Bloomquist gets two years
And not in baseball limbo for being terrible but a two-year contract to play for the team.
While we don’t know how much it’s for… if it’s close to $1m/per, it’s a bad deal. If it’s about $500,000, it’s excusable.
We’ve written a ton about Bloomquist here, but the short version is that he’s a decent bench guy: he can swipe a base, play a lot of defensive positions without killing you anywhere, and he’s not utterly hopeless with the bat. There’s utility in that. He seems like a good enough guy (though of course, you don’t really know) and there seems to be a lot of fans who like him.
I mostly agree with Bavasi, who said:
Bloomquist gives us a lot of versatility coming off the bench or from a starting role. He helps us in a variety of roles, including the ability to steal a base and play almost any position on the field.
He’s a starter? He hasn’t been good when he’s had a chance to start. He hasn’t been good against advanced competition for any sustained period in his career. At this age, we’ve seen what he’s capable of and it’s not much. His defense at any position isn’t good, which means that playing him regularly hurts the team badly.
In the grand scheme of Marinerdom, it’s not such a big deal (unless they gave way more money than is realistic).
Fun Bloomquist fact: with Willy and his scrappy, infectious play, the M’s are 225-261 (.463). During the long, lost-in-the-desert pre-Willy period, they went 1,860-2,065 (.474).
Re: 148
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/04/05/morn/freel.jpg
I believe Ryan Freel just got into some -more- trouble with the law.
And, on opening day last season he was arrested for drunken driving. His SUV was damaged enough that he had to exit the passenger side.
Statistically, I’d rather have Freel but at least Willie keeps out of trouble… from what I know, or at least, don’t hear.
#152: Big deal, Freel barhops occasionally during the offseason….
“But look at it the other way. If Willie stays planted on the bench most of the time, people will start to think, and say, “Why did we lock this guy up for 800k a year for 2 years to ride the pine? He’s GRITTY. Get him in the lineup and see what he can do when he has a chance to start!—
I think this is where I disagree with you most. You’re drastically overestimating the extent to which “people” will care about Bloomquist’s contract. Now, when there’s no other new, people notice. Give them two months, and they won’t care.
And as for arguing against signing a player because the fans don’t know how to properly use him, or the management doesn’t know how to properly use him — that doesn’t sound like a problem with the contract, to me. If the fans raise a stink, so be it, there’s no such thing as bad press, right? If Hargrove can’t manage the team right, then fire Hargrove and get a manager who can, but that shouldn’t make or break your decision on Bloomquist.
#152– there is barhopping, and there is drinking so much you get arrested for disorderly intoxication or operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, careless driving and having an open container in a motor vehicle….
Re: 152
Big deal? His major incident happened hours after opening day.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/04/05/reds_arrest.html
“The officer said he observed Freel’s Yukon SUV stopped on the entrance ramp to Southbound I-471… According to the police report, the vehicle turned around, going over a traffic island then had trouble staying in the correct lane on Dave Cowan Drive.”
This happened in addition to expired license plates and severe damage to his vehicle from earlier in the evening. Apparently, he also said he hadn’t had anything to drink and then failed five sobriety tests. It’s not bar hopping, it’s called stupidity. That said, everyone is more than entitled to make mistakes. It seems as if he’s developing a problem though.
Typical idiot fan… give me a break. There’s no need to be an ass.
Step one: Re-read your inane response to my post.
Step two: Be ashamed of yourself.
Step three: Actually adress what I said.
Yeah, it’s startling how much it sounds like you’re talking about a football team when you’re talking about a football team.
And you think the turn-around in Miami is attributable to what exactly besides Saban?
One: I did.
Two: No.
Three: You had nothing worth addressing. You’re making a bigger deal out of nothing. You want to call for a complete management overhaul and direction change because the most recent event was the straw that broke your camel’s back. You’re frustrated, I understand that. I was plenty pissed off when I saw the Everett and Washburn signings too. But Willie F. Bloomquist sticking around as our 25th man on the roster does not make or break our season now, next year, or ever. You’re pissed about other things and using Bloomquist as a microcosm. In other words, there are bigger issues afoot here and bitching about Bloomie is disengenous.
The Dolphins talk is off topic.
Good grief, man. The Dolphins talk wasn’t off topic at all. What is your problem? You are always about as unpleasant as you can be.
And I don’t believe disengenuous means what you think it means. Because there is nothing dinsengenuous at all about my distaste for this deal. I never said it was the worst signing of all time, I said I don’t like it, I said the reasons why, I said I am sick of the management of this team and gave an example of how bad management can slowly kill your team and good management can right a sinking ship. All valid.
#154, #155: Once again…big deal… last season’s incident was resolved and Freel’s citation this year had nothing to do with drinking and driving…once again….claiming Freel is an albatross because he allegedly got into an argument in a bar a month ago is making a mountain out of a mole hill…
But then again…the point…he’s a much better alternative than Bloomquist still of course stands unrefuted…..
I suppose we could discuss the two’s fashion senses if you still prefer not to compare their peripherals…. Freel has bloomie beat there too though….
#159
Or, perhaps it’s pointing out that Freel has a problem with alcohol.
I agreed with you that he’s better than Bloomquist in my first post.
“Good grief, man. The Dolphins talk wasn’t off topic at all.”
Your belief was that Nick Saban turned the Dolphins around and used that as metaphor for a Mariners overhaul. My belief is that it wasn’t, but discussing the reasons why would eventually drift off topic. There is always more to “turning around” a team then a new coach.
“What is your problem? You are always about as unpleasant as you can be.”
Thanks? What do you want me to do? Agree with everything you say? I’d have to believe what you believe first. I also recognize that you’re a smart man and regularly post good points and topics on these comments pages. But for some reason your guff with Bloomie nad his contract seems to be going a little off kilter towards “insane rage”.
“And I don’t believe disengenuous means what you think it means.”
INCONCEIVABLE!
“Because there is nothing dinsengenuous at all about my distaste for this deal. I never said it was the worst signing of all time, I said I don’t like it, I said the reasons why, I said I am sick of the management of this team and gave an example of how bad management can slowly kill your team and good management can right a sinking ship. All valid. ”
“Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating:”
Definition courtesy of dictionary.com. To me, and like I said before, you’re just using Willie and his contract as a means of lambasting the organization for other things. In the grand schema of the universe, and baseball, Willie and his contract aren’t as bad as it seems you’re making it sound.
In respect to the definition, I just think you’re not being as honest with your feelings.
Willie Bloomquist would never make the news by getting in trouble with the law for drunken driving. Never. Ever.
Saving puppies from a burning house–now that would be a different story.