Love 'em or Leave 'em?

It will be written about, talked about and debated in blogs...

So writes Mariners Morsels-endorsed P-I reporter John Hickey in this morning's P-I. The subject of the article? Whether or not Bill Bavasi will be the M's GM beyond this season.

Hickey tries to poke around M's CEO Howard Lincoln's brain to see what he's thinking about keeping Bavasi around. His response? Not surprising:

"I'm simply not going to talk about that," Lincoln said politely but firmly. "Not at all."

Now, since Billy Beane has been given partial ownership in the Oakland A's and isn't leaving his position any time soon, I'm not so sure there's a better fit for GM with this team. Is Bavasi perfect? Absolutely not! Spiezio, Guillen, Aurilia, keeping Thornton and Franklin, are all moves that were undebatably bad. Some of the tougher moves, though, like trading Cirillo and DFA'ing Boone and Olerud, were definitely harder to pull off for him, and could be considered admirable moves.

Overall, I'd give Bavasi a B- for his performance. Slightly above average, about what I expected. I honestly don't think Bavasi is a huge source of the problems of this team. Even though I've softened a bit on my stance (due to the signings of Sexson and Beltre), I still think the problems hinge mostly on Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong. Closer to the field, too, I'm not at all impressed with Hargrove, and believe he's doing more harm than good. Bavasi, on the other hand, is willing to take risks and shake things up when they're stagnant. Is he the greatest judge of talent? I'm not convinced. Does he have good people around him who are, and who can help him make good decisions? I believe so.

Bottom line: Love Bavasi, leave Lincoln, Armstrong, and Hargrove.