If you've never stumbled across Lookout Landing, then you simply fail at life. Jeff Sullivan, Graham, Gomez, Devin, and Matt Carruth combine to form the best SBN blog, baseball or otherwise. Luckily enough the Mariners series came quickly so we could do this thing.
During
the off-season the Mariners acquired Erik Bedard for Adam Jones,
amongst others, and the Rays traded in part Delmon Young for Matt
Garza. Of the four players involved, in what order would you preference
to have for the next 10 seasons?
Ignoring contracts and
all that, I'd probably say (1) Jones, (2) Bedard, (3) Young, and (4)
Garza. Bedard's obviously the best player of the four right now, but
he's a 29 year old pitcher with an injury history, so he's unlikely to
last for another decade. Jones, meanwhile, is young, plays good
defense, and has just eaten up the minor leagues. He seems like a solid
bet to be a plus player for a long, long time. I like Young, but he
hasn't yet proven himself in the field or at the plate, so he's #3
until some of those tools turn into performance. And Garza's bringing
up the rear because he's the worst of four guys with all kinds of
talent. I'd like to see him start lowering that contact rate. God knows
he has the stuff.
John
McLaren was the bench coach here for three seasons and nearly took over
as manager, instead Joe Maddon got the job and the rest is present
state matters. Other than the obvious -- a la every team's fans
thinking the manager is a moron -- what are your impressions of
McLaren's tendencies and aptitude?
McLaren's
your typical old school manager who loves veterans, labels, and talking
about aggressive baserunning. He's not one to understand roster
flexibility or scenarios in which talent should override designated
roles. The only thing that really distinguishes him from 95% of the
rest of the managers in the league is that, despite claiming that he
has the occasional mean streak, he comes off as a bit of a girl. Or, to
borrow from JD, a sensi.
Bill
Bavasi is, without doubt, looked upon as one of the most astute and
opportunistic general managers in the league, pulling off grand deals
like Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez. He’s great, isn’t he?
Bill Bavasi's track record would be nearly spotless if you could take out all his moves and replace them with other moves.
What’s the general feeling on Felix Hernandez’ chances of staying healthy for the long haul?
Generally
speaking, I think people try not to think about it too much. I mean, we
all get that young pitchers are fragile and that Felix is perhaps
doubly so, what with his emphatic mechanics (I should do rap), but as
Mariner fans we've invested so much in Felix as our Next Great Hope
that we can't really bear to talk about the risks. It's sort of an
unspoken understanding, I guess. We know that Felix has a bunch of red
flags, but as long as he's pitching, we look forward to his next start
in ignorant bliss.
This
is why last year's injury was such a jolt. No one was thinking about
it. We'd pushed our concerns so far into the backs of our minds that
when they sprung back into the forefront, our heads got a rattle. For a
few months there after he came back, it was eggshells.
To
actually answer your question: the sentiment seems to be that his
chances of staying healthy are good. Because they have to be. Because
if he gets hurt, we won't know what to do with ourselves.
The
Rays are currently pursuing a new waterfront stadium in Downtown St.
Petersburg. Can you share any insight on how the Mariners' move to
SAFECO Field improved the fortunes of that franchise?
I
can't give you any financial figures, because I don't have access to
that kind of information, but Safeco's been a huge boon for the
franchise. It's a beautiful stadium that gives the Mariners something
to be proud of, and as an experience rather than just a place to go for
a baseball game, it's been able to sustain pretty good attendance
figures despite a run of lousy team performance. The Mariners are a
well-oiled money-making machine, and Safeco's a big reason why. Without
it, we don't have as high a payroll, and we don't have much to attract
potential players.
In 2004, the Mariners went 63-99 and ranked
third in the AL in attendance. In 2005, they went 69-93 and ranked
fourth. It's not hard to figure out why.
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