I am going to put off the manager post until Monday because many of your comments deserved further explorations so I want to do a Q and A here, only you are answering the questions. Feel free to contribute to the discussion even if you were not the original commenter.

Chris From Bothell

You wrote that you would be happy with the youth movement if you knew the remaining spots were filled with higher quality players.

My question to you is if those players were acquired, what would you realistically expect and what would make for a good year in your eyes from a team that was still relying on four starting position players that have less than one year of experience?

I would warn that teams are lucky if they have one guy come through in that situation in a season. Zduriencik warned that with young players you do not know. Many do not make it their first time up.

You and a couple of others asked about the the possibility of significantly raising the budget. I do not see this happening. If anything, if they plan on going mostly young I could see the budget actually dropping. I asked Zduriencik in that interview if he was prepared to go forward with less budget next year. Of course he is prepared to deal with anything handed him but the interesting thing he said is that he did not want to spend money just because it is there. If a player is there that he wants, great. If not? I ask you this. If that player was not there would you be comfortable of banking that money and carrying it forward the next year? I am not saying this is a possibility but if it was do you think the money could be better spent next year?

Cresswell

You ask if the Mariners go all young can we wait for their development to pay dividends or could the addition of one or two veterans help speed it up?

A few of you mentioned going after Cliff Lee. He is a beautiful pitcher but I don't believe he will speed things up. I think we saw that this year. There was not much Lee or Felix could do to help the offense. Personally, the only money I would consider spending on pitching next year would be on a veteran dependable arm in the bullpen. You have a rotation 1-4 (assuming Pineda is up) and 5 or 6 guys who can compete for the fifth spot.

As for veteran position players I don't know how much they could help. In talking to Jack it seemed that he was hoping that Moore and Smoak would come through as threats sooner than later. That would probably speed up things more than anything else but again, both have yet to turn into what they are expected to. They most likely need more time.

So my question to you Cresswell, would you be more comfortable with two of Moore, Smoak, Saunders, Ackley with more veterans and spending more money next year with the hopes of winning more games?

Rayvensdad

You wrote...For me, call it like it is. Jack Z. We are building the organization from the bottom up... and there isn't a quick fix and Jack Z. is doing a good job. It shows with the possibility of having so many young rookies next year.

Two things here. He won't call it what it is because it isn't yet. If opportunities present themselves in the off season, like say the Cliff Lee deal last year, things could go in a different direction. That is a big if however but the point is, Jack is leaving doors open. It is just how he operates.

This is one of the things that has been so interesting in watching him. I think a lot of people thought he was going to come in here and put his focus and resources into building the farm system. Turns out that protecting the big league team and trying to improve it has always been his number one priority. The funny thing is, he still managed to build the farm. If a good number the kids we have been talking about "hit" this year then this time next year we will be talking about a remarkably quick organizational change. Remember, the cupboard was relatively bare.

I was down in Tacoma a few weeks ago talking to a scout from another team. He sympathised with the season we were going through and then he gestured out to the field and said, "The good news is it is going to get better. You look out there and you have "guys". A lot of teams are lucky to have one guy. You have got guys out there and that is a good thing. This is going to get better."

Good discussion from everyone. More on the manager search coming up Monday.

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