As for Lincoln, T. S. Eliot said it best:

“one of the low, upon whom assurance sits like a top hat upon a Bradford millionaire.”

Reporter: “So, Ichiro, why did you leave the Mariners to play for the Athletics at half the pay?”

Ichiro: “Atama no naka ni kaiso wa arimasu.”

Translator: “Ummm…I didn’t like the sushi in Seattle.”

And that’s why this is a terrible trade. Even if you take the most pessimistic view on what the Mariners gave up — that Snelling will never be healthy enough to contribute and Fruto will never be good — and you don’t value young prospects with good minor league records this trade doesn’t help the Mariners.

Vidro is an all star caliber bat.
Vidro was an all-star in 2003. So was Bret Boone. That’s FOUR seasons removed from 2007. Vidro’s SLG% has dropped three years straight as have his BB%. He’s missed time due to injury three seasons in a row. He was an all-star caliber bat at 2B. On the optomistic side, he might be an above average bat at 2B now. But he isn’t going to play 2B, he’s going to play DH where his bat is well below average and he replaces Broussard who has similar numbers.

So even if you believe Vidro makes the team better, does he make the team $6M better? Is he better than Marcus Giles who certainly would have signed a 2/$12M contract and wouldn’t cost prospects. Viewed simply as DH vs. DH, is there anyway he’s $12M better than Snelling over the next two years? To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Snelling is $12M better than Vidro over the next two seasons.

Salary aside, I’m curious how anyone (especially anyone in the Mariners front office) concludes that this trade makes us better.

You slept?

*Sigh*

Gonna be a long day.

When I start botching code I will give a hearty “thanks” to Bavasi.

For those that think this is a great deal for us….this is not the Vidro from the 2000 Expos.

Think they get any paying customers thanks to the M’s?

The only thing that I think can save Bavasi’s reputation is if he knows that he can’t fire Hargrove and he also knows that Grover won’t use the quality young players on the roster (Choo, Reed, Snelling, Jones, etc.). Bavasi’s only option, then, is to try to find useful players whom Grover would play. This does not completely exonorate Bavasi by any means, but I feel that moves such as this one point to a poison in the FO that extends beyond Bavasi. Firing him, which may well be warranted, would not cleanse or heal what is wrong with the M’s.

The trade was agreed upon between the two clubs last Friday, but both sides needed Vidro’s approval because he has a no-trade clause. After receiving the news from his agent, Seth Levinson, Vidro spoke to Mariners manager Mike Hargrove that same day on the phone, and the skipper told him that he would be a designated hitter and a backup at third, second and first base.

Vidro then had a discussion with his wife, Annette, who told him to go to Seattle. Vidro then called Mariners outfielder Jose Guillen on Tuesday and informed him that he was going to approve the trade.

What might all of those hallmarks be, pray tell? Does he have a repeatable skill in getting injured? If you say so, then what are the other hallmarks?