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All this assumes that while your waiting for this lengthy rebuilding to actually show some results the fans don't desert you in droves. You can talk about the rebuild really starting in 2011, but to the fans the rebuild started in 2004 and still hasn't borne significant fruit. Thus the Seattle Times article revealing the M's as having the worst attendance dropoff among all pro sports teams of the last decade. The Mariners have sowed to the wind, and they are reaping a whirlwind which has the potential to engulf any rebuilding plan which does not take it seriously.
Perhaps it could be said this way: The M's have a whole lot more to rebuild than just a baseball team.