M's need to focus on starting rotation

Before the collapse, before the reality of the long season caught up with the Mariners' starting rotation and ground down the bullpen, offering additional years to right fielder Jose Guillen absolutely seemed like the right thing to do.

In Seattle, Guillen rose above his reputation. He stayed healthy. Hit .290 and drove in 99 runs. Instead of being the racket in the corner of the clubhouse his reputation said he was, Guillen was the glue, the inspiration.

He brought a kind of angry smolder to the team that had been missing since the glory days of the Lou Piniella era. He was a leader and probably the most pleasant surprise in a season that, until the end of August, was filled with surprises.

But in those heartbreaking last five weeks, when the Mariners' house of cards fell, the future direction of the team, which had been hidden by its improbable success, became as clear as an August day at Safeco.

The Mariners need pitching. They need a No. 2 starter and, probably a No. 5. Jeff Weaver was a disaster. Horacio Ramirez was the bum trade of last winter. The bullpen needs a bridge built that spans that dangerous, penultimate inning between the seventh and J.J. Putz.

As good as he was, for as long as he was, the Mariners need arms more than they need Guillen and they need the money they would have spent on him to find at least one starting pitcher who could be their veteran ace.

General manager Bill Bavasi can't keep signing bad ideas like Weaver and Jarrod Washburn.

Bring back the hot seat.

This winter Bavasi has to get it right, and by not offering Guillen a contract extension he has a better chance and more bucks to throw at one of the few quality pitchers who could be available in trades starting next month.

Of course, Guillen still holds some of the cards in this high-stakes game. He could exercise his option and stay in Seattle, in right field, for another season. He would make about $9 million.

He wants an extension beyond 2008, however, and the team's September swoon erased the practicality of that move.

The Mariners need the kind of quality pitching they haven't been producing in their farm system. And they have a replacement for Guillen, all-star-in-waiting Adam Jones, ready to play every day.

Jones, who should be the right fielder, has the skills to be the most exciting Mariner since Ken Griffey Jr.

He was done a disservice after his recall last season. Because of the pennant race and because Raul Ibanez rediscovered his sweet stroke, Jones played only sporadically the last two months of the season. He needs to be in the lineup for 150-plus games next season.

Meanwhile, the Mariners can use the millions they will save on Guillen and the $8.325 million (sorry to remind you) they blew on Weaver to put toward (hold your breath) Johan Santana, or Jon Garland or the least-best option, Dontrelle Willis.

All are available. All are expensive.

The M's have impressive prospects to offer in trade, like catcher Jeff Clement and outfielder Wladimir Balentien.

Go ahead and wince, losing either one of them, or both, will be painful, but that's life in Rebuildingville. And don't be fooled by last season's improvement, the Mariners still are rebuilding.

One place they already have improved remarkably is their coaching staff. In one swift wave, they went from having one of the worst, to maybe the best.

Traditionally, baseball coaching staffs have been bastions of cronyism. Only the Bush White House is worse.

Manager John McLaren, who has made an army of friends in his 38 years in baseball, could have gone the crony route. Instead he has chosen the best available coaches, not merely his best available friends.

Next season, unlike last, McLaren will be surrounded by seasoned baseball people.

Mel Stottlemyre, quite possibly, is the best pitching coach in the game. He fine-tuned Mike Mussina, developed Andy Pettitte and before them he was the pitching coach when the New York Mets' Dwight Gooden and Ron Darling were emerging. Imagine what he could do for Felix Hernandez and Brandon Morrow.

New bullpen coach Norm Charlton is to baseball what former Seahawks quarterback Trent Dilfer is to football. He's a thinker and a teacher and a fire-starter. He is a Stottlemyre-in-waiting.

Jim Riggleman is a former big-league manager who has had many long conversations about strategy throughout his long relationship with McLaren.

And, if expected, Larry Bowa returns as the third-base coach, he can provide some of that toughness and leadership that would be lost if Guillen leaves.

This winter, the Mariners have to continue making moves that make fans take notice. This new coaching staff is a good beginning.

But what Bavasi does with his new budget and his tattered rotation will define the direction of a franchise still recovering from the lost seasons of 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com