Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

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!!

Time for me to get really busy!!

[NYY #23]

The makings of this trade started when Aroldis Chapman sent me an email wanting to be the closer. It ended with a trade of CL David Robertson and 1B Doug Butler to the Indians in exchange for LF Yoenis Cespedes, MR Daniel Carey, and MR Doug Richardson. Carey is 21 while Richardson is just 20, while Cespedes is in the final year of his contract, hitting .337 with 8 home runs and 31 RBI.

Cespedes likely doesn't have a future on the Mariners beyond this year, but neither does Robertson. We saved a couple million this year, and got a couple of bullpen arms with Butler departing.

[NYY #23]

What a difference a month makes. The Mariners finished May with a 19-10 record to improve to a somewhat respectable 26-29 on the year.

Our pitching, specifically our starters, had a good month.

Juan Diaz (4-1, 3.03), Peter Johnston (3-0, 2.20), Carlos Sosa (3-1, 2.70), Pablo Cordero (2-0, 2.38), and Tim Lincecum (2-2 2.98) all pitched well.

We even had a few bright spots offensively - Tyler Moore hit 11 home runs, Josh Reddick hit .355 with 7 home runs, and Wilin Rosario hit 8 home runs.

Hopefully June will turn out more like May than April.

Transactions

5/2 - Activated 2B Stan Jordan from the disabled list and waived and designated for assignment Josh Reddick.
5/7 - Placed CF Cesar Madrigal on the disabled list and placed Josh Reddick on the active roster. (Nobody in their right mind would claim him, but I guess it was worth a try)
5/14 - Activated LF Jesus Rodriguez from the disabled list and waived and designated for assignment LF Jim Nelson, who is out of option years.
5/20 - Activated SP Pablo Cordero from the disabled list and demoted MR Melvin Gross
5/24 - Placed LF Brit Smith on the 60 day disabled list and recalled LF Lorenzo Gomez
5/29 - Demoted LF Lorenzo Gomez and activated CF Cesar Madrigal from the disabled list
5/30 - Placed SP Willaim Buffrey on the disabled list and recalled MR Melvin Gross

[rjl518]

Man...you work quick!!! That guy called me...he said you have a stay of execution...for now!!

[NYY #23]

I haven't been actively pursuing any trades, but when Jason Castro demanded a trade because he wasn't in the starting lineup I tried to accommodate his wishes. There were a couple of teams that were interested, but I liked the Diamondbacks offer of 33 year old 1B Dan Murphy the best. Like Castro, Murphy is also in the last year of his deal, and hitting .282 with 3 home runs in 38 starts. We also asked for, and received 22 year old reliever Cory Palmer. Palmer has a 4.26 ERA in 12 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks this year.

To make room on the roster we sent down CF Cesar Madrigal and 2B Julius Davis while adding Palmer, Murphy, and 24 year old catcher Joe Webb to the roster since we needed a backup catcher.

[NYY #23]

The Mariners would be selecting 8th overall in the amateur draft. I'd love to say we selected the best overall player, but the four best players on the board (SP Beau Britton, SP Bob Smith, CF Ronald Anderson, and LF Pat Blackburn) all had bonus demands that were much too high, and didn't want to sign with the Mariners.

So we went with 23 year old 3B Gary Lowe, a college player who I hope we can fast track to the majors. He's got a good makeup, and has good power/contact potential and decent with the glove.

We also had a pick in the supplemental round, and drafted 2B Bobby Tavares, a 21 year old from Illinois. In the second round we selected SP Fred Davis, with 2B Leonard burns picked in the third round. SP Drake Fenton was selected in the fourth round, and will likely end up as a reliever. Then finally in the fifth round we selected SP Dave Johnson, who will also likely end up in the bullpen.

[NYY #23]

June seemed like a busy month for the Mariners between injuries and the draft. We lost four players to injury this month, including Yoenis Cespedes. On the field we finished with a 13-14 record, and we've moved up into third place in the AL West.

New acquisition Dan Murphy is off to a rough start hitting .213. Our offense has been dreadful overall though, with our 312 runs scored 14th in the league.

As we head into July we'll try and move some of our potential free agents and get some value for next year and beyond, although I'm not sure how much success we'll have.

Transactions

6/10 - Placed Yoenis Cespedes on the disabled list and recalled LF Ed Payne.
6/11 - Placed CF Tim Perry on the disabled list and recalled CF John Hickey
6/16 - Placed SP Peter Johnston on the disabled list and recalled SP Eric Steele
6/18 - Agreed to terms with 3rd round pick Leonard Burns
6/20 - Agreed to terms with 2nd round pick Fred Davis
6/21 - Agreed to terms with 4th round pick Drake Fenton
6/26 - Agreed to terms with supplemental round pick Bobby Tavares
6/28 - Placed 2B Stan Jordan on the disabled list and recalled 2B Julius Davis
6/29 - Agreed to terms with 1st round pick Gary Lowe
6/30 - Agreed to terms with 5th round pick Dave Johnson

[HerbertMcHoover]

Tyler Pastornicky is quietly having a nice season. Approaching .500 in a wide open division.

[rjl518]

from the start you had...now to be only 5.5 games out of the division...not too bad NYY. But that guy still keeps calling to check up on you. So keep it up!!!

BTW i need your help! Look at your signature and look at mine...how do i just put the titles into my signature as a link to my dynasties like you do, cuz when i do it, i get the link??

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by HerbertMcHoover

Tyler Pastornicky is quietly having a nice season. Approaching .500 in a wide open division.

Pastornicky is definitely having a pretty good season. I'm hoping for a nice winning streak because nobody seems like they want to win the division this year!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

from the start you had...now to be only 5.5 games out of the division...not too bad NYY. But that guy still keeps calling to check up on you. So keep it up!!!

BTW i need your help! Look at your signature and look at mine...how do i just put the titles into my signature as a link to my dynasties like you do, cuz when i do it, i get the link??

I hope we can keep it up, I'd love to be able to sneak into the playoffs.

For your signature it should look something like this, (except without the line break after URL) -
[URL

=http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/ootp-dynasty-reports/246887-any-given-saturday.html"]Any Given Saturday[/URL] - Replaying baseball's history using fictional teams, players, and a one game per week schedule

Just put the title after the link and before the closing URL tag.

[rjl518]

i think you have a good shot at getting into the playoffs and THANK YOU BTW!!!

[NYY #23]

The Dodgers made a trade proposal for Tyler Moore, looking to add another bat in their quest for the National League West title. I didn't like their offer, but we ended working out a somewhat complex deal.

Going to Los Angeles is:

1B/LF Tyler Moore
C Paul Edwards (AAA)
LF Carlos Lujan (AA)

Coming back to Seattle:

SP John Hester (A)
3B Hank Blalock
CF Eduardo Duran (AAA)
CL Pablo Arellano (AAA)

The big catch is John Hester, who I think has the potential to be a solid #2 starter. I think Duran will be an ideal fourth outfielder, and I was happy to add Arellano. Blalock was the contract needed to balance out the deal. He has a vesting option for 2019 that he won't reach, so I think it was worth it.

[NYY #23]

On the field the Mariners had another losing month going 12-13 and sit in third place, ten games out of first place.

During the month I heard from Yoenis Cespedes that he would like an extension. Defensively he's a liability, and has hit just .221 in 24 games with the Mariners. It's hard to justify spending $80 + million over 4 years on an extension for a 32 year old, so we explored a trade during the month.

Unfortunately the one deal that would work out was one that would have us taking on more salary through 2020, and add back a pitcher, so in the end I decided to pass. We need help offensively, so that didn't make too much sense this year, or beyond. It looks like we'll end up losing Cespedes with nothing to show for it.

Transactions

7/6 - Placed Hank Blalock and 3B Will Shelton on the disabled list and recalled Eduardo Duran and 3B Rich Scott
7/11 - Activated CF Tim Perry from the disabled list and demoted CF John Hickey to AAA
7/17 - Placed LF Ed Payne on the disabled list and activated Yoenis Cespedes from the disabled list
7/18 - Activated 2B Stan Jordan from the disabled list and sent 3B Rich Scott to AAA
7/24 - Placed CF Tim Perry on the disabled list and recalled CF Cesar Madrigal

[NYY #23]

The Mariners finished with our best month of the season going 18-11, due in large part to our pitching. We've still got quite a few holes to fill, but we've moved over .500 on the season and into a second place tie with the Rangers.

Aroldis Chapman has been dominant out of the pen and hasn't given up an earned run in his past 34 games. 35 innings, 40 strikeouts, and 25 saves during that time. He's one of two impending free agents that is giving me a headache. I don't want to lose him, but I also don't want to sign him to the extension he is looking for, 6 years and $54 million.

We'll be giving Bob Moon a call-up in September, and I think he is capable of taking over closer duties, but he's never pitched a day in the majors. I'd love to have Chapman back at least one more year though, so I'll explore a short term overpay.

23 year old third baseman Gary Lowe will also get an audition in September, and I view him as our third baseman of the future.

Transactions

8/4 - Placed 2B Tyler Pastornicky on the disabled list, and recalled 3B Rich Scott
8/9 - Activated 2B Hank Blalock from the disabled list and sent 3B Rich Scott to AAA
8/9 - Activated LF Ed Payne from the disabled list and sent MR Juan Soto to AAA
8/18 - Activated 3B Will Shelton from the disabled list and sent 2B Hank Blalock to AAA
8/19 - Activated 2B Tyler Pastornicky from the disabled list and sent 2B Julius Davis to AAA

[rjl518]

you have a shot one of the wildcards...go get it!!!

[NYY #23]

An 8-18 end to the season pushed the Mariners to under .500 for the year, and gave us a disappointing end to year 1. I didn't expect us to compete in year one, but I would have liked to see a stronger finish.

Gary Lowe did see some action in September, and hit just .173. I would have liked to see a better performance, but he'll get a chance to win the third base job out of spring training.

We did come to terms on a one year $15 million contract with Aroldis Chapman. He gets a big raise and an opportunity to pitch well for a long term contract. His final 43 games was pretty impressive - 44 IP, 52 K, 0.20 ERA, 32 SV.

As we head into the offense we'll have about $38 million to work with, and our top priority will be offense.

While we were busy with a losing record my last team had an early playoff exit, losing to the Los Angeles Angels 3 games to 2 in the Wild Card round after the Twins finished with the best record in baseball (101-61).

Here's hoping that our offseason can be positive, and we'll be able to compete soon.

Seattle Mariners - 75-87 (.463) 24 GB
2018 - Seattle Mariners - 77-85 (..475) 13 GB (Season Score - 26)

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

you have a shot one of the wildcards...go get it!!!

After that terrible month I didn't deserve anything. Hopefully we'll be able to fix some things in the offseason.

[rjl518]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

After that terrible month I didn't deserve anything. Hopefully we'll be able to fix some things in the offseason.

I'm sure you will take care of it. I see some good offseason moves in your future!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

I'm sure you will take care of it. I see some good offseason moves in your future!

Let's hope. I've been putting together my plan, now let's see if I can execute it. Despite the terrible start, and terrible finish to the season I feel like we've got a decent base.