Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

My first impression in Seattle is that they are a pretty good bad team, or at least they have some potential. They allowed the third fewest runs in the league in a rotation that featured Tim Lincecum, Ubaldo Jiminez, Matt Garza, and Clayton Kershaw. David Robertson is their closer, and Jason Heyward is their big bat.

That's just looking at names though, and not performance. I'll take a closer look, but things aren't necessarily as they appear, like Clayton Kershaw isn't a dominant pitcher. We do have the biggest budget in the league, and owner that expects us to win a championship, and even a little bit of money for free agents ($7.5 million).

We'll also be losing Matt Garza, David Robertson, and Jason Heyward to free agency. We'll take a closer look at the team as I move through the offseason though.

[rjl518]

Two things...Welcome to the Emerald City!!

"You're off to see the wizard..the wonderful Wizard of OZ!"
---Munchkins "The Wizard of OZ"

Second...i know you just played the Astros...do they still plan to move into the american league west?

[illeracula]

Congrats to you and the Twins. After the first two games, it showed how versatile the Twins were able to win the close games, and able to score runs when needed. Seemed like a good series...

Good luck with the M's. Have they had any success over the past few years? With that staff its hard to believe they are as bad as their record...

[HerbertMcHoover]

Seems like your stay in Seattle might be a short one.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

Two things...Welcome to the Emerald City!!

"You're off to see the wizard..the wonderful Wizard of OZ!"
---Munchkins "The Wizard of OZ"

Second...i know you just played the Astros...do they still plan to move into the american league west?

Thank you. I started out looking forward to Seattle, and now I'm not so sure I'm going to enjoy my stay in the beginning. I thought this might be a quick stop, but I'm thinking otherwise now.

For the second part, I think I need to create a reminder to myself. I ended up going through Opening Day last night, so it's too late this year, but I need to do that soon.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by illeracula

Congrats to you and the Twins. After the first two games, it showed how versatile the Twins were able to win the close games, and able to score runs when needed. Seemed like a good series...

Good luck with the M's. Have they had any success over the past few years? With that staff its hard to believe they are as bad as their record...

Thank you. I really enjoyed the Twins at the end, and I'm sad to move on. I might be biased, but I think they've got a really solid core and should be able to stay competitive barring any major injuries or stupid moves.

The Mariners have a pretty interesting recent history. From 2012-2016 they were essentially a team that won 90 or more games. They had some bad luck in 2015 and 2016 where they won 87 and 88 games respectively, but according to their expected record they were a 91 win team, but they were good enough to go to the playoffs 4 out of 5 years.

In addition to Lincecum and Garza they had Josh Collmenter, who was 19-7 with a 3.37 ERA and Luis Morales, who was 17-6 with a 2.75 ERA.

Collmenter and Morales both fell apart - Collmenter had Tommy John surgery, while Morales just had a sudden decline. The Mariners signed both Lincecum and Garza to extensions and went out and brought aboard Ubaldo Jiminez as a free agent. After their big extensions Lincecum declined a little bit, and Garza declined quite a bit.

They also made the puzzling move of signing Josh Reddick to a 6 year $92 million contract as a free agent, tieing up money that forced them to have to let Mark Trumbo walk, who ended up signing a 5 year contract.

I still don't know why they gave Reddick that contract, because he was a 2 win player. There were a couple of other questionable moves on offense, but some bad decisions really doomed them.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by HerbertMcHoover

Seems like your stay in Seattle might be a short one.

I hope so, but I'm not as optimistic as I was initially.

[NYY #23]

One of my first decisions that needed to be made in Seattle was how to handle salary arbitration. The Mariners had five players that were eligible for salary arbitration, and we offered arbitration to two players and non-tendered three players.

We offered arbitration to:

MR - Steve Delabar (41 IP, 2-1, 6.80 ERA)
3B - Will Shelton (.201/.336/.309, 9 HR, 1 SB)

We non-tendered the following players to make them free agents:

MR Javy Guerra (0 IP)
MR Carmen Saunders (15 IP, 4.20 ERA)
1B Armando Madrid (.223/.291/.347, 4 HR)

Shelton only has played a half season with the Mariners, but is solid defensively and just 25 years old. Delabar will get an opportunity to pitch out of the pen, but shouldn't be too expensive if we need to cut ties.

We have 10 players who are set to become free agents. Arbitration will be offered to:

SP Matt Garza (9-19, 5.16 ERA, 202 IP)
CL David Robertson (5-8, 23 SV, 2.48 ERA, 65.1 IP)
RF Jason Heyward (.250/.347/.429, 20 HR)

I expect that they'll all decline arbitration and elect free agency. Garza is somewhat of a risk, but he actually pitched a little better than his stats indicated.

[rjl518]

I think Garza will do pretty well...like you said, you really arent taking over a complete loser in the Mariners.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

I think Garza will do pretty well...like you said, you really arent taking over a complete loser in the Mariners.

I hope that you are right. I'm starting to get worried though.

[NYY #23]

Both David Robertson and Matt Garza agreed to accept salary arbitration and will receive a one year $13.1 million contract while Matt Garza declined arbitration. The Mariners have weaknesses in center field, right field, the bullpen, and slight weaknesses at first, third, and shortstop. We also don't have any money to spend on free agents, so we'll need to find a way to plug our holes another way. (Sometimes financials puzzle me. We have $30 million on budget room, and negative $30 million in cash so we really don't have any money to spend)

Our payroll is very top heavy with Wilin Rosario (18.4 m), Tim Lincecum (17 m), Ubaldo Jimenez (16.6 m), Josh Reddick (14.5), Matt Garza (13.1), and David Robertson (13.1). Reddick in particular is a dead contract, and he's signed for four more years ending with a $19.4 million deal in 2021. Last year he was worth negative 1.3 WAR and hit .207 with 11 home runs.

Because of that we made our first trade sending Ubaldo Jimenez, who is signed through the 2020 season, catching prospect Anibal Rios, and 21 year old Romeu Barrantes to the Pirates in exchange for 21 year old center field prospect Ed Payne, and a trio of young bullpen arms - 23 year old Melvin Gross, 24 year old Javier Hernandez, and 24 year old Jeff Lane.

[NYY #23]

Opening Day has arrived and my first season with the Mariners is ready to begin. It's been a quiet offseason, outside of our one trade. We didn't make any additional signings, or trades. That means this is our team for better or worse, especially with no available budget room.

In addition to Matt Garza, Tim Lincecum, and William Buffrey we are planning on using 23 year old Carlos Sosa and 21 year old Juan Diaz in the rotation. They are two of our top prospects, leaving a thin minor league system even thinner. If it wasn't for the Orioles it would be the worst in baseball.

Our owner expects us to play .500 ball this year, and I could see that happen if everything goes well. Unfortunately I feel like the Mariners are a middle of the road team, not good enough to win a championship, and not bad enough to have a system full of prospects. We'll see what happens this year though.

[NYY #23]

Monday

Opening day started off well for the Mariners with Tim Lincecum pitching 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball to pick up the win as we beat the Blue Jays 3-0. With Aroldis Chapman and David Robertson coming out of the pen we have the ability to shorten games. 1B Doug Butler provided all of our offense tonight with a 3 run homer in the first.

Tuesday

For the second game in a row our starting pitcher didn't allow an earned run. Jeff Lane pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings tonight, and we came back to win with a 5 run eighth inning to beat the Blue Jays 5-2. Wilin Rosario drove in two runs in the win.

Wednesday

The Mariners completed the sweep of the Blue Jays with a 5-1 today. It was Matt Garza's turn to pitch well (8 IP, 4 H, 1 R) and David Robertson picked up his second save of the season. Brit Smith and Tyler Moore hit home runs.

Thursday

It wasn't a long wait before we faced my last team as we opened up a four game series against the Twins today. We were handed our first loss of the season as we fell to the Twins 7-0, scraping together just 4 hits.

Friday

A solo home run by Wilin Rosario was the only run of the game as we held on for a 1-0 win over the Twins. Pablo Cordero made an unexpected start today and pitched 7 innings of 2 hit ball to earn the win before he left the game with an injury. Once again our bullpen came up big with Aroldis Chapman and David Robertson closing out the game.

Saturday

Juan Diaz made his major league debut today and gave up 6 runs in 4 2/3 innings. Our offense was able to come back and tie the game at 7 in order to go to extra innings, but Juan Soto allowed a pair of runs in the 11th to hand us the 9-7 loss.

Sunday

We earned the series split with a 4-1 win over the Twins today when Tim Lincecum picked up his second win of the season, and Chapman and Robertson closed out the game. Tyler Pastornicky hit a two run homer.

Summary

Record: 5-2, .714, - GB (1/2 game lead over the Angels)
Last Week: 5-2

The season started much better than expect with a sweep of the Blue Jays and a series split with the Twins that left us in first place. There are some things that are going well, like our starting pitching and bullpen. Other things aren't going as well, like our offense. I expect that our stay in first place will be short lived, but for now I'll enjoy it.

[NYY #23]

Monday

For $13.1 million dollars we got exactly 10 1/3 innings out of Matt Garza before he tore his labrum and Garza will miss the rest of the year. Steve Delabar came on in relief of Garza today and after two batters he left the game with a torn back muscle and he'll be out for the year. Both injuries occurred in the third inning. We waited until we lost Wilin Rosario to a hamstring injury, but at least he has a day to day injury. We also lost to the Angels 4-3 in what turned out to be a really bad day for the Mariners.

Both Garza and Delabar were placed on the 60 day DL, with 24 year old Melvin Gross and 24 year old Peter Johnston recalled from AAA. Gross will pitch out of the pen, with Johnston set to join the rotation.

Tuesday

Another day and another injury. Today we lost starting center fielder Brit Smith to a shoulder injury that will cause him to miss the next three weeks. We recalled LF Josh Reddick to replace him on the roster.

Rookie Carlos Sosa took the loss after 5 1/3 innings and 5 earned runs. 1B Jim Nelson picked up two hits in the loss.

Wednesday

Today Peter Johnston made his major league debut and allowed 6 runs in 5 innings as the Mariners fell 10-7 to the Angels. Josh Reddick made an early impression with a double, homer, and 4 RBI though. Tyler Pastornicky picked up 3 hits and scored 3 times in our loss. My optimism last week has now evaporated after getting swept by the Angels.

Thursday

Off Day

Friday

Rangers 10, Mariners 4
LP: Juan Diaz (0-1)
HR: Doug Butler (2)

It's going to be a real long season if our starting pitchers don't perform better than they have been. Juan Diaz lasted just 4 innings while giving up 9 hits and 7 runs. Doug Butler had the big game at the plate for the Mariners with 3 hits, 2 RBI, and a run scored.

Saturday

Rangers 7, Mariners 2
LP: Tim Lincecum (2-1)
HR: None

When Tim Lincecum gets shelled (7 1/3 IP, 7 R) we don't stand much of a chance. Doug Butler provided the only runs of the game with a two run double.

Sunday

Rangers 3, Mariners 1
LP: William Buffey (0-2)
HR: None

While Buffey turned in a solid start (7 IP, 3 R) our offense couldn't do anything against Rich Dean as we managed just 5 hits and 1 run.

Summary

Record: 5-8, .385, 4 GB (4th place)
Last Week: 0-6

Forget everything that I said last week. The Mariners are showing our true colors this week and the results have been disappointing. I can't help but look enviously at the 10-2 Twins.

[rjl518]

oh dont worry about it NYY...Seattle is going to be so happy you took over that team...they will rename the Space Needle after you...it will be called the NYY#23 Needle!!!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

oh dont worry about it NYY...Seattle is going to be so happy you took over that team...they will rename the Space Needle after you...it will be called the NYY#23 Needle!!!

At least at this point Seattle is going to want to hang me from the Space Needle instead!

[NYY #23]

First, it's time to go back to monthly updates with the Mariners. I felt the need to slow things down with the Twins, but maybe that was just because I liked where the Twins were in their rebuilding stage. So far I haven't liked much of my time with the Mariners, so back to the monthly updates. That could change at some point, but I feel like that is just prolonging my misery.

----

The Mariners finished April with a dismal 7-19 record. That was after a 5-2 start, so we've gone 2-17 since our hot start. I'd love to say that injuries took the wind out of our sails, and I won't deny that they hurt, but the Mariners weren't a 5-2 team. I hope we're not a 2-17 team either, and we actually are a little bit better than our record indicates.

I'd love to say that we've got a lot of good trade chips, but I don't think that we do. Tim Lincecum is our best pitcher, but he also comes with a high price tag. Josh Reddick is hitting just .171 and his contract goes up from $14.5 million this year to $19.4 in 2021. We've got $20 million tied up in two closers (David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman). I can't even give away Wilin Rosario

My former team has started out 21-5. They've installed a new closer, Noah Henderson, who just won the Rookie of the Month after going 2-0 with 9 saves and a 1.62 ERA. That was my plan for the Twins if we didn't win the World Series, and former closer Mark Rogers just took a one year $1.5 million contract. He should have taken the deal I offered him. If the Mariners had any money I would have signed him for that price, and we could have had three closers on the team.

Transactions

4/19 - LF Jesus Rodriguez placed on the disabled list, Tim Perry recalled from AAA
4/29 - Activated Brit Smith off the disabled list, demoted CF John Hickey to AAA

[rjl518]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

At least at this point Seattle is going to want to hang me from the Space Needle instead!

7-19??? Uhhhh...I think someone just asked me if i had a rope in my garage...ummm....let me get back to you...

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

7-19??? Uhhhh...I think someone just asked me if i had a rope in my garage...ummm....let me get back to you...

7-19 means it's probably well deserved!

[rjl518]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

7-19 means it's probably well deserved!

I...uhh...spoke to the guy who wanted the rope...i told him i only had a bungie cord...

he said "Damn...well...tell NYY#23 if he doesnt turn things around in Seattle...im gonna rip the Space needle out of the ground and use him as a pin cushion!!"

So...i ..uh...hmmm...i think you better get that team back to its winning ways...and SOON!!