Well Spring training is upon us and I thought I would take this opportunity to start a new tradition here at Cat Fancy. From now on every Sunday (I was going to do it yesterday but my internet would not let me log in) I will do a wrap up the past weeks events in the world of Mariner baseball. Everything from minor acquisitions and blockbuster trades to clubhouse quarrels and how the team is doing at the present moment.
Griffey
Well this topic just will not seem to go away. At the end of last week it seemed to be a done deal and all of the major news sources were reporting the deal as good as done. But right at the last minute The Atlanta Braves stepped into the mix and Junior is supposed to make his decision Tuesday. This really sucks for those of us that wanted the Kid to return because how can we beat Atlanta geographically. With such proximity to his house in Orlando and their Spring training facility being IN Orlando I feel that all of that outweighs the nostalgia factor in Griffey’s mind. I have yet to remove my number 24 jersey this week and am keeping hope alive.
Ryan Rowland-Smith’s Decision
The southpaw from the southern hemisphere has decided he will stay with the Mariner camp in hope to secure a spot in the M’s five man rotation and not pitch for his country of Australia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. He has been wrestling with the decision for a while and has finally made up his mind after Wak told him he could not do both. In my opinion he has no chance to make the rotation because of Jarrod Washburn being the number one priority to trade come the July 31st deadline and we need to strut him out with and improved defense and hope some sucker of a team will give up something for him down the road. I love RRS and he has proven that he deserves to start, but he is not going anywhere and we need to get value for these pieces before we can let the kids start.
Josh Fields Finally Signs
Josh Fields was our first-round pick in the amateur draft last year and FINALLY signed. He and his agent demanded a $2 million signing bonus while the Mariner’s were sticking firm to the MLB recommended $1.5 million slot bonus. They finally met in the middle and he is expected to start workouts with the team tomorrow.
Fields was a closer at the University of Georgia and was said by many Major League scouts to be MLB ready. He hits the high 90’s on the radar gun and has a devistating curve ball. A lot of people questioned the M’s front office for taking a reliever so high in the draft, but if Dr. Zoinks thinks it is a good pick than I am on board.
Beltre/Putz Don’t Like Ichiro
There has been a flurry of reports across the Seattle newspapers over the last couple of days regarding the clubhouse chemistry and how it has to change this year. For me personally I am sick of these story lines and am ready for the “New Day, New Way” stuff to begin. Larry Stone and Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times both have their prospectives and I guess it is interesting but I think players should be blaming people like Yuni and Cairo, not the best player on the team.
Well that is all I can think of for now. Keep on the lookout tomorrow morning for where Griffey is going.