Sunday, August 01, 2004
August looks a lot like July
Wow, both a Red and White Sox post back to back – it is clearly time to chime in on the Mariners. And the quicker we burry my “deceits of Dave Kopel” and Fahrenheit 9/11 posts, the better. So, M’s Fans, here we are, the day after the “non-waiver trading deadline,” (first of all, just because there have been more moves in recent years after the deadline doesn’t mean we should start throwing around that slick phrase instead of the traditional “trading deadline”) and the Mariners moved naught. Well, we sent Dave Hansen to San Diego for A-ball prospect(?) Jon Huber. But Myers, Villone, Winn, Ibanez, Spiezio, Franklin, Guardado, and Boone are still wearing Mariners’ whites and grays.
I’m sure Boone was tough to deal, and I’m fine keeping him instead of paying him to play elsewhere.
Ibanez, well, he pretty much stinks, but stinks with the minimal degree of left handed power the Mariners love. I didn’t have any expectations of dealing him, and would be fine keeping him and moving him to first if it wasn’t for…
Scott Spiezio, listen up: Your band totally rocks. You have such a large underground following in Seattle and Anaheim, as well as many cities across the globe, that you don’t even know about. You really should consider retiring to pursue Sandfrog full-time – the possibilities are limitless.
Villone. By all accounts (well, by accounts at ussmariner), Bavasi held out for too much for this guy. He is pitching shockingly well, and I think the only people who don’t realize this are the M’s front office, who feel that he really is worth a top prospect.
Randy Winn, now here’s a guy we should have been able to move. David at ussmariner reports Bob Melvin put a stop on a deal for Winn, because he thinks Winn is underrated and likes having him. It has been clear all year that Melvin does not know very much about baseball and the value of players. He should have no say in personell moves.
Franklin – well, there probably was no market for him after absolutely tanking over his last 7 starts, seeing his ERA rise from 4.14 to 5.20. Should have moved him a month ago, but the M’s seem to like him. Of course, the M’s think like Bob Finnigan, who, in a memorable answer to the question, “who do you think will be most improved this year in the Mariners rotation,” replied, “Ryan Franklin, if he gets more offensive help.” How does someone like this get to write for an award winning sports section. And who gives out these awards?
Guardado is still a Mariner, and boy am I glad we have a top notch closer this year! Seriously, Guardado has been good and lucky in the past, and this year has blown 28% of his save opportunities while putting up good numbers. Next year we will pay him 6.5 million. Having no insider info, I have no doubt we could have come away with a good, though not great, prospect for him.
All in all, the Mariners appear screwed. Instead of clearing payroll and roster spots, we are stuck with overpayed players (franklin, spiezio, winn, Ibanez, and boone) on our roster next year, with no room to add quality free agents. This is the most troubling thing; we already have a nearly complete lineup next year:
lf: Ibanez
cf: Winn
rf: Ichiro
1b: Spiezio
2b: Boone
3b: Leone?
ss: Lopez
c: Olivo
dh: Bucky
This leaves no room to pursue Beltran or J.D. Drew, and only space for one of Glaus, Beltre, and Nomar (moving Lopez to third). And that doesn’t even include Jeremy Reed. We could move Ibanez to first and use Spiezio as the World’s Most Expensive, Yet Worthless Utility Man. But we are supposedly committed to keeping Jolbert Cabrera (I hope for that role only) at 1.5 million next year (says ussmariner). And that doesn’t even get to Bloomquist – please oh please let this mean that he is gone. With Ibanez at first, we have a spot for Jeremy Reed (and a below average outfield defense in a mammoth outfield), but still no room for Beltran or Drew. We also overpay for both Shiggy and Guardado in the pen, and Franklin in the rotation.
If we had moved Winn, we could have pursued Beltran for center and used Ibanez at first and Reed in left, or if we failed, used Ibanez and Reed in the outfield, while also having room for Beltre or Nomar. If we had moved any combination of Guardado, Franklin, Ibanez, or Boone, we would have had a lot of cash to do this and pay Scott Spiezio 3 million to practice guitar in the clubhouse during games. But Bavasi did nothing. Myers will be moved before the year is out, but that doesn’t matter too much – we’re not getting anything good for him, and he’s not signed for next year. The most troubling concern is not that we didn’t dump salary from next years commitments (and the salary saved this year does not get carried into next year's payroll) or pick up some fringe prospects, but that we don’t have room for creativity and serious improvements in the offseason.
I’m sure Boone was tough to deal, and I’m fine keeping him instead of paying him to play elsewhere.
Ibanez, well, he pretty much stinks, but stinks with the minimal degree of left handed power the Mariners love. I didn’t have any expectations of dealing him, and would be fine keeping him and moving him to first if it wasn’t for…
Scott Spiezio, listen up: Your band totally rocks. You have such a large underground following in Seattle and Anaheim, as well as many cities across the globe, that you don’t even know about. You really should consider retiring to pursue Sandfrog full-time – the possibilities are limitless.
Villone. By all accounts (well, by accounts at ussmariner), Bavasi held out for too much for this guy. He is pitching shockingly well, and I think the only people who don’t realize this are the M’s front office, who feel that he really is worth a top prospect.
Randy Winn, now here’s a guy we should have been able to move. David at ussmariner reports Bob Melvin put a stop on a deal for Winn, because he thinks Winn is underrated and likes having him. It has been clear all year that Melvin does not know very much about baseball and the value of players. He should have no say in personell moves.
Franklin – well, there probably was no market for him after absolutely tanking over his last 7 starts, seeing his ERA rise from 4.14 to 5.20. Should have moved him a month ago, but the M’s seem to like him. Of course, the M’s think like Bob Finnigan, who, in a memorable answer to the question, “who do you think will be most improved this year in the Mariners rotation,” replied, “Ryan Franklin, if he gets more offensive help.” How does someone like this get to write for an award winning sports section. And who gives out these awards?
Guardado is still a Mariner, and boy am I glad we have a top notch closer this year! Seriously, Guardado has been good and lucky in the past, and this year has blown 28% of his save opportunities while putting up good numbers. Next year we will pay him 6.5 million. Having no insider info, I have no doubt we could have come away with a good, though not great, prospect for him.
All in all, the Mariners appear screwed. Instead of clearing payroll and roster spots, we are stuck with overpayed players (franklin, spiezio, winn, Ibanez, and boone) on our roster next year, with no room to add quality free agents. This is the most troubling thing; we already have a nearly complete lineup next year:
lf: Ibanez
cf: Winn
rf: Ichiro
1b: Spiezio
2b: Boone
3b: Leone?
ss: Lopez
c: Olivo
dh: Bucky
This leaves no room to pursue Beltran or J.D. Drew, and only space for one of Glaus, Beltre, and Nomar (moving Lopez to third). And that doesn’t even include Jeremy Reed. We could move Ibanez to first and use Spiezio as the World’s Most Expensive, Yet Worthless Utility Man. But we are supposedly committed to keeping Jolbert Cabrera (I hope for that role only) at 1.5 million next year (says ussmariner). And that doesn’t even get to Bloomquist – please oh please let this mean that he is gone. With Ibanez at first, we have a spot for Jeremy Reed (and a below average outfield defense in a mammoth outfield), but still no room for Beltran or Drew. We also overpay for both Shiggy and Guardado in the pen, and Franklin in the rotation.
If we had moved Winn, we could have pursued Beltran for center and used Ibanez at first and Reed in left, or if we failed, used Ibanez and Reed in the outfield, while also having room for Beltre or Nomar. If we had moved any combination of Guardado, Franklin, Ibanez, or Boone, we would have had a lot of cash to do this and pay Scott Spiezio 3 million to practice guitar in the clubhouse during games. But Bavasi did nothing. Myers will be moved before the year is out, but that doesn’t matter too much – we’re not getting anything good for him, and he’s not signed for next year. The most troubling concern is not that we didn’t dump salary from next years commitments (and the salary saved this year does not get carried into next year's payroll) or pick up some fringe prospects, but that we don’t have room for creativity and serious improvements in the offseason.
# posted by Anonymous @ 1:03 PM 
