Seattle Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi has spent his entire front office career within the American League West, dating back to 1981 with the California Angels. He was the GM for six years there before taking over the reins of the Mariners. After finishing his third season in Seattle, Bavasi is still looking for his first playoff appearance. In Seattle, where he was tabbed to replace a star in Pat Gillick, Bavasi?s time has been marked by high-priced signings with underachieving results. These signings have included first baseman Richie Sexson, third baseman Adrian Beltre and closer Eddie Guardado. These moves have left Mariner fans confused about the direction of a team that is still trying to find its identity following the days of Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson. Bavasi, along with his predecessors, have some pieces to build around in outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and pitcher Felix Hernandez. However, the overall lack of direction in adding complementary talent has hurt Bavasi and could eventually lead to his dismissal. He has shown a good knack of stockpiling young talent, even though the system was rated low by Baseball America going into 2006. They were rated No. 27 after being in the top 12 the previous five seasons. Besides the young talent, Bavasi has struggled both in free agency and trades, as clearly seen this past winter. He traded a reliever loaded with potential in Rafael Soriano to the Atlanta Braves for an average pitcher who lacks consistency in Horacio Ramirez. He then added Jeff Weaver, who besides the playoffs in October, has never shown consistent dominance. Bavasi is on the hot seat heading into 2007 because of the lack of wins during his tenure and the diminishing number of scapegoats in Seattle for the fans to place blame. There was first manager Bob Melvin, who was fired and replaced by veteran Mike Hargrove. He then reshaped the team dynamic with free agents and turning it over to Ichiro and Hernandez. Whether this new plan is the right one is undecided, but it could determine whether Bavasi is the architect of the new great Seattle teams or just another name floating around in unemployment land. Signature Move: After the 2004 season, Bavasi set out to remake the franchise with big moves. One of those moves was the signing of third baseman Adrian Beltre after he had an MVP caliber year in 2004. However, he has been the inconsistent player he had shown previously rather than a top third baseman and the Mariners have been battling uphill ever since to right this wrong. It symbolizes how the Mariners have acted under Bavasi in which they have worked so hard to right the wrong decision, they are worn out to win and compete for a playoff spot.