Hey Mariners... how about waiting until Thursday to make a deal?

It appears that Cliff Lee might not be heading to the Yankees after all.
It is a shame because so many columnists and bloggers had their stories already written talking about how this means we NEED a salary cap and it isn't fair and blah blah blah.

I admit, I threw up in my mouth a little when I heard the Yankees were on the verge of getting him, but that had nothing to do with payroll. That had to do with me being unhappy when ANYTHING positive happens with the Yankees.

Is Cliff Lee heading to Minnesota for Wilson Ramos?

Is Cliff Lee heading to Texas for Justin Smoak?

Will Cliff Lee join LeBron, Wade and Bosh with the Heat?

First of all, hold off on the deal until after the All Star Game.

Why?

Well first of all it means that Cliff Lee gets to face the Yankees (and hopefully beat them) tonight.

Secondly, Lee is going to the All Star Game. If he gets traded now, he will be making his first appearance in a Twins/Rangers/Yankees/Mets/Bridgeport Blue Fish uniform at the All Star Game.

That's just strange. Have his regular season farewell to the Mariners be a win against the Yankees and the last time the baseball fans see him as a Mariner in Anaheim this week.

Yeah the season hasn't gone as GM Jack Zduriencik planned... but at least he'll be able to say "I acquired an All Star."

Hey Mariners... how about waiting until Thursday to make a deal?

It appears that Cliff Lee might not be heading to the Yankees after all.
It is a shame because so many columnists and bloggers had their stories already written talking about how this means we NEED a salary cap and it isn't fair and blah blah blah.

I admit, I threw up in my mouth a little when I heard the Yankees were on the verge of getting him, but that had nothing to do with payroll. That had to do with me being unhappy when ANYTHING positive happens with the Yankees.

Is Cliff Lee heading to Minnesota for Wilson Ramos?

Is Cliff Lee heading to Texas for Justin Smoak?

Will Cliff Lee join LeBron, Wade and Bosh with the Heat?

First of all, hold off on the deal until after the All Star Game.

Why?

Well first of all it means that Cliff Lee gets to face the Yankees (and hopefully beat them) tonight.

Secondly, Lee is going to the All Star Game. If he gets traded now, he will be making his first appearance in a Twins/Rangers/Yankees/Mets/Bridgeport Blue Fish uniform at the All Star Game.

That's just strange. Have his regular season farewell to the Mariners be a win against the Yankees and the last time the baseball fans see him as a Mariner in Anaheim this week.

Yeah the season hasn't gone as GM Jack Zduriencik planned... but at least he'll be able to say "I acquired an All Star."

Which way should the Mariners turn?

When everyone was picking the Mariners for the AL West division title during spring training, I almost followed suit.

I figured the Angels looked a lot worse than they had in recent years and who was going to beat the 1-2 punch of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez?

Plus they have Ichiro AND Chone Figgins setting up the table? This was going to be a wonderful year in Seattle… maybe even a pennant to help say good bye to Ken Griffey Jr.

Sure picking up Milton Bradley was a risk… but he MUST have learned his lessons, right?

But my gut told me, no… I got burned picking the A’s last year.

I decided to play it safe and go with the Angels. Well, the Halos haven't been rewarding my powers of prediction, but HO-LEE CR*P! The Mariners are a disaster.

And I literally have no idea which way they should turn.

One the one hand they are one of the worst teams in the American League. Only the Royals, Indians and lowly Orioles have worse records, and that is INCLUDING their win against the Angels on Sunday.

Milton Bradley has been a disaster. You know something didn't work out when the only positive thing about a guy's year is that he decided to seek help instead of have a career ending meltdown.

Huzzah! You can't play but at least you didn't behave like a sociopath!

The offense, including from new comer Chone Figgins, has been offensive. Hitting coach Alan Cockrell has joined all of us from The Bonnie Hunt Show in the unemployment line.

Franklin Guitierrez and Casey Kotchman lead the team with a whopping 3 homers. THREE. Not for the week, but for the whole season. Three supposed regulars are all batting under .200. I know batting average isn't always the best route to use in terms of judging a hitters worth, but YIKES!

The pitching has been OK, but even King Felix has looked awful in his last two starts.

And the clubhouse has more tension than The Hurt Locker.

Even Ken Griffey Jr, once the feel good part of this Mariners team, is a source of controversy as teammates are coming out anonymously against him and people are calling for one of the great players you and I will EVER see have their career ended by being placed on waivers.

And with Cliff Lee certainly headed off to an expensive free agency, GM Jack Zduriencik might be better off dealing Lee to see if he can get back a few players that would partially make up for Phillippe Aumont, Juan Ramirez and Tyson Gillies, the players sent to Philly for Lee.

It's a lost season.

OR IS IT?

Despite such a disastrous start, the Mariners are only 5 back of the Rangers in the loss column.

THE RANGERS! You know, the team that always starts off well but fades the minute the weather gets into the "Oh My God, is this HELL?" range!

The A's are ahead of them... and I think they are poised to steal the division... but they could just be having a nice first two months. They were projected to be a 90 loss team and they could very well be.

The Angels are a sub .500 mess as well. And even if they find a way to fix their hitting woes and their starting pitching mess... Brian Fuentes will find a way to blow the lead.

What I am saying is this is the very definition of a winnable division.
Plus they have recalled top prospect Michael Saunders who homered on mothers day.

Two more homers and he'll be tied for the team lead.

Sometimes it takes a young spark like Saunders to ignite the team and give them some new life.

It also helps that they are about to face the Orioles... and Milton Bradley is no longer on the team.

And Cliff Lee is off the DL... maybe the Mariners can get on a roll.

Or maybe they'll continue their current pace to finish the season at 62-100 with their veterans either eying free agency, seeking psychiatric or taking a snooze.

Cliff Lee's trade value will never be higher... then again the division may never be this winnable.

What should they do?
I don't envy you Jack Zduriencik.
First of all you have to constantly spell your last name out for people.
But secondly the wrong decision in 2010 could screw the team up for years!

If you go for it and the team falls apart, then you would get little to nothing back for the Chone Figgins/Cliff Lee/Milton Bradley gamble.

If you wave the white flag, you would lose fan interest for this year and it would take more than Ichiro and a bunch of people you've never heard of to get them back.

Choose wisely, Jack.

The countdown to the Milton Bradley meltdown is winding down

In spring training, Milton Bradley was ejected from multiple games... games that DIDN'T COUNT!

Before the calendar got to April 10th, he was already flipping off the fans in Oakland... a fan base that he's already alienated.


If I were Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik I would already be working out a press release for when he is placed on waivers, explaining what a good guy he is but after [INSERT DISRUPTIVE INCIDENT HERE] it was clear to both parties that it was time to move on.

Trust me, it isn't if, but WHEN.

Tough decisions for the Mariners

Ohhhhh I am glad am not Jack Zduriencik, the Mariners' general manager right now.

First of all, I am glad I didn't have to learn how to spell Zduriencik when I was 3 or 4 years old.

Secondly, he is in a crossroad right now... and by crossroad I don't mean Ralph Macchio dueling with the devil with his guitar.

The Mariners, fresh off of a 100 loss season, looked like a team in transition. 

They were loaded with veterans but with a new GM and a new manager it looked like they could head in a new direction. But 2008 was not a contending year.

Zduriencik (I'm just cutting and pasting his name now) did the smart thing by bringing Junior back, giving fans a reason to show up to the ballpark. And no doubt he figured when July came around, he could start dumping older players to build up the farm. 

Jarrod Washburn would be a perfect piece of trade bait.

A lefty starter with World Series experience would be a terrific fit for a contender.

Last night's complete game 1 hitter against Baltimore seems like a perfect audition for a playoff team.

Miguel Batista would be a terrific trade chip for a team looking for bullpen depth.

And as I wrote a few weeks ago, Adrian Beltre would be a great fit for the Cubs or the Cardinals... or maybe even the Red Sox with Mike Lowell on the DL.

But there's that little problem. The Mariners are in contention.

They are only 3 1/2 back. They are within striking distance.

The Rangers are showing surprising resilience but probably don't have the horses.

The Angels have stormed back after a tragic first quarter of the season but are relying on too many unproven talents.

And yet the Mariners are in third. They probably need both teams to stumble and will have to make up 4 games in the loss column and then stay in first with an overachieving team.

All the while knowing that Washburn, Beltre and Batista won't be trade chips after July 31 when the trade deadline passes.

Is it worth passing up on dealing those three guys and miss the chance to put 2 or 3 new young prospects into the system to go for it this year?

But if you trade those three and wave the white flag, and then see the Rangers wilt in the heat and injuries catch up with the Angels, would you have passed up a chance to make the playoffs? With JUNIOR back on the team no less?

A GM's job can be filled with devastatingly tough choices that look unpopular at first but help the club in the long run.

Dealing Randy Johnson midway through the 1998 season (fresh off of the 1997 division title) was unpopular... but it yielded Freddy Garcia, John Halama and Carlos Guillen, who all contributed to the 2000 and 2001 playoff teams.

Now none of the players I listed above are as valuable a trade chip as the Big Unit, but they could fill needs for potential playoff teams... and teams on the cusp of a pennant are prone to make desperate moves. 

Don't believe me? Check out the trades that sent John Smoltz, Jeff Bagwell, Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe and Jay Buhner.

But could a playoff team with Junior and Ichiro create the greatest memory in the history of Seattle sports? Remember how unlikely teams have stormed all the way to the World Series in recent years? And remember how badly Seattle fans need something to cheer about?

It's your call Mr. Zduriencik. (Apple C... Apple V.)