Category Archives: Mariners

Posts dealing with the Mariners

by | June 21, 2010 · 2:02 pm

The Rebuilding Process, Years 1 & 2

    Year One

Following the disastrous 2008 season, the Mariners blew up the team, hired a new general manager, and eventually a new manager as well. Seattle was officially entering into a commonly used sports cliché, “rebuilding mode.” Jack Zduriencik wasted no time cutting bad contracts, bad draft picks, and basically any dead weight that Bill Bavasi had left behind. Entering the 2009 season, expectations were low, but excitement was building thanks to a new fresh regime. Last year’s team overachieved by most standards, thanks to a terrific record in close games, a reinvigorated team chemistry, and numerous players having career years. Needless to say, the Mariners seemed way ahead of schedule, finishing with an impressive 85-77 record. It felt like the rebuilding process might have come and gone in just 1 year.

    Year Two

Jack Zduriencik followed up the ’09 campaign by shedding the rest of the dead weight, and with new money to spend, Seattle acquired Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley, and a couple other role players. A year after expectations were low and playoff talk was not even on the radar, suddenly the 2010 season began with renewed hope and fans were encouraged to “Believe Big.” We all know how this year has unfolded. The close game fortune from last year is gone, the Griffey reunion lasted a year too long, and instead of career bests from numerous players, we are witnessing career worst performances by many. The rebuilding process we had hoped might last just 1 year is still in process. For a moment, Zduriencik saw a shortcut out of rebuild mode, but that crack was quickly closed. It was a risk worth taking, because legitimate shots at the playoffs don’t come often. A failed attempt, such as what we are seeing unfold, is upsetting, but probably won’t set the team back much. Cliff Lee is sure to be traded shortly, and the package Zduriencik gets in return will likely outweigh the 3 prospects that Seattle sent to the Phillies for Lee, and once the 2010 season is buried, Zduriencik will continue to build.

The bad contracts have been shed, the foundation has been laid, and despite this lost, tumultuous, depressing season, the Mariners are probably still on track to accomplish the long term goals that were set back in November, 2008. The high expectations heading into 2010 can easily distract us from the big picture, and while there is a lot to be frustrated about at the current moment, when looking at the full view, it’s really not that bad given where this team was just 2 years ago.

-Dan

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by | June 15, 2010 · 9:14 pm

Ian Snell DFA’d and Losing Trades

If you’ve followed the Mariners today, you’ve probably heard that Ian Snell has been designated for assignment.  It’s about time.  Ian Snell has been terrible the past couple years and was even worse this year.  Now, he’s gone and Brian Sweeney is up (more on him in a little while).

Ian Snell came over here last Summer in the Jack Wilson-Jeff Clement trade.  It seemed like a good idea at the time; Snell was a young starter who possibly needed a change of scenery and Jack Wilson was the shortstop who was going to captain the world’s best defense.  It hasn’t really worked out, to say the least.  Jack has been hurt more often than not since coming here and Snell has been terrible.  That leads to the obvious, and somewhat annoying, question, “Did the Mariners lose this trade?”  These questions usually rub me the wrong way.  This is because we are fans on the outside and the people who sometimes proclaim the trade as lost don’t know as much about the organization as they should.  Lets take a look at this example:

  • One team received a double-A starter who has a 5.92 ERA in 11 starts this year.  He is running out an 8.4 K/9 innings rate, which is really good but not much else seems to be going for him.
  • The other team received a shortstop who has been starting at the major league level.  This guy is hitting .281 and, although he has one of the worst UZR’s in the league, has a pretty solid fielding percentage.

Which team wins that trade?  Well, obviously the team with the shortstop right?  No.  That shortstop is Yuniesky Betancourt.  This is just one of many examples that show a trade can not be judged by an outsider without organizational knowledge.  The double-A pitcher I refered to above is actually a decent prospect.  His name is Dan Cortes and if he ever gains some control he could be in the majors.  Yuni sucks.  People don’t know these things when looking at stats, they only know them after reading scouting reports and watching them.  I think the Mariners made themselves a better organization by this trade even if Yuni is putting up solid numbers.  Can the same be said with the Royals?  I don’t know.  I don’t know enough about the Royals to make a fair judgement.  My first reaction would to be say no because of my experience with Yuni but that’s not fair to their front office.

So, back to the trade with Pittsburg last summer.  No, the Mariners did not win this trade.  Jack could come back and be a decent contributor this year and next but it’s probably not enough for me to say that this trade made the Mariners a better organization.  But did it make them worse?  Clement is hitting no better than Kotchman, .189, and has been moved out of the starting lineup.  Ronny Cedeno could put up the greatest numbers in the world and I wouldn’t regret trading him away.  Like Carlos Silva and Yuni, Ronny Cedeno wasn’t going to work in Seattle.  So, no I don’t think the Mariners lost this trade.  Clement could suddenly get better, he definitely has the brightest future of all of these players, but it sure doesn’t look like this will happen. 

Maybe no one won that trade.  It’s easy to see where both front offices were coming from in making the move.  So don’t think that this was a terrible move.  Jack Z wasn’t Bill Bavasi bad in this move.  He was just average, which is worse than usual with our GM.  It’s nice to say that.

A few more notes concerning this after the jump.  Continue reading →

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by | June 14, 2010 · 7:37 pm

Wait ‘Til Next Year- Outfield & DH

Since I started this little series, the Mariners looked a little better a couple of times and then lost a bunch a couple of times. At this point, the season’s pretty well over.  USS Mariner just had a good post about 2011, and the gist of it is Dave Cameron counts only 10 positions where the team should have no worries for the 2011 roster.  I’ve come to about the same conclusion through these posts.  The last group to cover is the outfield and designated hitter, half of which is the strength of the offense, but the other half has as much instability as any part of the team.

2011 Outfield

Ichiro

Franklin Gutierrez

Milton Bradley

Michael Saunders

I’m going to go into a little more depth on the minor leaguers this time, or at least until I get bored.

Currently at Triple-A Tacoma:

Greg Halman:  The man with probably the most athletic potential in the system, it’s looking more and more likely he’ll never put it together.  The quick overview: often compared to Alfonso Soriano, Halman has huge power but strikes out at an incredible rate.  A really incredible rate.  He could cut that rate in half and it would still be really high.  Supposedly he’s solid defensively, at least in a corner, but not really a standout there.

Ezequiel Carrera: Came over in the Putz trade, probably a fourth outfielder-type.  Very quick, but doesn’t quite have the game changing speed that might get him a full-time job in the Juan Pierre style.  Solid defensively, as you might expect, and that should get him a reserve job at some point.  Good on-base numbers, but no power, which has prospect watchers worried his OBP will drop when he moves up and faces pitchers who won’t be afraid to throw him strikes.

Mike Wilson:  Former college football linebacker who remains solid muscle.  Similar to Halman in the power and strikeouts area, but on a slightly smaller scale.  Doesn’t hit for much average.  Could probably come up and pop a few while taking a few walks, but it’s doubtful he’ll ever be a regular.  Also has a habit of getting injured a lot.

Other guys in the minors:

Carlos Peguero: Double-A.  Got everyone excited with a monster first month of the season, but has tailed off since.  Again, similar to Halman, tons of power, strikeouts, contact and defense are an issue.  He could pull it together, and the raw power is maybe the best in the system, but he’s still a longshot to ever help the big club.

Dustin Ackley: Double-A.  See the infield edition of this series for more, because he’s currently playing 2B, and will likely stay there.  Mostly thought of as an outfielder when drafted though, so he might end up back there if that’s where he’s needed.  Unlikely though.

Potential Losses

Ryan Langerhans: I assume he’s out of options or free agency eligible, but not a big deal either way.

Milton Bradley:  He’s signed for next year, but if he slumps in the second half, I could see the team releasing him and eating his salary.

2011 Designated Hitter

Milton Bradley

I won’t go through the trouble of listing a bunch of guys here, because it could be anyone.  See the Everidge, Nelson, Carp 1B group from the infield post especially.  There aren’t any great options here though, outside of Bradley.  Someone could surprise, but there’s no legitimately huge bat knocking at the door.

Potential Losses

Mike Sweeney

Analysis

Ichiro and Franklin are obviously the offensive/defensive strength of the team right now and will continue to be so.  A lot will depend on what Bradley and Saunders do the rest of this season.  I’m sure the Mariners would love to have them starting next year at DH and left, respectively.  I wouldn’t be totally surprised if that happens, either.  Saunders is showing flashes.  His story wouldn’t be the first of a talented but not elite prospect struggling mightily and then putting it together over the next couple of seasons.  It’s hard to say what his upside would be at this point.  He reminds me of Shin-soo Choo, both in career path and the skillset he offers.  I’d say he’s definitely worthy of a near-regular role the rest of the season, unless the Mariners can get a really high level outfield prospect for Lee or something.

Everyone kind of knows where Bradley stands.  Personally, I don’t think he’s done and I see him improving throughout this year after that horrendous start.  If that happens, he’s a good option for DH or left, preferably DH.  Whatever the case with those two, the Mariners have to find a big power bat for either first, DH, or left.  Maybe it’s a young blue chip prospect, or maybe they go all in after a Prince Fielder type.  I’ll leave that up to Jack Zduriencik to figure out.  But with this team’s current make-up, I don’t think they can win anything without a true middle of the order bat at one of those spots.

-Matthew

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by | June 9, 2010 · 12:00 pm

An Open Letter to Mark Lowe

Dear Mark,

Let me start off by apologizing.  For the past few years I’d been under the impression that you were just another bullpen guy.  Even after you established yourself as a great setup man last year, I still saw you as interchangeable.  I’d think, “Just give me another guy who throws hard and then we might be able to trade Lowe for a valuable prospect.”  At times I would openly question Wak’s decision to bring you in.  Going into this year, I thought you would be surpassed by League and Kelley.  I’m sorry for questioning your ability.  Sometimes even the geeky baseball fans get it wrong.

You’ve had a pretty interesting career.  Watching you jump onto the scene, get injured, become dominant, and then get injured again has been somewhat frustrating but also has brought some good times.  When you first came up you would blow people away with your fastball and then make their knees buckle with that filthy slider.  Having you and Rafael Soriano as our bullpen future was a cause for optimism in down years for the Mariners.  Of course, the front office screwed the whole Soriano thing up but we don’t talk about that.  Then you went on the shelf and no one really knew if you’d come back with the same authority.  But, you did. 

There were many explanations as to why the Mariners were so good in one-run games last year.  Luck, Aardsma, and great defense were just some of the reasons thrown out there.  People might mention your name but they’d hardly give you the credit you deserved.  This year we’ve watched the Mariners stumble through their miserable May and June, losing one-run game after one-run game, without you.  We both know the offense sucks, you have to watch it in person every day and for that I apologize again.  We both know some of your bullpen mates have been awful.  But, if you were there maybe this season would have been a little easier on us all.  Maybe we wouldn’t have blown 8th inning leads.  Heck, maybe you’d be our closer by now.  Now I see that you were one of the key ingredients in our winning formula last year. 

All this to say, it sure would be nice to have you back Mark.  You’ve got this weird nerve problem that no one seems to know about and it’s keeping you out of action.  Hopefully, you wake up tomorrow and it’s gone but I’m not holding my breath.  And please don’t let this all go to your head.  You aren’t going to save the season.  No one is.   I just miss last year.  I don’t like not knowing who’s going to come in to shut the door in the 8th inning.  Kelley can’t get the job done in the last week.  League has had one of the weirdest seasons I’ve ever seen from a bullpen guy.  And I don’t even want to talk about White. 

So, get well soon Mr. Lowe.  I look forward to seeing you pitch again.  Don’t worry if you screw up because us fans are used to that by now.  This injury has really hurt the team but because of it, I now see your worth. 

Sincerely,

Andrew

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by | June 8, 2010 · 10:09 pm

Mariners’ Draft Concensus: Good Day!

While it was an ugly day on the field for our baseball team, it was dubbed a good day on the draft front.  I’m not going to pretend to know a ton about the MLB draft.  I started following it last year and have gained some knowledge but not near as much as other websites such as Pro Ball Northwest.  Over the last two years it’s started to grab my interest though.  I like following it as much as I like the NBA or NFL drafts, maybe because I like baseball more. 

As Matthew noted, the Mariners took a small gamble with their first round pick in RHP Taijuan Walker.  For the record, I like the pick.  It makes sense to me, especially when you put it into context with some of the picks today.  Yes, there’s not much buzz about Walker but this was the 43rd pick.  It’s not like we were drafting in the top 10 (we might next year, with the way this season is going).  This wasn’t a strong draft either.

Anyway, here’s a few highlights from today:

  • In the 2nd round (67th pick), we selected Marcus Littlewood.  Many people thought this is where the Mariners would go with their first round pick.  Using basic logic, it’s nice that the Mariners got this guy in the second round when many people thought we’d take him in the first.  Littlewood is a switch-hitting shortstop but most scouts don’t think he has the range to stay there long-term.  I read a few accounts of him having slow feet.  With that being said, he has great hands and great instincts that can make up for being a bit slow.  As far as hitting goes,  Baseball America has him pegged as a .270 hitter with limited power.  10-20 home runs a year should be expected.  Many people feel as if Littlewood was a steal at 67 and most feel as if he’ll be a major league contributor (maybe as a utility guy) at some point in his career.  He doesn’t have star power but he’s solid.
  • In the 3rd round the M’s nabbed Rybe Stanek.  Most draft services had Stanek rated higher than Walker, but Walker had a higher ceiling.  Stanek is said to be a solid Arkansas commit, so we’ll have to buy him out of that.  Since the first two picks won’t break the bank by any means I’m not extremely worried about this.  Stanek is more developed than Walker with cleaner mechanics and a mid-90’s fastball.  He’s already 6’4” and is expected to grow a little more.  The Mariners drafted some really tall people.  If you can’t beat people on the field you might as well beat them in height!  This was a great pick, especially if you were a fan of the Walker pick.
  • The 4th round brought a pleasant surprise.  LHP James Paxton was selected as the 132nd pick.  Really, this is maybe the best pick of the Mariners draft if they can sign him.  Paxton was drafted last year by Toronto in the supplemental round (the round between the 1st and 2nd) last year but they failed to sign him.  Before he was drafted he pitched for the University of Kentucky and was electric.  This year he’s pitched in the independent league and reports have shown more of the same.  His fastball is 91-94 and can reach up to 97 and has a plus curveball to go with it.  He has struggled with a few injuries over his career but our organization has handled young pitchers with injuries pretty well recently (Michael Pineda for instance).  Pro Ball NW say that if Paxton signs he is put into our top 10 prospect list right away.  This is great news for an organization that doesn’t have quality pitching depth. 
  • Stephen Pryor was selected in the 5th round.  He goes to the same college, Tennessee Tech, as my cousin so that’s kind of exciting.  Pryor might move faster than any of this years draftees because he projects as a late inning reliever.  He’s a big right-hander with a fastball that can reach triple digits.  The organization may start him in the rotation but expect him to be in the bullpen if he ever makes the big club.
  • In rounds 6-8 the Mariners grabbed a few position players.  Round 6 brought us catcher Christian Carmichael.  He’s a defensive-first player who’s a switch-hitter.  No one is overly excited about him, as he generally projects to be a backup.  In round 7 the Mariners got Maguire Wiswall, who has the best name of all the draftees.  He’s a first baseman out of Boston College.  I heard someone compare him to Adam Laroche with a little less power.  Jabari Blash (another sweet name) was picked in the 8th round.  He’s an outfielder who has shown great potential but is very raw.  He’s a big boy who needs to hit for power if he wants to make the show.
  • Round 9 brought us our first local product of the draft, RHP Luke Taylor.  Another tall pitcher, 6’6″, who is said to have great mechanics.  Taylor is thought to be a strong commit to Hawaii but maybe the local ties and the money will help persuade him to sign.  In round 10 the M’s selected another pitcher who may move fast through the system in route to the bullpen.  Tyler Burgoon is a right-hander from Michigan with low 90’s fastball and an above-average slider.

The Mariners went on for another 20 rounds after these picks but I’m sure some of you have lost interest already.  All in all, it was a good draft day.  The Mariners selected 20 pitchers out of the 30 picks which will help fill the void that prior GM’s left Jack Z with.  Tomorrow we have Day 3 of the draft which will be rounds 30-50.  While that may not be very interesting, it might be more enjoyable than watching an Ian Snell start.  My goodness, Snell is bad.  Thanks for reading!

Andrew

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by | June 7, 2010 · 8:55 pm

M’s Draft Taijuan Walker

The MLB draft was today, and with their first pick, the Mariners selected RHP high schooler Taijaun Walker.  Due to signing Chone Figgins, the Mariners didn’t have a first round pick and selected Walker with the #43 overall.  I hadn’t followed the draft buildup too closely this year since the M’s didn’t have a high pick, but there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have known about Walker if I had.

He’s an extremely athletic pitcher out of California, who throws in the low- to mid-90s currently.  His off-speed stuff and command are spotty at best currently.  He’s 6′ 5″ 200 lbs and apparently a basketball star.  He spent most of his junior year at shortstop but wasn’t really a prospect there.  He showed flashes of big potential at times this year, which is why he was drafted, but wasn’t consistent enough to go higher or even really to be ranked near the top 43 players by most.  Lookout Landing has a better write-up with some compiled scouting reports here.  Larry Stone also has a bit at the Times, with surely more to come.

A lot of peope commenting on the local blogs are unhappy with this pick, and I won’t say they’re wrong, or that it’s a great pick.  I personally have no idea if Walker is any good or if he’ll ever do anything.  Chances are he won’t.  But the chances that he’ll never reach the majors are not much higher than they would be for most guys they could have taken at that spot.  It sounds like they went for a potentially high-level arm who, if he makes it, could be a top of the rotation starter a ways down the road.  That would fill a huge need in the organization.  The chances are greater that he fails or ends up in the bullpen or something.

I do have much more faith in the Mariners scouting department to make this pick than just about any one writing on a Mariner blog.  There are certainly some very knowledgeable writers around, and Jason Churchill at Prospect Insider does a lot of work for ESPN, so he’s something of an exception.  Most of the rest that will weigh in on this pick have seen some video of Walker at best, and at worst have read some scouting reports.  Again, that doesn’t necessarily make them wrong.  It could turn out to be a bad pick.  Many preferred other players they knew more about, and that’s understandable.  But really, very few people know anything about Taijuan Walker, so there’s not much to do except hope the Mariners saw something special in him and can develop that.

Rounds 2-30 are tomorrow, with the 31-50 on Wednesday.  It’s not as much fun to follow as the other sports’ drafts, but there are a lot of players and any number of them could be Mariners in the next few years.  We’ll try to at least direct you to some reviewers who know a little more and give some names to watch.  The Mariners need impact help everywhere, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them keep taking chances in a fairly weak draft.

-Matthew

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by | June 3, 2010 · 10:53 am

Best Griffey Story Yet

Leave it to Jeff Sullivan to write the best Griffey piece, enjoy.

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by | June 3, 2010 · 12:10 am

Wrapping up the Day

I’m exhausted.  At 4 o’clock today I was headed back from a movie with my brother and it was just a normal day.  Now, it’s close to midnight and one of the most mentally draining baseball days I can remember.  I know, getting wrapped up in sports to the point where it makes you tired could be considered dumb.  I’m sure that’s what my mother, and countless other humans, would say but sports do that to me.  The day Locker decided to stay and Lee rumors started to fly was tiring.  The Huskies basketball team was exhausting for many reasons all year.  And it’s hard for me to come away from a home Husky football game without being a little drained.  This day may have trumped all of those experiences though.  Lets take a look at what all happened:

  • At 4:22 UW recruit, Cody Kessler, committed to USC.  He is a highly rated quarterback and it wasn’t very surprising to see him pick the Trojans.  He was a USC guy all the way and it’s nice to see kids go with the school they’ve always dreamed of going to.  It would have been nice to have him but, oh well.
  • At 4:36 I received a text from Joe that read, “Just read that Griffey is retiring today.”  Confirmation came a few minutes later. 
  • Around 5:30 I watched Armando Galarraga get screwed.
  • At 6 I watched the Top 10 Griffey Moments on FSN.  I’d seen this several times but, needless to say, this time was different.  This time I knew there wouldn’t be any moments to add to this list.
  • At 6:30 I watched That 70’s Show.  It’s the greatest show ever and was needed to take the edge off.
  • At 7:00 I turned on the Mariners and watched them win their first extra-inning game of the season. 

That’s a busy schedule and I think a justifiable reason for the exhaustion (along with still being tired from Sasquatch! Music Festival). 

Thoughts on these events after the jump. Continue reading →

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