M’s off-season critical
For the sake of continuity, the Seattle Mariners have done the right thing.
They’re sticking with general manager Bill Bavasi and manager Mike Hargrove, letting them continue into 2007 what they say was a step forward for the team in 2006.
The stakes will be high. Management’s patience will be low.
A slow start to the season will cost jobs next spring that weren’t lost this fall.
“I’ve been doing this now for 15 years and I’ve been pretty good at it,” Hargrove said. “I will work as hard next year as I did this year. If it works, great, I’d love to stay here. If it doesn’t, then I’ll know that I’ve done my best. You don’t take this job without realizing you’re in the hot seat when you take it.”
The seat will be hot all winter.
Despite the promise the Mariners showed in so many areas this year – Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Lopez as one of the American League’s best young shortstop-second base combinations, catcher Kenji Johjima’s solid bat, Raul Ibanez’s consistency and Ichiro Suzuki’s move to center field – they have plenty of holes to fill if they hope to become competitive in 2007.
“My recommendation is to improve the pitching,” Hargrove said. “I don’t think I’m revealing any deep dark secret.”
The likely departures of Joel Pineiro (arbitration eligible) and Gil Meche (free agent) will leave the Mainers needing to fill three openings in the starting rotation. The only starters under contract for 2007 are Jarrod Washburn and Felix Hernandez.
Meche’s agent spent part of last week in Seattle and spoke with Mariners officials, but there was no indication of the team’s interest. Hargrove, curiously, singled out Meche’s contribution when looking back on the season after Sunday’s final game.
“Gil Meche has kind of quietly had a solid season and shown the stuff consistently this year that we saw sporadically last season,” Hargrove said.
Meche, who finished 11-8 with a 4.48 ERA, said Sunday he wants to pitch for a competitive team and that he believes the Mariners are on the upswing. But that doesn’t mean he’ll give any discounts to the Mariners, who drafted him in the first round in 1996.
“I’ll just go home and let the process play itself out,” Meche said.
Pineiro, pulled from the starting rotation just after midseason, seems as good as gone. The Mariners aren’t expected to offer him arbitration.
Where do the Mariners turn for pitching?
Jamie Moyer’s trade to Philadelphia in August opened opportunities for Jake Woods and Cha Seung Baek to start, and both performed well. Baek, especially, should be a serious candidate for the rotation when spring training begins.
While the free-agent list is thin a pair of staff aces are available in Jason Schmidt and Barry Zito.
There’s also Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, the star of Japan’s World Baseball Classic team whose name has been connected with the Mariners, if for no other reason because of the team’s Japanese ownership.
Matsuzaka throws a fastball in the mid-90 mph range and also flips splitters, changeups and sliders. He’ll certainly draw interest among major league teams, and the Mariners must decide if he’s worth the millions it will take to get him.
Like Ichiro six years ago, teams must bid on negotiating rights for Matsuzaka. The Mariners paid $13 million for that right with Ichiro.
If the Mariners plan to talk trade, they may have more leverage now than in past years. The late-season rise of such talented pitchers as Mark Lowe, Ryan Feierabend, Eric O’Flaherty and Jon Huber gives them quality young arms as trade bait.
There’s also the question of first baseman Richie Sexson’s value to the Mariners, especially in light of the $28 million they owe him the next two years. He finished with respectable numbers – 34 home runs and 107 RBI – that gave the team a needed power element. However, Sexson’s 154 strikeouts and his lack of speed on the bases make him an over-the-fence-or-nothing player, and that has never been a style that worked at Safeco Field.
If the Mariners could find a trade partner for Sexson, they’d be wise to consider it.