THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: About time for Mariners, Wilson to move in another direction

I’m sorry to be writing this.

Truly.

But there’s no use running laps, playing checkers or finding some other way to stall.

It’s time.

The Mariners need to part ways with Dan Wilson.

I know, it seems a little odd to fire a manager who's coming off a three-game sweep, but that actually does make sense.

Let's take all the emotion (and some wacky pinch-hitter moves) out of the picture, and just do what's best for the future of the Mariners, eh?

There are a gang of managers in MLB who somehow have the gene, a knack for the job.

We could argue over who belongs on that list, except that we know there are a few savvy characters who have it in their blood.

These guys aren’t really mega-clever — they simply know how to communicate with gifted young athletes who turn up from various parts of the world.

The largest group of managers, though, falls into the treading-water category.

These are the guys who go “by the book” and hang around for a job or two before bumping up to some gig in the personnel office.

For better or worse, Wilson does NOT fall into the “yawn” category.

He’s creating his own book, with startling usage of pinch hitters and relief pitchers — while infuriating the fan base, among other things.

The Mariner World knows this: Dan will do something strange, and it will probably decide a game.

THE BAD news here is that when he gets to spots where a manager can put his personal tattoo on the result, Wilson has a pretty dismal record.

The M’s are 7-12 in one-run games (prior to this week’s series against the Athletics) and …yes … that’s the worst record in MLB for that category.

If you want to defend Wilson — at least for this year — there’s no question that the Mariners have been gutted by injuries to key players.

There’s a pretty good argument that those one-run losses have had something to do with bullpen injuries to Matt Brash and Gabe Speier.

Brash, in particular, has the tools to get critical outs — the kind that lock up wins.

Of course, Mariners fans have been griping with Wilson over his use of Brash when situations seem to scream out for his “death slider.”

So.

The dispute can cut either way.

As for this current fuss over “piggybacking” Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller, the whole notion rarely works for the long term.

Whatever the result, though, I don’t want to see young millionaires pouting over the plans and throwing toys out of the play pen.

Just pitch, fellas.

As for the manager’s role in all this, the anti-Wilson crowd sees a pretty salty bullpen anchored by Andres Munoz, Carlos Vargas and new lefty Jose Ferrer.

Plus, Brash and Speier.

The paying fan sits in the left-field seats and moans: “How can this guy botch the bullpen in these close games?”

Wilson’s defenders, on the other hand, point out that the M’s were missing Brash and Speier early in the year — when this dreary stretch of .500 ball got started.

It’s easier to stack up wins with your best players hanging around.

THE BIG question is really pretty simple.

Will the Mariners get traction under Wilson sometime soon?

Or will his bizarre slices of strategy keep Seattle from matching the talent on its roster?

Somewhere in here, you’d think that the wounded offense (Brenden Donovan, Cal Raleigh, etc.) would start to generate some runs.

What happens, though, is that when that talented pitching staff holds an opponent to one or two runs, the M’s get 10.

Or none.

They’re having a hell of a time matching up the numbers.

Certain managers, the good ones, generate some form of electricity that produces wins that easily could have gone the other way.

The others struggle night after night, and eventually disappear.

Mariner fans worry that Wilson is a hell of a nice guy — but somehow still headed for “Column B.”

With good reason, I’m afraid.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On."