Mariners Quiet at Trade Deadline

For a team that has arguably passed expectations for this season, and finds themselves firmly entrenched in the postseason race, the Seattle Mariners were conspicuously docile as yesterday's trade deadline approached and passed.

Yes, the Mariners managed to move Julio Mateo, but he has spent most of the season in AAA Tacoma or suspended. Not a big surprise, as the Mariners made it clear to Mateo that he would never pitch in Seattle again (nor is it a surprise that Phillies' GM, and former Mariners' GM, Pat Gillick, would swoop in and take him). Also, Seattle's bullpen has been lights out this season without him - J.J. Putz and George Sherrill have been nearly unhittable.

But why didn't the Mariners pick up another bat? Only two everyday players are hitting over .300, and much as it pains me to say it, Adrian Beltre (especially after his breakout 2004)and Richie Sexson haven't exactly been as good as advertised at the plate, although nobody can deny Beltre's value on defense. Sexson has power, but it seems like he's all or nothing at the plate.

The Mariners' starting pitching has been somewhat of a mystery, too. It seems like everybody has been struggling all year, but most everybody has at least a .500 record, even with some high ERAs (Can Jeff Weaver - who in his two wins looked like a Hall-of-Famer - figure out who the hell he's going to be?). How is Horacio Ramirez 6-3 with an ERA approaching 6.5? And poor King Felix, who just hasn't been the same since a stint on the disabled list early this season, is only 7-6 with a 3.85 ERA - he just can't get much run support.

It's a shame the Mariners' brass couldn't figure out something to try to improve this ball club, who is only 4 games back of the Angels in the division and only 1.5 games back of the Indians for the Wild Card. While most teams in that position would try to make some type of move to get themselves over the hump, the Mariners have a history of standing pat at the trade deadline, watching the teams around them make deals instead.

Although, I guess M's fans shouldn't be too disappointed - they weren't supposed to be this close to begin with. Consider yourselves lucky?

You Decide . . .

My dad gave me an interesting article to read on Alex Rodriguez, who if anyone does not know plays third base for the New York Yankees baseball team. I followed Rodriguez (who’s nickname is A-Rod in the baseball world) when he played for the Seattle Mariners. He is an amazing player to watch and has exceptional talent. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player in the American League in the year 2003 by Major League Baseball. He won this award while he was playing for the Texas Rangers which caused problems for Rodriguez because he chose to go to Texas, and leave the Mariners, for a 252 million dollar contract. A lot of people felt Rodriguez cared more about the money than the game because of that choice.

What Egan wrote about to the New York Times had part to do with that choice of Rodriguez. Egan said his young daughter admired Rodriguez too and he felt Rodriguez was a great role model for her to look up to, 10 years ago. Egan said Rodriguez made it a point to preach to children that money does not mean everything and it is about the love of the game. Egan feels Rodriguez mislead his young followers, especially since he got his contract bought out by the Yankees owner George Stienbrenner to get him out of Texas to play for the Yankees “Dynasty.” Egan finds it sad now that his daughter’s once hero is as obsessed with the money he claimed his life was never about.

Is Egan right? Or why should Rodriguez be chastised for taking the money that most people would take? This seems to be a dilema on ones morals. Is A-Rod merely a poster child for people to hate on because they are jealous or because they feel he is more about his personal wealth than the love of the game?

This is where my dad found the article:

GUEST COLUMNIST; A-Rod And Me
July 7, 2007, Saturday
By TIMOTHY EGAN (NYT); Editorial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 13, Column , 759 words

The surprising end that stuns all.

The Seattle Mariners had been in a downfall since their amazing season with 116 wins. Each year since, they had only gotten worse. The team had gone through a couple managers, the most recent Mike Hargrove. It did not take fans long before they were already asking for his head. The team had a huge payroll with players that were not even coming close to their contracts worth such as Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson. Last season the Mariners finished with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses, good for last place in the AL west again. Many fans didn’t assume that he would be fired during the off-season; they expected it. Then came opening day of the 2007 season and Hargrove was still the man calling the shots, that was until a few days ago.

The Mariners got off to a good but somewhat slow start due to many snow and rain outs at the start of the season that halted an entire series in Cleveland that yet has to be completely made up. Still the Mariners started to rise. They finally started to win again and actually put themselves in the race once again for the playoffs. Riding a 7 game winning streak that included a sweep of the Boston Red Sox came an announcement that surprised the baseball world. Mike Hargrove decided to resign. With his club the hottest team in all of Major League Baseball, Hargrove stated he had simply lost his passion for the game of baseball and didn't want to bring the club down.

As a Mariners fan myself that was completely stunned with the announcement and timing, am not all that upset. I only wish he would have made his decision before the season started so that this would not have become a distraction the way it did. Following the announcement the team lost 2 games to the Royals which I believe was do to them still in shock from the move. If Hargrove really lost his passion for the game, for the team, for what ever; that’s fine, get out like you did and go away so the team can move on. If you did not want to hurt the team you should have just kept this out of the public eye and dealt with it for the remainder of the season, that is already half over. It is never good for a team to lose a manager midseason, especially one that is winning. Managers normally leave because they are fired for the team not performing.

Now I wish the Mariners all the best luck on the rest of the season and hope to see them in October. As for Mike Hargrove, you had overstayed your welcome, I’m Glad your gone, Good Bye! Now the Mariners can continue on their path of success and will now hopefully have someone in charge that wants to be there and wants the team to win a World Series.