Yes He Can

Jack Zduriencik is to the Mariners what Obama is to the nation. Yes, I am serious...mostly. Obama inherited a mess created by a guy who spent money like he didn't care, had no excuses for his major miscues and ended up being disliked by almost everyone with a sane mind. Alright, so Bill Bavasi's approval rating never go that low, but it wasn't very high. And now here's Captain Jack, to break it all down, tell you this won't be fixed overnight, and provide Mariner fans with the hope of sunny days ahead. Fine, it's a stretch, but it's February 1st and Mariner fans need something to cling to.

Zduriencik's done everything right so far. He told fans to keep their pants on, it's going to be a while. He hired a manager that showed fans he's serious when he says he's going to be building from the ground up. Sure, Don Wakasaywhatnow has never been a major league manager, but fans can be positive they'll feel better about him being in the dugout than they would Jim Riggleman. Sorry Jim, but your name is Riggleman, I can't take you serious. Zduriencik's already made savvy moves that show you how it is that he could somehow help the Brewers get to the playoffs.

The latest is quite possibly the most under the radar move, but is a fine example of my point. The Mariners recently signed Mike Sweeney to a minor league contract. On the surface, Sweeney's a 35-year-old guy who played 42 games for the A's last year after have knee surgery. Dig a little deeper, and he's a guy who hit .300 for over a decade in Kansas City, from all accounts is a fantastic clubhouse personality, possibly helps you fill a much needed role on the team, and feels like he has something to prove. How much do you have to pay him? Not nearly as much as you paid Brad Wilkerson last year to hang around for 14 seconds. The pluses with a move like this are numerous. If Sweeney makes the team, you have a proven veteran hitter who hangs around kids like Clement, Balentien and Gutierrez, teaching them a thing or two about hitting in the major leagues. Sweeney's knowledge of American League pitching is invaluable. He fills in nicely at DH and 1B occasionally, helping to keep your roster fresh throughout the season. Worst case scenario, Sweeney completely flops in spring and you part ways, costing you next to nothing. It's a low-risk/potentially high reward move.

Zduriencik has pointed out the fact that the Mariners can't buy their way out of this mess. It's going to take time, and it's going to take players you've never heard of growing into important roles. Meanwhile, Zduriencik continues to make moves that slice payroll and increase the number of quality prospects in they system. It can even be argued that the most controversial move - giving Eric Bedard a $750,000 raise to $7.75 million after Bedard basically pouted and refused to play nice for a half a season - was a good deal. When healthy - which all reports say he is - Bedard gives you one of the top left-handed starters in the American League at a reasonable price. And by reasonable, I mean less money than salary vacuums Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista, all of whom are in danger of not even being in the rotation come opening day.

The relief portion of the program has been solidified by Zduriencik as well. A month ago, the Mariner bullpen was looking like it was going to be a ghost town. However, with the recent additions of David Aardsma, Tyler Walker and Garret Olson, coupled with the hopeful emergence of Roy Corcoran and Mark Lowe, the fight for a spot on the back end looks to be shaping up. And who knows, Maybe the $10 million dollar man Miguel Batista can save a game or two.

Offensively, the Mariners show you why they lost 100 games last year. I recently sent in my application for the clean up spot on this roster. I haven't heard back yet, but I assume that's because they're currently checking my references. The best thing you can say about the majority of the roster is that they're young, and hopefully unpredictability can be a good thing. Who knows, maybe Beltre repeats the year MVP-like year he had with the Dodgers - that actually happened, right? - Wladimir Balentien ends up hitting .280/30/100, Jose Lopez has another strong year, Jeff Clement figures it out, and suddenly, they have a strong middle of the lineup. Alright, now I'm pretty sure that empty bottle of tequila on the floor has impaired my judgement, but hey, who knows? It's February 1st, anything's possible.

All in all, it's not quite a stimulus package, but what Jack Zduriencik has provided Mariner fans with so far is worthy of comparable hope.

Installment #1

Why should you find yourself reading this blog? Well, here's a couple for starters...

1. We're related and you feel obligated.
2. You know someone who's related to me and they guilted you into reading this.
3. You're positive you know more about sports than me and are looking for ways to prove me wrong.
4. You agree with me in feeling like Jack Zduriencik - yes, I have memorized how to spell that - is going to make the Mariners worth watching again.
5. You can't wait to get to the part where I tell Brett Favre to keep the Wranglers on and stay home.
6. Reading snarky, sarcastic jibber jabber about sports is your thing.
7. You kinda think Uncle Rico might be onto something with the whole videotaping himself making sweet plays.
8. You agree that a technical college degree is really all you need to succeed in life.
9. Really?! You got all the way to #9?! Sweet. Well let's get on with it...

Here's to hoping I make a couple good points along the way.