Monday, December 19, 2011

Yu Darvish goes to.....

The Texas Rangers!

yippe-skippy.

The winning bid was $51.7mil ...
and the Rangers and Darvish now have 30 days to come to terms on a MLB contract.

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Some M's news over the past week....

Alex Liddi honored as "ambassador of baseball" in Italy
Liddi was honored recently by the Italania baseball federation — officially known as Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS) — in an event that drew a record 800 fans to the season-ending gala at the city’s theater.
FIBS president Riccardo Fraccari called Liddi ”the real ambassador of Italian baseball” after he became the first player from his country to play in the Major Leagues since 1954 and the first-ever who grew up playing strictly in his homeland.

MiLB names Mariners organizational All-Stars...
Starting pitching and outfield depth strong suit in M's minors

And down under...
Denny Almonte and James McOwen selected to represent Team World in the inaugural Australian Baseball League All Star Game on December 21st in Perth

Various "Welcome Backs"...
  • re-sign Chris Gimenez to a major league deal (just days after non-tendering him)
  • re-sign Guillermo Quiroz (you can never have too much catching)
  • And, an oldy but goody, George (Sherrill)

M's hit the International Market - sign Dominican SS Angel Yente


And, of course, rumors abound...
Kuroda?
Japanese SS Menenori Kawasaki only wants the Mariners

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Yu? Prince? dare to dream...

The M's realize the “Felix window”is closing quickly.  In 2011 they got a good, long look a LOT of kids and have a better idea than ever who sticks and stays, who’s valuable, who’s expendable and what they need to move forward.
Whether they’ll be able to do it remains to be seen but, seems they are in as good a position as they have been in a long time to carry out a plan. There are some great prospects in the pipeline such as: Franklin, Paxton, Walker, Chiang, Martinez, Hultzen (who will get a chance to compete for a rotation spot this spring). And, another high draft pick come June.
As for the big leaguers…
That Ackley kid, he’s pretty good. Carp had a breakout season. Guti had a rough year but now that he has a diagnosis, hopefully his condition can be managed and he’ll be back into form with a full ST (sure never skipped a beat with his D). League filled in at closer well (37 saves for a team that lost 67 games ain't too shabby).
I, for one, am giving Smoak a mulligan for last season after some pretty extenuating circumstances  that contributed to his performance (or lack thereof)  - multiple injuries AND the loss of his father. And, when you consider he is truly learning on-the-job in that he now more has AB’s in the majors (775) than he had in the minors (636).  Compare that with Montero's 1852 minor league AB and no wonder Yank fans are confident in his ability.
They fact that the M’s need offense is as obvious as the teal tint on my glasses but....
Like they always say - you can never have too much pitching -OR- good pitching beats good hitting (and it appears the M's are going to be seeing some pretty darned good hitting within their own division this coming season). As such, I'm thinking they will make a bid on Yu Darvish. They have their Ace in Felix, an ace in waiting in Pineda, a durable but inconsistent starter in Vargas and then .... a lot of young arms.
Seems to me that bidding for (and winning) Darvish could potentially make sense for the M’s on multiple fronts: fills a MOR spot, keeps the M’s Japanese market alive and well AND allows farm arms to be dealt for hitting.


And, then there are the FA possibilities…
who could resist having a King AND a Prince on the same team?


A girl can dream, can't she
They don’t call me Rosy for nuttin’

Hot Stove Stuff

I missed most of the show (Jack and Jaso) but will catch the pod cast when it's posted).  
I did hear Dustin...

He was pleased with his progression defensively at 2B.  Knowing what to expect, now that he's got some major league service time, will help him prepare that much better, mentally and physically, in the off season and into spring training.  He thinks Brendan Ryan was 'carrying the load' as far as the Baseball Fielding Bible Awards that named him and Brendan as the second best double-play combination in baseball.
Oh, and he got married in October - he and his new wife just moved into a new house .... in Michigan.


At the end of the show they also played a montage of interviews and plays of Greg Halman set to music ...so, incredibly sad.


Mariners signed 11 players to minor league contracts with invites to spring training...

Luis Rodriguez, Darren Ford, Matt Fox, Steve Garrison, Jarrett Grube, Sean Henn, Josh Kinney, Jeff Marquez, Scott Patterson and Phillippe Valiquette


Monday, December 12, 2011

Tenders, non-tenders, and such...

The deadline for tendering contracts was 9pm tonight.

Tendered: Jason Vargas, Shawn Kelley, Brandon League (all three arbitration eligible)
No surprises there

Non Tendered: Dan Cortes, Chris Giminez
Now two members of last year's bully gone (Lueke traded for Jaso) and seems that Jaso's addition made Gimenez expendable.  Not so sure about that though - catching hasn't exactly been a strong suit ro the M's (in terms of talent OR injury-freeness) but ... good luck Dan and Chris, wherever you land!

The complete MLB "non-tender tracker" is here..

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Unlike the "new" Marlins and the "shocking" Halos, the M's were quiet at the Winter Meetings...

Recent additions...


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And, it's that time of year again...

Get Edgar to the Hall!

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Down under goings on...

Denny Almonte and James McOwen selected to Australian Baseball League All Star Game

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And, last but certainly not least...

Since the Seahawks just beat the Rams on Monday Night Football, I couldn't resist sharing some Mariner related Seahawks tweets (I just LOVE how he is getting so into the Seahawks!)


 Felix Hernandez 
 great win guys congrats

 Felix Hernandez 
 good game bro congrats

 Jon Ryan 
@ 
 thanks Felix. Always good to get the W. Especially on Monday Night Football.

Sunday, December 04, 2011

The Dieringer Girls Celebrate 50 | Seabrook, Washington

A grand time was had by all!
(and, what the heck? may as well get a free photo book outta the deal :-)



The new way to make a photo album: photo books by Shutterfly.


Friday, December 02, 2011

All-Star Rooks

Three Seattle Mariners make Baseball America's Rookie All-Star Team

2B Dustin Ackley • Mariners
The second pick in the 2009 draft, Ackley shot to Triple-A a year later and to Seattle on June 17, roughly two years after being drafted. A mere three weeks after his debut, Ackley established himself as the Mariners' top offensive player and permanent three-hole hitter. He wound up leading the Mariners in average (.273), OBP (.348) and slugging (.417). Ackley wore down in September, but through his first 70 big league games he batted .304/.378/.477 with 26 extra-base hits. He needed every ounce of that production to surpass fellow keystone rookies such as the Nationals' Danny Espinosa, who offered power in the form of 21 homers, and the Athletics' Jemile Weeks, who hit .303 and stole 22 bases.


OF Mike Carp • Mariners
Carp failed to make an impression with the run-starved Mariners during brief trials in 2009 or 2010, but he began to find his power stroke with Triple-A Tacoma last year. From the start of the 2010 season until his June 8 callup, he belted 49 homers for the Rainiers and learned to play a passable left field. Incumbent Seattle first baseman Justin Smoak missed most of August while recovering from myriad injuries, briefly opening the door for Carp to return to his natural position. He proceeded to hit .313/.353/.545 with six homers and 25 RBIs in 27 August games, winning the AL's rookie of the month distinction. Something to keep in mind: Carp earned a shot at an everyday gig this season only after the Mariners tired of the antics Milton Bradley and Carlos Peguero in left and Jack Cust at DH.


SP Michael Pineda • Mariners
Pineda threw his fastball with higher average velocity (94.7 mph) than any rookie with at least 100 innings, and he went 8-6, 3.03 in 18 first-half starts to make the AL all-star team—along with fellow rookies Aaron Crow of the Royals and Jordan Walden of the Angels. Pineda also mixed in a mid-80s slider frequently enough to lead all rookies with 173 strikeouts, while ranking second among AL starters with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He topped out at 139 innings in the minors, prompting Seattle to space out his starts in August and September. But despite stumbling near the all-star break—he allowed 19 runs in 14 2/3 innings over three successive mid-July starts—Pineda pulled through to strike out a batter per inning and log a 3.99 ERA over his final eight turns.