 |
|
|
| |
« Wolf Will Consider All Destinations In '09 | Main | A Tale Of Two Second Basemen: Hudson, Castillo »
Mariners President: No Big Signings
The Seattle Mariners need to go better than 8-15 the rest of the way to avoid being the first 100-loss club to spend over $100 million on payroll. Given this grave disappointment of a season, one might think that the team will go out and add parts to help contend in '09 and beyond.
Not so fast. Geoff Baker caught up with team president Chuck Armstrong, who said, paraphrased, read my lips: no big name free agents. So if you're in Seattle and were hoping for a savior in the form of CC Sabathia or Mark Teixeira -- or even in the form of Griffey Jr. -- you might find yourself a little disappointed this winter. The team already tried that route, and it didn't pan out so well. So they're trying a different approach.
The team will hire a new GM soon, and Armstrong wants to see a "comprehensive plan" out of each candidate. This invovles a rigorous rebuilding process that will enable the team to sustain itself without having to pick from high-ticket free agents. Of course, the Ms still have a shot in 2009. As Baker points out, there's plenty of talent on the roster. If both Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard pitch how they're capable, if Jeff Clement and Brandon Morrow realize their potential, if Carlos Silva and Jarrod Washburn can be league-avearge, then yeah, maybe they've got a shot. But that's a whole lot of ifs.
It seems as if any new GM in Seattle will have a number of tough decisions to make. Is this an omen of a full-out rebuild?
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834515b9a69e200e5550282348834
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Mariners President: No Big Signings:
Comments
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
Top Stories
Search MLBTR
MLBTR Features
Recent Posts
Rumors By Team
Monthly Archives
Live Chats
Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST
I don't buy it. BaseballGuru said that the M's would sign both Sabbathia and Teix. I'd trust that scoop over what some team president is saying.
Seriously, this is great news for M's fans. They should focus on rebuilding through within. Spending big bucks on top tier FA's isn't what need to be doing now.
Posted by: bjsguess | September 05, 2008 at 10:03 AM
BJ, I was thinking the same thing. Lol.
This is good news. Great chance for them to showcase some of their young talent and build some popular names for the future.
Posted by: Scottsdale01 | September 05, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Chuck Armstrong is an effing moron.
For the record, Armstrong says he was the one who blocked the Jarrod Washburn trade to the Twins. Says he wants "value'' back, not just more saved money. He feels Washburn has been the only one other than Hernandez getting hitters out the past three months and that the team still needs that to get through the year.
No. Just no. If the goal is to eat innings, hell, Ryan Feireibend will eat innings at league minimum if Morrow doesn't start next year. A bunch of them will be horrible, but once he settles down, he won't be worse than Miguel Batista. Silva won't be dumped, and he eats innings like he eats tacos (although they're horrid)
Felix-Bedard-Morrow-RRS-Silva with Batista and Feirabend as depth. If the M's aren't contending, what's the point of keeping Jarrod around. Invest the saved money into player development.
Posted by: melonis rex | September 05, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Put quotation marks around the "for the record" paragraph; that came straight out of the Baker article.
Hopefully the rebuilding sentiment is actually followed through with though. Although the Washburn sentiment is very antithetical to rebuilding. Get the innings out of options that won't be moved (Batista/Feirabend) and fix the offense.
Posted by: melonis rex | September 05, 2008 at 10:37 AM
If Jeff Clement is not starting catcher next year, things will get ugly.
Posted by: melonis rex | September 05, 2008 at 10:48 AM
I was thinking about the headline "No big signings" and I realized that does not rule out trades for big names. Somehow, I came up with the skewed idea of Prince Fielder for Erik Bedard. Though it wouldn't happen, it's fun to think about. The M's would have to throw in another piece, but it would give the Crew a good starter to help replace Sabathia/Sheets, and it would give the M's a good YOUNG hitter who could still be around when they become competitive. Bedard would have to prove he is healthy again if the Brewers were to take him on, but then again, it's just a random musing.
Posted by: jacklaf | September 05, 2008 at 10:57 AM
I don't buy it. BaseballGuru said that the M's would sign both Sabbathia and Teix. I'd trust that scoop over what some team president is saying.
Posted by: bjsguess | September 05, 2008 at 10:03 AM
lol I came to the comments to see what he had to say.
Posted by: juiced | September 05, 2008 at 11:03 AM
obviously the stink from seattle comes from just more than a bad GM. it takes front-office cluelessness to allow big contracts for mediocre (or worse) players. by hanging onto a washburn for "value" it seems chuck armstrong needs to change his cologne. he smells bad.
Posted by: crash | September 05, 2008 at 03:08 PM
Hopefully Armstrong and Lincoln are ousted this winter and whatever he says is meaningless. Don't get me wrong. This is the first sensible thing he has said like...ever. Problem is, he is talking out of both sides of his mouth. A lot of the mess we are in is as much his and Lincoln's fault as it was Bavasi's. Why should he be immune to criticism?
Concerning Washburn. Could have taking the 10 million he's owed in 2010 and given it to Strasburg. Washburn has no value to this team. Eats innings? You can pay a run of the mill guy league minimum to "eat innings". Just a stupid mistake to hold onto him like they did.
Posted by: thr33niL | September 05, 2008 at 06:13 PM
I meant the money Washburn was owed in 2009.. not 2010.
Heres to a ton of changes for the Mariners this winter from top to bottom.
cheers.
Posted by: thr33niL | September 05, 2008 at 06:14 PM
It's just silly how most teams refuse to even hint at a "rebuild" year when it's really their only reasonable option.
If they traded off anything that is expensive, tradeable and won't likely be around in 2010 they'd be far better off.
Collect some prospects, save some money and give out chances to your young talent. How is this not a win-win-win?
Posted by: tmar | September 05, 2008 at 10:01 PM
rebuild is probably the smartest idea but the unique problem is the team is BUILT on a soon-enough-to-show-his-age Ichiro. and does he want to understand the word rebuild?
face it, they have likely blown the window with 51 and may blow it even worse by not trading him
Posted by: crash | September 05, 2008 at 10:37 PM
REBUILD ALREADY!
trade ichiro, beltre, bedard (if you can get something decent), silva (eat some money), Batista, johjima, betancourt and washburn.
get decent prospects in return and build around felix. Its gonna be very hard to get rid of these gigantic contracts though.
Ichiro and beltre should be traded since theyre pretty close to full value right now. Bedard is too-injury prone. Eat some salary and get rid of Silva, hes way overpaid.Batista for a baseball. Trade Yuni in the offseason due to a very weak SS market.
If they can get the prospects then in a couple years they will look similar to the rays with a few SMART free agent signings. BUT WHAT CAN I SAY? THE pathetic management is going to keep things intact and think they can compete with a mediocre roster.
Posted by: kingfelix93 | September 05, 2008 at 10:52 PM