Seattle.Mariners.MLB.com

By Jim Street / MLB.com

CEO Howard Lincoln said the Mariners' most-immediate goal is to win the AL West. (Jim Street/MLB.com)

But the one thing still missing is an appearance in the World Series.

Lincoln -- who replaced John Ellis as CEO in September 1999 and left his job as chairman of Nintendo of America, Inc., the following February -- is the person most responsible for keeping the franchise on solid ground financially, and at the same time be competitive on the field.

It can be a difficult balancing act.

With Opening Day against the Angels at Safeco Field about a month away, Lincoln sat down with MLB.com to discuss the past, present and future.

MLB.com: At the end of last season, you said the organization was committed to getting the Mariners back into the playoffs. Are you satisfied with what has happened between then and now?

Eddie Guardado   /   P
	Height: 6'0" Weight: 193 Bats/Throws: R/L More info: Stats Splits Mariners site

Lincoln: Overall, I am satisfied with what we've done, but we're not finished. We made a legitimate run at (Miguel) Tejada but couldn't sign him. There is a point where you have to fold your cards when it becomes silly and prevents you from doing other things that are critical. I think we were very fortunate to sign Eddie Guardado as it turned out. At the time, we had no inkling or indication that Kaz Sasaki was going to stay in Japan. I'm glad we did what we did with Guardado. There is always this "big bat" thing. I think we tend to look at this as there were several holes to be filled and I think we filled most of them. Not all of them, but we still have money that can be spent and it remains to be see what happens during Spring Training and even the early part of the regular season.

MLB.com: How important is it for the Mariners to return to the postseason in 2004?

Lincoln: Not getting into the playoffs in unacceptable and our No. 1 objective is to get into the World Series and win it. But first we have to get into the playoffs. As we learned from 2000 and 2001, when we got to the American League Championship (Series), anything can happen in the playoffs. Our most immediate goal is to win the AL West division. That's our No. 1 goal and it was something we all stressed at our meeting with the players on the first day of camp.

MLB.com: Have Mainers fans become spoiled?

Lincoln: I wouldn't call it spoiled, but I would say their expectations -- especially after the 116-win season in 2001 and after back-to-back ALCS -- their expectations got a little bit ahead of reality. This is a tough, tough game and getting to the playoffs is harder than I think people realize. While the fans' expectations are very high, I think that is wonderful. If we didn't have fans really interested and expecting a World Series immediately in Seattle, we wouldn't be enjoying the success we've had.

MLB.com: Did you realize before becoming the Mariners' CEO that the playoffs are such a crapshoot?

Lincoln: That became apparent pretty quick in 2000. We got into the playoffs by the skin of our teeth on the last day of the season in Anaheim and I remember flying to Chicago. All of a sudden we swept the White Sox and were going to the AL Championship Series. At that point, anyone would have said this is pretty good, but we ended up two wins short of the World Series. The postseason takes on a life of it's own. If you look at last season, Oakland could have beaten Boston in the Division Series and it looked to me like they had them beat. It also looked to me that Boston had the Yankees beat. You can say the same things about the National League. Once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen.

What has happened to us the last two years is (that) the team has played very well and had exciting baseball all the way to September, but has struggled in September. That was one of the reasons that during the offseason we focused on the kind of people we did, people who not only have the experience, but are really gritty players. Not that we didn't have gritty players before, but I think we needed more.

MLB.com: Does it bother you when you hear people say the Mariners don't spend enough money?

Lincoln: It's frustrating because when I hear that, it is coming from people who don't understand what we are trying to do. Our No. 1 business objective is to field championship teams that contend for postseason play year in and year out. To do that, we must have some focus on the bottom line, like any other successful business.

However, our success off the field is not an end in itself. It is just a means to an end, which is fielding championship teams. The proof of the pudding is that we spend every dime we can get our hands on. All of the profits ownership has made the past four years has gone back into the franchise, both to increase the Major League payroll, which is probably going to end up sixth or seventh of all 30 teams in baseball -- far greater than our market size. We also have invested some of those profits into the future, putting us in position where we are more flexible in going after international players, increasing the amount of money we are spending in scouting and player development. When I hear that, I remind people we are spending a helluva lot more than a lot of Major League franchises.

My sense is that it hasn't worked when teams have gone out and spent money recklessly or with abandon. I don't think it produces anything but a lot of disappointment for the fans. I think it important for fans to understand that everyone in this business makes mistakes. We've made some mistakes, but you can't make many mistakes and field championship teams. You can only have so many Jeff Cirillos. Nothing against him personally, but that was real money we lost.

MLB.com: The Indians are an example of a franchise that was super-successful in the 1990s, but have fallen on hard times recently. How can the Mariners prevent that from happening in Seattle?

Lincoln: That is a significant issue. The way you prevent it is with great care and by continuing to focus on a disciplined approach, trying to field contending teams year after year. If we can provide meaningful baseball entertainment through September, or at least most of the way, I think our fans will come back. And if we can invest our profits back into the franchise across the board, we will have competitive teams. I think what happened in Cleveland is that they just made a few too many mistakes and a lot of it had to do with player payroll. They overspent, got themselves in a financial bind and had to cut back. When they cut back, fans said this wasn't any fun.

MLB.com: What's the biggest difference between running Nintendo and running the Mariners?

Lincoln: The focus of the media is the biggest difference. I can't think of any other business where you have this focus by the columnists, beat reporters, talk show hosts, you name it. It makes it more difficult to run a business. It's unique. A company like Nintendo will get its share of publicity, positive and negative, typically in national publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Any attacks are against the company itself, not against the officers. In baseball, that is not the case. Not only is there constant focus and attention, but there are a lot of personal attacks aimed at the front office and ownership group. But that is to be expected because it's sports and that's one of the things that makes baseball so much fun. Everyone can be the owner, the general manager or field manager and if any them do something someone does't like, they should have the right to criticize -- and they do. You really have to have a thick skin in this business.