Winless In Seattle
Steve Sauro
Elliott SmithSeattle Mariners & MLB Free Agency
December 1st 2011 19:25
:
Unsportsman and optimism? Oil & Water?
First things first - not going to be heading to the JV game at CenturyLink Field tonight. 5:30pm kick means I have to take a half day at work. 3:00pm - 6:00pm rush hour traffic. No Vick, no Maclin, possibly no McCoy. No one excites me on the Hawks. Those are the cons. Can't find any pros.
Moving on.
Tune into sports radio here in Seattle and they're talking about one of two things:
1) WSU hiring Mike Leach. Who cares? These guys...
Unless he can somehow move the Palouse to a location that recruits actually want to go to - they'll still Coug it. And, no, no matter how much you like wheat and lentils - you don't want to move to a place surrounded by those fields 200 miles in either direction. And if you do, chances are you aren't a top football recruit. (Sidenote we have a writer here at Orble that is a die-hard (read: retarded) Cougar fan... and you see no post from him about it... Coincidence? I think not.)
Now we'll get to the point of this post...
2) The Mariners have 'serious' interest in Prince Fielder. Really? What team doesn't have serious interest in Prince Fielder?
That being said - let's look at how the Mariners just might land Fielder. We'll also look at what they'd have do with guys like Justin Smoak and Mike Carp if they did land him. I'll even throw in some potential lineups and rosters in this post for your absolute reading pleasure.
How do they get him?
Well, in my opinion, they have some decent reasons to draw interest from Fielder.
We'll start with the park. Yes, Safeco has become known as a 'pitcher's' park. But keep in mind who it was built for. Ken Griffey Jr. A left handed power hitter. Pretty sure Fielder fits that bill. At only 326 down the right-field line, Fielder has the potential to knock a couple out on check-swings here.
The league. The American League. Love it, hate it, be indifferent about it - I think the DH position is a big draw for Fielder. Granted, he was the only player in the MLB last year to play all 162 - so stamina isn't an issue. Yet. Nearing the end of a 6-7 year contract that he's likely to get - it just may be. He might be wise to head to the AL and get some in-season rest while remaining in a lineup.
Jack Zduriencik. Milwaukee Brewers ties anyone?
The rotation. Felix, Pineda. Do spots three through five matter at that point? Vargas is even a decent three - and probably a two in any other rotation. Pretty sure Fielder wouldn't mind having a staff like that.
Seattle NEEDS him. Everyone knows it. That's a lot of 'peer' pressure on ownership and management to open up the coffers and spend what we need to spend. Face it - no way Seattle should lose in a bidding war. If they do lose out on Fielder - it better not be because he got a better offer elsewhere.
The roster. I touched on this a little earlier, but the Mariners do have some guys on the roster that can play first base. Again, this kind of plays into the 'rest' angle of a platoon at 1B/DH.
So let's take a look at what I see as potential lineup's for the Mariners without Fielder and then with Fielder:
Without
1 - Ichiro/RF
2 - Ryan/SS
3 - Ackley/2B
4 - Smoak/1B
5 - Carp/DH
6 - Wells/LF
7 - Olivo/C
8 - Seager/3B
9 - Gutierrez/CF
With - assuming they keep Smoak
1 - Ichiro/RF
2 - Ryan/SS
3 - Ackley/2B
4 - Fielder/1B/DH
5 - Smoak/DH/1B
6 - Carp/LF
7 - Olivo/C
8 - Seager/3B
9 - Gutierrez/CF
With - assuming they trade Smoak
1 - Ichiro/RF
2 - Ryan/SS
3 - Ackley/2B
4 - Fielder/1B
5 - Carp/DH
6 - Wells/LF
7 - Olivo/C
8 - Seager/3B
9 - Gutierrez/CF
Now, keep in mind, I've done quite a bit of assuming in the above examples. Such as - keeping Ichiro at leadoff; putting Gutierrez where he SHOULD bat; having Carp play in LF in one scenario; etc. Regardless, I think it's clear that the lineup is infinitely better with Fielder in it then without him (duh, I know).
Now, as promised and highly anticipated, my December 1st shot at the Mariners Opening Day 25-man roster:
1 - Jaso, C
2 - Olivo, C
3 - Smoak, 1B
4 - Ackley, 2B
5 - Ryan, SS
6 - Seager, 3B
7 - Wells, LF
8 - Ichiro, RF
9 - Gutierrez, CF
10 - Carp, DH/1B
11 - Figgins, INF
12 - Liddi, INF
13 - Saunders, OF
14 - Robinson, OF
15 - Hernandez, SP
16 - Pineda, SP
17 - Vargas, SP
18 - Beavan, SP
19 - Furbush, SP
20 - Wright, RP
21 - Wilhelmsen, RP
22 - Ruffin, RP
23 - Cortes, RP
24 - Marquez, LRP
25 - League, CRP
Write it down guys. That's a stone cold lock. Until we sign Fielder and trade Smoak. Seriously.
Moving on.
Tune into sports radio here in Seattle and they're talking about one of two things:
1) WSU hiring Mike Leach. Who cares? These guys...
Seriously, click the link below and see where Albion, WA is.
Unless he can somehow move the Palouse to a location that recruits actually want to go to - they'll still Coug it. And, no, no matter how much you like wheat and lentils - you don't want to move to a place surrounded by those fields 200 miles in either direction. And if you do, chances are you aren't a top football recruit. (Sidenote we have a writer here at Orble that is a die-hard (read: retarded) Cougar fan... and you see no post from him about it... Coincidence? I think not.)
Now we'll get to the point of this post...
2) The Mariners have 'serious' interest in Prince Fielder. Really? What team doesn't have serious interest in Prince Fielder?
A natural DH.
That being said - let's look at how the Mariners just might land Fielder. We'll also look at what they'd have do with guys like Justin Smoak and Mike Carp if they did land him. I'll even throw in some potential lineups and rosters in this post for your absolute reading pleasure.
How do they get him?
Well, in my opinion, they have some decent reasons to draw interest from Fielder.
We'll start with the park. Yes, Safeco has become known as a 'pitcher's' park. But keep in mind who it was built for. Ken Griffey Jr. A left handed power hitter. Pretty sure Fielder fits that bill. At only 326 down the right-field line, Fielder has the potential to knock a couple out on check-swings here.
The league. The American League. Love it, hate it, be indifferent about it - I think the DH position is a big draw for Fielder. Granted, he was the only player in the MLB last year to play all 162 - so stamina isn't an issue. Yet. Nearing the end of a 6-7 year contract that he's likely to get - it just may be. He might be wise to head to the AL and get some in-season rest while remaining in a lineup.
Jack Zduriencik. Milwaukee Brewers ties anyone?
The rotation. Felix, Pineda. Do spots three through five matter at that point? Vargas is even a decent three - and probably a two in any other rotation. Pretty sure Fielder wouldn't mind having a staff like that.
Seattle NEEDS him. Everyone knows it. That's a lot of 'peer' pressure on ownership and management to open up the coffers and spend what we need to spend. Face it - no way Seattle should lose in a bidding war. If they do lose out on Fielder - it better not be because he got a better offer elsewhere.
The roster. I touched on this a little earlier, but the Mariners do have some guys on the roster that can play first base. Again, this kind of plays into the 'rest' angle of a platoon at 1B/DH.
So let's take a look at what I see as potential lineup's for the Mariners without Fielder and then with Fielder:
Without
1 - Ichiro/RF
2 - Ryan/SS
3 - Ackley/2B
4 - Smoak/1B
5 - Carp/DH
6 - Wells/LF
7 - Olivo/C
8 - Seager/3B
9 - Gutierrez/CF
With - assuming they keep Smoak
1 - Ichiro/RF
2 - Ryan/SS
3 - Ackley/2B
4 - Fielder/1B/DH
5 - Smoak/DH/1B
6 - Carp/LF
7 - Olivo/C
8 - Seager/3B
9 - Gutierrez/CF
With - assuming they trade Smoak
1 - Ichiro/RF
2 - Ryan/SS
3 - Ackley/2B
4 - Fielder/1B
5 - Carp/DH
6 - Wells/LF
7 - Olivo/C
8 - Seager/3B
9 - Gutierrez/CF
Now, keep in mind, I've done quite a bit of assuming in the above examples. Such as - keeping Ichiro at leadoff; putting Gutierrez where he SHOULD bat; having Carp play in LF in one scenario; etc. Regardless, I think it's clear that the lineup is infinitely better with Fielder in it then without him (duh, I know).
Now, as promised and highly anticipated, my December 1st shot at the Mariners Opening Day 25-man roster:
1 - Jaso, C
2 - Olivo, C
3 - Smoak, 1B
4 - Ackley, 2B
5 - Ryan, SS
6 - Seager, 3B
7 - Wells, LF
8 - Ichiro, RF
9 - Gutierrez, CF
10 - Carp, DH/1B
11 - Figgins, INF
12 - Liddi, INF
13 - Saunders, OF
14 - Robinson, OF
15 - Hernandez, SP
16 - Pineda, SP
17 - Vargas, SP
18 - Beavan, SP
19 - Furbush, SP
20 - Wright, RP
21 - Wilhelmsen, RP
22 - Ruffin, RP
23 - Cortes, RP
24 - Marquez, LRP
25 - League, CRP
Write it down guys. That's a stone cold lock. Until we sign Fielder and trade Smoak. Seriously.
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Comment by Joe Soriano
Pro Sports Wrap
Orble Sport Blog
Comment by Winless In Seattle
UnSportsman
If they do land Fielder, trading Smoak is inevitable in my opinion. I think the organization likes/has more invested in Carp, and I believe they view him as the future DH (who can play 1b to rest the starter). That being said Smoak, again in my opinion, has higher trade value - based solely on potential.