M's eyeing an upgrade in talent
While Ichiro had an historic season in '04, the Mariners were awful and need to upgrade their team for '05.
Great. Now the Mariners say they're willing to spend money.
While that's welcome news for fans who endured a 99-loss season last summer, ownership's sudden willingness to spend money would have been come in handy when the Mariners clearly needed a left-handed slugger during the 2000 season. At the time, the available players included David Justice, who ended their season with a home run in the championship series against the Yankees.
Or during the 2002 season, when they squandered a first-place lead in August and failed to reach the playoffs. Or during the 2003 season, when they squandered another first-place lead in August and again failed to reach the playoffs.
Had Seattle taken on additional salary by acquiring the needed players then, the Mariners: a.) might have reached the World Series for the first time; b.) probably would have made the postseason in four consecutive seasons; c.) most likely wouldn't have declined so horribly last year; and d.) definitely wouldn't be experiencing such a costly attendance drop. They've lost more than 600,000 fans since 2002.
Had the Mariners invested money when they should have -- they didn't even spend the much-hyped Kaz Sasaki savings, as they promised they would last year -- Seattle wouldn't face the daunting task it does now: Dramatically overhauling a team so old that its clubhouse sound system should be an eight-track cassette player.
The Mariners scored the fewest runs in the American League last year -- 229 fewer than they did in their 116-win season in 2001. Ichiro set the all-time hit record with 262, yet the surrounding cast stranded him so often that he was outscored by 33 major leaguers. Bret Boone led the team in RBI with only 83. No AL team hit fewer home runs, while only the White Sox allowed more. Ron Villone led the staff in victories ... with eight. The defense, once the team's hallmark, was almost stationary. At one point, they had three players older than 40.
OK! Enough already! You get the point. The Mariners were awful. Worse, the farm system isn't overflowing with prospects (though outfielder Jeremy Reed, acquired last June in the Freddy Garcia trade, looked promising during a September callup). They need to add power to the lineup, they need a third baseman and they need someone who can cover more ground in center field than Randy Winn.
In other words, they need Adrian Beltre and Carlos Beltran. Those two would be perfect fits for Seattle. They're just the sort of multi-dimensional players the Mariners need to rise back to the top.
And the Mariners will pursue them ... just as soon as Starbucks lowers its coffee prices.
The Mariners have never signed a top-of-the-market free agent. That's never, as in never. (No, Ichiro doesn't count because he wasn't a free agent -- the Orix Blue Wave "posted" him, which meant the Mariners bid and paid for the exclusive negotiating rights to him.) And they certainly aren't going to alter that tradition now for two players represented by Scott Boras.
Instead, they will go after the next level of more affordable free agents, players who might be able to help significantly but aren't going to generate Ichiro Bobblehead Night-like lines at the season ticket window. And because they're talking about a free agent pool of $14 million to $15 million, they might not have payroll room for more than two such players.
One problem facing Seattle is that hitters are scared away by the reputation of its stadium. It's a pitchers park, though maybe not so drastically a pitchers park as Boone would have you believe -- the Mariners hit and allowed more home runs at home than on the road last season.
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Further, Seattle doesn't have the appeal it did when Lou Piniella managed there and the team was competitive. As one former Mariner told me last summer, "Everyone used to want to play there. Now, no one wants to play there."
Still, the Mariners will sign at least one player. Among the free agents on their list are ...
First baseman: Carlos Delgado
Positives: While fly balls go to left-center to die in Seattle, they carry fairly well to right field; and Delgado is a patient, left-handed power hitter who has shown he can hit there. Although he missed 34 games with a rib injury last season, he still hit 32 home runs and drove in 99 runs. He has a solid personal reputation, which is always a concern with an ownership group that has little to zero tolerance for misbehavior. Negatives: He'll be 33, and he isn't John Olerud with the glove.
First baseman/outfielder: Richie Sexson
Positives: He has power to all fields and hit 149 home runs from 2000-2003. Seattle fans love local guys, and he's a Washington native. He's three years younger than Delgado and he can play in the outfield, giving the Mariners flexibility. Negatives: He strikes out a lot, and has some serious health questions after missing almost all last season with a shoulder injury.
Third baseman: Corey Koskie
Positives: He's a good fielder at a position the Mariners need to fill, and he has power from the left side of the plate. He also has the personality to fit in well with Seattle. Negatives: He frustrated the Twins by being too selective, and nagging injuries forced him to miss almost 100 games over the past three years.
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Pitcher: Carl Pavano
Positives: He was 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA last season. He's reasonably young and appears to be getting better. Negatives: Last year was only his second season with a winning record and an ERA under 4.00. And the Mariners are in a very long and expensive line to get him.
Pitcher: Russ Ortiz
Positives: He has more wins (67) over the past four years than any other free agent. Negatives: There are some concerns about his arm, and he won't come cheap.
Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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