Oh What A Night
Listed in: BaseballSo last night was the first part of the USS Mariner/Lookout Landing Nights, which entailed a trip down I-5 for a Tacoma Rainiers game and a pregame Q and A with Mariners General Manager Bill Bavasi. Now, I'm not going to repeat what he said, since the Q&A was officially off-the-record, but I will note a few of my thoughts.
-I really like Bill Bavasi as a person: Dave Cameron said that we would, and he was right. First off, Bavasi was willing to take over an hour out of his time to answer questions from a bunch of fans, and more than that, a bunch of fans who for the most part think he sucks at his job and should be fired. That's pretty ballsy. He also was very candid with us, and answered almost every question that was put to him. We may not agree with his answers, but as I told Dave later, the danger of having Bavasi fired is that the guy who replaces him may not be any better as a GM and almost certainly will be less open with the blogging community than Bill has.
-The team sees Adam Jones and Jeff Clement as nearly untouchable (also Carlos Triunfel). I certainly agree about Jones, but I'm not so sure about Clement. He's unlikely to ever play catcher at the big league level for the Mariners because of concerns about his defense, and while he's a lefty with good power I fear he'll struggle to hit fastballs at the big league level. Still, it was clear that Clement wasn't going to go anywhere at the deadline, at least not for the guys who were being talked about.
-Speaking of which, it was clear that the Mariners were going after a set-up guy at the deadline, as well as Mark Loretta. The most interesting part of the discussion, from my point of view, was hearing Bill talk (at my prompting) about the mechanics of the deadline...how talks that may have broken off days or weeks ago are revisited one last time, to see if either side has budged.
-Reading between the lines (and after talking to Dave), it's clear that Wladimir Balentien isn't really a part of the team's long term plans. They're not going to call him up this year or start the season with him in the outfield next year, and while Bill claimed that he has an extra option year (and thus could start the year in AAA), it's more likely that he gets shipped out for starting pitching help this winter.
-The biggest upgrade Bavasi has made to the team is in the scouting department. The cupboard was mostly bare (besides Felix) before he arrived, and the guys (Bob Fontaine and Bob Engle, primarily) he brought with him have done a very nice job of restocking the farm system. Along with that, they've implemented their policy of pushing kids along very aggressively through the system, and while it's had some noticeable casualties (Matt Tuiasosopo chief among them),
-According to Bill, Adam Jones won't be the everyday left fielder, at least not right away. While I agree that his playing time will depend somewhat on his hitting, I can't believe they'd call him up just to fill the Jason Ellison role.
-It was also $1 Beer Night at the game, so that was nice...especially since I didn't have to drive home or work today.
-Saw a midnight showing of the Bourne Ultimatum last night...excellent film, as all three of the Bourne Trilogy have been. Paul Greengrass (the director) did a wonderful job, as he really forces you to confront the mental state of a man who is desperately trying to remember why he's killed all those people. Go see it.
Comments
Haven't been over here in a while, so it's good to see that you guys are still doing the blogging thing. I envy your opportunity to get to talk to Bavasi in person, and admire your self-restraint to not criticize him to his face.
As for the prospects you mentioned, I disagree about Clement. The guy can flat-out hit. I say they convert him to an outfielder if he's fast enough, or first basemen if he's not. Balentein, as you suggested, is expendable. Given the kind of year he's having, though, I'm surprised he wasn't shipped out in a deal for a reliever or big-league utility player. Oh well.
Posted by: kevin | August 3, 2007 9:34 PM