Hot Stove and Pipe Dreams

MARINERS NEW DIRECTION

With plenty of fun and reckless abandon in my I am going to lay out my plan for the Mariners future. I will use rumors and wild speculation to make my case for a brighter future for my favorite franchise. With a surplus of mediocre veteran starting pitcher and without a proven middle of the order bat it will an uphill battle for new Mariner GM J-Z.

The team as is: What I would do with the roster if I could not make any trades.

PITCHING STAFF

SP- Felix Hernandez

SP- Brandon Morrow

SP- Ryan Rowland

SP- Erik Bedard

SP- Carlos Silva

RP- Jarrod Washburn

RP- Jason Vargas

RP- Jose Lugo

RP- Miguel Batista

RP- Roy Corcoran

RP- Aaron Heilman

CL- Mark Lowe

Closer is the toughest call for me and I think as long as Morrow isn’t converted back to the position I will be reasonably happy. I would prefer resigning Bobby Ayala to taking Morrow out of the rotation. As far as the rotation is concerned I would prefer the three younger players(Hernandez, Morrow, RRS) be in the rotation from opening day. The other two rotation spots are up for grabs with Bedard, Silva, Washburn, Heilman and Batista in the mix.

LINE UP

RF- Ichiro

2B- Jose Lopez

DH- Jeff Clement

3B- Adrian Beltre

1B- Russell Branyan

CF- Franklin Gutierrez

C- Kenji Johjima

SS- Yuniesky Betancourt

LF- Endy Chavez

BN- Mike Morse

BN- Reegie Corona

BN- Rob Johnson

BN- Wladimir Balentien

I am not sure if Branyan will play that much at first and I left Chris Shelton off the team but first base is perplexing this season. I would really like to have Tug Hullet on this roster maybe moving Lopez to first. I am really unhappy with the middle infield defense but we may be stuck with what we have.

TRADES

The trade rumor that intrigues me the most is the potential of acquiring Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins. Apparently Jose Lopez and Rob Johnson were not enough to get it done with the Marlins wanting Adam Moore instead of Johnson. I would try to sweeten the deal with out giving up Moore. Next I would look at trying to acquire Yunel Escobar from the Braves maybe in a three team deal involving the Royals who have shown interest in Betancourt(This is not a likely scenario). Then I go straight up crazy and go swap meet on everyone and offer bad contracts for bad contracts.

I offer Washburn to the Dodgers for Andruw Jones with both players free agents after next season. Then I offer Silva to the Cubs for Kosuke Fukudome both players signed big money long term deals last season. I think Fukudome teamed with countrymen Ichiro and Johjima could bounce back from a poor first year.

Re Shuffled Mariners

PITHCHING STAFF:

SP- Felix Hernandez

SP- Brandon Morrow

SP- Ryan Rowland-Smith

SP- Eric Bedard

SP- Carlos Silva

RP- Jarrod Washburn

RP- Jose Lugo

RP- Jason Vargas

RP- Miguel Batista

RP- Roy Corcoran

RP- Aaron Heilman

CL- Mark Lowe

LINE UP

RF- Ichiro

SS- Yunel Escobar

LF- Jeremy Hermida

3B- Adrian Beltre

DH- Jeff Clement

CF- Franklin Gutierrez

1B- Branyan/Morse platoon

C- Kenji Johjima

2B- Tug Hullet

BN- Endy Chavez

BN- Reegie Corona

BN- Mike Morse

BN- Wladimir Balentin

Even in a fantasy world I still don’t have the solution at first base. I am just not sure what the plan is for that position. Maybe Mike Carp wows J-Z in spring training and it becomes a non issue for the next ten years( definitely fantasy). I personally like this line up(big surprise seeing as I put it together) with its added pop and on base percentage.

THE DRAFT

With a surplus of picks in this years draft I am excited to see what J-Z can do. It looks like the M’s will have five picks in the top fifty five giving the new GM a chance to put his stamp on the farm system. As for the number two pick I am leaning toward UCS SS Grant Green over UNC RHP Alex White. It would be nice to have another young stud infielder to go along with Carlos Triunfel.

CRYSTAL BALL

Projected Roster 2012

SP- Felix Hernandez

SP- Brandon Morrow

SP- Philippe Aumont

SP- Ryan Rowland-Smith

SP- Michael Pineda

RP- No clue who will be in the pen in 2012.

C- Adam Moore

1B- Mike Carp

2B- Carlos Triunfel

3B- Adrian Beltre

SS- Grant Green

OF- Ichiro

OF- Franklin Gutierrez

OF- Greg Halman

DH- Jeff Clement

That group gives me hope for the future even though most of the players on this roster are unproven at the major league. As a Seattle sports fan sometimes hope is all you have.