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It seems that comments in the past from the M's have been quite dogmatic about this issue, and in my opinion at least it *has* to change. Free agent hitters will not (are not) inclined to come here, all things being equal; soon pitchers will be in the same boat, because they can run a 1.29 ERA and still not put up the "W's" they crave (as humans, and humans with an ego, as noted).
Look at the Mariners since Safeco opened, and your are seeing a steady erosion of hitting, and it's not all because the M's are completely futile on that side of the ball. Look at the Padres in the NL, operating under pretty similar conditions - everything has to break exactly right in order for them to compete with the way their park is set up...same with the M's. There's a razor thin margin for error on the fielding side of the ball, and eventually the 1 run games and the inability to hit, and the frustration catches up and results in...11 game losing streaks.
Bleah. If the whole league is starting to put up better pitchers in general, our park-effect that favours pitchers is going to push our advantage in that area out of the realm of being an advantage. If you're going to run up against a guy who can put up a 3.00 ERA (to use that measure as a crude example) in Arlington, how much better is that same guy going to seem in the Safe when he's facing our hitters who have been demoralized by the environment long before he gets here?