Yeah, what are we going to be doing this off-season? We’ll still be writing, I’ll tell you that much right now. There should be plenty to talk about, between the search for a new GM, lots of potential player movement, and of course MLB in general.
In a completely unrelated note — well, related only in that it involves me — I sprained my ankle this evening and it’s not pleasant.
Oh, and Boston clinched the Wild Card tonight if you hadn’t already heard (hence, no more countdown on the left nav).
Friday:
“Now taking the field to present this year’s check to Children’s Hosptial is Mariners President Chuck Armstrong and CEO Howard Lincoln.”
“Booooooooooooooooooooooo.”
“What’s that? Chuck, are they booing us?”
“Uh, no sir, there’s been an accounting scandal at the Hospital.”
In a totally random note: “Fifty million Americans can’t be wrong.” — Representative Billy Tauzin, R-Louisiana, after a judge blocked implementation of the national do-not-call list.
While estimates vary hugely, the fairly reputable 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found there were 11 million marijuana users in the country, which means 1 in 20 people in this country use an illegal drug. Do you think Billy Tauzin is going to stump for rational drug policy on that platform?
Uh, so anyway, many people want to know what we’re going to write about in the off-season, and I have no idea. Probably the M’s, and probably less frequently (one: less going on, two: better job for Derek stops mid-day posting).
The problem with not putting Rrrandy Winn through arb and moving him to center is that there aren’t going to be much better alternatives out there. Cameron’s a FA, he’ll be gone, and unless we want to trade for Beltran, we’re in trouble.
I don’t think Winn’s a liability in center so much as he’s not Cameron. Defensively he’s no McLemore out there. Who’s available (scampering for notes… holy mackeral, is Vernon Wells having a nice season)?
Milton Bradley and the Indians are parting ways, that wouldn’t be so bad, though Milton seems to emit radiation on a wavelength that alienates front offices.
Carl Everett? There’s nothing in the bible about playing child abusers (yeah, I know, there’s no evidence he directly beat the kids himself, just that he failed to intervene…)
Kenny Lofton? He’s awful defensively.
Ken Griffey Jr. may seriously be the team’s best option, especially if the Reds will eat a lot of his salary. Man, I used to love cheering for Griffey before he went insane. And playing him in center’s probably not going to help the injuries.
Other than that, you’re looking at a AAA-level flycatcher. Though now that I think about it, a pure defensive CF wouldn’t be so bad if they did let Winn go and invested that $10m+ in a masher for LF and a decent 4th OF (like free agent Rrrrandy Winn).
C Randy Winn
1B Rey Sanchez
2B Mike Cameron
SS John Mabry
3B Jeff Cirillo (ha!)
LF Pat Borders
CF Carlos Guillen
RF John Olerud
DH Luis Ugueto
And on the mound, #29, Bret Boone.
There’s nothing wrong with weird alignments this weekend. We’re out of it, and we might as well act like it. So what if you need three cutoff men to get it in from right field? More practice for Ugueto and Bloomquist at making relays…
Personally, I say screw the “only 5 guys start games all year” record, and give Putz, Sweeney, and Soriano starts this weekend. The A’s are going to run their Triple-A lineup out there, so we might as well take advantage and get the kids some confidence.
I was doing this for Strong, not Winn… but yeah, Winn in right isn’t a good idea. At the same time, moving Cameron out of center seems silly, and it’s not as if Strong has a good throwing arm either.
I’d love to see Randy Winn in right field just for the spectacle of it. He already has the worst throwing arm in baseball, and sticking him in right could be hilarious. I’d bet the over on Erubiel Durazo getting three triples.
On a somewhat related note, I think I’m the only one who doesn’t like the “Pay Winn $5 million in arbitration, move him to CF” plan for next year. He’s just not that good offensively, and he’d be a liability in center.
With the M’s out of the race, I’d like to see Jamal Strong get starts in each of the final three games. Why not see what he can do at the plate, even if it’s only for a handful of at-bats? With three games left, the regular outfielders could each get one day off so Strong could play…
Friday: LF Winn, CF Strong, RF Ichiro
Saturday: LF Strong, CF Cameron, RF Ichiro
Sunday: LF Strong, CF Cameron, RF Winn
…or something similar.
Popular question of the day: Who do we want to replace Gillick?
We’ve been over this a bit before, and when he officially announces his retirement, I’ll begin my full-court press campaigning for the guys I would pick. After all, considering the good my David Ortiz bandwagon did in the offseason and my Matt Stairs campaign did during the season, it is obvious that the decision makers will be taking my suggestions seriously.
But, for those of you who haven’t been reading us that long (and welcome, by the way), my picks are, in no particular order, Chris Antonetti (Asst. GM in Cleveland), Tim Purpura (Asst. GM in Houston), and Derek Zumsteg.