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Monday, February 16, 2004

Raul Mondesi a Pirate 

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed Raul Mondesi to a one-year deal, and according to the article, are close to deals with notorious sausage-whacker Randall Simon, and have added Orlando Merced. Conjecture is that the Pirates are pursuing Ugueth Urbina as well.

So the Pirates are doing their damnedest to keep Craig Wilson from getting playing time, and are intent on blocking J.J. Davis from getting a full-time look before they trade or waive the speedster.

One blurb from the article should remind Mariner fans why they should be thankful that they are not Pirate fans, and that Dave Littlefield is not their GM:

With the Pirates undergoing a rebuilding phase, Merced was traded after the 1996 season to the Toronto Blue Jays in a nine-player deal.

That rebuilding phase is entering its eighth season with no end in sight.


The signings of Mondesi and Simon to the Pirates and Travis Lee to the Yankees should limit the choices for the Mariners "big bat off the bench" to just one Big Cat, Andres Galarraga. I am hoping that the M's make this move, but if not, I am admittedly content to go into Spring with cash in pocket and see how things play out.


And despite the rumored signing of Paul DePodesta to the Dodgers GM position, it appears the job is still open as the Dodgers asked for and received permission to interview Pat Gillick. The statheads are going to be crawling over new Dodgers owner Frank McCourt for that one. I mean, how could the Dodgers even think of hiring someone with the track record of Pat Gillick when the statistically oriented DePodesta is ripe for the picking. Oh, the horror...


Aaron Boone's gamewinning home run in Game 7 of the ALCS was about his only good moment as a Yankee, but he will be etched in Red Sox hatred of Yankees forever. And now, it is Boone's injury that triggered King George to go out and get ARod and put together the trade that the Red Sox could not get done one month ago. Knowing Boston fans, Bret should consider bring a bodyguard with him when the M's head to Seattle ("I chunked a bawtol and got his brudda on da head!")


The ARod signing should about guarantee that Aaron Boone is released. I hope the M's make an attempt to pick him up on the cheap, help him rehab this year, and give us a nice inexpensive option at 3B next year.


And if you haven't done so already, after leaving this site, head over to the Tribune to read Larry LaRue's preview of what could be the final year in a Mariner uniform for Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, and Dan Wilson. This Olerud quote sums up pretty well what these veterans are thinking:

"You don't want to stay too long. The last thing you want is to play a year more than you should have, and be hitting .200 in June and have your manager asking 'What am I going to do with this guy?'"


As for the MBSBL, I'll refresh the updates later today or tomorrow. The pace has increased to where I can't keep up with the picks, and still get paid for my job, so I've got to go with the paying gig.

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