Michael Saunders!!!!

[PolarVortex]

You are judging Almonte after what you just saw. That is hindsight. What if he was the next Gomez and we never gave him a shot? I have no problem with him playing because Saunders has shown what he is...a 4th OF. I like saunders in that role and play him while he is hot. Just don't get your hopes up he will be the next Ellsbury.

If he is the next Carlos Gomez then I definitely would rather he be in Tacoma. Carlos Gomez didn't do much of anything in MLB for his first 5 and a half years. I don't want to wait on Almonte that long.

Saunders might cool off and go back to being the Michael Sanders we have known the last five years. Or he could continue to be the guy who put up a .790 OPS in the second half last year. Would I take a .790 OPS out of our CFer? Oh hell yes. Other than Ichiro and Raul Ibanez, how many starting Mariner outfielders have put up a .790 in a season in the Safeco Field era? Jose Guillen probably did. Anyone else?

 

[wazzu31]

Simple actually, Lloyd and everyone else has seen what Saunders can do, low ceiling, so he went with someone that had a chance to elevate the position. It didn't work so you go back to the fall-back plan. A real team that spends money goes after a Ellsbury or alike who has proven himself. We are on the budget plan so you cross fingers you find that type from the minors. It doesn't happen often which is why we are who we are.

Disagree with you on that Almonte has a higher ceiling. Thus far, Saunders hasn't proven it but if you look at his skills he still has 5 tool stuff just hasn't, nor maybe will never, put it together. It is only going off of this year but it doesn't look like Almonte will ever be a gold glove candidate. But on the same not to be fair, Adam Jones was a joke defensively in the outfield when he was with the organization.

I get your point on Ellsbury but no team can just go with strictly free agents and has been proven in time that zero championships are strictly bought. The Mariners do need to spend money on free agents but eventually they have to hit on a couple of their home grown prospects. I'll keep coming back to the perfect model of how to build an organization was the 90's Yankees and how they build theirs.

 

[PolarVortex]

Simple actually, Lloyd and everyone else has seen what Saunders can do, low ceiling, so he went with someone that had a chance to elevate the position. It didn't work so you go back to the fall-back plan. A real team that spends money goes after a Ellsbury or alike who has proven himself. We are on the budget plan so you cross fingers you find that type from the minors. It doesn't happen often which is why we are who we are.

Suggesting they go after Ellsbury seems to contradict your criticism of them going after Cano. You don't want them to give Cano $240 million but you have no problem with them giving Ellsbury $160 million?

If they had Ellsbury instead of Cano, they would still have $46 million of their $92 million tied up in two players. If they had added both Ellsbury and Cano while upping the payroll to accomodate Ellsbury's salary, they would have three players making $70 million of the $114.5 million payroll.

 

[NWinAZ]

We already had a 2B or two, but we had no OF's. I really didn't think it was hard to figure out.

 

[PolarVortex]

We already had a 2B or two, but we had no OF's. I really didn't think it was hard to figure out.

Yes, it really is that hard to figure out. You endorsed the signing of Ellsbury. Ellsbury and Hernandez making $46 million of the $92 million payroll is okay. But Cano and Hernandez making $47.5 million of the $92 million payroll is not, apparently. Why?

 

[Podunkparte]

Yes, it really is that hard to figure out. You endorsed the signing of Ellsbury. Ellsbury and Hernandez making $46 million of the $92 million payroll is okay. But Cano and Hernandez making $47.5 million of the $92 million payroll is not, apparently. Why?

Because Jose Altuve is the greatest baseball player ever!!!!

 

[NWinAZ]

Because Jose Altuve is the greatest baseball player ever!!!!

Who said that? $240M for Cano and nothing else vs $12.5M for Altuve and another $227.5M still to spend. Maybe you should use that new wave $ per WAR to figure it out.

Kind of interesting that the teams with the most championships and most money to spend didn't find it necessary to spend the same amount on the guy. And you guys think Almonte is the real issue to the team? Funny.