Left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith -- who passed up a chance to pitch for Australia in the World Baseball Classic so he could stay in camp and show Wakamatsu and his all-new coaching staff that he belongs in the five-man rotation -- makes his first "meaningful" pitches of the spring.Good luck, RRS.
One of the biggest games going in Mariners spring training is taking place inside relief pitchers' heads.And in this corner! From the 2005 Timber Rattlers!
More specifically, the pitchers are vying for a closer's role left vacant in December by the trade of J.J. Putz. Competition for the job should be fierce, and the winner will likely be whoever gets his mental game as sharp as the "stuff" he throws.
Miguel Batista — published author, Spanish-language blogger and full-time closer — believes he has the mindset to unseat odds-on favorite Mark Lowe. Some critics feel that Batista, who turned 38 on Thursday, bottomed out as a starting pitcher last year and that the only thing keeping him around as a reliever is a $9 million guaranteed salary.
But Batista insists there are two things wrong with that thinking — two broken bones in his back that he says derailed his 2008 season before he even got out of spring training.
For Lowe — as well as closer candidates Tyler Walker, David Aardsma and Roy Corcoran — the mental side of pitching has presented different challenges. Late in 2006 Lowe underwent career-threatening microfracture surgery. A doctor poked small holes in the bone in his elbow, drawing blood to stimulate tissue growth that could replace missing cartilage.Not get caught up in? That may be the best advice...ever. Now try and follow it.
Such surgery takes months, even years, to recover from. Lowe spent most of 2007 learning how to uncork pitches without fearing his arm would explode. Last year, his first full season back in the majors, he began getting his fastball back up to the mid- to high-90s.
But Lowe now does more than simply throw his fastball and slider as hard as he can, something he did when breaking into the majors in 2006 before the surgery. Instead, he worked on developing a change-up to keep hitters off balance on days his slider deserted him.
"I think in the past it's been a case of knowing what my body could handle coming off the surgery," said Lowe, who the Mariners appeared to be leaning toward heading into camp. "Knowing I could handle a lot of work. Going through last year and throwing a lot, it's not even a question any more.
Lowe is focused on the mental side, too.
"Baseball's one of those games where you play 162 games and one bad outing's not going to kill you," he said. "Even two, three in a row, you can still redeem yourself down the road. It's nothing to get caught up in."
Here is the post with a quite recap of the Winter Banquet down in Clinton.Our speakers included team president Paul Schnack, assistant General Manager Nate Kreinbrink, "Friends of Riverview" vice president Judy Dennis, Clinton mayor Rodger Holm, and our keynote speaker John Boles.The first -- and only -- regular season trip into Clinton for the Timber Rattlers is April 16-19. The LumberKings will be coming to Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium May 16-19 and June 30-July 3.
For a longtime follower of the Florida Marlins like myself, it was an honor to be able to introduce Mr. Boles, a man who formed young talent like Edgar Renteria, Charles Johnson, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo, Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, etc. into World Champions in 1997 and 2003. As one of the great baseball minds and the special assistant to Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik, Boles used his speech to familiarize the fans (and myself) with what the Seattle system is all about.
He talked about the Mariners' philosophy of finding players with character in addition to ability, something that can be lost in today's sports culture. A player has to be well-rounded and mentally strong, not just talented to succeed in the Seattle system. I think that certainly fits well with this community. Boles also had high praise for the character and leadership of manager Scott Steinmann, who takes over the LumberKings after managing in double-A last season.
In talking with Boles after the banquet, it was easy to get a sense of the optimism surrounding this organization. It reminded me of our first meeting with the Mariners' brass at the 2008 MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. Building this franchise back into a powerhouse through the draft and international scouting unlike any other in baseball is what they are about. It is certainly a philosophy that is going to help us put a great team on the field in Clinton.
It was in early December 2007 that rumors of the Mariners' interest in Erik Bedard first started to percolate.The pros and cons:
It was in late January 2008 that Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi, buoyed by the progress of talks with his Baltimore counterpart, Andy MacPhail, told reporters of his confidence that the M's would soon add a front-line pitcher.
It was three days later that outfielder Adam Jones was pulled from a winter-league game in Venezuela and told reporter Augusto Cardenas of the newspaper Diario Panorama that he had been traded to the Orioles for Bedard.
And it was 11 excruciating, confusing days later — one year ago today — that the Bedard deal was finally consummated, to a mixed chorus of cheers and catcalls.
"I really thought he was the missing ingredient to be an outstanding staff," Mel Stottlemyre, the Mariners' pitching coach last year, says now. "I was so excited about the pitching staff."Stone talks with someone who sees things differently than MacPhail:
To detractors, however, the Mariners had paid too vast a price for even a pitcher with Bedard's undeniable track record and potential. Besides Jones, a former No. 1 draft pick and the top position prospect in Seattle's farm system, they gave up reliever George Sherrill and three minor-league pitchers, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler.
Sherrill became an All-Star closer for the Orioles, who still believe Jones can develop into an All-Star-caliber outfielder. Mickolio finished the season in the big leagues, while Tillman is now rated as one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball.
Bedard, beset by injuries, pitched in just 15 games, none after July 4, when he was shut down for good because of shoulder pain. He underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Sept. 26 to remove a cyst and unhealthy tissue.
But MacPhail, the Orioles' GM, warns not to make a final judgment on the outcome of the deal quite yet.
"It worked out fine for us," he said by phone from Baltimore. "I would remind Mariners fans those trades can go through multiple lifetimes. If Erik wins 17 games this year, which he's easily capable of doing, it might look a lot different than it does now."
Dave Cameron of the popular Web site USS Mariner, however, highly doubts that his negative viewpoint will change.There is a lot more over there including this:
Cameron was relentless in his criticism of the trade from the moment it became clear how much the Mariners were giving up for a pitcher he admittedly admires.
"Short of a championship parade, the trade was always going to be a debacle," he said.
Stottlemyre also admits that the Mariners probably erred in naming Bedard the opening-day starter so quickly. An unnamed coach told the Tacoma News Tribune after McLaren's firing that the decision caused consternation in the clubhouse.
"You had guys watch Felix [Hernandez] work his [butt] off in camp and watched Bedard do the minimum — and Bedard was the opening-day starter," the coach said.
Says Stottlemyre now: "To answer bluntly, yes. I think it's a mistake any time a manager or pitching coach names his starting pitcher so early in spring, especially when you have several people, like we did, who were capable of being No. 1.
"In retrospect, it was a mistake. I'm not slapping Mac, who I think the world of. We — myself included — made the decision to announce that way too early."
Did Ryan Feierabend prove enough in his late-season outings that he is big league material?
-- Mike S., Kent, OhioBased on his performance in eight starts, a 1-4 record and 7.71 ERA would suggest the left-hander needs more seasoning at the Minor League level. He still needs better location with most of his pitches -- opponents batted .355 against him -- and 14 walks in 39 2/3 innings are too many.
and
What is the future for Kenji Johjima? Does he deserve another chance to start? Is he an OK backup to Jeff Clement, or should the Mariners trade him?
-- Joe G., Portland, Ore.The manager will eventually decide where Johjima fits, but based on his final month of the season -- when he batted .333 (19-for-57) and worked well with the pitchers -- I would think he's the No. 1 catcher heading into Spring Training. Besides, the Mariners still aren't sure if Clement, who had knee surgery in September, could catch on a full-time basis.
Exactly how the catching position shakes out in camp could also depend on whether Johjima becomes part of Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. If he plays for his country, and the Japan team advances to the final round of the 16-team event, he could miss camp in February and most of March.
Speaking of Clement ('05)...Jay at Mariner Minors noted that the Everett Herald, um, noted the progress of Clement from his surgery.
Catcher Jeff Clement has begun a running program and will start hitting off a tee in about two weeks as he recovers from knee surgery.
He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Sept. 9 and is expected to be at full strength when spring training begins.
"He's still got to come out and see the doctor in early January, but all indications are that he'll be OK," [Mariner trainer] Griffin said.
Meanwhile, Adam McCalvy at the Brewer Mailbag gets six questions....on pretty much the same topic. Click that link if you haven't already guessed it.
Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced today that the club has made seven transactions affecting the 40-man roster. RHP Stephen Kahn, RHP Gabby Hernandez, RHP Marwin Vega and OF Greg Halman have been added to the 40-man roster. RHP Luis Munoz and RHP Tracy Thorpe have cleared waivers and been outrighted to the minor leagues. LHP Eric O'Flaherty has been claimed off waivers by the Atlanta BravesEx-Rattlers have been bolded above.
The Braves are hoping O'Flaherty can regain the form he displayed in 2007, when he went 7-1 with a 4.47 ERA in 56 appearances for Seattle. All indications are that he'll be healthy for the start of Spring Training, when he may be able to compete for a job as Atlanta's left-handed specialist.Rafael Soriano ('00) is also on the 40-man roster of the Braves.
Released: RHP Joe Kantakevich, LHP Dustin Birosak, SS Alex MenesesGood luck to Joe K. and Alex. Woerman is off the 40-man roster, but is still part of the organization.
Granted free agency: LHP Jake Woods
Removed from 40-man roster: RHP Jared Wells, RHP Joe Woerman, LHP Jake Woods
What are the odds that Greg Halman will make the team next year? I foresee a big league season with a .260 batting average, 20 home runs, 75 RBIs and 15 stolen bases for him.Also, at the Mariner site, I found this move in the organizational flow chart.
-- Ricky V., Rijswijk, Netherlands
Your crystal ball might be jumping the gun. While Halman seemingly has a bright future, the 21-year-old outfielder who was signed from the Netherlands as a non-drafted free agent in 2004 has never played higher than Class A, so the chances of him jumping to the Major Leagues next season are extremely remote.
I had a chance to talk to him in Peoria, Ariz., where he is playing for the Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, and he believes the AFL experience has been a big boost to his confidence and his career.
The Mariners announced on Monday that Pedro Grifol, formerly the team's coordinator of Minor League instruction, has been promoted to director of Minor League operations.
Jack Zduriencik, the Mariners' executive vice president and general manager of baseball operations, also announced the hiring of Tim Tolman as the club's coordinator of Minor League instruction.
Grifol replaces Greg Hunter, who will be re-assigned within the organization.
"We are focused on doing everything we can do to improve our player development department," Zduriencik said. "Giving Pedro increased responsibility and adding Tim to our staff should help us in that process."
Grifol, who turns 39 in two weeks, spent the past three seasons as coordinator of Minor League instruction with the Mariners. He was the manager of the Class A Everett AquaSox from 2003-05 and the Seattle scout in charge of South Florida and Puerto Rico from 2000-05.
Seattle Mariners Director of Player Development Greg Hunter announced today the Mariners Minor League Most Valuable Players.Outfielder Greg Halman was named Player of the Year, while right-hander Michael Pineda was named Pitcher of the Year.
"All of these players deserve credit for the hard work they have put in this season," Hunter said. "Continued improvement is the first step in their overall development to get to the big leagues. Our Player Development and Scouting staffs do a great job with the development of all the players throughout our system."
According to Jay at Mariner Minors the winners at the team level were:
Tacoma: C Jeff Clement, LH Ryan FeierabendEx-Rattlers in BOLD.
West Tennessee: C Adam Moore, RH Shawn Kelley
High Desert: OF Greg Halman, RH Aaron Cotter
Wisconsin: IF Edilio Colina, RH Michael Pineda
Everett: OF Tyson Gillies, RH Brett Lorin
Pulaski: IF Mario Martinez, RH Blake Nation
Peoria: IF Jharmidy DeJesus, RH Brandon Maurer
Aguirre: OF Mario Yepez, RH Geraldo Esparza
Yamasa: IF Rudy van Heydoorn, LH Henry Perez
The Mariners instituted the Ellis Award in 1998 to recognize community involvement by players in their Minor League system. In 2008, Mariners Minor Leaguers were very active in the community, bringing the total hours contributed by the Mariners Minor Leaguers to over 8,000 hours in the last 11 years.Pitchers Rich Dorman and Mumba Rivera were honored as the co-individual award winners and the Tacoma Rainiers, the Mariners Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League, were honored for having the top overall team commitment.
Dorman and Rivera are both Rattler Alums.
About 650 men have held managing jobs in the major leagues in the past 137 years, but none of them is among the first round of seven candidates for the Mariners' vacancy.
And yet each of those candidates, for all his top-level dugout inexperience, carries with him threads of the game's history, and echoes of some of the titans of the lineup card.
Call it Six Degrees of Casey Stengel.
In fact, it was the Old Professor himself who once said, "If you're playing baseball and thinking about managing, you're crazy. You'd be better off thinking about being an owner."
Odd words from someone who managed for 25 years, with tremendous success (until he joined the Mets, anyway).
Believe it or not, the roots of Stengel himself can be found entangled in the current crop of Mariners candidates, if you believe a theory by the late baseball historian, Leonard Koppett.
In his 1993 book, "The Man In the Dugout," Koppett put forth what he called the "family tree analysis" of major-league managers. Koppett posited that all modern managers are descended from three epic figures — John McGraw, Connie Mack and Branch Rickey (who managed for 10 years before becoming a seminal executive).
McGraw, he said, was the original disciplinarian. Mack was expert at finding talented players. Rickey was at the foundation of teaching fundamentals.
It's an interesting read because of bits like this:
McGraw's stem passed to, among others, Stengel, who played for him on the New York Giants in the 1920s. Stengel, in turn, greatly influenced his fiery second baseman on the Yankees, Billy Martin, who passed on his managerial intensity to Lou Piniella.
Piniella absolutely rubbed off on his own sparkplug infielder in Seattle, Joey Cora — who interviewed for the Mariners' vacancy Tuesday.
"Invariably, some of these kids, they play for a manager, and they cherry-pick the things they like, and shy away from the things they don't like," Piniella said last week in a phone interview.
There are more examples like this and examples of cross-pollination. Just go read it.
Where the Mariners stand at each position:
Catcher
The Mariners signed Kenji Johjima to a three-year, $24 million contract extension last spring, and he struggled badly in 2008. The Mariners' depth could necessitate the move of Jeff Clement to another position such as first base or DH.
First base
The Mariners aren't sure whether Bryan LaHair can cut it. He batted .250 with three homers and 10 RBI last season in 45 games after being called up July 18. He is not your prototypical power-hitting first baseman, though, hitting 12 homers in a full season in 2007 at Class AAA Tacoma (Wash.).
Starters
The Mariners' rotation, which had no pitcher winning more than nine games in 2008, is in transition. The Mariners would like to open the year with hard-throwing right-hander Brandon Morrow and Australian left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith. But there isn't enough room as long as Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn and Carlos Silva are around.
Bullpen
The bullpen could take a hit if Morrow and Rowland-Smith move into the rotation. The Mariners must hope that Sean Green and Mark Lowe improve after their second-half struggles. The Mariners didn't have a left-hander step up after the trade of Arthur Rhodes in July.
Closer
J.J. Putz blew eight saves in 2008, tying him for the most in the AL. He blew two saves in 42 opportunities the previous season.
"We haven't been quite as aggressive as we have been in the past," says Greg Hunter, the Mariners' director of player development. "We try to place guys in a spot where they have a chance to succeed. When they outperform their league, we promote them."Pretty much all of the prospects named are former Rattlers. Rob Johnson, Matt Tuiasosopo, Michael Saunders, Carlos Triunfel, Phillippe Aumont, Shawn Kelley, Mike Wilson, Greg Halman, and Michael Pineda are all mentioned. Click through on the link for the article and scroll to the bottom for the writeup on the prospects.
Class AAA: Tacoma (Wash.) Rainiers, 80-64, second place in Pacific Coast League Pacific North.Put the answer in the comments.
•Class AA: West Tenn (Jackson, Tenn.) Diamond Jaxx, 70-68, won Southern League North first-half title, lost in first round of playoffs.
•High-A: High Desert (Adelanto, Calif.) Mavericks, 58-82, fifth place in California League South.
•Low-A: Clinton (Iowa) LumberKings, 78-59, won Midwest League Western Division's first-half title, lost in first round of playoffs.
•Short-season: Everett (Wash.) AquaSox, 32-44, fourth place in Northwest League West.
•Rookie: AZL Mariners (Peoria, Ariz.), 21-35, eighth place in Arizona League.
•Rookie: Pulaski (Va.) Mariners, 40-27, first place in Appalachian League East, lost in league championship round.
Seattle Mariners (22)
RHP: Travis Chick (AAA), Jon Huber (AAA), Roman Martinez (AA), Scott Shoemaker (AAA), Jorge Sosa (AAA)Let's take a peek at the Brewer list.
LHP: Jason Kershner (AA), Ryan Ketchner (AA), Nelson Payano (AA)
C: Fleming Baez (SS), Fernando Encarnacion (Hi A), Gabe Johnson (AA), Luis Oliveros (AAA), Jose Yepez (Hi A)
1B: Geraldo Valentin (Hi A)
2B: Kevin Howard (AAA)
3B: Lou Lucca (AA)
SS: Mark Kiger (AA)
OF: Victor Diaz (AAA), Shawn Garrett (AAA), Noah Hall (Hi A), Jon Nelson (AAA), Craig Wilson (AAA)
Milwaukee Brewers (9)Ungs played for Kane County. Crabbe and Chavez both played for the Beloit Snappers. Troy Cate was in the Mariner system, but never played for the Rattlers.
RHP: Nestor Corredor (R), Nick Ungs (AAA)
LHP: Troy Cate (AAA), Erasmo Ramirez (AAA)
2B: Callix Crabbe (AAA)
SS: Ozzie Chavez (AA), Chris Woodward (AAA)
OF: Jay Gibbons (AAA), Mel Stocker (Hi A)
If there was anything Benny Looper enjoyed more about his job than evaluating baseball players, it was the people he worked with.There is also this bit in there about other Mariner front office people with whom we in Wisconsin have had a long relationship. (in bold).
The Seattle Mariners' administrative assistants, scouts, player development staffers and minor league affiliates made every day a joy.
When new general manager Jack Zduriencik offered Looper a job that would take him away from those people, he said no thanks. Rather than stay with the Mariners in a lesser role, Looper -- who was vice president of player personnel -- decided to say good-bye Wednesday after 23 years with the organization.
"The sad part for me is the close friendships I've made," Looper said. "It's the people in the office who've been here 10-plus years, the scouts and people in player development, even the big league players who I've known since they were kids. Walking away from that is the saddest thing."
Assistant GM Lee Pelekoudas and international operations director Bob Engle will remain with the team, but the future remains unknown for two others, player development director Greg Hunter and minor league/scouting operations director Hide Sueyoshi.
Mariners vice-president (player personnel) Benny Looper has opted to leave the organization. Looper spoke by phone with new Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik on Monday and was told he'd be reassigned to a professional scouting role covering major and minor league baseball in the center of the country.Aaron Looper was a pitcher for the Timber Rattlers in 1999.
"He told me he was bringing in his own people for supervisory roles,'' said Looper, who would have been stripped of his VP title.
Looper had kept two residences, in Seattle and Oklahoma, over the years. But he sold his Seatte home two years ago and rented an apartment instead. The lease on that was up on Oct. 23 and he chose to let it expire and relocate to Oklahoma full-time to be closer to his family. He says he knew when he made that choice that the M's might ultimately change his job, but had been prepared to make a case for staying in his current role.
He never got the chance.
Zduriencik told him right away that the pro scouting job was what he had for him. Two more phone conversations later, Looper told Zduriencik he was moving on.
....
Looper has known Zduriencik for 25 years.
"Jack's a great baseball man,'' Looper said. "He just wants his own people running things the way he wants them run and I can appreciate that.''
Looper spent 23 years with the Mariners in various capacities and was one of three finalists, along with Al Avila, for the team's GM job that went to Bill Bavasi in 2003. His son, Aaron, also pitched for the Mariners in 2003. He says his dreams of becoming a GM are long done and he now wants to focus on areas of baseball where he feels most suited and comfortable working at.
"I'll really miss Seattle,'' he said. "There are a lot of great people up there that I had the chance to work with and I don't regret any of it for a second. I had some great times up there and I will always remember them fondly.''Good luck, Benny. We in Wisconsin remember working with you fondly.
Word began to spread through the scouting community Monday that Mariners scouting director Bob Fontaine has been let go by Seattle's new general manager, Jack Zduriencik.More on this as it develops.
One source said that Fontaine was called into a meeting with Zduriencik on Monday and informed that he was being dismissed. According to the source, "He didn't even have a chance to fight for his job."
Fontaine reportedly informed his Mariners scouting staff of his dismissal in a voice mail.
At his introductory news conference on Friday, Zduriencik said he planned to meet with the baseball operations staff as soon as possible and decide on who he would retain. Those meetings apparently began Monday and are ongoing.
It is not known who will replace Fontaine, who has run the Mariners' amateur scouting since 2003.
In another development, Tony Blengino, Zduriencik's top assistant when he was scouting director in Milwaukee, is expected to join Zduriencik's staff in Seattle.
According to industry sources, the Brewers have agreed to let Zduriencik, who was named Seattle's GM last Wednesday, hire two members of his Milwaukee scouting staff.
Those are expected to be Blengino and Tom McNamara, Milwaukee's East Coast crosschecker and the man credited with scouting and signing Prince Fielder. It is not known yet what positions they will hold in Seattle.
Jack Zduriencik, credited with turning the Milwaukee Brewers from also-rans to a playoff team, was named the Mariners' new general manager Wednesday.
Zduriencik, 57, has been in the Brewers' organization for nine years, serving as their vice president and special assistant to the general manager for player personnel since January 2008.
He had headed the Brewers' scouting department since being hired on Oct. 25, 1999, and is responsible for drafting the core of the NL's wild-card team, including Prince Fielder, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. Another of his draftees, outfielder Matt LaPorta, was used as a trade chip to acquire Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia, who led their playoff run.
Zduriencik (pronounced zur-EN-sik) will be introduced at a news conference on Friday, an off-day in the World Series. Teams need special permission from the commissioner to make major announcements during the World Series.
That press conference will be at the Mariner website at noon CDT.
| Name | Pos | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | Round | Pick # | Signed |
| Brett R Lawrie | C | R / R | 5'11" | 200 | 1990-01-18 | 1 | 16 | 8/05/08 |
| Jacob Odorizzi | RHP | R / R | 6'02" | 175 | 1990-03-27 | Comp A | 32 | 6/20/08 |
| Evan S Frederickson | LHP | L / L | 6'06" | 238 | 1986-09-23 | Comp A | 35 | 6/8/08 |
| Seth T Lintz | RHP | R / R | 6'01" | 170 | 1990-02-07 | 2 | 53 | 7/08/08 |
| Cutter K Dykstra | CF | R / R | 5'11" | 180 | 1989-06-29 | 2 | 54 | 6/7/08 |
| Thomas C Adams | RHP | R / R | 6'02" | 180 | 1986-11-26 | 2 | 62 | 6/13/08 |
| Logan E Schafer | CF | L / L | 6'01" | 170 | 1986-09-08 | 3 | 94 | 6/14/08 |
| Joshua M Romanski | LHP | L / L | 5'11" | 180 | 1986-10-18 | 4 | 128 | 6/8/08 |
| Maverick A Lasker | RHP | R / R | 6'02" | 190 | 1990-02-17 | 5 | 158 | 6/5/08 |
| Jose O Duran | SS | R / R | 5'11" | 190 | 1986-11-27 | 6 | 188 | 6/11/08 |
The M’s have chosen Jack Zduriencik as their new GM. Despite the fact that he’s the oldest of the candidates interviewed and comes with a scouting background, do not assume that this is just more of the same. Zduriencik has been the best regarded scouting director in baseball for the last few years, and the work he did in building the Brewers through the draft was legendary. If you want to know why the Brewers were in the playoffs this year, it’s because Zduriencik hit home run after home run in the draft. This is a good hire.Also at USS Mariner, check out this post, titled Thoughts from Milwaukee. Dave published -- with permission -- an e-mail he received from Patrick Ebert at Brewerfan.net. I'll just share the end of the letter:
Now, Jack Z isn’t exactly the new school analytical type we were all hoping for. His strengths are all scouting based, and he won’t be the kind of guy to come in and turn the Mariners into the next Oakland/Cleveland/Boston/Tampa Bay. With Engle, Fontaine, and now Zduriencik, the Mariners are clearly going to try to win with the Atlanta/Minnesota/Anaheim method of just outscouting everyone else on earth and developing so much good talent from within that they can’t help but be competitive.
I hate to see him go, but no one in baseball deserves this appointment more than Jack Zduriencik, a true baseball man and one, if given the proper support, should do wonders in turning your organization around.Jay of Mariner Minors has a few views on Zduriencik in a post titled, um, A Few Views on Zduriencik
And don’t expect him to draft a college reliever in the first round.
Many out there have looked at the superficial qualities of the most recent Mariner hiring and seen too many similarities to inspire confidence. The front office has hired another aging, balding, white guy with an old school methodology, a rolodex of similar contacts, and a scouting background, and much as someone suffering from post traumatic stress may cringe or dive for cover at a car backfiring as though it were a gunshot.As usual, Jay goes a bit deeper than the superficial and has this conclusion:
The best organizations acknowledge that they have to utilize all the tools at their disposal. Zduriencik may be one who recognizes this as well, despite having a background in the same school that has brought the organization mixed results in the past. Condemning him immediately on guilt by association would be foolish, particularly when he hasn't even had his press conference yet.That will be in a few hours.
What do you think the chances are of seeing Phillipe Aumont with the Mariners next season?Next, Adam McCalvy has an answer to a question that I get quite a bit.
-- Miles S., Las Vegas, Nev.
The hard-throwing right-hander has a great future, and the organization has no intentions of rushing Aumont to the Major Leagues. So I doubt that he would pitch for the Mariners in 2009.
Aumont, who will be 20 years old on Jan. 7, still needs a lot of innings in the Minor Leagues to become big league ready. Though drafted in 2007, he did not pitch professionally that season and pitched just 55 2/3 innings this past season at Class A Wisconsin, where he posted a 4-4 record, with a 2.75 ERA and two saves.
The organization is being so careful with Aumont that he appeared in only three games after June 9, because of a strained right shoulder. My guess is that he would start the '09 season at either Clinton (the Mariners' new farm club in the Midwest League) or Class A High Desert in the California League.
What is the typical salary range at each Minor league level (Rookie, Class A, Double-A, Triple-A)? I know in the Majors it's $390,000 to whatever A-Rod's salary is.That is a better answer than I could ever hope to give.
-- Brad K., Milwaukee
The Major League minimum in 2008 was indeed $390,000, and it goes to $400,000 in 2009 according to MLB's press release when the labor deal was struck.
According to someone in the Brewers' Minor League operations, typical Minor League salary ranges break down like this:
Rookie ball: $1,100 per month to $1,300
A ball: $1,300 per month to $1,500
AA: $1,600 to $6,000
AAA: $2,500 to $15,000
It gets more complicated at the Double-A and Triple-A levels because there are six-year Minor League free agents in the mix who account for the high end of the Double-A scale. Most Double-A players are in the $1,600-$2,000 range.
At Triple-A, the low end is players who advanced through the various levels of the organization. The high end is for Minor League vets with big league experience.
The Mariners had a heck of a year, and not in the way they envisioned. Spring Training brought talk of a divisional title and postseason aspirations, but the regular season brought front-office and managerial firings and generally uninspired play at the Major League level.Michael Pineda ('08) and Greg Halman ('07) are the MiLB.com pitcher of the year and player of the year for Seattle in 2008.While there wasn't much to be happy about in the Emerald City, life down on the farm isn't all that bad for the Mariners. There is some top-flight young talent coming up through the ranks, some expected, some surprising, all interesting for one reason or another. Whether it will be of benefit to the M's in 2009 remains to be seen.
“They want to be in Clinton and be in the Midwest League, and honestly, sometimes it’s nice to know that someone wants you,’’ LumberKings general manager Ted Tornow said. “We had a good six-year run with Texas, but the difference is that the Mariners want to be here and be a part of our league.’’Like when the LumberKings made the playoffs in 2007 and 2008?
That couldn’t necessarily be said about the Rangers, who were the last major league team to sign a contract with a low-Class A affiliate when they renewed with the LumberKings two years ago.
Tornow said Rangers officials hinted that the club was searching to place its low-A team in the South Atlantic League in anticipation that Texas’ high-A team — located in the California League — will be one of two clubs that will be relocated to an expanded Carolina League within the next two years.
“With that reorganization on the horizon, they told us that they were looking at the structure of their organization, and there were no guarantees that we would fit into those plans,’’ Tornow said.
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Mariners director of player development Greg Hunter visited Clinton’s Alliant Energy Field and quickly offered to sign after touring the recently-renovated stadium.
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Following the June firing of general manager Bill Bavasi, Seattle’s organization is in a transition period this offseason and Tornow said Hunter acknowledged that during his visit.
“He was honest and upfront with us,’’ Tornow said. “I think they may have rushed a few prospects through the system and that may have hurt them a bit at the lower levels in their system. We saw that firsthand with Texas in 2006 and it takes time to recover.’’
Mariners president Chuck Armstrong has said he'd like to have a GM chosen by late October. He and Lincoln have a list of roughly 20 candidates and will begin seeking permission from other clubs to interview them this week.
Armstrong will speak Monday with baseball commissioner Bud Selig about exactly how he plans to go about approaching teams. In some cases, Armstrong admitted, he expects to be told that some candidates won't be allowed out of their current contracts.
His first round of interviews could include proven veterans such as Brian Cashman, Kevin Towers and Gerry Hunsicker. Not to mention past GMs John Hart and Randy Smith. There will also be a bevy of potential first-timers, assistants such as David Forst of the A's, Al Avila of the Tigers, Kim Ng of the Dodgers and Tony LaCava of the Blue Jays.
Cashman has yet to confirm he's headed back to the New York Yankees next season, and sources say he'd be the leading candidate here because of his successes and experience at handling a higher payroll. On the Yankees' most recent road trip to Seattle this month, Cashman also took the unusual step — for him — of accompanying the team.
