Picking up from this thread: http://seattlesportsinsider.com/news/bat-first-shortstops

Also bouncing off the SI story, which should be read, but I think might emphasize the defense stuff (as the "flavor of the month") a little more than Z and Blengino actually do: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1166492/index...

One key quote from Blengino:

The Seattle front office's decision to focus on defense last winter was a pragmatic reaction to the market. "We had to figure out what we could do to get good quickly," says Blengino, 46, a former CPA who began as assistant director of amateur scouting under Zduriencik in Milwaukee. "You can't just putter around and be mediocre at everything. You have to find your soul as a club. And here, with Felix Hernandez at the top of the rotation and playing our games in Safeco Field, one of the biggest ballparks in the majors, we felt that given the relative availability of defensive players as opposed to offensive players, focusing on defense was a way that could pay dividends."

And other key quotes from Blengino and Z:

"Defense might be the new OBP," says Blengino, "but at some point it's going to be something else that will be underappreciated. It may be something that has nothing to do with the statistical perspective. A team that figures out how to get 250 innings out of a starter, for example, is going to have a huge advantage. Who knows what the next inefficiency in the marketplace is going to be."

But the shift hasn't happened yet. The defensive revolution is still young. And the Mariners will ride the wave as long as they can. "We're not smarter than anyone else, I can promise you that," says Zduriencik. "But I can promise that we'll always be trying to find that edge. We'll always try to be a step ahead."

So, a couple of things:

-- They view defense as ONE form of "new moneyball" and, particularly, the easiest way to "get good quickly."

-- They do not view defense as THE ONLY form of "new moneyball" and they will "always try to be a step ahead."

Seems to me that:

-- They emphasized defense to "get good quickly" IN SAFECO (Blengino always talks about how they want to fit the park), but also . . .

-- Overall, I think they are most interested in "pitcher-calming-defense," and they will look to offense once they make sure there are no disasters out there. They don't want pitchers pitching scared.

And also:

-- "Defense Moneyball" is obviously enough above the radar that it gets the big SI spread, but . . .

-- "Psychology Moneyball" is clearly part of the plan: find guys who were "outside the comfort zone" and try to get them back in a "comfort zone" (Snell, clearly; Kotchman, from Z's comments when he came in; maybe Cordero -- though Doc views him as never having been good in the first place)

-- "Fitness Moneyball" is the Dr. Elliot plan: find guys who have been training wrong and get them right.

-- and probably several more that we haven't picked up on yet