JUDGE KIRBY: Week 7
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, May 22, 2004
Armchair general managers have spoken. Last week, I asked Mariners fans to figure out how they would fix this team. The responses came by the dozens and the answers are revealing:
* The Mariners are too old, too slow and need an infusion of youth and speed.
* Despite all the love for Edgar Martinez, he needs to retire.
* Manager Bob Melvin isn’t the right fit for this team (although some say it’s not his fault).
* Some say the M’s should trade Freddy Garcia while his value is high. Others say sign him as a free agent and make him the centerpiece of the pitching staff in the future.
* And yes, there’s a cry for a certain center fielder named Junior.
Nobody is untouchable
First of all I wouldn’t bench Rich Aurilia. If I couldn’t trade him, I’d release him. Next, while he’s still worth something I’d trade Freddie Garcia.
If I were general manager I’d bite the bullet and admit this year is a bust. Then I get off my butt and build for next year, not five years down the road, but next year. We need a center fielder who can hit and play defense. We need a shortstop who can hit and play defense. We need a first baseman who can hit. Quite possibly we should trade Jamie Moyer as we approach the trade deadline.
In summary nobody, including Ichiro, is untouchable. Oh, how good the names of Cammy, Carlos, Mark all sound right now.
Oh yeah, I’d make sure that Ben Davis never escaped from Tacoma.
Susan Sheehan
Bothell
Simple solution
Three words: Ken Griffey Junior.
Travis Hall
Gold Bar
Bad decisions
If I were the general manager of the Seattle Mariners, I’d fire myself. Our defense and clubhouse morale seemed better when Mike Cameron and Carlos Guillen were there.
I think that all of this excessive trading is wreaking havoc with fan loyalty and team cohesiveness. I mean, the guys need to be together long enough to know each other so they can help each other. Fans don’t like losing their favorites.
I am one of those weird fans who will not give up on the Mariners because I am a fan, not the general manager or other front-office dudes who only care about money and winning.
Lauren Merryfield
Mill Creek
Wholesale changes
How many players who really want to play this game can the Mariners get for Suzuki? When we traded Randy Johnson the Mariners put out the word that there are no sacred cows! So if this group of men cannot get the job done by the end of June, then let the cattle cars roll.
Chuck Wright
Mill Creek
Melvin lacks inspiration
It appears that manager Bob Melvin cannot inspire the team to give the extra effort needed to win games. Something is definitely lacking in his management skills and I believe he should be replaced.
Tom Farmer
Marysville
Look to the future
Get rid of Randy Winn and find a center fielder who can catch.
Start thinking about the future. Bring up some of the young guys and get rid of Bob Melvin. He was hired to manage a veteran team and if the M’s make the right moves this season, it will not be a veteran club next year.
Brian Melnyk
Snohomish
Use the Sasaki money
I would use some of the money saved by the departure of Sasaki to get some batting help. What has the Mariner organization done with that money?
Joan Soltys
Langley
Time for Bavasi to act
Ichiro plays center field. I don’t care where Winn plays, just not there.
Meche goes to the bullpen as an eighth-inning guy.
Call up some of those Tacoma arms. Isn’t there a lefty down there?
Bench Aurilia and get Cabrera in the lineup every day.
And the whopper: Trade Pineiro for Griffey and cash. We can handle the extra salary since Edgar and Olerud and half the other fogies are off the books after this season. Junior plays left or DH.
Do something Bavasi!
Rich Boudet
Tucson, Ariz. (formerly Mukilteo)
Buhner for manager
My four point plan for improving the team:
1. Let Bob Melvin go. Bring in a manager with personality. What’s Jay Buhner doing these days?
2. Start up the youth movement. Bring up some guys from AAA to inject life. Look at what Cabrera’s done when given a chance. I love the older guys on the team like Olderud and Edgar, but they’re not being productive. Give the fans something else to come to the ballpark for.
3. If you’re going to trade solid talent like Freddy, make sure you get an up-and-comer and not a fading superstar. The last thing this team needs is another aging and trusty veteran. Let go the idea that we can be competitive in 2004.
4. Conduct a sance to connect with the spirit of Bill Veeck. Disco demolition night, anyone?
Steve Peiffle
Arlington
Bring back Unit
Is Randy still available?
Jeff Kelley-Clarke
Everett
Blame front office, not Melvin
Firing Bob Melvin is not the answer. It should have been obvious that this year would be mediocre at best, what with all the changes that occurred in the offseason.
It’s not the manager or the players who need to be benched, it is the front office.
Lee Woodard
Everett
Melvin deserves another year
Bob Melvin was dealt a decent hand when he inherited Lou’s program. But we all know any team can have its major ups and downs. I think Bob ought to have another year to turn it around.
I would consider benching Rich Aurilia, but I think the thing to do is get aggressive in trading prior to the halfway mark.
The Mariners are desperate for pitching. They also seem desperate to get some young stars; the leaders on the Mariners are aging and near the end.
Larry Nielsen
Marysville
Time for Junior’s return
Bring Griffey back. Use him in center field this season and next year when Edgar retires, Griffey will be ready to take over as DH.
Eat some more crow and think about the shortstop – Guillen looks pretty good now.
Jeanne Rickey
Mill Creek
There’s talent in Tacoma
I think that everyone this side of Mariner management agrees that the season is over without a significant move or two. But more importantly I think we have a lot of talent playing in Tacoma that deserves a chance. If nothing else they would get some needed seasoning and the fans would get a glimpse of the future.
Rick Stewart
Snohomish
This team lacks leadership
Melvin, as Lou would have, needs to challenge the veterans on the team to step up and play with attitude. I would look to Boone, Martinez, Olerud, Wilson and Moyer to assume the leadership of this club to take the team to the playoffs. Give us more Spiezio and crank up the volume!
Kate Reardon
Everett
It’s over for Edgar
I would hate to lose Edgar, but we all know he is going to leave soon anyway, and we can’t seem to get him a World Series ring. So let him go now before it’s too late.
Julie Brown
Everett
Ownership doesn’t work
Find an owner who doesn’t live in Japan and won’t have the kind of control over the day-to-day operations that Nintendo and Mariners principle owner Hiroshi Yamauchi does over Howard Lincoln and the GM’s office. Mr. Lincoln’s venerable passion for baseball is quashed by the lack of fiscal support for talent acquisition. It’s no different at Nintendo of America, either.
Fire Bob Melvin. There is talent out there with a desire and a passion to manage in Seattle. The dynamic of the team has not changed that drastically since Lou left Seattle.
Tony R. Myhre
Lake Stevens
Bring up kids, ship out Melvin
Drop some of the lower-achievers in favor of minor league players with fun names. Bring up anyone named Bucky, for example. J.J. Putz stays, no matter how you pronounce his name.
Second, I’m sorry to say, is wait a month and if things haven’t improved, fire Bob Melvin or at least move him upstairs as a scout or special assistant or something. I don’t see the M’s shaking loose with him at the helm.
Pulling the trigger early on his option clearly had no desirable impact. Even though he may be making a lot of correct calls, there may be nothing short of that which would jolt the team awake. Witness last year’s parallel with the Marlins. It’s not his fault, but how are you going to fix the other 82 percent of the team?
Other tough decisions need to be made. If anything reasonable can be worked out for Beltran at KC, get him, even if you have to give up Freddy and/or Randy Winn. Reduce Olerud to a part-time player at 1st/DH, with Cabrera getting the lion’s share of time at first.
Oh, and sign Dan Wilson to a two-year extension. He’s earned it, still has the goods, and is one of the few on the team producing.
If the M’s don’t trade up, they should think about unloading salary and rebuilding.
Tom Pacher
Whidbey Island
Get Cabrera into the lineup
The issue I have with the M’s is they have one of their better players riding the bench. Who’s batting over .300 and attacks the baseball any better than Jolbert Cabrera? If the first pitch is in the strike zone he’s swinging at it. Not so with Edgar, Olerud and Boone. The Mariners seem to have a fetish about not going for the first pitch.
Get Winn out of there and replace him with Cabrera. He’s faster, goes after catchable balls and has a better arm.
Freddy Garcia, ship him out. As far as I’m concerned he still has an attitude problem.
Give Melvin and Bavasi some time and they’ll do all right.
Power hitters, I don’t think that’s the answer. If they can get on base they need to be more aggressive.
Edgar’s too slow. Time for him to retire.
Orlin Griggs
Marysville
Stomach-turning season
Think the acronym BARF pretty well sums up the woes of the Mariners.
Bats: Get rid of some of those in the lower part of the order who aren’t holding up their end, like Aurilia and Winn.
Attitude: If someone isn’t giving his all out there, that guy’s attitude is infectious and everyone knows it. Get rid of him. Do what other corporations do, hire an outside psychologist and get inside the players’ heads.
Relief: Get rid of some of the middle relief with the high ERAs, like Soriano and Mateo. Even if the bats are working, they can’t hold on to a lead. Bring up some promising kids from the farms and send these guys down.
Front office: Spend some dough! You’ve made plenty but won’t spend in a timely manner or grant longer contracts. Don’t mess with a good player’s head the way you did Randy Johnson’s – look at Tuesday night’s 97 mph fastball and perfect game NINE seasons later and KNOW the M’s would have been in the World Series if you’d done the right thing!
S. B. Edwards
Poulsbo
Time to trade Freddy
The current ballclub is in the unfortunate position of not wishing to give up on a list of highly productive players from previous years, yet perhaps management should bite the bullet and change the complexion.
1. Go ahead as soon as possible and seek offensive help by putting Garcia on the market. You have to give to receive. Go get one or two quality bats for him and take a chance on a young arm or two currently in Tacoma.
2. While gifted with the glove, John Olerud appears to being nearing the end of his career. He has become an offensive liability. Good guy, but time to look for a banger at first base. Maybe one is on the market that Garcia would buy.
3. Randy Winn is experiencing a terrible time in center field – far worse than his performance last year in left. If Ibanez can be OK in right field, Winn could go back to left and now would be a good time to convince Ichiro to give it a try in center. If Raul cannot handle that switch, then management either needs to promote someone from the minors for defensive help or go shopping outside the organization later in the season when bodies become available.
4. Unfortunately, we are about 40 games into the season and the product is slow afoot, quite frankly boring to watch and not likely to climb into contention. Miracles can happen, but don’t count on one this season. Get someone on this squad who can run and provide a spark or two.
5. There are still some quality players on this club. Give Rich Aurilia longer to adjust to the American League. Get Boone healthy. Keep 40-plus Pat Borders up to help Wilson through the season and seriously consider shipping Davis out if he cannot perform at AAA or in the majors. Competent catching is essential to success. This is a real test for management.
6. Give Bob Melvin until the All-Star break. Either the club produces significantly better or make a change. In this case, I hope “nice guys don’t finish last.”
Don Johnson
Poulsbo
Don’t blame Melvin, Bavasi
We feel the jury is out on Melvin, given the team he has. We would like to see more hit and run, bunting and stealing.
Bill Bavasi is capable of building a winner. He’s proved that. Give him a chance.
Do not trade the future of the team for aging veterans. Give the kids in Tacoma a chance to play. Bring up players and let them play – not just sit on the bench. This season would take a miracle to save. Start working now for next year.
For the layout of Safeco Field, stick with speed, defense and pitching. For next year, keep Freddy Garcia. Sign him to a long-term deal, three or four years. Sign Dan Wilson to a two-year deal. Let Edgar retire. Don’t try to bring him back for just one more year.
John Olerud’s contract is up after this year. Don’t offer him a new one.
For certain free agent players, be willing to offer 4-5-6 year deals to sign. Work on Randy Winn to take pitches and bunt. Bat him second or trade him for at least equal value.
Gary and Marianna Knowlton
Port Ludlow
Keep Edgar … as hitting coach
The problem with the Mariners is OLD AGE. They have too many players over 35.
I would make Edgar the batting coach as Molitor hasn’t done anything to prove he is a great hitting coach. He should be released. There is no reason for former batting champions to be hitting below 250. Bring up the young players from AA and AAA and develop them. Trade Davis and Meche to Pittsburgh for their catcher (Jason Kendall).
Go with youth as Texas has done. Superheroes aren’t needed. I would rather have nine .300 hitters in the lineup hitting singles and scoring runs than a 50 home run hitter.
Forget this season and go with youth.
Joe Murry
Bremerton
Someone must pay for this mess
We lack youth, we lack speed, we lack desire. Everyone looks tired. They are undisciplined. Can you believe we have the same team as we did when we won 116 games? We hit well that year. What happened? Did someone try to fix something that was not broke? Kick his butt whoever that was.
Paul Rand
Bremerton
M’s need wieners, Wilson
Since I have spent the better part of six weeks taking flak from so-called friends about my beloved team, I have had plenty of time to build up steam. Here is my top 10 list of why the Mariners are stinking it up this year:
10. We don’t have a wiener race in the seventh inning. Surely that’s why the Brewers are kickin’ it this year. (OK maybe not)
9. Spiezio isn’t trying his best because Mariner brass vetoed Sandfrog playing the national anthem.
8. The tent caterpillars are particularly bad this year, which must mean something.
7. They changed the hydro races at Safeco Field this year, which plays with a player’s psyche.
6. Melvin took a class in calm meditation during the off-season, thinking it might help with his inability to hold in his anger.
5. Ron Fairly is making sure he doesn’t have to make too many exciting calls because it might muss his hair.
(You have to laugh at it all, right?)
4. The bullpen. It feels like days of old. Guardado can’t even get in there to show his stuff because the pen has already lost it by the eighth inning.
3. The team is old. We have been talking about it for a while now, and they truly look like an old team. It needs to be Edgar’s last year, as well as Olerud’s.
2. The lack of a big gun, a home run hitter. I shudder to think where we would be without the exemplary offensive play of Wilson this year. Think about it, who on the team puts fear in the heart of pitchers?
1. Ownership. They are sitting on money from Kaz that could have been spent on Tejada or Guerrero. Both of those non-deals have bitten us in the fanny already, especially Guerrero.
It is most likely too late for this year. I can only hope that since ownership has been stingy so far they will continue to be for this year and focus on next year, when they hopefully with have money from Edgar and Olerud to use. We need to keep Spiezio and Ibanez in the fold, decide whether Bloomquist (a hometown favorite of mine) is going to cut it, and focus on our Triple-A youth. Get rid of Winn, Aurilia and for heaven’s sake, get real and figure out that Ben Davis is a bust! Keep Freddy, he’s also been a welcome surprise this year. The pitching is coming around, especially the starters.
Terri Babcock
Bremerton
