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Mariners' new GM may end up being sleepless in Seattle

Bill Bavasi understands he's facing high expectations as the new general manager of the Seattle Mariners.

His new bosses, in fact, made it clear when they introduced him.

"The person we've selected is, in my opinion, the perfect fit for this organization and the man who can help lead us to the next level," team chairman Howard Lincoln said.

Bavasi, the GM of the Anaheim Angels from 1994-1999, was hired Friday by Seattle. He spent the past two years overseeing the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system as director of player development.

Bavasi, 45, succeeds Pat Gillick, who announced Sept. 30 he was stepping down after four seasons, during which the Mariners won 393 games -- the most in baseball.

After tying an AL record with 116 victories in 2001 but falling short of the World Series, Seattle won 93 games each of the next two years but failed to reach the postseason.

Lincoln and team president Chuck Armstrong expect to do better.

"There are higher expectations," Bavasi said. "There is a little bit more pressure. I would expect that. They've done a great job. You win almost 400 games in four years, you're pretty good."

Considered one of the top organizations in baseball, the Mariners have nearly everything a club could want: All-Stars such as Edgar Martinez, Bret Boone and Ichiro Suzuki, a first-rate ballpark and droves of fans filling seats.

What they don't have, though, is a trip to the World Series, and they certainly don't have the rings that are passed out after winning it. Bavasi was asked how he would characterize a season as successful.

"Playing the last game," he said.

Getting there is a touchy subject to some Mariners fans, who in recent seasons have complained that the front office didn't do enough at the trade deadline to improve a solid lineup in need of a little boost.

Armstrong bristled and disputed that notion. He said a US$2.5 million contingency fund has been at Gillick's disposal if he could put the right deal together.

The Mariners, Armstrong said, have declined to complete trades that Gillick and others felt would hurt the franchise in the long run. It's a philosophy that seems to fit with the new GM.

At his introductory news conference, someone asked Bavasi if he plans to work a deal at the deadline.

"If there's a good move to make," he answered.

Bavasi described how in 1998 he rejected a proposed trade that would have taken Jarrod Washburn and another player, whom he couldn't recall, at a time when the Angles had little pitching.

"I wanted to make a move," Bavasi said. "We needed to make a move. Our clubhouse needed to see me make a move.

"But I didn't. I really felt in the only two deals it came down to, I would have damaged the future of the club."
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