Player Comparison

This player comparison struck me when I was reading Matt Snyder's Hall of Fame case for Edgar Martinez.

Edgar Martinez - 2055 G/  8674 AB/ .312 BA/ .418 OBP/ .515 SLG/ .933 OPS/ 147 OPS+
Player A -           2247 G/ 9453 AB/ .316 BA/ .414 OBP/ .539 SLG/ .953 OPS/ 133 OPS+

Player A actually played one fewer season than Edgar but was able to stay more consistently healthy during his career so that he was able to be in the field more often for his team. That has a value all its own. Snyder wrote that Martinez was the opposite of a compiler yet Player A was able to accumulate more runs, hits, doubles, triples, HR, RBI, and total bases in let me say again - one fewer season.

Many baseball scribes are writing that an anti-DH bias may hurt Edgar but there may just be the opposite effect in that some writers may vote for him just to prove they aren't biased against the DH. Player A also will be a victim of bias since he played all his home games at Coors Field. Yet I don't think any writer will go out of his way to show he doesn't hold that against a player's career.

Player A is Todd Helton who won a Gold Glove at first base (it should be mentioned). I am curious to see how the voting for the two players compares.

Top 5 - Offseason MLB Moves

Here's what I see as the Top 5 MLB offseason moves - so far!

1. Doug Fister to Nationals and Steve Lombardozzi, Robbie Ray and Ian Krol to Detroit. This wasn't even a five nickels for a quarter deal. This was three nickels for a quarter. Fister would be THE ace on half the teams in baseball and the Tigers got a bench guy, a bullpen guy and a AA guy in return for him. Absolute steal by the Nationals.
2. Robinson Cano - signs 10-year $240 million free agent deal with the Mariners. Cano got PAID!
3. Mark Trumbo to Diamondbacks, Adam Eaton to White Sox while Angels get starters Tyler Scaggs and Hector Santiago. A potential 40-HR guy, a starting centerfielder, and two starting pitchers. Most impactful deal for three teams so far.
4. Yankees trade Robinson Cano for Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann. OK so it wasn't actually a trade but I sure feels like one doesn't it? Question - if someone made this trade in your fantasy baseball league - which side would you say was getting the better deal?
5. Prince Fielder to Rangers for Ian Kinsler and $30 million from Tigers. Too early to tell the impact of this deal but considering that Fielder was signed by Detroit in the first place because Victor Martinez got hurt (and is now healthy) and moving Fielder now opens a spot for rookie Nick Castellanos at third my inclination is that this works for both teams.

I said these were my Top 5 so far. I think there's still a blockbuster waiting to happen.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Jacoby Ellsbury got a 7-year deal from the Yankees. I am really curious if there was any legitimate 6-year deals out there that the Yankees felt they had to top... 1936 Jesse Owens gold medal sells for $1.46 million dollars... Crazy trade idea - Ryan Dempster and a prospect from Red Sox to Yankees for Brett Gardner. The Yankees need a starter badly and Gardner is now on the trading block... Fantastic Geoff Baker piece on the dysfunctional Mariners. I'm guessing all the GM's at the Winter Meetings will be trying to dump their bad contracts on Jack Zduriencik as "win now" solutions before the jerkface gets fired... Two days after Pearl Hrbor Bob Feller volunteer for active duty with the Navy. He was the first pro athlete to do so (but not the last). I wonder what pro athlete would do so today? Didn't seem many volunteers after Pat Tillman... Heh heh - science is funny... More unintended consequences - Obamacare may put the end to volunteer fire departments. Unbelievable... Cool - how a car engine actually works... I wonder if historians 80-years from now will look at Obamacare they way we look at Prohibition today. As in "what were they thinking?"...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Why does Orange Crush need to point out that it is "Caffeine Free"? Do people expect Orange soda to be caffeinated like a cola? I do think a Caffeinated Orange or Caffeinated Grape soda might actually have some market potential...  This is an awesome man cave. I am so jealous... Wait - the movie Rosemary's Baby was supposed to be a metaphor for a woman's right to choose? It was about abortion? Really? How come nobody ever told me that? With abortion so readily available today - is that why you never see the movie on re-runs any more?... Santa Claus will not take the War on Christmas sitting down... Ichiro has homered against every team in the AL except the Mariners (which is understandable) and the Blue Jays (which is a bit of a head-scratcher)... Really looking forward to House Party 6 - The Pimp Goblet of Fire... Another reason to like Drew Brees - he bought Ted Williams WWII and Korean War flight logbooks at auction for $35,600....

How Jason Varitek Came to Town

Alex Speier has an excellent look back at the trade that brought Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe to Boston. Great insight into how that trade came to be. I found it most interesting that the deal ended up being a compromise - the Red Sox actually wanted pitcher Ken Cloude for Heathcliff Slocumb but "settled" for Varitek and Lowe.

Whenever this great robbery of a trade is brought up by a Red Sox fan - I always like to remind people that Boston also traded Jamie Moyer to Seattle for Darren Bragg. Moyer went on to win 133 games over the next 10 seasons for the Mariners.

While we are looking back at the career of Varitek - here is something I wrote the day after he smushed his mitt in A-Rod's face.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Simpsons has been on TV for 20-years. I was thinking that if the characters aged in real time then Bart would be in his early 30's by now and Grandpa Simpson would be in his late 80's... John Heisman - the man for whom the Heisman Trophy is named - used to supplement his income when he was coach at Georgia Tech by being a Shakespearean actor in the offseason. I just find that a very interesting morsel of information. Can you picture Charlie Weiss doing Hamlet? Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno as King Lear? Nick Saban as Brutus in Julius Caesar?... According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports - the Mariners are considering trading Brandon Morrow for a hitter. Morrow was Seattle's version of Joba Chamberlain so it is interesting to hear that he may be on the trading block... The origins of "Om Nom Nom". Cool video.

Lugo vs Betancourt

The Mariners wanted to dump Yuniesky Betancourt and - voila! - the Royals obliged by taking his contract off their hands. The Royals gave up a couple of flotsam and jetsam prospects and will have to pay just $7 million of Betancourt's remaining contract ($2 mil in 2010, $3 million in 2011 and a $2 mil buyout in 2012). Joe Posnanski explains just how horrible Betancourt really is.

Reviewing the facts - I have to wonder where the Red Sox were on this deal? They are just as anxious to dump Julio Lugo and despite Lugo's current reputation - he's a much better player than Betancourt.

Fielding - Lugo has a -6.8 URZ this year and a -1.2 in 2008 but he's also been injured. What excuse does Betancourt have for his -8.3 2009 and -12.6 2008 numbers?

Base Running - Lugo is 15 for 19 in stolen base attempts the past two years. Betancourt is 7 for 12 in the same time period.

Hitting - Lugo may not be a great hitter but he's still better than Betancourt.

Sure Lugo is much older but honestly either player is just a rental for the Royals and the Red Sox could have made the finances work so that the Royals would be stuck for just $7 million overall for Lugo (same as Betancourt). Lugo's the better player for the Royals. I think this was a missed opportunity for the Red Sox to shed Lugo's contract.

Pick of the Day

Today's pick of the day is the Mariners (-$120) vs Baltimore. The Orioles are 7-17 against the AL West, 6-16 in day games and just 1-11 in series finales on the road.

Last night the White Sox beat Cleveland to raise the POTD record to 10-3 and plus a mythical $653

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

The Yankees open the season with a 9 game road trip. That's the longest season-opening road trip in franchise history. I wonder if this was done on purpose by the scheduling folks just in case there was a couple of things about the new Yankee Stadium that needed time to fix before the first regular season game.... Today's Mariners game will not be broadcast on TV up in Seattle. It's one of three games this season that won't be on TV. This boggles this Red Sox fan's mind. If a Red Sox game was not broadcast there would be a complete uproar. People would be complaining that their civil rights were being violated... I'll be curious to watch how the Pirate's pitching staff does this season. Joe Kerrigan has joined the team as the pitching coach. I have loads of respect for Kerrigan as a pitching coach and the Pirates have some talented young starters who seem to be all over the map in terms of performance... Jamie Moyer is already in the top 50 all-time in strikeouts and wins. With another 50 innings pitched - he'll be in the top 50 all-time in that category too. Among non-active players - only Jack Morris, Jim Kaat and Tommy John are in the top 50 in all three categories and NOT in the Hall of Fame. Just tossing that out there... I'd like to sponsor the David Wells page on Baseball-reference.com and just have the words (in bold) "GET IN MY BELLY!"... The Yankees are the only team in baseball yet to make an error. Derek Jeter will fix that... Happy 37th birthday to Jason Varitek.

Team Snapshot - Seattle Mariners

I will go out on a limb and say that Seattle will do better next year than this past season's 67-95 record. There I said it!

The team shed under-performing Richie Sexson last season and this off-season they shed often injured closer JJ Putz and never-lived-up-to-expectations Jeremy Reed. They also lost Raul Ibanez who signed a 3-year $30 million deal with the Phillies.

C - Jeff Clement is the better option but Kenji Johjima presents unique issues in marketing (the Mariners have a very large Japanese following not to mention their Japanese ownership). Besides - the Mariners are paying Johjima too much not to play him (3-years $24 million). The King Solomon-like solution may be to move Clement to 1st base.

1st - Russell Branyan is not even a short-term solution never mind long term. My guess is that either Jeff Clement is moved to 1st or a free agent is signed. Adam Dunn could be a good fit here. Dunn could play some 1st, some OF and some DH while Clement could split his time between C and 1st.

2nd - Jose Lopez should be entrenched here. Carlos Triunfel is the Mariners top prospect and will probably take over 2nd in a couple of years.

SS - Yunieski Betancourt is the answer here but an upgrade for offense could go a long way in helping the team win more games.

3rd - Although there have been some trade rumors - I'd look for Adrian Beltre to stay with the M's and put up some good numbers in his free agent year (just like he did with the Dodgers). Beltre still has a great glove and I'd look for a 25 HR / 100 RBI season. Beltre had recent surgery on his thumb and if he stays healthy - then I see him being productive.

RF - Ichiro!

CF - Franklin Gutierrez should get the starting job after being traded for from the Indians. Prospect Greg Halman could be a mid-season option if he performs well early at AA or AAA. Endy Chavez is the wild card here but I expect him to be no better than a 4th outfielder.

LF - Here's the big hole in the Mariner's line-up. Losing Raul Ibanez hurts and that's why Adam Dunn would make good sense as a free agent signing. A trade for Yankee's Hideki Matsui would also work very well both on the field and off for PR purposes. Wladimir Balentien right now is the starting LF and he could be a star in the making but that's what was being said about Jeremy Reed not too long ago.

Starting Pitching - The team doctor and the trainer may be the co-MVP's for the Mariners if they can keep the pitching staff healthy. King Felix Hernandez, Eric Bedard, and Jarrod Washburn should be a solid 1-2-3 IF they can all stay healthy (Washburn solid in the innings eating sense only). The wild card here is Brandon Morrow who could be a number 2 starter or who could be a closer. If he is put into the rotation and is successful then the Mariners could challenge for the AL West (assuming they get some offensive production out of LF - literally and figuratively). The 5th starter could be Aaron Heilman, Carlos Sliver or a player to be named later. If the M's were to go after a Derek Lowe then they really could propel themselves into the AL West mix.

Bullpen - Who will be the closer for the M's? Tyler Walker looks like the front-runner. Brandon Morrow or Aaron Heilman are also options. The Mariners actually have a pretty full bullpen and they could send one or two relievers out for a trade (the Yankees can always use bullpen depth and Hideki Matsui would look good in the OF/DH role for the M's).

The M's lost over $18 million in salary between Raul Ibanez, JJ Putz and Jose Vidro. Some of that money will be lost in arbitration to salary increases to Felix Hernandez and Eric Bedard. There should be plenty left over for at least one major free agent signing such as Adam Dunn, Derek Lowe or a Bobby Abreu. The M's really should spend this money seeing how they already have the salary savings from jettisoning Richie Sexson.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

I don't believe in the White Sox. I just don't see them winning the AL Central. My pick is the Indians. The Pythagorean W/L says that Cleveland has had the worst luck (-5 games) of any team in the AL. Meanwhile the White Sox are just 11-17 against teams with a winning record. I see Chicago falling back to earth, Ozzie having another tirade and finally getting fired... The Mariners are bad. It certainly doesn't help that they can win close games (7-14 in 1 run games). With JJ Putz going on the DL - I wouldn't look for that record to improve either... The Braves are 7.5 games behind the Phillies mainly because Atlanta just can't win on the road (8-24 on the road) or in extra innings (1-7)... Many people picked St. Louis to be awful this year but if the season ended today - they would be the NL Wild Card. They lead the Marlins by 3 games... Just saying but JD Drew has the 2nd best OPS in the AL. His .973 is better than Josh Hamilton's .961 and Manny Ramirez's .940. (Milton Bradley leads with a 1.077 mark and Jason Giambi is 4th with a .953 mark)... Oakland's Jack Cust leads the AL in walks with 52 and is 2nd in strikeouts with 70 (just 1 behind Carlos Pena). I'm rooting for Cust to "win" both categories... It's bizarro world. The NL has the top 4 HR hitters in baseball and the AL has the top 2 base stealers... If I had to give out the NL Cy Young Award today I'd give it to Tim Lincecum for being 8-1 for a lousy (and I mean lousy) San Francisco Giants team...

Mariners All-timers vs. Red Sox All-timers

I get a kick out of comparing the all-time list of different franchises. Here's a quick look at how the Seattle Mariners compare to the Boston Red Sox.

In terms of hitting - Edgar Martinez is the all-time leader for the Mariners in AB, R, H, 2B, RBI, TB, and BB.

If Martinez played for the Sox instead - he'd be 5th in AB, 5th in R, 5th in H, 3rd in 2B, 5th in RBI, 5th in TB and 4th in BB.

Junior Griffey is the all-time leader in HR with 398. That would be good for 3rd on the Red Sox all-time list behind Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.

In terms of pitching - Jamie Moyer is the all-time leader for Seattle in wins with 145. That would be good for fourth for the Red Sox behind Cy Young (192), Roger Clemens (192) and Tim Wakefield (157 and counting). Randy Johnson has the club record for K's for the M's with 2162 - that would be behind only Roger Clemens' 2590 for Boston. Surprisingly - Mike Moore is the all-time leader for the Mariners in complete games with 56. That would be good for only a tie for 32nd place with the Red Sox. Cy Young had 275 complete games for the Red Sox.

A Great Trade for the Red Sox

Alex Speier has a look back at the trade that brought Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe to the Red Sox in exchange for Heathcliff Slocumb.

Excellent job by Speier. It's amazing in hindsight that Seattle did not want to do a Ken Cloude for Slocumb deal straight-up.

Ichiro's New Contract

Ichiro Suzuki has a new 5-year $100 million contract. Here are two very good blog posts on the subject.

- The first is from USS Mariner who makes a the sabremetric case that the new contract is a bargain.

- The second is from Kevin Hayward who is on the fence whether Ichiro is worth the money.

I've seen Ichiro play in person 4 times. Each time I saw him play - I couldn't keep my eyes off him. Ichiro is a dynamic fan favorite who is also a game changer. It is near impossible to keep him off the bases and once on - his mere presence disrupts a game more than any player since Rickey Henderson in his prime.

Three things to keep in mind when considering that $20 million per year price tag.

1. Hiroshi Yamauchi (of Nintendo) owns the Mariners and Ichiro is a fan favorite not just in America but also in Japan. The Red Sox just paid a similar amount for Daisuke Matsuzaka but with $51 million going to the Seibu Lions and $52 million going to Dice-K (over 6-years) but Ichiro is more of a proven quantity. I wouldn't worry about the team getting a good return on this investment.

2. The Mariners revenue is just a bit south of the Red Sox. They can well afford the contract. In comparison to Beltre and Sexson - this contract is a bargain.

3. Judge Judy makes $25 million per year and in my opinion Ichiro is a better entertainer.