Off-day fun
DMZ · September 24, 2007 at 7:33 am · Filed Under Mariners
Angels clinch the West.
Indians clinch the Central.
Boston’s only a game and a half up on the Yankees.
The M’s are one Yankee win or Mariner loss from being eliminated from the wild card. You’d think then they’d start to play the kids… for a couple of games, which… standard rant goes here.
Good times.
I really wonder if Ichiro would be happy with the idea of Bonds on the M’s.
He’d be happier with Kosuke Fukudome here.
#49 – *lmao*
49 – Clearly your correct. Why he will be playing the game in such a high leverage situation instead of, say, Ibanez is beyond me.
Barry Bonds is going to be a very viable DH option for some AL team this winter
… that doesn’t mind hosting his traveling show of trainers/hangers-on and having different superstar rules for Barry and the other 24 guys on the team.
I know we mock the concept of team chemistry here an awful lot, but honestly? This is the one case where I’m fine drawing limits, and going “never, not even if he played for free and hit 80 home runs”.
The “he sure didn’t help SF win games†argument is a little specious because they didn’t surround him with any real talent.
Sure, but my argument is that he isn’t a magical panacea that turns your franchise into a winner at this point in his career, not that he isn’t still a good player within his limitation (should never play the field, decent injury risk, decent collapse risk).
I’m not going to delve into the S-word too much myself either, but I will say that I feel that Barry Bonds has been singled out for reasons that have nothing to do with his level of guilt, and the problem that baseball has is far, far larger in scope than just him.
Really? Have you seen Mark McGwire or Raffy Palmeiro being promoted/hyped in baseball lately? Sammy Sosa’s getting some love, maybe, but he wasn’t a BALCO target like some others were. I think Bonds is deservedly getting derision from large segments of the fans and baseball community, and it makes perfect sense to consider that as part of the baggage.
The Mariners are going to have enough problems as it stands. Adding a player who you’d have to spend time and energy making cuddly so that he doesn’t get ferociously booed on Opening Day? Not worth it to me as a fan, and I have no problem agreeing with a GM who makes the same decision. Dick Allen strikes me as very similar to Barry Bonds- great player, complete asshole. He eventually played his way off of teams and out of baseball because of that. Same with Canseco. I don’t think GMs who decide not to give limited MLB jobs to talented assholes are automatically making bad decisions.
you know how Rizzsy can get over Willie B?
Dave Sims is so that over Vince Young.
Also keep in mind Bonds isn’t out of the woods yet in terms of the law and MLB. Whatever team takes a chance on him next season is taking a chance not just with his health and baggage but taking the chance he might not be available to play at all because he’s been banned by baseball or appearing in court.
Vince Young? He’s what, a shortstop for the Rangers or something?
which reminds me, the A’s extended Ellis (and Geren) today
Oh, and as an add-on to my post:
The other way to look at this is that of the 3 components of baseball performance (offense, defense, pitching), the Mariners are above average offensively, slightly below average pitching (which really translates to good bullpen, not so good starting pitching in the aggregate), and terrile defense (28th in MLB, only ahead of the two Florida teams).
Adding another terrible defensive player to go along with Sexson, Ibanez and Vidro does absolutely nothing to fix the current team weaknesses, and in fact INCREASES one of them (in that now we have a fourth veteran on the roster who really is nothing more than a DH), and removes financial resources that could be helpful in fixing them (paying Bonds as opposed to being willing to eat more of Sexson’s salary in a trade, for instance).
The team (and whoever is the GM+advisors) is already going to have enough problems as it is getting Sexson off the roster without taking the wrong players back, enhancing the pitching, and minimizing the problems Ibanez and Vidro cause the team in not being capable defenders. I don’t want to add “having to spin Barry Bonds as a warm and cuddly Mariner” to the list of problems to fix this offseason.
That’d be a fine point, I think, if you want to look at it in a vacuum.
But there simply aren’t going to be any established veteran pitchers out there this offseason that would help the team; and I think that Bonds could add a lot of offensive value for a relatively limited cost. You have to look at what is going to reasonably be available, as well as what your needs are.
DFA Vidro and Sexson (or trade them for a bag of baseballs each), move Ibanez to 1B (he can’t be any more of a disaster there than he is in LF at this point), put Bonds at DH.
Bonds having baggage is why you could probably get him cheap. If he’s still going to insist he’s a $15 million plus per year player, then you walk away.
But there simply aren’t going to be any established veteran pitchers out there this offseason that would help the team
Not in the FA market, but you don’t need free agents to improve pitching. Salary flexibility would be awfully nice, but you don’t have it if you spend it on Bonds.
DFA Vidro and Sexson (or trade them for a bag of baseballs each), move Ibanez to 1B (he can’t be any more of a disaster there than he is in LF at this point), put Bonds at DH.
So, you’re taking salary to 120 million, then? Are you resigning Guillen? Or are you dumping him for Bonds+Wlad?
Also, I’m not convinced that Raul won’t be as bad at 1B as Sexson, and Sexson is a big part of why the defense sucked this year. Raul’s pretty much immobile in the field. I’m not convinced moving him to 1B improves our defense. I actually think he should DH (and play less against LHP).
Vidro, actually, is kind of OK as a backup, every so often 1B. I know it’s heresy, but he’s a useful player as a bench player (if sort of overpaid).
Oh, and you screwed Broussard out of a lineup spot too, again- who probably IS an acceptable defensive alternative. (I like the idea of Broussard/Vidro as next year’s 1B platoon).
Bonds having baggage is why you could probably get him cheap.
Consider Eric Byrnes is getting $10 million next year- why is Bonds going to want less than that? The headaches he brings are only worth a 5 million discount.
And again- the Mariners biggest problem is too many players who suck on defense. Adding ANOTHER one does not solve this problem. I think you can fix those defensive problems for less than 10 million and taking on a potential headache, and improve the team just as much as by adding Bonds’ bat, without needing to DFA useful players like Vidro.