Mariners Foibles
Dave · June 12, 2008 at 5:03 am · Filed Under Mariners
I wrote a guest post for The Baseball Analysts dealing with the roots of the failures of the 2008 team. Re-reading it, I think I might be a little bit frustrated with this organization.
A few notes:
2003 was not “disastrous” – they finished with a 93-69 record, just like in 2002 and still the second highest win total in M’s history. Also just like 2002, they held a lead in the division until being passed by a scorching-hot Oakland A’s club
Choo and Cabrera have both turned out to be essentially busts.
I liked the article at first… but the second half – too much haterade.
No. Not enough haterade.
Um, no.
Or more fully, thinking that Cabrera is a bust at 23 is showing the same kind of thinking about young players as the Mariners front office is using toward young players.
From context it is clear that this is a typo, and Dave meant to write “2004” there.
Um, no
a .184 average, 8 total xbh, a 2:1 K/BB ratio, just 1/2 in SB’s. A .529 OPS
also,
the other guy made 17 AB’s in all of 2007, 27 in all of 2008. That’s a week and a half of play over two years.
Since we all agree that Mark Shapiro is a good GM (maybe you don’t, but whatever) then either he’s making a mistake but not playing Choo, or Choo can’t play.
While wondering if it’s worth the time…
A. Cabrera’s 22. He had quite a good run last year (.283/.354/.421) for the Indians in the same number of ABs as he’s struggled in this year. Still, if you think a 22-year-old player with two years of sustained success can be a bust, the significance of that probably just flew right over your head.
B. How can you possibly think counting ’07 and ’08 as two full years at this point makes any sense? Choo missed half of last year (mostly spent in the minors) after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but hit .295/.373/.473 in Cleveland in ’06. He recently returned to the Indians and is hitting .323/.421/.645 in 31 ABs so far. The guy the M’s got in return for him has been released from two teams this year, and is currently filler in the Cubs’ system.
Dave’s post was excellent. The only comment that could top it was Eponymous Coward with a great reference to the “Bourbons”….and to those unfamiliar with any European history….this was not a reference to Jim Beam or Canadian Club.
You’re still thinking like a Mariner front office person.
You could also add in giving away Jamie Moyer for nothing, when if they’d kept him we might have avoided Soriano for Ho Ram and if they’d traded him before the deadline we could actually have gotten some value (And yes, he’d have okd the deal, but to a contender, he probably would have.
this was not a reference to Jim Beam or Canadian Club.
Oh shoot.