Is it worth it?

The offseason has barely gotten going, but we've already seen some craziness. We already know about the insane deals for Wagner and Ryan, and today Paul Konerko signed back with the White Sox for at the hometown discount price of 5 years, $60 million. (Although, Steve Phillips thinks Konerko was the best free agent available this offseason. Maybe that's why Phillips is on TV instead of running a team. What the hell was with those mock press conferences by the way?)

We all know the Mariners have several holes to fill before they are going to contend for anything besides a top 5 draft pick. Pitching is the obvious concern. But should the M's get in on this market? No one out there is that exciting and it seems like everyone is going to be severly overpaid. I'd like to see Kevin Millwood or AJ Burnett in the Teal and Blue (hehe-teal), but at what cost?

If things keep going the way they have, I think the M's need to find some other, creative ways of improving the team. Johjima was a good start, but the best way to improve the team may end up being through trades and finding some hidden talent. Any good ideas? I know Snave is good for a trade proposal or two.

It's good to be a closer

BJ Ryan gets 5 years, $47 million.
Billy Wagner gets 4 years, $43 million.
Good lord. Looks like picking up Eddie's $6 million option was a bargain. Lesson? Teach your son two nasty pitches and he'll be set for life. If you can make him left-handed, that's even better.

Also, Billy Beane decided Esteban Loaiza was a good idea. 3 years, $21+ million. There are some within the Mariner nation who thought Loaiza would have been good to go after. I think of all the pitchers out there, that could be the cheapest deal we're gonna see. I'm not crushed by the M's not getting Loaiza, but if they don't get Millwood or Burnett, and have to overpay for some chump like Jarrod Washburn, losing out on Loaiza is going to look worse.

Scratch off Delgado

MLB.com says Delgado has been dealt to the Mets

 

But....now this is juicy....the Boston Herald says Manny Ramirez is interested in coming to the Mariners. I love that on so many levels:

 

1) Manny is a beast and wouldn't have to play LF in Seattle

2) We'd be denying the Angels a Vlad-Manny middle of the order

3) Manny is hours of entertainment even if he doesn't hit.

 

If the only reason the M's aren't interested in Manny is that he's right-handed, that would annoy me. He has his issues, but he is still an elite hitter and I don't think you can pass up an opportunity to get someone like him.

 

Back to the real world....the Denver Post brings up the possibility of the M's and Rockies swapping Yorvit Torrealba and Larry Bigbie. I like that idea. Bigbie would be a nice 4th OFer to have. He didn't hit much after being traded to Colorado, but he put up decent numbers with Orioles. Plus he's a lefty. Maybe coming back to the AL would do him some good.

 

The Hot Stove has been preheated....

OK now that the first big moves of the offseason have been made, it's time to start coming up with outlandish rumors, trade proposals, and scenarios. The Johjima signing has me excited, so what better way to spend my lunch break than building the M's?

 

I propose to you, the Magic faithful, two scenarios for the Mariners offseason. Whether either of these are realistic is beside the point. I'm not factoring in money, years, players in a trade, or anything else that would actually give this site some credibility. This is all hypothetical. I leave it up to you to decide which you would prefer:

 

Scenario #1 (aka "The Power of Carlos"):

 

Trade for Carlos Delgado

Sign Esteban Loiaza

 

Scenario #2 (aka "The Arms Race")

 

Sign Kevin Millwood

Sign Matt Morris

Sign Jacque Jones

 

In scenario #1, the M's would have a sick lineup, a nasty bullpen, and mediocreish starting pitching. Flashes of the 2005 Red Sox and Yankees?

 

In scenario #2, you're looking at a solid lineup, good starting pitching, that same filthy bullpen, and great defense. Slightly resembles the 2001 M's.

 

So....put aside any "that could never happen" biases you may have, and tell us which scenario you would rather see. I'll make my choice in the comments section.

 

It's official

Johjima is a Mariner! 3 years, $16.5 million.

 

I don't know why, but this signing really has me excited. I think it's a creative and ballsy move on the part of the Mariners to fill a hole at position that was garbage for the team in 2005. Most important, they didn't have to sacrifice any prospects or draft picks. I suppose the argument against this singing is that it's a lot of money to spend on a guy who hasn't played a day in the majors. But you know what, I don't think Bavasi would make a move like this if they didn't really believe Johjima was the real deal. Big Bill has to be feeling the heat after the last two seasons, and if he didn't think this was a signing that would have an immediate impact I don't think he would have done it. I like the out-of-the-box approach here and am interested to see what else Bavasi has up his sleeve.

 

2006 lineup as of 11/22/05 (as I see it):

 

Ichiro RF

Reed CF

Beltre 3B

Sexson 1B

Ibanez LF

Johjima C

Lopez 2B

Morse? DH -Eeeeew.

Betancourt SS

 

They need one more bat. I like the Delgado trade possibility, but I have my doubts about whether that will happen. I've heard some Brad Wilkerson trade rumblings, that intrigues me for sure. Jacque Jones would fit in well too.

 

Now the real question is....where would you take Johjima in your fantasy draft?

Kenji Jojima

The TNT (I'm dynamite!) is reporting the M's are close to signing Japanese catcher Kenji Jojima. The beauty of this blog is that even though USSMariner et al have already put this out there, I don't think our regular readers frequent those blogs. So it's like we're breaking big news or something. I don't know a lot about Jojima except that he's got some pop and plays good defense. The deal is for 2 years, $8 million.

His English skills are lacking. Kenji you need to learn the following terms by March:

"Hum babe."
"Hey Vladimir-I've got some good pictures of your sister."
"Stop being such a baby Gil."

What's this all about?

Rob Neyer wrote a little something about his experience in Arizona today. This is an Insider article from ESPN, so you may not be able to access it. Most of the article isn't all that interesting, but there was one line that raised my eyebrows:

"I'm contractually prohibited from revealing anything I learned that might be particularly interesting -- for example, the reason the Dodgers weren't all that interested in re-signing Adrian Beltre a year ago.."

Wonder what that reason is. That doesn't make me feel too good about Beltre going into next season.

Random Notes

Here are some goings on (all from the Times-mainly b/c the stories have little depth so there's no point in getting them from a better paper):

Kenji Jojima and Matt Morris look to have varied levels of interest in coming to Seattle.

AJ Burnett too.

Ugueth Urbina is insane.

Wow.........Team option picked up for Ready Eddie

I didn’t think this would happen but the mariners exercised their club option on Eddie Guardado. It’s a one-year deal for 6 million plus. I don’t know if this is a good thing. I love that Eddie is back but for 6 million? I just don’t know if that is a smart move

Stand Pat to Stand Alone in Philly?

Its rumored, well really pretty much fact that former Mariner GM Pat Gillick has been hired as the new GM of the Phillies. This really isn’t surprising to at least this mariner fan. Its no secret he wants to be on the East Coast. I thought Pat did a good job for the mariners in bringing them to power in the late 90's early 2000's. However he did not really build for the future and that is something the mariners are paying for dearly now.
I wish him the best of luck and I am sure he will do well in Philly.