I just gotta disagree on principle there Matt. The only way your response is justified is if Jerry is the second coming of LincStrong. But he can't be, right? He's a GM. His stake isn't in a nice night at a taxpayer-funded ballpark watching a mediocre team because he doesn't profit from that. He profits from winning, and you damn well know he's aware of how long it's been since the Mariners made the playoffs, and what will happen to him if he misses his current window. Besides, how could we possibly accuse Jerry of "disinterest" when he appears to be rabidly interested in his job, to the point of setting records for trades and triple-A carousels. Jerry may be talentless, arrogant, and wrong, but he's certainly ain't mailing it in every day.
Don't get me wrong though, I encountered that same quote on MLBTR before coming here and gave it a firm snort of derision. It rubbed me the wrong way too. There is something pretty ugly about saying "five teams make the playoffs every year, and I love our chances to have the #6 rotation this season!" But hey, Pete Carroll also has an infuriating habit of saying "I love Russell's chances of escaping the season with very few life-threatening injuries" as if it's a good thing. In point of fact, allow me to make what I believe is an especially apt analogy: this year's starters are like the Seahawks O-line. We know they'll top out at a B-, if we're lucky. And that's why Jerry has put together a lineup that can realistically shoot for a solid A, A+, and a bullpen he thinks he can finagle into a better-than-passing grade. Point being, there's more than one way to skin a playoff berth. For years the Hawks have punted O-line in exchange for a diamond-tough defense. This year’s Mariners are punting the rotation so they can have a diamond solid lineup. Can an intentionally unbalanced team aspire to a championship? Yeah, if they're a bit lucky and they're able to mitigate their flaws. The Hawks won with some overperforming O-lines, and the Ms will have to win with some overperforming starters and creative bullpen construction. I dunno if it will work, but I won't be impugning Jerry's honor if it doesn't. I think his basic premise is actually fairly sound.