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Friday, October 12, 2007

Stuff To Read Until The ALCS Starts

Mariners 2008 ZIPS Projections

Jon's post today asking his readers where they think the Dodgers will end up next year got me thinking about the AL West, too. If this year's happenings hold true, we can expect a pretty similar fallout to 2007, because it already looks like the Mariners' 2008 team will regress a decent amount, at least if you believe Dan Szymborski's 2008 Mariners ZIPS projections; for fans of the team way up north, it's one sobering list. (He's publishing them in reverse alphabetical order by team city.) Only one starter, Felix Hernandez, is expected to even be above league average, with Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn falling below that line; he seems to be projecting that the M's will have a very hard time keeping their fourth and fifth slots filled and productive.

Offensively, Ritchie Sexson looks like even more of a boat anchor, and you have to believe he and his expensive contract will be either shown the door or benched in favor of Ben Broussard. Sentiment in Seattle seems to be leaning toward moving Adam Jones to a starting job over Jose Guillen. Jones apparently deserves it based on his projections, but like most front offices — and the Mariners have already proved they fall squarely into the "most" category with their treatment of Sexson this year — the M's will give Guillen plenty of chances to prove he's declining.

The M's have a lot of depth, but they don't have a lot of front-line starters who could make a big difference. It won't be a terribly exciting team in terms of contending (if you believe this forecast); given the hazy circumstances surrounding the Angels and the rest of the division, it's easy to toss out another Angels Win scenario for the AL West in 2008.

Baltimore Fires Leo Mazzone

The Baltimore Orioles fired Leo Mazzone, for reasons I haven't the slightest clue about, but maybe the team's 13th rank in the AL by ERA had something to do with it.
"This is just the business of baseball," Mazzone said. "I had a strong inclination that 2007 was going to be my last year in Baltimore when Sam Perlozzo was released and Dave Trembley was hired.

"While disappointed at not having the opportunity to play a role in the reconstruction of the Oriole pitcher development program, I understand and wish the team great success. I want to thank the Orioles organization for the opportunity to coach some great young talent. And I especially want to thank the fans in Baltimore who always made me feel at home."

Giants Tap Fred Stanley For Player Development

For a long time the knock on the Giants was that they hadn't developed a starting position player from draft to majors since Rich Aurilia. (I suppose that depends on whether you view Pedro Feliz as a quality major league starter.) The Giants will be handing the player development post to Fred Stanley; he replaces Jack Hiatt, who has stepped down after 16 years in that position.

The Boss Says It's Time For The Rocket To Quit

His wife, that is:
"I think he's ready to do the barbecue and come home," Debbie Clemens told KRIV-TV. "I think it will be hard for him to play a little bit. He's been such a workaholic and he's really put his heart and soul into baseball. But I just think it's time."

The Baseball Analysts Pick Bosox, Rockies

Rich Lederer says Boston in seven, Joe Sheehan and Patrick Sullivan say six. (See also Sheehan's Beckett vs. Sabathia matchup. It's interesting to see that Beckett uses the entire strike zone, where Sabathia only works outside low.) Also, most of that same group concur on a Rockies-Somebody World Series, with all but Rich picking Colorado to advance.

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