Comments on: The ‘09 Pitching Staff

By: Tuomas

Tuomas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:56:43 +0000

“To get a mediocre pitcher like Silva you have to cough up alot of cash”

Doesn’t 2RS’s presence put the lie to that theory?

“The new GM still needs to [...] get a veteran or two in there.”

AAAH NO! Silva, Washburn, Everett, Eddie Gascan, Slocumb, Vidro… this is not an organization that has the best track record with bringing in veterans.

By: MarinerMC

MarinerMC — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:38:05 +0000

I think we have all seen that to get a top tier pitcher you have to spend a huge chunk of change. The important thing to remember in getting this shipwreck turned around is developing the talent from within. We already have the big money guys in Bedard, Silva, and Washburn. To get a mediocre pitcher like Silva you have to cough up alot of cash. The rotation looks good going into next year, the new GM still needs to look for a lefty to replace Sherill and get a veteran or two in there. The rotation will be solid providing there’s a healthy Bedard along with Felix, Silva, and a mix of either Morrow, RRS, or feierebend.
The new GM needs to worry about the hitting and defense AND trying to find someone stupid enough to take Washburn and Batista’s salaries…..

By: TomG

TomG — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:35:58 +0000

for once, we can look forward to a winter where we’re not throwing ridiculous money at back-end starting pitchers

Amen. Although the irony being that this offseason might be the one offseason where it makes senses to spend some money on pitching.

Aside from the elite talent hitting the market (Sabathia, Sheets, possibly Lackey/Harden…Moyer), there are quite a few second tier pitchers in their peak years that could bolster the front-middle of the rotations: guys like Garland, Oliver Perez, possibly AJ Burnett…

By: Tuomas

Tuomas — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:59:42 +0000

Given that Silva’s mean was set with Jason Bartlett at shortstop and Luis Castillo at second, how much regression can we expect with Yuni and Jose out there?

By: notanangrygradstudent

notanangrygradstudent — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:17:39 +0000

As nice as it sounds in theory, it has one major problem: passed balls with men on base. If you can bring him in at the start of an inning, fine, but with your bullpen you rarely have that luxury. It’s great to have a guy who can do long relief and throw everyday, but there is a risk.

This would be a perfect opportunity to dovetail with the Morrow thread from 26 Aug, which discussed the overvaluing of closers. If the M’s could break the mold and turn the “closer” role into the “high-leverage reliever” role, that would free up Dickey to take over the following inning in a bases-empty situation.

I realize this is far too forward-thinking for the M’s, but having a knuckleball reliever strikes me as a perfect opportunity to put the theory to the test.

By: bakomariner

bakomariner — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:57:41 +0000

For Ms fans, pain…for everyone else, laughter…

By: mln

mln — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:02:48 +0000

Saying we had “Five Aces” or numbers 1s was one of the most ridiculous statements in Mariners history…I’m sure everyone who heard it was in tears…

Would that be tears of uncontrollable laughter or tears of pain?

By: Steve T

Steve T — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:42:41 +0000

Should Silva’s new name be “Ace of Burgers”?

By: Mike Snow

Mike Snow — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:41:51 +0000

The way to get Silva to regress toward his mean is by overhauling the position players with a view to improving the infield defense.

By: TumwaterMike

TumwaterMike — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:40:58 +0000

If the fans and management can take it on the chin for a couple of years an start fixing bad salaries. There are several stars in the minors that will be helping in a couple of years.

Carlos Triunfel, Dennis Raben, Jharmidy DeJesus, Kris Sanchez, Juan Fuentes, Rob Johnson, Mike Wilson, Mike Saunders, Prentice Redman, Matt Tuiasosopo, Andrew Baldwin, Chris Jakubauskas, Phillipe Aumont, Josh Fields (when he signs), Travis Chick,Denny Almonte, Michael Pineda, Juan Rameriz, Jacob Wild, Donald Hume, Travis Mortimore, Adam Moore, Shawn Garrett, Thomas Hubbard, Rich Dorman, Shawn Kelley and Mumba Rivera just to name a few.

I bet there is at least 5 or 6 out of that list that will contribute.

And then there’s the good picks we’ll have next year. Don’t blow up our minor league system for a few vets. Use the Tampa Bay or Florida Marlin model and I think we’ll be fine.

The only free agents we need to sign are veteran role players, to help the young kids and to show some leadership on the field. (Is Mark McLemore available?).