GMJ has some skills, the Cubs would benefit from having him more than we would, though we might have to eat more of his salary. Consider a Sunk Cost analysis though and it would be better to pay $15 million of the salary over the next two years and get a couple of halfway decent players from the deal that’s probably better than paying him $22 million for 2 years of GMJ on the bench.

It does add value having him on the bench as we saw when Torii went down last year, but probably not $7 million + 2 players worth of value to the Angels. Easily worth that to the Cubs.

In which he spent most of his time pinch hitting or subbing late in games? A season in which he appeared in only 103 games with 316 PAs? Please explain that.

Using your own link, his last full season (2007) he hit .252, with 72 RBI, 18 SB, and 4 CS (81% success rate). That’s not great but that couple with his good defense is worth 5-6 mil a year if the Cubs want it.

But you didn’t think before posting did you?

and our owner. Oh how stupid they both must be

I looked him up after this post and he was defense neutral last year which is better than I thought.

I expect, though, that he will DH quite a bit to keep him healthy, but he wasn’t awful last year – just “eh”.

Not saying you in particular are making excuses for mediocre GM’ing, btw. Just saying that our own GM seems less-than-innovative and not very trade-savvy, yet a fair amount of the Halosphere seems to think he can do no wrong.

I hope our draft picks compensate, and two years of positive drafts fortify our farm for the 2012-2015 seasons ahead.

The Mariners derive significant revenue from retransmission of their games in Japan. That was the reason to re-sign Kenji even though he wasn’t exactly setting the AL on fire.

The Mariners averaged 27,000/game, versus the Angels’ 40,000/game. But the TV revenue received by the Mariners is greater than what the Angels get.

But, there seems to be a logical disconnect between saying you are "…happy with…" Scioscia/Moreno/Reagins while at the same time stating that the Mariners were allowed to "steal" Bradley…right in front of their eyes.

To your assessment that you’re an "idiot" if you don’t think this was a good move for the Mariners…NOBODY will know for certain if it’s a good deal (for the Mariners) until a future date when impact can be assessed.

For now, it APPEARS to be a better deal for the Mariners;
- IF Bradley hits somewhere around his career averages.
- IF his offensive/defensive stats aren’t overshadowed by his "team turmoil" batting average.
- IF Carlos Silva picks up in 2010 where he left off in 2008.

That’s a lot of "if’s" and one where I wouldn’t declare all others are "idiots" for not seeing it as crystal clear as you.

…so I wouldn’t claim he will/will not hurt the Mariners, SUBSTANTIVELY or otherwise.

I can look back to the past quite easily though and see – like Guillen – he is a solid hitter with SUBSTANTIVE personality issues;
 - Like getting in a shouting match with his Cubs batting coach that led to his suspension last year.
 - Like calling Cub fans racist. And just so you think he hasn’t pulled this card before…
 - Like accusing Jeff Kent of racism when both were members of the Dodgers.

I could go on and on like this for a couple of pages. He somehow manages to find trouble with teammates, fans, or managers. Is he really treated that different from others? Or is it peculiar to his perceptions? I vote for his peculiar perceptions.

And I ask again;
- If he’s such a great teammate, if he’s really attempting to put team above self, why is this his 6th team in 7 years? My answer is his personality problems speak louder than his bat.
- How long before he’s traded by Seattle? I can’t predict, but I will make this bet based on track record…one year or less. What’s your bet?

who like to sip politely and sit on their hands to stay warm. I think anyone who has been to a game in the last 6 years or so would agree with that assessment.

Now, if the fans at the stadium were all like the fans in the M’s blogosphere… :)

And having attended a Halos game at Safeco, I’ve got to tell you that on both sides of me the Mariners fans were reading Parade magazine. Not that this is indicative of the entire fanbase, I’m just telling you what I saw with my own eyes.

I certainly didn’t become anyone’s new best friend that night, as I was witness to a Halos 10-0 victory, and not a single Mariners fan in my row stayed put past the 6th inning (and we’re talking decent $40 seats) but these people were freaking sedate.

Granted, Lookoutlanding the website entity is a weird, toxic cauldron of juvenile homophobia, but I don’t think any of those people actually go to games. Because not one M fan gave me shit or even a well-earned dirty look. The only people at Safeco that had the gaul to tell me they didn’t like me were the security patrol. Mind you, I want it understood I do not mean the general employees, as there were many at Safeco more than happy to talk to me about the idiosyncrasies and intricacies of their park, despite me wearing red – but the ushers? Oh, they had it out for me. My worst crime? Jockeying for a better seat. They descended on me.

In contrast, it’s a frivolous playground at the Big A. The ushers are not young, angry malcontents that hate everything like at Safeco – they’re seniors who probably wanted for some time to spend their golden years working at the ball park in the summer. When I’m at the Big A it’s the ushers who sit next to me in the unoccupied nice seats. And on more than one occasion I’ve seen an usher play along and bounce a beach ball with the crowd rather than confiscating it.

Damn it’s good to be an Angels fan.

it is the opposite of a fart with the same intent

Was there by chance a similar WAR projection for the 2009 season?

“You wanted vinegar?!?! There’s your vinegar!!”

maybe THEY can get the freakin’ calls right…: “Aw shucks, did he tag both guys or what??? Let’s just say he tagged one guy…”

It only makes sense. “Pil[ing] it on” is exactly what’s wrong with sports, our economy and our country. I think that’s about the one thing we’re really good at is “piling it on.” The deal that Lackey got just proves how mindless and insensitive the “corporate douchebags”—as Nate put it—are. The next thing you know will be bailing out those
a-holes too.
Why not have a salary cap, etc. ? (and maybe 2 years of community service before playing pro ball to learn what’s really important besides oneself).

See this very well-written article below. It’ll take a while to read but it’s worth it.

Seats of Gold

how would Jeffrey Loria implement a salary floor?

By signing every crappy veteran to contracts just large enough to get him over a hump and then trade him in August when he knew he had made “payroll” for the year.

A salary floor sounds good – but cheap owners will exploit it and not increase competitive balance at all.

I have to disagree with you finally on something, Nate. That Jimmyuscamp posting was horrible and demeaming. “Shut up and stop supporting a team” ???
That’s just lame, dude. It was a thoughtless don’t-question-the-staus-quo comment when you were 10, and it is the same now.
 We have green boxed thumbs-up posts; that deserves a brown box thumbs down—if there were such a thing. Of course, I’d already have a number of those so far…