Road Game To Remember

I was at the game last night, and while game recaps are very few and far between from me (intentionally - there's enough great ones out there already), last night's game is more than worthy of an exception. Let me count the ways that it was pure, unfiltered fun:

Mild Surprises At Non-Tender Deadline

Yesterday was the deadline for teams to tender arbitration-eligible players. In more natural terms, that means yesterday was the last chance for teams to decide they would bring back players without contracts, and without enough service time to walk away in free agency.

Even that last statement doesn't make a whole lot of sense, because non-tendered players become free agents. Some people say baseball's roster rules are excessively complex. I say they are just complex enough to be amusing.

The Mariners did not make any huge moves, but each is worth a few thoughts.

Roster Purge Begins

I like to stick with Major League Baseball's etiquette and not talk about anything but the postseason while the postseason is happening, so it's time to talk about the Mariners again!

Honestly, though, we all needed a break from the Mariners after such a disastrous season. There were things I almost wrote about, but then reminded myself how uninteresting those things would be in the midst of meaningful and interesting baseball. Now the postseason is over though, meaning every team is relevant again, even the Seattle Mariners.

Also, the Mariners have been very busy in the few days since baseball's moratorium on news has lifted. Here are some quick-hitters on all the moves:

The 2011 Core

This is 2011 Mariners week at the Musings, as I said with the first post yesterday. I split the roster into three basic parts: the guaranteed contracts, the arbitration eligible players, and everyone else (the folks making the minimum salary with no way out unless the team ditches them). Today is a look at the guaranteed 2011 contracts.

A guaranteed contract is a big deal, both for a player and a team. On the team's side, all the money is guaranteed, even if the player is cut loose. It's a significant financial commitment. On the player's side, the system is set up to make them go about a decade in pro ball before hitting free agency.

The system is set up for players with guaranteed contracts, particularly big ones, to be the core of a team. Players need to be good in a team's eyes to warrant big money, and they have to have accumulated enough MLB service time to make it this far. We will see that the Mariners have a few exceptions to this rule, but the basic premises set up how I will evaluate the core.

The first question is as simple as they come: How good is the core? Is it a group a winning team can be built around? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

The second question is almost as important: Is the core worth the money it is getting paid? There is only so much money to go around, and if players are gobbling up more salary than they are worth, it means that the overall core probably isn't that good, and also limits the ability to improve it with outside help. This is why bad contracts are so crippling.

I will start with the second question and get back to the first. Here is a look at each 2011 Mariner with a guaranteed contract:

Opening Day 2010 Musings

A collection of thoughts from yesterday, more or less in chronological order:

• Good to see guys like Albert Pujols, Roy Halladay, and Tim Lincecum pick up where they left off
• It was even better to see Miguel Batista pick up where he left off
• Very amusing to see the Royals roll out an opening day lineup with Jose Guillen, Willie Bloomquist, and Yuniesky Betancourt batting fifth, sixth, and seventh
• Mark Buehrle should already have a Gold Glove wrapped up after this phenomenal play
• Not even the Disney channel would touch a script of Jason Heyward's life at this point
• Miguel Batista and Jason Heyward helped me and my fantasy team ignore Carlos Zambrano's implosion

Of course, the main attraction for me was the Mariners game:

• I wonder what Ben Sheets looked like in the off-season. I don't see how a scout couldn't give a favorable report on him, based on what I saw last night. His fastball still has pretty good zip, and his curve ball is still nasty. I'm not sure it all adds up to $10 million worth of nasty, but Sheets looked better than I expected.
• Felix's six walks are not representative of how well he pitched. The strike zone was very small. In particular, the lower third was non-existent. There were a total of 15 walks in the game, which is ridiculous. None of the pitchers in the game (M's or A's) were that wild.
• Jose Lopez looked better at third base than I expected
• Milton Bradley broke his bat by slamming it in the ground, and a little bit later glared at the A's fans after catching a routine fly ball. He is a ticking time bomb, no doubt about it, and I found myself loving it. It might even be good for this team. I don't mind having one player around that is so hyper-competitive.
• One game isn't enough to answer all the questions on this team. However, Casey Kotchman looked good, Griffey had a productive night, Rob Johnson hit a home run (and walked too!), and David Aardsma looked like David Aardsma. One game in, we only got reasons to lean towards positive answers.

If the next six months are anything like yesterday, it's going to be a fantastic season.

Early Thoughts On Spring Training

It's about time I post something this month, but the problem is that there just isn't much to be said that isn't already being said by others. Spring training is fun, but it's hard to evaluate much of what going on when a) all you have are radio broadcasts b) players only get a few ABs, or 20-30 pitches, and c) in those few opportunities, many are trying to get rust off/work on something new.

So I don't write much about spring training, other than it's fun for what it is. Personally, I don't put too much stock in spring performances unless they are way too good or bad to ignore. So far, nobody has had time to be stellar, and only Garret Olson and Kenn Kasparek have had forgettable outings.

I've come up with a few thoughts to share though:

• I hope Chone Figgins stays at second, and Jose Lopez at third. Statistics and scouting both give good reasons to believe the move will work, and a few weeks into the experiment, both players seem to be acclimating fairly well.
• I wonder how long Dustin Ackley will stay in the major league camp. He is getting rave reviews much like Brandon Morrow did in his first spring training. That scares me a little, but there's absolutely no room for Ackley on the opening day roster. Personally, I would still send him down once minor league camp opens up. There are enough guys that need to get work in who figure to be a part of the 2010 Mariners, and Dustin will be best served getting a lion's share of time on the field, instead of a few innings here and there.
• Matt Tuiasosopo is off to a hot start, much like last spring training. Undoubtedly, that will increase interest in his chances to make the opening day roster. He projects as one of the final cuts anyway.
• Mike Sweeney is off to a hot start too. There is no spot for him on the roster, but if he continues to hit well, what do the Mariners do? The players are professionals, but Sweeney was such a big part of the team last year, and he has asserted himself in the clubhouse yet again. Add a strong spring, and his situation will be as delicate as an aging non-roster invitee's can be.
• I would like to see Ryan Garko get some time behind the plate. By all accounts, he only moved because Victor Martinez was ahead of him in the Indians organization. Garko becomes a much more valuable commodity if he can catch some.
• Respected M's reporter Shannon Drayer has said multiple times that Eric Byrnes "looks fast" out on the field. Coming off significant leg injuries, that is worth noting. I'm not convinced his legs caused all of his problems that past few seasons, but he at least has a chance to prove me wrong if his legs are indeed strong and healthy.

Those are some of my thoughts, in no particular order. I'm open to more, and may even post more of my own in the comments if something pops up. Most of all, it's nice to have some sort of baseball action to talk about again.

Why This Year Is Different

I am not sure what to say about today's game. I'm just sure that I need to say something. It was over five hours long, but thrilling throughout. The Mariners had to come back multiple times, and somehow did. Jason Vargas earned his first MLB win since 2007. Both Kenji Johjima and Mike Sweeney hit their first home runs of the season. Gio Gonzalez threw 108 pitches for the A's...in relief. In the end, it was Jose Lopez getting the game-winning hit yet again, this time on a blooper that Rajai Davis would have caught if he had not taken a few steps back before charging. Lopez should have drawn a walk Friday night instead of fouling off all those pitches, so he arguably should not have had a game-winning hit that night, as well as today.

In the end, Lopez's series symbolizes the Mariners season so far. He probably shouldn't have had either of his game-winning hits in this series, but he got both. Should the Mariners be 15-10, with Griffey and Beltre struggling? With an assortment of pitchers on the DL? With career reserves Russell Branyan and Endy Chavez in the lineup every day? It seems improbable, but here they are.

Things are going the Mariners way. The Angels' injuries are unfortunate, but have left the division wide open. The Rangers still lack some pitching, and the A's are still young. The Mariners find themselves in a very fortunate situation. There is no doubt that this division is weak.

Still, the Mariners are seizing an increasingly golden opportunity. They are coming up with big hits. They are making big pitches. They have a flair for the dramatic, and they are clearing pulling for each other to come through. This is a team that believes in itself, even when it gets down 3 runs in the 13th inning. Belief is never enough to win a game. Winning still takes execution, and a little luck from time to time. However, teams that do not believe in themselves rely on other teams completely blowing it to "win". Belief is the first, and in some ways most necessary, step towards winning. The 2008 Mariners rarely believed in themselves, especially by the end of the year. The 2009 Mariners emphatically do.

The Mariners are not good enough to dominate, but they are good enough to compete with anyone most nights. As the season has unfolded, it's becoming apparent that this team has a competitive spirit that most teams do not have. Some players treat the sport as their profession, but everyone on the Mariners treats it like a game. Their collective, team-first competitive attitude shined through today and throughout the series. In a division as wide-open as the AL West, it will serve them well. This team's steadfast belief in itself is making a believer out of me.

Good Start to the Second Half

A series between the Mariners and Indians sounded a lot more appealing at the start of the season, but that can be said about pretty much any series the Mariners play. Still, as long as Felix is on the mound, this team is fun to watch. I won't say that Felix's growth this year has gone overlooked, but it is harder to notice players that take steps forward when the front office continues to talk about how much the team has underachieved. Sure, the Indians offense is bad, but Felix had few problems dispatching them, and his ERA now sits at a shimmering 2.95.

The only thing out of the ordinary with Felix's start last night was the run support he got. Aaron Laffey was shaky, and Raul Ibanez made him pay dearly with his grand slam. With Felix on the mound, that felt like it would be plenty, but then Jose Lopez added a three-run homer a couple innings later. It was nice to see some power and some runners on base out of this offense, especially for the pitcher that deserves them more than anyone else.

It is just one game, but maybe it is a sign that this team will bounce back a bit in the second half. J.J. had a nice rehab outing in AAA last night too. Bryan LaHair is finally up. Apparently he had a little injury, which is why the M's did not call him up once they released Sexson. That makes the bizarre timing of the move a little more palatable, but I still would have called him up. Tug barely played, and now LaHair probably won't with a string of left-handed starters. It will be awkward if LaHair takes a whole week to play after Riggleman said that he plans to give LaHair plenty of playing time, but at least he is on the team. Riggleman is even thinking about putting Jeff Clement out there a bit at first from time to time, a move the whole organization has shied away from, with little good reason, for years. What's next; will they consider cutting Jose Vidro, or putting Brandon Morrow in the starting rotation?

Maybe there is reason for hope in the second half. Maybe this team will finally put its best product on the field. The Mariners are inching towards maximizing its own personnel with each move, and maybe one of these days Riggleman will wake up and realize that the most worthless player in all of baseball should not bat clean-up on a regular basis. Maybe, just maybe, what is left of the season will be better than what has already transpired.

Opening Day 2008 Observations

The last three weeks or so have kept me quite busy, and as a result Opening Day snuck up on me more than usual this year. In fact, other commitments kept me from seeing the first four innings of the game, but by the time I was able to sit down and watch I was psyched out of my mind. Opening Day is a glorious day, and it quickly went from great to greater as the Mariners pulled out a 5-2 win over the Rangers. It was a beautiful game to start the season with, and many interesting things happened. Here are the things I took particular note of throughout the game:

• Erik Bedard was not dominant, but he pitched better than in any of his spring starts. I would have liked more than five innings and less than four walks out of him, but all things considered, he kept the M's in the game and put in a solid effort. I will take it.
• We got a glimpse of the McLaren way of doing things when Jose hit the weak dribbler out towards second base that turned into a hit because Ian Kinsler was covering second base on the hit and run. Generally I am not that big of a fan of putting the game in motion, but with this team it might be a good idea. Most of the guys on this team are not that patient, but they are good at making contact. Putting the game in motion would not really limit their plate discipline because there is not much discipline to start with, and it may make their ability to hit for contact a bigger weapon.
• Between the aforementioned hit-and-run dribbler and a clutch two out double, batting Jose Lopez second looked like a smart move for at least one day. I question batting Jose second, but his skill set should translate pretty well in the two hole, especially with the way McLaren wants the Mariners to play baseball this year. Even when struggling, Lopez has consistently been able to make contact, and somehow driven in more runs than he really should have looking at the rest of his numbers. It is fair to argue that both the dribbler and the double were lucky hits thanks to the defensive alignment, but I think that double would have gotten through even with the infield back, and the dribbler was mostly a product of Lopez doing his job and hitting the pitch to the right side.
• The Mariners lineup drew seven walks, though frankly it was against a Texas pitching staff that is not expected to be real good. Still, it was seven walks, and at least this lineup might have enough patience to let erratic pitchers hang themselves. There have been times over the past couple years where I was not convinced this team would even allow that because they have been so aggressive.
• There is no doubt the M's got some huge breaks from critical mistakes by the Rangers, and the mistakes were what allowed the M's to break through. Obviously, the Mariners cannot win every game by waiting for the other team to screw up, but good teams take advantage of mistakes and that is precisely what the Mariners did.
• I was impressed with what I saw out of the bullpen. Sean Green came in and looked as nasty as he did at the end of last year. Mark Lowe only faced one batter, but his velocity was up and his command looked decent despite all the excitement he must have been feeling. Eric O'Flaherty also looked really impressive, with a breaking ball that if anything is better than the one he had last year. He looks poised and ready to handle the role Sherrill filled last year. Though O'Flaherty did give up a run thanks to a grounder that found a hole, that made things perfect, because it allowed J.J. to come in and pick up the save on Opening Day.

Between seeing Bedard on the mound in the home white on Opening Day, and O'Flaherty coming in where Sherrill used to, the trade finally hit home for me. Something about Opening Day finally made it a reality for me that this team is about winning now, and it got me that much more excited. I have my concerns with this team and the trade, but it is great to be watching a team with a win now mentality, and if every game goes something like Opening Day did, this is going to be a great season.