Mmm.. more potpurri
The M’s declined Hasegawa’s option (yayyyy), Reese’s option (you’re shocked, I know), and are still “in talks” with Guardado.
MLB.com reports they’re “negotiating a new deal with left-handed starter Jamie Moyer” in a passing tidbit, which is cool (home starter!).
In the front office, Lee Pelekoudas is now an Associate General Manager, whatever that means (the M’s got a lotta weird titles this year), and Jim Na moves up to Director, Baseball Administration.
Potpourri
Three more small items of note:
1. Corey Brock’s piece in the TNT about Japanese players with the potential to come to the majors this season goes well with John Hickey’s P-I story about Kenji Jojima. To regular readers of this blog, there’s not much new information, but these are fair summaries of where the Mariners are at as regards Jojima et. al.
2. Larry Stone’s story in the Seattle Times about Eddie Guardado informs us that the pranktacular closer and his agent are seeking a two-year deal from the club. If also affords us the opportunity to engage in a little language pedantry. Scroll down to number three if you have no patience for this.
If Guardado declines his option, he then becomes a free agent. But Guardado’s camp is considering jump-starting the process by filing right away for free agency on a conditional basis. That tact has been taken in the past by other players who have options.
This is a common error. It’s not tact, but tack. As Johnny Depp might say: nautical term. Tact is the quality you use to convince the drunken navigator to steer away from the oncoming storm; a tack is the course he sets to avoid the deluge itself.
3. Also from Stone:
Announcer Dave Niehaus is again under consideration for the Ford C. Frick Award, the top honor in baseball broadcasting.
The first component of the award is fan balloting that begins today online at www.baseballhalloffame.org, and continues throughout November. The top three fan vote-getters will be on the final 10-person ballot that will go to the Frick electorate. The winner will be announced Dec. 5.
You know what to do.
Gillick to Phillies
Word on ESPN and elsewhere is that our own Pat Gillick has been hired as the new Phillies GM. Read more
Ichiro wins Gold Glove again
ZAO Water
All of us here are baseball nuts. We spend far too much time thinking, talking, and writing about the game. However, for each of us, baseball is still just a part of our lives. So, for a moment, I want to take a break from talking to you guys about the Mariners and show you an opportunity to join with me on another part of my life.
One of the organizations I’m involved with is a non-profit group called ZAO Water. It was founded two years ago by a guy named Matt Peterson, who I’m proud to call a friend of mine, who believed he had an idea that could impact the world in a significant way. At its heart, ZAO is committed to providing fresh drinking water and sanitation to the impoverished nations of Africa. The numbers of diseases that have decimated Africa due to the lack of clean water are staggering:
2.3 billion people worldwide have a water-born disease.
5 million people a year die from water-born diseases (including cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, etc…). It is the number one killer of humans worldwide.
The W.H.O. estimates that by 2025, 2/3 of the worlds population will live in areas of water shortage.
The lack of access to fresh drinking water in Africa is a huge problem. It’s also one that isn’t that hard to fix. For less than $5,000, ZAO was able to hire local experts to go into the town of Ntagacha, Tanzania, and change the town’s access to fresh water. Three springs have been provided and a well has been dug, as well as several latrines, and community hygiene education was provided for the entire village. When hygiene education is teamed with access to fresh water, the health of a village can be increased by 85 percent.
In a short period of time, ZAO has already made a significant impact on parts of Tanzania. We are committed to seeing this through until the problem is eliminated. And this is where you guys come in.
In order to raise funds, ZAO has entered the retail bottled water business (again, as a non-profit organization). We have an artisan well in North Carolina and are working to build our own bottling facility which will allow us to produce millions of bottles of ZAO water every year for retail sale, competing with Dasani, Aquafina, Le Bleu, etc… The price for ZAO water is extremely competitive; $1 for a 15 ounce bottle or $9 for a 24-bottle case. The difference? Every dime of profit that comes from the sale of bottled ZAO water goes directly to providing fresh water for people who badly need it in Africa. You get water, they get water, and everyone wins. If you’re interested in ordering ZAO water for your business (or, if you’re just a very thirsty individual), the contact information will be at the end of this post.
Also, we’ve had an donor come forward and offer a donation challenge; he is going to match every dollar we raise through the end of the year with one of his own, up to $500,000. So, if we receive a half million dollars in donations between now and December 31st, he’s going to write us a check for $500,000. Essentially, every dollar donated to ZAO between now and the end of 2005 will be immediately doubled. And, of course, it is all tax deductible, and you will receive all the necessary reciepts to claim a deduction on your 2005 tax statement. If you would like to participate in the ZAO donor-match challenge, you can give directly through paypal.
ZAO’s administrative overhead is basically nil. What we receive goes to help those in need. It’s a great organization, one that I’m proud to be affiliated with, and one that I believe strongly in. We really do have a chance to change the course of a continent in our lifetimes. If you guys are interested in purchasing ZAO Water, helping to increase our distribution, or simply giving directly to the efforts, feel free to contact us through any of the ways provided below:
Email: office@zaowater.com
Phone: 336-712-4008
Mail:
ZAO Water
3812 Littlebrook Drive
Suite A
Clemmons, NC, 27012
Any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments.