I think there’s a better way to look at the switch-outs.
Leone’s hitting .212/.293/.481. Leone and Bloomquist move Spiezio to splitting time at first and third, at first Spiezio bumps Olerud, who was hitting .245/.354/.360. Bloomquist’s hitting .250/.276/.313 and with Leone also replaces Aurilia, who was hitting .241/.304/.337. Bucky’s hitting 263/.404/.658, which is awesome. Go Bucky! Bucky’s playing time has come at the expense of Olerud and Edgar. Edgar’s hitting an Un-Edgar .254/.344/.383.
As a whole, the offense is improved. It’s certainly a lot more interesting and powerful, but that power upgrade from Leone’s come with more playing time for Willie F. Bloomquist and a loss of Olerud’s OBP, particularly vs right-handers. As a guy who sees tons and tons of games, I like it.
The real issue, and I’m repeating myself from many past posts, is that I wanted to see Leone play not as 3b of the future but as an upgrade over Cirillo last year/Spiezio’s awful performance this year. Compared to either of those two things, he’s much cheaper. I didn’t expect great things from him, but given that I reasonably expected him to perform as well as those guys and possibly be a lot better (which we should note — would still not be great), calling for Leone to get more playing time made a lot of sense, and given the team’s situation right now, continues to make sense.
What playing these guys all season should tell the team is what we’ve been arguing for ages:
– Bloomquist can’t hit and can’t contribute enough to be a good use of a roster spot. Hopefully getting him a ton of playing time will put this beyond the realm of reasonable doubt and they’ll finally stop keeping him around for local kid pixie dust. This is good.
– the team desperately needs top-level talent, young or old, at SS/3B for the future. Now will they make another Spiezio move or look to do something creative?
Bucky Jacobsen now has as many homers (5) in 38 at-bats as John Olerud had in 261 this season. Justin Leone has as many (4) in 52 at-bats as Rich Aurilia had in 261 at-bats. Hmm.
I really need to stop reading columns on ESPN. I’ve thankfully freed myself from the train wreck that is John Kruk, but for some reason, I found myself compelled to read the latest
ramblings from Joe Morgan. If there is a man who sums up “self-centered” moreso than Morgan, I hope I never meet him. Keep in mind, Morgan authored “Baseball for Dummies”, which is probably the most appropriately named book in the history of mankind. Here’s a few gems from Morgan’s latest column:
I have to believe that part of Texas’ success this season has been the addition of Soriano and his winning attitude.
Let’s see here; Alfonso Soriano obviously has a winning attitude because his teams have always been good. The Yankees haven’t fallen off without him because Miguel Cairo obviously possesses this same winning attitude. Alex Rodriguez had a winning attitude in Seattle, but didn’t take it with him to Texas, but now that he’s been rejuvenated by moving to New York, has found this “winning attitude” again. Okay, moving on, before this nonsense causes my brain cells to go on strike.
Moreover, Soriano has excelled at the plate (.281-19 HRs-63 RBI). In effect, the production of the three-time All-Star has replaced Alex Rodriguez (.280-25 HRs-64 RBI).
Soriano is hitting .281/.324/.464 in the best hitters park in the American League. His road numbers are a mind-numbing .226/.281/.383, reminsicent of the late season collapsed that saw him benched in the world series in favor of Enrique Wilson. Rodriguez is hitting .280/.372/.518 and is hitting better on the road than at home. He’s also playing excellent defense at third, while Soriano continues to be an average at best second baseman with the glove.
Remember, the first job of an infielder — especially a middle infielder — is to play defense. Offense is an added dimension.
Which is why Rey Ordonez, Neifi Perez, and Deivi Cruz can’t hold a job, and lead-gloves like Jeff Kent and Derek Jeter are on their way to the hall of fame, right Joe? Just for fun, here’s the 2004 all-star middle infielders for the AL and NL:
Alfonso Soriano. Poor defensive player.
Derek Jeter. Poor defensive player.
Ron Belliard. Poor defensive player.
Carlos Guillen. Average defensive player.
Miguel Tejada. Average defensive player.
Michael Young. Above Average defensive player.
Edgar Renteria: Good defensive player.
Jeff Kent: Poor defensive player.
Mark Loretta: Average defensive player.
Barry Larkin: Poor defensive player.
Jack Wilson: Average defensive player.
That’s four bad fielders, four average fielders, and two that could reasonably consider their defense as an asset to the club. But, hey, defense is what matters. Apparently just not to the fans, coaches, players, or general managers.
The Cardinals feature Scott Rolen at third (my NL MVP so far)
We’ve covered this before, but there’s absolutely no way you can make a case for anyone in the National League besides Barry Bonds. You just can’t do it with any kind of rational thinking that doesn’t include a complete hatred of the man’s personality.
Now let’s look at the question of the best overall infield in baseball history. I’ll admit that I might be biased, but I don’t see how you can top the infield I played with on the Cincinnati Reds Big Red Machine team. While I haven’t been discussing catchers in the debate of the best infields today, I’m including the catcher in the best-ever debate. Why? Well, the catcher is of course part of the infield. And our catcher in Cincinnati is the best who ever played.
I mean, just read that paragraph again, and then try to tell me that he didn’t just throw any credibility he might have had out the window. “I realize I’ve been doing it a certain way this entire column, but I have a point to make that will pad my ego, so I’m now changing the criteria that we’ve been using to allow me to say how great I am.” Makes me want to punch the guy in the nose.
Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel are considered by most fans today to be the best defensive shortstops in baseball history
Really? I can’t think of more than a handful of soccer moms who think Omar is one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball history. He’s pretty obviously not, and unless one’s criteria is “most barehanded plays where he should have used his glove”, there’s no case here.
If you’re considering offense and defense and team leadership, Concepcion still might be the best all-around shortstop ever — not counting A-Rod, since he’s a third baseman now.
Davey Concepcion’s career line: .267/.322/.357. His OPS was above league average in just 6 of his 19 seasons, and for his career, his line is 12 percent below average for that era. He hit 48 career home runs in 8,723 at-bats. He’s something of a cross between an old-school Omar Vizquel and Royce Clayton. If you consider Davey Concepcion to be the best shortstop of all time, you should start following another sport. There are 22 shortstops in the hall of fame. Davey Concepcion is not one of them, and for good reason.
You know the one-hop throw you’ll see shortstops make from deep in the hole? Davey started that. Sometimes he’d make the throw to Perez from short left field. Concepcion would practice those one-hop throws to learn the best place to bounce the ball.
This just shows that Concepcion never bothered to take a simple physics course, as its been conclusively proven that bouncing a throw is significantly less effective than throwing it in the air. But, hey, great invention. Toss that right in with the head first slide into first base, and you’ve got two worthless creations born of ignorance.
This entire piece is an ode to his own greatness and a tribute to friends of his. It’s drivel, and for a site that extolls itself as the “worldwide leader in sports”, its a black mark on their reputation. Time to toss Joe Morgan into the John Kruk Memorial Ignored Pile.
Finally got someone to talk about the deal: “It’s bull$#$”.
There you have it. I’m guessing Meche is on the hill for the M’s on Friday.
Apparently, KJR was told that Gil Meche is not available to speak to the media today, and this has fueled rumors that the Mike Sweeney trade could go down today. I was told several days ago that the rumor had no teeth and haven’t bothered mentioning it. Today, no one is willing to comment. We’ll let you know if we hear anything more specific.
Personally, I’m rooting for it to not go down. Sweeney’s contract is out of place in this market, and giving up anything of value for him isn’t a very good idea. I have no problem moving Meche, who is also overpriced and ridiculously overrated by fans who simply can’t understand that he’s never been a very effective major league pitcher for any length of time, but I just don’t want Mike Sweeney’s contract.
With the trade deadline rolling in on Saturday, fans seem to be split into two groups at this point:
Group A: Frustrated by the losses, wanting to see a complete youth movement, and preparing themselves for several years of mediocre baseball clubs while waiting for new management to save the club.
Group B: Those who want to keep the team mostly together, get a big bat, and hope everyone plays better next year. They don’t trust prospects and think a youth movement is a waste of time.
Considering how harsh we’ve been on the front office and our long time stumping for guys like Justin Leone and George Sherrill, we’re almost always lumped into Group A. However, as I’ve said before, I’m against a Cleveland-style teardown where the team goes into the tank to develop 15 rookies at once. The Mariners have a humungous advantage with their revenue streams and are capable of fielding one of the top five payrolls in the game every year. There’s no reason the M’s shouldn’t be able to contend with a $95 million payroll spent well. As bad as the 2004 Mariners have been, they’re only two all-stars out of contention. Don’t believe me? I’ll show you.
The Mariners have had giant sucking holes at 3rd and 1st base this year with Scott Spiezio and John Olerud combining to be worth about 10 runs over replacement for an entire 162 game season. For $10.5 million, it’s one of the worst returns on investment any team is getting in the game. Among the upcoming crop of free agents, the Mariners could potentially acquire Adrian Beltre and J.D. Drew (my top two choices, assuming that Carlos Beltran is already trying on his pinstripes) to fill those holes, with Ibanez shifting from left to first. The Beltre/Drew tandem is going to be worth approximately 175 runs above replacement this year. Beltre/Drew instead of Spiezio/Olerud gets the Mariners approximately 16 games in the standings and right in the playoff hunt, depsite all the things that have gone wrong for the team this year.
It’s pretty clear to me that if the Mariners can spend their money well this offseason, they can contend again next year. This is also a large part of why I believe the M’s should do whatever it takes to move the salaries of Bret Boone, Randy Winn, Eddie Guardado, and Ryan Franklin. Those 4 will make approximately $19 million next year. You would be amazed what $19 million will buy you, especially in a free agent crop as deep as this one.
However, let’s work under the assumption that those four are sticking around, as well as the three immovable contracts of Spiezio, Ibanez, and Hasegawa. That still leaves the Mariners with approximately $35 million to spend to fill out the roster. Below is Dave’s shopping list, with the goal being to land 3 of the players listed below. If the M’s could dump Boone and Winn, you could easily make it 4.
Top Tier: Carlos Beltran, Adrian Beltre, J.D. Drew
Beltran’s a home run if you can get him, but the Yankee interest might price him out of reasonable range. Beltre and Drew would be a perfect tandem, providing a lefty/righty punch in the 3-4 spots that are both in their offensive prime and bring solid defense at positions the Mariners have weaknesses.
Second Tier: Matt Clement, Nomar Garciparra, Magglio Ordonez
Two risky hitters who have had some health problems while leaving their primes and an enigmatic starter who has apparently turned the corner. You don’t want to go more than 4 years on any of these guys, but you should be willing to pay a premium in the short term to get this kind of talent.
Third Tier: Richard Hidalgo, Troy Glaus, Edgar Renteria, Carl Pavano
Hidalgo’s hot streak with the Mets may be pricing him too high. Glaus and Renteria could be impact talents at discounted prices, while Pavano is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. His strikeout rate isn’t great, but he’s a strike throwing machine and built perfectly for Safeco Field.
Fourth Tier: Kevin Millwood, Matt Morris, Eric Milton
Solid middle-of-the-rotation starters who would benefit a good deal from Safeco Field. If Morris gets healthy, he could pull a Jason Schmidt and turn into an ace. The M’s would do well to see if they could get one of these “underperformers” at a discount.
That’s a pool of 13 players I’d like to see the M’s chase, and it doesn’t include many of the top free agent names available. Ignore Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Richie Sexson, Jason Varitek, Corey Koskie, and Russ Ortiz. Let other teams chase the decline phases of their careers. There is better, younger talent to be had.
Realistically, I believe the Mariners could get Beltre, Drew, and Milton for around $30-$35 million. Fill in the holes with players from Tacoma and those improvements alone make the M’s a threat to contend next year. If they’re able to clear even more salary and add a fourth player from the pool, or upgrade for Milton to Clement or Drew to Beltran, all the better.
The M’s do not have to go into a rebuilding process. With some understanding that moving payroll now can result in big rewards during the offseason, the M’s could set themselves up for an instant overhaul into a good team. But it should begin now with a real attempt to move the deadwood off the roster. If you have to package Eddie Guardado with Bret Boone to convince someone to take his contract, do it. There’s enough interest in Randy Winn and Ryan Franklin to ship them off, and do whatever you can to get Spiezio, Hasegawa, and Ibanez off the roster as well. The M’s have a chance to make a huge splash this offseason. But they have to start jumping in the pool right now.
Yup, I was in LA and San Diego last week. And last night I was out playing baseball, where my team got stomped. In rec league sports, I’ve noticed there seem to be, generally, two kinds of teams:
1) Teams of people with some natural talent and interest, of random ages, out to have fun because they enjoy playing the sport
2) Teams of people who played the sport at high levels and now play the sport for fun (but they don’t seem to really enjoy it) at extremely low levels every night, joining many teams and competing in many tournaments
My team is of the first type. We ran into a team of the second type, which included a former Phillies minor leaguer who hit a monster home run over a scoreboard in centerfield, probably a 400-foot blast.
Anyway, so I came to work today and when we people asked how we (the Mariners) did, I would tell them we (the semi-company-affiliated baseball team) lost 13-0 and they’d say “we got shut out? I thought Blackley…” and then we’d have to clarify which team got stomped.
I watched the M’s get stomped in a cool dive bar in LA where our server made fun of me.
I saw box scores of the M’s getting stomped.
Other BP guys would stop me and say “Hey, the M’s only lost by (crazy margin) today.”
Lance Armstrong did complete the greatest athletic feat of my lifetime on Sunday, so I’m happy.
Overall, though, no, my time traveling didn’t go so well.
In any event, I’m back. I’m going to try and answer some emails, hang out. Maybe hit the batting cages and work on my switch-hitting.
Wait, Pineiro’s out? What? Melvin’s all-time managerial record’s still over .500? I’ve got some catching up to do.
Dave mentioned I’ve been preoccupied… that’s not nearly the half of it. Introducing Seattle’s newest Mariners fan…
Luke Harrison Barker, born 7/23/04 at 8:45pm. 7 pounds, 11.2 ounces; 19.5 inches long. Mother and baby are both doing well. Dad is tired.
In case you’ve seen the bad report going around, its okay to breathe. Joel Pineiro does not have a torn ligament, will not require reconstructive surgery, and this isn’t a major injury. Realistically, they probably should be cautious with him and shut him down for the rest of the year, but unless they find a new problem, this isn’t a disastrous blow.
We have good excuses for the recent slowdown in posts. Derek and I have have both been traveling, while Jason has been preoccupied with more important things (details in a few days, most likely). However, I’m now back in the great state of North Carolina (state slogan: Air Conditioning Rules!), and Derek will be returning shortly. It appears as though we didn’t miss much; no transactions, a few losses, Bucky going yard. Pretty much the same old story.
I’m working to find out if the “Villone is off the market” rumor actually has any legs. If it does, I’m going to throw something. He’s pitching well now, but he’s remarkably replaceable and is a free agent at years end. Let someone else overpay and hope he can repeat this out-of-career-context performance.