They did run Balentien out there in center last year. I know the Cubs played Cedeno for an inning in center once, but I’d be inclined to pick the guy who’s actually an outfielder.

I. Suzuki rf
C. Woodward 3b
M. Carp 1b
M. Sweeney dh
F. Gutierrez cf
W. Balentien lf
Y. Betancourt ss
J. Burke c
R. Cedeno 2b

So we have: Carp at 1st, Cedeno at 2nd, Woodward at 3rd. Betancourt is going to look even more bewildered out there than usual.

One ugly thing that I hadn’t thought about until now: Endy was the backup CF. So anytime Gutierrez needs a rest (I don’t even want to think about him being unavailable for other reasons) Ronny Cedeno is your Mariners’ center fielder. Those of you wondering about him getting DFA’d, consider that his job security. Of course Ichiro could do it, but I don’t think that’s all that appealing to anybody either.

So I’m heading down to Safeco. It’s Father’s Day and Felix Day, a perfect combination.

Me, too. This team has already provided about three times the entertainment value that the 2008 edition did. For me, anyway.

I think it’s pretty clear the Rangers are anything but a lock for the division title this year. But then of course, the $64,000 question is to forego 2009 and sell off….or acquire young ML pieces to contend for this year and beyond.

We may well want to go for it this year, simply on the grounds that the Rangers are about a year away from having a real shot to hold the AL West for a looooong time- that farm system of theirs is nothing short of stacked.

Their offense on paper even now beats the living crap out of ours.

The “Re-building by trading in 2009″ option has been made more difficult in that there are injury concerns for virtually every piece we have to offer, with maybe the exception of Aardsma.

Even if they prove to be rarin’ to go, those concerns dilute their value, and the return for them.

Moreover, there’s about six teams that have already figured they’re not going anywhere in 2009, and have just as many attractive pieces to sell as we do, if not more.

(For instance: The Indians’ Cliff Lee will be wearing a different uniform by August 1st, I’d put money on it right now.)

With those things in mind, “going for it” seems the natural course.

But going for it makes for a quandary or two: trading for players who are already in the major-leagues and who could contribute right now to the lineup…well, that might get expensive in terms of what you have to give up.

Someone go ahead and tell me “yer wrong” if I am, but it seems to me that ML-ready talent has more value (and therefore expensive) than what raw, A-ball-level, “could-be-lightning-in-a-bottle” talent would be.

One thing I’m reasonably sure on is that Zduriencik is still looking at all the options- there’s no definitive game plan yet.

I just don’t think he anticipated the Rangers and Angels being this vulnerable, at this point in the season. I wonder how much it changes things.

It’s dificult- but not impossible- to improve a ML roster and keep your young talent in the system largely intact.

Jack Zduriencik has a few very important moments in his GM career coming up. Let’s hope the calls he makes are definingly good ones.

(One interesting thing about those BP numbers: looking at third-order wins, it would appear the M’s have faced better-than-average pitching and worse-than-average hitting. So the offense may not be quite as bad as we think, and the pitching — especially the bullpen — may not be quite as solid as it seems.)

The Ms started the season embodying accountability and it showed

You had me going, I thought you were serious. Until I got to the

selfish rbi single from Ichiro

which gave it away.

I’m not looking forward to the road trip, which includes New York and Boston. And the M’s have a starting lineup with Johnson, Woodward, Yuni, Wlad, an injured Beltre who can’t swing the bat (at least, he looked sick on the 3 at bats he did have last night), and Sweeney hitting for a gimpy Junior against righties.

Not pretty.