Spring Training

[PolarVortex]

No kidding! Don't worry Joe Saunders can slot right in there we will be fine

Saunders competing to be the second situational lefty out of the bullpen. I just don't see it. Why not bring back Joe Beimel? Anyone know? Does Beimel want to play somewhere else?

 

[gowazzu02]

were really getting side tracked. But Vortex .I totally disagree with you. Mitch loves him some mitch. He is a long winded blowhard. He asks his question/makes his point like 5 different times before he moves on.

 

[EVille3]

I think I read somewhere Beilmel is looking for more than the M's are offering. Not sure if he'll get much more since he had a career year last year at age 37, outside of his 2008 year with LAD.

 

[NWinAZ]

Saunders competing to be the second situational lefty out of the bullpen. I just don't see it. Why not bring back Joe Beimel? Anyone know? Does Beimel want to play somewhere else?

I think we were being a bot sarcastic about Saunders.

Beimel: Wants two years and M's want him to volunteer....more sarcasm.

 

[NWinAZ]

http://bcove.me/l2470o2w

Walker and Elias BP session via Times

 

[unlvmariners]

Saunders competing to be the second situational lefty out of the bullpen. I just don't see it. Why not bring back Joe Beimel? Anyone know? Does Beimel want to play somewhere else?

yeah i was being sarcastic..

I would be all for bringing Beimel back on a one year deal. I just don't think the Mariners and Beimel are on the same page with money.

 

[cezero]

Cruz is huge.

Hope he's not stupid enough to get caught again.

 

[wazzu31]

With the new commissioner setting his sights on bringing back offense and bringing in the ADD crowd they should just have team doctors give PED as their own discretion IMO.

 

[NWinAZ]

If shortstop prospect Ketel Marte plays well enough to reach the big leagues this year, the Mariners’ willingness to move Brad Miller or Chris Taylor will increase in the coming months, if not sooner, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. One Mariners official compared Marte, a switch hitter, to a younger version of Jose Reyes. He also has some second base experience, but he’s blocked there by Robinson Cano.

 

[unlvmariners]

I haven't been very big on Marte mostly because I haven't really seen him play yet and I keep believing one of Taylor or Miller will entrench themselves as the M's everyday SS. But I agree with if he plays well enough to make the bigs then Miller or Taylor should be considered in a trade to improve the team but they also shouldn't be given away.

 

[NWinAZ]

I like what I have seen of him sin recent spring games. For whatever reason, I am not big on Taylor. I like the kid, but just don't see him as anything special. I actually see him more as a WFB type future than a starting SS, Hope I am wrong or someone else thinks more of him in a trade.

 

[SeattleCoug]

I am not big on Taylor as of yet either. People like to point to his batting average when he was up here. However I more noticed his low slugging, high strikeout rate and an unsustainable BABIP. I mean he could improve but we will see. I see it as we have 3 options but not 1 established guy yet. I'd rather have 1 guy that I know you can count on then 3 options who are just question marks at this point.

However if they are highly valued elsewhere, hang onto them and deal one for a starting pitcher, outfielder or first baseman in the summer.

 

[unlvmariners]

I differ from you two... I see a pretty high potential from Chris Taylor. I also think Brad Miller has a pretty high potential. Neither come without their flaws and each of them has a little bit different value. Taylors major league sample size is small so I don't think we have the full picture on him yet. For Miller we cannot fall into the same cycle as we have with prospects before him, Ackley, Smoak etc... where we just keep running them out there year after year even though they have shown they suck. Don't forget that Miller sucked last year he must do better this year and I think he will but if he has a season like he did last year then I am ready to move on.

If I had to rate the two players I would have Miller rated just barely above Taylor and probably only because he will hit for more power than Taylor.

 

[NWinAZ]

I would rate Miller as a 'B' potential player and Taylor as a 'C'. Basically what SeattleCoug mentioned is my assessment as well on Taylor and I truly believe Miller is going to be a near All-Star performer over his career. Time will tell and if they decide to trade Taylor I hope it is sooner rather than later. I call that the Nick Franklin effect. High ratings, poor MLB performance, traded at a low point. Ug!

 

[unlvmariners]

I would rate Miller as a 'B' potential player and Taylor as a 'C'. Basically what SeattleCoug mentioned is my assessment as well on Taylor and I truly believe Miller is going to be a near All-Star performer over his career. Time will tell and if they decide to trade Taylor I hope it is sooner rather than later. I call that the Nick Franklin effect. High ratings, poor MLB performance, traded at a low point. Ug!

I would be more along the lines of B top end potential for Miller and B- for Taylor. As it stands now I don't see much of a gap between the two of them as far as overall value to the team, or in statistics. Mostly I feel that way because Miller proved nothing last season, he was terrible. All those things SeattleCoug noticed about Taylor were also true for Miller, high strikeout rate, low slugging. The unsustainable BABIP is a legit concern about Taylor but it is a tiny sample size, and remember what that number is showing because some would say having a high BABIP is a sign of a quality hitter then again some would say striking out at a high rate is a sign of a bad hitter .

 

[NWinAZ]

True, true. I just base it on what I have seen of them, Could be wrong, have been before. This year will be big for both of them. In the end, Marte may be the best of all of them.

 

[cezero]

Interesting stuff I'm finding out about Cruz's season last year that maybe you all knew, but I didn't.

25 of his home runs were on the road, and the other 15 were at home.

With the press yesterday, he iterated that he's a line drive hitter, and that hitting a ton of homers at Safeco isn't a priority, which I'm fine with. Signing anybody and hoping for that is folly in this era.

 

[EVille3]

Interesting stuff I'm finding out about Cruz's season last year that maybe you all knew, but I didn't.

25 of his home runs were on the road, and the other 15 were at home.

With the press yesterday, he iterated that he's a line drive hitter, and that hitting a ton of homers at Safeco isn't a priority, which I'm fine with. Signing anybody and hoping for that is folly in this era.

Yeah, I heard that when we signed him. That stat is what causes me to chuckle every time I read an article with some schmuck stating that Cruz will have a drastic drop in homers going from the "launching pad" in Baltimore to the "pitcher's paradise" in Seattle...

 

[unlvmariners]

True, true. I just base it on what I have seen of them, Could be wrong, have been before. This year will be big for both of them. In the end, Marte may be the best of all of them.

Yeah its definitely a wait and see how things turn out kind of situation. Honestly if any of the 3 prove they can play at ML level then I'm cool with it, doesn't matter to me which guy it turns out being.

 

[unlvmariners]

Interesting stuff I'm finding out about Cruz's season last year that maybe you all knew, but I didn't.

25 of his home runs were on the road, and the other 15 were at home.

With the press yesterday, he iterated that he's a line drive hitter, and that hitting a ton of homers at Safeco isn't a priority, which I'm fine with. Signing anybody and hoping for that is folly in this era.

Yeah I dont mind to much if he hits a ton of homers or not as long as he is productive. That being said I don't think he will have a problem getting the ball out of safeco