Of all the Seattle sports fans, the Mariners fans are the worst.  Ugggg.   There are a lot of savy M's fans out there but all those damn Homer Simpson like Mariner fans just drive me crazy.  And come spring training, its a pretty short drive for me.

Some of the crap that these guys spew just baffles me.  Where do these guys come from?  If they have been fans as long as some them claim then where is all the experience that they would have picked up from all the past mistakes of the franchise?  It's as if they lost all capacity to reason.  They have fallen prey to the Mariners quirky  yet effective marketing machine. 

It's finally tiime to blow up this team from top to bottom.

Get rid of the Pres. GM and manager.  Armstrong needs no explanation if you follow the Mariners at all.  Bavasi for some reason has gained some popularity with the fans due to the BAdard trade.  What many of those fans seem to forget is that Bavasi never would have needed to make that trade if he just quit signing pitchers like Washburn, Weaver, and that other bum 2 seasons ago that didn't even make it past may..  Or the fact that he traded away an excellent plus arm for the loser known as Ramirez,  Or the fact that Morrows been mis used and never spent any time in the minors working on becomming that No 1 or 2 starter.  So you see that since Bavasi's job was on the line, he had to make the move and give up way too much in the process,  Yeah yeah I know Badard was a great pick up to stregthen the whole rotation ,  but I say to you all Bavasi backers that if Morrow was used correctly and worked on being a starter all of last season he could have been that No. 2 this season and we would still have Mickolio, Sharroll, and Adams as well. 

get whatever you can or just waive the following:  Burke, Vidro, Cairo, Washburn, Sexson

Trade the following for good prospects:  Beltre, Ibanez, Jojima, Batista, Rhodes, Sung Baek

Send Morrow down to Tacoma to get him stretched out as a starter.  Call him back up in August to see how far he's come.  With any kind of luck, he may be ready next season as a starter right out of camp.

Call up Tui and let him develop into a great player while he lets his natural  lvocal leadership keep the team better balenced.

Dangle Ichiro this off season and watch the Mets and Dodgers go at it in a bidding war. 

Dangle Badard during the off season hopefully we can get at least 3 top  prospects.

Well I guess I did know what I was talking about.  Now if only we can find a way to trade Vidro so Clement can get even more ABs.  I was extremely pleased to see both Balentine and Clement brought up and contribute on their very first games this season.   really hope McLaren puts Clement in Vidros 5 holle. drops Sexson to the 7 and bats Balentine in the 6 hole.  This would maximise power and average in the middle of the line up and drop Ssexson to a less demanding spot. 

Now as far as playing time is concerned I don't understand why Burke was kept  and Norton was designated.  Why do we need 3 catchers this early in the season?  By keeping Burke you  take away more ABs from Clement while wasting yet another roster spot.  It's not like you lose defense  by playing Clement as catcher.  Neither Jojima or Burke are great defenders by any means but they do so so.  The only thing you may lose by playing Clement as catcher is the experience Jojima and Burke have calling the game.  That would be an easy fix with the pitches being relayed to Clement from the dugout. 

So Bavasi and McLaren have stregthened their starting roster but have done absolutely notheing with the players on the bench.  Cairo and Burke are two completely wasted roster spots and provide absolutely nothing.   Then to top off their decision to keep Burke and not Norton they mentioned that Vidro may get some playing time at 2B and 1B.  Vidro should never never never stip back on the field on defense.  As if the defense didn't already have enough problems.  The M's are only shooting themselveds in the foot by letting Vidro show off what he can't do, while everyone who knows anything about how Bavasi does Business knows that he will be traded. 

The bullpen is still inconsistant and I hope they trade away Saung Baek before he loses his value.  There are lots of teams starving for a 4th or 5th starter and Baek would fit nicely for a dependable relikever.  Dickey could take Baek's spot and could even fill in for a spot start if needed. 

Go Mariners!!!

There are some definate differences by the team and thier approach to hitting.  IEven though it's early I still find it incredible that the Mariners are leading the AL in walks.  Please keep in mind the this is virtually the same lineup as last season and the M's were among the worst in drawing walks.  Even Sexson is drawing walks and boosing up his OBP and OPS.  He's seeing more pitches per AB than anyone else on the team.  So even when he strikes out or hits into an out he's making the pitcher work.  Like I said it's still early but he looks way better than he did last season, so only time will tell. 

The Mareiners were among the best hitting teams last season and they've gotten off to a slow start there but are managing to hit HRs at a much better clip this season.  The biggest difference I've noticed at this point is that their BA drops as the temperature drops.  The Mariners have been able to produce more runs by utilyzing the hit and run. 

The starting pitching has been just awsome compared to the last 4 seasons.  So long as everyone stays healthy in the rotation, this part of the team will be by far its greatest stregth.  The bullpen is another story.  The M's trade away Sharroll and JJ gets hurt and suddenly the pen has become the weakest link.  Fortunately, JJ should be back relatively soon.  McLaren has got to figure out who will be the set up man in the 8th once JJ is back.  Otherwise, we will have to see even more of all that talent in Tacoma be traded away for a set up man by Bavasi.  I have yet to see a mid season trade by Bavasi pay off so let's hope it doesn't come to that.

There is one good thing I can say about the Mariners defense .  At least theirs two teams playing worse than the M's and both of them are in PA, uggg.   It's not just the errors , but like I've been saying all off season long, it's also the lack of range in the corner outfields.  To date I've counted 4 plays by Raul that should and could have been made by some one with just a bit more range.  Only one of those plays were eventually made irelavent due to the folling plays theire after.  The M's have got to figure out whats going on soon or thier rotation will  not be able to go as deep on a consistant basis which will lead to the bullpen being overused and worn out by seasons end.  Considering that the pen is not as deep or as good as last season, that could be devastating to the Mariners chances to play in the post season. 

Go Mariners!!!

Good God I certainly hope so.  He said as much last season after he took over but never really did.   You said it really wasn't your team last season.  Fine, it's is you team now and once again you are saying that you plan to run more.  The Mariners were in the bottom  of the league in OPS, home runs, extra bases and walks.  Yet the M's were among the best in fewest strikeouts, batting average and singles.  A pervect recipe for hit and run wouldn't you say?  The last thing I wanna see is Vidro and Jojima hit into yet another double play.

Go Mariners!!!

I know there are several people all ready talking about what the Seahawks are going to need for next season.  Unfortunately, it is all just a waste of time until Holmgren decides whether to come back or call it quits. 

If Holmgren should decide to retire, then the changes could be huge due to the new coaching staff and his philosophy on both offense and defense.

So we all are just going to have to sit back and wait til Holmy makes his move.