How about this…? AJ is an upgrade from Vidro yes, but Vidro does have the 29th best OBP in all of baseball it just so happens the other half of his OPS is definitely lackluster. I found this interesting in looking up Vidro’s stats though. Hafner & Giambis OPS were only marginally better than that of Vidro and Vidro’s OPS was better than that of Sosa, Piazza, and Sweeney who all may be on the decline, but were all-stars at one point who all DH in the AL. Sure Vidro is not a traditional DH, but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things if say you have a 2B which hits 50 HRs or a C that hits for Ichiro type AVG and steals 45 bases as long as the production is from somewhere in the lineup? So Vidro’s value is in getting on base and setting the table for what should be dangerous 3-4 hitters, which the Mariners lack. Also, as a switch hitter who hits lefties & righties pretty equally which is actually a good trait in someone you want to set the table and not very common among very many switch hitters.

My thought is that Guillen should not get an extension and is highly overvalued despite his solid performance this year due to his chronic injury problems and there is no reason to say that he could possibly even become a clubhouse nuisance in the next 2-3 years down the road. AJ should play every day in 2008 from the get go in either Right or Center and Ichiro will obviously be in the other spot not occupied by AJ. Raul in LF even though his glove is not great, but he provides a much needed lefty bat in the lineup. Looking back to 2001 Raul’s seasons this year is right in line w/ his other years w/ the exception of last year which was obviously a career year, so it is a decline from last year, but not a decline in comparison to his previous 6 seasons. And then as protection if he’s not traded for a starting pitcher…..you have Wlad down in AAA developing and waiting in the wings should Raul truly be declining.

Additionally, the proper platoon would be a platoon of Bavasi & Gillick. Bavasi has done a decent job w/ the farm even though lefty & switch hitting bats are lacking and Gillick did a horrible job w/ the farm, but helped us reach unparalleled seasons w/ our big league club. Shapiro & Bean two examples have done unbelievable jobs w/ their respective farm systems, but how many World Series titles have they accumulated? This is not to say that they may not at some point down the road, but what is the end result having a continued winning ballclub that can never win the one, or having your ballclub be the World Champs. Building a World series team consists of a combination of both of these factors, and it also consists of a mixture of youth and vets.

Man, now there’s a mental image I could have done without.

I share your pain and often want to make people swallow their tongue who cannot understand your loaded coin analogy.

It does make me wonder, however, how you apply these principles to your own work via the stock market, people management, talent acquisition, etc. I wonder how it pans out when you’re in the Bavasi hot seat?

You won’t get an argument from me on the Cirillo trade, although from what I have read Lou had more to do with that deal than Gillick. I have argued many times that trading Fuentes was a mistakes, just like booting Carlos Guillen out the door was.

In regards to minor leagues and bullpens, I can only point out again the reality that Putz, O’Flaherty and Rowland-Smith are products of Gillick’s minor league system, NOT Bavasi’s. Moreover, Green is a product of a trade for Aaron Taylor, not Bavasi’s farm system. Ditto for Huber. Morrow is the only product of Bavasi which came up through the Mariners’ system.

I also dispute your assertion about Bavasi and promoting young prospects. Bavasi’s refusal to call up Jones, Balentien, etc., not to mention sticking with Weaver and Horam, was a mistake which led to the monumental debacle now ensuing.

Bavasi also acquired veterans such as Jason Davis, Parrish, and Rick White…who were AWFUL.

There is also the fact that Bavasi tried to give Balentien up for an aging, injured pitcher like Dotel. Trading an arm like Soriano’s was just plain foolishness.

For me, the problem with the Mariner’s rotation goes all the way back to the Freddy Garcia trade. I still find it incredible that Bavasi failed to get at least one pitching prospect back in return. While Bavasi was credited for making what seemed like a good trade at the time, the problem was over confidence in the minor league pitching depth (Blackley, Nageotte, Livingston, etc.).

In the end analysis, Gillick produced the best teams ever in Seattle in the four years he was GM…and he hardly inherited a juggernaut in 1999 did he?

What has Bavasi accomplished in four years? Very little, including giving away a talent like Cabrera which for me was unforgiveable. You can’t blame that one on Gillick.

Go back and re-read: that I lamented Doyle’s departure did not stop us from pointing out the opportunity cost problem (particularly the Broussard/OF issues)