Post by monkeyman576 on May 31, 2009 13:43:35 GMT -5
2009 was a rebuilding year for the Seattle Mariners. Coming off a 100
loss season, and having several bad contracts to deal with, GM Monkeyman576
had a dauting task ahead of him. Still, the M's managed to finish 74-88,
about 15 games better than the previous season. The Mariners congradulate
their players and staff for playing at 100% effort the whole season, and
thank the fans for being loyal and understanding that we are trying to get
better and it will not be done all in one season.
On the playing field, there were several performances to be proud of.
Russell Branyon lead the team in offence with 28 HR's and 98 RBI's.
Sadly, the Mariners could not afford his asking price and he will be on
the free agent market this year, along with fan favorite Ken Griffey Jr,
who also did better than expected with 23 HR and 75 RBI. Two players
acquired in trades look like they have bright futurers with the team,
Brian Roberts batted .350 in 30 games since joining the Mariners, and
Jose Reyes had 46 steals in 82 games with Seattle.
On the pitching end, the bright spot was Pedro Martinez, who was acquired
as a free agent mid season, and ended up with a 9-4 record and a 3.18 ERA.
Erik Bedard also pitched well, and despite an 8-9 record posted a 3.39 ERA.
Troy Percival was acquired midseason in a player-for-cash trade and ended
up with 21 saves for the mariners in 31 games.
The biggest challenge for the GM was coming up with trades that benefited
the team. The Mariners gave up several top prospects in order to get rid
of bad contracts, namely the contracts of Carlos Silva, Kenji Johjima, and
Jerrad Washburn. The Mariners also traded away Ichiro Suzuki, who was the
highest paid player on the team, in exchange for two other overpriced players,
Carlos Guillen and Nate Robertson. However, the mariners will be saving
about $20M over 3 years by getting rid of Ichiro.
In the end, the Mariners have acheived many of their goals by one, getting
rid of several bad contracts, and two, making trades that allow them to be
competitive right away. This year the Mariners had a 4-18 start in April,
but still managed to find themselves only 4.5 games back in July, before
falling back later. We feel that if we can get off to a better start,
there may be a chance that we can stay in the division race the whole season
in 2010. Only time will tell. Good luck to all those teams that made the
playoffs.
loss season, and having several bad contracts to deal with, GM Monkeyman576
had a dauting task ahead of him. Still, the M's managed to finish 74-88,
about 15 games better than the previous season. The Mariners congradulate
their players and staff for playing at 100% effort the whole season, and
thank the fans for being loyal and understanding that we are trying to get
better and it will not be done all in one season.
On the playing field, there were several performances to be proud of.
Russell Branyon lead the team in offence with 28 HR's and 98 RBI's.
Sadly, the Mariners could not afford his asking price and he will be on
the free agent market this year, along with fan favorite Ken Griffey Jr,
who also did better than expected with 23 HR and 75 RBI. Two players
acquired in trades look like they have bright futurers with the team,
Brian Roberts batted .350 in 30 games since joining the Mariners, and
Jose Reyes had 46 steals in 82 games with Seattle.
On the pitching end, the bright spot was Pedro Martinez, who was acquired
as a free agent mid season, and ended up with a 9-4 record and a 3.18 ERA.
Erik Bedard also pitched well, and despite an 8-9 record posted a 3.39 ERA.
Troy Percival was acquired midseason in a player-for-cash trade and ended
up with 21 saves for the mariners in 31 games.
The biggest challenge for the GM was coming up with trades that benefited
the team. The Mariners gave up several top prospects in order to get rid
of bad contracts, namely the contracts of Carlos Silva, Kenji Johjima, and
Jerrad Washburn. The Mariners also traded away Ichiro Suzuki, who was the
highest paid player on the team, in exchange for two other overpriced players,
Carlos Guillen and Nate Robertson. However, the mariners will be saving
about $20M over 3 years by getting rid of Ichiro.
In the end, the Mariners have acheived many of their goals by one, getting
rid of several bad contracts, and two, making trades that allow them to be
competitive right away. This year the Mariners had a 4-18 start in April,
but still managed to find themselves only 4.5 games back in July, before
falling back later. We feel that if we can get off to a better start,
there may be a chance that we can stay in the division race the whole season
in 2010. Only time will tell. Good luck to all those teams that made the
playoffs.