...Mike Carp has some holes in his swing - the swing is pretty, but because he's having issues with pitch recognition, he's getting a huge number of swings and misses with it. You don't hold up your plans for 2011 for Carp...you go get a real DH. Greg Halman...as exciting as he is...isvery raw in some ways...and there's nothing wrong with having your #1 outfield prospect as your FOURTH outfielder. You don't hold up your 2011 plans for Halman. You can find a real LF. The same is true of Peguero. As much as Wedge loves the work Pegs has gotten in with Chambliss...this is the big leagues, not the instructional leagues...and I think Peguero has had more than enough time to take some lessons with him back to AAA and work on hitting the inside pitch with Brown and his coaches.
Oh...ad since we've decided that Figgins is no longer a starter...we've got a huge hole at third base...one just BEGGING to be filled with David Wright. If the Mets are looking to unload some high priced talent...what say we offer them a few interesting prospects and Chone Figgins for David Wright and Carlos Beltran together?
Or, if you're feeling pusallinamous, a golfclap. Let's count the radical interventions on this defibrillated offense:
***
1) The Mariners ate Milton Bradley's contract. What was that, $12M. Like Guido said in Robert Asprin's Myth series: "Nobody's got a million bucks to spare. Even if you got it, you don't got it to spare, know what I mean?"
Howard Lincoln gets megaprops here. The corporate process for sinking this kind of money is not pleasant. But the 2011 Mariners intend to win baseball games, and the suits are in the fight with the grunts.
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2) They benched Chone Figgins. Or so the word is today.
That's an explosive situation, as Don Wakamatsu found out. And the Mariners owe Figgins a lot of money, for a long time. But Wedge and Zduriencik have synch'ed on this like John Stockton and Karl Malone, and they've scored the wrestling reversal.
Mathematically, swapping Adam Kennedy for Chone Figgins is comparable to swapping Miguel Cabrera for Jack Cust.
Geoff Baker was on this story literally from March 5th, that Wedge and Zduriencik had taken control of the asylum.
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3) The Mariners brought hitters north for the bench. They brought Adam Kennedy, Luis Rodriguez and Ryan Langerhans, all bat-first benchies.
Because they did, they get to eat the Adam Kennedy spaghetti that stuck to the wall. ... um, it's kinda late...
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4) The Mariners put bat-first players into the Opening Day lineup. They coulda put somebody other than the large-chassis'ed Michael Saunders in CF. They coulda DH'ed Milton Bradley and put an Endy Chavez type in LF.
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5) The Mariners brought in Jack Cust, rather than giving Mike Carp a shot. We're talking A for Effort here, you feel me? It's not that the Mariners haven't tried to score runs.
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6) The Mariners, very early on, started playing hitters for fielders -- such as Adam Kennedy for Jack Wilson.
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7) The Mariners brought up a series of huge, HR-hitting Rainiers with better bats than gloves. These include Peguero and Carp and Mike Wilson, playing LF, and Greg Halman playing CF, all of these moves being heresy on the Big Blog.
But I don't notice that the rotation's ERA is skyrocketing, and I don't notice that anybody has fought for a pennant lately in the AL with 80 homers in a season. The M's look like Doc Brown bent over into his tool chest frantically throwing things out left and right, trying to nab the tool to fix the brakes before the train goes into the ravine.
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8) The Mariners moved Dustin Ackley to the top the order in six seconds. They gave as their reason, on the TV broadcast, "getting Ackley an extra at-bat every game."
Conventional wisdom, such as that at the Times even, dictated that the M's not put pressure on Ackley. SSI dissented. Move #8, and the seven moves above them, are Certified Fresh by SSI.
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9) Wedge has pinch-hit some, and has pinch-hit creatively. Such as the LHB Adam Kennedy pinch-hitting vs. the LHB Cole Hamels and winning the game.
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10) They spent money on Miguel Olivo, as opposed to trotting Adam Moore's 40 OPS+ out there again.
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11) They have used eleventeen batting lineups, not indulging players' comfort zones.
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12) Wedge has issued loud and public rebukes of lousy offense, signalling clearly to the hitters that lack of hitting will result in termination.
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13) Erikkkk called out the offense in public after the Nats series. Unheard of. Say .... have I ever mentioned that I love Erik Bedard?
Incidentally, we infer from that remark that Erikkk's arm feels great.
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14) etc.
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You can say that the Mariners aren't scoring runs, but you can't say that they don't have their hearts in it. This is an organization worth our fan loyalty.
They rock. And if you give it up for them now, the winning will be that much more fun when it really jells.
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=== Trade for a Bat? ===
Arguments persist in the threads, that the 2011 M's should do nothing. They should recognize that they can't win. Here I thought that this was a March pilot episode, but here it is a recurring series.
If by "do nothing" you mean "no matter what, I want to avoid a pennant race" because we're not supposed to be in one yet, I heartily disagree.
If by "do nothing" you mean "don't trade Nick Franklin and Taijuan Walker for Carlos Beltran," we're all going to agree with that.
***
But what if you can get Carlos Beltran for the price of his contract and some grade B prospects?
What if you can get an ace setup man for prospects already blocked at their positions?
Are we saying, "don't sacrifice TOO MUCH long term," or are we just saying "Ok, nice job, we're two games out in late June, but let's announce 2011 isn't our year?"
Supposing -- a la Cliff Lee -- you could get a huge star now, with chances to resign, for three Tyson Gillieses? What's the 2013 sacrifice involved?
***
There are many short-term moves that are cash-intensive rather than prospect-intensive. A general determination not to be in the pennant race, that's not where SSI or Jack Zduriencik are at.
I wouldn't hesitate to trade for two bats, one to play LF and one to play DH. And I don't mind if one or both are rentals.
The kids are cool, but (a) they are NOT Dustin Ackleys that you fear blocking, and (b) you can still play one or two of them anyway. Even this year. Greg Halman, for example, needs to stay to back up CF. You can keep Mike Carp on the bench after you shed Cust.
***
I probably wouldn't take Reyes as a rental, for example, because I actually am committed now to Brendan Ryan as my team captain. I'm not saying, go get a bat an any cost.
But would I be in on Carlos Beltran and David Wright types, as 2011 rentals? For sure.
Granted, guys like Ryan Ludwick and Luke Scott may not produce any more the rest of the way than, say, Mike Carp. The thing is, you and I have very little information about which players are truly options for Jack Zduriencik. Who called the Cliff Lee trade? Thought not.
***
As Ben suggested, extending Bedard would be an awesome message. That would really resonate.
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BABVA,
Dr D
Comments
If the LF/DH rent-a-bat is a Wright or a Beltran, then despite us giving up the right prospect I could come along.
I haven't heard those names tossed about, though. Nothing but Luke Scotts is what we're hearing.
But, as you say, we don't know what evil magic is conjuring up behind the scenes.
For a Wright/Beltran type as a rental this year, who might sign next year I'm fine with giving up the right young guy, Seagar, for example. BTW, I'm not sure I don't include Guti in trade talks. We saw the best of his bat two years ago. Might not see that again.
But not the marquis MiLB names.
So, I'll concede that part of the point to you. I should have been clearer on what rental might make sense.
By the way, just how good--historically--has Bedard's 10-game run been. When was the last time a starter performed like that? Or, just how often does it happen?
moe
As terrible as Figgins was LAST year, he'd have to be a +2 WAR player the rest of the way to even be that 'bad' yet again (+1 WAR). Unless he suddently dips into Boonie's or Bonds' medicine cabinet, I just don't see that happening...
And as bad as Figgins has been THIS year (-1 WAR), the spaghetti we've thrown on the LF wall collectively has been TWICE as worthless as Figgins (-2 WAR). Thing is, while I'd LOVE to land Beltran (O please O please O please...) even dipping into the supposedly deep pool of "freely available talent" (AKA replacement-level, 0 WAR players that you can get for Vince Faison types or a couple of packs of 1988 Topps baseball cards) would be a massive upgrade. Get an average player that give you +1 WAR (pro-rated and offense-tilted) the rest of the way, and you could become a juggernaut.
Or at least gives the M's just enough offense to push them over the hump. And getting that player shouldn't require sacrificing Nick Franklin or Tai Walker at all. Indeed the M's can fix LF a lot easier than they can fix 3B. Even Halman should come back down to earth a bit offensively, so I wouldn't be too sad if he's the guy that loses PT to the new LF. Add some WAR to our 0 WAR DH (which actually is an upgrade from 2010), too, and that helps all the more.
Peguero, Carp, Mike Wilson and even Greg Halman aren't exactly prospects you 'block' by upgrading LF. It's something the M's should be able to do fairly easily and even if they can't do much about Figgins, fixing LF would help the M's even more anyway.
There's absolutely NO reason why they shouldn't...
Link to my thoughts after reading the above:
http://www.marinercentral.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6249&st=40&gopid...
I have vascillated for the last couple of weeks, alternating between utter frustration at the Mariners' inability to take advantage offensively of a run by their starters that is simply breathtaking and accepting the fact that this team was not built to contend this year and we should not let an unexpected and precarious run at contending stop us from using this as an eval year for Peguero, Halman and Carp.
But I have to admit I find the arguments in Doc's article and the comments of Ghost and Positive Paul very persuasive. They might just knock me off the fence.
I feel the need to tack one standing O onto this post.
Curtain call for the King's Court! The last time any group of Mariner fans at Safeco were this into a ballgame was in 2001 or 2002 wiht the "Eeeeeed-grrrrrr!" chants and the "O-le! O-layolayo-le!" stuff...it's good to see some enthusiasm returning to Safeco...even if it's only on nights Felix pitches.