FLIP: Me? I'm hoping that Griffey gives a nod to the organization that he'd like to come back in a non-playing capacity. Make him a hitting coach...
CHOP: Precious few inner-circle HOF'ers will condescend to make the kind of money that ML coaches make ... and in addition, Griffey has to talk his wifey into being gone for one more year in the sun... a much easier sell if it is from the standpoint of finishing a glorious career at 650 homers...
That said, John Wetteland's heroic cameo in the bullpen has paved the way for this one.
IFF Ken Griffey Jr. feels like he's disappointing himself at the plate, and he himself decides to retire, then this might be less far-fetched than we'd think.
Would love to ask Junior the question. After he'd retired, that is.
This pepper-chop serves for the appetizer in a Sandy-Raleigh roster plan that revolves around the question of, "Do you spend 2010 giving 300+ AB's to a number of your blue-chippers, to see what you've got?"
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FLIP: Sweeney, IMO, is the smarter returnee, because he showed he can handle the righty-killing aspects of Safeco and it's proven to be much harder to find right-hand bats who can produce in Safeco.
CHOP: From a performance standpoint, there's not much argument against Sweeney at all. He justifies the coach-on-the-bench locker by doubling as the M's best hitter, next to Ichiro, in the second half.
Griffey's a sentimental, intangibles, returnee, who probably won't hurt the club. But Sweeney is a sensible bench player even without the leadership.
2-for-2 from NC :- )
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FLIP: Hopefully, if Z makes any trades this off-season, I'm hoping he adds some MI prospects so the club can hopefully avoid the string of disasters it had at short in 2009.
CHOP: Ya, this is the 'invisible' part of the GM's job that fans overlook when kibitzing roster moves -- the stoploss.
When GM's get into back alleys with sucking chest wounds at tough positions -- 3b, SS, #5 SP -- sometimes they can't even get a decent minor leaguer in there. It's humiliating. Many GM's moves, such as Chris Shelton, have to be viewed in this light.
Zduriencik stretched quite a ways to deal with the SS embarrassment -- but Jack Wilson may be stretching too far.
Am sure Sandy is 3-for-3 again. Capt Jack has got to be wide-eyed and panicky over the SS situation that he inherited (I certainly would be). Paying $8M for a 65 OPS+ shortstop would be an awfully lazy 'solution' to this plan, if you ask me.
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FLIP: The Ms stand at perhaps the hardest point on the rebuilding timeline. You're a .500 team that "feels" close enough to compete immediately.
But, you have prospects that are poised to slide into open roster slots. Do you resist the urge to go for the quick fix and kill your development program via trade or free agency, or do you roll the dice that the talent you're developing is ultimately going to be worth the growing pains.
You've gotta make that choice KNOWING that it is likely that the growing pains may well cost you a shot at the post-season in 2009 that you might be able to achieve with a quick-fix veteran.
CHOP: This is the third-order thinking for which San-Man gets the we're-not-worthy bows. He's looking at the second derivative of speed here, change in acceleration. At what point in the climb do you dump fuel and trade rocket boosters for maneuverability? :- ) Armed with the awareness that this is your decision point, you can make a delicate judgment as to where you think you are -- 40% chance, 60% chance, whatever, of challenging.
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But I would take the other side on two minor points here: I think that the Mariners could attempt to contend even if they went with the 'rebuild' mode above.
Suppose that Morrow pulls a Kerry Wood?
Or, as we've heard :- ) isn't Ian "best stuff of the last 5 years" Snell even more likely to do so? Can't we ask Jack to come up with a 110-OPS+ Scutaro or Hatteberg-type or two on the open market? Billy Beane does this every year. Suppose Zduriencik finds two Scrubs who actually hit?
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Reversing the dilemma, if you do play for 2009 -- if you flip (say) Tui and Carp for immediate help, to me that doesn't flush any kind of influx later. You've got Ackley, you've got Triunfel, you've got a bunch of guys. No two or three minor leaguers 'are your future' -- not that Sandy's claiming that they are.
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