RSS
Home
One year with Zduriencik: M's transformation
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
It's hard to watch the playoffs this year. It's not because they aren't exciting or tense. Many of the games have been compelling and competitive. It''s the fact that so many former Mariners are playing such important roles for just about every one of the eight playoff teams.
By my count, there are 11 ex-Ms (plus Phillies' injured LHP Jamie Moyer) competing in the playoffs for every team but Minnesota, which prefers to grow and keep its own talent. And what do have the Mariners have to show in return for all those playoff players?
Just one player - hapless LHP Erik Bedard.
He's the only one on the Mariners 25-man roster directly connected to that group. He came to Seattle before the 2008 season in that six-player trading blunder with Baltimore. And Bedard, who is 11-7 in two injury-ridden seasons here, may not be around next season unless the Mariners offer him arbitration. That would only compound their colossal mistake.
The only other player with a link to those departed players is RHP Andy Baldwin, one of two players in the Moyer trade with the Phillies three years ago. Baldwin, who was 6-11 for Tacoma this past season, is 27 and not even on the club's 40-man roster.
The former M's players in the playoffs are: Boston C Jason Varitek, Colorado C Yorvit Torrealba, L.A. Angels LHP Brian Fuentes, L.A. Dodgers LHP George Sherrill, Philadelphia OF Greg Dobbs, OF Raul Ibanez, Inf. Miguel Cairo (and Moyer), St. Louis RHP Joel Pineiro and RHP Ryan Franklin, N.Y. Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez and LHP Demaso Marte.
Six of them were granted free agency, which means the club received virtually nothing in return. One was waived and five were traded. Besides the Bedard and Moyer trades, the others were, Fuentes in 2006 for 3B Jeff Cirillo, no longer in baseball; Varitek in 1997 for RHP Heathcliff Slocumb, out of baseball by 2000; and Torrealba in 2005 for RHP Marcos Carvajal. Carvajal was then traded the subsequent April for Jose DeLaCruz. Who knows where he ended up?
It's a sad legacy that was shared by the length of this ownership as well as at least a couple general managers, Woody Woodward and Bill Bavasi. The worst offender, of course, was Bavasi. But the front office is equally to blame for allowing him to work in that capacity for so long with such obvious incompetence. He put the franchise in a mud hole.
Now compare all those dead-end moves to what GM Jack Zduriencik had done in just one year. How fitting it is that today marks one year since he was hired.
During that time Zduriencik, without a lot of material to work with, has made 11 trades, varying in degree and significance. Those trades have transformed the franchise, helping the team go from 61 wins last season to 85 this year.
He acquired a regular centerfielder (Franklin Gutierrez), plenty of starting candidates (Ian Snell, Jason Vargas, Garrett Olson, Luke French), a closer (David Aardsma), a shortstop (Jack Wilson), position player depth (Endy Chavez, Ronny Cedeno (since traded again), Mike Carp, Ryan Langerhans, Bill Hall, Jack Hannahan), and some promising prospects (RHP Danny Cortes, LHP Maurcio Robles, OF Ezequiel Carrera).
Many of those guys will be part of the big-league club next season.
In exchange, some of the prominent players given up were: LHP Jarrod Washburn, SS Yuniesky Betancourt, OF Wladimir Balentien, RHP J.J. Putz, RHP Sean Green, OF Jeremy Reed, C Jeff Clement and OF Mike Morse.
Putz was the best of the group but he was injured much of his time with the Mets while Aardsma saved 38 games in 42 opportunities. The others are not significant losses, especially taking into account what they gained.
I have a feeling that Zduriencik is gearing up for yet another transformation.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
