right tackle to depend on for years to follow - a young guy playing like an older one. Henry Burris still has it. He moves well when he has to, displays confident energy and can make all the throws at 39, especially the deep wide side ou,t which is always open. For an old guy, and he is, Henry looked like a young guy last Thursday night. For the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, their 36-28 over Ottawa on Thursday was a more impressive victory than their Week 1 win over Toronto, 45-21 . In that game, up 24-0, the pressure is much less then against Ottawa being down 14-0 at one point and 21-7 at another . Drew Willy basically won the game by putting a five-play drive together with five minutes to play in the fourth and by connecting with Aaron Kelly to extend the lead. I am mildly surprised how calm and together Mike OShea looks on the sidelines. Maybe I shouldnt be given preparation reputation, but he looks like his ability to separate emotion from analytical thought is a natural quality. Punt returner Desmond Washington is a talent that I didnt notice until he scored a return TD. Now, I see it. In BC, the most important person in the entire organization is the offensive line coach Dan Dorazio. Somehow, he has to get the best out of a group of five players up front that has two first-year starters on the left side and a second-year starter at centre. Dorazio has been coaching for over 40 years and 12 straight with BC . He is not only one of the best in CFL football, but one of the best in North America . His value to the organization is at an all-time high as BC is not going to win unless Kevin Glen gets quality time in the pocket. Youth in the secondary is a concern, as is youth in quarterback protection . For me, it is the Lions biggest challenge to master over thee next 16 games.dddddddddddd With Montreal, it is offensive coordinator Ryan Dinwiddie. Somehow, the Alouettes have to develop an explosive downfield passing game and he has to get that from Troy Smith . The seven-to-12-yard passes I saw over and over are not going to take Montreal to the Grey Cup come November 30th. They need "chunk" plays of 20 yards or more. I am a big fan of Smith, a guy who is bright, articulate and a winner and who played much better this week, but you sure notice the absence of Anthony Calvillo and his downfield throwing ability. The present combination of new offensive coordinator and new quarterback have to find that skill and develop it ASAP. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have one of the oddest quarterback dilemmas I have seen, maybe ever . All three - Zach Collaros, Dan LeFevour and Jeremiah Masoli - did some spectacular things in the 24-28 loss at Edmonton, but also the complete opposite at any given point during their personal playing time. This is a tough evaluation on who really is the best quarterback and, depending on Collaross back health, who is the best among the three. Each has a different set of strengths and weaknesses and each can be special one play and anything but special the next. The Ticats are good, but not great and optimism is there that, as September turns to October, as a team they can be great. If I were an Edmonton Eskimos season-ticket holder, I should be sensibly satisfied with the first two weeks. Two wins, yes, but the players are responding to the head coach and playing hard . I was was really impressed with Marcus Howard on one side and Odell Willis on the other as edge pass rushers . Any team that has to play catch-up fourth-quarter football will have urgency issues as one from one side and the other from the other side will create an urgency overload with any quarterback trying to pass play after play. Edmonton looks really good after two games. Finally, trying to figure out the Argonauts 48-15 win over the Roughriders is like trying to figure out the human brain . All your conclusions are speculation based on observation . How the Argos can look so bad one week and so good the next, I really dont know. And maybe even more so, how Saskatchewan can look completely dominant one week and borderline apathetic the next week is also like the human brain - a mystery . I am an immense believer that the most important preparation is that the player must perform the morning of the game and make the conscious effort to get yourself emotionally ready to play. This will increase your personal focus and determination to individually play not good football, but exceptional football . The Argos did it and had it, the Riders didnt and did not . What an amazing difference from one week to the next. Good for Calgary, as there will be not complacency in their Saturday game at Toronto. Tough for BC, as there is no way the Riders will not respond on the same night in the second game. This all makes for interesting football as Week 3 begins. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '