Ringolsby: Mariners reward Zduriencik's keen eye

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When Doug Melvin took over as general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers in September 2002 and began rebuilding the franchise, he retained one department head, scouting director Jack Zduriencik.Melvin had learned the hard way. There's a need to avoid the temptation of cleaning house simply to clean house as Melvin had when he got his first GM gig in Texas and pushed out talent finder Sandy Johnson.Melvin was rewarded for his decision to stick with Zduriencik by the emergence of the Brewers as a contender in the National League Central thanks, in large part, to the homegrown nucleus of players drafted and signed by Zduriencik's scouting department.And now Zduriencik is being rewarded for a job well done, having been hired as GM of the Seattle Mariners, who went into last season with contending ambitions but finished with 101 losses.Revamping the Mariners will be a challenge, but it's nothing compared to the mess that was the Brewers, where the financial resources are nowhere close to what Mariners ownership has committed.The Brewers farm system was ranked 30th by Baseball America in 2000 and 2001 but, by 2004, had risen to No. 1. The Brewers ended a 12-year losing streak in 2005, then, this season, made their first postseason appearance since 1982.A year ago, Zduriencik was bypassed for the GM job in his native Pittsburgh but became the first non-general manager to be voted Executive of the Year by Baseball America.Now Zduriencik will get his chance in Seattle, where those who have worked with him are convinced he will be a success."I'm confident in Jack Zduriencik," then-Brewers manager Ned Yost said when asked about the 2007 first-round selection of Matt LaPorta. "If Jack drafted Pee-Wee Herman, I'd be feeling pretty good about it."INFIELD CHATTER-- Ken Macha, who six years ago turned down an offer to manage the Brewers, has joined former Mets manager Willie Randolph and former Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly on the list of candidates who have interviewed for the Brewers managerial job. Macha was holding out for the Cubs job in fall 2002, but it went to Dusty Baker and Macha wound up in Oakland.-- Ruben Amaro appears to have the edge over Mike Arbuckle to replace Pat Gillick as general manager of the Phillies. Gillick has announced plans to retire once the World Series concludes.-- Left-handed pitcher Adam Loewen's long-running battle with elbow problems led to plans for a career change. He wants to pull a Rick Ankiel and make a comeback as a hitter. Baltimore released Loewen with the idea he will be re-signed to a minor league contract and spend a full year in the minors working on hitting.OUT IN LEFT FIELDSeems like the Rays surprised even the folks in Tampa Bay. If upper management really believed the team was capable of winning the World Series, why would the Rays have refused to make an in-season addition of a quality late-inning closer?The farm system is deep enough that the loss of a couple of prospects wouldn't have caused even a ripple.One veteran scout said in early June, "If the Rays are serious, they need to give up the prospect or two that the Rockies want and add Brian Fuentes. Tampa doesn't have a legit closer."And the Rays still don't. It's a tribute to manager Joe Maddon that he has been able to manipulate his bullpen into the World Series, but it didn't have to be so challenging.CLOSING STATEMENTForget about the pity party for Jose Canseco. His feelings hurt because he is now being snubbed after naming names in accusations of former steroids users, Canseco said he is sorry he was so honest. "I never knew it was going to blow up and hurt so many people," he now says.Yeah, right. That's why, after his first book created so much controversy, he came out with a second book and named names of players who weren't mentioned in the first book.Could it be that Canseco had slipped out of the public limelight, needs a few bucks and is now trying to get people to notice him again?THE ROTATIONGame 1 of the World Series featured three first-round selections from the 2002 draft -- B.J. Upton, Scott Kazmir and Cole Hamels. It is arguably the most successful first round in draft history. Twenty-two of the first 25 picks in that draft have made it to the big leagues, including Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Joe Saunders, James Loney and Matt Cain. The success rate of recent drafts:Year, Made it to majors.2003, 19 of top 252002, 22 of top 252001, 17 of top 252000, 14 of top 251999, 14 of top 25(Tracy Ringolsby writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colo. E-mail ringolsbyt(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)