Griz, on the point of who looks like a SS... I completely agree with you. IF IF IF Taylor can get rid of his hitch and start hitting the ball again, I would love to have him as the M's starting SS.
With that said though, the Mariners now do not have a proven SS by most people's terms (not my terms mind you), and it is ridiculous to even think that IF IF IF Marte finishes off this year at .290/.350/.400 that he should be named the M's starting SS. Marte has played 27 games now. Assuming no more injuries, Marte will play SS for a total of 60 games or so. How many games did Ackley get before the M's annoited him 2B? How many games did Smoak have at the MLB level before he was given 1B? You all know I could go on and on and on... There is NOTHING that makes Marte different than ALL those guys that follow YET.
The same goes for Miller in CF. NO WAY the M's can hand him CF after 40 games in the OF. The is just sheer stupidity. I don't care what he looks like or what he hits. An organization can not make decisions on players in this short of time.
The next GM, whomever he or she is, will laugh and then cry at the mess this group just did yesterday. With Span out with a torn back muscle now out for 6 months, the ONLY CF who is better than Jackson as a free agent is Fowler - and that is even worth a discussion. There was NO REASON NOT to keep Jackson and either get a first round pick or have Jackson play for the M's for at least one year. Now the M's will probably end up with Rajai Davis platooning with Miller or Flores.
At SS, IF IF Marte performs the rest of this year, I wonder if the NEW GM will be forced to gamble with Marte at SS. IF IF Marte collapses, then things go from bad to really ugly quick. Will the NEW GM gamble on a Miller / Taylor platoon? Will he even be allowed to choose that option? Or do the M's end up with the ever powerful Joaquin Arias at SS?
I mean even a platoon of Miller / Ruggiano in CF was worth considering if the M's are serious about putting Miller in the OF 40% of the time... but this interim GM would rather save $300 K than do that.
This off season is starting off really ugly so far... I really hope it gets better soon.