Moves aplenty
JMB · April 3, 2005 at 7:44 am · Filed Under Mariners
We’re down to 25, which is good, seeing as the season starts tomorrow. This Times article has all the scoop, but I’ll summarize here:
So the opening day roster is as follows…
Catcher (2): Olivo, Wilson
Infield (7): Beltre, Boone, Bloomquist, Dobbs, Sexson, Speizio, Valdez
Outfield (4): Ibanez, Reed, Suzuki, Winn
Starters (4): Madritsch, Meche, Moyer, Sele
Relievers (8): Franklin, Guardado, Hasegawa, Mateo, Nelson, Putz, Thornton, Villone
Yes, I’ll have a new Big Board up this week. I’m waiting for Derek to tweak something at the techie level before that can happen.
Comments
43 Responses to “Moves aplenty”
Can anyone give me a VERY good reason Valdez made the team? I have thought and thought, and any rational argument that I can come up with still pops a red light on the stupid-decision-o-meter. If this kind of garbage is going to keep going on with Pokey, what value is he? A great glove means nothing if you cant keep it in the game. Lopez was having a great spring. I think in this scenario he deserved at least a look.
“Can anyone give me a VERY good reason Valdez made the team? … Lopez was having a great spring. I think in this scenario he deserved at least a look.”
perhaps because it is very easy to jettison Valdez when Reese is back, and not so easy to send Lopez back down in ’15 days’…
Lopez has a wrist injury. What I wonder is why they think Valdez is any better than Santiago. Let’s just hope this Reese thing really is a two-week situation. It felt strange to me that they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to thoroughly examine and diagnose the injury, which could be just as serious as anything a pitcher might incur. It is his throwing shoulder, after all. Does this bother anyone else?
Yes, the whole thing bothers me. It has been public knowledge that we needed “Pokey insurance” since the day we signed him. Bavasi even said as much in the press conference when announcing the signing!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2002140602_webmari04.html
So, after 3 months we have auditioned the following predictable failures: Gil, Gutierrez, Santiago, Bloomquist, etc. Now our hand is forced at SS, like we have known it would be all along. I can’t believe that there have been no other solid alternatives out there in the last three months that we could either trade for or sign within our budget.
Forget Santiago; I’d rather have seen Leone on the roster in Dobbs spot, playing Shortstop, with a better defender in the Valdez spot (maybe Santiago, maybe Valdez) as a late inning replacement. Would that be too much to ask?
Maybe Valdez *is* a better defender than Santiago? I’ve been on the “Santiago can pick it” bandwagon too, but Jeff and I discussed this back in reserve infield roundtable and he had some pretty damning numbers with respect to Santiago’s defense. I hate that we’re at the point where Valdez has to be on the roster, but I think we should at least give him a look before we bash his glove.
jason
Since Valdez is probably on our 25-man for the next 2 weeks, does anyone have some more info than the quick post Jason did the day he was claimed? We know he can’t hit, but can he at least field well (how well) and can he run?
This is the kind of thing that happens when you start the season with 5 players on the 40-man roster on the DL plus your closer unable to field bunts and a possible break-out SS with a jammed wrist.
A great big bravo to the medical staff for all the great work and anticipation. I think Bavasi has just learned in spades the long-time weakness of a Mariners organization that is in most every other respect at least competent.
#8 Yes, the medical situation is compromising a roster with little margin to begin with. We can only hope that it will look better May 1.
In looking at this roster, I notice that fully 28 percent of it (7 of 25 players) played for the Mariners in the 2000 playoffs, the 2001 playoffs, or in both.
Suzuki
Boone
Wilson
Ibanez (2000)
Sele
Moyer
Nelson
Then there is Piniero on the DL (2001 ALCS). When he comes back, almost a third of the roster (32 percent) will be veterans of the last two playoff runs. Nelson and Wilson, of course, go all the way back to 1995.
It just seems more like they are hoping Valdez will pass waivers so they can have some more insurance down in AAA. Better to shuttle journeyman back and forth than Lopez I guess.
Well at the least we won’t have to see willy at SS and uh yeah.
just a stop gap guys.
If Pokey does come done with some sort of major issue with his shoulder that will sideline him for months, then I would like to see Lopez (provided that he is healthy) up with the M’s. A Valdez or Santiago could serve as his defensive backup.
But I do hope that Pokey is well in two weeks. I really enjoy watching him play SS, or any infield position.
Angels put Escobar on DL with the famous “strained elbow”.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2028802
Not to put the cart before the horse, but I have been saying for some time that the Angels will suffer some key injuries this year and they won’t win 90 games. 90 will win this division.
found this on Valdez on BA.com (Jim Callis on the Koch trade):
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/news/040617koch.html
“Valdez, 25, signed out of the Dominican Republic with the Expos in 1997 and went to the Marlins on a waiver claim in March 2002. His career began to turn around last year after a long talk with then-Florida third-base coach Ozzie Guillen, whom he’s now reunited with in the White Sox organization, with Guillen serving his first year as Chicago’s manager. Valdez is a line-drive, contact hitter who could bat second in a lineup if he drew some more walks. He has plus speed and good baserunning skills, and he has thrived at shortstop since moving from second base last year. His arm and range are assets. In 66 games at Triple-A Albuquerque, Valdez hit .319/.357/.400 with two homers, 25 RBIs and 19 steals in 31 attempts.”
Sounds like his glove is an asset, so he could be a good fill-in for Pokey for a couple of weeks. Honestly, I don’t think the “sky is falling” like some of the others on this thread. As bodies get healthy, this team will look much different/better. Hey, maybe Valdez even bumps WFB back to Tacoma!
I can’t believe you had to type that, either. Who would have though a month ago that Wilson Valdez would be the M’s opening day shortstop? I think the M’s must like him more than Santiago, and they must have wanted Lopez (injury and all) to start the year in AAA no matter what. Dude raked this spring! On another note, is anyone else counting down the days until Pokey’s days in a M’s uniform are over?
Hey bilbo, thanks for tracking that down on Valdez.
jason
In other Times-Mariners news, Seattle’s second-best daily newspaper has hired a stathead columnist, has a new weekly minor-league-report writer and touts Bob Finnigan as a solid veretan presence who provides great Times clubhouse chemistry: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/insidethetimes/2002229496_fancher03.html
Quote Finnigan in that article:
“I like to think of myself as competitive, curious, creative and a good balance of solid reporting and writing.”
Heh.
As for Valdez’s numbers at Albuquerque, keep the environment in mind. That place is a mile above sea level.
Yes, we’re all doomed. A guy everyone knew was a stop-gap is on the DL and replaced by another stop-gap, so we might as well toss the season down the drain. Probably throw next year down after it too – it’s obviously a mistake Bavasi can never recover from. Oh, woe is us. And it’s raining…
Cubs fans got nothing on this crowd.
For what its worth, Jeff Angus is really good, and congratulations to him on getting the gig at the Times.
whos starting at shortstop opening day?
Will almost certainly be Valdez.
Wow, in print, too. That must be nice.
In other shocking developments, Bob Melvin gave the final bench spot on the Arizona Diamondbacks roster to … Quinton McCracken.
I can’t be the only person who heard that and immediately thought “hey, maybe he’d be up for taking on his favorite Mariner projects of the past…”
And Jeff Fassero and Jeff Cirillo are back on major league rosters, auditioning for the leads in “Evil Dead 3” ….
Yeah- Leone’s pretty marginal as a SS, like WFB. His bat’s better, obviously, but defensively they both are very much stopgaps.
Ramon Santiago’s lifetime minor league OPS: .685
Wilson Valdez’s lifetime minor league OPS: .692
They are both 5’11” and from the Dominican Republic too. Has anyone actually seen both of them at the same time?
If this how Mats Olkin’s going to have an effect on Bavasi’s decision making, it’s really hard to see from here what difference it’s making. Clearly the only reason why Valdez is hot and Santiago’s not is Santiago sucked in limited time in AAA and the majors last year, and Valdez didn’t- but it’s really hard to see a lot of difference in the skill set.
Could we hear something more about Angus? I’m excited about a good stats writer in print (more than one would be cool too…).
The Ex-Mariner Roster, or, What Could Have Been, For Better or Worse
c Veritek, Bos.
1b T.Martinez, NYY
2b Bell, Phila.
ss Guillen, Det.
3b Rodriguez, NYY
of Cruz, SF
of Cameron, NYM
of Griffey, Cin
dh Ortiz, Bos.
bench
Vizquel, SF
Cirillo, Mil
Widger, CWS
Podsednik, CC
Sierra, NYY
Starters
Johnson, NYY
Hampton, Atl.
Lowe, LA
Garcia, CWS
Mays, Min
Relievers
Myers, Bos
Halama, Bos.
Fuentes, Col.
Mecir, Fla.
Rhodes, Cle.
Mesa, Pitt.
You could always substitute:
if Vazquez, Bos.
ss Aurilia, Cin
if Perez, LA
if Sanchez, NYY
of Mabry, StL (he’ll always have a job in either StL or Sea)
of McCracken, Ariz.
p Estes, Ariz.
p Timlin, Bos.
p Tomko, SF
p Torres, Pitt.
p Simpson, Col.
p Mulholland, Minn.
p Fassero, SF
p Valdes, Fla.
p Carrara, LA (!)
You could certainly shuffle around the relievers and get a younger group. I wonder what this roster would project to.
I would not say that Olkin has absolutely no voice because of the Nunez and Valdez pick-ups. These were guys that, for some reason or another, were probably on Bavasi’s radar for a while, and he snapped them up when he had a chance. Olkin will contribute to a variety of voices to which Bavasi will listen, but I doubt that he will become the dominant voice.
Okay Bavasi-bashers – so Pokey’s on the DL. Who should they pick up?
During the offseason we just had? Someone like Chris Gomez to fill out the bench at SS and back Pokey “Glass” Reese up, as Bavasi pointed out.
Instead, we had dumpster diving (Benji Gil and so on), and this. A 26 year old who hits an empty .300 in AAA isn’t really an improvement over Santiago.
You can plenty of Jeff Angus at his outstanding Management by Baseball blog.
Well coward he did pick up betancourt
If it was up to me, no major league players would be allowed to talk to Ozzie Guillen ever about anything.
How much of a hitter’s park is Albuquerque? Baseball Prospectus translates Valdez’s bigbigbig 319/357/400 as 255/296/318. Mmm, tasty. I sure hope the defense is as good as advertised.
It’s funny to see such chaos at a position the P-I just rated “10 out of 10” in prospects — apparently on the strength of the bizarre idea that Matt Tuiasosopo is a shortstop and a future star, when he ain’t. We’ve got a lot of bodies, but no players. Adam Jones, anyone?
What would be even funny is if it turns out that the best option on the team for short really is WFB. It’s kind of like being in the National League; in addition to having a Designated Hitter, we’ve got a Designated Pitcher Batting spot. Only it’s not a pitcher.
I haven’t heard anything about Bobby Livingston, either here or in the MSM. Baseball Prospectus loves him. What is up with Bobby?
#26, Evil Dead 3 has already been made, it’s called Army of Darkness (Which might be a good name for some Mariner teams..)
I’m not pleased with having Valdez start the season at SS but I am happy to see that Bavasi, once his hand was forced, chose a respectable defensive option who has a highly expendable contract. Buying time at the start of the season is bad news but far preferable to starting Bloomquist or finishing the season in the same position. Trying my best to be optimistic: I think Thornton is in about the same boat.
And since this thread has wandered and wondered some, I thought ESPN’s reviled projections did show one very interesting take from a solid analyst: Alan Schwartz has Felix getting called up early enough in the season and pitching well enough to win AL ROY.
Trolling throuhg waivers to find useful players is not a bad idea. But being caught with your pants down when your fragile shortstop breaks down is poor planning. You can’t tell me that hoping that Valdez would get waived twice was the backup plan.
News flash jose lopez out 4-6 weeks broken hamat bone..i dont know if i spelled it right…
Well coward he did pick up betancourt
Cuban =League stats don’t project out well (nearly every Cuban League hitter hasn’t done much in MLB), and Betancourt’s pretty young. He’s probably a couple of years away from being in the Ramon Santiago/Wilson Valdez zone of being a good glove, marginal hitting SS from Latin America. If we get VERY lucky, he’s Cristian Guzman in a year or two.
jc: Not that I’m doubting, but: source for the Lopez trick-wrist?!
Snelling did the same thing last year.
got the info from a front office person close to the situation…if he is wrong then so be it…but i think he has a clue better then me are you…