DiPoto Crushes it Behind Plate, In Front of It, and at End of It
Glad the 'pen is fixed. Let's fix it again

.

Or it's fixed, at least according to what JeDi has put up on the marquee.  

The MLB Network team went over the 2015 Mariners apologetically, going way overboard in fact with their zeal to own up to the pre-2015 predictions.  Scene after scene replayed the predictions "FIRST WORLD SERIES FOR THE MARINERS!" ... well, one scene, anyway.  Then scene after scene showed 2015 Mariners RBI men striking out, 2015 Mariners catchers trying to throw out runners at second and braining fans in the 3B fans instead, 2015 Mariners relievergetting taken 500  feet out of the stadium ... Jack Zduriencik getting fired (and apparently holding three separate funereal press conferences about it), Lloyd McClendon getting fired ... and a bunch of national sportswriters asking What Has Happened to the Mariners.  In a tone of voice usually reserved for "The American Fleet lost 1,110 men and four aircraft carriers in a surprise strike on Honolulu."

The Network guys focused on the 2014 bullpen vs the 2015 bullpen, and on the implications of a 2-xx ERA vs. a 4.60-ish ERA.  Hardest thing for the modern GM to predict, said Ron Darling.  You have no idea whether a reliever is going to repeat his performance.  

It's an interesting point.  I mean, if you have Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland, you kinda do.  But not if you have four Danny Farquhars who just pitched out of their minds.  But the takeaway is:  the difference between the 2014 M's and 2015 M's was the bullpen, and nobody knows how to build a good bullpen.

..........

The 2015-16 free agent market in relief pitchers is awash in arms way too loud for your local IMAX speakers.  And DiPoto, after nabbing Benoit, pointedly told us he'd be in the market for one of these:

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Relief Hoss Stat Fangraphs Wage Bill Guess Remark
Darren O'Day  11.3 K, 1.9 BB $7M 85% strand rate LIFE?!
Joakim Soria $7M xperience with SV
Tony Sipp LH  ... all. $5M .190 avg from RIGHT hand hitters
Antonio Bastardo LH  no homers, ever.  LH batters abandon all hope $4M sinker-slider setup guy
SHAWN KELLEY 11 K, 2.6 BB, tonsa popups $4M has jelled
MARK LOWE 10K, 1+ BB's $4M We were guaranteed he'd be back...
Ryan Madson, KC $5M KC's #4 RP
Jonathan Broxton $4M Used to be Craig Kimbrel
Tyler Clippard   n/a
Trevor Cahill
Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel Available in trade, they sez So deal for BOTH why don'cha

.

But you trust we take our point.  All these ace short men will score $4-5M per year (if you ax the Fangraphs crowd).  This befits their 1-WAR return, I guess.  But this is why you and I, dear reader, stop short:  DiPoto just traded for a relief ace whose wage is TWICE that.  The M's just gave up the top dollar spent in the entire 2016 relief pitcher market.  AND we gave up a pretty shiny low-minors starting pitcher, into the bargain.  We didn't get a free agent for our $8M per year.  We had to trade to spend it.

David Pinto marvelled at the trade and the first commenter "Devon" didn't hesitate,

I try to like the Mariners, but then they do stuff like this and it reminds me why I don’t. I feel sorry for Seattle fans today. It’s gotta be rough when you get fleeced by the Padres.

Deevooooonnnnn ... Devon LAHKS his MONAYYYYYYY ... spends his days COUNTIN' ... in a garraige by the motahway-ay-ay...   Fangraphs-type readers hate to deal youth for age, like Pat Gillick does.  Also, they hate to pay good money for demonstrated MLB performance, like all real GM's do.  Why would you pay for good major league players, what with all the MLB Replacement Level Players running the league like roaches.

No, Dr. D likes the Benoit deal.  The punch line here is just to point out HOW MUCH that JERRY DIPOTO likes the deal.  Y'feel me? 

Also, this thing about giving up youth to get players who have actually succeeded at this level -- Benoit, Ianetta, and those to follow -- it goes against the $/WAR Mandate but it is also exactly what a Pat Gillick does in order to produce a +20 game improvement that nobody quite understands.  Nah, we ain't saying that DiPoto's success is a done deal.  We're just saying that the M's failure in 2015 was mysterious.  If we were ever to get a line on that mystery, it might very well turn out that we'd be fishing in these "been there, done that vet" seas.  If the M's add Mark Lowe, a center fielder, nothing much else, and win 93 games ... then nobody at the Big Blogs would really unnerstand what had just happened, would they?  "Some guys had good years."  mmmyep.  Like in 2000 and 2001.

......

Bullpen's already been fixed, then.  According to the advertising.  But DiPoto warns us that he's going to fix it again.  Think you'd plump for Mark Lowe?

Cheers,

Jeff

Comments

1
The oher Billy Zoom's picture

New closer comes from out of the closet where he was hidden with a tie around his neck.

A non-palatable named Papelbon had become the closer for the Washington Nationals, and Drew Storen was pushed from out of the living room into the closet.

Add to that a guy named A. Chapman, who closed for the Reds, last year, is rumored to be moving to the Washingtons Direct Current ... and not many teams need three closers.

So Storen will be traded from the Nationals in the National to the M's in American.

And Storen is ARB this year and a F/A in 2017, and that's why they will trade him now.

zoom

2

Me likey.  What's the word on what Storen would cost in trade goods?  Not sure the Nats would be interested in Elias, but ...

The M's pull off a bullpen deal like THAT and they're in like flint.

4

Arb results seem much more calculable.  Lot of sites get them within 5% or so, it seems.

5

Arb results seem much more calculable.  Lot of sites get them within 5% or so, it seems.

6

Yeah, agree, hoping we get him for not-Elias ... I think the M&M Boys (Monty & Montero--Hell, They're Both Montys!) are nice juicy bait for teams with those type of holes.

( - ;

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