The ball is in Adam Jones' court

Those YEEEEEEE-HA!s you are hearing this morning are from the Northwest and from the majority of the Mariner blogosphere.

M's open a spot for Jones

Right fielder Jose Guillen, one of the clubhouse leaders who helped the Seattle Mariners surpass a .500 record last season for the first time since 2003, likely will not return to the club in 2008.

The Mariners announced Friday that Guillen, who hit .290 with 23 home runs and 99 RBIs, will not have his 2008 option picked up. He had signed a one-year deal with Seattle last winter with a club and player option for next season.

...

"In Jose's case, this puts the ball in his court," said general manager Bill Bavasi. "He can choose to exercise his option with us, or to go to free agency. With both players, if it becomes apparent that they're a good fit for us in 2008, we can still negotiate with them as free agents."

The moves open up two spots on the 40-man roster to give the club flexibility as the free-agent season begins.

Guillen's departure also opens up an outfield spot for promising prospect Adam Jones. Jones, who was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma on Aug. 6, hit .241 with two home runs and four RBIs in a limited role with the big club.

The other move was the Mariners not picking up the option on pitcher Chris Reitsma.

Geoff Baker has a bit more at the Seattle Times website, including a quote from Guillen. First the set up:

Guillen was pleasantly surprised Friday when told the Mariners had declined a one-year, $9 million option on him for next season. The right fielder admits he had no intention of signing a one-year pact and would have declined the option in order to seek a longer free-agent contract.

But now the Mariners have to pay Guillen a $500,000 buyout clause, which he would have forfeited had the option been picked up by the team and then declined by him.

Now, the quote:

"They just gave me a half-million for no reason," he said from his home in the Dominican Republic, adding he has no hard feelings toward the Mariners. "Maybe I can go buy two new cars with the half-million. You can thank [general manager] Bill Bavasi for me."

Two new cars at $250,000? Is he going to get KITT and KARR from Knight Rider?