Moderatoren » mber the plan is stock the minor leagues with

So as the Seattle Mariners have been on a their recent hot streak this season the big debate has been Eric Dickerson Jersey , do the Mariners have a chance to contend or should they look to continue to build for the future. I have to start off by telling you that I am one of those guys who doesn’t get all giddy about my team being .500.I don’t even get all excited about my team making the playoffs and then quickly exiting. Call me crazy but I want to see my team win championships. As a lifelong Seattle sports fan for 33 years I have no experience of what that’s like. I have seen the Sonics in the NBA Finals and the Seahawks in the Super Bowl Los Angeles Rams Jersey , only to be heart broken when they lost. The Mariner’s management have over the years showed a fondness for the phrase “being competitive”. You hear the fans now saying it daily on sports radio.”I just want to see the M’s be competitive”. It drives me nuts! It reminds me of what parents tell tee ball players “just go out and have fun and it doesn’t matter if you win or not Alejandro Villanueva Jersey , just as long as you try hard”. That works for little kids but it shouldn’t be acceptable in Professional Sports. When Jackie Z was hired two years ago I could not have been happier because he understood that you can waste a lot of years and money just “being competitive”. To be a championship caliber organization you had to willing to be in hard work and do it the right way. He talked about building from the ground floor up. Restocking the minor leagues James Conner Jersey , developing young talent and spending free agent money on the right guys. Doing this most often means the team is gonna be terrible for a couple years JuJu Smith-Schuster Jersey , but you are better off once you get through the process. When the plan works you find yourself with young exceptional talent on your major league roster that is prepared to battle for championships for many years. The minor leagues are stocked with guys who can add to your club in the future. You also have the finances and minor league talent to add missing pieces in the middle of seasons via trades.


I’m totally on board with this model of building an organization. I have joked with friends before this season that I gave the Mariners permission to suck for the next couple years as long as they stick to their stated plan. I am pleasantly surprised and pleased with how they are currently playing. I take a lot of joy out of watching games this year. I enjoying watching the young hitters begin to develop. Michael Pineda has been amazing with what he has done to this point. Having said that it has not changed my initial feelings about this season. It should be about continuing to develop these young players and going through the growing pains as they deal with the adjustment to the majors. It should not be a time to believe playing .500 baseball means we could win it all this year and trading away young talent. I think even the most diehard supporters of going for it all this year don’t believe trading young players for major league talent is the right approach. However my beef with these people is that they believe we shouldn’t trade our older players either. This is especially relevant when it comes to one Erik Bedard. Coming into this season he could not be thought of anything less than a disaster after all the prospects the M’s traded for him and the three horrific injury plagued seasons. This season he has amazed everyone with the season he has put together so far. Fans and many in the media are saying we should keep Bedard and see what he can do. Also they say anything you get in return will not be of any value for him. I ask the question however “if we keep him what do we gain”. He has pitched well but it is only the start of June and who knows how he’ll look in August and September when a potential division race is heating up. That’s assuming he is still pitching then. He didn’t pitch for the M’s at all last year T. J. Watt Jersey , so will his surgically repaired arm hold up? Also even when he was healthy he has never pitched 200 innings in a season. His most was 196 in Baltimore in the 2006 season. If you think the M’s don’t need that many from a 3rd or 4th starter look at last year. Vargas pitched 192 innings and Doug Fister pitched 171 innings. Bedard is yet to pitch 85 innings for this team. So the argument should not be can you get value for Bedard rather can you get value from a pitcher who most likely won’t be still pitching late in the season. Do not forget that Pineda is on an innings limit this season Terrell Edmunds Jersey , as all young pitchers should be. He will most likely be shut down in September to prevent over work. So you have to have someone take up those innings late in the year and Bedard has never shown he is that guy


Remember the plan is stock the minor leagues with talent. Also are there pieces can you get for Bedard that down the line can be used to acquire someone else. I love the Mariners as much as the next person and I honestly want to see them succeed. I do however want them to be more than a competitive team. I want a championship caliber team for years to come. Professional sports franchises can be vie