Moshing off Geoff Baker Live! last night.

.

=== Kanekoa Texeira a Mariner! ===

Baker puts the exclam on it, saying it's a done deal.  With 12 men there isn't even any discussion left about it; with 11 pitchers, it would be between Tex, White, and the long man, with Tex the least likely to be cut.

So, here's a cool addition to a cool team.  Go baby.

.

=== Fister vs Vargas ===

Reportedly, Luke French is not in consideration for the #5 slot at this time.  Olson barely ever was, and now is not in the discussion.

By the way, after those 4, next in line as of March 7 was Yusmeiro Petit.  Since released.  SSI modestly calls attention to its 97-mph backwards K on the Petit scenario.

So we started with it being mostly Fister vs Vargas, and now it's completely Fister vs Vargas, or so Baker impresses.

"The Mariners would prefer for Fister to win the job, since he's right-handed, but if Vargas continues to outpitch him, Vargas is going to win the job."  Which is a glacier-water-clear view of the situation over these last ten days.  It's Fister's job to lose, but if Vargas' ERA is 3 and Fister's 7, then invert it.

Here, let's bullet this out:

1. Felix
2. Lee
3. RRS
4. Snell

Fister if he shows anything; Vargas if Fister doesn't

.

• Aardsma CL
• Lowe SU
• League SU
• Kelley closer wannabe / swingman wannabe / Hasegawa role
• Sean White
• Kanekoa Texeira
• Long man, in a 12-man staff

.

=== Hitting ===

Baker didn't have much information about the position players, but offered his opinions:

Byrnes or Langerhans - easily could be either one

Tui or Hannahan - Baker prefers Hannahan and thinks he isn't that far behind the team, rehab-wise

Junior - Baker with a rare rant about the M's wasting a precious bench slot on a guy who's done producing

Sweeney - "I find it laughable" if a team with the M's offensive problems couldn't find a spot for the guy who has been their best hitter since July 2009

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

I think that Baker, among others, is a lot more skeptical than I am about Tuiasosopo, and his SS play in particular.  It does not seem to have sunk in -- to anyone -- that Wakamatsu is playing Tui at shortstop, and is saying good things about it.

Here again, a blog or two has guffawed about Tui, pronounced his play at SS a joke, and that's that.

But to the point to where everybody ignores what Wakamatsu's opinion is?  :- )  At minimum, Wakamatsu thinks that it's a possibility worth investigating.  So why isn't that the consensus with us too?

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

On Junior, I think Geoffy misfires, overreacting to a few ST AB's.   Griffey hit .270/.380/.550 at home last year, despite the BABIP, and looks much more fit this year.

I don't say Griffey will knock in 100 runs, but to write him off based on "two hits this spring," as guys have done several times, is off track IMHO.

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

On Sweeney, this is the position SSI takes, that Sweeney may actually be your best hitter, other than Ichiro.  Baker's Toronto perspective is jarring here:  this is a woeful offensive team, with one good hitter, and it wants to cut that hitter?

Pretty much agree. 

After seeing Garko yesterday :- ) let me ask this:  why not Sweeney over Garko, if it came to that?

True, Garko's a bit more of a platoon player, but every day you see a specific pitcher, not a generic lefty or righty out of a video game.  You can "platoon" based on pitcher-batter matchups.

If Garko and Sweeney are close, isn't that where Sweeney's personality should pay off for him?

Cheers,

Dr D