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Okay, the quote was "be the Ball, Danny", but it's always fun to invoke Caddyshack, just for the rush of great lines it invokes in my memory.
I've been a Braves fan since 1971, (when I was cutting the grass for the next door neighbor and she showed me a baseball she had that was signed by the entire '69 Braves team, including Hank Aaron -- that was enough to begin my lifelong love affair with Atlanta).
But, this means that I got to suffer through almost two full decades of ineptness. For the 70s and most of the 80s, the Braves were a franchise that believed in the HR. Aaron was the face of the franchise for 20 years, and they just loved to go and find shadow clones of Hammerin' Hank. As I think about it, I think this trait can OFTEN be found in baseball. My view of the Ms since just after 2001 is that they became Ichiro's team, and the franchise attempted to draft and stock the lineup with Ichiro clones. (Except there isn't actually such a thing on the planet).
But, as the 80s were winding down, the club changed direction. They moved their focus from hitting to pitching and defense. They developed Glavine and Avery, traded for the prospect Smoltz, and then signed Maddux out of FA. (Missed by many fans is the fact that Maddux wasn't there for the first TWO division titles during Atlanta's famous post-season streak).
Glavine, Avery, Smoltz were the hosses for those first two division titles. Ron Gant and David Justice were the offense. But, the club wasn't satisfied with those early results. They upgraded CF defense, (Otis Nixon, Deion Sanders, Marquis Grissom, Kenny Lofton) bridged the gap in CF until Andruw came along).
What gets lost in time is that Chipper didn't arrive until 1995, (after 3 titles).
Andruw didn't arrive until 1998, (6 years after the streak began)
But, the club built itself around 3 ace pitchers, and CONSTANTLY tweaked the lineup to improve the up-the-middle defense. Blauser lost time to Rafeal Belliard at short -- and it was NOT because of Belliard's hitting prowess). The recipe was simple enough. Great SPs -- fantastic up-the-middle defense -- and plug in offense as you can find it at the corners.
Oakland copied the formula during most of their successful run under Beane.
Seattle has the perfect park to use the same blueprint. They already have two great pitchers on the roster, (Felix and Bedard), though Felix is still raw and learning. Z went out to get a stellar glove for CF, and seems to have a solid guy that could patrol CF in Safeco for 8 years or so.
I know many hoped Morrow would be the #3 -- but evidence suggests his head is unlikely to ever allow him to join that elite group. This is not to say that it'll never happen, just that the odds are dropping fast.
I could easily imagine Carp at 1st, Ackley in LF as the offensive forces for this club for the next decade. Which means, all the club would need to complete the Atlanta formula would be another ace pitcher and to shore up its middle infield. That "all" may not be easy - but it's doable. But, if we look at the age lines for players as tending to run out at age 36 -- F-Gut, Carp, Ackley, Felix, Bedard could carry the team through 2015.
If ANY of the young catchers works out, (Clement, Johnson, Moore), that's another long-term slot filled.
The tricky part is getting the Big 3 aces to head the rotation. Even the big money clubs often struggle in this regard. The Mets have been acquiring Hall of Fame pitchers for the past 5 years, (Glavine, Pedro, Santana), but haven't DEVELOPED any. So, these guys are old when they arrive - prone to injury - and as a group, have delivered erratic results.
Getting the 29-year-old HoF SPs that can lead a team for 6-10 years, (depending on health), is no trivial matter. The Yankees have sunk boatloads of money into attempting to assemble a big 3 off the FA market. Sabathia is the only pickup under age 32. It's Chamberlain, at age 23, that points to good possibilities for the future.
Pettitte has been talking retirement for a couple of years already, and is 37. Burnett is only 32, so CC, Burnett and Joba could be a legit big 3 for another 4-5 years.
Seattle gave up a bunch to get Bedard into town. If he is willing to stick around, the club could easily have two pillars for a LONG run of success. But, like Atlanta, they need to continue to work for more. Atlanta didn't settle for a big 3 and stop looking. The original big 3 were: Glavine, Smoltz and Avery. They tried to make it a big 4 with Maddux, and Avery got hurt and folded. That's baseball.
If the Ms can flip Branyan (for instance) for a Jurrjens or Wainwright, they could potentially get there very quickly. Or maybe they can pick up a change-of-scenery failed spec on the FA market for cheap, (somebody like Snell, for instance).
For a wealthy (and impatient) organization, I think Z has to get some kind of immediate payoff for the losses suffered with the Bedard trade. The draft choices if he walks won't be near enough. That leaves either trading him before the deadline, (and it would have to be a SUPER sweet deal), or extending him. Personally, I think the extension is the best route.
Personally, I think Pedro is a better comp for Bedard than Unit. He's got fragility issues, but the same type of dominant stuff, backed up by some natural gifts in understanding the ART of pitching. So, even if/when his stuff isn't as great, Bedard is the type of guy that I believe will adapt and continue to thrive for some time.