Tuesday, October 05, 2004
WHAT ABOUT BOB?
I'm hoping someone else hasn't done this yet, but what I'm about to do is take all the Mariners that were on the final roster this year, and with the team last year. I'm going to see who got better, and who got worse under Bob Melvin. Will any of this be surprising? Not really. Not exactly definitive either. Just quick, snappy judgments.
Ryan Franklin -- worse
Gil Meche -- worse
Jamie Moyer -- worse
Joel Pineiro -- worse, but injured; probably inconclusive
Shigetoshi Hasegawa -- (way) worse
Julio Mateo -- worse, but injured; probably inconclusive
JJ Putz -- better
Rafael Soriano -- worse, but injured; inconclusive
Aaron Taylor -- worse, though with small sample size (not that I expect him to get better)
Dan Wilson -- worse
Willie Bloomquist -- worse, even with the spike in power numbers
Bret Boone -- definitely worse
Ichiro -- better
Randy Winn -- wash, possibly better at the plate, but definitely worse or out-of-place on defense
Edgar Martinez -- worse
Of the 15 players I listed, two got better between this year and last under Bob Melvin. Sure, the players have to come out and play, but when the vast majority all suck collectively at the same time, I can't help but think about the mentality that permeates in the clubhouse. I mean, could there really have been that much positive energy coming from the clubhouse this year? I know the players have the clubhouse leadership and everything, and the veterans and most of the players will claim they don't need to be motivated, but at the end of the day, do you see Bob Melvin as any sort of master motivator? I'm probably just pulling stuff out of the air here because it's late at night, but the psyche around that team never changed after the 0-5 start. They were dead in the water from the beginning. The losses kept piling up, and Bob Melvin seemed helpless trying to get anything out of this team.
Yes, Bob Melvin the clownophobe was not able to take lemons and make lemonade. Instead, we were left with diced-up lemon peel, which doesn't taste as good. It's not his fault (he was handed crap to begin with this year), but he and most of his coaching staff are the first ones out the door. I only wish the people above him running this mess were out the door too (maybe we could get an ownership committed to winning and not just competitiveness), but that's wishful thinking on my part.
Good luck in the future, Bob Melvin. Watch out for the clowns.
Ryan Franklin -- worse
Gil Meche -- worse
Jamie Moyer -- worse
Joel Pineiro -- worse, but injured; probably inconclusive
Shigetoshi Hasegawa -- (way) worse
Julio Mateo -- worse, but injured; probably inconclusive
JJ Putz -- better
Rafael Soriano -- worse, but injured; inconclusive
Aaron Taylor -- worse, though with small sample size (not that I expect him to get better)
Dan Wilson -- worse
Willie Bloomquist -- worse, even with the spike in power numbers
Bret Boone -- definitely worse
Ichiro -- better
Randy Winn -- wash, possibly better at the plate, but definitely worse or out-of-place on defense
Edgar Martinez -- worse
Of the 15 players I listed, two got better between this year and last under Bob Melvin. Sure, the players have to come out and play, but when the vast majority all suck collectively at the same time, I can't help but think about the mentality that permeates in the clubhouse. I mean, could there really have been that much positive energy coming from the clubhouse this year? I know the players have the clubhouse leadership and everything, and the veterans and most of the players will claim they don't need to be motivated, but at the end of the day, do you see Bob Melvin as any sort of master motivator? I'm probably just pulling stuff out of the air here because it's late at night, but the psyche around that team never changed after the 0-5 start. They were dead in the water from the beginning. The losses kept piling up, and Bob Melvin seemed helpless trying to get anything out of this team.
Yes, Bob Melvin the clownophobe was not able to take lemons and make lemonade. Instead, we were left with diced-up lemon peel, which doesn't taste as good. It's not his fault (he was handed crap to begin with this year), but he and most of his coaching staff are the first ones out the door. I only wish the people above him running this mess were out the door too (maybe we could get an ownership committed to winning and not just competitiveness), but that's wishful thinking on my part.
Good luck in the future, Bob Melvin. Watch out for the clowns.
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