Quite a few Portlanders remember cheering for Figgins back in ’98 when he played for the Rockies. Chone was already a pesky offensive spark plug and showed flashes of defensive brilliance too. He quickly became one of my favorite players.

We had the Rockies in ’98 because our beloved Beavers were stolen away taken to Salt Lake a few years before by a crummy owner. So, when Chone returned in a Buzz uniform in ’02 & ’03 it was very painful. He made matters worse by humiliating our beloved Beavers on a regular basis.

Of course, it was just a matter of time before he became a full-time Angel and a regular pain in the Mariners’ ass too. I have always liked seeing him play, but after all these years of swinging between love and hate, the idea of having Figgins back in the NW playing for a team that I love makes me very happy.

Any thoughts on the price dropping on Figgins? Hoping to leave room to sign N. Johnson and Harden still.

I know Dave budgeted his offseason plan for $95 million, but has there been any word on specifically what the budget is?

Figgins would put us around 80 million (a guess on the high end, I’m sure Dave knows the real number). Thing is, unless they’ve come out and said it, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the M’s push over 100 million. I don’t see any reason to assume they couldn’t afford Figgins along with, say, Johnson (or Delgado?), Harden and Lackey, if they really wanted to. We know they went over-budget to acquire Bedard. Among those four guys, Lackey seems like a guy Lincoln and Armstrong would increase the budget to sign.

Maybe they wouldn’t do that, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility, is it?

Nice

Thanks. I like to drop mots of varying bon-ness into my longer posts for the same reason Van Halen always requested a bowl of M&Ms of particular colors — to see if folks are paying attention. And to try to reward them if they are.

And because it amuses me, and I can’t help myself.

I heard that you can score runs without extra base hits. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Heck, Rickey Henderson used to do it without any hits at all (walk, steal, FC advance to 3rd, FC score).

I agree with Dave when he says, “Figgins isn’t going to repeat his 2009 season again, but he’s probably a +3 win player for 2010. . . ”

Unstated in that there’s a decent chance (though not a probability) that he does better than that. At 4/36, that’s not a bad price to pay.

Unless I am missing something, we have not started the new season yet.

Banton, Figgins was a 6+ WAR player last year. He’s done that exactly zero other times in his career, and usually hovers somewhere between 2.5 and 3+. It’s possible he’s turned some magical corner and will maintain this level of offense will hold up, but I don’t really see it.

I agree with Dave when he says, “Figgins isn’t going to repeat his 2009 season again, but he’s probably a +3 win player for 2010. . . ”

That’s something to be happy with given the flexibility we get along a reasonable price tag.

What do you mean “Sure Figgins isn’t as good as he was last year”?

Unless I am missing something, we have not started the new season yet.

His performance last season is better than one might expect from a player with his actual level of talent.

Rosenthal says deal is very close, for about 4/36.

I give it a thumbs up.

F$&% Yeah! For a guy who’s a 3 WAR player, that’s an awesome deal.

Dave said earlier this season that the M’s are going to need to squeeze extra runs out of their payroll than the standard $5M/win you get in free agency. This is a great start.