Mariners notebook: Edgar Martinez's arrival comes with tough news for Howard Johnson

"He's gonna be right on as to what we need," Lloyd McClendon said of new hitting coach Edgar Martinez. (AP)Edgar Martinez is in, Howard Johnson is out as hitting coach for the Mariners.

While Martinez's arrival is a welcome one for the team and fan base, the news of Johnson's demotion to working in the club's minor-league system was not easy for manager Lloyd McClendon to break to him.

"HoJo's a good friend of mine, and it's a very difficult thing to do sitting across the table and telling a friend of yours you're changing his life in a certain way, a certain way he earns a living. That's never any fun," McClendon said. "I said this when I took the job, and I think it holds true in this…