Surgery for Snelling, again

Chris Snelling will undergo surgery March 1 to repair a torn medial meniscus in his left knee. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Matt Maddux.

He is expected to miss six weeks.

Snelling hurt again?

On top of the pile of updates John Hickey provided today, there were a couple updates out of Peoria this morning.

First, Pokey Reese was held out of practice because of a sprained left ankle. He is expected to return to practice as early as tomorrow.

Worse news is that Chris Snelling is scheduled to undergo an MRI on a sore knee.

There's always next year

Some thought that this would be the year that Dave Niehaus would be named recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award and given a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was beat out, however, by longtime San Diego Padre broadcaster Jerry Coleman.

Poll recap

I ran a series of polls during the last couple weeks to get a feel for what Mariner fans were thinking heading into the 2005 season. Simply put, I'd say they are optimistic.

About half of voters thought the Mariners would win 85-89 games, capture the AL West and make the playoffs (including 18% who thought the M's would win the World Series). People also predicted a breakthrough year for Gil Meche and that Joel Pineiro would bounce back from injury.

Voters also expect big things out of third baseman Adrian Beltre. They look for him to lead the team in both RBIs and home runs.

Look for more polls as things start to shake out during spring training.

Poll: Predictions

The 2005 Mariners will
Miss the playoffs
Lose in the ALDS
Lose in the ALCS
Lose in World Series
Win it all

Vote now

Rants and raves, 2/18-2/28

As a reminder, this is the thread to use to post and discuss general topics related to the Mariners. Please keep on topic for other posts.

Comment topics allowed: Anything M's related (What's this?)

Latest on Campillo

The latest official word from the Mariners is that the team has acquired the rights to pitcher Jorge Campillo from the Mexico City Tigres.

Pending immigration status clarification, the team will negotiate a contract with the right-hander.

"Based on our reports, Jorge is a pitcher that should be able to compete for the fourth or fifth spot in our rotation," Bill Bavasi said.

More on Boone and Canseco

In case you missed it, Jose Canseco recalls a conversation with Bret Boone in his new book that implied the Mariners second baseman was on steroids.

Jeff Meron of ESPN.com takes a game-by-game look at the five matchups between the Mariners and Angels during spring training in 2001. The bottom line is that the conversation couldn't have taken place as Canseco remembers.

Meron also sets the record straight on a few other parts of the book.

Comment topics allowed: Canseco's book, steroids in baseball (What's this?)

Poll: Gil Meche

Which best describes what Gil Meche's 2005 season will be like?
Same old Meche
Breakthrough year
Injury-riddled

Vote now

Poll: First base

If you had to choose between the two, who would you rather have (assuming equal contracts)?
Carlos Delgado
Richie Sexson

Vote now

2/15 Notebook

· Jim Moore puts his spin on the Richie Sexson DUI incident.

· Dave Cameron says that Travis Blackley had surgery to repair a torn labrum last week.

· The Olympian gives us an update on catcher Miguel Olivo.

· It's time for another mailbag at mariners.com.

· Remember Michael Garciaparra? InsideThePark.com takes a look at the 2001 first-round draft pick who is heading into his fourth year of minor league ball.

· Nellie Briles, who once was a part of the Mariners broadcast team, died Sunday of an apparent heart attack.

DUI for Sexson

KOMO is reporting that Richie Sexson was pulled over and arrested for suspicion of DUI last Saturday in Vancouver, Wa.

I'm sure more details will emerge soon.

Poll: Most RBIs

Who will lead the 2005 Mariners in RBIs?
Adrian Beltre
Bret Boone
Raul Ibanez
Richie Sexson
Other

Vote now

Poll: Most HRs

Which Mariner will hit the most home runs in 2005?
Adrian Beltre
Bret Boone
Raul Ibanez
Bucky Jacobsen
Richie Sexson
Other

Adrian Beltre
Why: Led the league in home runs last year, power to opposite field will help at Safeco.
Why not: Was last year a fluke? May revert to pre-2004 form.

Bret Boone
Why: Addition of sluggers may allow Boone to relax, may see better pitches to hit, lasik surgery may help.
Why not: Will be 36 when the season starts, likely to get a few less at-bats if hitting fifth or sixth.

Raul Ibanez
Why: Safeco favors left-handed power.
Why not: Probably doesn't possess the power to hit more than 20 home runs.

Bucky Jacobsen
Why: Prototypical big slugger, may have the most raw power of any player on the team.
Why not: Not likely to get enough at-bats.

Richie Sexson
Why: Has hit 45 home runs in two different seasons.
Why not: Coming off a major injury which may lead to a power loss, Safeco will likely hold a few balls in the park.

Vote now

Poll: Most wins

Which Mariners pitcher will have the most wins in 2005?
Ryan Franklin
Felix Hernandez
Bobby Madritsch
Gil Meche
Jamie Moyer
Joel Pineiro
Ron Villone
Other

It's hard to pick a clear winner in this bunch. Here is a rundown of why each guy
might or might not lead the team in wins:

Ryan Franklin
Why: Might be due for some good luck in the run support column, could dramatically improve if home runs allowed are limited, improved defense might help Franklin more than any other pitcher.
Why not: Poor strike out rate, gives up too many home runs.

Felix Hernandez
Why: Has the most potential of any arm in the system with a devastating fastball and curve (and slider?).
Why not: Will likely start the season in Tacoma, so he may not have a chance to pile up many wins.

Bobby Madritsch
Why: Very impressive in 15 appearances last season with a decent strikeout rate and few home runs allowed.
Why not: Could suffer sophomore jinx as batters get another look at him.

Gil Meche
Why: Can be dominate at times, good stuff, performed better in second half of season last year.
Why not: Inconsistent, prone to home runs, only made more than 25 starts once in his career.

Jamie Moyer
Why: Has rebounded from bad seasons before, still possesses one of the best changeups in baseball, durable, strikeout rates (which often indicate a player in his decline) haven't dipped.
Why not: Gave up WAY too many home runs last season.

Joel Pineiro
Why: Very promising 2002 and 2003 seasons, possesses one of the best curve balls in the game.
Why not: Coming off a major injury, innings might be limited.

Ron Villone
Why: He led the team in wins last year, so I had to put him on the list.
Why not: Tough to win many games coming out of the bullpen, could be this year's 2004 Hasegawa, is probably nothing more than an average pitcher who happens to be left-handed

Vote now

Moneyball, NBA style

Baseball teams aren't alone in using numbers to help their team. NBA.com has published a series on how the Sonics are using statistical analysis to their advantage.

· The Sonics play Moneyball
· The Outsider
· The Front Office
· Statistical analysis primer
· Dean Oliver's four factors
· Dean Oliver's individual ratings

Poll: Number of wins

This will be the first of a number of polls I'll pose between now and spring training to get a pulse on what Mariners fans are thinking. I'll summarize the results at the end.

How many games will the 2005 Mariners win?
<65
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90-94
95+

Vote now

Rizzs lends a voice

Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs will provide in-game commentary and announcing for Nintendo's Pennant Chase Baseball.

Rizzs is joined by Tom Hutyler, who is the public-address announcer for the Mariners, and Bob Brenly.

For as much as people seem to dislike Rizzs, this may not be a good thing.

Comment topics allowed: M's broadcasters, baseball video games (What's this?)

Update those bookmarks

· The blog formerly known as Leone for Third has been moved to Looking Landing.

· Jeff Shaw and Peter White from Mariner Musings have joined forces with the guys at U.S.S. Mariner.

If you haven't read these blogs, definately take a look. You can thank me later.

Rants and raves, 2/2-2/13

As a reminder, this is the thread to use to post and discuss general topics related to the Mariners. Please keep on topic for other posts.

Comment topics allowed: Anything M's related (What's this?)