Wednesday, August 11, 2004
As if this season, the most disappointing in Seattle Mariners history, weren't already bad enough, Tuesday was one of the worst single days in the history of the franchise. Not one, but two of the top pitchers on the team, were found to need surgery and will be out for the rest of the year and much longer.
Right-hander Rafael Soriano, who hadn't pitched since May 9th, has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and will need Tommy John surgery, putting him out of action for 12 to 18 months. His earliest return date would be spring training of 2006. Lefty closer Eddie Guardado, who went on the DL on August 1st, has a torn rotator cuff and he'll also need surgery, putting him out of action for 8 to 12 months. He could possibly return sometime in 2005 or could miss the whole '05 season.
The worst part of this for the M's is that they're on the hook for Guardado's contract for two more seasons, at a minimum of another $9 million. Just two weeks or so ago there were multiple trade offers on the table for Guardado and the M's might well have been able to acquire a package of players close to what they got from Chicago for Freddy Garcia. Instead they get no prospects, they'll pay Guardado not to pitch and the team's decision on what they do for a closer could have a major impact on whether this team is able to contend in 2005.
The Mariners can either go with one of the kids (Putz, Nageotte, Madritsch, Sherrill, Gil Meche, Felix Hernandez even?) as next year's closer and hope they catch lightning in a bottle or they could sign one of the veteran closers on the free agent market. Add one more huge hole for the club to fill this winter (and a few million dollars less to fill the holes)... While everyone (including me) is mapping out the road to the M's contending in 2005, picking out potential free agents (Beltran? Beltre? Ordonez? Garciaparra? Sexson?) we could sign with all of the team's riches, today's news has to make it less likely that any of those players will want to sign here as a free agent -- since it makes it less likely that the 2005 Seattle Mariners can be a contending team.
As I've said before the M's really blew it last year when they didn't sign Tejada or Pudge, guys that would have signed here. Because of the ballpark we have, most free agent hitters won't want to come here unless we overpay (fat chance of that). Now there's another reason -- the team stinks and might not be contending in '05...
Not trading Guardado when his value was high will go down as another in a long line of stupid moves by GM Bill Bavasi. Seattle was seriously in need of position player prospects and got well in a hurry in that area due to the Garcia deal, but they needed more. I wrote in the July issue of The Grand Salami that the Garcia deal was just the beginning, that there were several more players with value that Bavasi could and should move before the July 31 deadline and that the M's could acquire a nice harvest of prospects in the process. To look at things now, little more than a month later and see that the only players traded were Dave Hansen and Mike Myers and all the team got was one low level prospect who's unlikely to ever reach the major leagues is beyond disappointing.
To pass up the opportunity to cash in Guardado for prospects in the middle of his best major league season and find him on the shelf two weeks later for an extended period has to be a devastating blow for this organization. This is a pitcher that's been in the big leagues more than ten seasons; there's a lot of mileage on him. It's not like the organization and the community had any sort of emotional attachment to Eddie Guardado -- he was just signed in December. Seattle needed to do what Texas did last year. They signed Ugueth Urbina to a one-year, below market deal ($4 million a year) . When they didn't contend, they flipped him at the deadline to the Marlins for a package of prospects, including 1B Adrian Gonzalez, the first player picked in the 2000 draft. Gonzalez is a pretty fine prospect, one the M's and their fans would drool over. Don't you think that Seattle could have gotten a better package of young players for Guardado, who was signed for two more years, than the Rangers got for Urbina, a rent-a-player????
Right-hander Rafael Soriano, who hadn't pitched since May 9th, has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and will need Tommy John surgery, putting him out of action for 12 to 18 months. His earliest return date would be spring training of 2006. Lefty closer Eddie Guardado, who went on the DL on August 1st, has a torn rotator cuff and he'll also need surgery, putting him out of action for 8 to 12 months. He could possibly return sometime in 2005 or could miss the whole '05 season.
The worst part of this for the M's is that they're on the hook for Guardado's contract for two more seasons, at a minimum of another $9 million. Just two weeks or so ago there were multiple trade offers on the table for Guardado and the M's might well have been able to acquire a package of players close to what they got from Chicago for Freddy Garcia. Instead they get no prospects, they'll pay Guardado not to pitch and the team's decision on what they do for a closer could have a major impact on whether this team is able to contend in 2005.
The Mariners can either go with one of the kids (Putz, Nageotte, Madritsch, Sherrill, Gil Meche, Felix Hernandez even?) as next year's closer and hope they catch lightning in a bottle or they could sign one of the veteran closers on the free agent market. Add one more huge hole for the club to fill this winter (and a few million dollars less to fill the holes)... While everyone (including me) is mapping out the road to the M's contending in 2005, picking out potential free agents (Beltran? Beltre? Ordonez? Garciaparra? Sexson?) we could sign with all of the team's riches, today's news has to make it less likely that any of those players will want to sign here as a free agent -- since it makes it less likely that the 2005 Seattle Mariners can be a contending team.
As I've said before the M's really blew it last year when they didn't sign Tejada or Pudge, guys that would have signed here. Because of the ballpark we have, most free agent hitters won't want to come here unless we overpay (fat chance of that). Now there's another reason -- the team stinks and might not be contending in '05...
Not trading Guardado when his value was high will go down as another in a long line of stupid moves by GM Bill Bavasi. Seattle was seriously in need of position player prospects and got well in a hurry in that area due to the Garcia deal, but they needed more. I wrote in the July issue of The Grand Salami that the Garcia deal was just the beginning, that there were several more players with value that Bavasi could and should move before the July 31 deadline and that the M's could acquire a nice harvest of prospects in the process. To look at things now, little more than a month later and see that the only players traded were Dave Hansen and Mike Myers and all the team got was one low level prospect who's unlikely to ever reach the major leagues is beyond disappointing.
To pass up the opportunity to cash in Guardado for prospects in the middle of his best major league season and find him on the shelf two weeks later for an extended period has to be a devastating blow for this organization. This is a pitcher that's been in the big leagues more than ten seasons; there's a lot of mileage on him. It's not like the organization and the community had any sort of emotional attachment to Eddie Guardado -- he was just signed in December. Seattle needed to do what Texas did last year. They signed Ugueth Urbina to a one-year, below market deal ($4 million a year) . When they didn't contend, they flipped him at the deadline to the Marlins for a package of prospects, including 1B Adrian Gonzalez, the first player picked in the 2000 draft. Gonzalez is a pretty fine prospect, one the M's and their fans would drool over. Don't you think that Seattle could have gotten a better package of young players for Guardado, who was signed for two more years, than the Rangers got for Urbina, a rent-a-player????
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
I'm with you Bill. I nearly drove off the road yesterday when our idiot general manager Bill Bavasi called Edgar a "first ballot Hall of Famer". He's a marginal Hall of Famer at best. I am so sick and tired of hearing everyone in this town call him a no brainer Hall of Famer -- these people don't seem to realize that the Hall of Fame is not voted on solely by latte drinking Seattleites. 98% of the voters are from outside Seattle in fact.
And then to hear Howard Lincoln at the press conference -- "I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure Edgar makes the Hall of Fame". What's Howie gonna do, bribe some of the voters? What exactly can a team do to get a player in the Hall? Maybe you should put more of your efforts into trying to get your last place team back into the playoffs and get some fannies back in the seats at Safeco Field...
Kudos to Mitch Levy at KJR AM 950 for having several of the writers that actually vote for the Hall of Fame on his show this morning. and discussing the case for Edgar. Most of them said that they either would not vote for Edgar for the Hall or that they wouldn't vote for him at the beginning of his eligibility and would consider him later. One guy, the Phillies beat writer from Philadelphia, said "How can a guy be a Hall of Famer when he has to sit the bench when his team comes to a National League ballpark, that he's not even capable of playing a position?"
I only wish you were right about the game selling out tonight, Bill, but it's pretty likely that we're still going to have 20,000 empty seats at the Safe tonight. But don't worry bout them having any of those leftover giveaway bears -- they're only giving them out to the first 15,000 kids...
And then to hear Howard Lincoln at the press conference -- "I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure Edgar makes the Hall of Fame". What's Howie gonna do, bribe some of the voters? What exactly can a team do to get a player in the Hall? Maybe you should put more of your efforts into trying to get your last place team back into the playoffs and get some fannies back in the seats at Safeco Field...
Kudos to Mitch Levy at KJR AM 950 for having several of the writers that actually vote for the Hall of Fame on his show this morning. and discussing the case for Edgar. Most of them said that they either would not vote for Edgar for the Hall or that they wouldn't vote for him at the beginning of his eligibility and would consider him later. One guy, the Phillies beat writer from Philadelphia, said "How can a guy be a Hall of Famer when he has to sit the bench when his team comes to a National League ballpark, that he's not even capable of playing a position?"
I only wish you were right about the game selling out tonight, Bill, but it's pretty likely that we're still going to have 20,000 empty seats at the Safe tonight. But don't worry bout them having any of those leftover giveaway bears -- they're only giving them out to the first 15,000 kids...
Monday, August 09, 2004
Edgar Martinez will hold a press conference at Safeco Field today at 2:30 PM and the Mariners have said it is a "major announcement". Edgar was a great player in his day but he should have retired after the 2003 season. I hope he'll at least stick around for this homestand so the fans can say their goodbyes. Then the club can call up A.J. Zapp and we can get a chance to see what he can do. Now if only that useless pile of crap Scott Spiezio would retire too -- that'd be great!
2004 Statistics
Edgar: 8 HR's in 333 AB's.
Bucky: 6 HR's in 71 AB's.
2004 Statistics
Edgar: 8 HR's in 333 AB's.
Bucky: 6 HR's in 71 AB's.
Saturday, August 07, 2004
Last night Toronto traded Josh Phelps to Cleveland for a minor league first baseman. While I'm not 100% convinced that the Mariners should have gotten involved because Phelps is a1B/DH type and we have Bucky there and because he's likely to be arbitration eligible (as a Super Two) in the winter, Phelps makes $342,000 this year and had to clear waivers past the Mariners in order to be dealt to Cleveland. Phelps was having a bit of an off year for him but still had 12 HR's and 51 RBI in 295 AB's (admittedly 4 of the HRs and 17 of the RBI came against Seattle, he had 8 RBI vs. TB and didn't have more than 4 RBI against any other team). Coming into the '04 season Phelps had a .497 slugging pctg and had hit 35 HRs in 674 career AB's. Not bad for his first two years in the league. If only Phelps could still catch (he came up originally as a catcher), this would have been a no-brainer -- next year's catching tandem of Olivo and Phelps would have been awesome -- and would have spelled the end of Dan Wilson...
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Amazingly enough, the marginal prospect we got from San Diego on Friday for Dave Hansen, Jon Huber, pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings last nigh for Class A Inland Empire, striking out ten! If only they'd traded Randy Winn -- now that would get me excited...
Monday, August 02, 2004
I'd say with Guardado going on the DL today (Matt Thornton up from Tacoma to fill his roster spot), the move the Mariners really need to make now is to put Gil Meche in the closer's role. If Rafael Soriano were ready to pitch now, having him close is probably what the team would do, but since he's a couple of weeks away, I think Meche is the best choice. The way he's pitched this season he's likely to be non-tendered in December (since players don't get pay cuts, he'll get at least the $1.95 million he got this year in aribration).
There's been plenty of failed starters (Eric Gagne for one) who've thrived in the closer's role, where they don't have to pace themselves, don't have to deal with facing the same hitters 3 or 4 times a game and they can just rare back and throw the heat. Meche has a 95 MPH fastball.
Seriously, what do the M's have to lose? If Meche shows that he can do the job, they won't have to non-tender him and they can deal Guardado in August or in the off-season.
Making Meche the closer is a daring move, the kind this organization isn't known for, but for once let's see them start to think ahead. Knowing that they're gonna toss Meche aside in the winter for nothing (since he apparently has no trade value), if they can put him in a new role where he can succeed and be a part of the team's success the next couple of years, where's the harm???
There's been plenty of failed starters (Eric Gagne for one) who've thrived in the closer's role, where they don't have to pace themselves, don't have to deal with facing the same hitters 3 or 4 times a game and they can just rare back and throw the heat. Meche has a 95 MPH fastball.
Seriously, what do the M's have to lose? If Meche shows that he can do the job, they won't have to non-tender him and they can deal Guardado in August or in the off-season.
Making Meche the closer is a daring move, the kind this organization isn't known for, but for once let's see them start to think ahead. Knowing that they're gonna toss Meche aside in the winter for nothing (since he apparently has no trade value), if they can put him in a new role where he can succeed and be a part of the team's success the next couple of years, where's the harm???
