I’ve got a column up on Baseball Prospectus on the Mariners attendence patterns over the last couple of years.
Given recent debate over whether the M’s can or should emulate the current Indians rebuilding project, I’d like to answer the first question:
No. Cleveland has smart people in their front office. The Mariners do not.
The second question then is irrelevant.
I know I could drag this out for 500, 1,000 words like a newspaper columnist with x column inches to fill, but why bother?
What are the Mariners going to look to get in trade?
Or, what should the Mariners look for in trade?
Think for a second about where the team’s likely to have holes in the immediate and long-term. Catcher. First base can be filled by whichever of Ibanez/Spiezio can’t be moved, opening a hole at LF/3B, or we can get a 1B. Shortstop. Second base — we’re unlikely to get Boone back after this year, I think. Then you think “where does Lopez play next year?” and possibly “how do I make Bloomquist disappear?”
Winn’s got an unfortunate rich 2-year deal, so unless we find a taker there the team’s got an extra OFers.
Rotation’s stocked: we’ve got a ton of guys who could step in, even if you keep Soriano in the bullpen when (if?) he comes back. It’s about time we started to use the park to our advantage — bring these guys up, let them be average, and punt them for shiny objects.
Bullpen, who cares? I mean, seriously, a smart team can patch together a good bullpen using seaweed and snot.
So we need positional prospects, particularly infielders. Up-the-middle players, including legitimate center fielders.
Here’s the problem with that: those guys are the most precious commodities a team has. Any smart GM running a team with their hands on (say) a Jeff Mathis isn’t going to trade Mathis to us for the joy of taking on Spiezio’s deal, or Guardado. The market for dumping costly veterans has been terrible the last couple of years, and only a couple of teams have been able to make the kind of “get two top prospects for a couple months of some dude” trade that used to be extremely common.
This would be much easier if the M’s hadn’t wasted their last what, five drafts, and had much in the low minors of value.
Just a quick note on J.J. Putz:
First four apperances:
6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K
Rest of season:
7 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 8 BB, 3 K
He’s issued at least one walk in his last 6 appearances. This kind of inconsistency isn’t uncommon for rookies, and Putz will have more good stretches like his burst on the scene, but he’s not Rafael Soriano. He’s not even Julio Mateo.
Ichiro is now hitting .332/.378/.411. If you were to comprise a list of major league centerfielders who you’d rather have right now, it would probably read something like this:
Jim Edmonds
Carlos Beltran
Andruw Jones
Vernon Wells
Steve Finley
Considering contract status, you might take the significantly cheaper Juan Pierre too. So, Ichiro would be something like the 6th or 7th best player at his position in the game were he playing center field. In right field, he’s closer to 10th or 11th, an amazing distance behind the likes of Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu, Sammy Sosa, Miguel Cabrera, Brian Giles, and Magglio Ordonez. Move Ichiro to center field. Finding a corner outfielder who can hit isn’t that hard. They already have a center fielder who can hit. He just happens to be playing right.
Overheard at the bar, 5/26
“Oh, Edgar, we got him from the Yankees. We traded them Ken Phelps.”
Plus, we’ve already got Spiezio, and that guy is clutch. Clutch, I tell you. No, don’t give me stats, I’m not interested in listening to hearing your stathead attacks on the sparkplug of this offense.
The News Tribune suggests the M’s should go hard after Mets 3B prospect David Wright. I’m probably Wright’s biggest supporter. I wrote a column comparing him to Scott Rolen last summer, projecting him as one of the most likely prospects to take The Leap this year. He’s lived up to it and more, hitting .348/.465/.618 in Double-A as a 21-year-old. Right now, David Wright is one of the two or three best prospects in the minors.
Therein lies the rub; the Mets aren’t trading him. They won’t give him to KC for Beltran and they won’t give him to us for Garcia. He’s their Miguel Cabrera, and if they are in the race in the fall, expect him to be given a shot to handle the third base job in the middle of a pennant chase.
It’s a heck of a dream, but it isn’t going to happen.
And the stupidity continues. The Mariners have decided to move Clint Nageotte to the bullpen in Tacoma in preparation for his arrival in Seattle as a middle reliever.
I’m tempted to launch into a long rant about how devaluing young players isn’t intelligent, how the M’s bullpen doesn’t need as much help as the rotation, how Nageotte isn’t ready anyways, and the team is simply pigeonholing two of their best arms as relievers simply because they throw hard. But, you know what, you guys already know all this. The M’s have worn me down to the point where I feel like we’re not even making an impact. Their runaway freight train of stupidity is gaining steam, and as long as the ridiculously incompetent remain in charge, this team doesn’t have a prayer. Moving Clint Nageotte to the bullpen is a minor thing, but its the continuance of evidence that shows that the people in charge of player personnel don’t have the first clue how to run an effective baseball team.
Bill Bavasi deserves to lose his job. Roger Jongewaard should be forcibly retired. Lee Pelekoudas should be terminated. Frank Mattox needs to go away. The front office needs a complete and total overhaul. The groupthink in the administration of this baseball team is perpetual stupidity, and this team doesn’t have a prayer until it changes. Hiring Paul DePodesta into this organization wouldn’t have mattered, because its a culture of pride and arrogance that needs to be weeded out. Get rid of all of them. Every last one.
Dave Henderson, in the 12th inning, with Winn at first, Ichiro hitting, and nobody out.
I can hear the fans back in Seattle now saying “why aren’t they bunting”? Well, Ichiro isn’t going to hit into a double play, and thats why you bunt, is to avoid the double play.
First off, I can’t imagine anyone was sitting at home asking why Ichiro wasn’t bunting. We’ve all seen enough pointless bunts to last us a lifetime. And, second, staying out of the double play is NOT why you bunt. I mean, seriously, does he actually believe that?
Hey, look, Ichiro with an infield single, showing again why bunting is ridiculously stupid. And with runners at first and second and nobody out, I guarantee we’re about to see one.