So here’s an interesting development.
PEORIA, Ariz. – If the Seattle Mariners’ regular season began today, they would have two catchers on their 25-man roster — and neither would be Ben Davis.
The M’s are so down on Davis right now that there’s serious talk of optioning him to Tacoma and beginning the season with a Dan Wilson / Pat Borders catching tandem. I didn’t realize Davis had an option year left, but apparently he does. And hey, not only did Borders hit .314 last season, but he seemed to whip Freddy Garcia into shape down the stretch.
More tidbits:
In a Tuesday game with the Padres in Peoria, scouts and front office personnel from both teams sat near one another behind home plate. Davis, who went 0-for-2, dropped a pop fly and misplayed a throw to the plate that allowed a run to score. “That’s why he’s your problem and not ours,” one Padres scout said. “We saw four years of that.”
Worse, the team is so disenchanted with his work behind the plate that there’s already been an edict issued: If Davis does make the team, he won’t be calling pitches.
“Everyone likes Ben, but a lot of us are starting to wonder if he gets it,” one Seattle coach said. “He said he wanted to be the starting catcher? Then earn it. Right now, he’s not even on the 25-man roster.”
We’ll have to see how this one plays out.
By the way, I’m back from Florida. I’m burned to a crisp, but I had a good time. I saw five teams play three games (with a double helping of the Mets) and a hoard of minor leaguers, and came away with two distinct impressions, both of which will be presented in more detail soon. But, here’s the short version:
1. James Loney is awesome and-short of a catastrophic event similar to the flood-is going to be a tremendous major league hitter. Watching him and Robin Ventura play next to each other made one thing obviously clear; as of today, Robin Ventura is half the player Loney is, and Loney’s getting better. This kid is scary good. I was really high on him before. After watching him this weekend, I’m running low on superlatives.
2. The M’s should jump for joy that they didn’t get Kazuo Matsui. He’s got serious issues with his swing, and unless he makes some adjustments, is going to be a groundball machine. There’s just no way he hits for any real power with his current hitting mechanics.
Those longish posts I’ve been wanting to make are probably going to have to wait. If the Griffey deal goes through, we’ll be all over that, but my time is short this week. Allow me a quick plea for help on two computer-type issues, since I know we have a solid readership base with crazy knowledge of Windows.
1. I need help recovering an archived/cached version of an excel file in Win98. It contained formulas that are tough to recreate, and have been erased from the current version of the file. If there’s a way to go back to a version of this file from a few days, weeks, or even months ago that contains this formula, I’d love to know.
2. If you know a legal way to obtain discounted licenses for Photoshop for a non-profit organization, drop me a line. Its for a good cause, and we’re hoping to avoid the brutal costs of paying retail for multiple versions of the program.
If Jon is right, wow. The team may be making the move for the wrong reasons (popular former player, cheaper than other moves they could have made), but it’s at least bold. And is Winn in this year’s commercials at all?
Buuuuuuuuut it’s worth considering that even cheap, it may not be as good a move as it seems. First, given Griffey’s history, even if he agreed to come back and be a good citizen of the clubhouse and so on, doesn’t it seem like when things go wrong he’d be likely to toss that out? And how bad would it have to get — booing if he drops an easy fly ball? What recourse would the team have at that point?
Any injury time Griffey misses will be covered by Q McCracken, who… he’s pretty bad… Say Griffey performs like everyone wishes he would: he hits .290/.370/.550 (GAB played neutral last year, so that’s counting on the kind of Ibanez-endorsed “lefties don’t lose anything). He magically plays 120 games, which he hasn’t managed since his first year as a Red. For 40 games, we’d get McCracken’s .260/.315/.370 — and for the season out of center we’d have a .282/.356/.503. And it deteriorates fast the more playing time QMcC gets.
Huh. Mike Cameron hit .253/.345/.431 last year (and actually, not magically) for a full season, and played stellar defense. If Griffey stays in center and plays 120 games, the position’s pretty much a wash from last year, in terms of both overall performance and in cost.
The larger issue is that Griffey’s defense is nowhere near what it used to be in center, and playing him there exposes him to further injury — especially since his leg problems would be likely to be aggravated by the running. It would seem smart to consider swapping him with Ichiro, though the team’s attitude about that previously doesn’t give me much hope that it might happen.
Its not our scoop, so I’ll let Jon break the news shortly, but we’re hearing there is actual life to the Griffey rumors this time. Stay tuned.
On Mariner ads:
One of the things the team likes to do is keep the ads focused on guys who are unlikely to be traded or blow out. Having to pull an ad with Jeff Nelson after he’s traded means a tighter rotation of ads or new ads, and new ads are expensive.
“Hey now, get all of it” — what the heck is that?
With that in mind, here’s the team’s relative attatchment to their players, drawn from this year’s family-friendly, happy-go-lucky ads featuring those great guys the Mariners:
Ichiro, Boone
Franklin and Shiggy
Ibanez
Edgar
Pineiro
Spiezio
Melvin
Price
Wilson, Olerud
Moyer
Davis
Meche
Aurilia
(seen but not heard)
Moose
Soriano
Winn
McCracken (slides into home)
And I think I’m missing someone from the poker game, but anyway
So, players who can be easily traded without anyone ever noticing:
Willie Bloomquist
Freddy Garcia
Yup, you heard it here first. Freddy Garcia last year had his own ad, this year doesn’t get squat.
What’s really sad about this is that every year Griffey seems more crazy. Maybe that’s the way the press is covering him, but…
Early in Mariners career: happy-go-lucky Kid
Late in his Mariners career: counting fan signs, disappointment when anyone else got more signage than he did, organization covering for his increasingly petty clubhouse whims
The trade: weirdly played by everyone, the M’s trying to trade him where he doesn’t want to go after he narrows his list of acceptable teams, which actually should have been “Cincy” instead of a list…
With the Reds: injuries, betrayal and rejection by the organization and fans, SI interview (was it SI?) where he thinks he’s being followed constantly, expresses sort-of-paranoid thoughts about his family.
Now: belief that he’s going to be traded soon, and to the Mariners because Nike sent him teal shoes.
I was worried about him before this, but now… he’s friends with Buhner, can’t he talk to Griffey, make sure the Kid is doing okay? We’re to the point now where I half expect Griffey’s next interview will have him talk about how he was abducted by UFOs, sits in a pyramid for an hour every evening, and wears one of those magnetic bracelents to help him stay healthy.
Aaaaah!
Griffey rumors just won’t die!
I spent my weekend doing home renovation stuff (new house of older vintage*). I finally get online to discover there are rumors floating around that the M’s may trade Soriano for Soriano, and play Soriano 2 in center. (clarification update, Monday — when I say “floating around” I mean “someone asked me about it and someone else emailed us to comment on it” — this is not reliable sources or something the M’s, as far as I know, are talking about)
I think I speak for all of us here when I say “nooooooooooooooooo!!!”.
Alfonso Soriano is a useful baseball player. His defense is bad but it’s not the absolute disaster it’s sometimes made out to be, and as long as he hits as well as he has, he’s a net benefit there. The problem is that it’s generally been made out that Soriano’s young, talented, and flawed, and a good bet to get much better. Except that he’s not — turns out he’s two years older than everyone thought, and what we’ve seen may well be as good as Alfonso can possibly get.
The other issue is whether he’s well-suited to center, and I don’t see it. Position switches, especially large ones, tend to defy stathead-type analysis: a quick-reflex soft-gloved strong-armed player might make a great third baseman but if he can’t track flies very well and isn’t fast on the run, outfield’s not his place to shine.
I don’t see Soriano’s talents making him a passable center fielder… but we’ll see.
The M’s should not trade for him, though. He’s not as cheap, young, or talented as the Soriano we already have.
* what in the world have I gotten myself into?? Wait, I have an idea **
** The U.S.S. Mariner is now accepting applications for “interns”. Interns can be high school or college students of any kind. Interns will be given research and writing tasks suitable for future careers in sports writing and long-term wise-acre and layabout. Qualifications include ability to hang sheet rock, do complicated electircal wiring tasks, refinish hardwood floors, diagnose and fix roof problems, fix mortar and brick issues, perform large-scale plumbing tasks, kitchen remodeling, and other tasks as assigned. Other required traits include “ability to keep mouth shut about actual work performed on internship” and “unwillingness to give up boss to authorities”. This is an unpaid internship position.
You kids today with your being sick, chef training, and other cool personal stuff I want to mention but am not sure if you’re disclosing! When I was your age I would have loved to be sick instead of discussing lineups!
Reading the posts then, it looks like you were starting a new job.
Also, doesn’t moustache-less Jayson Stark
Look like Swingers-era Jon Favreau?
I must have been sick that week, because I don’t remember it.