Ender

Good thing he didn't. 

Then why mention it lol. The M's have been abysmal for the past decade so it should be common knowledge.

the Angels have finished above the Mariners for the last 10 seasons.

Acting like that is some momentous feat or something to be proud of is interesting.

Wow.. Baker has hit Pujols, Freese and Kendrick all in a row

If ya can't beat em, kill em!

Right?

Apples and oranges. The Angels free agent signings have not worked out, but they are at least surrounded by other good players in the lineup. Cano is not.

And the Mariners prospects have not worked out as they had hoped. Shit happens.

Also, good players, that sure is subjective.

 

1. James Jones (L) CF

2. Jack Reinheimer ® 3B

3. Robinson Cano (L) 2B

4. Justin Smoak (S) 1B

5. Corey Hart ® DH

6. Nick Franklin (S) SS

7. Dustin Ackley (L) LF

8. Stefen Romero ® RF

9. Humberto Quintero ® C

 

Enjoy Seattle, Robby.

 

There are maybe 3 starters out of that entire line who will be in Seattle ... Corey Hart isn't actually in the line-up. Nick Franklin will not beat out Brad Miller @ SS. 

Can't say Anaheim has had much better success than the Mariners after their big splurges in Pujols and Hamilton. Pot calling the kettle etc.

Their prized pitching prospect, Taijuan Walker, is dealing with a sore shoulder himself and is behind schedule

Walker: "I'm fine. I got it checked out. I'm just taking it a little slower than everyone else. I'm still playing catch and everything."

Will monitor Walker situation, but #Mariners don't seem overly concerned. Sounds like he might be a session or two behind in throwing work.

It's nothing serious. And yes he is expected in the rotation.

The Mariners are doing a pretty terrible job this offseason. If they're gojng to go all in, then go crazy and sign Santana as well.

They're stuck in the middle where they won't suck like last year but aren't good enough to be close to a wild card spot.

I'd rather take my chances hoping Taijuan Walker lives up to his hype ... and Paxton performs well enough to be a great #4 (very possible I believe) ... Scott Baker can either be the #3 or #5 depending on how many innings they want to give Taijuan ( THIS IS ALL OBV CONTINGENT ON BAKER BEING ABLE TO PITCH COMPETITIVELY ).

I still think hoping on Baker is better than paying Santana.

There won't be any Jeremy Bonderman's, Henry Blanco's, Humberto Quintero's, Aaron Harang's, Kelly Shoppach's or Brendan Ryan's this year. 

Nope. He doesn't belong.

As an M's fan it blows my mind that Blake Beaven is mentioned as a top high school prospect on the last page ... especially the note about him touching 96 with a nasty slider. Don't think I've seen him throw anything faster than 91-92.

Where the **** did all that go Blake?

Weird that they would want Peterson. If I'm the M's I jump on that.

We'd lose our catcher and SS of the future ... for 2 years of Price.

Peterson is going to end up a 1B .... I'm assuming that is why.

No thanks.

I fully expect the Mariners to go hard on Tanaka. Everyone knows the M's love their Japanese players.

And its rumored they wanted Brad Miller, Mike Zunino, Luis Gohara and DJ Peterson (even though he was drafted last season?) from the M's.

This is what they wanted to keep Taijuan out of the mix.

If there is one thing that the Seattle fans and Angel fans can agree on it's .... **** The Yankees!

Well. At least the free agent pitchers should start falling in place now .... maybe.

Was pretty obvious the M's didn't think he would be able to continue his success against MLB hitters .... especially when he didn't receive a September call-up after his dominating Triple A stint last season.

Was always intrigued by him though ... wanted to see what he could do against MLB hitters. Gonna be tough hanging in the mid 80s but hey ... Jamie Moyer made a career out of it.

I guess they didn't see how bad he was playing LF in Seattle.

Small correction. He played RF mainly and god was it awful.

Also he will not last the whole season as he is ALWAYS hurt. His hamstrings are made of glass.

They may see Cruz as a cheaper option...hell, he WOULD be a cheaper option.

 

I don't see Choo getting close to the kind of money he's looking for, but then, he's a Boras client.

 

Choo would be a great piece for just about any team (including the Angels), but not for what he wants.

Definitely agree with that. His demands are going to have to come down I would believe.

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi 1m

Source: Mariners out on Choo but Cruz remains a possibility.

Not even a source ... he said "likely" out in his tweet meaning its his opinion. I don't see how picking up LoMo ($400k) and Hart ($5m / $13m) rules out going after Choo.

Though I do fear his price will indeed push the M's away.

He is a .700-.750 OPS player.  Not scared of him being in the division.

 

He is also injured a lot.  He is basically PBJ without the speed.

He is Justin Smoak's twin. Wouldn't be too worried either .... but we didn't truly give up that much to get him so I'm ok with it.

Morales is going to have to go back to Cuba to play.

No one is going to want to give up a draft pick for him.

Anyway ... Carter Capps has potential but MAN did he look broken last season for us. 

Hoping the M's keep LoMo out of the outfield though since he's basically a butcher out there. Then again we did field an outfield with Raul Ibanez and Mike Morse last season.

Good. Didn't want this guy, not even on a 1 year deal. We shouldn't be relying on guys who missed an entire season because of surgery on both his knees.

Apparently the video he put together of him resuming baseball activities was very impressive. He also has to pass a physical.

Pretty sure people can overcome injuries and still be useful players.

I think Corey Hart will do what he does .... strike out a ton ... walk a little bit ... and do damage when he connects.

And it also means that we most likely won't sign Cruz which is a WINNNNNNNNNNNNN!

Ender is the same one who was talking about how great Montero was as an everyday catcher at the beginning of the 2013 season.  

 

That explains a lot.  

Could luck finding me saying anything like that.

Ender does not fully represent what real baseball fans in the pac nw feel.  

 

Like most other markets, M's beat writers have always had to be careful with what they say or they risk getting blown off by the M's incompetent front office. 

 

Baker, the author of this article, just got a well-earned promotion in November for the Seattle Times, and is not longer exclusively attached to the Mariners for his job.  Any real M's fan is happy about this, and hopes it will accelerate Howard Lincoln's timely jettison from this club, and NO EXTENSION after this year for the ridiculous Jack Z.  

Oh I fully endorse Jack Z and Lincoln getting the boot.

I just don't like how this article comes out right before the Winter Meetings ... not that I really think it will have any greater effect on the Mariners struggles to land FA's or trades though.

I'm aware of Geoff Baker's investigative journalism promotion ... doesn't change the fact that I think he's a a douchebag. 

Wait, who's got an axe to grind?

And what do you want Baker to do, release this on Superbowl Sunday and hope no one reads it?

Both Wedge and Blengino have an axe to grind.

Blengino worked with Jack Z for how long with the Brewers? Why did he follow him to Seattle if he knew Jack Z didn't really listen to a word he said? Makes no sense to me. 

Blengino went from assistant to the GM to a part time writer on Fangraphs. I'd be mad too for being let go. 

My Geoff Baker comment ... meh. I just haven't liked him for a real long time.

I've got a lot of Ms fans buddies and have posted back and forth with them since the mid 90s on the old AOL Stats Inc boards and usernet..  The constant back and forth between the Howard and Chuck apologists and those who saw them as the root of all things evil in Seattle make the Scioscia wars seem very very mild.

I honestly didn't know Chuck and Howard apologists existed!

This is nothing new and confirms what us Mariner fans have heard for years. 

I also don't think everything Blengino said is true ... guy has an axe to grind. I do however believe Wedge .. even though he was a shitty manager. 

Chuck Armstrong is leaving ... Howard Lincoln hopefully follows soon after.

Every FO has its share of dirty laundry.Good luck to Wedge/Blengino ever getting another baseball job ... as I'm sure every other team who reads this will be wary of what they will do if they are ever eventually let go.

That and Geoff Baker is a douchebag. Waits until everyone is looking at the Mariners to release this article right before the Winter Meetings. He needs to ship his ass back to Toronto. I really hate the media ... not just baseball media ... pretty much all media.

Dave Cameron also sucks ... always comes across as a know it all arrogant asshole.

Jack Z has still built a pretty decent farm system ... it's not his fault that other teams "highly touted" prospects haven't really panned out (Smoak/Montero). Same with Ackley ... he was the consensus #2 pick in that draft.