Little hope for sinking Mariners
Posted: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 1:07 PM
Here’s what I realized on the journey to Paris where I’m covering the French Open: the most disappointing team in the majors is Seattle. Heading into play today the Mariners have the game’s worst record -- this from a team with a payroll north of $100 million and expectations to match.
Writing this blog is not something I derive any delight from since the Seattle organization is to be admired. It survived two decades playing its games in a ballpark that resembled a huge cement coffin. But success eventually bred the construction of a new stadium and no organization has taken better advantage of such fortune. In the 1980s for teams visiting Seattle the trip was a horrid one for the playing of baseball games -- like Montreal was in the National League – but a terrific one for everything else.
Now Seattle is a wonderful baseball trip for opposing clubs. It’s an escape from the summer heat and humidity that grips much of the country. It’s a chance to play in the fresh air of the Pacific Northwest before intensely loyal baseball fans. It’s now a desired stop.
To its credit M’s ownership has invested in payroll. Using the advantage of a publicly-funded ballpark, Seattle has had consistently high payrolls topping out this year at $118 million. The M’s have aggressively invested in Asian players with Ichiro Suzuki and Kenji Johjima.
But some of the spending has proven unwise. Richie Sexson is looking like this generation’s Dave Kingman. Adrian Beltre is a product of the times, a one-year flash whose poster career numbers in his walk year have earned him eternal skepticism. Jose Vidro is a shell of the strong offensive player he was in Montreal and the M’s have been forced to overpay for Jarrod Washburn and Carlos Silva.
In the post Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez years, Seattle was the game’s model of success -- a team that spurned superstars to field a club with strong players at every position and a deep bullpen. The M’s were a team without a glaring weakness. Time proved them unable to win big in October but those Seattle teams -- especially the magical 116-win club of 2001 – were the ones that should be emulated. My view is that the M’s abandoned that model -- perhaps out of a lack of production from their farm system -- to sign vagabond free agents.
The M’s are a collection of free swingers in the age of on-base percentage baseball. They rank last in the American League in that category and are near the bottom in runs. Their pitching has been horrid -- last in ERA largely due to a brutal overall performance by members of the rotation.
Can be light be seen in the tunnel for the M’s? Not much of it unless there is a total collapse in the AL West over the final four months of the season. What must irk the M’s to no end is that Oakland -- having torn down and rebuilt several times and operating with a payroll of just $47 million -- is well ahead of the Mariners in the division.
After Erik Bedard came in a trade from Baltimore in the offseason, the sense in Seattle was that the M’s had the pieces in place to win. Now the question is when the implosion will begin.
FIVE SWINGS:
1. THIS WEEK’S DEBUTANTE IS…Clayton Kershaw, who debuted for the Dodgers Sunday with six strong innings against St, Louis. He is the 10th first-round draftee from the 2006 class to reach the majors. With that kind of fast track a sign of the times, there’s great reason to pay attention to this year’s draft, which takes place on June 5.
2. THE METS WATCH…saw manager Willie Randolph emerge intact from Monday’s marathon meetings. Here’s the question to ask in assessing Randolph: Can Jose Reyes reach his potential in the Mets’ current state?
Two years ago Reyes was on the verge of greatness. Now he is a good player with some distance to travel before reaching greatness. Can Randolph help him get there? Is this another case like that of Jimmy Rollins? Fair or not, fact is that Rollins never fully blossomed until Larry Bowa was gone from his managerial stint in Philadelphia.
3. CHAPTER ONE OF HOW NOT TO GET A MANAGER’S JOB…Former Mets catcher Gary Carter – now managing in the low minors -- called the team to let management know he was available last week -- well before Randolph got back to New York from the team’s road trip for the much-publicized summit meeting between the manager, general manager Omar Minaya and team ownership. Bad play by the Hall of Famer.
4. BESIDES THE SINKING M'S, THE OTHER FLOP OF THE YEAR IS…San Diego. Details were discussed in this blog a few weeks back but Padres general manager Kevin Towers had a great line last week. ”Our morale should be horrible,” Towers said. Baseball tradition is to dismiss a loss promptly so as to be ready for the next game. It’s the marathon analogy. But the danger is when losing becomes accepted and Towers senses his team is that point.
5. BEST SAVE THIS YEAR…was Friday’s from Houston’s Jose Valverde. He was drilled on the side of his head by a batted ball. Thankfully it was a glancing blow. After a brief knockdown, Valverde rose and finished the ninth. His performance to date has been an unheralded part of Houston’s charge into the NL Central race.
