"I trust my own ability to make good decisions," Armstrong said. "I trust my instincts, both personal and business. I honestly believe that I am the best person to be the president of this club and to hire the next [general manager].
He can trust himself, the thing is, can we trust him?
According to Armstrong, the Mariners' next GM will have less power than Bavasi did -- especially during his fourth and fifth years with Seattle -- and probably have a smaller player payroll.
"We need to have new, fresh thinking and get to the point where we're solid year after year, not just patch it together," Armstrong said. "We're looking for some fresh blood, someone with a new perspective and good leadership skills."
Is he implying that Bavasi didn't have perspective and leadership skills?
Some in the Seattle media have suggested Armstrong and Lincoln would not offer a GM enough autonomy, but according to several GMs contacted for this article, one would be hard-pressed to find any Major League franchise with which "complete autonomy" and "general manager" are mentioned in the same sentence.
"We think the most successful form of management is one that major decisions are not made in a vacuum by one person. When ideas are discussed as a group, so that everybody in upper management has had a chance to have their say, then the best decisions can be made."
That's the way, Armstrong said, the Mariners operated from 1995-2003, when winning 90-something games a season was commonplace.
Someone smart and with good pure baseball knowledge would be also a good idea.
...published reports in the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer the past two days listed Bernazard, along with Kim Ng, assistant GM with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, and the Arizona Diamondbacks duo of assistant GM Peter Woodfork and director of player personnel Jerry DiPoto as being interviewed this week.
Of this list i like Ng and Woodfork.
In-house candidates Lee Pelekoudas, who replaced the dismissed Bill Bavasi on June 16, along with Bob Engle, vice president of international operations, are believed to have been the first to be interviewed for the GM position earlier in the week.
Armstrong has said he wants the position to be filled by the end of October, and it could happen either a day or two before the World Series begins on Oct. 22 or soon after the Fall Classic ends.
The first order of business for the next GM would be to select a manager, who would then assemble a coaching staff.
http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/news/ar ... p&c_id=sea
http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/news/ar ... p&c_id=sea
