=== Sweetness In Seattle, Dept. ===

Geoff Baker with a tremendous job, as usual, of asking the right people the right questions. 

Here's a great example of the value of the fact-finding sector trumping that of our logic-and-speculation sector. :- )  We could have argued all winter about what the logic of the trade was.  Baker found out what it was.

Geoffy doesn't get enough credit.  His is the most valuable website in cyber-Seattle, and one of the best baseball columns I've ever seen.  Few beat writers combine expert-level knowledge, an on-field background, with access, and feel for what is most important. 

Frank Hughes was real good with the Sonics.  Kevin Calabro is world class.  John Clayton was epic.  Baker is close to as good as Clayton was in his early years, and even better than Hughes was, because more willing to go no-holds-barred in public.

He's also courageous, both with fans and with the Mariners.  It's tough for a guy with access to uncompromisingly release his info, and a credit to Zduriencik that he does not take offense to this.  That's a tough line for Baker to walk.  He's been doing it, and Zduriencik has not knocked him off the high wire for it.

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=== I Wanted League.  So Sue Me, Dept. ===

Capt Jack freely confirmed that the Morrow trade was not linked, and that in fact the Morrow-League deal was on the table long before Cliff Lee fell into his lap.

.............

Under varying degrees of insistence from Baker, Zduriencik acknowledged that:

1.  Morrow will start in Toronto

2.  League will relieve in Seattle

3.  Morrow's spot in the rotation was iffy in Seattle

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=== Best Athlete Available, Dept. ===

He characterized the trade as talent-for-talent -- read, a special arm for a special arm.  

This keeps the idea of the "talent pyramid" in view.  It's a variation on "draft the best player available."  SP value vs RP value is one variable, but so is the variable of "get the best guys on your team."

This is a paradigm that differs from the $/WAR SP vs $/WAR RP paradigm.  It puts "paid" to the ticket that says that one can calculate "correct" trades off Fangraphs data -- but then, so did the Lee trade.  Aumont by himself is going to provide more win value than Lee and his draft picks.

That's fine.  A President wants to be fully aware of what the world looks like through six different pairs of 3-D glasses.  He doesn't want to be ignorant of any of them.  Neither does he want to be encumbered by any of them.  Zduriencik's mastery of baseball transcends $/WAR calculation.  I approve of this.

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=== Yer Needed One Sometime, Dept. ===

KRod, Papelbon, Rivera, even the great setup relievers, the championship ballclubs have those.

The Xmas present for M's fans, here, is a 98-mph, Daimajin-fork tornado who will very likely be the M's key relief ace when they win the pennant.  A great relief ace is one of a champion's five or six most important commodities.

The superstar closers make loonnnnnng green.

................

Capt Jack obviously sees League as a special relief pitcher.  Maybe yer should re-think Brandon League?  (Not you, Taro-nator.)

Baker asked Zduriencik the question you did.  Why not get League for less?  Capt Jack's answer:  you couldn't get League for less.  He's a special pitcher.  You had to give them a special pitcher.

Hope that gila-monster interview didn't cost Geoffy access time.  :- )  What a great job.

BABVA,

Dr D