The Seattle Mariners announced today that they’ve released first baseman Richie Sexson from his contract. The move has been expected for some time, especially since Seattle has pretty much written off the pennant chase this season and is working on rebuilding for next year.

Sexson signed with the Mariners prior to the 2005 season, and was expected to produce big numbers at the plate in order to justify his $50 million contract. But that never really materialized, as Sexson was virtually a non-factor in all 3-1/2 years in Seattle. He had 497 strikeouts in 2,102 plate appearances for the Mariners — second only to Grady Sizemore’s 507 strikeouts in 2,609 plate appearances during that same time span.

Sexson did hit 105 home runs for the M’s, which is a decent number, but along the way, he also had just a .244 batting average and only 321 RBI — not the kind of production a ball club wants from their No. 4 hitter.

Frankly, I’m surprised Seattle brought Sexson back after his dismal 2007 season. How bad was it? He finished with a .205 batting average, 21 home runs, 100 strikeouts, and a .295 OBP. Sexson was performing so miserably that he ended up sitting out the final few weeks of the season, with management blaming it on some phantom leg injury.

Oh, well. I’ve basically stopped watching the Mariners this year because they suck so bad. Yeah, call me a fair-weather fan or whatever, but honestly, why would anyone want to waste their time cheering on this year’s team? Especially with the hometown Cubs and White Sox both being in first place!!!