My Mariners Offseason, Part One
It's a little known fact, but I nearly applied for the position of the Mariners' General Manager after Pat Gillick stepped down three years ago. Now, other than a strong interest in baseball, quite a few championships on my computer baseball game, I have no qualifications for the position - as I'm sure these posts will clearly demonstrate.Before I get into the changes I make, I'd like to just speak to the general direction of the organization since Bill Bavasi took over after the 2003 season. I can't say that all of his moves have made sense to me (see trading Carlos Guillen and replacing him with Rich Aurielia, essentially giving away Randy Winn, signing Carl Everett, and holding on to the likes of John Olerud and Brett Boone before they were untradeable), but I think his overall move to brining in veterans (Richie Sexon, Adrian Beltre, Jerrod Washburn, Ron Villlone, Raul Ibanez and Eddie Gordado), improving the minor league system, and improving through trade (though this is where I get a bit flustered with his decision making. At times he hasn't seemed to know what he's got or what he's getting, especially in the Carlos Guillen deal). I think that Bavasi's approach has been more balanced and has given the M's the flexibility they need to improve. I see a renewed commitment to building a contender through home grown major league talent much the way the Braves, Yankees, A's, and Twins have done in the last 15 years. I see the organization committing to solid veterans who are not super-stars, but will accent what the team already has (I don't think the M's really though Adrian Beltre was going to repeat his 2004 season. They needed to over pay in order to bring in a quality third baseman, something the team hasn't had since the 1995 version of Mike Blowers!)
And this is how I would run my team, as well. Next time, I'll address the current M's roster and look at their needs. Finally, I'll end with how I would fill those needs for the 2007 season.
posted by MoLak Jedi @ 11:32 PM
