Monday Morning Musings, April 20

This is the newest feature from Wetland Sports: a bunch of random thoughts that you may or may not find interesting, entertaining or just plain absurd. Let's get Muse-ical. Ok, that was cheesy. We'll work on the intro.

-Welcome to the NBA playoffs Blazers. There's a deer on I-5 that says it wants its look back.

-I miss Raul Ibanez. He might have been the consistent run producer the M's are increasingly lacking.

-Erik Bedard looks like he hates his $8 million job. Judging by his disposition on the mound, you'd think he'd rather be doing anything else, like mowing his lawn or getting a colostomy.

-I'm wondering if those "people in and around the league" who are telling Todd McShay that the Hawks will draft USC QB Mark Sanchez are actually dudes in his fantasy league.

-If top OTs Eugene Monroe and Jason Smith are off the board, I'd love to see Ruskell give us the nastiest receiving corps in the league by drafting superstar-in-the-making Michael Crabtree. The Texas Tech WR, as a redshirt sophomore, was physically dominant last year -- while playing with a stress fracture in his foot! With TJ, Crabby, Branch, Burleson and Carlson, and a healthy Hasselbeck, watch out.

-Love Chris Jakaubuskas' story. Damn it, I knew I wouldn't spell it right on the first try. Sorry Chris. All together now: it is J-a-k-u-b-a-u-s-k-as. The next John Lackey. He's the kind of tough, hungry player that will the help M's stay in contention -- for at least the next two months. Great story by Seattle guy Jim Caple.

-Hear that thud. It's the sound of Seattle fans falling back to earth following the Sounders shutout loss and the M's losing two straight games that made their offense look exactly like it does on paper.

-Couldn't stop laughing when reading about Griffey, wearing black robe, thick 24 medallion and swinging a gavel, holding kangaroo court in the M's clubhouse yesterday. Hilarious. Another reason the M's will win at least 78 games. (As you can see I'm wildly adjusting my expectations after getting entirely too excited on Wednesday night. Get used to it. This will happen at least once a week, especially if I've been drinking.)

-When do you pull the plug on Carlos Silva? On the plus side, I see a promising post-baseball future for Carlos -- as the fattest yoga instructor in the world.

It's Official: Griffey Pickup Good Deal for M's

Forget the nostalgia, forget the chemistry contributions. The signing of the Mariners' prodigal son Ken Griffey Jr. was good for the ball club, period. 

As I'm writing this, he's just collected his second hit of the night, the first being a bomb to right field, that classic Junior swing on full display and obviously as potent as ever. 

At 39, Griff Dogg is still a dangerous power hitter. Not a 50 home run power hitter like he was in his prime, but a threat to go deep nonetheless. 

Another writer on this blog asked me recently how many homers I thought Griffey would hit this year. I said the 18 he hit a year ago while enduring a plethora of injuries and a move across leagues at the trade deadline was the floor if given enough playing time. And I said, given his age and assumed reduced playing time, I'd say his ceiling was 28. So, being an optimist, I settled on 24 as the number of times Junior would turn on a pitch and watch it disappear into the seats. And I'd be happy with that. 

But now, I've seen Griffey and the rest of the team look good, look dangerous, and I'm adjusting my expectations. Why not 30 bombs? Why not the playoffs?

Holy Suzuki! Ichiro just went yard, bringing up another great point. With Ichiro healthy and Griffey's renaissance, we're looking at the two greatest Mariners of all-time joining forces. How can this possibly be anything but destiny? 

M's up and on their way to taking a series from the Angels for the first time since 2003! 

Count me on board. I'm a believer.  

Griffey's Golden Eye

Can Griffey contribute to the 2009 Mariner ballclub? This was the question on everyone's mind when Griffey was given a contract offer. There were a lot of doubters and naysayers that said no. They felt Griffey is too old, too fat, too slow.

The naive baseball fan would agree. To start the season Griffey is batting 182 with 1 HR and only 1 RBI. This is not what you want from a bat in the meat of your lineup.

Is Griffey hurting the team by taking away at bats from the younger guys on the team?

Let's dive a little deeper into Griffey's return to the Emerald City. The Mariners are 4-2. No, that is not a typo! Griffey's presence has caused a visible difference in the clubhouse, and the players are finally meshing. He has taught his teammates the importance of patience and good pitch selection.

Griffey has a golden eye. In 17 total at bats this season he has walked 6 times. His on base percentage is a staggering 471. To put this in perspective, Betancourt has come to the dish 18 times this year. He has a 333 batting average, 6 hits, 3 runs, and 2 doubles. Most people would say Yuni is hot, but I beg to differ. Betancourt has zero walks this year and a subpar 333 on base percentage.

Griffey adds more than just a presence in the clubhouse and a veteran in your lineup. He gets on base! His stats help the team win.

Has the Griffey experiment paid off? Look at the AL West standings and decide for yourself.

Playing for 2011

Welcome to mediocrity because that’s the best that can be expected for at least the next two years.

The M’s are in full-scale rebuilding mode and if anyone thinks otherwise, they are kidding themselves. The first game was nice but the second game was a flat-out abomination. The bullpen looks shaky, the offense will soon struggle to get 10 hits, and pressure will mount on the starters to go deeper into ballgames. For all those who think Brandon Morrow will eventually be a better pitcher than Timmy Lincecum just because Morrow is 8 inches taller and can kick Timmy’s ass in a bar fight, please go read another blog.

Although I don’t put a lot of stock in just two games, let’s look at some positives. Griffey still has some pop in his bat and can teach the kids how to draw a walk. Chavez can hit a little, run a little, and might be a useful 4th outfielder for the future team. Gutierrez has mad outfield skills and is the M’s first legit CF since Cammy. Beltre will lead the team in RBIs before he’s traded in July. Felix, when healthy and his head is on straight, pitches like a King. And hopefully Bedard pitches like an all-star so we can trade his malcontent, Benedict-Arnold ass out of town. I will never forgive him for an interview he gave at the July 2008 trade deadline to a radio station in Philadelphia where he said he would love to pitch there or anywhere else but Seattle.

How about the negatives? Betancourt can’t/won’t draw a walk. "Richie" Branyan Ks too much. The pitchers don’t like Joh. Morrow somehow inherited Gil Meche’s 2003 dead arm. The bullpen is full of cast offs from other teams. The starting staff will be asked to do waaaaay too much this year. The bench sucks.

Let’s talk straight. By July 31, and again at the end of the season, the M’s are going to make decisions on the following players:

1. Jerrod Washburn – SP (trade if possible)
2. Erik Bedard – SP (trade)
3. Adrian Beltre – 3B (trade)
4. Mike Sweeney – backup 1B (release)
5. Ken Griffey – DH/LF (release) - sorry kids!
6. Multiple bullpen guys – (release)

You can add Yuni Bettancourt (SS) to the list of trade candidates. Although the M’s own his rights for a few more years and don’t have to trade him, management clearly can’t stand the fact that Yuni is 3 doughnuts shy of Kirby Puckett (but can't hit like him). The more the guy eats, the smaller his range becomes. Yuni’s defensive stats have declined for three consecutive years, and we know Jack Z and Wak value defense. Nothing during spring opened their eyes about Yuni. In fact, even when he was slugging homeruns, they went out of their way to criticize his pitch selection. I don’t see this marriage lasting much longer. Look for the M’s to deal or draft a SS for the future.

To sum up, the M’s will likely turn over 6-10 additional players on next year’s roster. By July or August, we’ll be 20+ games out, and the kids from Tacoma and other farm systems will be making their way to the Emerald City. Meanwhile, I gotta keep paying full-price for my seasons tickets to go watch this crap.

Can M's Compete in 2009?

First off, welcome everyone to Wetland Sports!!

After the M's looked quite impressive in their opener yesterday behind a lights out performance from the King, I began to wonder what it would take for the M's to realistically have a chance in 2009.

Granted, everyone thinks we will finish in last place and, quite frankly, so do I. As long as we have 3rd and 4th starters by the names of Silva and Washedupburn, we cannot be competitive against the Angels/A's and the depth they possess.

I am also extremely scared about what our bullpen will do in a tight game. Who do we throw out there before Morrow in the 9th? Corcoran? Aardsma? Yikes!! I'm not even confident in Morrow right now until he has a few more innings under his belt this season and builds his velocity from (91-93) back up to (97-99).

I believe the M's are a much improved team this season but still cannot compete unless the following five things happen:

1. Felix wins 20 games
2. Bedard wins 17 games
3. Griffey/Beltre hit at least 30 HR's
4. Morrow has 45 saves
5. Betancourt hits .300 with 20 HR's

I love the leadership Griffey has shown thus far as well. Having him in the lineup everday and in the locker room will be a huge plus for us all year. It's true his range is non-existent in the outfield and he appears heavier than ever before, but he will do all the "little things" to help us change things around.

Did anyone see his first AB against Minnesota? After Beltre led off with a double, Griffey hit a ground ball to 2nd, enabling Beltre to move to third with one out. Lopez then hits a sac fly and the M's stake the King to an early 1-0 lead. A little play in baseball, but noteworthy.

An early lead gives Felix confidence throughout the rest of the game. With a run on the board, he knows his offense will have his back. Griffey's unselfishness is something this team lacked last year. Many players in the same spot would not have been willing to give up an AB in fear of lowering their average.