Well he will know the pitchers in the bullpen very well, he should do well

Top Notch. I like this choice. I love this choice. I adore this choice.

Great choice. Jim is a good instructional guy, he'll be able to help Bryan out.

Great choice. Jim is a good instructional guy, he'll be able to help Bryan out.

Since this is Bryan Prices final contract year I wonder if maybe they are grooming Slaton as a possible replacement?

What is Slaton's track record keeping AAA pitchers healthy?

Was he responsible for the Little Unit's troubles?

Carlos beltran wants a ten year deal? Well you can count the Mariners out. They have the money but not the committment.

Geez, would anyone do that
for that kind of money?
Did they not learn from the
Alex Rodriguez debacle?

You would have to be insane to give any player 10 years.

Really, giving any player over 3 years just seems
stupid. In an occupation which requires top physical conditioning and performance how can anyone guarantee their body to make it worth while for the team who is paying them.

Did that sentence make sense?

Suzi, one name:
Jason Giambi

No team can afford a contract averaging 20 mill per year. Boras is just driving up the initial price point. 7yrs/100 mill. Maybe a little more with an option. That's all anyone will give him. Quote me when he signs!!!

Yep, captain. I don't think I would give someone a contract to do anything for 10 years. Who else in what occupation gives a contract for that amount of time?

Marriage, maybe. Though that only works 1/2 of the time.

Rob Neyer, ESPN columnist and Royal's Fan extraordinaire, had an interesting take on Beltran as one of the most overrated players in the game. Although he had a stellar post-season, the reality is that few players are worth top dollar past the age of 32.

This is why Boras is a fricking nut. I'll just have a Beltre, hold the fries.

Remember that Howard Lincoln counts his carbs.

Look for low cal/lower production menu. Say a Joe Randa salad or Shea Hillenbrand on wheat wrap.

I believe it was USS Mariner that showed a type a b and c list of av.FAS`

Guess who Beltre's agent is, Seraphim

you know, Boras is starting to make woody woodpecker look like a genius... atleast woody wasnt the first to give a deal like that to AFRAUD.

ehh... Jimmie ole boy... the bullpen needs a prick with some hair on it around.

Excuse me for asking this, but why is Boras sometimes known as the spawn of satan? I mean don't like the idiot, but why?

Boras does what is best for his clients. However the financial state of baseball is not healthy and Boras creates a larger division between the have's and have not's.

Boras only seems to represent the best.

He smells money like a shark smells blood. He gets his clients the best deal possible ( money/time).

To get a Boras represented player, you have to be a high stakes player. you have to be willing to overpay and outbid the big boys.

Howard Lincoln and the Mariners could play high stakes but chose not to.

We are the little club that could.

The small market mind set that makes it up the hill.

What happen's next?

I think there is some sex involved somehow, too.

Or a deal with the devil. Something.

Very Taboo

Kinky?

It's gotta be kinky for that much money.

He had a great career w/Milwaukee; I still have some of his baseball cards. I believe it's an upgrade for us. So far 2/3 coaches picked are from the M's system. That surprises me.

FWIW -- I FINALLY posted my e-mail conversation with Mr. Finnigan. Forgive me for my tardiness:

http://marinersmorsels.blogspot.com/

Tread kindly on me, please...

Slaton's back, eh? This is good news! I thought he'd left the org for good. Now we'll see where Rohn ends up. Last I'd heard, they were going to bring Rohn up to Seattle in 2005, and Brundage would take over in Tacoma. Of course, though, that was BEFORE they fired BOOMel...

10 years???? Nobody will ever get that deal. Boras is setting a really high bar to get some team to feel they got a "bargain" when he signs for 5 or 6 years at $90 million. Rest assured, it won't be the Mariners. I'm willing to bet my house that they never considered him in the first place. Sign Delgado and Glaus and stop dreaming that we'll do any better.

These are the top 7 players on Scott Boras client list this winter:

Carlos Beltran
Adrian Beltre
J.D. Drew
Jason Varitek
Magglio Ordonez
Derek Lowe
Kevin Millwood

This doesn't inlcude all of his lower level clients like Ron Villone and the rest.

At least Boras has awakened Mariners fans to the reality that we are not getting Beltran: Delgado and Glaus would give us a three and four hitter that would drive in some runs.

The Cubs & ChiSox are out of the Beltran race now too...even if Cubs still move Sosa:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay05.html

Yanks, Mets, LA, Angels are the teams it's said to be down to. With a $20M salary LA will be out, and I really can't see the Angels willing to spend that much either. It looks to me like both NY teams will be duking it out. Also, yesturday Cameron publicly stated that he would be more than willing to move to RF if the Mets went after and picked up Beltran!

I would guess Garry is right. If the Angels go all out for someone it will be Pedro.

PositivePaul, thanks for sharing the e-mails.

There are definately some differences of opinion on what Moyer makes next year though. From an article the P-I wrote earlier this season:

"Moyer's base salary will be $1.5 million, but he can make as much as another $1.5 million based on making more than 30 starts. On top of that, he can make as much as another $4.5 million based on innings pitched, getting the full amount if he gets to 210 innings."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/189573_mbok06.html

and when he signed his contract:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/98982_moyer07ww.shtml?searchpagefrom=12&searchdiff=699

Moyer only pitched 202 innings, so he couldn't have fulfilled all of his incentives.

The only way he makes $8 million, as Finnigan says is certain, is if they M's give Moyer his full bonus anyway AND you count his pro-rated signing bonus ($1.5 million over 3 years).

PositivePaul,

Thank you for the time and effort. I agree that Howard Lincoln, (Money over Winning) is the mountain standing in the way of Mariner success.

To think that the M`s would give Dan Wilson 2.5 million is so typical of how this Team throws away money.

People like yourself, NY Savvy and others have it right. Fans deserve better from Howard. Time to react. Boycott the games,cancel the season tickets and write that SOB and let him really know what Fans want and think.

Howard Lincoln must think Seattle Mariner Fans are just plain stupid. Broken promises, fan favorite retention, Ichiro and over the hill players will not save the fan base.

It now looks like the Mariners, as usual, will lose out to the big boys with the Class A FA's.
Delgado is leaning towards the Orioles, Beltran to the most money and years, Beltre with the Dodgers. Maybe it's time to stop dreaming and look at if it's worth splurging on some "good" FA and maybe look at possible trades that fit for the future? If this is so, we should look hard to rid ourselves of Boone's contract.

LMAO! Dbacks fired Wally Backman and I guess are going to hire Bob Melvin! HAHAHAH

I think just giving up on Beltre is foolish. You may all be very right that they dont have the balls. But taking anything boras says at face value is idiotic. The real market will be what the dodgers offer, no more, no less. We can top it and we should.

Feel free to gloat and laugh if they dont sign him, but spare me your whiny pessimism.

There is so much smoke blown about where FA's are "leaning" and the vast majority of it is absolute horsehockey. Only Garry actually takes it seriously.

Good call, Leather! There's no telling what might happen, free agent-wise, after this two week period is over. It's beyond useless to complain and pessimize over nothing more than wispy rumors at this point.

no more guessing BOMEL is their new manager

BS-Leatherman, whiny pessimism?? No way, history only proves the pessimism to be justified.

You`re the idiot if you believe Howard Lincoln will be a player for the gems of FA.

Why bother, as long as Howard Lincoln and the front office controls the money fans will have to settle for another losing year.

Expect another all to familiar off season M`s fans. Watch the top FAs` fall into the hands of other teams while the M`s suck their thumbs.

does anyone think Dan Wilson is worth 2.5 million?

Check out Positive Paul`s post.

I certainly don't. But I get the sense from Finnigan's e-mail that it's what the M's are preparing to offer Wilson. It seems more like his prediction, and considering how close he is to the FO, I'd be inclined to lean towards that actually happening.

BTW -- I left commenting open on the Mariners Morsels site, in case you don't want to clutter the other blogs with this discussion...

Munch -- send me an e-mail. I tried your address, but it bounced. Mine shouldn't bounce.

I certainly have not been convinced by one reporter, "Finnegan" that the Al Davis of baseball will not spend money this free agency.
Signing the very average Coskie would be repeating last winter's flawed philosophy. No way I believe that Lincoln would set himself up for such a tremendous fan revolution that would surely mean even larger amounts of boycotts.
Is Lincoln trying to move the team by killing attendance and fan support by breaking false promises? I can't believe it. Beltran and Beltre are still absolutely realistic signings.

I'm certainly open to the possibility that Lincoln is not tipping his hand to the agents. I totally believe Finnigan's word that Lincoln is a shrewd businessman. And, I certainly see that it's possible that Lincoln is using Finnigan as a pawn to lay out a smokescreen to hide his true intentions.

We can only speculate what is going on in Lincoln's mind, though, and only time will tell what becomes the reality. Everyone knows that the M's are doing just fine financially, and even Lincoln has spewed out that they're intending on fixing this problem. However, if past performance shows any indication of future performance, I'd bet against the Mariners making anything but an olympic-gold-medalist-diver's-sized splash.

But, then again, it's just speculation. Speculation, like polls, mean absolutely nothing in the end.

Beltran and Beltre are still >possiblerealistic< to get one or both of them. Sure, the M's have the dough. That's not the issue. Are the M's willing to spend it on those guys, and are the players willing to come here? Those are the two biggest questions that have yet to be answered, and even trying to answer them could be a complete waste of time. Anyone who proclaims to have the ability to answer them on ANY free agent is just speculating. Including Finnigan.

Looking at the M's track record, I'm more inclined to believe Finnigan than not. I can only hope that it's a huge smokescreen...

PosiPaul:

You've got mail!

If money is the issue then why does the FO need to add more people? Way I look, spend more money on players and forget all these management types.
Edgar could make the decisions on who we need sitting in his living room and he brings 18 years experience of every scenario you can think of. To not get at least one true Number 3 or 4 hitter will be my proof that you guys are right and Lincoln is still in control. BUT, and that is a big BUT, if he steps back and lets Bavasi run the show like he said he was going to do then we will be getting a front line player or players. I forsee Beltre and a trade for the other person to unload some salary. Know this is an error but dont be too surprised if Junior isnt in that mix!!!

Real Pessimism,

And there we go. Because they have made foolish decisions in the past means that we are doomed forever and ever. We should all just give up rooting for this team and worship anyone who's playing in the WS.

I guess we should all go cry oursleves to sleep. Thats going to make a huge difference.

After all the foundation for a winning ballclub is whining and complaining.

Pessimism is not justified. Pessimism is just negative projection onto the future. It's no more real than anything else. It's negative imagination.

Why not go with hope? It just feels so much better.

That`s right Seattle, you just keep wishing and hoping. A lot of good that will do.

Many of you fools were hoping last off season and look what happen.

I`am sure there will be plenty of Spiezio type scrapes left after the big boys take their share of the good free agents.

Good god, how can you assume the best when your Front office has screwed your team and fans for the last 3 years.

Sheep

And the point of cynicism and pessimism would be ... what, exactly? How does that help?

Should we move to another city?

Much better to be cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe.

You may call it cynicism and pessimism but some of us call it constructive critcism based on historic miscalculations.

Passivity will only get you 99 loses.

And what does pessimism get?

You guys are nuts to think that the Mariners will get Beltran, Beltre or this top FA.
If we can get only Delgadio and others only good players that´s need to celebrate.

Munch -- send me an e-mail. I tried your address, but it bounced. Mine shouldn't bounce.