Don't like this news, if healthy as a lefty for a start..very useful even if not in the closer role.

Don't like it either.

Can anyone explain this to me? It's not as though we have a proven closer to replace him. Soriano's availability and effectiveness are still uncertain. Doesn't compute.

I would say they are seeing something they don't like after the surgery?

It makes perfect sense... what rebuilding team has an eperienced closer. None. Declining Guardado's option gives us more money to go after offense. If we some how are competative, many closers are available at the trade deadline.

I agree with the jist of Stephen's point. If I recall correctly, the option is about $4.5 million (someone who knows for sure please correct me). As much as I like Guardado, the M's can't afford a top-of-the-line closer without proof that they'll have games to close. The $$$ can be better used in allocation towards offense and other needs as things unfold.

I don't like reading this bad news, M's need Guardado in the bullpen as their closer next season if he's all healed up. We want Eddie Guardado back now!

The Mariners website says that by declining his option, they avoid paying him $6 million next year. He can still claim his option, which would keep him on the mariners at his salary last year, about $4 million.

The way it works is there is a mutual option (team and player). If the team had picked up their option, Guardado would get $6 mill. He now has ten days to decide whether he wants to become a free agent or exercise his player option, which will give him $4 mill.

This could be good. I definately don't want Eddie to go, but if we can keep him for $2 mill less, all the better. If we lose him, then that just plain sucks. I don't know what other teams would pay for Eddie, but if he doesn't find anything better, he still could be a Mariner. He's said that he likes Seattle. I'm crossing my fingers that he exercises his option.

I've seen stuff both ways on this topic. In some places I've seen that, given his recent injury trouble, there is no way he'll get more than the M's option (his player option, that is). I've also seen other reports that indicate, due to the high demand for good left-handed relievers, he'll likely decline the option and go elsewhere. Guess we'll wait and see. Either way, $6M was too much for next year given the possibility that his injuries linger.

He's technically a free agent right now. I'm not sure whether this means he can talk to other teams or not. If he can't talk to other teams about financial terms (as is currently the case with other free agents), I'd be surprised if he doesn't exercise his option. If I were him, I'd be nervous about going on the open market coming off of injury and would take the (somewhat generous) offer from the M's.

hmm..... whatever they r gunna suck anyways

I have mixed feelings about this move....I mean you look around the league and alot of teams have closers who are effective for cheap. Danny Kolb, Fransisco Cordero, Joe Nathan, and a few others...My thinking is if we can bring him back at 4 mill the M's would be content with that. If not i think they feel J.J Putz did a good enough job to compete this spring for the job. When he was converted to closer his ERA was considerably lower than it was when he was in middle releif. I think paying over 3 million a year for a guy who only pitches one inning a game is absurd. I understand the closer job is tough...but closers can be found easier than say a 3rd basemen who can hit over .210....i say we spend this money elsewhere and hold a competition this spring with Putz and a few other for the closer job.

This is as expected. Mariners expects Eddie to exercise his options and pays him 4 million instead of 6 millions. I think he would since it would be hard for other team to sign him at this point not knowing his injury condition.

When considering the value of closers, there are a few names that should be kept in mind:

Schooler, Ayala, Charlton, Slocumb, Rhodes

I'm sure that there are several others, but I don't have the initiative to think of them right now. If you're not convinced by the above list, I doubt there is any list of closers that would convince you. We may have become a bit spoiled over the last couple of years.

As I gaze into my crystal ball, I see Eddie Guardado in Minnesota, looking like a "Twinkie."

If Eddie gets a better offer, then I fully expect him to take it. Won't bother me much either way. I still don't know if we have 13, 15, 20, 30, or -5 million in the bank.

But you have to think that other teams are going to be a little fearful of picking up Eddie now...I mean if he is healthy than why would the M's decline the option? If he's not healthy this makes perfect sense. And remember although he has supposedly being throwing well - there is still evidence of a frayed rotator cuff, that's not just miraclously going to go away...

I read somewhere (sorry I don't remember where) that Anaheim isn't going to bring Troy Percival back. The same article mentioned him coming to Seattle as a set-up guy for Guardado. Sounds pretty crazy to me... Wouldn't Percival have a pretty hefty contract?

An extra 4-6 million would be nice to go out and get Beltran and Beltre though. I am not surprised at all by this move, I do however expect him to sign back with us. Whatever happened to Soriano? Is he still injured? I thought he could be a good closer. Either way, unless we can spend 40 million in the offseason (very unlikely) we wont be competing for the playoffs next year. So, it doesnt matter. His absence could just help us get a higher draft pick for the following year.

What is really intersting is that Matt posted recently in the previous blog that the most recent Mariner's mailbag is reporting now that they only have 12-15 million to spend on FA...this corresponds with the news that the M's are declining Guardado's option...I am now genius but when you decide to take on an option that has been usually been part of budget projections - shouldn't it mean that you add money to the total available, not subtract...

Hey, Mike, this is off topic, but the P-I is so much better than the Times. I sent a letter to Mr. Finnigan regarding his controversial article, and got this back:

dc, i'll write to you one time, but thats it, mr genius.
youve got 10 signed at 57 mill, and you used the word likely on wilson at 1 m, villone at 1.5 m. no way, mr g. but still you bring back those five at 8-10 mill. and youve still only got 15 under contract, mr. g. where you going to get the other 10, mr. g? all those other nos you dispute are from ms sources, so you can dispute them all you want, g, and theyre still eating up budget, mr. g.
you got 13-15 mill to spend on new guys.
dont bother writing me again. go rip someone else just because you dont agree with what is written. i will not even open your mail after your insulting msg.
see ya, mr. g

----
This is why I will always trust the P-I better.

Finnigan can't even write.

I hope Percival doesn't come here. He'll probably be pretty expensive and he's not the same guy he once was. I doubt Anaheim would want Percy either, considering they've been grooming K-Rod for the closer role.

The thing was, this was my letter:

Mr Finnigan:

I would like to see verificatoin of some of these statements.
"A handful of veterans, including free agents Dan Wilson and Ron
Villone, whom the Mariners want back, will cost about $10 million"

Dan Wilson, Ron Villone, Jolbert Cabrera (1.5 million), Miguel Olivo,
and Gil Meche will not under any circumstances make 10 million dollars
combined. More like 5-7 million dollars. Dan Wilson is likely to be
signed for 1 million, Villone for 1.5, Olivo for around a half million,
and Meche, IF he comes back, for 3 million. This adds up to 6 million
dollars.

Try to remember that we are not paying Jarvis's 4.5 million. We are
paying his BUYOUT, which is .5 million.

Even yourself, on October 7th, admitted that we have $20-22 million,
which is much closer to the real picture. I am offended that you would
publish 2 vastly different figures within one month regarding salaries.
This is yellow journalism and severely tarnishes the reputation of the
Seattle Times. Get the facts before you publish facts.

David J Corcoran.

He probably responded that way to you because he probably got numerous emails about his "articles".

This is a good move by the Mariners..If he decides to leave, so what. He is not your classic closer. He did get hit at times and blew some saves. If he stays, good too. He can be a setup man or closer IF we need him to be. I think he will not take find any takers over $4mil...so we just saved $2mil!

Does anyone actually believe that they'll spend the $2M that they just saved?

Yea, he blew a quarter of his fricken saves this year. If he leaves Im happy, if he stays then he had better earn his money this year.

My previous post was rhetorical. Don't bother responding.

Mfan, Im just thrilled that the owners just put 2 million into their pockets, I could care less about the team! ;)

Farmer,
Finegan is hardly an accurate source of info. I get more from this site than his articles. I have to gag when they have him on the pre-game shows with his son Rich Waltz on FSN...I wrote him last year for making a idiot of himself on National Fox Radio during any interview. The host even said , "that was the worst interview I ever had"!

I like Larry Stone or read the the TNT...

At best the mariners will pay Eddie 4.5 million in 2005. Worse case being having to find a second lefty to replace Eddie not to mention someone else as an option to close.

The M's are taking to Eddie. He flaked out this year, he must have known he had a shoulder problem. Though he was a prankster, the prank may be on him being a flake. The M's will see if his veins run with the Mariner blood, 4 or 6, you call it Eddie.

http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sea/news/sea_news.jsp?ymd=20041101&content_id=908827&vkey=news_sea&fext=.jsp

YES!!! Bavasi declines Guardado's option. I have know doubt that he will end up excercising his $4M option, so we just saved at least $2M right there alone!

"I was hurt, so what are they going to do? That's the price that comes with being hurt. No one wants to pick up a $6 million option on a guy who was hurt."

Guardado said he would talk to his agent before entering the free agent market, but predicted he would return to the Mariners next season.

"We'll see what happens. When I talked to [general manager Bill Bavasi] today he said he would love to have me back and that's what I wanted to hear," Guardado added. "I'm not upset at all. If I had pitched well all season, put up good numbers and they didn't pick up the option, then I'd be upset.

"But this situation is different because of the injury and I understand that."

Bavasi said he hopes Guardado returns to Seattle next season and the move basically gives the team at least $2 million more to shore up other areas.

I think it's all about tact:

"I am offended that you would
publish 2 vastly different figures within one month regarding salaries.
This is yellow journalism and severely tarnishes the reputation of the
Seattle Times. Get the facts before you publish facts."

Reading the last bit of your letter to Mr. Finnigan, I probably would get irate, too. It's a bit confrontational, and accusational ("yellow journalism") and that's probably what triggered his comments. Also -- don't hold Mr. Finnigan accountable to perfect grammar and syntax in his e-mails. It's not a formal communication method, and I think we all know that he's getting bombarded with e-mail from this article. It's truly honorable of him to take the time to respond period to any of us, let alone people he might not like very much. I'll give him credit for that one.

I was just as irate as you when I wrote him, but tried to really keep my anger out of it as much as possible. He even responded to my follow-up question, and I'm going to compile our discussion and post it somewhere for all to see. I'll try and get this online tonight.

I have a little more of a sense of where BF is coming from now, but I still agree that he could use some help in his reporting skills. So, before you start calling ME "Pocket Lint's Pocket Lint", I'll just say that I still disagree with Finnigan and the information he reported. It's flat out WRONG! And I also agree that the PI kicks the Times' @55!!!!!

This was a GOOD decision by Bavasi, and Guardado knows it too! That's why Eddie stated "That's the price that comes with being hurt. No one wants to pick up a $6 million option on a guy who was hurt."

Two things:

1. We just saved a guaranteed $2M extra this offseason; and

2. If Eddie signs elsewhere we save a total of $6M! Then Putz will be our closer until Soriano returns in Late July or early August! We put that extra money toward beefing up our offense even more.

If Guardado ends up signing elsewhere, then Villone will end up staying with the M's.

We do have a number of lefty's available for our bullpen:

Sherrill (a definite!)
Thornton
Williams
Villone (I'm sure he'll resign)
Blackley (He's A LOT better than his 2004 MLB debut/performance)

And I'm sure that after we learn we saved 2 million by not picking up Guardado's contract, the available money for the offseason becomes 9-12 million.

This was a no brainer for management. After all, Guadado was damaged goods and had semi tough accomplishments for our Mariners last year for the bucks he signed for. THEN to give him a guaranteed contract for an IFY arm that did not get operated to assure all what was what seems to me a prudent decision on Bavasi's part.

Bottom line: IF Guadado FEELs he is a "Mariner" and his arm is good enough THEN the ball is in his court to prove it with dignity. He don't get a free meal in other words at our behest. He has to PROVE himself and be willing to want to. Gosh, real ethical decision making management is asking instead of overpaying yet another Vet as if on WELFARE for the RICH. Bush league you might say.

This was a no brainer for management. After all, Guadado was damaged goods and had semi tough accomplishments for our Mariners last year for the bucks he signed for. THEN to give him a guaranteed contract for an IFY arm that did not get operated to assure all what was what seems to me a prudent decision on Bavasi's part.

Bottom line: IF Guadado FEELs he is a "Mariner" and his arm is good enough THEN the ball is in his court to prove it with dignity. He don't get a free meal in other words at our behest. He has to PROVE himself and be willing to want to. Gosh, real ethical decision making management is asking instead of overpaying yet another Vet as if on WELFARE for the RICH. Bush league you might say.

This was a no brainer for management. After all, Guadado was damaged goods and had semi tough accomplishments for our Mariners last year for the bucks he signed for. THEN to give him a guaranteed contract for an IFY arm that did not get operated to assure all what was what seems to me a prudent decision on Bavasi's part.

Bottom line: IF Guadado FEELs he is a "Mariner" and his arm is good enough THEN the ball is in his court to prove it with dignity. He don't get a free meal in other words at our behest. He has to PROVE himself and be willing to want to. Gosh, real ethical decision making management is asking instead of overpaying yet another Vet as if on WELFARE for the RICH. Bush league you might say.

This was a no brainer for management. After all, Guadado was damaged goods and had semi tough accomplishments for our Mariners last year for the bucks he signed for. THEN to give him a guaranteed contract for an IFY arm that did not get operated to assure all what was what seems to me a prudent decision on Bavasi's part.

Bottom line: IF Guadado FEELs he is a "Mariner" and his arm is good enough THEN the ball is in his court to prove it with dignity. He don't get a free meal in other words at our behest. He has to PROVE himself and be willing to want to. Gosh, real ethical decision making management is asking instead of overpaying yet another Vet as if on WELFARE for the RICH. Bush league you might say.

Please notice that above the post button it says do not hit more than ONCE.

Geez. Is it that hard to understand? And don't blame your computer!! ;-)

That was a no-brainer decision not picking up his option. He isn't worth 6 million to this team. Even 4.5 million is a lot of a reliever.

If he leaves in free agency, it would not be that big of a deal. Putz was acceptable, and will probably be better next year. Nageotte could have a future as a closer also. One thing that the team learned last season is that they have some decent young relievers.

Anyhow, I bet that Guardado picks up that option. By the way, it is not a matter of him getting a better offer from another team. He and his agent have to bet that they will get a better offer. No other teams can negotiate with him until he turns down the option and elects to become a free agent. So it would be a big gamble for him to walk away from the M's.

The thing that he has going for him is that this crop of free agent closers is really weak. He might be able to get a similar offer from another team. However, his contract has a lot of incentives and little perks that other teams might not want to give him. So it might not be simply a matter of him getting equal money or a bit more cash.

Who knows how this one will go down.

you might sat that is a no brainer, Boonie Fan!

I guess if you have a dial up connection that it is a loooonnnnggg wait for your post to load. It's a long wait with cable.

I can see how you might think it's not working.

Patience.

We can only hope that Guardado follows this up by declining his option. Steve Kline would be a vastly superior lefty out of the pen, and Kline isn't returning to St. Louis.

J

Steve Kline will most certainly be going to the Yankees. I dont see how they wont offer him mucho dinero

Nice post Jerry! I have know doubt that he will exercise his option. Like he stated in that article..."why would any team gamble on an injured player?". Also, he still has a team/player option in 2006 as well for $7M ($4.5M player option) with add'l $1M closer bonuses. NO WAY does he walk away from that! If he does that's just $15M over the course of the next 2yrs that he just walked away from with the M's...meaning the M's would allow Putz and Soriano (when back) to duke it out for the closer role for cheap in 2005 & 2006 & beyond...and we can spend the $15M on add'l offense.

Side note about Guardado: Isnt there a chance that he may miss the first month or two of next season too? If that is a possibility, then ABSOLUTLEY it is a no brainer for the M's - and they would be NO doubt that Guardado would excercise his option

I thought they said he would be ready for ST, but you know how that goes.

I never really warmed up to Eddie. Maybe if they had left Shigge as closer he might not have gone into the toilet like he did. He was sure good in 2003.

Old Pocket Lint has been irrelevant for years; hence the nickname. he lost all credibility a long time ago.

it does make one wonder though, not about how much the M's can spend on payroll next year, but how much they will spend?

Mariner fuzzy math, where $8M in Sazaki money winds up being $52.48 without a dime being spent. $25+M of new player budget that was supposedly out there is being talked down to $701.35 by a known Mariner mouthpiece.

I'm holding back on my decision on how much [if any] investment I will make in this team next year. The Mariners have made this all about the money, and two can play that game.

It's all pretty simple: make good investments in the team, and I will invest in you. Play it "business as usual", and I invest $0.

The ball's still in your court, Howard. Talk is cheap. Show me or shut up.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

i am going to hit post ten times, just to be a jackass.

lol...one thing I forgot to add in the above diatribe: this was the right move with Eddie.

Well, itch, if you set low goals for yourself you are bound to succeed. Keep up the good work.

So this frees up at least 2 mil more.

Let's see how the management and Finnigan spin this into how it's really only $1.30.

The more I think about it, the more I hope that Guardado doesn't come back. The M's need to be building a team for 2006 and beyond. Developing a closer is not that hard. We have a 'servicable' option in Putz right now, and he will probably be better after another year. Nageotte's stuff if well-suited to closing. And Soriano might be able to close when he gets back. Plus, Taylor might surprise us when he is fully healthy. That guy throws really hard, and could develop into a solid closer or setup man.

Even if these guys don't pan out, the M's could always try to pick up someone like Jorge Julio. He could provide a little insurance at closer or be the righty setup guy.

The M's have a lot of decent young relievers. This is a good place for them to skimp. Then they could invest a lot more in position players. This $4.5 million is basically the difference between JD Drew and Carlos Beltran or between Vizquel and Renteria.

All this is just talk because the choice ultimately lies with Guardado. But either way, it will not be a big loss. Guardado is a good player and a good guy, but the M's could spend that cash on other things. If he stays, it is just one less thing that they will need to address down the road.

Right on guys, there is two ways to look at it. Even if we save that money, it will vanish without a trace anywayz and never be spent. I want Guardado gone, cuz as someone else said first, he blows more games than most closers. Hell, even Charlton or Slocumb didn't blow as many games as every week Eddie does. He only looks good cuz his ERA was in the mid 3's

Declining Eddie's option makes financial sense for the organization. Save money where you can. Rebuilding teams have had success with young closers. Atlanta did it all the time before they put Smoltz down there. If Eddie is smart he will take his option because it is the best deal he can get being injured. He did not have surgery on his arm, he had it on his knee. The word was that the shoulder soreness was caused by bad mechanics from the knee injury. If this was the case, the normal wear and tear of a season will make him change his mechanics again and most likely lead to an even worse injury than the last. This is smart baseball from the M's. I just hope this also means they are ready with plan b in Putz.

Johnny Damon on letterman right now.Talkin bout'Yanks.

Didn't Whitey Herzog once say something like: When building a team, start with a great closer. Shorten the game, give the other team only 24 outs... Didn't the Mariners learn anything from the past? Pitching and defense wins baseball games. What good is offense if you have a bullpen that resembles some of the pitiful M's pens of the 1990s? Will we trade another up and coming young player for two mediocre relievers? Why spend more money for starters when the bullpen will blow the lead? This move does not make sense!

I knew I saw the quote somewhere. Thank you Bill Bavasi.

“I know we will have some arguments in the future about his (Bobby Madritsch’s) role,” Mariners G.M. Bill Bavasi says. “Whitey (Herzog) always said to build a staff from the back – start with a closer so you can play your 27 outs vs. their 24. Bobby seems to have the mental makeup to close.”

I dont like this..yet another blunder by bavasi Id say

With or without Eddie, the numbers are looking a lot like the past few years in terms of what is left to spend on new players. As usual, the amount seems to be getting less and less as key figures are released. Those outside the M's organization that can do basic math are seeing the M's going down a path that has pretty much been the norm the past few years. Management hasn’t been willing to spend money building the team short term. Not that they have to match Steinbrenner’s spending, but with huge fan and municipal support Seattle has, they could very well afford add $10M or more to their player salary budget for a few years. What personally irks me more when I see this “cheapness” trend is what I read a over a year ago about the Mariners making more profit than ANY other baseball team including the Yankees. Of course the Mariner's PR machine disputed those figures immediately. They knew the fans would start adding up the numbers and realize the pure greed of the ownership group. This last year might have meant a reduction in revenue for the Mariner's organization given the poor performance of the team, but do they really expect the public to believe they lost money? The jig is up!

Looks like Bavasi is going after Troy Percival and Troy Glaus.Heavanns to mergaTROY.

, pls send your pleas for media outrage to a columnist. asa reporter i can only print facts or what i believe to be true or accurate. as to your figs, moyer made his incentives, ms spend about 2 mill of 8 mill sasaki money and linc said the rest cannot be carried over. by the b y, lincoln is one tough biz/bottomline guy. i cant think of an argument short of disappearing attendance that will move him, and that is certain to move him to cut budgets. bob f

-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Tue 11/2/2004 1:54 AM
To: Bob Finnigan
Cc:
Subject: Mariners-your article today

I thought that Jamie Moyer was only getting $2 million because he didn't
make his incentives.

Where did the Mariners squander the $9 million from Sasaki?

And, Boston put out $150 million in salaries. Of the 25 players on
their world series roster, 16 of them were acquired in the last two
years. Why aren't the Mariners putting out a similar effort?

We the fans, can do only so much with our letters to the Mariners and
our non-attendance at the games. We need you sportswriters to
constantly attack the Mariners lack of positive action. If
Lincoln-Armstrong had any pride at all, they'd be ashamed of their
greed.

Gee, he's much nicer when you don't accuse him of being a lying yellow journalist.

My response was very similar. Sorry I haven't posted it yet. Mrs. Positive hasn't been so positive about letting me escape to my cave lately, and I had to chose between blogging and filling out my absentee ballot last night (I obviously chose the latter). Time's been a luxury, even at work, as I'm trying to pry myself away from the blogs and getting back to my REAL job...

I will say that from my e-mail and from Vladina's that we do have to keep in mind that Finnigan is the wrong man to target for certain things. Certainly, he needs to be called out for his inaccurate information, but he's not like Steve Kelley or Art Thiel, in that he can only write the facts as he's been fed, and he doesn't have the luxury of opining on them.

Now back to the topic...

I'd be OK with Guardado finding a different team, and OK if he stayed, provided he's healthy. It's a huge risk, but the M's were totally expected to decline their option on him. I'd say there's a 70% chance he returns, possibly higher. His Buhner-esque presence in clubhouse is truly something this team needs, and he's a veteran that can carry this bullpen on his shoulders.

As far as his 2nd-half performance and the number of blown saves -- obviously it's because of his injury. He's been one of baseball's most consistent closers before then, and he shows no signs of declining (other than the injury). Clearly his value to the team next season hinges on how he recovers from his knee surgery and how strong he becomes.

At issue, really, then, is whether or not this team needs such a valuable piece, when in all likelihood, they'll continue down the path of cheapness and build a non-contending team. So, if they only are a 65-70 win team, how many save opportunities are the M's going to give their closer next season, no matter WHO it is???

But, then again, when has Lincoln ever done anything logical? I definitely don't expect him to do anything this year...

fan from the start:

"Looks like Bavasi is going after Troy Percival and Troy Glaus.Heavanns to mergaTROY"

Not quite sure what that means, but I think you're saying the M's are going after Percival and Glaus. Where did you hear that? I haven't seen that rumor at all. From what I've read, they're going after Beltre, not Glaus, and expecting Guardado to pick up his option.

Eddie being the M's closer is the best thing that's happened to them. They finally got a closer that when healthy doesn't allow any runs. You can't say that about very many closers. So what if he was injured for the last half of the season? He deserves to be a mariner in 2005.

Guardardo was hurting pretty much the whole season, not just the second half. And now it's not a matter of whether he deserves to be a Mariner in 2005, it's a matter of whether he chooses to be one. Maybe he has changed his mind about thinking it was a big mistake to come to Seattle--we'll find that out in the coming week.

Jerry, as I understand it, Guardado is a free agent until he exercises his option, and other teams can contact his agent to express interest.

Can we once and for all stop talking about the "Sasaki money," and chastising the M's for not spending it?

Remember, when Sasaki jumped ship it was so late in the game, there were no significant players that were available. All the free agents had dried up, and my recollection is that no big names were on the trade market either. To spend that money simply for the sake of spending it would have been foolish.

Blame Sasaki, not the M's.

Good move by the M's to decline the option. If he decides to return it saves us 1 million. If he doesnt, thats ok, since we dont need a high priced closer on this team anyway.

Its not so much the exact amount of the sasaki money that stings, its the fact that we were deceived that that money would go back into the payroll. Sasaki put us in a bad situation. The mariners compounded that by deciding to pocket all the cash.

Mariners are off to a good start this offseason.

1) signing hargrove
2) not picking up guardado. hopefully soriano will move into that role.

Hopefully they will continue on and pick up beltran and delgado.

Can someone please explain why the "Sasaki money" cannot carry over. If we underspent the budget last year, why can't we overspend this year. Or does the money just disappear? If anything, it should allow MORE money (if only a little) to be spent as the unspent money could have been invested and accruing interest for a year.
I'm not a business person, but seriously where did the money go?

Hey Leather,

In Seattle, $6mil minus $4mil = 2 mil...

Guardado was already signed on with the Mariners before Sasaki resigned; so the Mariners had another closer lined up and weren't put in a bad situation in that respect. Also, Soriano was still healthy at that time as well.

There were still options available at the time for applying that money to payroll. They could have made a decent deal for Ben Davis, for example. Furthermore, they knew when they didn't spend the money that it would not roll over to the next year's payroll, because that is simply how it works.

So, I blame Sasaki for nothing.

Actually, we could have very well used the Sasaki money to lure Pudge here. Of course, Lincoln knows that we have Dan Wilson, so why bother going after the best catcher in the league?

The Sasaki money is going towards lining Lincoln's prockets with gold and paying for his gigantic bling. The 2004 budget was well under what our payroll *should* be, and I imagine it will stay that way. I'm almost glad that 2004 was so bad for the Mariners because I would've hated to hear Lincoln come up with another BS excuse at the trade deadline if we were actually in contention for the playoffs.

I also recall the front office making excuses like paying Guardado more cash for him to become a closer and some other bullnuts that I didn't care to hear about.

Into the owners' collective pockets of course...

On a different topic -- I noticed that ex-Cincy GM Jim Bowden (of Griffey trade fame) was hired as the Washington "Expos" GM. What does this mean for Gillick, who was rumored to be hired for the same job???

Gillick was rumored to be in the running for the job as I understood it. Obviously they went another way.

Melvin didn't get the job with the Dbacks, either.

The Drudge Report is reporting that early exit polls show Kerry with a small lead in Ohio and Florida.

I heard the same election news. But does someone reporting that the polls are "close" in toss up states really count as "news?"

Reports out of Cleveland indicate the Indians may be interested in shopping Casey Blake, as they have a healthy Aaron Boone ready to take over. What would you guys think about swinging a deal for Casey Blake to play 3B? His offensive output wasn't too bad(.271, 28HR 88RBI). Indians are looking for pitching, preferably late inning guys. M's could dangle a prospect or two. He did make 26 errors in 152 games at 3B, but he would not break the bank and would allow the Ms to sign another quality bat while filling a hole at 3rd.

Doubt Blake's available. Boone will have to prove himself in Cleveland, and Blake (or Boone) could move to SS (or another IF position).

He's one of the good young hitting prospects out there, though, with Cleveland. And they have a glut (V. Martinez, Hafner, Belliard, etc...), like Texas. I wouldn't expect them to be shopping any of them.

I also read about Cleveland trying to move Blake for pitching. It might be worth a look by the front office.

Also the Newark/Star ledger reported that Steinbrenner is willing to give Arizona Posad (with some pitching I imagine) for Randy and try to sign Varitek.

I would be demanding Vasquez and prospects or money for Johnson.

Dumping Guardado was a good idea only if he takes his option. Shiggy is the only other veteran reliever in the pen and Eddie's experience there will certainly help. Eddie's number in the first two months

27IP 32K 8BB 16H W2-0L 15saves 19chances

Pretty decent considering he was hurt (knee and shoulder).

No, Guardad is NOT a free agent. He can declare free agency in the next several days if he so chooses. But that is very unlikely. He will pick up his option within the next week or so, and return for next season.

so Eddie picked up his option rather quickly...makes me wonder about how that shoulder is coming along.

the M's should not plan on having Eddie ready by Opening Day. November 11 [the first day offers can be made to FAs] can't get here soon enough.