It’s been 3 weeks since Eric Wedge abruptly resigned as the manager of the Seattle Mariners. And while Mariners officials have stayed the usual course of remaining silent when it comes to what might be stirring within their think tank, they have been vocal in their efforts to explain – from their perspective – what really transpired during that final week of the season that caused Wedge to reverse his public statements of wanting to stay with the Mariners, made just one week prior to his resignation.

And when I say “explain” I mean paint Wedge as someone who couldn’t get his top prospects to produce at the big league level, had lost the confidence of almost everyone who had a hand in running this team, and, therefore, as someone who had the audacity to ask for a multi-year contract extension after a season in which the Mariners regressed rather than take further steps forward.

Of course, it’s impossible to know what truly happened.  The Mariners are saying one thing, Wedge is saying another thing, and Jack Zduriencik remains silent, choosing to sit on his hands and not comment on any of the claims being made by the people that work for him.

But what is clear is that the Mariners are in damage control.  Entering an offseason needing one or two bats in the outfield, a DH, a #3 starter, at least one arm for the bullpen, and now a manager, the Mariners are trying to quickly sweep away the bitter residue left behind from yet another managerial hiring gone bad.

And although the Mariner brooms are at terminal velocity, the rest of the baseball world is left gawking at an organization moving at a pace only Rip Van Winkle could appreciate.

An organization that has become the MLB version of Groundhogs Day, with Zduriencik playing the part of Phil Connors, desperately trying to piece together the right combination of changes to cease the nightmare of reliving the same failures over and over again.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  This isn’t to say that Eric Wedge leaving the Mariners is some tragic loss.  Believe me, it’s not.

For the record, I was never a fan of Eric Wedge. Back in October of 2010, I was highly critical of his hiring despite the Mariners PR machine working overtime to tout Wedge as some great prospect developer.  A persona the Mariners derived from his Cleveland Indians managerial days, during which time a handful of players made the transition from minor league prospects to major league all-stars.  But as most understand, the prospect game is tricky business.  Some organizations will hit the jack pot with their highly-ranked prospects like Cleveland did during the early 2000’s.  But others, like the Mariners and their top prospects, will not.  And realistically speaking, seldom does such a group of talented young prospects all successfully emerge at the same time like they did with Cleveland.  That anomaly  should have raised question within the Mariner brain trust as to whether Wedge really did contain some magical touch that transformed prospects into all-stars, or if he was just the beneficiary of being in the right place at the right time?  And if it was the latter, which it most likely was, then there really was no upside to his hiring other than the fact he was cheap and willing to buy into Howard Lincoln’s and Jack Zduriencik’s blueprint for rebuilding.

No, Wedge’s departure is not a setback. Rather, it’s an opportunity.  And a golden opportunity, at that.  Because at a time when the Mariners desperately need to find someone who can help save a sinking ship, standing in the managerial unemployment line is someone whose resume is filled with a track record of transforming stagnant, underachieving teams into playoff contending teams.

Jack Zduriencik and Howard Lincoln:  Meet Dusty Baker.

That’s right, Dusty Baker.  The manager who supposedly cannot handle young pitchers, and who is allegedly responsible for burning out the arms of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior;  who plays favorites; prefers veterans to rookies; and supposedly rejects advanced metrics by his suggestion that clogging up the base paths with the sluggish and the slow-footed can sometimes be more of a detriment than beneficial.

You know, the manager accused of being the second gunman on the grassy knoll.

Look, I won’t argue that Baker doesn’t have his detractors.  What manager doesn’t?  I mean, there is no such thing as the “perfect” manager.  But his critics, by and large, are from the arm chair GM variety.  And regardless of the myriad of criticisms that get thrown his way by those that do not play the game, one undeniable truth remains constant: those that do play the game love playing for Baker.  They buy into his philosophies, and play hard for him.  Heck, Baker was fired for sticking up for his hitting coach.  He took a bullet for someone who helped him be successful.  What player wouldn’t want to go to war with that type of manager?

If his managerial track record is any indication, not many.  Baker has gone to the playoffs with every team he has managed – three times with the Giants, including the World Series; once with the Cubs; and three times with the Reds.  In his 20 seasons as a manager, Baker has achieved twelve .500+ seasons, including seven seasons of 90 or more wins.  Baker’s managerial success has resulted in him being voted NL Manager of the Year three times.

Simply put, Baker wins wherever he goes.  He turns teams into winners.  He is the Pat Gillick of managers.

And for a team like the Mariners, that’s huge.  Because entering an offseason where the Mariners are in need of a whole lot of help, Baker does what no other first year manager can do: he brings instant credibility to an organization that currently has none.

You want Jacoby Ellsbury? Perhaps Shin-Soo Choo?  Well, let me be the first to tell you that the hiring of the Chip Hales’ or Joey Cora’s of the bench coaching world aren’t going to do anything for the Mariners in that endeavor.

But bring Baker aboard, sit him across from Ellsbury or Choo, have Baker look either player square in the eyes, and tell them that things are about to change in Mariner Nation or else he (Baker) wouldn’t be here if they weren’t?  Well, I can pretty much guarantee you an Ellsbury or Choo is going to listen.  And although either player still might not sign with the Mariners, you can be sure that they and agent Scott Boras will walk away from the negotiating table convinced the Mariners are, indeed, serious.

And that, alone, would be a huge step forward for an organization that was turned down by Josh Hamilton, stating afterwards that the Mariners were never serious players in their attempt at signing the free agent slugger.  And who were also rejected by Justin Upton in the trade that would have brought the gifted outfielder to Seattle for 2013 and beyond.

Of course, all of this begs the question of whether or not Zduriencik and Lincoln have the gumption to hire Dusty Baker?  Realistically, Zduriencik and Lincoln won’t even interview him.  Because hiring someone like Baker would require Lincoln and Zduriencik to give up – or at least share in – a bit of the decision making process when it comes to player personnel and roster construction.  That is something quality veteran managers of Baker’s stature normally require.  And that is something this organization has been reluctant to give up ever since Lou Piniella left town.  But, hey, one can hope, right?

Because, you know, despite continually making the same mistakes over and over again, even Phil Connors eventually figured out how to stop the endless cycle of madness.

Let’s just hope Lincoln and Zduriencik can do the same.