Opening Day 2011

Don't expect recaps of every game on this blog, or many games at all for that matter. I recommend recaps on Lookout Landing if you want that sort of coverage.

This is opening day though, and what a delightful opener it was. It deserves a few thoughts:

• Something feels very "2011 Mariners" about having the first run of the season scored on a bases loaded walk. I can't explain why it felt that way, but it did. Anyone else get that same feeling? I think it helped that Jack Cust seemed genuinely pumped up about drawing the walk, with his little bat flip and fist pump. Really, after last season, I am okay with this team celebrating every run it scores.
• King Felix didn't dominate, but I would argue that we saw as complete of a performance as we will ever see out of him. I know I sound like some announcer desperately trying to be profound, but stick with me. When Felix dominates, he is untouchable. However, tonight we saw him have a rough first inning, then rebound, then battle, then seem to conserve pitches by inducing weak contact, and then blow away the A's with his nasty stuff in the ninth inning. I do not think it is a coincidence that two of his five strikeouts were the final two hitters he faced. Felix showed perseverance, craftiness, and then his pure talent. Frankly, he doesn't need all that when he's at his best. That's why I'd argue this is as complete of a look at Felix as we'll get.
• Honestly, I thought Trevor Cahill had better stuff than Felix tonight. Cahill's two-seemer was unreal. Its lateral movement had the Mariners frozen all night. However, it was a double-edged sword. While it allowed Cahill to rack up strikeouts, it also moved out of the strike zone a bunch. Both the walks and Ks upped his pitch count in a hurry. To the M's credit (I guess), they were content to sit around and watch a ton of Cahill's pitches.
• Between Cahill and the A's defense, I didn't see anything out of the M's offense tonight that gives me hope or despair. They sat around and watched Cahill for most of the first half of the game, and then allowed the A's to juggle the baseball around the diamond in the latter half. But hey, runs are runs, and every single one of them should be celebrated like a newborn child after what we saw last year.
• Michael Pineda got a fair amount of face time in the broadcast, because he seemed to be seated next to Felix much of the game. I'm not sure how much I believe in development through osmosis, but I know I want Pineda sitting next to Felix. I hope he thinks the only way he gets to stick in the majors is if he pitches just like Felix.
• By all accounts, Eric Wedge is the most intense manager the M's have had since Lou Piniella. It seemed like the Mariners were a little more animated than I was used to. This could be because it was opening day, it could simply be a fluke, or it could be something bigger. It is something to watch. Intensity isn't exactly a quantifiable thing, but if Wedge brings it, I think we can expect few errors, clean baserunning, longer at-bats, and a little bit of passion. At least tonight, I saw all of that.
• I have conflicting feelings about hit-and-runs. As a strategy, I hate it. I pretty much hate anything that takes pitch selection away from a hitter, especially since hitting and running also demands such a precise type of hit. However, the fan in me loves it when a hit-and-run is successful. It is poetry on grass. There is something so elegantly conniving about it. Aside from Felix's ninth inning, the highlight of the game for me was the successful hit and run executed by Jack Wilson and Brendan Ryan.

Really, almost everything looks beautiful to me on opening day. It is always a great day, especially when the Mariners win. As naive as it is of me, I always find myself believing that every team starts out with the same chance to do something special when they all line up 0-0 on the season.

Designated Hole

www.sportsmemorabilia.com

I came across a tidbit early this morning that Mike Sweeney signed a one-day contract with the Royals to officially retire. He was a real good player in his prime, and a very high character guy to boot. It was always awkward for me as an M's fan to see him in the starting lineup. Every swing I was convinced he would hurt himself, but I wanted him to succeed, but I also knew if he was in the heart of the M's order, the offense needed some help.

Sweeney retires mere months removed from being a regular DH for the Mariners. As I thought more, I realized this has happened before. Really, though left field has been a mess for Seattle the majority of its existence, designated hitter has become as much of a problem since Edgar Martinez retired.

Cust And Olivo

The Mariners made a couple moves during the recently completed winter meetings. Well, actually only one is official so far, but they both will be in a manner of time.

To start with, Jack Cust is officially under contract for one year, to serve as the primary designated hitter. Zduriencik talked about the power he brings to the table, which is probably his calling card. Eric Wedge talked about the professional at-bats he will bring, as his high walk and strike out rates attest to. Both outcomes require a hitter to see quite a few pitches.

I am not a big fan of the signing though. At first glance, Cust seems to be a good fit for Safeco, and a clear upgrade to the lineup. However, as Dave Cameron pointed out on USS Mariner, his power isn't to right field. Last year, most of Cust's home runs went to left-center, which just so happens to be the deepest part of Safeco Field.

Also, Cust's power has clearly diminished the past three seasons. His ISO has gone from .245 to .177 to .166, and at 31 years old, there is no good reason to think the trend is going to reverse. In fact, given that Cust is getting older, and also moving to less hitter-friendly park that happens to be biggest where he tends to hit his home runs, his power could plummet this season. Combine that with the inevitable regression his .387 BABIP will take, and we are talking about a DH that hits .240 with great patience, an absurd strikeout rate, and marginal power. Personally, I would take my chances on a rebound from Milton Bradley.

With all that said, Cust was only signed to a one-year deal for a few million dollars, and the M's DHs as a collective whole were a black hole in 2010. Plus, if Cust is seen as the "gritty veteran" type that will show the youngsters the ropes, then he is worth the investment. I still wouldn't consider him the primary DH, but even with as luke warm as I am on the move, it is hard to really scorn signing him.

The one that is easy to get upset about is the still unofficial acquisition of Miguel Olivo. He has reportedly signed for two years and seven million dollars (total).

To start with, I see the logic in bringing in a catcher to at least split time with Adam Moore. He wasn't ready last year, and it wouldn't be ideal to count on him to carry the load in 2011.

There are so many reasons that Miguel Olivo is not the right guy for the job, in Seattle at least.

Non-Tendered Targets

Yesterday, teams had to decide if they would offer contracts to all their arbitration-eligible players. This is a different group from players who could file for free agency, such as Adrian Beltre. The Mariners non-tendered one player, Ryan Langerhans. Any non-tendered player hits the free agent market, with no compensatory draft picks attached. I hope Langerhans lands somewhere, because he's an awfully good asset to have stashed away on the bench.

I love the non-tendered batch of free agents for a couple reasons. First, they are often younger players than traditional free agents. Since they were only arbitration eligible, they have only three to five years of MLB experience. Second, they are cheap. A player is most typically non-tendered when a team decides they are not worth the raise they would likely earn in arbitration.

A total of 39 players were non-tendered, flooding an already crowded market. Two players pop out to me as good fits for the Mariners:

Chien-Ming Wang, RHP - His struggles last year are well documented, and a couple of major injuries over the past couple years make him a risk. However, there are several reasons to think Wang can bounce back and be productive. First of all, Wang has never relied on velocity, so if he has permanently lost some, it does not take away what has made him successful. Perhaps, since he features a heavy sinker, he could be an even more extreme ground ball pitcher. Furthermore, he is only 30 years old, making him 3-4 years younger than other free agent options. I'd rather sink a couple million into Wang, even with his problems, than five or six million (or more) in a guy like Joel Pineiro.

Kelly Johnson, 2B/OF - For a long time I've had an irrational interest in Johnson, so I might as well be up front with that. There is no doubt he had a rough 2009 campaign as he lost time to injuries, and in the process his starting gig to Martin Prado. It's not a shocker that he was non-tendered. However, Kelly is only 28 years old, possesses good plate discipline, is a left-handed bat with some gap power, and plays second base and left field (even a good left field based on his limited opportunities). Offensively and defensively, Johnson fits some M's needs.

One guy I wouldn't touch at all is Jack Cust. He's a lefty with power, so rumors will inevitably fly. However, his defense limits him to DH. His hitting has declined the past three years, and I would expect that trend to continue.