Mariners Off to Hot Start

Who would have thought this a possibility coming into the season?  The M’s sit at 8-5, which is good for first(!) place in the AL West.  Numerous contributions have been made carrying the team thus far, and the one you have probably heard the most regards the chemistry of the team. “A new day, a new way,” is the new slogan for the 2009 Mariners, and they are correct.  The organization has been remade from the top down, Chuck Armstrong and his buddy Lincoln both realized that their current way of running the team was not, to be frank, smart.  Baseball has been revolutionized over the past years in terms of running a team thanks to the advancement of statistics in the field, allowing the assessment of players to be accurate and more importantly, recognizing what contributes to a winning team.  The proof has been prevalent for years now with the dawn of “Moneyball,” and more importantly the transformation of the Red Sox organization.  Their success, with the help of Theo Epstein, has ushered in a new era of baseball.  And to their credit, Chuck and Lincoln saw this, not only did they see it but they admitted their past mistakes by firing Bavasi and giving the new GM, Jack Zduriencik full reigns in running the business.  With the new business model, Jack got to work on improving the team in the short term, without sacraficing the long term flexibility of the organization.
Now that credit has been given to those who do really deserve it, it is time to look at the players responsible for the quick start.  The first fielder that comes to my mind represents the change in philosophy at the top, Franklin Gutierrez.  The centerpiece of the J.J. Putz deal was coveted by Jack because of this outstanding defense in center field, and so far he has not dissapointed.  Guti’s UZR rating, which measures the number of runs above or below average, is a healthy 3.7 over the corse of 13 games.  If he were to keep that pace for 150 games he would save the Mariners 41.8 runs over an average defensive center fielder.  Gutz just oozes defense and it is now a pleasure to see a ball hit into his territory, he will get it.  The Mariners overall UZR rating is the highest in baseball so far this year, a testament to Jack’s focus on improving the defense, which was done with a diminishing budget.  Now that we have seen the main reason for the M’s hot start, along with above average pitching from the staff, lets stop making nicknames for Guuuuuuuuuutz, and focus on where this leaves the M’s.
Last season was a disaster, losing 101 games is not only pathetic, but shows the low quality of play represented by the players of last year.  You can see the difference in the competitiveness between last year and this year, this team wants to win day in and day out.  The fans will never witness a laxidasical play, unless Yuni or Lopez are around, for the whole year.  This fact excites me as a fan, in tdoay’s current economic status, we need bang for our buck just as much as GM’s of MLB teams do.  I thank God for having Jack Zduriencik come in and piece together a competitive team.  The rest of the credit has to go to the new coach, Dan Wakamatsu.  He has reinvigorated the clubhouse, along with Griffey, to the point where the fans can see the excitement on the players faces as they go out and play america’s pasttime.
As for the rest of the year, well, lets just hope the offense gets their act together so that we can witness some October baseball, just try and think of Griffey up to bat during the playoffs.  It sends shivers down my spine also.  el Guti!

The Mariners

Spring training is under way and it is clear that a new year has begun for the Mariners.  With the new approach taken by new management, new faces are abound throughout Peoria.  The improvements across the board range from no names such as Endy Chavez to the beloved Ken Griffey Jr.  Lets take a small account of the team.

When presented with the disaster of last year, Jack Zduriencik immediately decided to improve the team as quickly as possible with a shrinking budget.  The result was the JJ Putz trade that returned outfielders Franklin Gutierrez and Endy Chavez along with pitchers Aaron Heilman and Jason Vargas.  Some minor league talent was acquired also, but that is not going to be discussed here.  Defense is the quickest and cheapest way to improve a team and that has been accomplished as the Mariners are now able to field arguably the best defensive outfield in the league.  The loss in this transaction was the fact that Raul was not looked upon as a “need” for the team, rightly so.  It is a relief to see management not take a mindset that greatly limits the options of improving the team while wasting money.  The other major acquisitions include Russell Branyan and the one and only Ken Griffey Jr.  Overall the fans should feel relieved and invigorated as the season approaches.  This team will be able to compete day in and day out thanks to Jack’s moves.

One of these moves includes the rebuilt bullpen.  Relief pitchers are a hot commodity once they make a name for themselves, becoming expensive and damaging to the overall team future plan.  Jack knows how to build an effective bullpen on the cheap side, finding relievers that either were coming off of injuries or just couldn’t fit on their respective teams roster.  By assembling a mass amount of these players, it will  be easy to select the few from that group to carry a decent bullpen.  Taken together with the defensive improvements and addition by subtraction with the disappearance of Vidro and Sexson, the year is lookin good.

Please don’t confuse with this optimism with hope of making the playoffs, those are a long-shot especially coming off of a 101 loss season.  But the Mariners will field a competitive team day in and day out.  As a fan I couldn’t be more excited knowing that competent minds are always going to provide a product that is worth paying for.  And yes, the signing of Ken Griffey Jr. made me ecstatic and super stoked for the year, I grew up worshiping The Kid, or King Griffey Jr. as I called him.  This year, you just gotta love these guys, and it will help the depressed city recover.  Heck, it is already happening with the Huskies winning the Pac 10 conference.  It feels like summer is already here, the city is ready for this team to succeed, and if things fall right then it really will be a summer to remember.

The First Post (Mariners Trade, Zduriencik’s First)

A first post for this blog should be one filled with history and importance.  Well, maybe this post will not be remembered for eons to come, but the trade Jack Zduriencik pulled off for the M’s will definitely reverberate throughout the organization for years to come.  If you have been living under a rock for the past week lets get you up to speed.  The Mariners were involved in a three team deal with the Mets and Indians.  In all, the M’s traded JJ Putz, Sean Green, Jeremy Reed, and Luis Valbuena.  In return the Mariners get Franklin Gutierrez, Endy Chavez, Mike Carp, Ezequiel Carrera, Aaron Heilman, Maikel Cleto, and Jason Vargas.

 

Now I don’t want to focus on which of our players went where, I would like to talk more about the impact this has on the team and the city.  The headliner is obviously Putz, he is one of the main faces of the Mariners organization and a fan favorite.  I will cover the impact this has on the team and its standing with the community, and I will not forget to put some analysis on those joining the Seattle Mariners.

 

First off, I am sad to see JJ go.  He provided some of the best memories for this team the past three years.  The performances that come back to me were the final outs against the Yankees two years ago.  With two outs and A-Rod up to bat, all of Safeco was on their feet cheering for a strikeout.  Nothing could satisfy crowd like JJ.  I was there in center field as A-Rod went down swinging not on a filthy splitter, but the high heat that blew right by him.  That kind of environment can in no way be recreated.  It was the perfect storm of opposing players and fans combining into a wave of anticipation that crashed into euphoria with the final out.  He brought excitement to the crowd and kept people coming back.  Unfortunately his last season here was not as memorable.  Injuries and inconsistency hampered JJ’s year paving the way for Brandon Morrow and his heater to take over the ninth until he was moved to the starting rotation.  And as much as I will miss JJ, I like this trade.  Jack is in the process of renovating a broken down team built with expensive parts.  He is focusing on improving the team, replacing the production lost by those leaving and underachievers, with cost effective players.  And if he continues to build this team without interference from the higher ups, he will build a winner.  And I think that everyone agrees that the one thing that raises attendance and community awareness is winning.  As the Seahawks proved not so long ago, fielding a competitive team consistently brings success on all sorts of levels.  In Jack I trust, and hopefully after looking at the players we are getting back you will agree.

 

Franklin Gutierrez:  The centerpiece of the trade, he was the guy Zduriencik wanted.  Statistically he is one of the best defensive outfields in the league, which believe it or not, defense wins games applies in baseball also. Stats from 2008.

            Avg: .248 (399 AB)

            OBP: .307

            SLG: .383

 

Endy Chavez:  Another great defensive outfielder with less pop in the bat.  Most likely the 4^th OF for the M’s.

            Avg: .267 (270 AB)

            OBP: .308

            SLG: .330

 

Mike Carp:  Minor Leaguer who automatically becomes the 1B candidate in two years.  Stats from AA.

            Avg: .299 (478 AB)

            OBP: .399

            SLG: .471

 

Ezequiel Carrera:  Speedy outfielder, that’s all he was only in A+ last year.

            Avg: .263 (430 AB)

            OBP: .334

            SLG: .393

 

Aaron Heilman:  Wants to be a starter, most likely will end up being our set up man.  Horiible year last year.

            K/BB: 1.74

            WHIP: 1.59

 

Maikel Cleto:  Injuries kept him out last year, stats from 200, A league.

            K/BB: 2.38

            WHIP: 1.28

 

Jason Vargas:  Spent most of 2007 in AAA, that’s where his stats are from.

            K/BB: 2.45

            WHIP: 1.48

Welcome!

This hear is just an open blog hoping to keep the sports spirit alive in the fair city of Seattle.