My Plea to Sign Vladimir Guerrero

For the second year in a row, Vladimir Guerrero is un-signed in late January, and his options to be a full time DH are vanishing quicker than a Mariners lead. Recently it seemed as though the Rays or Rangers would sign Vladdy, but then Texas signed Beltre, forcing Young to DH, and the Rays signed Damon and Ramirez. The Orioles appear to have some interest, but even they are pretty set with Luke Scott at DH and Felix Pie in LF. I know the Mariners signed Jack Cust to DH, and he is a horrible defender, but there’s just something weird about Jack Cust being the reason you don’t pursue Vladimir Guerrero. The fact is the Mariners have the worst offense in baseball, and they have not done much to improve it this off season. So how do you not seriously consider Guerrero, especially if he is willing to come on a 1 year incentive laden contract?

Okay so now comes the concern about a right handed pull hitter playing at Safeco. We’ve heard this before, but Vlady is the exception. In fact, stats show that he loves Safeco. In 55 games, he has a .350 average and a 1.011 OPS. And his 13 HR at Safeco rank 2nd most for any visiting stadium in his career. What about his health? His legs are pretty much useless, and he should not play an inning in the field, but Guerrero has played at least 100 games in 13 consecutive seasons. I know he will play 2011 at age 35, but has everyone forgotten that last year he batted .300 with 29 HR and 115 RBI? Even if those numbers regress to something like 20/75, the Mariners would welcome those numbers.

Seattle missed a chance to grab Guerrero last year, and instead another AL West foe benefited. This guy is a Mariner killer, always has been. All the more reason to bring him in. Please, Jack, hear my plea.

-Dan