Baseball Prospectus ran a Prospectus Triple Play today that included this tidbit — the PECOTA projected AL West standings
Team W-L RS/RA
Oakland 91-71 788/689
Seattle 86-76 799/753
Anaheim 83-79 748/724
Texas 76-86 835/892
I know I’ve been saying that the M’s are a 85-win team for a while now, but I’m sort of shocked to see some giant computer agrees with me. Also interesting, though… I thought the division might be a sack race to see who could limp to 85 wins, and instead PECOTA sees the A’s as a 90-win team today.
So here’s an interesting development.
PEORIA, Ariz. – If the Seattle Mariners’ regular season began today, they would have two catchers on their 25-man roster — and neither would be Ben Davis.
The M’s are so down on Davis right now that there’s serious talk of optioning him to Tacoma and beginning the season with a Dan Wilson / Pat Borders catching tandem. I didn’t realize Davis had an option year left, but apparently he does. And hey, not only did Borders hit .314 last season, but he seemed to whip Freddy Garcia into shape down the stretch.
More tidbits:
In a Tuesday game with the Padres in Peoria, scouts and front office personnel from both teams sat near one another behind home plate. Davis, who went 0-for-2, dropped a pop fly and misplayed a throw to the plate that allowed a run to score. “That’s why he’s your problem and not ours,” one Padres scout said. “We saw four years of that.”
Worse, the team is so disenchanted with his work behind the plate that there’s already been an edict issued: If Davis does make the team, he won’t be calling pitches.
“Everyone likes Ben, but a lot of us are starting to wonder if he gets it,” one Seattle coach said. “He said he wanted to be the starting catcher? Then earn it. Right now, he’s not even on the 25-man roster.”
We’ll have to see how this one plays out.