USSM/LL Event Recap
So, that went well.
Section 331 has already written her recap, and I know that there will be one up on Proball NW in the not too distant future, so feel free to read those to get the perspective of a few folks in the audience.
From my spot on stage, I thought the afternoon was a lot of fun. We spent the first hour making a lot of jokes before Jack, Tony, Mac, and Jeff Kingston arrived and took the stage. We then spent about two hours bouncing questions off of them, ranging from Cliff Lee (they think he’s good) to Brandon League (Blengino is apparently super super high on him) to what they would like us to understand (players are people).
They talked about acquiring Milton Bradley as a conclusion of reward outweighing risk, and had some interesting comments about how they don’t see Wak as Houdini, insinuating that they’re not expecting Bradley to be an angel here. They understand the volatility, but they’re willing to take a shot on it working in a smaller, more friendly environment than Chicago, pointing to his success in San Diego and Texas.
They talked about planning the off-season planning, dismissing a notion of “going for it” in lieu of “rebuilding”, choosing rather to make moves that improved the team. They talked about Dustin Ackley (they’re encouraged by the early reviews at second base), they talked about Chone Figgins (he was the guy that everyone in the front office wanted), and they talked about wanting to do a couple more things before the season starts.
They were great. They did a good job of answering the questions that they wanted to answer while inserting humor into the questions they didn’t want to answer. The standing ovation at the end was louder than at the beginning.
For those who came out, thanks for making the trip. We’ll do it again, I’m sure.
In answer to an implication that was brought up high in this thread, there weren’t any ‘secret’ comments not reported here about potential free agents, potential trade targets, or any players at all on other teams that I can think of. All references were to Mariner personnel.
I don’t know how many A/B split squad games they’re scheduled for, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were given a lot of starts at 2B in those, possibly working with the MLB starters, to give him more of a look at second with the top brass watching. That’s just speculation. It was clear the top brass does want to see him at second with their own eyes, and hasn’t yet, in game situations.
Was that you calling Zduriencik too?
Right, Jeff has Zduriencik on speed-dial.
You noticed he didn’t answer it?
@joser
Zduriencik Buzz Cut Night?
I was hoping for Dave Sims Hat Night last August, but alas, it was not to be.
RE tweet:
if you don’t think that the event was worth 17 dollars, you have no business calling yourself a Mariners fan :/
I would absolutely attend a Dave Sims Hat Night
I have hijacked the official USSM twitter feed to request this of the M’s.
[event rules]
[edit]
In fairness to Dave, he spent a good deal of time mocking himself for doing this, mentioning how Salk has been on his case everytime he’s on their show.
But will he give you a hug too? 😉 Having my jersey made was very expensive, but worth it. I wanted to show my support in case there was anyone from the front office that might show up. I naively thought that nobody would be there — that they might be ironing out the details on a contract extension or in the middle of making a huge trade that nobody anywhere would see coming…
Anyways, great event Dave. It was my first time and I look forward to attending more. Thanks again to everyone involved.
Okay, I’m not going to delete it [but I am]
One last thought. It was a good idea to include some really open ended questions (like, what one thing do you wish we all knew?) but it might also be good to try to encourage more stories. Although, with their boss sitting there maybe they wouldn’t want to start telling stories about each other, I don’t know. But maybe they could tell about things that happened on their former teams. The Q&A format can get a little constraining to the panel.
Is this where the first 20,000 fans each receive a different hat from Dave Sims personal collection?
As a reminder, we ask those who attended to be respectful of the nature of the event in retelling what was discussed. Overall impressions (Jack is confident in his staff and thinks they had a good year) and general themes (the front office really went after Figgins) are okay, reciting details of a specific comment is a bridge too far for an off-the-record event.
And it is Jack’s birthday today.
I’d have sung happy birthday if I’d known.
ok, I’d have sung along with 503 others if I’d known.
You can’t reasonably expect a crowd of 500 to keep information confidential. The FO knows this and considers this when deciding which information to share.
However, it does serve a purpose for USSM/LL in that people will be more likely to attend an event in the future if they want to be privy to this “inside information”. I just wouldn’t worry about “endangering” future events. I think you’re quite safe.
I thought the event was great. Gathering questions before hand and organizing loosely into themes worked well. Some suggestions on how to improve the event:
+ Keep it about the same size, I think 1,000 might stifle the conversation. Benaroya Hall was very nice.
+ Angle the panel table slightly so they can see the podium.
+ Consider having the questioner sit at the table with the panel. Both parties will be able to see and hear each other better.
+ Re-introduce yourself when switching questioners or have the outgoing blogger at least announce the change.
+ Consider stage monitors so you can hear each other on stage.
+ Start the panel with an open ended question that allows each panelist a chance to introduce themselves or make an opening comment.
+ The blogger panel to start with was the funniest warm up act I’ve seen in quite some time.
Thanks for the info! I’m currently planning to see a bunch of games late March; I’ll have to make sure to catch at least one Felix/Lee combo deal ;).
Thank you for a great event! I was somewhat disappointed no one wanted to stick around. I would have enjoyed a recap from the bloggers’ POV. But it was certainly a lot of fun.
I love hearing Jack Z and the rest, but I also think it would be awesome to have a slightly more informal discussion with Tony B that would delve more deeply into the nerdy side of things. Maybe an event with him and Shannon Drayer? Z is great but he is understandably constrained by his role and the need to be politically correct.
You can’t reasonably expect a crowd of 500 to keep information confidential. The FO knows this and considers this when deciding which information to share.
This is the last comment on this topic – period.
The rules are the rules. You don’t have to like them. You don’t have to think they serve a purpose. You just have to follow them.
That’s it.
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[this isn’t open for debate, stop talking about it]
Thanks for the info! I’m currently planning to see a bunch of games late March; I’ll have to make sure to catch at least one Felix/Lee combo deal
By late March you probably won’t see a Felix/Lee combo as they will be going 6-7 innings and the M’s will be setting up their rotation for the start of the season. You’ll probably see Felix and a couple of minor league pitchers. The same for Lee.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep talking about it. It’s just every time I posted/refreshed the content had changed. 🙂
Okay. It’s a nasty wet Monday morning in Seattle and people are grumpy. Let’s move on to happier thoughts, like an 11-man pitching staff (even if it’s probably still just a pipe dream).
Thanks, Mike. Down here in San Diego it’s 70 and sunny. I’ll have to check the weather before I post next time. 🙂
What would you do with that extra roster spot, assuming an 11-man pitching staff? It does seem like there are a lot of good veteran hitters looking for a place to play.
Thanks again for the event guys. The story Jack told about Junior and Ichiro made my week.
Also – Happy birthday, Jack! (a dedicated thread is deserved, imo)
How about a Ryan Garko type. With Huff sighing in SF would the Giants no longer have interest in him. He can play 1B, RH DH and some OF.
That’s the guy I’ve been thinking about for awhile now. The question is, how comfortable would the M’s be with him playing the OF? He is kind of a big guy and doesn’t have much experience in the OF. As a hitter though, I think he’s perfect.
It would depend on the situation and the ballpark. With a large ballpark such as Safeco he probably wouldn’t get out there but maybe a smaller park, with Guiterrez in CF you might be able to risk him a few games out there. If its a close game in the later innings you still have Langerhans coming off the bench for defense.
Whether it’s Garko or somebody else, that’s probably a good way to think about a possible 5th bench player. Righthanded role player with some power, basically. As it stands, the bench is Griffey, Hannahan, backup catcher, and 4th outfielder (currently Langerhans), so none of them offers that. It’s why Bill Hall was on the roster, because the 7-man bullpen puts more of a premium on versatility. Assuming Saunders starts the year in Tacoma, that’s what we should expect the last position player to be anyway, but it would have to be somebody who’s a real outfielder.
On GB’s blog, we were talking about this yesterday. Fernando Tatis was mentioned and everyone seemed to like that idea. I mentioned Marcus Thames as a better defensive option (hard to believe, I know) than Jonny Gomes. I do think a RH power bat off the bench would be great to have.
C’mon, msb, you could’ve sung it solo. You know, breathlessly, Marilyn Monroe style:
“Happy Birthday, Mister, General Manager…”
Thanks to Dave and Derek for putting it together. It was my first chance to go to one of these, and I really enjoyed it.
I wouldn’t think his defense would fit the mold of the rest of the players acquired so far. He’s good for 15ish homeruns and a league-average OBP but his UZR seems pretty terrible overall. There’s got to be better 1 – 1.5 WAR players around.
He’s been very effective against LHs in his career. That’s the role he’d have for the M’s.
Thanks so much for organizing the event. It’s the third one I have been to and they seem to be getting even better.
It helps that Dave, DMZ and Jack are really funny as well as knowledgeable.