Mariners Offseason Thread 2014-2015

[Trenchbroom]

I was a all state baseball player back in the day and have loved the game my entire life, been a ms fan since I was a kid. I have not seen more then 10 games in the last 4 years. mainly because I am crazy busy and do not have cable, also because I was disgusted with how the team was being run, not being competitive for 10+ years was simply not ok with me. With that being said can you guys give me the cliff notes version on our current team?

They ain't Cliff's Notes, but a good preview is here:

http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2015/3/16/8224707/2015-seattle-mariners-season-preview

 

[Subzero717]

This is the first spring in over ten that I'm believing.

 

[mbtitleist]

I was a all state baseball player back in the day and have loved the game my entire life, been a ms fan since I was a kid. I have not seen more then 10 games in the last 4 years. mainly because I am crazy busy and do not have cable, also because I was disgusted with how the team was being run, not being competitive for 10+ years was simply not ok with me. With that being said can you guys give me the cliff notes version on our current team?

Last year our pitching let up the fewest runs in the whole league and that was with Paxton and Walker only putting in a little over 100 innings combined. If they can stay healthy this year our pitching staff will be awesome. Fernando Rodney led the league in saves, even if it is a roller coaster ride with him at times.

We finally got rid of Justin Smoak and we added Nelson Cruz so we have a legit 3-4-5 with Cano, Cruz and Seager. Seager was selected to his first All-Star team last year and won his first Gold Glove. They're basically going with platoons in LF and RF (even though Lloyd doesn't like that word) and have Austin Jackson in CF. Brad Miller won the SS competition this spring by default when Chris Taylor broke his wrist. Zunino is behind the plate and the kid has a ton of power, but he still has many areas to improve. He ended the year right around .200, strikes out way too often, and had more HBP's than he did walks.

 

[mbtitleist]

Anybody else watching the game right now? This is the first time I've been able to actually watch Walker this season and he looks good. Really good.

 

[Trenchbroom]

Anybody else watching the game right now? This is the first time I've been able to actually watch Walker this season and he looks good. Really good.

Barring injury he'll be our 2nd starting pitcher in the rotation by July. Maybe way earlier if his competition has injuries/issues.

 

[mbtitleist]

I just hope Felix, Paxton, Iwakuma and Walker are able to stay healthy this year. If that happens this team could do great things.

And Walker is done for the day. 6 IP, 6 K's, 1 BB, 0 runs allowed. I believe that's 18 innings he's pitched this spring and has yet to allow a run.

 

[Lithium]

M's prospect Victor Sanchez passed away today. struck by a boat last month and went into coma. So sad. He had a bright future.

 

[Sports Hernia]

M's prospect Victor Sanchez passed away today. struck by a boat last month and went into coma. So sad. He had a bright future.

Sad day indeed.

 

[mbtitleist]

Taijuan Walker with another great outing today. He finally let up his first run on a solo HR but cruised after that, retiring the last 17 hitters he faced and a final line of 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 K's and no walks. Zunino continues to show his power with his 7th home run of the spring. I know it's only spring training and I obviously don't expect him to hit .350 this year like he has this spring but if he can carry some of this over into the regular season it will be a welcome addition.

At this point I honestly think watching Brad Miller throw to 1st base will give me more worries than anything else on this team right now.

 

[therealjohncarlson]

Taijuan Walker with another great outing today. He finally let up his first run on a solo HR but cruised after that, retiring the last 17 hitters he faced and a final line of 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 K's and no walks. Zunino continues to show his power with his 7th home run of the spring. I know it's only spring training and I obviously don't expect him to hit .350 this year like he has this spring but if he can carry some of this over into the regular season it will be a welcome addition.

At this point I honestly think watching Brad Miller throw to 1st base will give me more worries than anything else on this team right now.

Im so excited for this team minus Brad Miller and Austin Jackson. I never got the fan love for Brad Miller. He is a below-average shortstop that fans seem to feel attachment for, for some odd reason

 

[jkitsune]

The excitement for Brad Miller is that he has the potential to be an average defensive shortstop with an explosive bat. Offensively-gifted shortstops who are not complete liabilities in the field are a rarity. He may never become that, but if he can be average in the field and a plus bat, that's a huge contribution from a position that often fields, by necessity, liabilities at the plate in order to maximize defense.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The excitement for Brad Miller is that he has the potential to be an average defensive shortstop with an explosive bat. Offensively-gifted shortstops who are not complete liabilities in the field are a rarity. He may never become that, but if he can be average in the field and a plus bat, that's a huge contribution from a position that often fields, by necessity, liabilities at the plate in order to maximize defense.

With this lineup now more potent, all we need Miller to do was what he did when he was called up in 2013, hit .265 with some pop. No reason he can't do that.

If he struggles out of the gate again like last year? Then he's in big trouble.

 

[jkitsune]

The excitement for Brad Miller is that he has the potential to be an average defensive shortstop with an explosive bat. Offensively-gifted shortstops who are not complete liabilities in the field are a rarity. He may never become that, but if he can be average in the field and a plus bat, that's a huge contribution from a position that often fields, by necessity, liabilities at the plate in order to maximize defense.

With this lineup now more potent, all we need Miller to do was what he did when he was called up in 2013, hit .265 with some pop. No reason he can't do that.

If he struggles out of the gate again like last year? Then he's in big trouble.

Both Miller and Taylor are potentially exciting, above-average shortstops, but Miller has arguably the higher upside. I don't think the club will hesitate to make a change mid-season if one is clearly outperforming the other, you're right. Taylor is better defensively, and has the potential to be an average bat at SS.

 

[dumbrabbit]

Time to start the M's regular season thread!

 

[Sports Hernia]

Time to start the M's regular season thread!

Just did that.
So I'm closing this one.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

What! You mean the real baseball season is here?!?

(Just yanking your chain because I LOVE baseball and actually met Felix when he first came up. He was a nice guy).