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Erik Bedard Not Likely To Return In 2008

Posted Aug 21st 2008 2:14PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners, AL West, MLB Injuries, MLB Rumors

Seeing as how the Mariners really suck this season, I've kind of stopped paying attention to them. Of course, because of that, I forgot just how bad the team really is. Thankfully the three games I just saw them play against the White Sox in Chicago this week reaffirmed everything I previously knew.

One of the reasons the Mariners are so horrible this season can be attributed to the Erik Bedard trade. The Mariners sent Adam Jones, George Sherrill, the Space Needle, and majority ownership in Starbucks to Baltimore for the southpaw. While a lot of people thought the addition of Bedard would help the Mariners win the AL West (I only had them as the wild card, so I guess that makes me slightly less stupid), thanks to his injuries and ineffectiveness, they're fighting just to avoid 100 losses this season.

Bedard cost the Mariners their season, and the jobs of John McLaren and Bill Bavasi. Fortunately for all involved, the odds of Erik returning this season to claim the livelihoods of others are slim at best.

Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre and [Jim] Riggleman both say that Bedard did not come out of his last throwing session feeling well, as he had in previous outings.

Continue Reading Erik Bedard Not Likely To Return In 2008

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Winners and Losers of Draft Signing Day

Posted Aug 17th 2008 7:28PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners, Nationals, Pirates, Red Sox, Royals, Yankees, MLB Biz, MLB Draft, MLB Transactions

To fans and the media, what a team does in the MLB Draft pales next to a big free-agent signing or blockbuster trade.

Part of that is the gaudy figures thrown around during the hot stove season. The Red Sox, this year's top spender in the draft, couldn't even buy one year of Gil Meche if they shifted their draft outlay to the open market. Most of it stems from immediacy, though. A big winter signing answers the question who will help me today? A big haul in the draft answers who will help me tomorrow, but in most cases tomorrow is years away, if it ever comes at all.

Still, as the cost of free agents escalates, the draft continues to become the most important way to ensure long-term success. With that in mind, and with the deadline to sign picks in the books, here's a look at three teams who won and three teams who lost in the 2008 draft

Continue Reading Winners and Losers of Draft Signing Day

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Carlos Silva Calls Out His Teammates

Posted Aug 9th 2008 6:20PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners, AL West, MLB Gossip

The Seattle Mariners lost to the Tampa Bay Rays last night, which is something they're quite good at this season. I mean, they do it with a precision that nobody else in baseball has been able to match in 2008, and call me crazy, but I think they ought to be commended for that. So congratulations, Mariners. You guys are better at losing than anybody else, and you should be proud.

Unfortunately, some folks on the Mariners feel differently about this situation. Instead of taking pride in their ability to lose, some of the guys find Seattle's amazing consistency to be aggravating. Take Carlos Silva for example, who doesn't appreciate his teammates attitudes this season, and he's not afraid to tell us about it.

"I don't care if we are 40 games behind, we should have played better than this," Silva said. "For me, every game is important. For me, if we are where we are right now, we should take it one game at a time and play one day at a time. Thinking, 'We've got to win this game.' And when the day is over, 'We've got to win the next one.'

"Maybe half of the team wants to do the best they can. Take the starting rotation ... every time we cross that line, we want to do our best. No matter how many games we are behind. But maybe half of the team doesn't have that mentality. They are only thinking of finishing strong. And to put up their numbers. That's great, but that affects us. As a team, that doesn't work out."

Continue Reading Carlos Silva Calls Out His Teammates

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Bill Bavasi Finds a Job

Posted Aug 9th 2008 12:15PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners, Reds, NL Central

One would think that a recently fired baseball executive credited with helming what is generally established to be one of the worst run operations in baseball would be unemployed for a while after getting the ax from said operation. Unfortunately if you're a Reds fan, you would be wrong about that. Less than two months after getting the ax from the Mariners, a franchise he destroyed on almost a comical level, Bill Bavasi has been hired by the Reds. From their press release:

Bavasi, 50, will advise and assist [Reds' GM Walt] Jocketty in matters related to the front office, Major League field and support personnel and scouting.

"We're excited Bill has joined our organization," Jocketty said. "Over his career of more than 30 years, he has worked in almost every facet of baseball operations. We will benefit from his experience and insights."

Maybe Bavasi's one of those guys who works better in an assistant capacity than he does running the whole operation. I don't know. But I do know that when you cite 30 years of experience, you should probably check to make sure that the last three haven't resulted in the debacle that's taking place in Seattle right now.

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Jim Lefebvre is Baseball's Dalai Lama

Posted Aug 8th 2008 9:46AM by Craig Calcaterra (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners

Jim Lefebvre was fired from his job as Mariners' manager back in 1991 because he couldn't get along with Woody Woodward and kept airing the Mariners' dirty laundry in public. Lefebvre is now the manager of the Chinese Olympic baseball team, and he still hasn't learned his lesson:

Chinese officials have put a gag order on their athletes and coaches, leading up to the Olympic Games, but ordering Lefebvre to stop talking baseball is harder than asking him to stop breathing . . .

. . . "With the Olympics about to begin, the Chinese officials have come to me and said no coach, or player, or manager can talk to the media," Lefebvre said. "So this, what I'm doing now, is against their policy. I asked them why we can't talk and they told me they didn't want to put a focus on their team and I told them, 'You know, that bothers me.'

Good for Lefebvre for standing up to silly authoritarian restrictions like that. Of course, the Chinese government is a bit tougher than Woody Woodward -- there are something like 70 crimes in China that are punishable by death, including white-collar stuff like embezzlement and tax fraud -- so maybe he should be a little careful until he's done with the Olympics gig.

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On Deck: Welcome to First Place

Posted Aug 4th 2008 2:55PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Astros, Angels, Cubs, Mariners, Orioles, Twins

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

While they have had many chances to take over the AL Central lead from the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins had been faltering all summer to capitalize on Chicago's mistakes. They would get to within a half-game of the White Sox only to lose every time Chicago opened the door.

That is, until yesterday. After taking three of four from the Sox and two of three from the Indians over the weekend, the Twins are finally on top of the division (again) where nobody expected them to be (again). Now today the Twins will begin to find out that sometimes the only thing tougher than catching the team in front of you is staying ahead of them once you get there.

Is it a coincidence that on the day the Twins finally woke up and brought Francisco Liriano back from minor league purgatory that they gained control of the division? Probably, but his presence in the rotation will go a lot further in helping them hold onto it than Livan Hernandez would have.

Will they hold onto their lead, or let it slip through their grasp? It's still too early to tell but they will begin their quest to put some distance between themselves and the competition after the jump.

Continue Reading On Deck: Welcome to First Place

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Seattle Struck Out Looking at the Deadline

Posted Aug 1st 2008 7:33PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners, AL West, MLB Rumors

My colleague Andrew Johnson dubbed the Mariners one of his losers of the trade deadline, and I couldn't agree more. The Mariners are challenging the Nationals for the worst record in the league, and although they managed to pull one minor deal (sending Arthur Rhodes to the Marlins), they sat on their hands when they could have dumped a lot of salary -- and make no mistake, there were teams calling trying to get a deal done. From Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

And talks had remained all but non-existent as the deadline neared between the Yanks and Mariners about Jarrod Washburn. [...] Yankee GM Brian Cashman had talked with Lee Pelekoudas, the Mariners' interim GM, in recent days to try to mend fences. The Mariners were angry that discussions on this front had leaked into the media and the perception had formed that the Yanks would be fleecing Seattle. What the Yanks have tried to stress to the Mariners is that absorbing $14 million is a big return for a rebuilding team such as the Mariners.

Washburn is the epitome of a back of the rotation pitcher -- on a good year he might be worthy of being a No. 3 pitcher on a good team, but by and large his numbers usually hover just below the league average. And for that the Mariners are paying him $9.8 million this year and $10.3 million next. Awesome.

Continue Reading Seattle Struck Out Looking at the Deadline

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See, We Aren't So Different, Japan (Celebrating Ichiro's 3,000 Hit)

Posted Aug 1st 2008 7:30AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners, AL West, MLB Fans, MLB Media Watch, MLB Milestones

One thing has become abundantly clear from the coverage of various Asian superstars -- the Japanese and Chinese sports media are a powerful contingency that likes their coverage early, often and just flat out thorough.

This was the case as well for Ichiro's 3,000 career hit, which, if I recall watching Sportscenter at all over the past week, didn't get much coverage at all. Not so much in Japan, according to the a reader of the NYT's Bats.

"Watching NHK news on my big dish and their first story lasted 10 minutes and was about Ichiro's 3,000th hit last night. Started out with a guy working in a fruit and vegetable stand. Name was Keiji Kimura. He gave up Ichiro's first hit in 1992. They had a tape of it. I arrived in Nippon in 1993 and don't remember Ichiro looking so young and so skinny, if you can imagine him even more slender."

"They moved on to Aichi where he used a batting cage for years. Mentioned Shigeo Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh's hit totals, teammates on the Giants and probably the two biggest legends in Japanese baseball. Then talked to Japan's all-time leading hitter, Tomoaki Kanemoto. He said Ichiro was a much better hitter than he was, classically Japanese."

Continue Reading See, We Aren't So Different, Japan (Celebrating Ichiro's 3,000 Hit)

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Who Won and Lost During Trading Season?

Posted Jul 31st 2008 9:08PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Astros, Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Mariners, Marlins, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox, White Sox, Yankees, MLB Transactions

Take a deep breath, baseball fans. The dust has settled after another trading deadline, and what a deadline it was. Three future Hall of Famers were moved. So was a reigning Cy Young winner and two former All-Stars. And we haven't talked about Rich Harden yet. Undoubtedly, 2008 was the most entertaining trading season in recent memory for baseball fans.

MLB Players on the Move

After years of near-misses, the Red Sox finally send disgruntled slugger Manny Ramirez packing. Ramirez lands with the Dodgers as part of a three-way deal.

Christian Petersen, Getty Images

Former All-Star Jason Bay winds up in Boston as the other major piece of the three-way deal. Pittsburgh receives two prospects apiece from the Dodgers and Red Sox for its part in the trade.

Nick Laham, Getty Images

In the final year of his contract, the Reds send Ken Griffey Jr. to the AL Central-leading White Sox in exchange for two prospects, including sinker-balling pitcher Nick Masset.

David Kohl, AP

In need of a big bat for October, the Angels acquired Mark Teixeira from the Braves in exchange for first baseman Casey Kotchman and a pitching prospect.

Elise Amendola, AP

With fixture Jorge Posada out for the season, the Yankees moved swiftly to get Ivan Rodriguez, sending reliever Kyle Farnsworth to Detroit in return for the Gold Glove catcher.

Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

The Brewers made the first big move of trading season, acquiring reigning AL Cy Young winner CC Sabathia from Cleveland for a package of four prospects, including Matt LaPorta.

Jeff Roberson, AP

The Cubs bolstered an already deep starting rotation by acquiring Rich Harden from the A's. Oakland also sent relief pitcher Chad Gaudin to Chicago and received pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Josh Donaldson in return.

Charles Rex Arbogast, AP

The Phillies got much-needed rotation depth in the form of Joe Blanton from Oakland. The A's received three prospects, including second baseman Adrian Cardenas and pitcher Josh Outman.

Seth Wenig, AP

Florida acquires one of the many left-handed relievers on the market, adding Arthur Rhodes from Seattle for minor league pitcher Gaby Hernandez.

Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

The Yankees also added depth for the stretch run, landing outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte for a package of four prospects that included right fielder Jose Tabata.

Getty Images (2)

Truth be told, it will take years before we know who helped themselves or hurt themselves at the 2008 trade deadline. That's just the way it is when boom-or-bust prospects are involved. But here's an educated (and roughly ordered) guess anyway at which teams won and which teams lost now that the July 31 deadline has come and gone.

Winners

Angels: With a double-digit lead in the AL West, the Angels didn't need to do anything to get to October. They went out and got slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira anyway, and it's nothing short of a coup. For all the praise heaped upon Mike Scioscia's throwback run-at-all costs strategy, it hasn't done much for Los Angeles in the postseason. The Halos have scored 17 runs in their last eight postseason games dating back to 2005, and they don't have single regular slugging over .500 this year. They needed a bat to go all the way in October, and that's just what they got in Teixeira.

Continue Reading Who Won and Lost During Trading Season?

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Marlins Make The Deal! (For Arthur Rhodes)

Posted Jul 31st 2008 12:50PM by Mullet (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners, Marlins, AL West, NL East, MLB Transactions

Nope, it's not that deal ... but the Marlins have made a deal for a bullpen guy, trading for Arthur Rhodes out of Seattle for pitching prospect Gaby Hernandez. It's a deal that has been in the works, and probably is a signal that Brian Fuentes, a one-time Marlin target, is off the market for good which would make the Colorado Rockies buyers ... or at least non-sellers.

For Rhodes, it's a chance to pitch in a pennant race for the first time since '05, as he'll join a Marlin team just a game and a half out of first. Rhodes has had a decent season with a 2.36 ERA ... but has walked 13 batters in 22 innings this season during outings rarely extending past an out or two. For the Marlins though, it's something. Maybe 4:00 ET will bring the fish something a little bigger.

(Or not, as reports now have that Manny Ramirez deal "close to dead".)