Jackin' It?

Today was a big day for fans of the Seattle Mariners. Having been rudderless since the middle of June when General Manager Bill Bavasi was fired (insert 'rudderless for the previous four years joke here'), they unveiled the man who will replace him today. He is Jack Zduriencik, former director of scouting with the Milwaukee Brewers. Given the nature of the Mariners' management over the past five or so years, the announcement of the new General Manager (made on Wednesday) and the introductory press conference (today) were the subject of feverish anticipation amongst fans of Seattle baseball and unemployed degenerates alike (I'm not sure which category I fall into).

Under the regimes of Bavasi and his predecessor, Pat Gillick, the Mariners were run by old-school, gut instinct baseball lifers. In short, they were adherents to the old received wisdom, relying purely on what they saw with their eyes over increasingly effective statistical methods which were becoming the norm amongst more progressive organisations. Whilst Gillick had some success, this was to the detriment of the Mariners' farm system. He left in 2003, the Mariners' future decimated. Bavasi was relatively successful in turning this end of things around, however, his reign was marred by terrible acquisitions at the major league level, either by trade or free agent signing. The worst of these, last offseason's trade for pitcher Erik Bedard, succeeded in ripping a promising core from their slowly developing farm system. Bedard spent most of the year injured. The Mariners lost 101 games while spending $117 million on payroll, a record for such a payroll. People weren't happy.

From Wednesday onwards, the media uniformly told us two things. First of all, Zduriencik's name is pronounced Zur-EN-sik. Secondly, he was responsible for the emergence of stars like Ryan Braun and Prince "I'm a Vegetarian, Me" Fielder in Milwaukee due to his impeccible draft strategy. However, many M's bloggers and commentators were left feeling a little underwhelmed with the appointment, as he was not perceived to be in the vanguard of SABR-savvy thinking. At heart, he is an old-school kind of guy, certainly when compared to the other finalists for the Mariners job. Also, his relative anonymity compared to the more high profile courting of executives like Los Angeles' Kim Ng (who stood to be the first woman GM in history) or Toronto's Tony LaCava meant he was viewed as something of a mystery.

Mariners fans were asking a number of questions ahead of the hiring of the new GM, and specifically in light of Zduriencik's appointment. Namely, what attitude would he have towards the use of statistical analysis, anathema under previous regimes, and how much autonomy would he be given to do his job in the light of meddling by the duo of Howard Lincoln (CEO) and Chuck Armstrong (President)? On this latter point, catcher Kenji Johjima was given a three year extension worth $24 million last season, despite being one of the worst offensive players in the major leagues. It was later revealed that this decision was made not by Bavasi, but came from ownership, through Lincoln and Armstrong.

So, onto the Press Conference. The Z-man was, as could be expected, rather short on specifics. He seemed a tad uncomfortable in front of the media, and delivered some of his points nervously. The bulk of what he had to say was very positive, however. Thenagain, these things tend to be.

First of all, in a move away from the traditional Mariner emphasis on good guys with 'character' and 'veteran presence' who 'know how to win', he emphasised talent as the decisive factor in any decison regarding personnel. Invoking team chemistry or character will be purely secondary. Thank Christ! For an organisation as conservative as Seattle, this is the equivalent of Pope Benedict announcing that he's got a lovechild. With Peter Mandelson. Or something. Anyway, it's big.

When pressed on the use of statistical analysis, Jack, in a McCainesque moment, worryingly referred to Sabermetrics as 'Cybermetrics', but one can assume that this was a slip of the tongue. He spoke of having used every statistic available in Milwaukee in conjunction with more traditonal scouting methods. This is the common sense approach to take, as it is not a case of the two being irreconcilable. Rather, they must serve to be complimentary. However, when elaborating on this, he did oddly refer to the ability to get on base as an 'intangible.'

Finally, the other noteworthy point was the degree of autonomy to be afforded to Zduriencik. Armstrong emphasised that the new General Manager would have full power to make decisions (as any holder of that post should, of course). Zduriencik reiterated this. Given his choice of shirts in the past, I think I'd like to believe that he is quite independent minded.

Today was easily the most exciting day that a fan of the Seattle Mariners has had in a while. While Zduriencik was not the perfect candidate and doubts persist that he is still too much part of the old school baseball establishment, he is a good candidate. Today's press conference was a promising, if somewhat hesitant start. The fact remains that actions will speak much louder than words.