With a record of 22-41, the Mariners season appears to be over.  The '95 M's couldn't even dig themselves out of this hole.  The season held so much promise with the upgrade of the starting rotation (Bedard, Silva) that no seem to realize how little the offense had improved, which given the loss of Jose Guillen to free agency, it didn't.  The goal was the playoffs.  Then it became trying to have a winning record.  Then playing .500 ball.  Then cutting some players (Norton, Wilkerson), and trying to integrate some younger ones (Clement, Balentien) by calling them up from AAA.  Then the manager goes on a verbal tirade, after another heartbreaking loss, in a close and winnable ball game.  It seems like collective failure, from top to bottom, management and players both.  Since the season is lost and morale continues to lessen, as the defeats continue pile up.  Decisions about the '09 season, and future seasons need to be made.  Here's a few of my ideas. 

First:  Waive players like Jose Vidro and Jaime Burke.  Burke is a good backstop, but is another catcher blocking the path of Jeff Clement, besides Kenji Johjima.  The Vidro at DH experiment clearly hasn't panned out.  He's a solid hitter, but not an HR & RBI producer that the DH position is usually accustomed to having.  Maybe even waive Arthur Rhodes, but he's a decent late inning, lefty option, plus the guy is well liked for when he played for the winning Mariner clubs of the past.  You know what, throw Willie "Boom Boom" Bloomquist in the mix as well.  I hate that guy.  Not to mention Miquel Cairo.  Other than Burke and Rhodes, none of these other guys should have even made it past spring training, but we can thank our wonderful GM for that.

Second:  Trade some of the veteran players that can get you some potentially solid and youthful talent in return.  I don't think rebuilding is the answer, but re-tooling seems like a decent approach.  Try to get rid of some bad contracts in the process.  Some players might look attractive to competing ball clubs, like Raul Ibanez, Kenji Johjima, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista.  I hate to say it, but let Richie Sexson play out the rest of the year. 

Third:  Give some young guys a shot.  Why not?  The season is totally ruined anyway.  Start playing Jeff Clement at catcher and DH.  Call up Bryan LaHair to split time at first with Richie Sexson.  Add Ryan Rowland-Smith and Brandon Morrow to the rotation, and see what they can do in that role.  I think both could be more productive then expected, especially Morrow.  Boston gave some young pitchers a shot, and they won a World Series by doing so.  That's the kind of ball club every team should model theirs after.  These youngsters are capable, but need the oppurtunity.  Might be an oppurtune time to fire manager John McClaren and GM Bill "I got Fleeced again" Bavasi, who tend to prefer playing veterans.

Fourth:  Start working on contract extensions with players that are detrimental to the the future success of the team.  Sign Felix, Bedard, Yuni, and Adrian Beltre to contract extensions.  Maybe try to deal for a superstar that can consistently drive in runs and put fear into opposing pitchers.  Perhaps, a guy like Matt Holliday, who isn't necessarily a lock to return to Colorado, or a guy like Travis Hafner, who is struggling, but still a solid player.  The M's need a power bat.  Clement could be that guy, but it would be nice to have more than one.  Try to reassure Ichiro that signing a long term contract was still the right thing to do.  Integrate the youngsters with good veterans.

Have your team look more like this:

SP:  1.  Hernandez  2.  Bedard  3.  Silva   4.  Rowland-Smith  5.  Morrow

RP:  JJ Putz  Sean Green  Eric O'Flaherty (only if he can throw strikes) Mark Lowe Roy Corcoran  Ryan Feierabend  R.A. Dickey

Lineup (in no particular order)

SS Yuniesky Betancourt

2B Jose Lopez

3B Adrian Beltre

1B  Bryan LaHair / Decent lefty or switch hitting player like Mark Teahen of the Royals

C Jeff Clement

DH Power bat like a Hafner 

LF All-Star player, could be anybody.

CF Ichiro

RF Wladimir Balentien / Jeremy Reed

UTIL Mike Morse

I seriously doubt the team will follow my lead, but I'd like it if they did something along these lines.  This is a capable team with the some decent role players in place, but they need to develop their youngsters and have some punch in the lineup.  If anything John McClaren should be axed since he can't win with the current talent and continuously makes bad decisions late in ball games.  Bill Bavasi should be let go, before he makes any more disastrous trades.  I read some where that reporter thought the M's should deal Erik Bedard, which would be a huge mistake and admitting failure.  The gave up enough to get him, they might as well try to get the best out of him.  Mac pulled him out at the bottom of the 6th, when he was absolutely dealing.  Fire Mac and Bavasi.  Re-tool the offense and rotation.

The 2008 Seattle Mariners.  A team in shambles.  2009 Seattle Mariners.  "At least it couldn't get any worse! "

Ichiro is this week's big winner.  He wins the All-Star Game MVP trophy, turning in a fine performance going 3-3 with a 2 run inside the park home run.  Later upon arrival in the Emerald City (Seattle) he is deservingly inked to a five year 90 million dollar deal that will probably keep him in Seattle for the rest of his career.  As a Mariner fan, I think this is the best thing that could possibly happen to the Mariners this season other than making a possible post season trip.  The Mariners had a series split with the Detroit Tigers, and JJ Putz got a little revenge on Tiger's skipper Jimmy Leyland by picking up two saves in the series and striking out the side in one.  Justin Verlander proved that he was a chump with a bush league move, as he beaned Ichiro in the knee with a 96 mph fastball rather than face him.  Oh well. 

The other big winner is myself.  I get to go to the opening two games of the Mariners series against the Baltimore Orioles.  One of these games will feature Felix Hernandez making a start, who I'm really excited to see for the first time.  I plan on bringing my little kids mitt (I have tiny hands) with the fake Ryne Sandberg autograph on the palm of it.  Perhaps I can catch the first foul ball in my career, as I will be sitting in the second level on the third base line.

The big loser of the week, besides me in my fantasy football draft, is my Portland Trail Blazers.  The Blazers decided to sign veteran (I guess) point guard Steve Blake much to the dismay of apparently just me.  I'm excited about next season with Brandon Roy and the expected heavy impact of twin towers Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge.  What doesn't excite me is that I have to watch roughly the same rotation of point guards that I had to see a couple of years ago, and instead of Sebastian Telfair we have Sergio Rodriguez and Taurean Green.  The team had a great draft, but the signing of Blake and the likely signing of Travis Outlaw have me crying in my beer.  That being said, I still intend to go to a minimum of 3 games this next season.

I don't have anything to mention about the Seahawks this week, other than I really looking forward to the season and I still miss DJack.  Congrats to Ichiro!  He's the new Mr. Mariner.  I shake my head in disgust, knowing that the Blazers have Steve Blake for 3 years.