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In January, SSI signed off on --- > the general idea of bringing in some vets who could get a "hard RBI" once in a while.  There was a problem.  That problem was that the kids were Overweight-and-Overwhelmed, as Tony would say.

It says here that this problem no longer exists.  

Let's say that the spring offensive juggernaut is a complete mirage -- that none of it, 0% of it, is real.  Justin Smoak is going to turn out to be a powerflush; his career will be a tragedy.  Franklin Gutierrez is going to yak up his spleen in the fifth inning tomorrow and the M's will have to play 2013 with black armbands.  Carlos Peguero will stop hitting 1-2 curve balls past the shortstop, and Casper Wells was always going to be worthless, and Jesus Montero turns out to be, well, Justin Smoak.

Even then, your fallback position is still this:  you've got Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse.  Even in the worst case, you've still got veterans who will get you your "hard RBI."

It just turned out that Bay and Ibanez won't be needed.  That's all.

..........

The guys hanging around the clubhouse tell you that the chemistry IS different.  Ichiro isn't brooding in a corner throwing a damper over the room.  Kids aren't seeing a morgue-like atmosphere when they come up.  Everybody's popping tall, mostly because of Michael Morse.

Jason Bay and Raul Ibanez are now band-aids being applied to skin that shows no signs of a scar.

..........

With Morales at DH and Smoak at 1B, you've got to get most of Morse's AB's in the outfield.  Saunders' WAR is already around 3.0 per year.  With Gutierrez healthy, he's your starting CF.

You've got three starters, and you've still got to get Jesus Montero at-bats at a spot other than catcher.  You've got Casper Wells in his perfect role as the 4th outfielder.  You're down to Bay vs Rauuul vs Peguero vs whoever as the 5th outfielder.

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

Wedge was asked about Peguero yesterday, after the game, and a reporter said, wow, he hit a curve ball for a clean single.  Wedge said no, he hit a curve ball THE OTHER WAY for a clean single.  He's on top of the curves now.  One of his HR's came when he was BEHIND in the count.  He's different now.

Peguero deserves his look.  There's nothing more he can do.  Tacoma?  He tore it apart in 2012.  Are you aware that he tore it apart in 2011 also?  He slugged .558 in the PCL last year, and he slugged .562 in the PCL two years ago.

 "Use his option" to look at .... what?  Whether Raul Ibanez has any gas in the tank at age 41?  WHY do you want to look at that?

Matty brought up the issue of Peguero's swing plane.  Well, sure.  It's a factor, and a good one to watch with Peguero.  Russ Branyan had that angle.  Big Papi does.  Josh Hamilton does.  It's nice to have a KBIZLT swing plane - it's a factor, but not an absolute.  You don't shed Josh Hamilton because you love flat swing planes so dearly.

Peguero has a Josh Hamilton swing plane, and given that, there nothing more that Peguero can do.  He's taken his HIT tool as far as it will go.

...........

I don't know what the political code is here with Ibanez.  Bay can be dismissed with no fallout; he was invited on the basis of "maybe you can make this team" and if a Carlos Peguero type shows he has leaped forward, then sorry.  It's a numbers game.

Ibanez is making close to a million, and you talked him into coming here, so maybe you need to trade him or keep him.  Politically.  I hope not.

..........

SSI's position is very simple:

(1) Given that Morales and Morse are here, given the fact that the vibe HAS been fixed,

(2) The younger the roster is on April 1, the better I'll like it.

Every vet they keep, beyond Morse and Morales and Iwakuma (and Felix and Gutierrez and Shoppach), is a grain of sand in Dr D's eye.  As it turns out, this is a ballclub that has no business keeping deadwood around.

There's a Zen / Feng Shui use of the flotsam here, and that's to retire it.

BABVA,

Dr D