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I don't know whether Zduriencik is the guy to be the GM of our first World Series appearance.
I do know that the calls on the outgoing minor leaguers have almost all been accurate and in practically every case what has come back (again as far as minor leaguers are concerned) has been more valuable than what left.  Even with his "questionable" trades.
He trades a couple months of Washburn for a #7ish starter in French...and a minor league arm that is probably the top-ranked starter in our system with Pineda's promotion - at least until draft day in June.
He moved the bullpenner Morrow for the bullpenner League.  Morrow is now starting and striking out a ton of guys...but he got back 30 HR sensation Chavez who is better-than-age-appropriate in his leagues.  Is Chavez a High Desert product?  Maybe.  If he isn't he'll have quite a bit of value.
It's not the calls on Ackley that make the difference between Jack and another GM, it's the ones on guys like Franklin and Littlewood and Walker and Peguero and Choi.   
And having the balls to swap valued players from your org for valued players from someone else's and get ahead.  I would swap Gillies/JCR/Aumont for Smoak/Beavan/Lueke any day of the week.
I still would have taken Montero over Smoak, but if Lueke is the next JJ Putz that has value too.  And based on what we gave up I can't complain about coming out 5500 dollars ahead instead of 6000 at that game of high stakes poker.
Maybe Jack isn't the guy to GM the club (though I still feel he is) but even if he isn't he's building the foundation for the next guy.  Bavasi left us very little, and nothing at certain levels of the minors.  Repairing the farm system is one of the greatest gifts Jack can give the Mariners.
Figuring out how to add major leaguers would be a boon too, but if he's good enough at the minors thing it's not as huge a problem.  Bavasi screwed up both sides, and has left us recovering now.
While Jack gets judged right now on his ability to put a big league club together and add the right free agents, judgment on his true impact on the roster is going to be delayed for a few years.  IMO, he's already had quite the positive impact on our future Mariners seasons just with his minor league additions.
I hope he gets the major league club corrected in time to stick around and watch those players flourish for the Ms, or to trade some of them for players who will.
~G