We jumped the gun a week and a half ago, but luckily so did everyone else. Now it is official:
Mariners Get:
LHP Erik Bedard
Orioles Get:
OF Adam Jones
LHP George Sherrill
RHP Chris Tillman
RHP Tony Butler
RHP Kameron Mickolio
Bleeding Blue and Teal now presents to you the newest member of the Seattle Mariners: ERIK BEDARD!
Erik Bedard comes as advertised; a potential Cy Young with a mid 90's fastball, a devastating breaking ball, and a will to win that will make him an instant favorite of the Mariner faithful. There were conversations earlier in the offseason about adding guys like Bedard and Silva but the chances of that actually happening looked pretty grim just a couple weeks ago.
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Kudos to Bill Bavasi who addressed this team's needs while managing not to sell the farm. Think about it, we are getting to keep Wlad Balentien, Brandon Morrow, Jeff Clement and Carlos Triunfel; I never gave a thought to the possibility of reeling in Santana or Bedard without seeing one or two of those guys leaving Seattle. Now, as far as our big league roster goes, we've acquired Bedard and Silva for Jones, Sherrill, and a Silva contract worth $48 million over four years. In a market where starting pitching is extremely hard to come by, I'd say that's a pretty good trade off.
I know I've been very critical of Bavasi over the last couple years, but he did an excellent job this offseason and he deserves a lot of credit.
The picture above says Mission Accomplished, but realize that although we've won a battle, we've yet to win the war. We now have the team we need to give the Angels a serious run for the division title or atleast to make a run at wildcard, which we managed to do last year until we fell off the face of the earth during the last month of the season.
It's a new season.
It's a new era.
It's an amazing time to be a Mariners fan.
23 comments:
Bavasi has left a lot of holes and I don't think he did a great job. He overpaid for Silva in which I believe we could have replaced his talent level easily with Morrow or Rowland-Smith in the rotation. I also think he didn't make any moves to help this team offensively, the Cairo signing is non-sensical, we have a giant problem with power and outfield defense, and Wilkerson isn't the answer. If he wants to win now, really would have liked to see him go out and get that big bat we need. We're still starting this season with Sexson at first...and he let Guillen and Broussard go (Broussard could have been the answer in RF if we'd kept him for cheap) - I'd like him and Wilky platooning - or he could have offered Jose arbitration. I don't hate THIS trade, but I don't think he did well this offseason.
You cannot replace Silva with Morrow. Morrow is relatively unproven, and hasn't pitched more than 3 and 1/3 innings since coming to the majors. There is no way he can pony up in one off-season and condition himself to look like a #5 pitcher, or a 4 pitcher, like Silva. There is no way Morrow or RRS could be #5 starters this year.
This is a great trade. We keep the likes of Morrow (developing future starter), Clement, Balentien, Triunfel, Saunders, etc. (good prospects). We lose really one prospect in Tillman, and a CF who won't develop into a star while with the Mariners (Jones).
Welcome to Seattle, Erik Bedard!
Would we have liked to have upgraded on offense? Absolutely. The fact of the matter is that it is not realistic to expect any team to acquire a stud pitcher and a stud bat in a single offseason; especially if your not one of the 5 or 6 big money teams. So for all intents and purposes, we had to make a decision on one or the other. I think we all know that the most glaring need of this team was a number one starting pitcher and, quite frankly, a guy who could do a nice job deeper in the rotation. We fell apart last year at the end of the season because the bullpen was overworked due to horrific starting pitching. Our offense last year, while not entirely explosive, was still among the best in the AL.
Also, Safeco field is a pitchers park and a power hitter's nightmare. This further pads the decision to go after a starting pitcher rather than a power bat.
ABOUT TIME!! Wooo
Patrick: I wouldn't say we didn't have the money or resources to acquire a bat; they just wasn't anything all that great available. Sure, they could have done better, but they could have done much worse. Bavasi could have paniced and traded for a much lesser pitcher.
Our offense was horribly streaky and had zero plate patience. Our batting average may have been among the best, but our power (Even away from home) and OBP was awful. Our OF defense was dismal with Raul and Guillen and we did nothing to fix that.
You cant do it all in one offseason Scott.
Slowly the puzzle is coming together. This year we should be really, really close. We may even get in despite some of our shortcomings. Otherwise, we'll be able to focus more on offense and defense while the Angels continue to age. I wouldn't be surprised if we're the favorite next year, depending on what we do.
Just look at how difficult this deal was to pull off... I can't imagine how crazy it would have been to try and make other deals happen over the last month or two around this Bedard thing. It was a mess.
Baby steps...
Finaly! I seriously hope we never deal with the o's again.
Hey Jon, how many roster spots does this open? im assuming it's only one on the 25 man roster, but what about the 40? And who do you think takes these spots?
there should only be one 25-man spot, as discussed before. Off the top of my head, it would make most sense fore either Reitsma or Rhodes to take a 40-man spot should they prove healthy.
I won't dive into it now, but I guarentee this will be discussed in the coming weeks.
Guys: Listen, before you get all gooshy over Bedard, take it from this Oriole's fan:
He's made of glass. He is great when he can pitch, but he breaks down every year. In my opinion, your team just got robbed blind (they overpaid). The O's get Jones for six years (and with it an outfield that is really good with Markakis in Right and Scott in left), a closer in Sherill, a high pitching prospect in Tillman, and two young MLers who throw in the 90's.
To be frank, O's fans are giggling and doing backflips by and large. Thanks to the M's and Astros, we just redeveloped our Minor league system to compete in the AL East in two to three years. from our perspective, things are wonderful.
Be excited about Bedard, but be warned. He's not as great as you all seem to think.
We're aware that we "got robbed." You sort of have to overpay to get pitching nowadays, whether it's via trade or free agency.
We could have spent the last few weeks and months complaining about the guys we may lose, because we are still bummed about losing them, but at this blog we try to find the positive. Bedard is going to be exciting to watch.
We've got some decent minor league depth, too, which I may get into in the next couple of days.
I love the O's fans! I remember reading through their little blogs about all the prospects their going to get.
"Bedard for Jones, Clement, Truinfel, and one or two other prospects would be ok."
HA. How did that trade go?
How about all the prospects you were going to get from the reds?
Didn't happen.
Sure, in Comparison to the Santana deal the m's gave up allot, but in no way were robbed. The fact is we just got one of the best pitchers in the bigs. Go enjoy Jones because he's good, and go try and start a pointless fight somewhere else.
To the O's fan: I actually have watched Bedard mature over the last few years as I live about 40 minutes from Baltimore. He has gotten better basically every season and he is entering the prime of his career. Many disagree with me here, but all things considered, I really don't think we overpaid. This was absolutely NECESSARY and we got to keep a bunch of guys who we thought we wouldn't be able to keep.
Hey guys. You know I'm an O's fan. I know you guys gave up a lot of good stuff in this deal, so I'm really excited about it. The good news for you guys, besides Bedard, IMHO, is that you still have sooooo much stashed away down on the farm, ready to help the team in the coming years. Now that I am so much more intimately aware of guys like Clement, Triunfel, Morrow, Balentien, etc., I'm really going to be following these players and I really hope they are everything you hope they can be.
I really belive that this is a great deal for both teams.
When Bedard it right he just flat out makes batters look goofy, which is so much fun to watch. And even when he's not all the way right he'll still (it seems) manage to put up a quality start.
Living out here in Western Washington, I love the fact that I can pick an M's game at random and have a 40% chance of seeing Bedard or Felix on the mound.
Yes Bedard has had his duribility issues, but most of that, IMO, has been pretty flukey stuff. Two years ago he pitched 196 innings in 33 starts. He should have been over 200 that season, but he was still nibbling around the plate too much. Last year he was worlds better, was way out in front in the MLB strikeout race prior to suffering an oblique strain that he would have been able to pitch through if the O's had had anything to play for. Statistically speaking, he was actually better than Santana last year, and I don't really see any reason why he won't be just as good next year.
Best of luck to the M's and their fans, and if you see a guy wearing O's gear at a random M's/Twins (or insert any other opponent name here) game, it'll probably be me, so say "hey".
Uh-oh.
One thing I just heard on ESPN that should scare the hell out of Mariner fans...
Steve Phillips just said that the M's are clearly the team to beat in the AL West.
again, I say, Uh-oh.
(insert winking emoticon)
Topher: The Orioles would not trade for Clement because they have that position covered. They got plenty in this deal without the need for more. As for the Reds, I note how the present trade with the M's went from three players to five when their name got raised in the mix.
Gee, I wonder why?
As for your theory regarding a "fight," I have no grudge with the M's, or their fans (though they have too many signs in the stands during games, which is cheesy), and save my on-line fights for Yanks and BoSox fans.
Hate to break it to you.
Hahaha the signs are mostly a function of "Rally Fries" and hopefully that 2007 tradition will continue right on into 2008. I had a rally fry sign at a game in Baltimore last year lol.
Gee I wonder why? You must work for the front office and know exactly whats going on, right?
Yes, you got good players, and no ones denying that, but the players mean more to the o's than to the m's.
"a closer in sherill", he will be the best pithcher in your bull pen, but thats because your pen sucks.
Jones, and the prospects you got a very good players, but only Jones was going to see the majors this year and probably next year.
I'm also well aware that you have another catching prospect, but you cant deny that most of your fellow fans were drooling over him as well as Truinfel.
I see this trade as a win win. We got are ace, and got to keep most of best prospects, and the o's got some prospects that will help them more than us.
Please, don't don't come on to a blog with the name "bleeding blue and teal" and say things like "your team just got robbed blind" and "they have too many signs in the stands during games, which is cheesy" and expect a real conversation.
It is pretty sad that you get in " on-line fights for Yanks and BoSox fans." Do you not have many friends or a life? Sad.
You guys are getting into a stupid fight. You have to look at it this way:
the Orioles got several pieces that they needed, for someone that wasn't vital to the progression of thier franchise. They are rebuilding, they traded a stud for a bunch of very nice prospects. Nice move, Baltimore.
The Mariners traded their current right fielder, likely setup man and 3 pitching prospects for a top of the rotation arm. Jones was the toughest to give up, since we don't have any great options in RF. Other than that, the other four pitchers were very good but not all that valuable to us. As far as Mickolio and SHerrill go, we have good bullpen depth and can work around it. As far as Tillman and Butler go, they wouldn't be a part of this team for a few more years. We have some other great pitching prospects and a lot of young major league ready pitchers waiting for a chance. Seattle needed an ace, we got one without giving up more than 1 top-of-the-line prospects. good trade, seattle.
Topher: Wow, I see the rain has turned you into the Prince of Darkness. I have a funny feeling that if we had a popularity contest, you would come out on bottom.
Regardless, your hostility, being a fan of a team that has been to, let me check, oh yes ..... zero World Series is understandable.
The answer to your question is no, the O's did not want Clement because they already have a prospect for that position. They are rebuilding for what they lack, not what they already have. Triunfel would have been nice, but pitching is the key in the AL east, and the bigger thing to acquire is pitching, which the O's got in return.
The O's BP actually has Chris Ray, who is hurt this year, so Sherill hardly qualifies as the "best" pitcher the O's have in their BP (and their Minors are stocked with guys who are just as good or better), but it provides a cushion to allow their talent to develop.
As for the fact your team got robbed blind, well, they did. The O's squeezed out two more players, that in my opinion represent an overpayment (both great prospects with good velocity, though Jon has a point that they might not figure too much in the grand scheme of things for the M's). Bleeding your team's colors is one thing, letting it blind you to reality is something else. I simply don't think Bedard was worth the players traded in the long run, and I have no doubt you will discover this for yourself in the near future.
As for fighting with BoSox and Spankee fans, how quaint that you see this as an on-line activity. Try attending an AL East game in NY with an O's hat on, and then get back to me. Bleeding your team's colors takes on a whole new meaning.
^
anon,
Chris Ray sucks! George Sherrill is so much of an upgrade at closer. Hopefully, when Ray is healthy again somebody like James Hoey or Dennis Sarfate will have taken claim over the closer's role and MAYBE Ray will be able to settle in as a middle reliever.
OR, if we don't flip Sherrill at the deadline for another piece, like maybe our future everyday SS, he may just make a fine long term closer that's still around when the rebuild starts to pay off, we do have him under control for 4 more years.
Again, IMHO, great trade for both teams.
PS.
It makes no difference that we have Wieters waiting in the wings at the Catcher position.
If you have the chance to add Jeff Clement to your team, you do that.
I was salivating at the possibility. If Wieters turns out to be as good as everyone thinks he'll be, then we could've easily flipped Clement to fill a need.
Lets not turn this sight into ussm or prospect insider.
I like this deal. Does our offense have some holes? Yes, but I expect Sexson to pick up the slack of losing Jose Guillen. There's no way he plays that bad again. Plus, if you have good pitching, you'll always give yourself a chance to win a game. Look at last year's D-backs. They had possibly the worst offense in the league, but were 4th in the NL in ERA and ended up w/ the NL's best record.
Our improved pitching will make up for lack of offense. I think that for this season, Silva is a better pick than Morrow for #4 or 5 starter. Morrow really wore down towards the end last season. I don't see him going from reliever to full-time starter over 1 offseason. Silva and Bedard are 100 times better than who they're replacing(Weaver and Ramirez)It should be a good season and I think we'll push for the wild card.
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