Jack Zduriencik having a bad second year

Published June 10, 2010 at 8:46 p.m.

Was asked on the radio the other day by KJR AM 950 host Mitch Levy about Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik and why he keeps getting a "free pass" by the Seattle media and baseball fans in our city. I replied that I thought several media members, including this one, had stopped giving him that pass a while ago. As for fans, they're usually well-intentioned and just want what's best for the team. But I've seen a percentage of them starting to lose patience with Zduriencik as well.

So, for those of you with doubts, consider this Zduriencik's pass revoked.

That doesn't mean I want to see him go. Regardless of what you think about Zduriencik, or manager Don Wakamatsu, this M's franchise cannot keep changing front office regimes and coaching staffs every two years. A front office needs at least three years to establish something unless each of the first two years is an absolute disaster. That's not the case here. And I'm getting a little tired of reading complaints about how this manager and that manager is "an idiot" or "doesn't know the game" or "isn't right for our team". I've heard it now from Mike Hargrove, to John McLaren to Jim Riggleman and now Wakamatsu. Not good enough for Seattle's team? News flash. Seattle hasn't won anything that real baseball towns truly care about in 34 years. Yes, I'll grant the four playoff appearances. But the bar is still set pretty low in the Emerald City. Four managers since I arrived in September 2006 is about two too many. Show me a revolving managerial door and I'll show you a franchise that isn't going to win something anytime soon.

So, this franchise had better keep everyone in place and the players wearing the uniform of a team that's won absolutely zero since 2001 had best start worrying about their own contributions or lack thereof.

That said, 2010 has been a bad year for Zduriencik. As good as it was in 2009, that's how bad it's been in 2010.

Of his off-season moves, the only one that's panned out in a major way has been Cliff Lee and he's about to be traded.

I'm not going to be too hard on the Milton Bradley-Carlos Silva swap because this team desperately needed a bat like Bradley's and there was really no way of knowing what Silva was going to do. The team had to dump Silva. Had he come back here, he'd have had no shot at an 8-0 start because he'd have been booed off the mound the moment he walked his first batter. It was not a good fit anymore and Silva would have been an emotional wreck here had he tried to pitch under the conditions he faced. So, what you're about to read is exclusive of that.

But even with that aside, Zduriencik took a lot of risks in player acquisitions this past winter that haven't panned out. Ken Griffey Jr. and Eric Byrnes are both out of baseball. Ryan Garko is in Class AAA with another organization. Bradley has struggled most of the season. Casey Kotchman is now a late-game defensive replacement. Brandon League is one of the better arms in this bullpen, but that's all relative and he's been up-and-down for most of the season. Chone Figgins has yet to get it fully going and he's under contract for three more years. Jack Wilson was signed to a two-year deal and has been hurt for half a season.

The only position player moves that worked out big were minor league deals for Mike Sweeney -- now plagued with back troubles -- and Josh Wilson.

So, I doubt I'll get an argument when I say Zduriencik is now 1-1 in his won-lost record for seasons in charge. That's better than 1-4 for Bill Bavasi, especially when you consider the epic collapse of the 2007 team and some of the poor trades and signings in his 88-win campaign that one year.

Going forward now, Zduriencik will have to show he can complete the job he set out to do.

We keep hearing about how this season, while becoming a disaster on the won-loss front, is still not too bad because the team is continuing along a "plan" of rebuilding. Not sure I buy into that wholeheartedly. Yes, this team is still rebuilding, there's no doubt about that. It sure isn't contending. But is the rebuilding going as fast as it could be? Because there is no rule that says every rebuild has to take five years or more. And right now, we're two years in and I don't see any magical contention happening next year unless some drastic changes occur.