Melvin doing just fine, thanks, but he’s not gloating

SEATTLE – For Bob Melvin, the door is wide open for a double-barreled dose of vindication.

For all those who said that what was standing between the Seattle Mariners and rejuvenation was a savvy, experienced manager, we present the 2005 standings.

And for all those who said Melvin didn’t have the requisite qualities to excel at the job, we present the 2005 standings.

But to paraphrase Homey the Clown (an admittedly inappropriate choice for a man with a well-chronicled case of coulrophobia – fear of clowns), “Bo-Mel don’t play that.”

“There’s no vindication,” Melvin said firmly in a telephone interview from his office at Bank One Ballpark. “We still have a lot to prove here. You’re not going to see me say, ‘I told you so.’ “

Melvin has guided the Arizona Diamondbacks, losers of 111 games last year, into surprising contention in the N.L. West. The Diamondbacks are battling San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco in what could wind up as baseball’s most competitive division.

Meanwhile, the Mariners haven’t thrived under Melvin’s replacement, Mike Hargrove, whom management believes has the stature and track record to forge a turnaround. So far, however, they are having the same offensive woes as last year while battling Oakland for last place in the division.

Early on, Melvin said, he found himself seeking out the Mariners’ score nightly on the scoreboard. But as Arizona’s season has evolved, with a major-league-leading 19 one-run games (12 of them victories), he finds himself understandably preoccupied.

“I’ll tell you what, the way my games have gone, it takes everything out of me,” he said. “I don’t follow as closely as I did, but when I look at the American League box scores, I look at Seattle first.”

And, no, it’s not to gloat.

“There’s no bitterness. None,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I pull for those guys. I’ll always think of those times as good times. I loved the fans, the ballpark, the players. I gained experience and moved on.”

He moved on to a situation that couldn’t be more disparate from the one he left. In Seattle, Melvin followed a legend, Lou Piniella, and inherited an entrenched, veteran team.

Too veteran, as has been borne out.

“The circumstances were that the team was aging,” he said. “It was sort of a downward cycle. These guys were very important in Seattle. They put people in the stands, were household names. I understand going with those guys as long as you can.”

In Arizona, he followed a manager, Wally Backman, who lasted all of four days before he was removed from the job amidst revelations of past improprieties. The roster was torn apart and completely remade after the Diamondbacks finished 42 games out of first place.

“It was a crash,” Melvin said. “I hated to see Bob Brenly fired (last July), but I think it works out even better that there was someone in the interim (Al Pedrique), and I’m not following Bob, because we had such a close relationship.

“It was kind of rock bottom. It was a good time to take over in that they were making a lot of moves, and I was fortunate in that they included me… . It was absolutely a completely different situation than Seattle.”

In Seattle, in respect for the Mariners’ past success, Melvin didn’t feel it was appropriate to try to put his immediate stamp on the ballclub. The strategy seemed sound when the Mariners won 93 games his first year.

Last year, Melvin tried to be more hands-on, but the season was an unmitigated disaster that resulted in his firing the day after it ended. He was dismissed while the excitement from Edgar Martinez’s retirement and Ichiro’s hits record still lingered.

“Those were incredible,” he said. “It just added to the emotional roller-coaster. I was really trying to put the spotlight on those two, then the next day, I was fired.”

Melvin didn’t have to wait long for his next opportunity, however. When Backman self-destructed, the new Arizona ownership of former agent Jeffrey Moorad turned quickly to Melvin, a Phoenix-area resident whose familiarity with the Diamondbacks dates back to a two-season stint as Brenly’s bench coach.

The Mariners aren’t his concern, but looking at them from afar, Melvin said, “When they start hitting, they’re going to do better.”

Some things haven’t changed.