Tag: Seattle Mariners (Page 3 of 9)

      Report: Mariners want Cliff Lee back

      June 16, 2010 /

      YES Network analyst Jack Curry had this to say via his Twitter page today:

      Spoke to baseball official who has regular contact w Phils. He said they are itching to add a starter and would love to get Cliff Lee back.

      Well of course they do. And I want the original “KITT” from the Night Rider TV series to drive around in all day, but unless several hundred things go my way soon, that isn’t going to happen either.

      The chances of the Phillies re-acquiring Lee are slim to none. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has already said that the club isn’t going to make any major moves and trading for Lee could constitute as such. Amaro essentially chose Roy Halladay over Lee last winter and I highly doubt Philadelphia would be willing to part with more of its farm system to re-acquire the Mariners’ starter for half a season. (I’m just speculating here, but I doubt Lee would re-sign with the team that used him to get back to the World Series last year and then traded him away a few months later so they could get Halladay.)

      If the Phillies are going to bring any starter back, it’ll be Pedro Martinez – not Lee.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Yankees expected to bid on M’s Cliff Lee

      June 9, 2010 /

      According to the New York Post, the Mariners believe the Yankees will be “in the hunt” when they eventually shop starting pitcher Cliff Lee.

      “They want one of the catchers and (Eduardo) Nunez,’’ a person familiar with Seattle’s thought process if they deal with the Yankees.

      Austin Romine is catching at Trenton (Double-A) and Jesus Montero is catching for SWB (Triple-A). They are considered the top prospects in the organization, which also has young catchers Gary Sanchez and J.R. Murphy in addition to Francisco Cervelli, who is in the big leagues.

      The immediate need for the Yankees is a bat but if the Mariners are going to shop Lee the Yankees will be interested because he will be a free agent after the season. Of course, he is making $9 million this season so even if the deal is made at the July 31 deadline the Yankees would have to pay him $3 million.

      If they were to give up Romine or Montero, the Yankees would need assurances that Lee would sign an extension and not become a free agent.

      What’s interesting about this report is that it states that the Mariners “believe” that the Yankees will be interested in Lee. It doesn’t say that the Yankees actually are interested in him. It would be a bold strategy on Seattle’s behalf to entice New York by stating that the Yankees are interested in Lee when they haven’t even been contacted by them yet. Of course, if they really want one of the Bombers’ two catchers, it wouldn’t be a bad plan of attack.

      Of course, these are the Yankees that we’re talking about here. It would be newsworthy if they weren’t interested in a stud player.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Is Ichiro the most overrated hitter in baseball?

      May 26, 2010 /

      The Chicago Tribune polled a couple of writers on which hitters were the most overrated in MLB. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun said Jose Reyes, while Mandy Housenick of The Morning Call went with Carl Crawford and Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times noted J.D. Drew.

      While some of the names were a little surprising, the award for biggest head-scratcher went to Phil Rogers of the Tribune, who said Ichiro was the most overrated.

      What’s the definition of “most overrated?” You could look at it just in terms of hitting ability, but in my opinion major league baseball is always about the money, so l’m going to consider it in relation to a hitter’s value to a team. That makes this an easy question, as Ichiro Suzuki — who you can argue is the best pure hitter in the game — is clearly the most overrated.

      What do his 200-plus hits every season — heavily loaded with singles — do for the Mariners? He had a majors-high 225 in 2009 and they scored the fewest runs in the AL. He’s again leading the majors with 58 hits (including 48 singles), and Seattle is 14-26. Singles hitters, even those with speed, need to be in deep lineups to realize their value.

      The drop in power numbers in recent years makes the guys who do regularly drive the ball to walls, and over walls, as valuable as they’ve ever been. A singles hitter in a bad lineup is a hood ornament on a beater. These days, that’s Ichiro.

      Rogers is basically penalizing Ichiro because he’s not what Adrian Gonzalez is to the Padres. Because he doesn’t hit for power, he can’t carry the M’s like can Gonzo can for San Diego, so therefore he’s overrated.

      Sorry, but that’s some backwards logic.

      Ichiro has never been considered a power guy and there’s a reason he has always hit at the top of Seattle’s lineup: He gets on base. That’s what the club pays him for and while Rogers may think that the M’s overpay for that service, Ichiro is what he is. It’s not his fault that the rest of the Mariners’ offensive is a collective of hot garbage.

      Plus, the Mariners have been built on pitching and defense because of their home park. They play small ball and Ichiro is the catalyst for their offense. Again, it’s not his fault that Seattle averages a fraction of a run every night. He’s doing his job, so what is Rogers looking for?

      Of all the names listed in the article, I’d have to agree with Shaikin’s choice of Drew for the most overrated. He’s making $14 million this season to essentially, as Shaikin so aptly put it, be a complementary player. The last time I checked, Drew hasn’t finished with an average over .300 since 2004, unlike Ichiro, who hasn’t hit less than .300 once since he’s been in the majors.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Is the end near for sleepy Griffey?

      May 11, 2010 /

      It appears as though Ken Griffey Jr.’s days in baseball are numbered. Not only is he hitting .208 with a dismal .234 slugging percentage with no home runs and just two doubles through the first month of the season, but reports have also surfaced on that he missed an opportunity to pinch hit in a recent game because he fell asleep in the clubhouse.

      The clubhouse nap incident is certainly troubling, but not necessarily the main issue when it comes to Junior. (Especially considering that most of us would fall asleep watching the Mariners play these days.) The bigger problem is that he’s 40-years-old, he can’t play the outfield any more and is a DH that can’t hit. For a team that has struggled as much as the Mariners have offensively this year, there’s simply no reason to keep Griffey on the roster.

      That’s why Tacoma News Tribune columnist Larry LaRue’s report about Griffey’s eventual release in Seattle holds a lot of water. LaRue writes that Junior could be released sometime this month, although maybe he’ll save the club some trouble and just retire.

      Either way, the writing is on the wall for the beloved player. While the report of him falling asleep in the clubhouse is embarrassing, it won’t be what he’s remembered for. He’ll be remembered for playing the game the way it was supposed to be played, treating fans and teammates with respect, and the fact that his name has never been connected with steroids. The anti-Barry Bonds if you will.

      If this is the end, Junior has amassed one hell of a career.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Cliff Lee could return this month

      April 14, 2010 /

      Cliff Lee

      After witnessing Cliff Lee throw a solid bullpen session, Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times thinks that the 2008 Cy Young winner could make his first professional start as a Mariner in a couple of weeks. Lee is currently sidelined with an abdominal strain.

      “He looked outstanding,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. “He was supposed to throw between 50 and 55 pitches and he ended up throwing I think 63.”

      Lee’s simulated game is scheduled for Friday.

      “We’re going to look at a simulated game that we had scheduled for two or three innings and maybe see if we can’t bump that up to three or four because he feels so good,” Wakamatsu said.

      At which point, I asked him whether the team would consider shortening the number of simulated games Lee would pitch and theoretically have him ready to return this month.

      “Yeah, that’s our tendency right now…that’s a possibility,” Wakamatsu said.

      Remember, Lee still has a five-game suspension to serve for an incident that occurred during spring training. His appeal on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday, and Lee is simply hoping to get the amount of games reduced. Nevertheless, whenever he does make his debut, Seattle will cheerfully welcome him onto their struggling team. So far, the Mariners have fared poorly offensively, waiting on that boost from other additions Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley and Casey Kotchman. Thus, they’re practically relying on their pitching. But they don’t have much as starter Erik Bedard is attempting to come back from a surgically-repaired left shoulder as well.

      It’s still very early in the season, but Mariner fans must be a tad worried. Team GM Jack Zduriencik had a lauded offseason, but injuries and slow starts are damaging his work. Obviously, once they get a cohesive and healthy team together we’ll get a true sense of their strength. Still, you can never tell with injuries, or Milton Bradley, for that matter.

      MLB

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