Since it's the weekend there's nothing wrong with a little water cooler palaver about local sports news.
If you're a Mariners fan you have to be thankful that the much vaunted "Erik Bedard trade" is in the books. Finally it looks like Seattle has a roster of capable starting pitchers that might actually be able to get out of the fourth or fifth inning. Adding Bedard(LHP) and his career 3.83 ERA to a staff which includes Felix Hernandez (RHP), Miguel Batista(RHP), Jarrod Washburn(LHP) and recently acquired Carlos Silva(RHP) probably gives the team some of the best collection of arms in the league... on paper at least.
Contrast this to the staff last season which included Horacio Ramirez and Jeff Weaver. I remember after learning the team gave DreamWeaver $8 million to pitch fifth in the rotation, my immediate reaction was to fall to the ground, clutching my knee crying "Why? Why? Why?"
It's unfortunate that GM Bill Bavasi had to give up hotshot outfield prospect Adam Jones, reliever George Sherrill and a bevy of minor league talent. It's not that "five-tool" Jones is that great of a loss but rather the defensive hole which now opens in the outfield. A platoon which includes Brad Wilkerson and Mike Morse in right probably doesn't inspire anyone's confidence.
With how rare a commodity starting pitching talent is in the league you either have to pay or be content to see a Ramirez or a Cha Seung Baek toe the rubber every five games.
Trades for the M's have been a boom or bust.
Ken Phelps to the Yankees for Jay Buhner; Darren Bragg to Boston for Jamie Moyer; and dumping a shamming Randy Johnson off on Houston in 1998 for Freddy Garcia, John Halama and Carlos Guillen are all legendary examples of the hometown-nine making good.
Letting Jose Cruz Jr. go to Toronto for Mike Timlin and Paul Spoljaric and giving away Tino Martinez, Jeff Nelson and Jim Mecir to the Yankees for Russ Davis' frying-pan glove and Sterling Hitchcock are head-slappers. There's probably no deal as infamous as the 1997 trade which sent catcher Jason Varitek and pitcher Derek Lowe to Boston for dead-arm closer Heathcliff Slocumb.
Zorn-to-Redskins
Seahawks fans have to be happy for their former signal-caller and quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn and the meteoric trajectory his career has just taken. Being named Washington's offensive coordinator was heady enough but now he is the team's head coach?
Well, you have to be happy with all the usual caveats about having a boss like Dan Snyder breathing down your neck.
Even though he's moving across the country the Twelfth Man will always remember that it was Zorn-to-Largent first.
As for Zorn, seems like a horrible thing to do to a very nice and good guy.
Posted by: Cliff on February 10, 2008 05:39 PMOver 73 career games in the bigs Jones has a .230 average; .246 in 41 games last season. That equals a prospect. In theory he could be the next Griffey.
Or not.
Compare this with Jeremy Reed, another top prospect the M's traded for with the ChiSox. In 18 games in 2004 he batted .397 and followed this in 2005 playing 141 games and batting .254. (horrible slugging and no pop but he could field). He was a rookie and Reed's career could have skyrockeded afterwards. It didn't.
Jose Cruz Jr. whose departure I lamented, was another "can't miss" outfield prospected when he was here; .268 average, 12 homeruns in 48 games. After he gets trade, he became your standard .250 outfielder with some pop. His best season was 2001 when he batted .274 with 34 HR. Not bad. But he is a career .248 hitter with 204 HR.
I mentioned the hole in right field, especially with Jose Guillen and Jones gone. And I loved Sherrill. History has shown that it's easier getting an outfield bat then a pitching ace.
Posted by: Don Ward on February 10, 2008 06:06 PMMiguel Batista was a good move. He performed well last season, and is a relative bargain in the ridiculous pitching market.
this is a terrible trade
By what standard? Do you know for a fact that any or all of the players the M's traded are going to be superstars? The only player from the M's who has proven himself at the major league level is Sherrill, and that's only one good season.
Bedard was a Cy Young candidate last season, a legitimate #1 top of the rotation pitcher, something the M's don't have.
Does anyone remember how bad Weaver and Ramirez were in the rotation last year? It didn't matter who was playing right field when those two pitched. All Bavasi has done this offseason is provide two huge upgrades in Bedard and Silva to those two, and it will make them more competitive.
Posted by: Palouse on February 11, 2008 08:12 AM