In America, November brings more than basted turkeys and wasted elections. The 11th month signifies the stoking of baseball's hot stove, a panacea to the unavoidable candy-induced hangover of Halloween. While the Phillies wipe the crust of champagne from their hair, most teams utilize this month to assess themselves, their situation, and their future. The A's scrounge McAfee Coliseum's dumpster, the Yankees cull the crop of Antiques Roadshow and the Nationals try to find nine people who own a baseball bat and four limbs.

It's fair to say that most teams have a game-plan, or, in the least, an idea of what it takes to be successful. The Mariners, alas, are not one of those teams.

Oh, they won some games last year — 61 wins would make then instant contenders in the NBA — but in doing so they became charter members of the "100-100 Club." With a payroll of $116 million, the M's successfully put their full effort into eclipsing the 100-loss plateau, a feat not easily attained. Technically, you could adjust for inflation, but even Titanic fans will still claim that the Mariners suck.

In a rare feat of rationality, heads rolled during the season, and yet after John McLaren and Bill Bavasi found their way to the welfare line, the troubles continued. Injuries were chronic, underperformance was palpable, and team infighting was as veiled as John McCain's anger issues. The entire team may not have wanted to knock out Ichiro or bring shame to their family, but 2008 turned this squad's cracks into canyons of crappiness and callousness.

Now, new general manager Jack Zduriencik has a bigger workload than Hank Paulson. With M's president Chuck Armstrong and CEO Howard Lincoln breathing down his neck, Zduriencik will be expected to fix a busted garbage truck with some worn Scotch tape. Not exactly enviable. As the offseason beckons, the questions boring into Zduriencik are great in number and few in enjoyable, and yet all will need to be dealt with.

Let's start at the top, shall we?

Raul Ibanez, long a stalwart in Safeco's outfield, has run out of contract but not yet ability. An underrated slugger — last year he brought in .293/23/110 — Ibanez's bat has been a lone bright spot in an otherwise moribund offense, and his high affability has made him a unique draw in an industry that prizes loyalty.