Refuse to Lose! The 2010 Seattle Mariners and beyond

[Xero]

The score is 4 to 3 Yankees in the top of the ninth. Here is the 1-2 pitch…a tight fastball on the outside corner that Rivera just manages to check…wait or did he? The home ump is saying that he went! The home umpire has called Juan Rivera out on strikes! Juan Rivera strikes out for the third time today and the Yankees are going to the ALCS!



And with that the Seattle Mariners’ miraculous season came to a bitter and disappointing end.

Ah yes, the 2009 Seattle Mariners. If a ball club is measured purely by its level of talent, the Seattle Mariners will probability be an AAA team. Full of outcasts, journeyman and waiver wire claims, the Seattle Mariner was picked to the be weakest link in the AL West and predicted to be battling for the 3rd spot with the Oakland Athletics. Even the owner didn’t have much hope for the 2009 edition of this ball club as he set the standard very low at finishing close to .500. But as you know that is not what happened.

Early in the season, the Seattle Mariners were an after thought, but they played consistent ball and quietly found themselves atop the very weak AL West. Then the dog days of summer came and the team faltered a bit due to the loss of staff ace SP Felix Hernandez. The critics were quick to jump to the conclusion that the Mariners simply did not have enough depth and they would drop out of first place. But the 2009 Seattle Mariners are a resilient bunch and with the emergence of SP Garrett Olson, who had a 4.68 ERA in AAA, the Mariners maintained its position as first in the West.

Then September came and a slew of injuries to RF Ichiro Suzuki, 3B Adrian Beltre and CF Franklin Gutierrez put a birth in the playoffs in jeopardy. Once again, the critics were quick predicted that the Seattle Mariners were going to choke and lose first spot to either the Texas Ranger or the LA Angels. However, there will be no choking in Seattle this season as Seattle, the Mariners finished strong and ended the season with a 85-77 record a full 2 games above the 2nd place Rangers.

Now the playoffs, the Mariners were set to face the almighty Yankees and once again critics quickly wrote them off (see the pattern here). And it seemed like they were right as Yankees took the first two games in New Yankee stadium. However, the Mariners held serve in their home and the series was tied up at 2-2 heading back to New York. Now in final game in the ALDS, the Yankees took a early 3 run lead in the 5th inning, but the Mariners once again showed their resiliency by crawling back run by run until the top of the 9th … and then you know what happened.

The Seattle Mariners miraculous turnaround from a 100 loss ball club to a playoff team in one season has people comparing them to the Tampa Bay Rays of 08. Off course, the Mariners had nowhere near the amount of young talent that the 08 Rays had, but it did have its fair share of unsung heroes such as SP Ryan Rowland-Smith who went 12-10 with a ERA of 3.85 and also had a No Hitter, SP Garrett Olsen who went 6-5 with 3.42 ERA, Brendan Morrow who had 38 saves and was our lone All-star, SS Yuniesky Betancourt who batted .291 with 43 doubles and 76 RBIs and DH Ken Griffey Jr. who batted .297. And we always can’t forget the manager Don “Waka Waka” Wakamatsu who made a average team into a playoff team.

Still the Mariners team and fans alike will be wondering how far they could have gone in the playoffs had SP Felix Hernandez and 3B Adrian Beltre been health in the postseason. But the question that matters the most is, are the Seattle Mariners is just a one season wonder or they do have what it takes to be a championship contender for days to come.

[Xero]

After a short Delay....
The World Series, Awards, Hall of Fame, Arbitration and some other stuff.



Starting with the World Series, it was an all New York match up as the Yankees faced the Mets. And after 6 hard fought games, the New York Mets were crowned the World Series Champions. The Mets was lead by their ace SP Johan Santana and CL Francisco Rodriguez which was supported by potent offensive featuring a healthy CF Carlos Beltran, 1B Carlos Delgado and 3B David Wright.

Now the awards

AL Gold Gloves

SP A.J. Burnett NYY
C Dioner Navarro TBA
1B Kevin Youkilis BOS
2B Alberto Callaspo KC
3B Adrian Beltre SEA
SS Adam Everett DET
LF Josh Hamilton TEX
CF Carlos Gomez MIN
RF Gabe Gross TBA

NL Gold Gloves

SP Derek Lowe ATL
C Russell Martin LAD
2B Albert Pujols STL
2B Felipe Lopez AZI
3B Ryan Zimmerman WAS
SS Jack Wilson PIT
LF Scott Hairston SD
CF Colby Rasmus STL
RF Jayson Werth STL

AL Rookie of the year

C Matt Wieters (.316, 22 HR, 83 RBI) BAL

NL Rookie of the Year

CF Colby Rasmus (.300, 25 HR, 66 RBI) STL

AL Manager of the Year

Joe Girardi NYY

NL Manager of the Year

Jerry Manuel NYM

AL Cy Young

SP C. C. Sabathia (22-8, 2.52 ERA, 249 K) NYY*

*Was 2 strikeouts away from a triple crown.

NL Cy Young

SP Johan Santana (20-8, 2.45 ERA, 263 K) NYM

AL MVP

2B Robinson Cano (.341, 17HR, 106 RBI) NYY

NL MVP

1B Prince Fielder (.345, 30 HR, 104 RBI) MIL

Hall of Fame Inductees

CL Trevor Hoffman (60-70, 2.77 ERA, 589 Save, 1116 K, 6 time All-Star)
SP Randy “The Big Unit” Johnson (308-171, 3.31 ERA, 4970 K, 5 Cy Young Award, 10 time All-Star)
RF Gary Sheffield (.291, 2634 Hits, 502 HR, 1639 RBI, 9 time All-Star)

2010 Budget

After seeing the Mariners making the playoffs and a great attendance record, Mariners management have decided to set the 2010 budget at $103,552,976

Mariners Arbitration Results

CL Brandon Morrow $1,700,000
RP Mark Lowe $600,000
SP Felix Hernandez $7,358,700
RP David Aardsma $600,000
2B Brandon Fahey $600,000
CF Franklin Gutierrez $679,400

Extensions
We signed Rocco Baldelli to a 2-year extension worth $2,000,000 in total.

[Xero]

Free Agency

Its that time of the year again! Free agency! And this year’s class of free agents are sure to garner their fair share of eyebrow raising contracts.

We have lost SP Ben Sheets, SP Erik Bedard, 3B Adrian Beltre, RP Octavio Dotel and RF Ken Griffey Jr. have all declined arbitration and opted to go into the free agent market.

This year’s free agent market is absolutely loaded with big name starting pitchers such as SP Rich Harden, SP John Lackey, SP Bret Myers, SP Ben Sheets, SP Erik Bedard. While LF Matt Holliday will be the only true super star hitter on the market, guys like 1B Andy LaRoche, RF Rick Ankiel and 2B Orlando Hudson might receive a massive offer from clubs in despite need of offensive help.

With more than 40 million in budget space, the Seattle Mariners will be sure to pursue several of these big name free agents available this year.

[Xero]

December Update

The winter meetings have come and gone and so far only one of the big name free agents has settled on a home.

RF Rick Ankiel has signed a 4-year deal with division rivals Oakland Athletics that will pay him $6,870,000 a year.

We have also been busy working the line with several free agents. We were able to sign SP Kevin Correia to 2 year deal worth $600,000 per year, MR Kevin Gregg to a one-year $990,000 contract, 2B Felipe Lopez to a one-year one million deal and RF Xavier Nady to a 2-year deal worth $2,100,000 in total.

The winter meetings also marked the establishment of a new feeder system to the MLB with the creation of the MLB College and High School Combine. Both of these combines consist of 50 teams and will feed the annual MLB draft. The teams in the combine are not based in any specific city and therefore are named after their mascot.

[GMLoophole]

I'll be following... I take it you simmed through 2009... which version of the game/roster are you using?

[Xero]

Originally Posted by GMLoophole

I'll be following... I take it you simmed through 2009... which version of the game/roster are you using?

Thanks for following, actually I managed through the 2009 season. I'm using the OOTPX version with 2009 opening day rosters.

[Xero]

Sombre Day in MLB

The new year did not start will in the major leagues as one of its young stars had to hang up his helmet on the first day of 2010. SS Jhonny Peralta of the Cleveland Indians has been suffering from post concussion syndrome for the past several months. However, on Friday it was reported that he suffered a major setback in his rehab work. A setback which Peralta was unlikely to recover from. So later that afternoon, an emotional Jhonny Peralta in a press conference thanked the fans, the Cleveland organization and MLB and announced his retirement from professional baseball. The 27 year old Peralta boasted a lifetime batting average of .270 with 781 hits, 98 homers, 430 runs scored and 379 RBIs.

After a day of sorrow and self-reflection, the MLB has returned back to work with the second major contract of this free agent season.

The Seattle Mariners and SP Bret Myers has come to a 3-year deal that will pay the former Philly $18,640,000 by the end of the contract.

Myers had a mediocre season last year going 12-12 with a ERA of 4.16 and striking out 176. Myers will no doubt come to Seattle to improve on those numbers in the pitcher friendly confines of Safeco Field. Bret is expected to be either the 2^nd or 3^rd starter for the Mariners depending on where SP Rich Harden decide to sign next year.

[Xero]

Holliday Inks Deal

On a cold day on the 19^th of January, LF Matt Holliday has finally put to an end the months of speculation and bidding by agreeing to a 4-year contract worth a total $47,080,000 offered by the … (Drum roll Please) … The Seattle Mariners!

Last year, Holliday struggled a bit with injury and it reflected on the field as he only batted .273 with 17 HR and 68 RBI. However, Holliday is fully expected to return to his 30 HR and 100 RBI form next season and will be a main stay at the 3^rd spot in the lineup for the duration of the 4 years. The pickup of Matt Holliday is huge for a Mariners offense that was dead last in the AL in several key offensive categories.

In other Mariners news, we signed 3B Joe Crede (.203, 9HR, 41 RBI) to a 1-year $400,000 contract.

The Houston Astros also announced the signing of 2B Orlando Hudson to a 4-year deal worth $11,920,000 in total.

[Xero]

Off Season Starts

January has come and gone and a few more free agents have found a new place to call home.

Starting with the busy Mariners who has signed 1B Adam LaRoche (.282, 24 HR, 97 RBI) to a 3-year deal worth $2,990,000 per year.

Next stop we go to Cincinnati where the Reds signed SP Ben Sheets (6-2, 2.19 ERA, 48 K) to a 5-year deal worth $6,640,000 a year. This will give the Mariners Cincinnati’s 1^st round pick this year and a pick in the supplementary round.

Sticking with big time pitchers who may be out of their prime, The Milwaukee Brewers signed SP John Lackey (7-12, 4.49 ERA, 113 K) to a 3-year deal totaling $8,560,000.

[GMLoophole]

That's a lot of moolah!

Is Nady going to be the DH? Or are you thinking of teaching him 1B? Is he mad at the Holliday signing?

[Xero]

Adam LaRoche will occupy the DH spot since Nady is slightly better at the 1B position (where he learned the position, I don't know). LF will be all Matt Holliday.

And the odd one out in this is Russell Branyan who will be sitting on the bench or possibly shipped outta town despite hitting 28 HR last year.

[AthleticsFan]

Can't wait to see Matt Holliday play for the Seattle Mariners this year, i'm so excited.

[Xero]

Harden Decides on Future

With the majority of the free agents already found a team, the month of February was relatively quiet in the major leagues. But there was still one big fish left in the tank and that fish is named Rich Harden. The Victoria native, although very injury prone, is loaded with talent and has garnered a lot of attention during the off season. Last year Harden stayed out of the DL and showed the major leagues what he is capable of by going 19-10 with 3,29 ERA will fanning 228. The fact that Harden took this long to come to a decision has done nothing but build even more suspense leading up to his eventual signing. And we will build even more suspense by first getting you guys up to date with transactions.

The Washington Nationals have signed up RP Joaquin Benoit (6-1, 6 SV, 1.38 ERA) to a 3-year deal worth $1,860,000.

The San Francisco Giants have added another proven arm to their already impressive bullpen by signing RP Octavio Dotel (3-6, 3 SV, 2.85 ERA) to 2-year deal worth $2,460,000 per. We will get the Giants’ third round pick and a pick in the supplementary round as a result.

The LA Angels have locked up ex-Mariner, 3B Adrian Beltre, for the next 2 years for a fee of 2,370,000 a year. 3B Chone Figgins will now attempt to play CF.

With the signing of LF Matt Holliday and the emergence of CF Dustin Ackley, the Mariners had to ship out some of their former outfields. So the Mariners made a trade with the Padres sending LF Rocco Baldelli, CF Franklin Gutierrez, LF Wladimir Balentien, a trio of minor leaguers and cash to San Diego for RP Heath Bell and RP Edward Mujica. And we also “resigned” LF Endy Chavez to a one year minimum salary contract.

With that out of the way, we come back to Rich Harden. From what I can see it was a four-way battle for his signature between us, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants (like they need another pitcher) and the Atlanta Braves. After months of bidding, SP Rich Harden has finally decided that he will become a … (Drumroll again please) … A BRAVE!

Yes, SP Rich Harden is packing his bags for hot-lanta, accepting a 4-year deal with the club for $9,467,500 a year (which is about 100K more than my offer). With SP Rich Harden, SP Javier Vazquez and SP Derek Lowe 1,2 and 3 in the rotation, fans in Atlanta are already comparing them to them to the legendary trio of Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux. Only time will tell if this new trio of stars can compare with the old.

With Harden off the market, Mariners management decided to bring back one of its own by “resigning” SP Erik Bedard (14-12, 3.82 ERA, 144K) to a 3-year deal worth a total of $9,270,000.

[Xero]

Originally Posted by AthleticsFan

Can't wait to see Matt Holliday play for the Seattle Mariners this year, i'm so excited.

Me too, I really didn't think we be able to sign his at the beginning, but here he is now a Mariner.

Holliday will be a huge boost to the lineup. Last year we had Rocco Baldelli hitting in the 3 spot.

[And1pg2]

Just read through this and I like it a lot! The colors for each team is a very nice touch. Keep up the good work!

[Xero]

So a lot of people are probably waiting for the next installment of the 2010 Mariners.

Right now the only thing holding me back is the fact that I can't seem to post player pictures up on the forum. Any help would be appreciated.

[LeiterFanatic]

This is enjoyable. Please keep it up

[GMLoophole]

Originally Posted by Xero

Right now the only thing holding me back is the fact that I can't seem to post player pictures up on the forum. Any help would be appreciated.

That doesn't make much sense.. what's wrong? I use tinypic.com to upload; that gives you code to copy for "message board or forum", and that works pretty well for me.

Just check how big the image is before you paste it in so that the images aren't too gigantic or too tiny.