Tuesday, February 10, 2004
FEEL THE FRIGHT
Andriesen in Tuesday's P-I...
... [Ron] Villone, who could earn an additional million in incentives (to the $1M non-guaranteed base salary), is expected to be the second left-hander in the bullpen and be available to spot start if needed.
"We think Ron is a real good fit in that role," Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said. "He's tough on left-handers and right-handers and has the ability to work in a variety of roles."
Hmm, let me think about what's being said here...
-- spot starting: ick. Ick, ick, ick. When Meche lands on the 60-day DL, either Raf Soriano or one of the minor-leaguers should be in the rotation. Enough of this "veteran hacks plugging the holes" bullcrap.
-- tough on lefties: you don't need to look far at all in the Mariner blogosphere to know that this is complete and utter hogwash. I'll link you to what another, more established David in the blogosphere dug up. They're called "splits versus lefties," and it's sickly apparent that Unslick Willie didn't look at them before signing this guy.
"This is a guy who can pitch in that (setup) role and gives us some security for starting as well," (Bob) Melvin said. "We're happy about this signing today."
Someday I'll be eager to find out if Melvin is saying things that are remotely close to what he's really thinking. Does he honestly believe what he's saying? How can you be happy about this? If the Mariners are 20 games under .500 in mid-August and I'm Bob Melvin, my contract's up, and I'm hearing rumors about being fired, I'm letting loose. I'm letting out all the pent-up frustration that's accumulated over the past two years with the ineptitude of the management. I just wouldn't give a crap anymore. Have you ever given your employer a 30-day notice (or something similar, just warning of an imminent departure of some sort) and then just hung tight for the end of it all, doing just enough work so that no one's too pissed at you, but you don't try to overachieve or do anything too worthwhile? Maybe you tell more jokes or nasty rumors to coworkers that you wouldn't normally tell, but since you're almost out the door, you just kind of stop caring? That's what I'd do in that hypothetical Melvin situation there. I'd kick back, let loose, pop open a can of Lipton Brisk Iced Tea and a bag of bold-flavored Chex Mix, kick back, and say "it wasn't my fault that Bavasi held a gun to my head if I didn't use my Arizona connections to get Crack..."
As for the rest of the article, it's more speculation, now about Raul Mondesi. Let's see, Bill Bavasi's just been taken to the cleaners by high-powered agent Scott Boras...let's make it a two-step and have the Mariners get whitewashed by Jeff Moorad!! Raul Mondesi. Three years, $16M to do basically the same thing Crack is going to do off the bench. I have faith in Billy. He can get this done. He'd be 35 during the third year of that deal. I don't care if Moorad says he's looking for a one-year deal with an option for a second. He can squeeze two more years out of Bavasi. But will the Mariner brass enable Mondesi to get on the team, after he bolted on the Yankees? It's possible. Remember, Rey Sanchez was involved in the haircutting incident with the Mets, AND Sanchez was a Boras client, much like Villone.
We'll see what the Times and Tribune print about Ron Villone...
... [Ron] Villone, who could earn an additional million in incentives (to the $1M non-guaranteed base salary), is expected to be the second left-hander in the bullpen and be available to spot start if needed.
"We think Ron is a real good fit in that role," Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said. "He's tough on left-handers and right-handers and has the ability to work in a variety of roles."
Hmm, let me think about what's being said here...
-- spot starting: ick. Ick, ick, ick. When Meche lands on the 60-day DL, either Raf Soriano or one of the minor-leaguers should be in the rotation. Enough of this "veteran hacks plugging the holes" bullcrap.
-- tough on lefties: you don't need to look far at all in the Mariner blogosphere to know that this is complete and utter hogwash. I'll link you to what another, more established David in the blogosphere dug up. They're called "splits versus lefties," and it's sickly apparent that Unslick Willie didn't look at them before signing this guy.
"This is a guy who can pitch in that (setup) role and gives us some security for starting as well," (Bob) Melvin said. "We're happy about this signing today."
Someday I'll be eager to find out if Melvin is saying things that are remotely close to what he's really thinking. Does he honestly believe what he's saying? How can you be happy about this? If the Mariners are 20 games under .500 in mid-August and I'm Bob Melvin, my contract's up, and I'm hearing rumors about being fired, I'm letting loose. I'm letting out all the pent-up frustration that's accumulated over the past two years with the ineptitude of the management. I just wouldn't give a crap anymore. Have you ever given your employer a 30-day notice (or something similar, just warning of an imminent departure of some sort) and then just hung tight for the end of it all, doing just enough work so that no one's too pissed at you, but you don't try to overachieve or do anything too worthwhile? Maybe you tell more jokes or nasty rumors to coworkers that you wouldn't normally tell, but since you're almost out the door, you just kind of stop caring? That's what I'd do in that hypothetical Melvin situation there. I'd kick back, let loose, pop open a can of Lipton Brisk Iced Tea and a bag of bold-flavored Chex Mix, kick back, and say "it wasn't my fault that Bavasi held a gun to my head if I didn't use my Arizona connections to get Crack..."
As for the rest of the article, it's more speculation, now about Raul Mondesi. Let's see, Bill Bavasi's just been taken to the cleaners by high-powered agent Scott Boras...let's make it a two-step and have the Mariners get whitewashed by Jeff Moorad!! Raul Mondesi. Three years, $16M to do basically the same thing Crack is going to do off the bench. I have faith in Billy. He can get this done. He'd be 35 during the third year of that deal. I don't care if Moorad says he's looking for a one-year deal with an option for a second. He can squeeze two more years out of Bavasi. But will the Mariner brass enable Mondesi to get on the team, after he bolted on the Yankees? It's possible. Remember, Rey Sanchez was involved in the haircutting incident with the Mets, AND Sanchez was a Boras client, much like Villone.
We'll see what the Times and Tribune print about Ron Villone...
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