Do we have a problem?

I was able to go to the Mariners game on Friday night. The stadium was full of buzz as Cliff Lee was set to make his debut as a Seattle Mariner. He certainly did not disappoint as Rangers hitters looked seemingly lost against the Cy Young winner. He finished the night after pitching 7 innings of 3-hit ball with 8 strike outs and no walks. If any of you have the opportunity I say go see this guy live. It's really amazing to watch him work.

But for all the happy feelings I had from my first Cliff Lee experience, the joy was quickly ruined by the Mariners anemic offense and some questionable decisions from our manager Don Wakamatsu. Let me begin by saying I like Don Wakamatsu. I think he's done an unbelievable job not only bringing a clubhouse together but also performing his duties as a field manager. Unfortunately, on Friday night he made some decisions that I just can't agree with and regardless whether or not they led to a positive outcome, I had been questioning.

1) I believe it was in the tenth inning, but with the bases loaded and one out, Jack Wilson was stepping up to the plate. Jack Wilson is not a very good hitter but I have faith in him that he could at least avoid hitting into a double play. All he had to do was hit the ball into the outfield and we could go home happy Mariners fans excited about the prospect of our new pitcher. Instead Wakamatsu pinch hit Wilson with Mike Sweeney. The significance of this switch is two-fold; Sweeney, like Wilson, does not hit the ball well and once Wilson is out of the game we don't have a major league caliber backup shortstop. Sweeney immediately hit into a 6-4-3 double play and the threat was over. That next inning, Matt Tuiasosopo took over for Wilson at shortstop and actually factored in the outcome of the game as a 12th inning throwing error put the a Ranger runner on 2nd base.

2) After a leadoff single in the 11th inning by Ichiro Suzuki, Chone Figgins beat out a sacrifice bunt for a single. Runner now stood on 1st and 2nd with our best hitter, Franklin Gutierrez stepping to the plate. I thought a sacrifice bunt was possible, however considering the absolute lack of offense from anyone not hitting in the 1st or 3rd spot in the order, highly unlikely. Sure enough Wakamatsu had the sacrifice in effect and Gutierrez took two quick strikes before striking out. If any other batter had been at the plate I would not have thought twice about the decision, as it is, nobody on this team, outside of Ichiro and Gutierrez are even hitting the ball. Let's watch Guti excite the Safeco crowd.

This is only one game, and like I mentioned earlier, I'm a fan of what Wakamatsu has done with this team. But I'm hearing increasing rumblings about his mis-use of the bullpen and how he builds his lineups. Wak has one of the most difficult jobs in the majors, every day he has to decide who is going to DH and often that decision is between Griffey and Sweeney. There's obviously no reason to panic, but I'll definitely be keeping my eye on how Wak manages the lineup a bit more as games continue to be played.

The Bush Leagues, Episode 12

The season is upon us! Tonight is the regular season opener for the Mariners, starting their campaign for the World Series in Oakland at 7 pm.

Since every team in the division is currently in first place, we thought we would make a prediction show and hit on some over/unders for the season. Milton Bradley ejections, Griffey Homeruns, Lopez errors, find out what is going to happen this season. Thanks again to our friend Dan Walters for stopping by and adding to the madness. Thanks also go out to our producer Cam Schwartz for helping us sound the best we can.

Enjoy

One Beer Choice at Safeco?

I don't know how this got lost in the mix during the off-season. Those of you going to see your 2010 Mariners kick-off their home season against the Oakland A's on April 12th might notice a slight change in your Safeco Field experience.

Over the off-season, the management team (of which the majority stake is Japanese) fostered a new relationship with a vendor that will change the operations within the stadium. Safeco Field has partnered with Japan-based brewer Kirin Ichiban Shibori. With the partnership, Safeco has agreed to sell only Kirin Ichiban beers. The stadium will be selling the company's American line of beers which includes the Kirin Ichiban and the Kirin Light. Oddly enough, the beer is also distributed by Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser.

The whole thing makes absolutely zero sense to me. Why would they halt the sale of multiple beer partners at a sporting event, especially when the beer is being distributed by America's largest beer producer? It doesn't make sense from a business model or to ensure fan happiness. Kirin must be paying a pretty penny in order to have exclusive serving rights at Safeco. Personally I've never tried the beer, but I'm going to have to get used to drinking the Japanese import as opposed to my "Rocky Mountain Cold" Coors Light because, let's be honest...The Bush Leagues at Safeco just isn't the same without beer.

Another interesting tidbit, Ichiro is the official spokesperson for Kirin Ichiban. Check out the video below.



*Please note: The Bush Leagues does not condone drinking and driving. Enjoy your Kirin at Safeco Field responsibly and always use a designated driver.

The Bush Leagues, Episode 11

Its that time again. Spring is in the air, the weather is starting to warm up, and the 2010 Mariners season is about a week and a half away!


In episode 11 of TBL, our good friend Dan Walters joins us in discussing the biggest story lines of the spring, including Jose Lopez and Chone Figgins swapping spots on the diamond, Cliff Lee's injury woes, and the tricky situation that is Mike Sweeney.


They say three is a crowd, but we had a blast talking M's baseball with Wally, so thanks go out to him. Also, want to thank Cam Schwartz for being our producer today, helping set up mics and telling Noah to stop slamming the table.


Thanks for listening, folks.


Episode 11

The Bush Leagues at Safeco Field

Ever wonder what its like to go to an M's game with a couple of baseball nerds who like to quote movies? We finally got around to posting our recorded thoughts during the Griffey bobble head game in which we brought the podcasting machine. Listen in as we attempt to do a little of everything; play by play, the hat trick, and bat boy bashing with a whole lot more. A typical M's game with Nick and Noah.

Enjoy!

It's funny how the volume of our rants goes up and the game (and beer) flow on. Wonder why that is...?

The Bush Leagues, Episode 10

Episode 10 is live! We go over the Eric Byrnes and Ryan Garko acquisitions along with our predictions for wins in 2010. We also managed to throw in a couple of funny surprises here and there to spice it up a bit. Also, there wasn't any MGD 64 this week.

Episode 10

Listen in and enjoy.

Nick

Randy Winn signs with the Yankees

News today from ESPN reported the New York Yankees and Randy Winn have agreed on a contract. Of course, what this means is the Yankees will not be re-signing Johnny Damon. The report mentioned that Damon's agent, Scott Boras will turn his attention to the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds for the outfielder's services. But, recent opinion from M's fans is that the Seattle front office should go after the speedy outfielder.

I'm not the biggest Johnny Damon fan but for as long as I can remember he has always been rumored to want to come play for the Mariners. Obviously, Johnny Damon wouldn't be a horrible signing but it gives us another left-handed bat when the team should really be looking for a righty. The thing that would make this deal most intriguing is if Jack Zduriencik were to get Damon to lower his asking price significantly which could happen as the market seems to be drying up.

Dave Cameron at USS Mariner does a much better job of explaining what the risk/reward of a Johnny Damon signing would be and although I agree that you should never discount a player because the match is not ideal I do feel there's something to be said about having a balance on the roster for situational purposes.

The Bush Leagues, Episode 9

What?!? Nick and Noah got another podcast up just a week after the last? Hell ya we did! In episode 9, we go over the Milton Bradley for fat boy Silva, along with the Brandon Morrow trade. We also investigate why MGD 64 is in Noah's fridge. Yeah...

Episode 9

Thanks for listening,

Garbs

I'll trade you my smushed up peanut butter and jelly sandwich and give you $20 for your apple...

As we all wait for the next big Jack Zduriencik master piece to take place (Is Jose Lopez really on his way out?) all we can do is monitor the rest of the league. Interestingly enough the Angels have traded their 4th outfielder and his $23 million contract to the New York Mets for relief pitcher Brian Stokes. As if trading a center fielder for a reliever wasn't bad enough, it's reported the Angels will also send over $21 million of the $23 million owed on Matthews' contract.

We'll let that sink in for a moment...

HOLY SHIT! This gives a little bit of an idea of how much the Angels really hated Gary Matthews Jr. Not only did they trade him for a 30-year-old reliever but they're going to pay nearly his entire salary.

I'm glad we don't have to worry about signing ridiculously over-priced contracts to players who don't fill a specific need in our organization any longer.

Awesome Felix Article

Hey guys, was just looking at Lookout Landing, and came across this article written by Graham Macaree, which talks about the evolution of Felix's fastball. And since I don't think I could ever write something this interesting, here is the link.

Felix Hernandez and the Fastball

We resigned him!!!!!!

G

M's sign King Felix!!

Reports from ESPN's Keith Law are that the Mariners and Felix Hernandez have agree to a contract extension in the neighborhood of 5 years, 80 million. Let me just start with Wholy Crap!!! We just signed the best young pitcher in baseball until he's 28 for a pretty decent discount, considering we bought out his next two years of arbitration. I couldn't be more excited about this move. And since we saved some money on Felix, who's to say we can't be in the conversation to sign Lee to an extension also? Probably a long shot, but fun to ponder. What I can say is that we are going to be unstoppable if we get the chance to grace the American League playoffs in the fall.

You gotta hand it to Jack Z. He just continues to succeed and make our team better, and its a delight to watch.

***Edit: Just read that Benji Molina has resigned with San Fransico***
Also, Buster Onley tweets that Benji Molina (catcher) has turned down the Mets' Arbitration offer and that the team that makes the most sense to sign him is your home town 9.

Benji Molina's 2009 Line:
.265, 20 HRs, 80 RBI's .285 OBP .442 Slg in a 132 games with the Giants.

They say we need a right handed bat, and I would love to see this guy helping out Adam Moore. Could be interesting.

Garbs.

The Bush Leagues, Episode 8

Weeee'rrrrreee Baaaaaaack...
It's been a while, but we finally got back into the "Studio" and recorded a much over due episode. Listen in as Noah and I take a look at the Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee deals. Spoiler alert, we approve.

TBL Epidode 8

Thanks for listening as always, and let us know what you think.

Garbs

P.S. We are aiming at keeping the blogcasts below 20 minutes. Is that a good time to aim at? Longer, shorter, what do you think is a good length. And, yes, that is what she said.

I haven't forgotten about you...

I write this sitting at a coffee shop in Baltimore. I swear, I haven't forgotten about you. And by you, I mean you. The one person who reads this blog. Did you think there were multiple readers?

Just thought I'd let you know that Nick and I are planning on recording a podcast this weekend so look forward to that! A lot of things to talk about but we'll try to keep it short and sweet. Well, Garbs will be there so maybe not sweet, you know what I mean.

On a side note, I'm really disappointed because I'm coming to the swift realization that I won't be able to visit Camden Yards while I'm here in Baltimore. It's literally five blocks away from where I'm staying but work is getting in the way. I better get moving cause you better believe I'm going to go get a picture of that warehouse Griffey nailed during the All-Star Home Run Derby. Wish me luck!

Edgar takes strike one

The votes are in. Edgar Martinez missed his 1st-of-15 chances to be voted into the Hall of Fame. Edgar gathered 36.2 percent of the votes in his first year on the ballot. To be voted in a player needs to receive 75 percent of the votes.

In a related news story, Mariners beat writer Geoff Baker is taking some heat from Mariner fans. If you get a chance, head over to The Seattle Times Mariners Blog. Baker posts his reasoning for not voting Edgar Martinez into the Hall of Fame. Although I disagree with his decision and reasons for voting the way he did, I do respect the decision he made.

It would be very easy for him to go the easy route and vote the town's darling child into the hall. But in his own mind, Baker didn't feel Edgar was deserving of a first-ballot vote. He's definitely hearing about it now, though. Commenters are coming out of the woodwork to give him a piece of their mind.

I find the issue to be very intriguing as a blogger and given my career is closely aligned with the media. The decision to post how he voted for the Hall of Fame was not something Baker had to do. He is trying to be as open as possible with his readers, knowing full well a complete backlash among the townspeople was imminent. To Baker, his journalistic integrity and the need to be transparent with the readers of his blog were of such importance he was willing to share not only how he voted but why he voted that way.

Regardless of what you think about Edgar, it is going to take him some time to get in. All that is proven by the fact that the M's beat writer for the only newspaper in town didn't even give him the nod. It'll happen eventually (I think), but it'll take some patience and some convincing that a player who didn't play in the field and didn't necessarily put together the statistics that writers believe are needed for consideration to get into the hall.

Good luck next year, Edgar!

Kotchman traded to the M's

ESPN's Buster Olney broke the news yesterday on Twitter that the Mariners and Red Sox were very close to completing a deal that would send first baseman Casey Kotchman to Seattle. Over the past 24 hours more details have emerged and according to plenty of sources the Mariners will send Bill Hall, a minor leaguer and cash to Boston for compensation.

So...what does that mean? Well, the Mariners certainly upgrade their starting first baseman for 2010 as Kotchman is a better option than Mike Carp. But they do so at the expense of a great utility player that has experience playing several different positions and has played them well.

Here's the story on Kotchman:

Casey Kotchman, a former 1st round draft pick of the Los Angeles Angels entered the league in 2004 but didn't start seeing significant playing time until 2007. In his first full season, Kotchman posted a .296 batting average, a .372 on-base percentage, and a .467 slugging percentage. These are decent numbers for a gap-power left handed hitter. The only problem is each year following 2007 Kotchman regressed. His 2009 numbers were .269/.339/.382, hardly the production we received last year from Russell Branyan.

However, Kotchman does fit the mold of the guys Jack Zduriencik has brought over to the Mariners. He's an above-average defender posting a career UZR of 4.4 per 150 innings, he's a patient left-handed hitter who makes contact with the ball, and he's a young player who hasn't quite reached his potential. Of course, with this type of trade the question is how much will it cost. Kotchman is eligible for arbitration in 2010 and some reports expect his salary to be in the $5 million range. Bill Hall's salary for 2010 would equal $8.4 million and that's why the Mariners are expected to chip in some cash for the trade. Keep in mind though, when we traded with the Brewers for Hall back in August, Milwaukee sent a lot of cash over as well which will seemingly be used in this trade for Kotchman.

What do we lose giving up a player like Bill Hall?

The obvious thing is we lose the flexibility of a utility fielder that can play multiple positions in the outfield and at second and third base. Hall is an above-average defender in the infield and an average fielder in the outfield. However, it seems the Mariners were still waiting for Hall to repeat on his monster 2006 season when he hit 35 home runs and scored over 100 times. Turning around and trading Hall as quickly as they did means there had to be cause for concern with the front office that he wouldn't return to his power-hitting form.

Overall, the Mariners essentially traded two minor league players for Casey Kotchman. The player that will be sent to the Red Sox and Ruben Flores, the minor leaguer sent to Milwaukee. For all of these reasons I think this is a good trade. What I don't like about it is the Mariners have downgraded their offense compared to other options that are on the market such as Russell Branyan and Adam LaRoche. If Kotchman can show some sign that he's anywhere near the type of offensive player he was projected to be this could be a great move. As it stands right now, I'd call it as just being ok.

The Sound of Silence

There hasn't been much to say on the Mariner front for the past week or so. After trading Brandon Morrow to Toronto for Brandon League it would seem the Mariners are willing to hold still for a bit and let the market come to them.

Or, Jack Z could just be leading us to think that's what is happening and soon to unveil a blockbuster that will give us a power hitting 1st baseman at the expense of our entire minor league system. Either way, I'm getting antsy for something to happen.

In other news, Ken Griffey Jr. raised the 12th man flag at the Seahawks season finale on Sunday. I went to the game with Cam and Garbs and I know I felt that was the best moment of the game. It's hard to explain how a player more than 10 years removed from his greatest season as a Mariner can still be so loved by a city for those contributions so long ago.

Bay to the Mets

For those of you hoping Jason Bay still might wind up roaming Safeco's left field, the New York Mets flushed your dreams of having the right-handed power hitting, bad defensive left fielder by signing him to a 4-year guaranteed $66 million contract with a vesting option that would pay him over $80 million for 5-years. ESPN

It was rumored that both the Mariners and Jason Bay were interested in getting a deal done, but ultimately the price tag was too high and both sides would have to make a serious compromise to get a deal done. In the end, Bay took an incredible pay check to go back to the NL East while the Mariners head back to looking for a power-hitting first baseman.

Personally, I never saw Bay signing with the M's but as long as his name was on the free agent list and there was mutual interest you had to consider it a possibility. Granted, Bay would have become the M's best hitter if signed, the fact he's a right handed hitter in lefty friendly Safeco Field paired with his below average defense would have made this move a little tough to swallow. Good luck in New York, Jason!

Oh, Hello There...

Uhh...wow...what the hell happened to The Bush Leagues?

I've gotten that from a few people over the last four months as Garbs and I have seemingly disappeared off the face of the planet. It's true, it's true, The Bush Leagues took a bit of a hiatus, ironically about the same time football started and the weather began to turn shitty. We became lethargic with our posting which led to them being absent. But I'm going to work on building the posts and the commentary back up to a respectable level. Ok, maybe The Bush Leagues were never a beacon of respectability, we might as well be filming a TV show in our parents basement. But you get the point.

With that being said, there are plenty of things for Mariners fans to get excited about this upcoming season.

- Chone Figgins: The free agency season started with a bang as the M's were able to lure Figgins away from AL West rival the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and put him in Mariner blue. The move will give us one of the best tandems at the top of the line-up as all Figgins does is get on base while giving Zduriencik options on how he puts together the remainder of his infield. Welcome to the M's Chone, I used to think you were a horrible person, but now, you're ok in my book. Funny how changing teams can influence perception.

- Cliff Lee: We were able to trade for one of the Top 5 pitchers in baseball and all it cost us were three guys who might make an impact for the Philadelphia Phillies one-to-three years down the road. Granted, we only have Lee inked for one-year at present, but this is a great sign from the M's front office that they're focused on winning in 2010. Not to mention, is there a better 2-man top of the rotation than King Felix and Lee?

- Milton Bradley: Obviously the best part of this addition is what we gained by subtraction: No more Silva! But also, Bradley will give us the bat we needed in the heart of the order to follow Ichiro and Figgins. Although it has been made very public by the media of Bradley's past problems and his seven different teams in ten years, I feel confident all he needs are some good hard Griffey tickles to keep him in check.

And the best part is, we're not done yet! There is still a glaring hole at first base and a group of bottom of the rotation starting pitchers to be less than excited about. Although he will most likely break camp, I do not see Mike Carp as our regular starting first baseman. It's just not going to happen. Look for Z to make something happen through free agency or trade, but I guarantee you we will have a Number 4 hitter to follow Ichiro, Figgins and Bradley.

For the fifth spot in the rotation we have the hold-overs from last year; Jason Vargas (not Justin), Luke French, Doug Fister and Garrett Olson. None of these pitchers offer anything to get truly excited about as far as talent go, but they would be well-suited for the bottom of the rotation. However, there are still pitchers in free agency that could offer plenty of upside for a moderate salary. Pitchers like Ben Sheets, Chien-Ming Wang or even bring back former M's pitchers Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn or hell...even Randy Johnson.

There's still plenty of things we can do in the offseason to build a team for an AL West Championship. But, early signs point that we are well on our way.

What's wrong with David Aardsma?

UPDATE! The ship was righted. Aardsma gave up a leadoff double to Jack Cust but then locked it up getting Suzuki and Sweeney to pop out before stiking out Powell. Told you guys not to worry.

Abandon ship! Our closer sucks! He's blown two saves in the last two weeks!

That's the feeling I get from some of the people around Seattle. Here's the deal, Aardsma is not a great closer. He's been effective this year and hell, has put together a nice little season considering he has 28 saves for the Mariners. You throw in the fact that Brandon Morrow took away 6 saves in 8 chances early in the season and it's not too far out of the realm of reality to think Aardsma could have 36 saves right now.

So, he's blown 4 saves. Get over it. I mentioned in a previous post that it's guaranteed Aardsma will walk 1, give up a long fly ball and strike out 2. Well, when the first batter is Aardsma's walk and you're holding on to a 1-run lead...get ready for a bumpy ride.

Aardsma walked Carlos Guillen last night and Miguel Cabrera promptly hit a double to put runners in scoring position with nobody out. Aardsma had to walk Magglio Ordonez to put the force out at home in effect. The next ball in play was the long fly ball I was talking about...this scored the tying run.

There's nothing wrong with David Aardsma, he's still pitching the way he has all year. Unfortunately, when he walks the leadoff batter and is unable to follow it up with an out, the game is instantly in jeopardy. So, keep your chins up Mariners fans! Don't get distracted. Aardsma is not always going to walk the first batter, he's not that bad. Plus, look on the bright side. At least Morrow is down in AAA working on his curveball so he can be a starter and Aardsma is up here finishing the games!

How I spent my Monday Night

So, by now you should have all heard. the Mariners signed their first overall pick, Dustin Ackley just minutes before the 9:00 p.m. PT deadline on Monday night. Here is a text message account Garbs and I had leading up to the deadline.

Aug 17, 2009 8:59 p.m.
Noah: Dude WTF Ackley? Sign already!
Garbs: Not going to happen...fucking boras

Aug 17, 2009 9:00 p.m.
Noah: It's 9. Let's hope for the best
Garbs: Is it 9:09? The deadline?
Noah: 9:00
Garbs: Eff I don't like it.

Aug 17, 2009 9:25 p.m.
Noah: Ackley signed
Garbs: How much? Like 8?
Noah: 9.5 with a major league contract, whatever that means. Assume it means he's added to the 40 man roster.

Obviously, not truly exciting stuff. I just felt it was pretty ridiculous that I could waste 30 minutes of my time so concerned whether or not a 20-year-old baseball player signs for millions of dollars when it's not even certain he'll be any good.

So, what do I think of the deal? Regardless of the money and the fact that it's a major-league contract this deal needed to get done. If the Mariners are truly serious about competing in 2011 they need Ackley on their team. He instantly became the M's best prospect and we should see him break the club by 2012...2011 if we're lucky.

Here's to the future!