In short, the Mariners need to deal with it, particularly if they have no plans — despite their financial success — to run with the big dogs in New York, Boston and, suddenly, Baltimore.
They don’t, with yesterday’s one exception, want to pay premium dollars, and they don’t want high-maintenance personalities.
But if those limits mean exclusively a roster of 25 Oleruds, Ichiros, Wilsons and Winns, it suggests the goal is not the World Series but recognition as the Boy Scouts’ 93-win team of the century.
Ichiro’s new deal, as I’m sure you’ve heard by now, is worth a reported $44M over four years, $6M of which is in the form of a signing bonus. I have yet to find out how the other $38M breaks down by year, if any of the money is deferred, etc., but of course we’ll pass that along as we find it.
From MLB.com: Ichiro inks four-year extension. By signing him to a four-year deal, the M’s have bought out the first year (2007) in which he would have been eligible for free agency. Financial terms don’t seem to be out yet, but I’m sure they’ll leak out sooner or later.
AP’s reporting the M’s have signed a four-year deal with Ichiro. Details as we find them.
Blaine Newham… what are you going to do? He’s worried that Garcia’s going to be let go for nothing. It includes these gems:
Once the Mariners cut Garcia, he will be gone, as will his 200 innings, as will his value in a trade for that big bat they need.
Would the Cincinnati Reds take Garcia and Randy Winn in exchange for Ken Griffey Jr.? Sure they would.
But that’s another story.
Where would you put that big bat now?
Why in the world would the Reds trade Griffey now, while his trade value is so low, for an average outfielder and an extremely-well compensated mystery?
The Mariners seem frustrated with him to the point they just want him gone.
But are they forgetting that Garcia, despite his problems, had an ERA of 1.97 in September last season, when a pennant was on the line?
In Garcia’s last four starts for the Mariners, he allowed two runs. In September, he walked eight while striking out 28.
He could win 18 games next season, as he has in the past.
Has Newham forgotten that those games in September, when a pennant was on the line, might have been meaningless if at any point in the season before that Garcia had pitched well for any reasonable stretch of time? And has he forgotten that Garcia required a personal catcher to reach those stats?
And sure, Garcia could win 18 games next season. So could I. Should the highest possible ceiling be what teams look to in retention decisions, rather than reasonable expectations?
Blaine Newham is such a bad baseball columnist there’s no joke here. That as an editor he must see the work Larry Stone does cross his monitor every day of the season and yet not have any of Stone’s ability or insight rub off on him baffles me.