Why Russell Branyan Didn't Come Back
Maybe :- )
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=== Sandy on Branyan ===
I/O:
CRUNCH: Your intuition may be even more bulls-eye than you realize, San-Man...
On Geoff Baker Live, somebody was busting Geoffy's chops about being too tough on Milton Bradley (and Geoff hadn't been, but that's another story).
Baker laughed about this, saying that Bradley is "intelligent enough" to know that his story was ironic, and "Bradley is 31, 32 now, a grown man, not a 5-year old" and isn't going to react like, quote, Russell Branyan about every perceived slight or annoyance.
...............
Whereupon, BING, the kewpie light went off as to everything Branyan said about the contract situation -- and the fact that Branyan has bounced from one part-time job to another to another .
True, Zduriencik brought Branyan in after having him in Milwaukee -- because he knew Branyan could hit in full time play. Did everybody know this? :- ) And Zduriencik was the man so urgent about his new make-or-break re-tooling year that Z decided he would tolerate Branyan for one, transition, year?
...............
I don't know -- maybe Branyan was only rude to Baker personally, and this is what Baker was referring to, above. But IFF the above was the accurate characterization, and Branyan is the one guy in the clubhouse who refuses to act like an adult, well, professionalism is an absolute in Seattle.
It becomes that much more amazing that the rookie manager Wakamatsu was able to get 24 other players to buy in, if Branyan was all about himself in 2009.
It also wouldn't help, with 25 men together in a small room for 12 hours a day x 8 months, if the most childish, irrational man in the room was by far the biggest and strongest man, also.
...............
SSI was well-and-truly brain-fried as to why the 600-run Mariners wouldn't want Russell Branyan back, when the man earns $100,000 per ballgame with his bat. We surmised, nothing else it could be, than that they hate his medical reports.
But why, then, a lowball offer? ... maybe to alienate him while covering their backside with the clubhouse.
There comes a point when no matter how talented a man is, if you can't deal with him you sidestep him. Elijah Dukes, anybody? It's quite possible, looking at the panorama of Branyan's career, that his 140 OPS+ is simply unusable.
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=== 1B Situation ===
Baker also reports that 12 pitchers is an absolute with the Lee suspension... suggestion comes up, how about Tui as emergency 1B while Garko's in AAA for a week or two.
It's logical that he could, but *has* he ever? That matters to Wok, I think :- )
Lopez can play 1B but according to Drayer, loathes doing so... but, still, I suppose that's your plan, if Kotchman's not playing, Lopez 1B Tui 3B...
As much as I like creative solutions, not sure I've seen a roster that has only 5 men with infielders' mitts, even for a week or two.
Sweeney, however, does play a little 1B. He even played there for 5 games in 2009 for the Mariners. So I suppose that enables the Garko-delay-for-a-week...
Cheers,
Dr D