Only a few days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training! I’m very excited for baseball season to get underway. Up until a few days ago, Erik Bedard was probably wondering whether he would be reporting to Florida or Arizona!
Because of the delay from when the trade talks started to when it was officially announced, we have all had a lot of time to ponder the Jones, et al for Bedard trade. What the hell took so long, anyway? I kept hoping that it would fall through for some reason, though I knew deep down I was probably kidding myself. During all this soul searching, I arrived at some clarity over the deal that I wish to share.
Lincoln has admittedly placed himself and Bavasi on the “hot seat” again this year. Which really means what? If they don’t win more than 88 games, they’ll fire themselves? There’s something to root for, eh? If I were making these types of decisions, I wouldn’t have traded Jones for Bedard straight up. I have been excited to see AJ roam the Mariners’ outfield full time for a while now. And then, the M’s also included Chris Tillman, Tony Butler, George Sherrill and Kam Mickolio. Unbelievable!
The Mariners’ front office has a self imposed pressure to win now and try to compete for the American League West title. Casual fans may endorse this policy, though gutting the farm system for two years service from a veteran pitcher cannot be in the best interests of the Mariners, from a long term perspective. That said, it logically follows that Lincoln and Bavasi are not in the best interest of the Mariners’ future. This “hot seat” mentality is stupid, plain and simple. Mariners’ management has been among the most inept, league wide. Are the Mariners better in 2008 because of the trade? Probably. But, I don’t believe mortgaging the future for a modest, at best, shot at success in the present was a wise decision. If this continues, the Mariners will continue to find themselves in a similar situation, but they need a front-office house cleaning to start over and begin doing things the right way. It will require a long term commitment to improve, and we must not fall prey to quick fixes.
-Bill Glassey