Slighty OT: Bad Times To Be a Mariner

by EJThunder on Sep 26, 2008 12:30 PM CDT

There was an article on ESPN this morning I found pretty interesting.

Apparently Ichiro, one of the best players and most hard-working players on the team, isn't very well liked.

Sometime during the season (around June 19), a teammate for which they don't know, said that they wanted to "knock Ichiro out."

Some of the Mariner teammates reportedly think that Ichiro is cocky and only cares about his own stats.

I don't really know what to think of that Mariner locker room but you sure as hell don't act like a coward behind a sports writer.

On the other side, if Ichiro is as self-centered as he is reported as being it should be expected.

Our "boy", Jim Riggleman, had a great quote about the situation. "When the ship is sinking, the rats are the first ones off. They're the ones scavenging everything on the ship when it's going good, but when it's sinking they're the first ones off."

Whew! Talk about good team chemistry! I'm really glad the Cubs' clubhouse is the polar opposite of this.

Kind of reminds me of the anonymous Sammy Sosa boom box smasher.

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Figures

The chunks in Ichiro’s stool are more talented than half the guys in that locker room.

Riggleman should go on a search and destroy mission to find out who said it, and then stick that guy in a room with Ichiro.

Pluto will always be a planet to me!

by DaBard on Sep 26, 2008 1:14 PM CDT reply actions

quote of the day, Dab ol buddy

Well, Next Year is here .. and Jack's century's gotta end some time .. GO CUBBIES!

by cubnational on Sep 26, 2008 2:21 PM CDT up reply actions

Actually,

it’s a fantastic time to be a Mariner. You can’t drop any lower, Bavasi is gone, you’ve got some veterans that are either coming off of the books, or can be shipped elsewhere pretty easily, they’ve got a decent payroll budget to work with, and you can pretty much go get any manager that you like. And a couple of good, young assets to build around.

And frankly, if they got wise and sold high on Ichiro, they could be back into playoff contention by the end of 2010.

I’m going to wait and see what they do this offseason before I comment further on their state.

by Damen Jackson on Sep 26, 2008 1:25 PM CDT reply actions

A serious question.....

Good young assets? Who?

To me this is one of the most messed up organizations around thanks to Bavasi. They even traded several of their best prospects for a pitcher who may now miss next season.

by rlpete on Sep 26, 2008 2:42 PM CDT up reply actions

Not that I disagree...

but you can’t go lower, and they have the organizational tools to regroup quickly if they chose to.

King Felix is a good start for any rebuilding team. I think Jose Lopez is a very good young infielder. and Clement and Morrow are definite assets. You can debate the dubious deals made by Bavasi — which is perfectly fair, in my opinion — but they’ve got some pieces to work with.

by Damen Jackson on Sep 26, 2008 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions

They'll be very, very lucky if they become competitive before Felix leaves

I think he’s gone after 2011 which isn’t much time to draft and develop new young talent.

They need to start looking at Lopez and King Felix less as the future of the franchise and more as gold-plated trading chips. They could get a haul for either.

Likewise, trade Beltre now. And anyone else who is worth a damn on that team. It’s an absolute embarrassment that they didn’t trade Washburn in July or August.

by Wreckard on Sep 26, 2008 3:39 PM CDT up reply actions

Sexton is off the books,

so the deadline wasn’t a total waste. But as I said to start, I think it’s a good time to find homes for some of those veterans, and Beltre would be at the top of my list.

by Damen Jackson on Sep 26, 2008 3:52 PM CDT up reply actions

They're saddled with lots of ugly contracts...

Miguel Batista, Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn…. At least in the case of Adrian Beltre there is only one year left on the deal and he should prove quite marketable.

by MDBNIU on Sep 26, 2008 4:08 PM CDT up reply actions

Ichiro has long been considered a stats whore and lousy teammate

That doesn’t mean he still isn’t MVP of that team. With the Mariners being owned by Japanese interests, there being large Japanese-American population in Seattle and Ichiro being the only draw on that franchise??? I don’t think he will go anywhere. His teammates will be flushed down the toilet before he is.

by MDBNIU on Sep 26, 2008 1:25 PM CDT reply actions

Until this story broke

I had never heard that he was a lousy teammate. Now, being that it’s an AL club on the west coast, I’ll be honest that I pay zero attention to them, but is this something that’s been festering for years and is only now coming into the light, has it gotten worse recently, or is this something obvious that I’ve just been missing?

by chitownhawkeye on Sep 26, 2008 6:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Ichiro's not going anywhere...

…because he generates more revenue for his team than any other single player in baseball. That revenue comes from Japan itself (much moreso than the local Japanese-American population), especially from merchandise and advertising revenue. Moreover, it allows the Mariners to carry a $117m payroll, which is way out of proportion to their market-size and traditional domestic revenue streams. Of course, $117m doesn’t go very far if, like Bavasi, you waste it by overpaying for veteran mediocrities.

Here’s an old article that discusses Ichiro’s impact on the team’s revenue. It’s a bit dated, but it illustrates my point.

"Some people will look at a glass of water and say it's half-empty, while another guy will look at it and say it's half-full. A Cubs fan looks at the same glass and asks, "When's it gonna spill?" - Mike Royko

by LaddieRenfroe on Sep 26, 2008 2:00 PM CDT reply actions