Posted By Larry Larue on November 18, 2009 at 8:29 am Share this

Talked to Tony Blengino, the sabermetrics ace and special assistant to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, and among his chores this week has been sifting through a list of more than 500 minor league free agents that will flood the market on Friday.

That's right, minor league free agents.

"I've got more than 15 pages of names, and you know there are players in that group who will have an impact for one big-league team or another next season," Blengino said. "We've scouted most of them over the course of last season, we've got repors and an analysis on them."

Expect the Mariners and all 29 other teams to restock their farm systems - and bring aboard spring training invitees - from that list.

And if you want to start finding hidden talent, here's a list of each and every minor league free agent courtesy of Baseball America.

Thirty-two of those minor league free agents, by the way, are from the Mariners farm system.

- The Everett Herald's gift to baseball, beat writer Kirby Arnold, has a thoughtful interview with Mariners skipper Don Wakamatsu today, talking about his thoughts on how to improve the team in 2010.

No, he's not talking free agents, but ways he and his staff will ask players to aproach the game differently. Great read.

- Here's a story that may cheer up Seattle fans: The Washington Nationals are serious about John Lackey.

It sounds like a longshot - why would Lackey jump from a playoff team to the Nationals? Still, the thought of the Angels losing Lackey, and the Mariners not having to face him in 2010, may brighten your spirits.

- Yes, the Mariners were among the teams rumored to have interest in 41-year-old John Smoltz, but so are the Texas Rangers, apparently. Here's a link to an analysis of Smoltz and the Rangers.

And here's a shout out to former Mariners manager John McLaren, hired by former Mariners manager Jim Riggleman as his bench coach with the Nationals. Good to see McLaren back in uniform.

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Posted By Larry Larue on November 17, 2009 at 4:32 pm Share this

Free agent right-hander John Smoltz, a likely Hall of Fame pitcher who has started and closed games since 1988, is the object of speculation that has a number of teams showing interest - including the Seattle Mariners.

Smoltz has talked publicly about returning to the National League after going 2-5 with a 8.32 earned run average with Boston in 2009. In seven starts with St. Louis late in the year, he was 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA.

The 41-year-old worked 78 innings in 15 starts last season, and ended the year with a career record of 213-155 with 154 saves.

According to Foxsports.com, the Mariners are one of about a half dozen teams that have expressed 'preliminary' interest. Like the John Lackey rumor, this one may be at the far end of reality.

Then again, that may be where the Seattle Mariners will be shopping this winter.

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Posted By Larry Larue on November 17, 2009 at 11:07 am Share this

The votes counted, the announcement made - your 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner is Kansas City's Zack Greinke.

Greinke received 25 first-place votes and three seconds for 134 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Seattle's Felix Hernandez drew two firsts, 23 seconds and one third for 80 points.

By virtue of his 16-8 record, 2.16 earned run average, 229 innings and 242 strikeouts - all for a team that went 65-97 - Greinke was selected his league's best pitcher.

Felix didn't win but emerged a winner. At 23, he put together a season-long performance that for the first time in his career put him among the elite pitchers in the game.

Long on potential, Hernandez had made 104 starts before last season and gone 39-36. Always, there were flashes. As often, there were disappointments.

In 2009, Felix put together his first All-Star season, going 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA in a career-high 238 innings, striking out 217 batters.

Greinke was the Cy Young Award winner this season, and at 26 has a marvelous career ahead of him - especially once he escapes the Royals and plays for a winner.

Some will say the same of Hernandez, who had 10 no-decisions in 2009 - and posted an ERA of 2.15 in those 10 starts.

For all the great pitchers who had marvelous seasons in '09 - from C.C. Sabathia to Justin Verlander to Roy Halladay - the Cy Young race came down to two pitchers.

Felix was one of those, and that's special in its own right.

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Posted By Larry Larue on November 17, 2009 at 9:22 am Share this

Among the bolder free agent predictions, some have projected Angels ace John Lackey is headed to the Seattle Mariners this winter in what would be general manager Jack Zduriencik's first blockbuster signing.

Don't hold your breath.

The Mariners have already been 'linked' to Hideki Matsui, Jason Bay, Orlando Hudson and Jarrod Washburn as the hot stove league warms, and Lackey is the jewel of starting pitchers on the market.

What will he cost? Well, last year right-hander A.J. Burnett, then 31, took his 87-76 record to the free market and was awarded $82.5 million by the New York Yankees.

Lackey, 31, has a 102-71 career record and made $10 million last year. The Angels offered him a five-year, $72 million contract and he passed.

Are the Mariners likely to chase Lackey into the salary range he's going to command? More important, would it matter?

No and no.

There are reasons Seattle isn't likely to break the bank on Lackey - including the fact they'd be setting the market for their own ace, Felix Hernandez. And if their one off-season splurge went for pitching, what would happen to what was the worst offense in the league last year?

For argument sake, say the Mariners genuinely wanted Lackey. The question then is, would Lackey come to Seattle?

No, again.

Sure, Safeco Field is an enticement. But, given the choices Lackey will have, would he really stay in the American League West with the team that scored the fewest runs in the league last year?

The Lackey-to-Seattle rumor will float awhile longer, but the reality is, he's far more likely to sign with the Yankees or Red Sox - or stay in Los Angeles - than seriously consider a move to the Northwest.

The Mariners, meanwhile, will try to improve that offense and look to lesser pitching names like Rich Harden or Ben Sheets. Mr. Lackey simply isn't on their radar, and they certainly aren't on his.

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Posted By Larry Larue on November 16, 2009 at 12:23 pm Share this

One doesn't need credibility to land an internet gig, apparently, a fact that's once again proven by Sports Illustrated.com this week.

In their online breakdown of the American League West and what all four teams are doing this off-season, Cliff Corcoran has wonderful things to say about the future for the Angels, Rangers and Athletics.

The Mariners? Not so much. Start with this quote:

"This is not a good team, it's not getting better, and no amount of offseason tinkering is going to make it a good team."

Under the category of what the Mariners are building toward, Corcoran writes: 'Nothing.' And Seattle's off-season targets? 'None.'

He also suggests the team stand pat, since 'they have nothing to gain by doing otherwise.'

If you want to read the rest, here it is. If you need a large dose of silly pessimism, this will do.

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Posted By Larry Larue on November 16, 2009 at 11:47 am Share this

Once the Cleveland Indians hired new manager Manny Acta, Acta started populating his coaching staff with former Mariners - three in all.

First, he grabbed Tim Belcher as his pitching coach, and while Belcher played for seven teams in his career, he was a big part of the '95 Seattle Mariners staff.

And now the Indians have added third base coach Steve Smith and bench coach Tim Tolman, both former Mariners employees.

Smith coached third base for Lou Piniella's teams from 1996 through 1999, and Tolman spent last year as Seattle's coordinator of minor league instruction. If the name sounds familiar, it's because Tolman coached first base for Don Wakamatsu briefly last season when coach Lee Tinsley left the team for the birth of his daughter.

Good men, all, and nice to see them each back in the big leagues. For Belcher, this will be his first on-field duties since retirement in 2000. He's been in the Cleveland front office since.

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Posted By Larry Larue on November 13, 2009 at 2:27 pm Share this

Just heard from Seattle Mainers bullpen coach John Wetteland, who apparently woke up in his home this morning to find a gaggle of media camped in front of his home in Texas.

In a nutshell, Wetteland said he was never suicidal, that the police responding to his home did their jobs well - but had been called because of a huge misunderstanding.

Then paramedics, who came with police, found his heart rate and blood pressure high - Wetteland said he was a bit worked up at the time - and he wound up accompanying them to the hospital.

Wetteland was home last night, he and the family are together and well today and he wanted anyone who wondered to know this: "I'm fine."

Thank God. The world, and the game of baseball, is much more fun with John in it.

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Posted By Larry Larue on November 13, 2009 at 1:34 pm Share this

Shortstop Jack Wilson has accepted Seattle's two-year contract offer to remain with the Mariners through 2011.

"I didn’t accomplish what I wanted after I came to Seattle, and once the season ended, Jack (Zduriencik) and I had a mutual interest in my coming back. I’m happy to have the chance to show how I can play."

Wilson, who turns 32 next month, played in just 31 games after being acquired from Pittsburgh in a July 29 deal that brought Ian Snell to th Mariners and sent Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno and minor leagues to the Pirates.

Bothered by a hamstring strain, Wilson missed most of the last month with a bruised heel.

"I know Jack was disappointed in the way he played here. This guy can play defense, he’s a premiere defensive player at a key position," Mariners GM Zduriencik said. "It was the right thing for us at this time, and I'm delighted to have him.

A .268 career hitter, Wilson was considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the National League, and last season won the Fielding Bible Award as the best-fielding shortstop in the majors.

The two-year, $10 million deal was agreed upon in lieu of the team picking up Wilson's one-year, $8.2 million option.

"You can’t detach from place you played so long," Wilson said of the transition from Pittsburgh. "Mostly, it was just watching the guys play - Ichiro, Junior, Felix - I can go on and on. I was nervous because of the guys I was playing with. They’re upper-level, Hall of Fame-type players. I’d like to get used to winning."

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Posted By Larry Larue on November 12, 2009 at 4:38 pm Share this

What was initially reported as a possible suicide attempt by Mariners bullpen coach John Wetteland now appears to be a major misunderstanding that followed a family argument.

News reports from Denton, Tx. had the 43-year-old Wetteland taken to a local hospital after asking for help when police responded to a woman's call about a man in the home discussing suicide.

That version stunned coaches and players who knew Wetteland, and the story now has completely changed.

Sources with the team say Wetteland never considered suicide Thursday, that the call to police came during a family argument and was a misunderstanding. When police arrived with paramedics, Wetteland walked out to meet them and paramedics found his blood pressure elevated.

The paramedics asked Wetteland to accompany them to a local hospital to be checked out further. He was, and was never admitted as a patient.

"It's a huge misunderstanding that became a national story," one coach said. "John's fine. The family is fine"

The Mariners had no response to the initial stories, but are aware of the news and are following it closely.

Wetteland's eccentric, intense personality helped the Mariners bullpen form a tight bond in 2009, and he mentored first-time closer Aardsma from early in spring training.

"Every guy in the bullpen would hop on a plane today and fly to Texas to see him if he asked," Mark Lowe said. "I'm with Sean White, and we were trying on tuxedoes for his wedding on Saturday when we heard the news. The first thing I did was start praying for him.

"John's got a family that just adores him, and friends who'd do anything for him. He's strong, and he'll get through this, whatever it is."

A musician with a passion for rock music - and a collection of electric and accoustic guitars, which he often traveled with - is married with four children.

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Posted By Ryan Divish on November 12, 2009 at 1:22 pm Share this

Obviously, the news of yesterday was the Ken Griffey Jr. signing, so here's a few links to the stories in the area.

Larry LaRue talks with several teammates about Junior's return.

Gregg Bell of the AP has the nuts and bolts of the story.

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times broke the story yesterday and also talked to Ichiro's agent about Griffey's return.

Columnist Jerry Brewer offers his thoughts on the signing.

Kirby Arnold of the Everrett Herald talked with several players as well about Griffey.

Art Thiel of the PI offers his thoughts as only he can.

AUDIO -- there was lots of it yesterday.

I was on with Ian Furness and Jason Puckett on KJR yesterday.  Larry was on 710 AM's Hot Stove League show, but I'm still trying to locate the audio of that.

Griffey's agent Bryan Goldberg was on with Dave Softy Mahler.

710 ESPN also had plenty of guests.

On the Brock and Salk show, M's first base coach Lee Tinsley was on, along with David Aardsma

The Kevin Calabro Show featured several guests including ESPN analysts Tim Kurkjian and Peter Gammons and former Mariner Jay Buhner

The local blogosphere also had plenty to offer about the Griffey signing.

Here's the post from the USS Mariner, Lookout Landing has this post , and ProballNW has this post.

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