Quick Hits
My latest Wall Street Journal article is up, dealing with the strange season Adrian Gonzalez is having in San Diego. I haven’t linked to these that much lately, but I’m doing three or four per month over there, and “The Count” is also authored by guys like Tim Marchman and Jonah Keri, so you should check it out regularly.
Erik Bedard was on with Brock and Salk yesterday and said he likes Seattle. That’s nice. There’s still about a 0.1% chance he re-signs here this winter.
The Tacoma Rainiers play down in Cheney tonight, with Ryan Rowland-Smith getting his final rehab start. If you don’t want to drive to Tacoma, you can watch it on TV. The Rainiers announced a television deal with Comcast Sports that will allow them to air 15 games this season, including tonight’s contest. The always awesome Mike Curto will be doing the play by play.
Also, we’re getting really close to announcing the details of our next USSM event in Seattle. As previously mentioned, it will be Saturday, August 8th, and we’re doing it at Safeco before the Mariners-Rays game that evening. We’ll roll out all the details shortly, but keep the date free. You’re going to want to make this one.
Hmm… I might be up in Coeur d’Alene for a wedding on Aug 9th… so tantalizingly close. Maybe I could actually make it to an event for once!
Dave- A little off this subject, but [deleted, little off the subject]
Lets just pray he keeps pitching well and we get some good compensation and hopefully have a load of draft picks like this year.
Also, I hope to be out in the PNW sometime in August so hopefully I can stop in and meet the team!
Bedard would be nice to keep – him and Felix make a nice pair of +5 WAR guys in the rotation. there’s not a lot of upper end talent ready for the rotation in Tacoma. Felix and the Other Four would be a great band to see at a club somewhere, but it makes me nervous as a rotation.
But considering Bedard’s durability and age (30), I’d be really nervous about offering more than 3/$45, and I doubt he’ll sign for that. This is his best chance at a big payday. He could potentially be worth $20M a year for his next contract, but he could also end up on the DL for half of it. Not just because of his own history, but just caus that’s how pitchers are. Their job is hard on the arm.
Beltre on the other hand, though he’s a Boras client, might be a bargain. A huge part of his value comes from his defense, and that’s still undervalued by a lot of teams (not the M’s any more hurray). He’s worth $15M/year, but because of his struggles with the bat, he could go for a lot, lot less.
However, aside from 1B/DH and LF, 3B is probalby the position the M’s could best fill from the farm system (well, maybe C too since Moore seems to be doing well). I know Tui has his doubters, but he’s got a good chance of making a league-avearage contribution next year and there are other holes the M’s need to fill (2b, SS, 2xSP) that have no decent options in the system.
Of course, Tui could be traded for a middle infield prospect (but don’t let my niece know I said that)…
I have a different feeling about this. I realize the most likely scenario is that Bedard is moved in a trade this year.
But IF that doesn’t happen, I say it’s more like a 20% chance he stays here.
From the Mariners’ standpoint, the only way to build is exactly how they’re doing it–pitching and defense. And no matter what we think about everyone else in the organization not named Felix, I don’t see anyone with the potential of Bedard. (And yes, I understand about the injury history, but honestly, outside Tim Wakefield, are there really any guarantees?)
And from Bedard’s perspective, aside from the people who seem to blame him for somehow being responsible for the Jones trade, it seems that comfort level is very important to him. Would he be more comfortable closer to home, in Toronto? Maybe. But that doesn’t mean the Jays have both the interest and the cash. With just a year left on Halladay’s contract, they may choose to spend their money on him.
Obviously, there’s no statistical way to handicap this. But aside from the fact that he said in a radio interview that he likes Seattle…I think it’s also encouraging that he actually agreed to DO a radio interview.
but he likes Seattle! He likes the team! The fishing! Surely it must be at least 0.15%
any chance we could work out a group purchase of tickets for the game?
it will be Saturday, August 8th, and we’re doing it at Safeco before the Mariners-Rays game that evening
I was going to ask if we get Griffey Bobbelheads too, but I had the wrong night. Sorry
Another fun quick hit is here on the Bull Pen and what they do. http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mariners/story/768039.html
I’m taking the wife to Seattle on August 8th! She even bought me tickets for that nights game. I’m not sure I can talk her into me ditching for a few hours of baseball nerdiness though 🙁
that’s a fun read. way to go Wetteland!
I like how the WSJ articles refer to players as “Mr. ___”. It kind of sounds like a little kid asking for an autograph: “please Mr. Gonzalez may I have your autograph?”
If you have ESPN Insider there’s an piece on Ichiro’s insane ability to hit pitches out of the strike zone. Here it is:
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/news/story?id=4232965
dont know why that didnt work…
any chance we could work out a group purchase of tickets for the game?
I seem to remember the shindig where Bavasi talked to us before the game, the authors took our money and got a group of bitchin’ seats along with the room where Bavasi talked. So, details to follow of course, but yes, there may be a group buy.
Andrew Baldwin is in Everett? Whaaaaaaaa?
any chance we could work out a group purchase of tickets for the game?
You really think I’m going to plan an event at Safeco right before a game, but then as soon as the event ends, we’re all going our separate ways?
I’m taking the wife to Seattle on August 8th! She even bought me tickets for that nights game. I’m not sure I can talk her into me ditching for a few hours of baseball nerdiness though.
Bring her with you. There’s always a decent representation of women at these events, and the event will be interesting for even non-nerds.
Whaaaaaaaa?
Paper moves happen all the time in the minors. They’re just shuffling the roster around to get RRS a rehab start.
Oh, that makes sense, though he hasn’t looked very good lately.
Then again, Andrew Baldwin ISN’T very good.
Yeah, that’s a charming thing about the WSJ (a newspaper that in no other way aspires to that adjective AFAICT). It can be particularly entertaining when they’re dealing with someone for whom the last name is unclear or unknown. Is it Mr. Bono and Ms. Cher, or will we use their birth names? Madonna is Ms. Ciccone and Sting is Mr. Summer, but do we call Kim Jong-Il Mr. Jong or Mr Il? Screw, it’s he’s Mr. Crazy Nut-Hair.
By far the most entertaining thing I ever saw in the WSJ was an interview with the band Spinal Tap, when they were going out on tour for the first time (years after the movie had become a cult sensations). They did it totally straight, interviewing Mr. Tufnel, Mr. St. Hubbins, and Mr. Smalls, about their well-documented disastrous previous tour, the prospects for the new one, and the unfortunate demises of their past drummers. There was even the standard little pen-and-ink drawing of them in character.
do we call Kim Jong-Il Mr. Jong or Mr Il?
It would have to be Mr. Kim. His surname is Kim.
I figure it has to be more than 0.1%. There are only 30 major league teams and the chances are zero for probably more than half of them (no cash, no room, if he’s having trouble adapting from Canada to Seattle, he’s hardly going to Texas, etc.). So I’d guess it’s more like 2%.
Baldwin… wasn’t he part of the Moyer trade?
Wetteland is easily the guy I’d most like to see speak at a USSM event. Yes, even more than Zduriencik (as awesome as that would be). I mean, the guy reads poetry to his good ol’ Texas relief pitcher. He’s like something out of a movie.
Hmmm, I thought it was clear I was kidding. I guess I really should’ve gone with Mr. Dalai or Mr. Lama (but then I’d have people pointing out it’s a title, not a name). Hmm, how about Mr. Benedict or Mr. Pope?
It was clear that you were joking around, it just wasn’t clear whether this one was purely out of ignorance, given that it followed jokes based on identifying the actual surnames of celebrities. Sorry for missing the point.
In case you don’t read Deadspin,
I’m just wondering what the WSJ would call our right fielder. Would it be Mr. Ichiro? I think if I met him, I would call him Mr. Ichiro.
in other news..Putz is out for 6 weeks.
That trade is looking better and better for the M’s
I read Putz is going to have elbow surgery and is out 10-12 weeks.
Selfish Ichiro – If he was a better teammate he’d give his elbow ligament to Mr. Putz (that was fun to write…)
Good job on your article Dave.
Dave writes primarily for what now???
Well, yeah…Dave writes FOR the Journal and FanGraphs, but he OWNZ USS Mariner…
(and being the proto-Silver is far beyond chopped liver indeed…)
Ok, so maybe I should hand in my stat-supporter card along with saying this, but I didn’t immediately connect Silver with Mr Nate, which led me down the path of “‘proto-Silver’? WTF is that? Wouldn’t that be like, “Bronze”? Wait, what would that even mean? What’s a Silver? Not a Silva? Is Silver some kind of acronym? SILV-er maybe? Sabermetrically-Inclined… oh, wait, I get it.”
In my defense, I will say that sequence took no longer than a couple of seconds…
Please turn in your card.
Hmm, how about Mr. Benedict or Mr. Pope?
It’s, ‘His Holiness’. Not much of a Catholic are you, Joser?
My wife and I were in town all last week for my sister’s wedding, but you can pretty much count on us flying in for this.