Time’s come to break up slumping M’s
Aging, underachieving team needs a major overhaul
Linda Kaye / APThe aging Seattle Mariners need to revamp their roster, according to columnist Tony DeMarco. Pitchers Freddy Garcia, left, and Eddie Guardado are two players that would attract interest from other teams.
COMMENTARY
By Tony DeMarco
NBCSports.com contributor
updated 2:27 a.m. ET June 7, 2004
The Seattle Mariners are showing signs of life — exactly at the wrong time. While a three-game winning streak this week was a nice salve for a miserable first seven weeks of the season, Mariners management can’t let it cloud judgment about what needs to be done. And that is to begin what could be a painful transition through a major roster overhaul. Yes, the time has come to blow up the Mariners as we know them.
Here’s what we’ve come to know about the Mariners over the past few years: Winning teams, great attendance, familiar veteran faces in a squeaky-clean clubhouse, solidly run, money-making franchise. The formula produced an American League-record 116-win season and playoff appearance in 2001, and back-to-back 93-win seasons that ended in disappointment in 2002-03. The Mariners’ 393 wins were the most in the majors in 2000-03.
All of which makes their 2-8 start, 8-15 April, 1-10 slide in mid-May and current last-place spot in the AL West tougher to handle. But rather than hope for a rebound, it’s time to rebuild. Even after that mini-winning streak, the Mariners are headed for a massive collapse – from 93-69 to something close to a reverse of that record. If it’s better to get rid of a player one year too early rather than one year too late, as Branch Rickey once said, the M’s have waited too long.
And even if they do stage a quick rebound and get back to .500, what chance do the Mariners really have to catch Boston, New York, Anaheim and Oakland — the four elite AL teams from which in all probability will come two division champions and the wildcard? So we caution again — don’t be fooled by these recent signs of a pulse:
Ichiro Suzuki has had a typically huge May, hitting better than .400 for the month after a four-hit game on Wednesday. Raul Ibanez hit over .400 for a week. Edgar Martinez passed Harold Baines for the all-time record for homers as a designated hitter with 236. Randy Winn snapped out of a slump that had reached a 2-for-36 nadir. John Olerud strung together seven hits in three games to jump-start his sunken batting average.
But all that got the Mariners is the third-worst record in the American League, better than only Kansas City and Tampa Bay, whose combined payrolls don’t equal the Mariners’ $80-plus-million mark. Their best pitcher is 40, and he’s one of three 40-year-olds on the roster. The right side of their infield is 35 and 35. And to that mix, they added more age in the off-season, letting 31-year-old Mike Cameron leave through free agency and signing 32-year-old Raul Ibanez, and replacing 28-year-old Carlos Guillen with 32-year-old Rich Aurilia.
But it’s not just age that is crippling this team. Seven regulars have lower batting averages than last year. Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Joel Pineiro and Gil Meche have ballooning ERA’s, the latter possibly due to some shoulder trouble. The front office isn’t batting 1.000 either. Jeff Cirillo bombed before being dealt to San Diego in a salary swap. Ben Davis hasn’t panned out.
Fortunately, the Mariners have a surplus of what everybody needs – pitching – not just at the big-league level, but in the organization as well. Top prospects Travis Blackley and Clint Nageotte are at Triple-A, a step away. So there is the possibility of pitching-for-position-player deals. They could wait another year for middle infielder Jose Lopez and outfielder Chris Snelling, but more help is needed.
Already, possibilities are surfacing – although admittedly premature at this point, two months from the trade deadline. There is much interest in Freddy Garcia, and understandably so considering his excellent rebound season marred only by a lack of run support. Several contenders, including the Yankees, White Sox and possibly the Cubs, have a need for another quality starter, and with Garcia on the verge of free agency, he is the perfect candidate. Eddie Guardado’s stay in the Pacific Northwest also apparently won’t last long, as he has said signing there was a mistake, given the Mariners’ fall from contention.
And the Mariners also have to approach Jamie Moyer, Bret Boone, Martinez and Olerud about their possible desires to go elsewhere. This is most likely Martinez’s final season. He came back for the possibility of another shot at a World Series ring, and he’s not going to get one in Seattle, so maybe one of the AL contenders could use him down the stretch.
Boone (at $8 million) also is in the final year of his deal, and despite a May slump, remains one of the league’s more dangerous run producers. Olerud ($7.7 million) also is in the last year of his deal, but will have to start hitting to attract interest. Moyer has another year left on a three-year deal signed before the 2003 season, but there seems to be little doubt he can be effective beyond this season.
Getting rid of four franchise icons may be too much for a fan base to tolerate. But payroll must be cleared so the Mariners can make a run at free-agent talent such as Troy Glaus this winter. The sooner the process starts, the better for the Mariners – short-term trouble notwithstanding.
Tony DeMarco is a free-lance writer based in Denver and a frequent contributor to NBCSports.com
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