This season for the Seattle Mariners is seemingly already over, and it's only the first part of May. After losing 3 of 4 to their fellow celler dwellers, the Texan Rangers, the M's lack of offense and shotty bullpen have become glaringly obvious weaknesses rather then slow starts.
While the starting staff has been fairly solid, save a few Jared Washburn and Miguel Bastista yaks, and the defense have given them some solid play in the field. That being said, they haven't gotten the run support that they needed to win, and the pen didn't pitch well enough when they did.
With no one hitting more then .291 or more then 23 RBI (Raul Ibanez in both cases), the move to secure another quality arm hasn't really been the best. Couple that with the fact that Erik Bedard is surly to seemingly all around him and gets dinged up surprisingly easy, the trade of Adam (not Pacman) Jones, George Sherill (who is tied for second in the majors for saves at 11) and prospects is turning out to be an all out Chernobyl type deal.
Now, Richie Sexson and his .209 average are out for more then likely out for 6 games, pending an appeal. When he threw that helmet at Kason Gabbard, that was what seemed like the only hit he's had during this homestand.
Something must be done with this team. Thus far, Jeff Clement and Wladimer Balentien aren't the answer. Clement can't seem to break the lineup as a catcher on a daily basis because Kenji Johjima and his .184 are there. It's insane.
Two things that I suggest to help the team get better:
Fire Bill Bavasi. Yes, the record has gotten better every year that he's been here and yes, he brought in the starting staff that is doing amazingly well. But he also put together this horrendous offense. Need I say more?
Get Ken Griffey Jr. the SECOND he hits 600. Seriously, if we're going to suck this year, I want to have at least one bright spot. Griff would bring the power hitting lefty that the lineups needed and would bring people back to Safeco. Everyone wins!
This was suppoused to be the year for the M's to take a strangle hold on the AL West with the Angels down their two best starters and the A's down in the...well, suppousedly down the toilet. With those teams coming on strong and getting stronger and the Mariners choking on thin air, something's gotta get done.
I'm not sure what Bavasi did that was so bad? Most of our current lineup was here last season and they had the second best batting avg. in the AL behind first year hitting coach Jeff Pentland. Bavasi pretty much kept this lineup together with the expectations they would continue from last season. Wilkerson was Bavasi's only question mark in my opinion. But who else could we of got? Green would of demanded more money for about the same output. Adam Jones isn't really turning heads in Baltimore, where as Balentien has in less games. If we didn't go after Bedard, we'd be watching Weaver on the mound. Sherrill was a sacrifice we just had to make. And believe you, me, the Reds will tax us for Griffey. I do want Griffey back, but I just don't want to see our youngsters purged for him. No matter if we get Griffey or not, everyone will still blame Bavasi for what ever the outcome is. I could never be a GM, it's just like being a President of the U.S.....LOL.
I was there last night and all I wanted to do was tear my hair out by the roots. They blow opportunity after opportunity, consistently. For whatever reason, their heads just aren't in the game. The pitchers are doing a reasonably good job from 1-3, with Washburn trying his darndest but not getting any run support, and the wheels seem to have fallen off of Batista.
We sit in the club seats and, if I thought I was bad, the poor guy sitting next to me just seemed to have had more than he could take and had come to the end of his rope.
I think we just need to go all Marlins, have a fire sale and start over. This team ain't going to be good again for years, so they might as well see what they can do to put a winning product on the field.
Even if they ARE going after Junior, and they can't say if they are or not because of the tampering rules, do you really think he would make all that much difference?
I don't like the fire sale idea because the only realy pieces that people want are Felix, Ichiro, and Clement.
Here's an idea: Raul to first, Richie GONE, and Jeremy Reed up in left. That way, we're still young and no trade.
And yes, he would make a difference. I'm not the biggest baseball fan, but if they get Junior back, I'd go. Plus, he's some lefty pop for a team that doesn't really have much.
I dunno, maybe its just me, but you can't look to two rookies from Triple A to save your ball club. If you're making desperation moves that put IMENSE amount of pressure on the two youngsters, your in even more trouble...They'll start to take off (Clement more so...Wlad is swinging nicely...). I would love to see Junior back in an Ms uniform, but Tales is right...The Reds are gonna make us pay through the nose for a future guaranteed HoF guy. Don't wanna sell the ranch for it necessarily. If Junior comes back though, I'd bet he'd be willing to shift between outfield and DH, just to keep him active...
Also, 6 of Sherrill's saves came against the Ms...And his ERA has ballooned since then. Jones isn't as amazing as everyone believes (yet) mainly because...You can't ask a guy like that to save your team, like I said before...Just my two cents!
I'm a Seattle sports fan with nothing better to do then to complain about sports. Be it the Mariners, Sonics, Seahawks, the UW Huskies, or anything else that trips my trigger, I'll always write how I feel about any given topic. I love college and pro football, but all sports are on display here.
