the day the Seattle Mariners fired manager Bob Melvin last October, general manager Bill Bavasi said a few words worth remembering at a time like this:
“I think we all expect to turn this thing around. If not, we’ll be sitting here again next year talking about me.”
Well, it’s the same time next year, and look at whose team has lost more than 90 games again?
Look at whose team finished last again in the American League West?
Look at whose neck is lying in the chopping-block crosshairs of many fans if not those higher than him in the Mariners’ front office.
My two cents: Give Bavasi another year.
Granted, it seems ludicrous to say a GM whose team will have lost 190 games in two seasons should keep his job.
But nobody should have expected Bavasi to pull this team from the toilet in one year. It’ll take at least another year for the Mariners just to start smelling good, given the mess Bavasi inherited – a team in decline in almost every phase.
This was far from an overnight project he took over.
When Bavasi was hired, the Mariners were full of aging, high-paid players who left little room to acquire what they truly needed to become competitive: starting pitching and more power to the offense.
Plus, he didn’t even get to hire his first manager.
When Bavasi became GM in November, 2003, Lou Piniella had bolted, leaving a big inspirational void in the dugout. The team hired Melvin, a rookie whose only managerial experience was in the Arizona Fall League, to replace Piniella, weeks before Bavasi had come aboard.
Then Kazuhiro Sasaki decided in December, late in the free-agent signing process, that he didn’t want to play in the U.S. anymore. It left Bavasi scrambling to find a closer, and he came up with a good one in Eddie Guardado.
What Bavasi can’t escape – besides two last-place finishes and all those losses – were moves that backfired terribly on him.
Rich Aurilia was a bust at shortstop, leaving fans to yearn for Carlos Guillen despite his frustrating injury problems. Scott Spiezio became a seldom-seen utility player who sucked $3 million from the payroll. Miguel Olivo, the supposed prize when Bavasi traded Freddy Garcia to the White Sox, struggled to hit and became a mental wreck. Pokey Reese, a desperation signing when the Mariners approached the season without a shortstop, never fielded a ball because of an injured shoulder.
Bavasi’s record is far from dark.
He signed Guardado, who recorded his 36th save on Friday.
The $50 million he’s giving Richie Sexson over four years now seems worth it, given Sexson’s 39 home runs and 121 RBI entering Saturday.
Raul Ibanez, while not the left-handed power bat the Mariners truly need, returned to the Mariners to give them a consistent offensive presence in the middle of the lineup. And, this year, Ibanez showed he can play left field, giving the Mariners options as they rework the roster for next year.
Under Bavasi’s regime, the Mariners signed Cuban refugee Yuniesky Betancourt, who looks like he’ll become the next Omar Vizquel.
Even Adrian Beltre, who’s getting $64 million in a five-year deal, has produced nearly 90 RBI despite disappointing home-run production.
The return in last year’s Garcia trade to the White Sox, while disappointing in Olivo’s performance, brought what appears to be a solid major league hitter in Mike Morse and a phenomenal center fielder in Jeremy Reed.
In the process, Bavasi cleared away the big-money contracts of John Olerud, Bret Boone and Jeff Cirillo.
Short of victories, the Mariners have come up with an infield – Sexson at first, Jose Lopez at second, Betancourt at shortstop and Beltre at third – that can be one of the league’s best in coming years.
The bullpen, a vital element to any team that hopes to be competitive, became one of the bright spots of a dark season and it should be just as strong next year.
This was a team in serious decline when Bavasi became its GM. Since then, he has leveled it out and given it some serious upside.
Yes, there’s plenty of work ahead. Bavasi deserves another year to do it.
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