Now what?

So Bedard is officially a Mariner and a lot of people are happy. The M's get their so called "TOR" pitcher and the O's get a good chunk of their farm system in return.

Now we can start looking at other issues, like Morrow and his return to the bullpen, Sexson etc...

Unless Bavasi has a couple of tricks up his sleeve, it looks like the completely obvious makeover (remove your logjam at DH/1B) isn't going to happen.

It's hard to believe the upgrades are the pitching staff (Silva and Bedard) and the defense and offense are totally ignored. There is no way you can look at the current M's lineup and think this is a playoff team-

Ichiro
Vidro
Johjima
Sexson
Lopez
Betancourt
Beltre
Ibanez
Wilkerson

The only "plus" players on that list in my mind is Ichiro and Beltre. The rest of the players tend to fall in the 6-8th best at their position in the AL, which in my mind makes them average. Doesn't mean you expect your team to look like the Yankees with an All Star at every position, but the team is clearly hoping a team of "average" hitters is good enough to win.

The real flaw in this offense is the sum of the parts. Having average hitters is one thing. When every hitter is a hack-tastic non-walking singles hitter, I tend to get more nervous. Combine that with a team philosophy of not respecting splits when you make out your lineup card, and this offense is uninspiring.

I think the team and many fans are so focused on the good (Cy Young, Bedard strikeouts) they are ignoring the lack of progress on the offense. Is trading Guillen for Wilkerson really the only change on offense?

I have to believe Bavasi has more up his sleeve. Today is a disappointing trade for me, but I hope the team FO recognizes there is more to be done. Plugging Bedard into the present roster is not enough.

Unless you like seeing a 29 year old pitcher throw a great game but lose 3-2, this off season is not done.