Mariners Showed Interest In Fukudome?

I would have taken Bedard for Kosuke, perhaps.

The Mariners need to trade Jose Lopez to the Cardinals and then sign Orlando Hudson. Why not make the best of this and try to win the division.

If Bedard could have passed a physical, I absolutely would have taken him for Fukudome---and I think Fukudome can bounce back and be an everyday player.

You could have brought back Edmonds to platoon with Reed and had a serviceable combo, although it may not be reasonable to expect them to be quite as good as last year. The quality of your OF would probably be a wash, and you have a potential boon to the rotation. It would have been a fun move.

"The Mariners need to trade Jose Lopez to the Cardinals and then sign Orlando Hudson. Why not make the best of this and try to win the division."

Why would the Mariners want to trade one of their better, younger, cost-controlled for a good long term players.

Move Jose Lopez to 1B, where he should be playing, and sign Hudson.

Bedard is a question mark health-wise, and Washburn is just awful and we don't need a catcher. No wonder the trade wasn't made.

"I still think that Fukudome will get used to the ammount of play in MLB. He will bounce back and have a good year."

I agree. He really wasn't bad last year, besides the expectations falling short. He was a pretty servicable CF and we shouldn't be taking back bad contracts for him.

That being said, if we could move him for Bedard and bring back Edmonds, I'd be all for it.

The Mariners would be best-served holding onto Bedard and seeing if he bounces back since they gave up a haul for him in the first place. I doubt they would trade him for Fukudome at this point.

And if Bedard comes back healthy, the Mariners could actually have a decent rotation of Felix, Bedard, Morrow, Washburn, and Silva, with Ryan Rowland-Smith (a pitcher I really like) waiting around.

There is no way Silva starts... Seriously no way.

"Silva is in alot better shape this offseason, you may be surprised that he isn't as bad as you think. "

Obviously an M's homer. I think anyone in their right mind would say Fukudome has more of a chance to earn their contract than Silva does.

here is another nugget that most don't realize.

Take a look at Fangraphs. They have Fukudome acutually outplaying his salary last year.

Wow alot of Fukudome hate going on here! Just give him another chance, remember when he came over here he started off strong, waited for his wife to come over from Japan, and waited while she had a baby, and played his first MLB season, lets give him a break i think he will make a full come back.

I'd rather not trade Kosuke for any of the Mariners that were mentioned. No Johjima is of no use to the Cubs, Washburn is of no use to any pitching staff who's team expects to contend, and Bedard is too risky health wise. Plus, don't quote me on this but I believe Kosuke is going to turn it around in '09. He did well for at least two months in '08 so I believe he can play well in the majors. I think it's just a matter of him needing to get accustomed and more comfortable with the league to the point where he can make adjustments quicker. Last year was perhaps his learning year, much like other Japanese imports have gone through. Moving him to CF is better for his bat since he won't need to produce like a corner outfielder and if he does improve substantially on his '08 performance then he's going to be a big asset going forward for the Cubs. Just my $.02

I think Phil Rogers is throwing names out there. Another picher would be nice, I like the Cubs having Bradley, Fuku, and Soriano. I cannot remember the Cubs having this talented of an outfield in recent years. The defense will be well above average, and Bradley and Soriano shoulf provide enough offense that Fuku only needs to be a fair hitter. The Cubs have made some good moves this winter, and their team, if healthy, will be a much better team than the 08 Cubs. Most Cub fans will disagree with me, but someone needs to question the intelligence of a fan who hates Soriano, one of the best players in the league.