SEATTLE - Milton Bradley isn't the only Mariner struggling this season, said fans, who add that almost every player seems to be playing at less-than-expected levels and that their disappointment is showing up as empty seats.
Joe McConnell can tell the programs he vends outside Safeco Field don't sell the way they used to.
"It definitely hurts my pocketbook a little bit, and I think every vendor inside the stadium would tell you the same thing," he said, blaming cold weather, the economy, "and you know, the team's performance obviously impacts the teams attendance figures."
Stadium attendance figures in 2010 are breaking records in wrong direction. The crowd of 14,589 on Tuesday was the second-lowest in Safeco Field history. The next night's game filled just 38 more seats than that. And the lowest attendance on record, 14,528, happened on April 20.
"The whole team is kind of under-performing as far as I'm concerned," said fan Brad Knutson.
Mariners designated hitter Mike Sweeney said it's been tough, but he's staying optimistic.
"We're going through the lowest part in the two years that I've been here," Sweeney said earlier in the day, "But in the same breath, we're still just a few games out."
One player in particular appears to be taking it tough: Milton Bradley, who admittedly has not been the offensive force he was expected to be when the M's signed him at the beginning of the season.
On Tuesday, after striking out twice, Bradley had an incident that left M's manager Don Wakamatsu pulling him from the game.
The next morning, Bradley approached Mariners management for help, citing unspecified "personal issues," said general manager Jack Zduriencik.
Bradley has had a history of problems with a slew of teams, from anger managements issues to being tackled by his own manager.
But Seattle fans, by and far, are giving him something he may not be used to.
Sympathy.
"Everybody expected a lot from him, especially the Mariners, after [his] saying that the Cubs didn't give him a great chance," said Hardeep Singh. "Hopefully he can come around, get some wins for us."
"He's a great player," said fan Cathie Arthurs. "When you're bringing your son, you're setting a good example. So it's important that you're doing the right thing."
"He was greeted with open arms, which in his mind probably fueled the pressure that he was putting on himself," said McConnell. "Whatever is going on with him, it just overwhelmed him. The important issue is that he reached out to Don [Wakamatsu] and Jack [Zduriencik] and said he needed help."
Besides, fans say they need the whole team, not just one player, in order to turn the season around.
A Mariners spokesperson says April and May weekday attendance tends to be low to begin with, and weekend games are still filling more than 30,000 seats each.
