April 3, 2004 · Filed Under Mariners · Comments Off on  

What sort of a bad joke is this?!

(I’d provide a link, but there doesn’t appear to be one yet.)

To Los Angeles: RHP Aaron Looper, LHP Ryan Ketchner

To Seattle: UT Jolbert Cabrera

You don’t trade two young pitchers for 31-year old no-hit utility players. Cabrera is the kind of guy you pick up off the waiver wire, or sign to a minor league contract after the season if you really want him around. He’s a .253/.303/.353 career hitter in 932 major league at-bats. He doesn’t draw walks. He has no power. He’s not a good base stealer. But hey, he played every position but pitcher and catcher last season and hit an empty .282, so he’s just our sort of player!

Gimme a break.

Look, it’s not that it’s that big a deal to lose Looper and Ketcher. Looper’s a decent middle relief prospect, but not much more, though on some teams he probably would have made the major league club this year. I’m biased in Ketchner’s favor because he’s deaf and and has posted great ratios in the minors, but he doesn’t exactly have the blazing stuff scouts get excited about.

It’s the principle of the thing, though. You don’t have to trade for guys like Jolbert Cabrera; they’re freely available. And you certainly don’t trade two young arms to get him.

April 3, 2004 · Filed Under Mariners · Comments Off on  

More Spiezio… this PI article says Bloomquist will start opening day. That’s nothing big, but it also says he (Bloomquist) wasn’t going to make the team if not for Spiezio’s injury. I don’t know that I believe that, but it’s certainly nice to hear. Also, given their plan to carry 12 pitchers — I’m still not sold on this, by the way — it sounds like he’ll (Spiezio now) start the year on the DL, because otherwise the bench would be too thin.

Back to this Bloomquist-Santiago thing — the Times article Derek linked below says Spiezio’s injury means Santiago makes the team, while the PI article I linked above says it means Bloomquist makes it. Interesting; you’d figure they’d have a consensus, since these beat reporters are more than likely talking to the same people.

Everything we’ve all read said that Mike Myers had to be notified by yesterday afternoon whether or not he’d made the team, but I heard yesterday that he actually had the right to ask the M’s if he had made it (and if not, he’s allowed out of his contract). In any event, nothing definitive has been accomplished on that front, though with him pitching so well this spring (no earned runs in eight appearances) I have to figure he thinks he’s made it.

OK, one last thing — this MLB.com article, which is a bit more recent than the Times or PI, says it’s more than likely that Spiezio will be placed on the DL retroactive to March 28. It also says Kevin Jarvis is going to make the team; ick.

The opening day roster must be set by 9pm tonight.

April 3, 2004 · Filed Under Mariners · Comments Off on  

Spiezio is out with back spasms, I hear (and I found that link just now — I’m actually not even on the continent, so news is spotty). I don’t think Spiezio’s any great shakes, but I’m interested to see how Bavasi and Melvin work around this if it’s a long-term problem on and off (as back issues are prone to be). If it would tie down Bloomquist to third, thus limiting his utility as a multi-position scrub, would they entertain bringing Leone up to keep Bloomquist as a floater?