Monday, April 26, 2004
The Sun Will Come Out...
Yes, a Monday of good news. The M's did not lose to Baltimore, as it is a rain out, giving the M's a much-needed off day, and moves the game to August when the M's will be back on top and the O's won't.
More importantly, the M's have decided to cut bait on Kevin Jarvis. Jarvis was designated for assignment, meaning the Mariners have 10 days to either send him to the minors, trade him, or release him. Jarvis has the service time to block a move to the minors, so it will probably be trade him or release him.
If we trade him, expect us to pick up the majority of his salary. If we release him, and he then signs with another team for the league minimum, $300K, then at least that's $300K we won't have to pay him (pro-rated its closer to $250K, but hey, that's money that's not spent on Jeff Cirillo).
All in all, the Kevin Jarvis experiment was a failure primarily in that Melvin insisted on giving him playing time in games that were still close. He should have been treated as a starter (especially when we had 12 pitchers) and only brought in when our pitcher had been knocked out early in a game. That would have been the best way to showcase his skills as a starter and to keep him out of tight ballgames.
Jarvis actually pieced together a few good outings, but this last road trip was a debacle, and something had to be done.
For now, Matt Thornton gets a well-deserved cup of coffee, and probably heads back down when Rafael Soriano gets activated in a week or so. But who knows, this may be the tip of the veteran iceberg as the M's go for a youth infusion to breathe some life into a team that has looked more old than veteran in its first three weeks. Maybe Mike Myers and Ron Villone should not feel to comfortable with their roles for awhile. Ditto Quinton McCracken, Jolbert Cabrera, Ben Davis, and dare I say John Olerud?
Time will tell. But the obvious first move has been made. Combined with a much-needed day off, and I think the M's are ready to get another under the win column Tuesday.
More importantly, the M's have decided to cut bait on Kevin Jarvis. Jarvis was designated for assignment, meaning the Mariners have 10 days to either send him to the minors, trade him, or release him. Jarvis has the service time to block a move to the minors, so it will probably be trade him or release him.
If we trade him, expect us to pick up the majority of his salary. If we release him, and he then signs with another team for the league minimum, $300K, then at least that's $300K we won't have to pay him (pro-rated its closer to $250K, but hey, that's money that's not spent on Jeff Cirillo).
All in all, the Kevin Jarvis experiment was a failure primarily in that Melvin insisted on giving him playing time in games that were still close. He should have been treated as a starter (especially when we had 12 pitchers) and only brought in when our pitcher had been knocked out early in a game. That would have been the best way to showcase his skills as a starter and to keep him out of tight ballgames.
Jarvis actually pieced together a few good outings, but this last road trip was a debacle, and something had to be done.
For now, Matt Thornton gets a well-deserved cup of coffee, and probably heads back down when Rafael Soriano gets activated in a week or so. But who knows, this may be the tip of the veteran iceberg as the M's go for a youth infusion to breathe some life into a team that has looked more old than veteran in its first three weeks. Maybe Mike Myers and Ron Villone should not feel to comfortable with their roles for awhile. Ditto Quinton McCracken, Jolbert Cabrera, Ben Davis, and dare I say John Olerud?
Time will tell. But the obvious first move has been made. Combined with a much-needed day off, and I think the M's are ready to get another under the win column Tuesday.
