Friday, January 16, 2004
SIGH...
Whoa, when did the P-I start putting all the visual aides and graphs and lists and stuff (in format other than text) into their online articles? Looks cool.
Anyway, Art Thiel has said his piece today.
Referenced by Thiel is the LA Times article (registration required) where Bavasi said Anaheim Angels owner Arte Moreno doesn't have to answer to a corporate board of directors. (Article also referenced by me.)
Thiel likens Moreno to being the Steinbrenner of the West, noting that Steinbrenner's spending in the last three years has gotten the Yankees zero titles.
As always, luck and baseball brains play heavily into a seasonal outcome. At least the Mariners hope so. Unfortunately for the Mariners, who embrace the corporate style, they have been outsmarted the past two seasons by the other AL West threat, the Oakland A's -- so much so that the Mariners explored the notion of prying away A's GM Billy Beane to succeed Pat Gillick.
They did not succeed. Nor did they succeed in getting another one-time A's employee, free-agent shortstop Miguel Tejada. Having failed either to beat the A's or join them, they also found themselves outspent by the new Steinbrenner of the West. So the Mariners reverted to form -- incremental improvement.
For some reason, I was reminded of the three words that go along with the Survivor show: outwit, outlast, and outplay. In this baseball case, it's two words (Thiel gave me the two, I may think of more later, who knows) -- outspend or outsmart. The Mariners aren't outspending (for the big names, anyway), and they sure as hell aren't outsmarting. Where does that get you? You already know, you've been watching the last two seasons...
Not only do the offensive upgrades fail to approach the Angels' improvements, they do nothing to buttress against potential power downturns by Edgar Martinez and John Olerud. As marvelous a hitter as he has been, Martinez has hit more than 30 homers once in his career, Olerud never more than 24, and just 10 last year.
And should slump or injury happen to Bret Boone, there is not another proven run-producer in the lineup that forces opponents to alter pitching plans.
Unchanged since the departure of Alex Rodriguez after 2000, the Mariners remain desperate for a bopper. Two factors seem set to keep it that way indefinitely -- the ballpark and the corporate-style ownership, even though no corporation is involved.
This is the part in the article where I had this weird feeling that I've gotten while reading some other Mariner articles -- the feeling where it feels like the writer dug up an old column and changed some of the dates and/or names. You know -- different year, same old story. Need a big bat, other teams pitch around Edgar and Boone, and if either of them suck, the team's screwed.
Even if the Mariners matched offers of the big spenders to render the biggest issues equal, the sluggers will almost always choose a hitter-friendlier park. The upshot is that the Mariners will get a heavy hitter only through the farm system, such as Griffey and Rodriguez, or a trade of their quality pitching.
Since there are no such creatures on the farm, and since pitching is what keeps the team competitive, the least damaging way to escape the trap is to overspend in free agency.
But as long as that notion continues to violate Bavasi's observation about corporate sensibilities, the buckle will be without swash, and the Mariners will be without playoffs.
I wish Thiel would have nailed the ownership for stockpiling, coddling, and tearing the labrums of the young pitchers (is it safe to say Ryan Anderson's career is in heavy doubt and that Ken Cloude's career is screwed, even though he's gone now?). Basically, if the Mariners don't trade any of the young pitching, then they have to overspend during free agency for hitting because the farm system's position player crop is crap.
The thing is, the Mariners DID overspend for hitting on the free agent market this winter. Unfortunately, the money was given to Raul Ibanez and Scott Spiezio. Outspending? Hell yes, no one else thought either of these guys was worth that much. Outsmarting? You know what I think.
Advantage: Beane and Stoneman.
Anyway, Art Thiel has said his piece today.
Referenced by Thiel is the LA Times article (registration required) where Bavasi said Anaheim Angels owner Arte Moreno doesn't have to answer to a corporate board of directors. (Article also referenced by me.)
Thiel likens Moreno to being the Steinbrenner of the West, noting that Steinbrenner's spending in the last three years has gotten the Yankees zero titles.
As always, luck and baseball brains play heavily into a seasonal outcome. At least the Mariners hope so. Unfortunately for the Mariners, who embrace the corporate style, they have been outsmarted the past two seasons by the other AL West threat, the Oakland A's -- so much so that the Mariners explored the notion of prying away A's GM Billy Beane to succeed Pat Gillick.
They did not succeed. Nor did they succeed in getting another one-time A's employee, free-agent shortstop Miguel Tejada. Having failed either to beat the A's or join them, they also found themselves outspent by the new Steinbrenner of the West. So the Mariners reverted to form -- incremental improvement.
For some reason, I was reminded of the three words that go along with the Survivor show: outwit, outlast, and outplay. In this baseball case, it's two words (Thiel gave me the two, I may think of more later, who knows) -- outspend or outsmart. The Mariners aren't outspending (for the big names, anyway), and they sure as hell aren't outsmarting. Where does that get you? You already know, you've been watching the last two seasons...
Not only do the offensive upgrades fail to approach the Angels' improvements, they do nothing to buttress against potential power downturns by Edgar Martinez and John Olerud. As marvelous a hitter as he has been, Martinez has hit more than 30 homers once in his career, Olerud never more than 24, and just 10 last year.
And should slump or injury happen to Bret Boone, there is not another proven run-producer in the lineup that forces opponents to alter pitching plans.
Unchanged since the departure of Alex Rodriguez after 2000, the Mariners remain desperate for a bopper. Two factors seem set to keep it that way indefinitely -- the ballpark and the corporate-style ownership, even though no corporation is involved.
This is the part in the article where I had this weird feeling that I've gotten while reading some other Mariner articles -- the feeling where it feels like the writer dug up an old column and changed some of the dates and/or names. You know -- different year, same old story. Need a big bat, other teams pitch around Edgar and Boone, and if either of them suck, the team's screwed.
Even if the Mariners matched offers of the big spenders to render the biggest issues equal, the sluggers will almost always choose a hitter-friendlier park. The upshot is that the Mariners will get a heavy hitter only through the farm system, such as Griffey and Rodriguez, or a trade of their quality pitching.
Since there are no such creatures on the farm, and since pitching is what keeps the team competitive, the least damaging way to escape the trap is to overspend in free agency.
But as long as that notion continues to violate Bavasi's observation about corporate sensibilities, the buckle will be without swash, and the Mariners will be without playoffs.
I wish Thiel would have nailed the ownership for stockpiling, coddling, and tearing the labrums of the young pitchers (is it safe to say Ryan Anderson's career is in heavy doubt and that Ken Cloude's career is screwed, even though he's gone now?). Basically, if the Mariners don't trade any of the young pitching, then they have to overspend during free agency for hitting because the farm system's position player crop is crap.
The thing is, the Mariners DID overspend for hitting on the free agent market this winter. Unfortunately, the money was given to Raul Ibanez and Scott Spiezio. Outspending? Hell yes, no one else thought either of these guys was worth that much. Outsmarting? You know what I think.
Advantage: Beane and Stoneman.
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