Confirmed in a club press realease, the Seattle Mariners have officially extended the contract of General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik. The contract is a multi-year deal, meaning that Jack will be manning the front office until at least the end of the 2016 season. Zduriencik, 63, arrived in Seattle in October of 2008 after serving in the Milwaukee Brewers organzation for 9 years. In his first year in Seattle, Jack Z and the Mariners finished with an 85-77 record. Since then, the M's have not been able to eclipse the .500 mark.

Many people remember the contoversy that surrounded Jack from both former employees and fellow GMs around the league. During the 2013 offseason, an article written by Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times surfaced. Within the article were accusations of both lying in his interview for the position and that of which former employees had trouble working with Jack. To follow that up, general managers around the MLB were frustrated with the Mariners GMs tactics at the trade deadline. These GMs said that whenever a deal was close and on the table, Jack would pull back on his side of the deal and even try to change the details of the trade. Many fans have voiced their dislike for Zduriencik in the past, especially with his inability to make big moves.

Coming into 2014, it seemed that Jack Zduriencik was a guy on the "hot seat". His job was in jeopardy, which may influenced him to complete the Robinson Cano deal during the offseason. Jack's tactics in the past had been that of trading away veteran players and recieving prospects in return. A deal such as the Cliff Lee for Justin Smoak transaction comes to mind. After loading up on these prospects, Jack would always sound optimistic about the future for this club and the direction that these prospects could take the team. Of course, prospects do not always turn out, seeing the rough careers for guys like Smoak and Dustin Ackley. Jack had also been connected to big names in the past. The Mariners were connected to both the names of Prince Fielder and Josh Hamilton, but neither deal came to fruitation which angered the fans of Seattle. They believed that their GM was the sole reason behind the lack of signings up to that point. When Cano became a Mariners, fans began to regain hope for the ball club. It was no secret that the team had to have a good year for Jack to keep his job, so he began bringing in proven players such as Endy Chavez, Corey Hart and Logan Morrison. This, paired together with some of the prospects finally blooming, have pushed the Mariners to a 71-59 record, good for third in the AL West and possession of the second Wild Card postion.

The teams recent success may be the reason that the Mariners front office decided to lock up Jack Z. Manager Lloyd McClendon was quoted by Ryan Divish saying that "We're probably as dysfuntional as dysfuntional can get." when asked about his relationship with Jack. Sure, maybe Zduriencik is a difficult guy to work with sometimes, but the Seattle Mariners are winning baseball games. That's all that matters in the Emerald City.