No “we” couldn’t. I’m not on the team, and I doubt you are (or were then). Unless they gave out rings to the entire Seattle area and beyond, “we” could not have had rings. Excessive identification with the team often betrays a lot of things, only a few of them good.

But even beyond that, there’s no guarantee of anything. Gillick was in charge in 2001, when the team with as many regular season wins as any in AL history couldn’t get a ring. You would think Gillick could’ve built from there, after coming so close, but the 2002 team was even further away. What evidence do you have that the trend wouldn’t have continued down under Gillick just as it did under Bavasi? Gillick built that team to win at the end of the 90s, and it didn’t. He took his shot, and failed. Wishing doesn’t change that.

I know no one will officially say it, but Gillick left because of the ownership group.

And your proof of this is what?

I know no one will officially say it, but Gillick left because of the ownership group.

It’s the same game in the regular season as in the postseason, and it still boils down to runs scored and runs allowed.

One thing that has always struck me was just how unlucky his teams were in the mid-to-late 80s. It isn’t much of a stretch to say that the Jays could easily have made the playoffs three or four more times during his tenure there.

I would agree to an extent…though, IMO, I don’t think the Jays in those days were unlucky by design. Having grown up in Michigan, I can tell you that Tiger Nation lived through that same period of frustration when, despite winning an AL pennant and WS (1984), it seemed like there were a number of seasons where they played well enough that they probably could have made the post-season — had the AL East not been the tough seven-team division it was at the time.

International signings before Gillick? Snelling, Soriano, Baek, Mateo, Ortiz. Not so many.

This proves beyond any possible doubt that you have no idea what you’re talking about and are unwilling to make the effort to think (much less research) before you post.

When it comes to international signings the M’s have done very well since Gillick was hired as GM. I would personally like to thank Gillick for bringing in Bob Engle and being instrumental in restocking the Farm with Felix, Lopez, Betancourt, Balentien, Triunfel, Martinez, Liddi, Halman, Chen, Valbuena, Navarro, Choo, Blackley, RR-S, Oliveros, Campillo, Jiminez, Carvajal, Juan Ramirez, Kuo Hui Lo, Peguero, Dotel, Luis Nunez, Juan Diaz, Escalona, Benitez, Eddy Fernandez, Jair Fernandez, Leury Bonilla, Jesus Guzman, Mendez, Dilone, Bruno Meredes, Asdrubal Cabrera, etc., etc., etc….

I didn’t even include 2007 and 2008 signings.

International signings before Gillick? Snelling, Soriano, Baek, Mateo, Ortiz. Not so many.

Sign Beltre? That would explain how some of the early moves were actually decent…

I believe HowChuck have said that Beltre & Sexson were brought to them by Bavasi.

You realize that Bavasi was handed several roster moves from Gillick that he had no choice but to carry out, right?

I wonder, did those (e.g. dump Carlos Guillen) come from Gillick, or our favorite Front Office suits?