Mariners' Zduriencik, Wakamatsu earn fans' confidence

Eight months ago, they were just two rooks with funny names.

Jack Zduriencik and Don Wakamatsu, the "Can I buy a vowel?" odd couple. No one knew if this 1-2 combination would pack any punch, yet there was a cautious intrigue about the new Mariners general manager and field manager. They seemed like good guys, honest and hardworking, and somehow their congeniality mitigated worries about their inexperience.

From the beginning, we sensed it might be OK to trust them.

And 88 games into a complicated rebuilding job, they're proving themselves worthy of the confidence.

Jack Z and Wak — we know them so well we're on a nickname basis now, huh? — have done more than help the Mariners advance from terrible to average. They've done more than turn a motley crew of youngsters, veterans, journeymen and reclamation projects into a cohesive, aggressive team. They've done more than make fans go from expecting the worst to dreaming of the playoffs.

Their greatest accomplishment thus far incorporates all of those things, plus the enormous public-relations boost they've provided a franchise that frankly couldn't do anything right for quite a while.

At this point last year, the Mariners had a 35-53 record and already had fired general manager Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren and waived overpaid slugger Richie Sexson. They weren't a punch line; they were a headache. Every conversation about them had to be prefaced with the mismanagement of Bavasi, the failures of skippers McLaren and Mike Hargrove and whatever beef you had with team CEO Howard Lincoln and president Chuck Armstrong.

After spending 25 minutes on all of their shortcomings, there would barely be enough time to say anything else about the team other than, "Just blow up the whole thing and start over."

And then came Jack Z, an unspectacular hire on the surface who wowed Armstrong and Lincoln during the interview process.

And then came Wak, an unknown bench coach hand-picked by Jack Z because of his ability to teach the game.

Now, the Mariners are a franchise with a general manager who has yet to make a bad decision and a manager who has the team four games above .500 despite using 77 different lineups so far.

Those two men who seemed likable enough to believe in are building a truly trustworthy franchise. The complaints about the Mariners' poor decisions have yielded to expectations that Zduriencik will continue to make solid moves. The bellyaches about the manager's lack of ingenuity have yielded to confidence that Wakamatsu will do everything possible to win.

Before the season began, Zduriencik said of Wakamatsu: "He's a new manager, but he's not inexperienced. Don't discredit what he's accomplished just because he hasn't had the top job."

The same can be said of Jack Z in the general manager's chair. At a critical time in Mariners history, Armstrong and Lincoln took a chance on their new GM who, at age 57 when he was hired, didn't fit the criteria of a young up-and-comer. But Zduriencik was the best candidate, the most well-prepared candidate, and it's getting easier and easier to trust that he will completely transform the Mariners.

In fact, instead of debating whether the Mariners should be buyers or sellers with the trade deadline approaching, it's probably better to skip the predictions on what moves they will make and proceed to pondering how much healthier the franchise will be after Zduriencik finishes his 2009 tinkering.

He and his staff are too thorough to do something foolish or shortsighted. Whatever happens, you can bet the Mariners will remain competitive in the now and increase their hopes for later.

Following this team is fun again, from watching the players react to Ken Griffey Jr. running from first to home to witnessing the Mariners' late-game theatrics. They're a team with a clear identity — feisty, versatile and blue collar — and the best franchises are always easy to label.

Trust is a fluid concept in professional sports. The leadership is forever one bad decision away from unreliable in the eyes of the public. So Jack Z and Wak will have to keep proving themselves.

With the momentum they've gathered, however, they're certain to embrace the challenge.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com