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Seattle Mariners

If Reed can start hitting in the two hole, Beltre and Sexson will have a ton of RBI's. Hitting in between Ichiro and those two monsters, he should see a steady diet of fastballs. Sexson already looks better than I ever hoped and Beltre is still adjusting to the new league. Once he gets comfortable, watch out! Ibanez hasn't even started hitting yet and the team is still scoring runs.

The West is going to be a dog-fight.

Seattle Times is reporting that Pokey will probably start his minor league rehab next week. Pokey says he will only need a couple of games to get ready. Hargrove is quoted as saying he "needs to play at least ten, fifteen games" in the minors. Interesting.

Leone was sent back down to Tacoma to make room for Piniero.
 
Grizbeer said:
Quite a few Mariner fans here, maybe we should think about a an E-Griz group game?
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Well, I know a certain couple that will be making the trip for the Red Sox game. :drinking:
 
0-2 now against the White Sox, Sexson has missed both games with the flu, today they really could've used him, ichiro had all of the hits allowed today, 3.
 
Franklin pitched another great game though. He really only made 2 mistakes, and un fortunatlly it cost the M's the game. Its beginning to look like last year for Franklin, pitch a great game but get the loss because the Mariners couldnt score runs. Dont worry, with Sexson in the lineup, that will change
 
As a Dodgers fan I have to say that I hope for your part that Beltre can step it up for the Mariners........how do you guys feel about the pitching staff you have this season?
 
So far I think it looks good. We have 6 starters on the roster, so if someone goes down like Matrish did, we have someone to step in (Franklin). They have kept the Mariners in most of the games this season, now all they need is the bullpen to stop giving up runs and get the hitters like Beltre and Ibanez hitting and they'll be fine.
 
Like a lot of teams, the M's don't have an Ace pitcher to head up the staff. They've got a couple of guys - Meche and Piniero - with the stuff to be #1's but neither has been able to master the craft. Each has had stretches of dominance but neither has been able to sustain it.

Felix Hernandez is the best bet for future staff ace. He's 19 yrs old, pitching at AAA now and has been dominant at every level he's been at. Rated the number one pitching prospect in all of baseball by most experts. Look for him in an M's uniform late this year.

Franklin is really benefitting from the team's emphasis on the two-seam fastball. I read that the coaches were really stressing that pitch in spring training and he's evidently been throwing it a lot.
 
The M's also have afew other guys who have been around a while in their starting rotation, Franklin and Moyer. Both give good preformaces but need decent run support to win a game.

That 3rd game against the Sox was fun to watch, although it was a little stressing to watch Eddie do his best to blow another save.
 
Re/MaxGriz said:
That 3rd game against the Sox was fun to watch, although it was a little stressing to watch Eddie do his best to blow another save.
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Yeah - thank god for Olivo's strong throwing arm. I really had the feeling that Eddie was going to throw this one away. Does he ever have a 1-2-3 save?

Frankin is cursed. There is no other explanation. He had the lowest run support in the league last year and isn't getting any this year either.

Nice to see Meche throw a good game but he said that his elbow started to stiffen up after the fifth inning. Gulp.
 
grizfaninkalamazoo said:
at least your not the Cubs who have to worry about "The Curse of the Groin"
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It could be worse for Nomar - at least he's got Mia at home to massage him back to health!
 
Well, this season is playing out pretty much as expected. The 2005 M's are probably no better than a .500 team but if management doesn't panic, the future looks pretty good. Here's hoping that Boone, Sele and Eddie G have great first halves so the M's can reload the minor league system with deadline trades.

Eddie about gives me a heart attack every time he comes into a close game but he's left handed and should be able to accumulate a ice save percentage.

Boone looks like he's slipped a step defensively but he's still got some power in his bat.

Sele looks to be back in form, which means that he is a nice #5 starter that can go six innings and not let the game get away from a team.

If Soo Choo can cut down on his defensive errors, maybe Winn could also be traded.


While Moyer is getting old for a ball player, I would resist any impulse to trade him. The guy's FB is in the low 80's but he can make some batters look pretty foolish. He's 4-0 so far and looks like he could pitch till he's 95 years old. God knows he's not putting a lot of stress on his arm, although he is featuring a curve ball more often this year and that might cause problems.
 
I dont think they need to trade anyone. If they trade someone, it might be Sele and someone else for a proven starter. Even if Boone isnt as good defensively as he once was, he is still better then anything the M's have in the minors. Eddie's off to a slow start, but thats understandable because he basically didnt have a spring training. The Mariners are fine with the players they have now, and any trades they make will be to improve this team now, not the one two years from now.
 
I've got to humbly disagree with you GrizFan20.

Boone's, Eddie's and Sele's contracts are all up at the end of the year and none of them have a future with the M's. Boone is the M's most tradable commodity and Jose Lopez is being moved to second base down in Tacoma in anticipation of being the starting 2B next year.

This team is a year away from being pretty good and two years from being damn good. The minor league system is fairly sparse but there are a few very good players on the immediate horizon. Look at the AAA Tacoma roster - starters Felix Hernandez and Jorge Capillo are both ready now and will be on the major league roster this year. Fellow starter Cha-Seung Baek got his feet wet last year and is close to major league ready. Jose Lopez (SS/2B) and Chris Snelling (OF/DH) are coming off the DL and both will be up by the end of the year. Bucky Jacobsen will be coming off the DL and his power may give him an almost immediate shot at a bench spot.

Combine those guys with the rookie center fielder Reed (23), young catcher Olivo (26), Beltre (26) and Ichiro (30 going on 21 physically), we've got a talented youth movement on the horizon for the M's. Hargrove went through this exact scenerio in Cleveland and he knows how to manage it. If Boone, Eddie and Sele can bring in a young major league ready shortstop that can get on base and play + defense, I say move them on out!

The M's are an 80 win team this year. There is no way I mortgage the future of the franchise for five or six more wins this year.
 
Trade Boone for a legit starting pitcher, probably have to throw in a minor leaguer too. If the M's are behind 1st place by more than 15 games by the all star break do it right away.

Dump Eddie, if he gets 30+ saves this year he'll be a decent trade, but he's got to stop giving up the long ball. JJ Putz could be the next closer for the M's his power this year surprises me.

Don't resign Sele, you'll have 4 solid starters if you can get the Boone trade like I said, Moyer, Pinero, Franklin, Whoever from the trade. Then you could send Meche to the bullpen and bring in either Madrisch for the #5 spot or another starter from Tacoma.
 
I don't know that anyone will give up a legit major league starter for Boone. He's in his contract year, so he's a rent-a-player for anyone that picks him up. Ditto Sele and Eddie. Maybe you could package Boone and Eddie and get somebody major league ready but I am of a mind to trade for prospects that are fairly close.

Randy Johnson was traded for 3 prospects that all played significant roles for the M's - Halama, Guillen and Garcia. The Freddy Garcia trade netted 3 prospects - two of them are now our starting center fielder and our starting catcher, while the other (Morse) is the starting short stop at AAA Tacoma (and likely trade bait himself).

The M's have to live within a $90-95 million payroll. If they are going to tie up three $10-15 million guys - Ichiro, Beltre and Sexson - they have to get serious production from cheap, young talent. That puts a premium on the minor league system. Oakland is able to compete at the highest level with only one big salary guy on the roster because their minor league system is continually being stocked with talent from the veterans that they trade off.
 
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