Idle Musings

I think the Dodgers record should silence all the people who claimed that Joe Torre only won in New York because of the talent. Then again, people who believe in that don't really understand baseball in the first place.

I do not understand the fans of the Mariners who want them to turn into Pirates West. These are the fans that always root for the backup quarterback and always believe that whatever is next is the next best thing. Despite the fact that the Mariners are fielding an .500 team, Mariners fans want them to clean house, trade Bedard, Washburn, Beltre, Betancourt, Lopez, virtually everyone. In a situation where you are trying to build from the ground up, you keep the young guys, trade a quality veteran for some prospects, and have a couple of older guys to bring leadership to the team. Bedard, however injury prone, is young. The Mariners gave too much up to get him, but you can't do anything about that right now. He has great stuff and is a surgeon on the mound. Why trade him? His value isn't tremendously high, and it just leaves another hole in your rotation.

Washburn is a guy I would like to see traded. He's officially morphed into "crafty lefthander" status and his effort is contingent on team success. A playoff contender would love to bring him in to solidifer their rotation, and his mechanical and philosophical adjustments(going more off speed and relying less on fastball) have only increased his value. However, he's older, and taking the spot on the rotation of some younger arms, his value will never be higher, trade him.

Lets say the Mariners keep Bedard, Felix keeps improving, Murrow rounds into a solid 7 inning guy, Vargas continues to pitch well, and Roland Smith finally gets healthy. That is one hell of a rotation, not a single weak link, young, live arms, good left/right balance, the kind of rotation that could get you deep in the playoffs.

I'll admit I was wrong about Griffey, his presence has been invaluable and he's finally coming around to hit. The Mariners, in recent years, have excused their lack of plate discipline by claiming they are just "aggressive". Griffey is patient, he works the count, he gets walks and gets the pitchers pitch count up. The Mariners aren't hitting the ball very well, but they are slowly playing the game the right way. The minor leagues have some horses down there as well. The future is bright. For once.