According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, teams have claimed both Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez, contradicting earlier reports I'd heard that Washburn had passed through waivers. This happened on Tuesday, meaning that Seattle has until today to work out a trade with the claiming team or simply allow the players to be claimed. If the Mariners pull them back from waivers, it means that if Seattle tries to waive them again, it's irrevocable, and the claiming team can simply take the players (and their salaries) without compensation to Seattle.
Jose Vidro
14 August 2008
9 August 2008
uncorked a two-run bomb, showing the Ms that they were wise to bring him up and dump the punchless Jose Vidro.
Things are still in a state of flux with Balentien in the mix for CF starts, pushing Reed to play some first base (he DHed in last night game, an interesting choice) and hopefully diminishing the time that utilityman Willie Bloomquist takes away from the younger players.
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6 August 2008
other Mariners fans), since Seattle's housecleaning continues with the long-awaited designation of Jose Vidro for assignment. This gives the Ms 10 days to trade, release, or assign Vidro to the minors. Since they have no plans to bring him back up, it's doubtful they'd put him in Tacoma (and even more doubtful that he'd accept the assignment). It's even more doubtful that any team would take him on, at least at his current salary, anyway.
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31 July 2008
A few trades of note for Mariners fans--the ones made, the ones not made, and the ones made by other teams. Here are the Top 3 Seattle Deadline Stories:
1. Rhodes is now a Marlin. This was the guy everyone figured the Mariners would deal, and it came through. It makes complete sense, as the Mariners don't need Rhodes down the stretch, for a handful of lefty specialist innings, while the Marlins do. In return, Seattle gets Gaby Hernandez, a once-well-regarded starter who's scuffled at Albuquerque (where every pitcher scuffles), and he'll get a fresh start with Tacoma and the Mariners. He's nobody special, but Rhodes is an aging lefty in a one-year deal, so Lee Pelekoudas got who he could. Nice job, Lee.
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24 July 2008
are thinking of a swap that would not only rid the Ms of Washburn, they'd also get to dump anti-DH Jose Vidro, too. In return, the Ms would get Kei Igawa and a "B-level prospect," along with a salary swap that means the Yanks would eat a $7M difference in contracts. Kei Igawa has been a disappointment thus far, though some speculate that he's been suffering from the Bright Lights, Big City effect of pitching in the Big Apple. A move to a smaller market team, especially an Asian-friendly one like Seattle, with fellow J-ball players Ichiro and Kenji Johjima, might be just the thing for Igawa.
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19 July 2008
The AP is reporting the obvious, that Jose Vidro will lose time to the recently promoted Bryan LaHair at the DH spot, making me wonder (for the eleventy-millionth time) why he’s using up a roster spot at all. A backup DH? That’s about as useful as a left-handed monkey wrench, and about as valuable, too.
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17 July 2008
As I expected, Richie Sexson was signed by the one team in major league baseball who signs every single castoff, just in case he might turn it around in pinstripes: the Yankees. The temptation of that short porch in Yankee Stadium right field, combined with Sexson’s power potential, was too tempting to the team that claimed Jose Canseco off waivers in 2000, just to be sure he didn’t go to a division rival.
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11 July 2008
For my loyal readers, sorry for the hiatus, as I was out of town at a trade show.
So much to cover from while I was gone, including the two big NL Central pitcher trades (you might be surprised as to which one I think will have the bigger impact) and Tampa Bay suddenly falling into the tank (are Rays fans scared yet?). But I want to start with something near and dear to Mariners fans, especially those on this blog.
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6 July 2008
OF course, starting at DH last night and hitting fourth was Jose Vidro, with a comparatively robust .220/.268/.322—in the 2008 Mariners lineup, twenty-eight points of slugging is evidently the difference between fourth and eighth in the batting order. Superstinker Richie Sexson, hitting seventh, went into the night with a .222/.313/.377 line (which only looks awful until you note that his OPS is almost thirty points higher than it was two weeks ago), while the best slugger on the team, Adrian Beltre, had a swell-looking .253/.324/.449, and was hitting fifth.
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27 June 2008
I'm going to deliberately provoke the ire of my easily ire-provokable friend/reader Drano by using horse racing once again as a blog segue (blogue? Have I created a word here?) For those who aren't privy to our emails--which is anyone outside of the NSA, I suppose--Drano doesn't like that I've mentioned a failed Triple Crown in horse racing while utterly failing to mention the victory of his team in the exciting Stanley Cup that happened a few weeks back. His team . . . the Stanley Cup . . . darned if I can't remember the name of his team or the sport he follows so avidly . . . but anyway, on to horse racing and baseball . . .
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20 June 2008
The dominoes continue to fall in Seattle, as John McLaren was handed his walking papers yesterday, three days after GM Bavasi tried on his own pink slip. In some ways, this was handled better than the Mets’ embarrassing and insulting firing of Willie Randolph. At least McLaren wasn’t dangled for weeks before a midnight assassination, and there were suitably kind words for McLaren upon his dismissal, with new GM Lee Pelekoudas obviously distressed about having to fire his longtime friend and colleague.
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17 June 2008
Along with the rest of the Mariner community on this site (and Seattle fans across the NW) I've been howling for the head of Bill Bavasi, and that chorus of angry villagers only became more raucous as the Ms have stumbled to the worst record in baseball this season, and the siege on Castle Frankenstein had begun. Miraculously, Mariner management saw the light (or perhaps the flickering torches) and fired Bavasi yesterday, a move that began joyous celebrations across the tri-state area.
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5 June 2008
Well, it was all over ESPN last night, and the Seattle bloggers and sportswriters are buzzing about it: the normally cool-headed John McLaren lost his temper in yesterday's news conference. His Mariners are 18 games below .500 in spite of a $120M payroll, and they play like a team of Little Leaguers, or at least overpaid Little Leaguers who are just waiting for their candy bar and Gatorade at the end of the game. McLaren railed about how tired he was of losing, how tired his players are of playing hard but getting nothing for their efforts, and of how something was going to have to change--and soon.
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2 May 2008
three guys means they leave big holes, such as the one at DH, where they must rely on a sputtering Jose Vidro, who only was a steal when he could play 2B, something he hasn't done since coming to the Emerald City.
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