Tony DeMarco

The plus side of being Bill Bavasi’s successor as the man in charge of the Seattle Mariners is that it isn’t exactly a tough act to follow.

Bavasi’s legacy: He took over a 93-win team from Pat Gillick in 2004 and turned it into a 99-game loser, and followed that with three more last-place finishes in four years — including the 100-loss/$100 million payroll disaster in 2008 that got him fired.

So the biggest problem for Jack Zduriencik has been cleaning up the mess Bavasi left. But in 15 months on the job, Zduriencik is making a difficult-to-pronounce name for himself. (Just forget the “d,” it’s zur-en-sik.)

It shouldn’t have taken this long for Zduriencik to climb up the public awareness chart of the game’s bright minds.

In 2007, he became the first non-general manager to win Baseball America’s Executive of the Year award for his stellar work in the Milwaukee Brewers’ development into a contender.

But finally, as his retooling of the Mariners continues — capped by this week’s deal for Cliff Lee widely regarded as a stroke of genius — Zduriencik’s bald dome is getting plenty of run on the MLB Network lately.

Lee’s relative-bargain $8 million salary in 2010 is the key to Zduriencik’s latest success story. The hitch is he can be a free agent after next season.

The player cost was a trio of non-elite prospects, with projected closer Phillippe Aumont probably the best of the bunch and closest to the big leagues, likely to surface in 2010.

Hard-thrower Brandon Morrow stays put, young left fielder Michael Saunders stays put, as does down-the-road shortstop hopeful Carlos Triunfil.

Maybe Lee only stays one season, but the two draft picks the M’s would get for him as a Type A free agent could approach that $8 million figure in value.

In the meantime, the M’s get the services of one of the game’s 10 best pitchers — to go with their other top-10 pitcher in Felix Hernandez. Name a better 1-2 punch in the game — we dare you.

(And just like that, losing out to the Texas Rangers in the bidding for Rich Harden seems like a stroke of luck).

Then again, maybe Lee will sign an extension and stay in Seattle long-term, as the issue of whether the M’s can afford both Hernandez (six years and $100 million?) and Lee remains to be seen. At least they’ll have spacious, pitcher-friendly Safeco Field working in their favor as far as keeping pitchers in the fold goes.

The Chone Figgins signing (four years, $36 million) represents an AL West double-whammy. The M’s add a quality No. 2 hitter behind Ichiro, a versatile defender and a positive force that will continue their clubhouse makeover.

And all that is taken away from the Angels, who also have seen John Lackey and go elsewhere while replacing Vlad Guerrero with Hideki Matsui.

And then on Friday, Zduriencik exchanged bad contract (Bavasi's, not his) for bad contract with the Carlos Silva-and-cash for Milton Bradley deal. Everybody knows about Bradley's health and temper issues, but if you look at this deal strictly from a talent perspective, it's another absolute steal.

When focused — as he was in 2008 with Texas — Bradley is one of the league's best OBP/slugging percentage machines. And now he's back in the AL where he can use the DH position to stay in the lineup.

The Bradley-Lou Piniella combination had no chance of succeeding, especially in the pressurized atmosphere around the Cubs. But a Bradley-Don Wakamatsu-Seattle combination might. And, Silva's contract and ineffectiveness are off the books.

And let’s not forget what Zduriencik accomplished last season:

• Hired Don Wakamatsu, who turned around the mindset, guided the M’s to a 24-game improvement and finished fourth in the AL Manager of the Year award behind the three division-winning skippers.
• Snagged emerging closer David Aardsma from the a Red Sox front office widely regarded as one of the game’s best and brightest — for the minimal cost of minor-league lefty Fabian Williamson, a 22nd-round pick in 2006.
• Got the exploding talent that is Franklin Gutierrez from the Indians as part of the haul in the three-team, 11-player deal involving J.J. Putz. (And keep an eye on outfielder Ezequel Carrera, another piece in that deal who led the Double-A Southern League with a .337 batting average and .441 on-base percentage.)
• Gave Russell Branyan the opportunity to accumulate 400-plus at-bats for the first time, and the reward was a 31-homer season.
• Subtracted maddeningly inconsistent Yuniesky Betancourt and added underrated defensive whiz Jack Wilson at shortstop.
• Provided Ken Griffey Jr. with a final landing spot in a Hall of Fame career, which proved to be as beneficial in the clubhouse as on the field. There will be a return engagement in 2010.

Still, there is plenty of work to be done. Branyan is a free agent. Figgins’ place on the field needs to be determined, but he’ll probably play third base. They could use a veteran part-time presence behind the plate, and maybe some middle-relief depth.

At least there is money left to spend, with Adrian Beltre’s excessive $64 million deal, and Miguel Batista’s $25 million coming off the books, and Kenji Johjima doing Seattle a favor and returning to Japan, opting out of the remaining $16 million on his deal.

That should be more than enough for a new Trader Jack to work with.