Out are Peter Woodfork, Tony Bernazard, Bob Engle, and Lee Pelekoudas. Neither of the internals ever had a chance, so that's no big news. Bernazard was the guy I really wanted to avoid, so that's good news. We don't even have a manager for him to undermine. And while I'm a fan of what Woodfork brings to the table, I hate typing his name, because I always spell it Woodrofk, and that gets really annoying, so I'm going to go ahead and call that one good news too. Of course, Woodfork (I did it again) was replaced on the candidate list by some Brewer executive named Jack Zduriencik, so I'm fighting a losing battle.
Anyway, we're down to a four-person pool, and the next GM of the Seattle Mariners is going to be one of Jerry DiPoto, Tony LaCava, Z-man, and Kim Ng. Ng has the vote of my backspace button, but what's most interesting to me is how I'm not opposed to any of the candidates. Sure, they all have their drawbacks, but there doesn't look to be a disaster on the horizon. Ng would probably be the sharpest executive this team has ever had. Z-man has done some excellent work as Milwaukee's scouting director. DiPoto's a tough read but he blends knowledge of statistics with a good eye for talent. And Tony LaCava seems to have a lot of Kevin Towers in him. Solid candidates, all. Organizational saviors? No way to tell. But organizational improvements, certainly. They may not end up putting us on the right path, but considering we've been sprinting the wrong way on a one-way street for half a decade, they'll at least steer us in the right direction.
If the Mariners don't introduce their new GM next week, they'll do so shortly after the World Series. And when they do, they will for the first time in a while have a leader capable of leading. Enter the Era Of Competence. I, for one, look forward to being associated with a baseball team that only used to be retarded. Laughing about stupid is way easier when you're no longer living in constant fear of more of it.