During today’s press conference at Safeco Field, new Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said that Jim Riggleman, who managed the Mariners for the last half of the season after John McLaren was fired, would be a candidate for the job.

And Riggleman told MLB.com that he wanted to come back and manage the Mariners again.

But it looks like he hedged his bets a little by accepting a job as bench coach with the Washington Nationals. Here’s the story from the Washington Post.

I’m not sure

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If you missed the introductory press conference for new Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik, you can listen to it by clicking HERE

Here’s the video stream of it, if you would prefer to watch it.

I’ll offer some thoughts a little later.

Yep, we’re still coming live to you from Havre, MT (above) where the wind never stops blowing. Obviously, I’d love to be at the World Series, but I guess this is a close second.

Ok, let’s to get the links from yesterday’s announcement of Jack Zduriencik becoming the new general manager of your Seattle Mariners.

Here’s my story from today’s paper.

Here’s Kirby Arnold’s story from the Everett Herald.

Columnist Dave Boling asks a relevant question, “If Zduriencik is so good, why would

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UPDATE 1:47: Tom Haudricourt, the Brewers beat writer, wrote this story on Zduriencik for Baseball America back in 2007, pretty interesting stuff in there.

UPDATE 12:49: Ok, so I’ve been on the phone for the last hour or so trying to get some comments about Jack Zduriencik, who was announced as the Mariners new general manager this morning. There won’t be an official press conference till Friday, so I don’t know exactly where that leaves us.

I put in a call to the Brewers and general manager Doug

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Greetings from Havre, Montana, where the land is flat, the weather is cold and the wind never stops blowing. I’ve been meaning to get people caught up on what’s going on in the winter leagues.

The Mariners have players in the Arizona Fall League and in the Caribbean League, playing in Venezuela.

Down in Arizona, the Peoria Javelinas, who are managed by Rainiers manager Daren Brown, are 5-7 with a handful of players of Mariners players on the team along with players from the Yankees and Reds.

Here’s the team’s individual stats

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Greetings from the Wheatland Inn in Colfax, Washington. It’s 10:40 on a Friday night and they say the life of a sports writer and a rock star are the same. While anxiously await Saturday’s USC-Washington State football game – the same one in which WSU is a 43.5 point underdog – I thought I’d throw up some links.

Be honest, how many of you gave up on last night’s Red Sox game? It’s understandable. Is that loss the type of loss that the Rays can’t recover from?

Red Sox fan

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The search for a new general manager has led to the selection of four finalists, and the Seattle Mariners could complete the process in time to announce their decision before the World Series begins next week.

That list of finalists is Jerry DiPoto (Diamondbacks), Kim Ng (Dodgers), Tony LaCava (Blue Jays) and Jack Zduriencik (Brewers).

All come with immense potential and solid resumes as assistant GMs, and Zduriencik (pronounced Zur-en-sik) has as intriguing a background as any.

Now 57, he was named Baseball America’s Executive of the Year in 2007 as the Brewers scouting director, and is

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CEO Howard Lincoln, contrary to online reports and talk radio pronouncements, is not Satan. Neither is president Chuck Armstrong.

That will be hotly debated, but the rage aimed at two executives atop the Seattle Mariners after the teams 101-loss season is as misguided as it is futile. Lincoln and Armstrong aren’t going anywhere.

It’s not unfair to blame one or both for the fact that the team hasn’t been in the post-season since 2001. Fans in every big-league city feel the same way about their club when disappointed.

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