Santa, Please Bring the Mariners a…

Happy Holidays everyone! I’m sitting here on the night of Christmas eve. My son is tucked away asleep, and I’m sure dreaming of reindeer and presents. I’m sitting here blissfully thinking about how a couple of nice gifts would go a long way towards making the M’s a contender sooner rather than later. Below is my wish list for gifts for Santa to bring the Mariners.

1. A solid #2 pitcher. The M’s need someone to eat some innings. Felix is about the only one on the staff that can be counted on for more than 180 innings, and considering rookie Michael Pineda is currently the #4 pitcher in the rotation you know the team is in trouble. (Not that Pineda isn’t a good looking prospect, but who knows how his transition into the majors will go)
2. For the key rookies to all have breakout seasons. A lot of 2010 is riding on Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley, and Michael Saunders. There’s also Michael Pineda in the rotation, plus Dan Cortes and Anthony Varvaro in the bullpen. That’s a lot of production that is needing to come from people who have never proven that they can produce in the majors.
3. One more impact bat, preferably in LF or 3B. The offense looks better with Jack Cust in there everyday, but it clearly still needs a lot of help. Another middle of the order hitter would be really nice to have, and I wouldn’t lose any sleep if Saunders got relegated to the bench in favor of someone who can hit.
4. Finally, some spending money. All of the above could happen if the M’s had the budget room they’d had just 2 seasons ago. Since taking over as General Manager, Jack Zduriencik had not only had to remake the entire organization from top to bottom, he’s also had to slash $25 million of the major league payroll.

So everyone, what’s on your Christmas list for the Mariners?