New Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto motions toward the upper deck of the team's ballpark as he stands on the field after a news conference Tuesday in Seattle. For Dipoto, being hired by the Mariners as their new general manager comes with one task above all others: Ending the longest postseason drought in baseball. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

"If you are a Mariners’ fan," writes Vince Grippi/A Grip on Sports, "I’m going to ruin your day with one sentence: The last time the M’s hired an Angels’ castoff as general manager, they endured almost five years of Bill Bavasi. Yep. We’ve gone down that road. Sorry, but it’s true. Now the past doesn’t have anything to do with the present in this instance. More than likely. It’s just coincidence, right? Dipoto wasn’t fired by the Angels for incompetence, as was the case with Bavasi. He left the organization in a power struggle won by manager Mike Scioscia (the two are pictured together in happier times). By all accounts, even those of the main media force in Orange County, Dipoto did a fine job as the Angels general manager, even if most of the big decisions were made over his head." More here.

Question: Are you optimistic that the new M's GM will turn things around?