OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - "The System" (or How Leverage Killed Conventional Pitching Wisdom)

Prodigal Son · 04-13-2012, 08:21 PM

By Aaron Freeley
The Seattle Times
June 2012

When the 2012 season started, the Seattle Mariners had the best young pitcher in the league in Felix Hernandez. They had three of the top starting pitching prospects in the world and arguably the best farm system overall. All of that is gone now. The kicker is that The Coach has convinced management to also trade away virtually all of the team's top selections in the 2012 amateur draft.

The Coach came in with big ideas, and fans knew there would be radical changes. Some were excited, some were upset, but most were simply confused yet willing to give The Coach a chance. With the team starting to slide down the standings, with trade after trade shaking up the roster, and with the future of the organization in major doubt, it is time to ask whether The Coach's chance is over.

The Mariners gave up massive amounts of starting pitching talent--the premium asset in all of baseball. Baseball America now ranks the Mariners top five traditional starting pitchers (Oswalt, Buehrle, Beavan, Noesi, Millwood) as a dismal 24th among Major League rotations. Ok, so perhaps The Coach traded away the farm to get talent elsewhere? Not so fast. Baseball America ranks Seattle in the top 13 teams in talent at just four of 11 positions, and two of those are the least important in baseball: middle relief and closer. The only position player talent in the organization lies in McCann and Montero at catcher (1st overall) and Dustin Ackley at 2B (5th overall).

The farm sytem is ravaged, the current-day rotation is among the worst in baseball, and the offense is, well, offensive.

Exactly how does a team get dismantled so quickly? For an answer, one need only look at players received in the Felix Hernandez trade. Seattle traded away Felix, who could be the most valuable commodity in all of baseball as a fantastic 26-year old starting pitcher, along with top prospects and other talent, and in exchange the Mariners received Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, Michael Bourne, and two relievers. Dan Uggla is now gone, and Bourne is set to be a free agent at the end of this season. Considering he has a .633 OPS on the year, you can consider his acquisition an utter failure.

The only position player left from this deal is McCann, a great player but one who is a free agent after next season.

When you break it down from start to finish, the Mariners sold the farm for two seasons of Brian McCann, one (so far bad) season from Michael Bourne, two arbitration-eligible seasons from Emilio Bonifacio (received in exchange for Uggla), and a couple of middle relievers.

That brings us to the one asset that Seattle does have: middle relievers. The Mariners rank first in organizational talent there and rank fourth at closer with Baseball America rating Craig Kimbrel in that spot.

So there you have it: the farm system is decimated, the offense has been downgraded and is a ticking time bomb of expiring contracts, the starting pitching is terrible, and the team has no good draft picks this year. Your consolation prize? Middle relievers, the least valuable players in baseball.

The Coach needs to become The Real Estate Agent or The Car Salesman, anything but the man behind the destruction of the Seattle Mariners.

04-13-2012, 08:21 PM	#30
Prodigal Son All Star Starter Join Date: May 2006 Location: Iahiodo a.k.a. the flyover Posts: 1,635	How The Coach Destroyed The Mariners By Aaron Freeley The Seattle Times June 2012 When the 2012 season started, the Seattle Mariners had the best young pitcher in the league in Felix Hernandez. They had three of the top starting pitching prospects in the world and arguably the best farm system overall. All of that is gone now. The kicker is that The Coach has convinced management to also trade away virtually all of the team's top selections in the 2012 amateur draft. The Coach came in with big ideas, and fans knew there would be radical changes. Some were excited, some were upset, but most were simply confused yet willing to give The Coach a chance. With the team starting to slide down the standings, with trade after trade shaking up the roster, and with the future of the organization in major doubt, it is time to ask whether The Coach's chance is over. The Mariners gave up massive amounts of starting pitching talent--the premium asset in all of baseball. Baseball America now ranks the Mariners top five traditional starting pitchers (Oswalt, Buehrle, Beavan, Noesi, Millwood) as a dismal 24th among Major League rotations. Ok, so perhaps The Coach traded away the farm to get talent elsewhere? Not so fast. Baseball America ranks Seattle in the top 13 teams in talent at just four of 11 positions, and two of those are the least important in baseball: middle relief and closer. The only position player talent in the organization lies in McCann and Montero at catcher (1st overall) and Dustin Ackley at 2B (5th overall). The farm sytem is ravaged, the current-day rotation is among the worst in baseball, and the offense is, well, offensive. Exactly how does a team get dismantled so quickly? For an answer, one need only look at players received in the Felix Hernandez trade. Seattle traded away Felix, who could be the most valuable commodity in all of baseball as a fantastic 26-year old starting pitcher, along with top prospects and other talent, and in exchange the Mariners received Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, Michael Bourne, and two relievers. Dan Uggla is now gone, and Bourne is set to be a free agent at the end of this season. Considering he has a .633 OPS on the year, you can consider his acquisition an utter failure. The only position player left from this deal is McCann, a great player but one who is a free agent after next season. When you break it down from start to finish, the Mariners sold the farm for two seasons of Brian McCann, one (so far bad) season from Michael Bourne, two arbitration-eligible seasons from Emilio Bonifacio (received in exchange for Uggla), and a couple of middle relievers. That brings us to the one asset that Seattle does have: middle relievers. The Mariners rank first in organizational talent there and rank fourth at closer with Baseball America rating Craig Kimbrel in that spot. So there you have it: the farm system is decimated, the offense has been downgraded and is a ticking time bomb of expiring contracts, the starting pitching is terrible, and the team has no good draft picks this year. Your consolation prize? Middle relievers, the least valuable players in baseball. The Coach needs to become The Real Estate Agent or The Car Salesman, anything but the man behind the destruction of the Seattle Mariners. Last edited by Prodigal Son; 04-13-2012 at 08:35 PM.