Raul Ibanez, Aged Wonder

Who expected Raul Ibanez to be leading the Mariners in home runs on June 24? Anyone? If I had told you that Ibanez would be leading the team in dingers at this point, would you expect Jack Zduriencik and Eric Wedge to still have their jobs? Wouldn't that be a sign of disaster with the likes of veteran addition Mike Morse, and youngsters like Jesus Montero?

To a degree, it is true that the offense has experienced a mild implosion (at least mild by recent Mariners history). Zduriencik and Wedge are on hot seats too, though people disagree how hot they are. There are problems with this season that have let Ibanez rise to the top of the home run leadersboard.

However, just citing the shortcomings of others sells Ibanez short. He is in the middle of an unexpected season that could be borderline historic.

Raul Ibanez Returns to Seattle (Again)

Much like many of us who travel far to return home and see family and relatives, news just broke that Raul Ibanez will be returning 'home' to Seattle for the third time. The only difference is that Ibanez will be making about $2.75 million with another $1.75 million in incentives, according to AP, and I'm guessing he won't be dealing with that weird aunt or uncle who pours too much 'Christmas cheer' in their eggnog and then rants about politics. Although, Erik Wedge seems like a guy who likes his eggnog.

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.

Aardsma's Trade Value

image from ESPN.com

It makes sense to trade David Aardsma. It has all off-season. His salary will go up, the Mariners don't have at one of money, and don't need a closer until they score a few more runs. Furthermore, David's value isn't likely to go any higher. It makes all the sense in the world.

However, if this report has any truth to it, David Aardsma may be around on opening day. Reports are that the M's are seeking an "impact" bat in return.

On some level, it makes a ton of sense to look for a bat with Aardsma. He is the Mariners most convenient trade chip right now, and their offense is still their biggest weakness. This isn't rocket science.

What exactly is an "impact" bat though?

Ibanez Signs With Phillies

Word broke this morning that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed Raul Ibanez to a 3 year, $30 million deal. It never looked all that likely that Raul was going to return to the Mariners, but there is still something about him officially signing elsewhere that is significant. He remains one of the classiest players in all of baseball, and it is not fun saying good bye. However, he wants a chance to win a championship, and that's an opportunity the Mariners cannot provide him right now, even as they move in a positive direction.

It is clear that Jack Zduriencik had discussions with Raul and his representatives, but how serious they were is anyone's guess. At first glance, this appears to be a huge blow the team, given the M's just lost one of the few bona fide good hitters they had. However, consider the entire player that Raul Ibanez is at this point:

1. He is a good hitter, with a good stroke and good power. Neither is great, but both are quite good. The Mariners will miss his bat.
2. He is 36, and will be making $10 million a year until he is 39. It is fair to speculate that Raul's offensive production may begin to decline at some point during the contract he just signed.
3. He has never been a good fielder. In fact, he's really bad. He does not make a ton of errors, and his arm is respectable, but he has zero range. This is not as big of a deal in his new home, Citizens Bank Park (where he replaces Pat Burrell, a similarly bad fielder), but Safeco has a spacious left field. Defensively, he was always a terrible fit for the Mariners.

So while it is true that the Mariners offense took a hit today, it is important to look at the whole picture. This is a team rebuilding, so it does not make much sense to lock up players in the twilight of their primes for more than one year. This is especially true with all the money that Bill Bavasi sunk into mediocre starting pitching the last couple years that the M's still have to pay. However, even from a personnel standpoint, Jack Zduriencik has already creatively gone about replacing Raul Ibanez with the anti-Raul, Endy Chavez. Chavez can't hit worth a lick, but he is the perfect defensive fit for Safeco's left field. That's not enough to make Chavez a better player than Ibanez, but he's also $8 million cheaper.

Raul was no longer a great fit for the Mariners, and the Mariners were not a great fit for Raul at this point either. I wish him well, and hope that he does wins some championships until the M's are a force to be reckoned with again. Much like with J.J., I can't say that I am happy to see Raul leave, but I'm not mad either. More than anything, I'm relieved that he didn't sign with the Angels.

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.

Pelekoudas Assessing

John McLaren getting fired is news, but some of Lee Pelekoudas's comments when fielding questions were more interesting. In particular, he made it clear that he will be assessing players before the trading deadline to figure out how valuable they are to the team. Lee likely has particular players in mind, but who? He will never say, but I have a few guesses:

• Kenji Johjima - It looks like he is going to play some first base, especially once Richie Sexson is gone. He is the first guy I thought of when I heard Lee's comment about assessing players before the deadline. Given his big contract and Japanese ties, I don't think the Mariners would cut him loose. But, the team finally is making a legitimate commitment to Jeff Clement, so Kenji's future with the team may be at first.
• Raul Ibanez - Raul should be a known commodity to Pelekoudas, but his contract expires at the end of the year, and this year is now all about preparing for 2009. I think Lee will be keeping a closer eye on Raul to figure out if that big slump he had earlier this year was a fluke, or a harbinger of something bigger. If he concludes that Raul is not part of the 2009 plans, Raul should have value to a number of teams at the deadline.
• Miguel Batista - He pretty much flamed out as a starter this year, but Pelekoudas is probably seeing if he can fill a role as a reliever for the remainder of his contract. With a season and a half left on the deal, he would be more than a rent-a-player for a contender at the deadline...which in Batista's case probably hurts his trade value.
• Adrian Beltre - There have been enough rumors about Beltre deals over the past few years for me to believe other teams actually have inquired about him. Though I doubt the Mariners have ever seriously considered trading him, he is making a bunch of money and not hitting as well as expected when he was signed. Adrian seems to heat up with the weather, and perhaps Lee is waiting to see if he does. However, between Beltre's hand and contract, I strongly doubt any deal will come close to fruition this year.
• Ichiro - Rumors persist that Ichiro has fallen out of favor in the clubhouse, but I would be looking to trade him based on production. Granted, he is the current face of the franchise, and moving him would be controversial, but there are reasons to assess his value. He is perceived as one of baseball's brightest stars, and maybe he is from a marketing standpoint, but he has not been on the field this year. Honestly, he has always been overrated as a player after his rookie season, and he is showing signs this year that he may be aging. Ichiro's trade value is only going to diminish as time goes on, and if a contending team is looking to make a splash, Ichiro could be their guy. Of all the players on the Mariners right now, Ichiro is the most likely to net a lop-sided package in the Mariners favor, even with his huge contract. If Pelekoudas concludes that age is catching up with Ichiro, maybe Lee will strongly consider a trade.

Nobody really knows what Lee Pelekoudas will do as general manager, but only a couple days in he is off to quite the start. He seems to be decisive, and I am sure he will come to conclusions on whatever players he is assessing. What Pelekoudas does after fully assessing the mess he has may lead to even more upheaval.