Q: Everyone knows the Mariners need starting pitching, but the off season appears to be a tough one for that commodity. If you were the Mariners' GM, what would you do?

GB: Resign before I'm fired. No, seriously, it's a tough predicament that Bill Bavasi finds himself in. His team overachieved this past season by winning 88 games and has set the bar unrealistically high for 2008. Fans now expect 90 wins or more and I don't see how he does that without pulling off some blockbuster deal this winter. So, that's what I'd do. Try to land a premier pitcher via trade using the young talent I've got to deal. We've all heard the Johan Santana rumors and I think a rotation with Santana and Felix Hernandez in it would put the Mariners right up amongst the best in the AL West. Pitching is what wins this division year after year. Defense is also important, yes, but I believe Seattle's defense over-all is better than what some of the defensive metrics showed. If Santana is not available, I would trade some of my younger prospects for a capable No. 2 starter while keeping Adam Jones to improve the outfield defense.

I'm making this all sound too easy and it isn't. There might not be a trade out there for Bavasi. But I do know one thing: he has the prospects to get a deal like that done. So, if a guy is out there and being dangled in a deal, there is no excuse for Seattle to be outbid. Hernandez might become a 20-game winner next year, but it won't matter if there is no legit No. 2 guy behind him. I saw this for years in Toronto with Roy Halladay and a bunch of No. 3 and 4 starters behind him. You need that 1-2 punch, and everything else is secondary. Think Lackey-Escobar, Sabathia-Carmona, Beckett-Dice-K, Wang-Pettitte, Haren-Harden (when healthy). Miguel Batista won 16 games for Seattle this year, but he doesn't go deep enough to be a true No. 2 guy.

I'd also seriously consider keeping Jose Guillen for three more years. Breaking in two rookies in the outfield might work for Seattle down the road, but if the object is to win in 2008 I just foresee too many growing pains with Jones and Wladimir Balentien in the outfield corners. Guillen brought this team a needed clubhouse spark that goes beyond his very good numbers. Balentien and Jones won't replicate that right away. The end result might be a team with some pretty individual stats that really doesn't know how to win. Bavasi should also try to dump Richie Sexson via trade at any cost. He has been too unproductive when it matters for too long. The team now has a logjam of first base/outfield/DH types and freeing up that one spot would solve a lot of problems. Like I said, it all sounds real easy. But in the real world, it isn't and Bavasi has a mammoth task ahead of him.

Q: There has been a lot of clamoring by Mariners fans to make the team younger by using their farm system. Which young players in the system are you most interested in seeing play, and what do you think they bring to the table?

GB: It's great to have young talent helping teams out, but I think there is a tendency amongst some Mariners fans to overvalue "youth." That's not the same as saying "veteran experience" should triumph at all costs. But you will find very few teams out there with more than two rookie position players that actually qualify for the post-season. Look it up. This game isn't about assembling the perfect, computer-generated dream team somewhere down the road. It's about winning when you have your window. We all fantasize about what a young prospect could eventually do. But sometimes, it's best to go with the player you feel can do something right now. So, yes, while Dustin Pedroia is doing wonders for the Red Sox, we have to remember that David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and Manny Ramirez are still the core of that team. Good teams need a strong veteran core to go with the young talent. There has to be a mix. And let's get this straight: C.C. Sabathia of the Indians and Josh Beckett of the Red Sox are not the same as young pitchers out of Class AAA ball. They are both MLB veterans with six or more years of experience. I'm all for the Mariners adding young talent to their roster. I'd love to see them add some pitchers in their mid-to-late 20s or some talented position players. But I'm not for plugging every perceived hole with inexperienced rookies. Not if this team expects to win anything in 2008. Remember, they are still breaking in "young" infielders Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt.

I'm most interested in seeing how good Adam Jones can be if given the chance to play every day. He wasn't going to bump a producing veteran out of the lineup in a playoff race this past season and I don't think you can fault anyone for that. But he should get the chance to play every day this spring. He will go through his slumps and growing pains, but he'll have an entire season to even them out in 2008. Unless he can land someone like Santana in a trade, he could be an integral part of this team's future. I'd rather see him playing left field in an outfield with Ichiro in center and Guillen in right. You would then have three of the strongest arms in the game in Seattle's outfield. I've read in some places that fans would like to see Jones in right field with a free agent pick-up like Shannon Stewart in left. I'm a huge Stewart fan but not for his defense. If fans thought Raul Ibanez had a weak arm in left, wait until they see Stewart's popgun. Stewart's biggest defensive asset is his speed and he's been slowed by injuries in recent years. Unless you bring in a quick, sure-armed left fielder, I'd rather keep Guillen and Jones for the outfield.

Jeff Clement's left handed bat intrigues me and I'd like to see what he'd do at Safeco Field over a full season. If you dump Sexson, you can bring up Clement and work him into the lineup more easily as a first baseman or DH.

Brandon Morrow is still a huge part of this team's future. He helped the Mariners unexpectedly in a bullpen role this past season, but his real value is supposed to be as a starting pitcher. It's why a No. 1 pick was used on him. Morrow could start in the majors next season, but I don't really see him contributing from a playoff perspective before 2009. If he proves me wrong, it will take a lot of heat off Bavasi.

Mark Lowe is another young guy I want to see more of. This team still needs a lights-out eighth inning guy and does not currently have one in the bullpen. Lowe has had a full year to rebound from elbow surgery and this team needs him at the top of his game to contend in 2008.