M’s Roster Review
The M’s have made a lot of roster moves lately, and I thought I’d take a second to talk about where the team is.
Rotation: Moyer, Meche, Pineiro, Franklin, Garcia (or put “#1 Ace Garcia” in front). One of the best units in the majors. We’ve been worried about Joel, but he’s come around pretty well. Now we’re worried about Meche. Franklin’s Franklin. If he keeps up this revival, Garcia’s probably going to visit me after the season’s over and punch me in the mouth, and I’ll be okay with it.
Bullpen A: Nelson, Rhodes, Hasegawa. I think Box Melvin’s worn these guys out, and the All Star Break could be a welcome respite for them.
Bullpen B: Mateo, Taylor, Soriano. Soriano’s awesome, he could easily do Hasegawa’s work in tight long-relief situations. Mateo’s a servicable righty. “A-ron” Taylor’s got stuff and, uh, closer experience, so Melvin might use him to allow a return to the traditional bullpen closer-setup/setup roles, which.. well, at least it’s something.
Everyday Lineup:
C: Wilson/Davis
1b: Olerud
2b: Boone
SS: Guillen
3B: Cirillo
LF: Winn
CF: Cameron
RF: Ichiro
Did anyone else notice that “an AL scout” is quoted in Gammons’ latest about how the Mariners take doubles and triples out of the game? You see anyone else doing that kind of analysis a while back? Like, say, us? Anyway…
Offensively, this is a top unit… with some serious issues. It’s pretty much Boone/Edgar/Ichiro/Cameron, with Olerud providing OBP and little else, Guillen hitting well for his position, and Davis another bat when Box remembers to play him. Winn doesn’t hit like a left fielder should, Wilson’s terrible, Cirillo’s not hitting (at home, yes, particularly).
Defensively, they’re outstanding.
Bench: McLemore, Bloomquist, Colbrunn, Mabry. This is awful. McLemore hasn’t hit all year, and his defense is terrible. It looks like age has finally caught up to him. Bloomquist can at least play the infield while he doesn’t hit — McLemore doesn’t offer the team anything this year. Greg Colbrunn, Professional Hitter, hasn’t hit well. I can’t believe that’ll last — he’s hit his whole career, he’s not that old. I wonder if more regular use would help him, but I’m as baffled as anybody. Mabry sucks. He offers a little left-handed pop, but he can’t play defense anywhere enough to spot start him.
As Jason pointed out, this is a bench that needed to pick up D’Angelo Jimenez. Jimenez would have offered a decent bat the team could have played anywhere in the infield, a huge upgrade on Bloomquist. They could also use a huge bat in the outfield to turn Winn into a decent 4th outfielder. And if you’re going to blow roster space on pinch-hitters, they should at least get pinch-hitters that can pinch-hit.