You know what I love about hometown fans? They don't or can't look objectively at their own team. Any dissenting opinion is a Doubter; someone who is purposely unwilling to be happy even if the team is enjoyed the mirage of short-term success on the field. Every sports writer in town - including some guys I know at Wetland Sports - swallowed the Mariner Kool-aid and allowed themselves to believe this team was capable of competing for the playoffs. Yes, I'm a Doubter - I don't let my emotions take away from my knowledge of the game. I never played baseball, and neither did Theo Epstein and alot of very talented GMs in the game. By the time the dust settles on the 2009 Mariners, the results will show I'm right. The M's will prove that they are indeed a 75 win team.
Here's my baseball philosophy: baseball is about scoring more runs than your opponent. I don't care how you get there, just get there. If you pitch well, but can't hit, you're still going to lose. The M's are talent-deprived and as a result, they won't be able to sustain any kind of success. Yes, they are better, but haven't got a core group of guys to build around.
Ken Rosenthal wrote in a recent article that the M's won't be sellers at the deadline. He's absolutely wrong. Jack Z is too smart to let the Erik Bedard, Adrian Beltre, and Jarrod Washburn walk away for nothing at the end of the season (although Beltre might not be traded if classified a Type A free agent because the acquiring team must give the M's their 1st round pick). Jack Z knows that all players are simply assets - you buy low (Russell Branyan + the bullpen) and sell high. The July 31 trading deadline will be incredibly important to this franchise, as the M's will move their assets and attempt to acquire new assets (younger players with upside) to build their core.
Here's the potential team (2010/2011+):
1B Russell Branyan/Mike Carp
2B Carlos Triunfel (or SS)
3B Jose Lopez/Tui?/Matt Mantei
SS ?
DH ?
CF Franklin Guiterrez
LF ?
RF Ichiro
Starting pitching: need starts #2-#4.
Yes, Jack Z is the right guy to lead the team to success. However, that success is at least 2 years away.
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I don't feel it is objective to only write negatively when the team loses or performs badly.
ReplyDeleteI've also heard plenty of fans and the media voice their skepticism about the team (and as evidenced by ticket sales), so I don't feel your doubt over the Ms is by any means in the minority.
They're 1.5 games behind 1st place Texas with the next three against them. I'll take it. I'm not saying they're going to the World Series, but they're certainly providing intrigue well beyond the first couple weeks of the season.