Thursday, January 13, 2005
FREE BUCKY!
Many people think that we should not trade Randy Winn, or at least we should wait, because he provides outfield depth, and insurance against injury or failure of Randy Winn. To this I say, insurance is for the timid, or teams with a LOT to insure. For us to make the playoffs in 2005 will require a lot of things going right, and that list has to include the continued good hitting of Raul Ibanez and the emergence of Jeremy Reed.
But it may be too much to ask that everything go right in our pitching staff. We are returning the exact same players that failed so miserably in 2004. While a turnaround for each pitcher is not out of the question, it certainly can't be treated as a given. We have too many question marks. Trading Randy Winn for pitching deepens our pitching staff.
More importantly, it guarantees more playing time for the hero of 2004, Bucky Jacobsen.
Two repeating images of 2004 are etched firmly in my mind. Randy Winn feeble throws to third base as yet another runner tags from 2nd on a short single. These embarassing efforts are my mental picture of the M's first half of 2004. But I also have the massive home runs of Bucky Jacobsen that made me interested in the 2004 season again.
Now a few months later, Bucky has been relegated to the bench and that's just not right. After three years in a Seattle Mariner uniform, I can relate very few times when I got excited about Randy Winn. He is a nice player, don't get me wrong. He's just not very exciting to watch hit, run, or field.
But every time Bucky came up to bat in July, I watched on the edge of my seats. Bucky has his own fan club. So let me join the Bucky Backers and the PI's Go2Guy as a leader in the Bucky for DH campaign. I will go into the stats that support why Bucky Jacobsen should get playing time at the expense of Randy Winn. For now, I just want to say:
FREE BUCKY!
As the Mariner Winter Caravan Tour makes its rounds this month, be sure to take advantage of the chance to meet this future legend. This year, his knee is healthy. He's back in full health and thinks anything less than 40 home runs will be an off year. He thinks he'll hit .300. And there is no reason NOT to let him prove it. Even without a trade of Winn, he's gonna take this team by storm in Spring Training. Bavasi may be closing the door on his opportunity, but Bucky is gonna kick the door in!
GO BUCKY!
But it may be too much to ask that everything go right in our pitching staff. We are returning the exact same players that failed so miserably in 2004. While a turnaround for each pitcher is not out of the question, it certainly can't be treated as a given. We have too many question marks. Trading Randy Winn for pitching deepens our pitching staff.
More importantly, it guarantees more playing time for the hero of 2004, Bucky Jacobsen.
Two repeating images of 2004 are etched firmly in my mind. Randy Winn feeble throws to third base as yet another runner tags from 2nd on a short single. These embarassing efforts are my mental picture of the M's first half of 2004. But I also have the massive home runs of Bucky Jacobsen that made me interested in the 2004 season again.
Now a few months later, Bucky has been relegated to the bench and that's just not right. After three years in a Seattle Mariner uniform, I can relate very few times when I got excited about Randy Winn. He is a nice player, don't get me wrong. He's just not very exciting to watch hit, run, or field.
But every time Bucky came up to bat in July, I watched on the edge of my seats. Bucky has his own fan club. So let me join the Bucky Backers and the PI's Go2Guy as a leader in the Bucky for DH campaign. I will go into the stats that support why Bucky Jacobsen should get playing time at the expense of Randy Winn. For now, I just want to say:
FREE BUCKY!
As the Mariner Winter Caravan Tour makes its rounds this month, be sure to take advantage of the chance to meet this future legend. This year, his knee is healthy. He's back in full health and thinks anything less than 40 home runs will be an off year. He thinks he'll hit .300. And there is no reason NOT to let him prove it. Even without a trade of Winn, he's gonna take this team by storm in Spring Training. Bavasi may be closing the door on his opportunity, but Bucky is gonna kick the door in!
GO BUCKY!
