Dickens wrote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." No such duality exists for Seattle sports fans.

The doldrums of a pathetic Mariners' season have been replaced by a miasmic foray into the NFL by our beloved Seahawks. We believed that some solace was on the way, but alas, we were floored again.

So we peek at the Mariners blogs and articles and try to find hope in the general manager search, even knowing full well that Armstrong and Lincoln have vowed fiscal responsibility and a patient approach to fixing the mess they helped create.

We ask the baseball gods to deliver us a GM that will dispose of the dead weight and stick with the youngsters, for which partial failure feels more like growing pains than submission.

We want the agony of watching Silva pitch and Cairo hit to be replaced by the joy of watching Ryan Feierabend grow as a starter and Bryan LaHair develop as a power hitter. We certainly admire Jamie Burke, but it is time for Rob Johnson and Jeff Clement.

We also wonder about the coaches and their culpability in the malaise that affected both the hitters and the pitchers. We hope that the new GM will not be afraid to thoroughly examine the jobs done by icons Mel Stottlemyre and Norm Charlton and send them packing if necessary.

Jim Riggleman seems like a stand-up guy, but the new GM should not be afraid to come to the conclusion that he did little to right the bad ship Mariner.

They say that change is like a vacation. The Mariners need both.

Yet there is hope that a new GM and a new direction can re-fertilize the Seattle sports landscape and provide something for all of us to look forward to in our gloomy sports season.