What to do now?

Over the weekend, I foolishly began contemplating blogging about what the Mariners should do if the team is still competitive, let alone leading the AL West, come the July trade deadline.

I thought, "What could be more intriguing than a Mariners front office that had no intention of making a playoff run (let's be honest) now forced to think about 1) keeping players with trade value and 2) making potential playoff-run acquisitions?"

What do you do with guys like Beltre, Bedard and Washburn? All are in their contract year, all are perceived as valuable in terms of potential future-building trades. Would Mariners' brass take a gamble on keeping these players for a playoff run? Would they acquire anyone of significance perceived as a "missing piece?"

Then came 2-0 and 8-2.

Two runs in two games isn't going to cut it. And it's becoming increasingly clear that Wak-ball will only take the Mariners so far. Sooner or later, they will need to drive runs in if they want to continue winning, especially considering the team's ever-so-fragile pitching rotation and bullpen are to survive.

Still, considering the M's surprising start - 8 and 5 with a 2 1/2 game lead atop the AL West - we need to take a deep breath and realize that the recent losses and anemic offense just over two games is not necessarily a pattern one can draw conclusions from just yet.

HOWEVER, and this is a big however (hence the capital letters), we will know a lot about the Mariners as early as the end of April.

The next three series will prove pivotal; all involve match-ups with contenders: at home against the down-but-dangerous Rays, then on the road against the hungry Angels, a team that looking to avenge last week's debacle in Seattle, then a long trip to division-leading Chicago.

That's nine games with some of the league's best competition, all before May 1.

If the Mariners rebound from the weekend and get back to their winning ways over these next three series, and perhaps come out north of .500 in those games, you may have yourself enough of a litmus test over this first month of baseball to draw the conclusion that these Mariners could be here to stay. Conversely, if things go bad, this team could very easily revert to, eh, 2008.

Until then, I'll save my roster move scenarios for a later date.