The Sox will look to keep their winning ways going when they welcome the Mariners to town for a brief two-game stint. The M’s have some players worth watching and with JasonVargas on the mound, a good pitcher, this series is anything but a lock for the Sox.
Because it’s a quick stop for Seattle we shortened the regular series 6 pack and a big thanks to Harrison from the Seattle site, Sodo Mojo for helping us get an inside look at the Mariners. We’re talking about the possibility of trading Ichiro, the Montero/Pineda trade and an inside look at the two Seattle starters the Red Sox will see. Enjoy.
1. Ichiro never disappoints. He’s always hitting for average and getting on base. But with his age nearing retirement territory and the Mariners in some what of a rebuilding stage, is it possible we see the face of the franchise traded this summer?
At this point I think the Mariners are entertaining everything. I think trading Ichiro is one of the hardest issues to broach with most Mariner fans. It’s something that while it’s mentioned it’s not been seriously entertained for the last 4, 5 years. But with his resurgence it’s bound to become serious discussion the closer we move to July.
The only thing with that is I don’t see many teams willing to surrender the pieces that would be needed to pry Ichiro free, and it would need to be substantial, from the Mariners organization which he has been the face of the franchise for the last 12 years.
Teams like the Indians, Nationals, maybe the Giants or Dodgers are teams that I could see as having some interest. But until they really look like they need that push I don’t see any of those teams parting with top tier pieces within their organization which is what I think they would need, regardless of worth, to justify to a portion of the fan base and possibly even the ownership.
What it comes down to who comes calling and how bad they really want him. But, yes, I think just about everyone anyone is game for the right price.
2. Give us your take on the Montero/Pineda deal. With the injury to Pineda aside, was it the right move for Seattle? How are fans reacting to the news that he’s out for the season? I mean this looks like a complete robbery for the mariners.
I thought we paid a bit too much at the time to get Montero. He’s a great bat but the lack of position and even the quality really stunts his overall worth. That said the bat is legitimate and I conceeded the fact that the Mariners were going to have to over pay a touch to get what they need for this team to be successful going forward.
It’s really too bad about Pineda but we all knew the risk and it was something that here in Seattle we talk a lot about. The dangers of building your rotation around young arms. It’s hard to know how long those arms are going to hold up and it’s really hard to project them out for more than one or two years.
I hate to see Pineda go down, I like him a lot on a personal level, and I even want to see him succeed one some level. But that said it is what it is and that stuff happens. You would have thought the Yankees would have identified that he was over weight or out of shape at the time of the trade. I’m not saying they didn’t do their due diligence just that the Mariners camp has been really quiet with the Yankees playing the blame game and coming just short of saying Pineda awas damaged goods.
They still got another amazing arm in Jose Campos in the deal, which was just as big of a deal for a lot of us here in Seattle. But, he also just went on the DL with an injury. Ultimately, you have to understand that there are dangers in trading stock with young arms. As the saying goes: “Caveat emptor”.
3. Because we don’t see the mariners a lot in the year, give us an inside look at Vargas and Beaven, the two starters for Seattle. How do they stack up against Lester and Beckett given the struggles those two have gone through this year?
It’s funny, we’ve all liked Vargas for a variety of reasons the past couple of years. But if you would have asked at the beginning of the season who in a month and a half would be the better pitcher, Lester or Vargas. It would have been undeniably Lester. Who I believe is a very good #2 and may soon evolve into the ranks of “aces” and I’m of the opinion there are only about 5 or 6 in all of baseball that are really that.
But, Vargas has taken some legitimate steps forward. His cutter has gotten to be very effective. He’s using his change-up as a weapon to procure swings and misses rather than just to induce weak contact. The adjustments he’s made give him better deception and overall he’s pitching like a legitimate middle of the rotation guy. At this point I think he’s legtimately a better pitcher than Lester and that’s flat out shocking to me.
Blake Beavan is a weird cat. I haven’t been his biggest fan as for the better part of 3 seasons he consisntently has shown he’s a fly ball pitcher that doesn’t have a pitch that can consistently miss bats. The thing about that is he’s gotten smarter and while he often pitches in the upper half of the strike zone he does an amazing job of getting weak flyballs.
His curveball has come a long ways and even at times flashes as an above average pitch. Coupled with a change-up that is just about average he is starting to mix all those togther to have some successful results. I wonder if he’ll continue be able to be a successful pitcher with the amount of fly balls he gives up.
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