=== Looking Out for a Soft Landing ===
At fangraphs.com > Standup Comedy, the league leaders feature David Letterman, Jeff Sullivan and two or three other guys. Seems Jeffy can't go more than a paragraph without a razor-sharp witticism :- )
[Cliff Lee is] on pace to return on May 2nd or - in a more unlikely scenario - on April 30th. When asked who would come out of the rotation to make room, Wak said they are looking at "a number of options." That number is four.
HEH! Reminds me of Jim Lampley covering yacht racing. He read some 3x5 card, "The S.S. Neurotic is capable of speeds in excess of 56 knots!" Lampley blinked, commented, "like 57. 58."
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=== 4x4x4 = ? Dept. ===
Not to counter the apt one-liner, but the nature of the M's problemo is that their best choice for downsizing (Ian Snell) is also their worst choice for bullpen duty. If they do the SSI-Logical thing and give Snell's place to Lee, you've got an unappetizing situation in the bullpen...
... and, compounding the problemo, Snell is the only one of the BOR 4 with no options left. (Check me on Vargas.)
Here is the SSI estimation that Ryan Rowland-Smith is the best option for superior bullpen performance.
So the options start including stuff like,
- Keep Snell in there, and use RRS as a versatile lefty in the bullpen, vs.
- Keep RRS in there, and DFA Snell vs
- Find somebody who could use Ian Snell, and package him with Langerhans for Julio Lugo vs
- Trade Doug Fister for Albert Pujols, vs
- you see what we mean here
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=== Too Close to the Situation ===
To the Mariners, Ian Snell isn't an NL pitcher with a 97/91 control ratio in the AL. To them, he is a person, a friend, a nice kid who's coachable, a guy you don't want to gutkick after the oceans of personal challenges he has worked hard to overcome.
SSI predicts that the Mariners, not being inhuman monsters, are going to subconsciously decide that they can't do that to poor Ian, and consciously justify that as, "This is the guy with no options left." I'm not complaining. Just kibitzing.
The problemo is that when you are unfair in favor of your friend, you automatically become unfair to the detriment of everybody else. Jason Vargas is a human being too. Not to punish the M's -- a great organization now -- based on a phantom conviction; we're just guessing at what goes on down there at Royal Brougham.
In Earl Weaver terms, all the other 24 guys in the clubhouse are guys to whom you owe something: you owe it to them (genuinely OWE it to them) to give them the best chance to win.
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Part 2