SEATTLE -- Given that the Mariners have struggled mightily offensively, the signing of No. 2 pick Dustin Ackley serves as a serious momentum boost for an organization looking to escape a series of shaky moves under the Bill Bavasi tenure.
For example, Bavasi traded Adam Jones and George Sherill for Erik Bedard, and he selected Cal's Brandon Morrow over the University of Washington's Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft. Morrow is in the minors while Lincecum is one of the top starting pitchers in the major leagues.
So the Mariners needed this. They needed to sign the best hitter in college baseball. Ackley hit .422 with 22 home runs and 73 RBI in 66 games for the University of North Carolina. Signing him went down to the final minutes, with general manager Jack Zduriencik revealing that the deal was agreed upon at 8:45 PM PT, about 15 minutes before the deadline.
Bob Melvin will not be manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, according to a report in the Arizona Republic. Melvin has already been fired, a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Associated Press.
Arizona is 12-17 after Thursday's 10-inning loss at San Diego and in fourth place in the NL West. The Diamondbacks' core of young talent has not progressed as some had expected after the team reached the 2007 NLCS under Melvin. He was NL Manager of the Year for that season.
The Seattle Mariners have a bit of a rebuilding project in front of them, and the new administration knows that. General Manager Jack Zduriencik could be in search of signing a few veteran free agents, though, just to stay at least somewhat competitive for the next few years while they attempt to rebuild their farm system -- after former GM Bill Bavasi mortgaged it for Erik Bedard.
Today they tried to snag one early in the Hot Stove season, making an offer to, uh, I don't know. I can tell you who it's not, does that help?
He wouldn't name the player, but it isn't Ken Griffey Jr. Ok, so that really narrows it down.
Zduriencik also let us in on the fact that it was a position player, not a pitcher, and that he hopes to know within the next couple days.
So that's what we know. Let's just play a game here and try to guess who it was. We'll narrow the list by eliminating very high-priced talent. As Jacob told us in the Mariners' footprints, they need an offensive player. Raul Ibanez is departing from the outfield, and I think replacing him is their most pressing need.
In 2009, the Mariners became the first team ever to win fewer than 100 games with at payroll over $100 million. Midway through the year they fired GM Bill Bavasi, and have since undergone an exhaustive search, looking for someone to right the ship. Today, they announced their decision:
Milwaukee Brewers executive Jack Zduriencik is the Seattle Mariners' choice to be their new general manager.
The 57-year-old Zduriencik spent nine years in Milwaukee's front office, most recently as the special assistant to general manager Doug Melvin.
Since Zduriencik came to Milwaukee in 1999, he made the call to draft Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks as well as 2007 NL Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun, J.J. Hardy, Corey Hart, Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra and Tony Gwynn Jr. -- the foundation of Milwaukee's playoff team this season.
That certainly is an impressive resume, as Zduriencik is known as one of the best, if not the best, scouting directors in baseball. But you have to wonder if Seattle wouldn't have been better off going with one of the other candidates, like Tony LaCava or Jerry DiPoto.
This is not to say that Zduriencik is a bad hire; he'll certainly get them going in the right direction. But the current Mariners' regime has the reputation for being very old school, and almost ignoring sabermetrics. It seems like they may have been better served to do a complete 180, and go with one of the "new school" candidates. Now, we'll have to see if Zduriencik surrounds himself with enough statistically minded people to completely change the culture and vault Seattle back into contention.
So the Seattle Mariners fired general manager Bill Bavasiback in June, yet they still haven't made any ground in figuring out who their next general manager is going to be. They've interviewed four candidates for the job, including Kim Ng who would be the first female general manager in baseball history. Aside from Ng, they've also talked to Arizona's Jerry DiPoto, Toronto's Tony LaCava, and Milwaukee's Jack Zduriencik.
Now there was some speculation that the Mariners would announce their choice today, but at the moment it doesn't look like that's going to happen, which could be a problem once the World Series starts tomorrow night. MLB isn't too fond of major announcements during the World Series.
Of course, if the Mariners want to they can ask Bud Selig for a waiver to allow them to dare interrupt the World Series, and though team President Chuck Armstrong says he isn't sure whether or not he's going to ask, I am. He's not, and the Mariners won't have their general manager before the World Series is over anyway.
The reason for this is because they're waiting for Pat Gillick. Gillick is a former Mariners GM, and he's currently the Phillies general manager. He has made it clear, though, that he'd like to retire at the end of the year. I have no doubt that Seattle's plan is to wait out the Series and then gauge Gillick's interest in returning to Seattle as head of baseball operations, and then having him choose the new general manager.
If you're a baseball fan who likes surprises, then the 2008 season has been a special treat. The Rays are the most notable team that has exceeded expectations, but the Twins, White Sox and Marlins are also surprise contenders.
Of course, those pleasant surprises have come at the expense of several clubs expected to be much better this season. Whether because of a big free-agent signing last winter, a deep October run last season or the (hint, hint) crushing burden of a massive payroll, the baseball landscape is littered with flops as August comes to a close.
The following is a countdown of the seven most disappointing teams this season.
7. Padres: Mired in last place in the abysmal NL West, it's easy to forget that this team won 89 games last year and was a (phantom?) Matt Holliday slide away from a playoff spot. Even when they were winning division titles, the Padres operated on a thin margin. Injuries and underperformance are at the root of their struggles.
Seeing as how the Mariners really suck this season, I've kind of stopped paying attention to them. Of course, because of that, I forgot just how bad the team really is. Thankfully the three games I just saw them play against the White Sox in Chicago this week reaffirmed everything I previously knew.
One of the reasons the Mariners are so horrible this season can be attributed to the Erik Bedard trade. The Mariners sent Adam Jones, George Sherrill, the Space Needle, and majority ownership in Starbucks to Baltimore for the southpaw. While a lot of people thought the addition of Bedard would help the Mariners win the AL West (I only had them as the wild card, so I guess that makes me slightly less stupid), thanks to his injuries and ineffectiveness, they're fighting just to avoid 100 losses this season.
Bedard cost the Mariners their season, and the jobs of John McLaren and Bill Bavasi. Fortunately for all involved, the odds of Erik returning this season to claim the livelihoods of others are slim at best.
Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre and [Jim] Riggleman both say that Bedard did not come out of his last throwing session feeling well, as he had in previous outings.
One would think that a recently fired baseball executive credited with helming what is generally established to be one of the worst run operations in baseball would be unemployed for a while after getting the ax from said operation. Unfortunately if you're a Reds fan, you would be wrong about that. Less than two months after getting the ax from the Mariners, a franchise he destroyed on almost a comical level, Bill Bavasi has been hired by the Reds. From their press release:
Bavasi, 50, will advise and assist [Reds' GM Walt] Jocketty in matters related to the front office, Major League field and support personnel and scouting.
"We're excited Bill has joined our organization," Jocketty said. "Over his career of more than 30 years, he has worked in almost every facet of baseball operations. We will benefit from his experience and insights."
Maybe Bavasi's one of those guys who works better in an assistant capacity than he does running the whole operation. I don't know. But I do know that when you cite 30 years of experience, you should probably check to make sure that the last three haven't resulted in the debacle that's taking place in Seattle right now.
We're only halfway through the 2008 season, and already the Seattle Mariners have undergone quite a few changes. First and foremost this year, they went from being a team that was supposed to contend for a divisional title or playoff appearance to being the worst team in baseball.
As is often the case when your horrible, people start to lose their jobs, and that's exactly what happened to general manager Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren. Still, there's another change on the horizon in Seattle, as controlling owner Hiroshi Yamauchi (the former president of Nintendo) is rumored to be trying to sell off his stake in the team.
One fascinating rumor making the industry rounds has an investment group led by Microsoft executive and current Mariners minority owner Chris Larson and former Seattle GM Pat Gillick taking control of the Mariners sometime in the near future, with Gillick running the baseball operation and naming the new GM.
Gillick is currently the general manager in Philadelphia, but he's gone on record as saying that he plans to retire at the end of the season, so it would seem the timing is right. It should also be noted that Gillick (who is Canadian) has sold his home in Toronto, and that his wife has sold the Toronto art gallery that she owned.
So if you've got a mansion in the Seattle area you'd like to part ways with, maybe you should give Mr. Gillick a call.
Change has been the theme in Major League Baseball this week. Bill Bavasi is out in Seattle and Wille Randolph is through in New York. As we near the halfway point of the season, expect more change on the horizon as teams begin to realize what they are, or, more accurately, what they aren't.
Did the Mariners and Mets make the right moves? What can these two teams expect from the rest of their seasons?
Join me today at 3PM ET to talk about the fate of these two clubs and everything else that's going on in the baseball world.
SEATTLE -- Given that the Mariners have struggled mightily offensively, the signing of No. 2 pick Dustin Ackley serves as a serious momentum boost for an organization looking to escape a series of shaky moves under the Bill Bavasi tenure.
Bob Melvin
The Seattle Mariners have a bit of a rebuilding project in front of them, and the new administration knows that. General Manager 
In 2009, the Mariners became the first team ever to win fewer than 100 games with at payroll over $100 million. Midway through the year they fired GM 
So the Seattle Mariners fired general manager 
Seeing as how the Mariners really suck this season, I've kind of stopped paying attention to them. Of course, because of that, I forgot just how bad the team really is. Thankfully the three games I just saw them play against the White Sox in Chicago this week reaffirmed everything I previously knew.
One would think that a recently fired baseball executive credited with helming what is generally established to be one of the worst run operations in baseball would be unemployed for a while after getting the ax from said operation. Unfortunately if you're a Reds fan, you would be wrong about that. Less than two months after getting the ax from the Mariners, a franchise he destroyed on almost a comical level, 
