Bavasi owes M's fans better

The roof was open. Soft, broken clouds lazed over head. The sun was shining. The grass was that magically perfect color of green. And Freddy Garcia was facing the remarkable Jamie Moyer in an intriguing match of muscle and guile.

This was one of those daydream days that a decade ago, few figured we'd ever see in Seattle.

Even now, 129 games into another bad season, Safeco Field on a Sunday afternoon felt like the best place to be in the city. There was energy in the stadium. An anticipation that this day might be different.

Even now, in late August, two years removed from the wonders of 90-plus-win seasons, fans are coming to the park. Even when hope is long gone they bring an unambiguous, non-cynical joy with them.

They cheered Ichiro's first-inning double down the line as if it was 2001 all over again. They roared as if this game meant something when Willie Bloomquist's first-pitch bloop single scored Ichiro.

Even in this season that was over by Memorial Day, the Mariners are third in attendance in the American League.

A decade after the miracle in the Kingdome, when the Mariners beat the Yankees and went all the way to the AL Championship Series, Seattle undeniably is a baseball town.

Before 1995 we never would have said this, but Seattle loves coming to the ballpark.

And these fans deserve better.

Two years into the reign of general manager Bill Bavasi, the Mariners have sunk like President Bush's approval ratings. With a player payroll more than $30 million higher than the Oakland Athletics, the Mariners are 18 games behind the A's.

Two years after Bavasi replaced Pat Gillick, the Mariners have gone from one of the best to one of the worst teams in the league. Putting it into perspective, they are one game ahead of Tampa Bay.

Their record in Bavasi's two years is 118-173.

In his defense, Bavasi inherited a team that was rapidly aging. But one of his first moves was to trade one of the youngest and brightest players, shortstop Carlos Guillen, to Detroit for absolutely nothing.

That trade stands alongside the Heathcliff Slocumb for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe trade that Woody Woodward made in 1997 in the Mariners' What-Were-You-Thinking Hall of Fame.

Bavasi got Ramon Santiago and Juan Gonzalez — not that Juan Gonzalez — for Guillen. Santiago played 15 games for the Mariners in 2004 and hit .179. Guillen hit .318 last season, and although he has missed much of this season with a problematic knee, he has hit .318 in 81 games.

In Guillen's place, the Mariners wasted most of last season trying to resuscitate Rich Aurilia's career and opened spring training this year believing Pokey Reese could be their shortstop.

(Quick, who was their 2005 opening-day shortstop? Does anybody remember Wilson Valdez?)

Reese, who at best was a one-year, stopgap signing, was hurt in spring training and never will play a game for the Mariners.

Guillen is the most obvious mistake, but Bavasi has had more misses than hits.

How could he have been so wrong about Scott Spiezio, who came to Seattle looking like the incredible shrinking man? How could he have thought that Miguel Olivo was the catcher of the future?

Supposedly, Olivo was one of the jewels in last June's trade of Garcia to the White Sox that also brought the Mariners Jeremy Reed and Mike Morse.

And while Garcia — who had his worst outing of the season in yesterday's 9-2 Mariners win — has thrown 187 innings and won 11 games for Chicago, Olivo already has been traded to San Diego, and Reed has been mediocre as the everyday center fielder.

The Garcia trade was supposed to bring three desperately needed building blocks to help the Mariners recover quickly. Now, only shortstop Morse, who has 30 home-run potential and may wind up in left field, has a chance to make the deal a success.

The genius of Gillick was his ability to put pieces together. He brought in Ichiro, John Olerud, Bret Boone, Stan Javier, Mark McLemore, Aaron Sele (the first time around), Jeff Nelson, Kaz Sasaki and Arthur Rhodes.

He built a 116-game winner out of a jumble of spare parts.

Compare that roster with Santiago, Aurilia, Spiezio, Reese, Sele (the second time around) and Olivo.

Last winter, Bavasi got ownership's permission to spend about $114 million for Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre, giving the middle of the order pop it didn't have last season. The winter before, he signed Raul Ibanez and Eddie Guardado.

But the declines have led the advances in the Bavasi era.

Last year, after second-year manager Bob Melvin lost 99 games, Bavasi fired him.

This is the end of Bavasi's second year, and the Mariners are much worse now than when he arrived.

This offseason, will he be able to sign a No. 1 starter who complements can't-miss Felix Hernandez? Can he find another power hitter? Can he re-tool the bullpen?

Because he inherited a team that was getting old fast, Bavasi should be given one more winter to prove himself.

But so far, no good.

And Mariners fans deserve better.

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