2001 Seattle Mariners-Can they recreate the Magic?

[asianinvasion]

The Red Sox prove that the Curse of the Bambino still exists as they lost the World Series to the Astros after leading 3-1.

[asianinvasion]

Off Season Transactions

Resigned:
Dan Wilson-2yrs, 3.85 million
Carlos Guillen 1yr, 2.8 million (ARB)
Mike Cameron 5 yrs, 5.95
Al Martin 2 yr, 1.3 million
Randy Johnson 2yr, 9.65 million
Freddy Garcia 1yr, 5.4 million (ARB)
Brett Tomko 1yr, 4.35 million (ARB)
John Halama 1yr 2.15 million (ARB)

Released
Moises Alou
Mark McLemore
Stan Javier
David Bell

Awards
AL ROY-Ichiro Suzuki

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Mariners Free Agent Wishlist

Third Base: With David Bell released and Aaron Hill too young, we really need a third basemen

Utility Infielder: We have no player that can play the infield thats on the bench.

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Mariners sign Mueller

The Mariners have signed their first player of the year. Third baseman Bill Mueller agrees to a one year contract with a team option for a second. The first year's salary is $4 million while the option year is $4.3 million.

Mueller is know for his ability to make contact. He is an average defender and will start at third and bat second.

[asianinvasion]

Mariners sign another player

The Mariners have made another move in bringing in infielder Scott Spiezio. Spiezio agrees to a three year, $10.8 million contract. Spiezio has the ability to play all 4 infield positions. He can also play some corner outfield.

Spiezio will be an important contributor off the bench.

[RedsoxRockies]

This has gone fast lol

[asianinvasion]

Draft Preview

We are picking 22nd or 23rd depending on a coin toss with the Dodgers.
We will be picking the best available player. A preview of the possible first round picks for this year.

Catchers:
Joe Mauer: Mauer is projected to go in the top ten as he is almost Major League Ready
Russel Martin: A good play caller and may be in the teens.
Chris Ianetta: A good defender but is offense is suspectable. Late round pick

First Basemen:Not that strong of class
Travis Ishikawa: Only player that could be a starter. But more of a project

Second Basemen:
Dustin Pedroia: Best second basemen in draft. Only needs year or two to get to the bigs. Good D.
Howie Kendrick: Close second in draft. Exactly like Pedroia. Good D

Third Basemen:
Miguel Cabrera: Cream of the draft. Could see him in September. Not as good in defense but is a prototypical power hitter.
Ryan Braun: Decent hitter but should be a all-star one day. Has no arm
Mark Reynolds: Almost like Braun. Exact clone. Also has no arm
Edwin Encarnacion:Poor man's Cabrera but should be productive

Shortstop:
Hanley Ramirez: One of the best in the draft. Plays good D and his bat will come around.
Jose Reyes: Doesn't play that well of defense but has speed to burn. Someone will give him a chance.
Stephen Drew: Like Ramirez but will better D

Left Field:
Jacoby Ellsbury: Local boy from Oregon. Good D and fast. Good hitter now.
Eric Patterson: More of a project but project to be good.

Center Field:
Chris Young: Best defender in the draft and has good power. Fast but not that great of a contact hitter.
Hunter Pence: Second best defender. Has some work to do with his bat. Still is a good player.

Right Field:
Nick Markakis: Good defender with good arm. Good bat as well
Bronson Sardinha: Not that good right now but should project out well.

Starting Pitchers:
Justin Verlander
Zach Duke
Felipe Paulino
Cole Hamels
Fausto Carmona
David Pauley
Billy Buckner
Dallas Braden
Fransisco Liriano
All pitchers are hard to project, these seem to be the best

Relief Pitchers:
Huston Street: Could play this year. Look for as closer.

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2002 Amateur Draft-First Round

1. TB- Huston Street (RP)
2. BAL- Nick Markakis (RF)
3. NYM- Hanley Ramirez (SS)
4. SF- Miguel Cabrera (3B)
5. TEX- Stephen Drew (SS)
6. SD- Joe Mauer (C)
7. CHC- Russell Martin (C)
8. PIT- Zach Duke (SP)
9. ARI- Chris Young (CF)
10.ANA- Dustin Pedroia (2B)
11.DET- Justin Verlander (SP)
12.MIL- Ryan Braun (3B)
13.CIN- Howie Kendrick (2B)
14.KC- Hunter Pence (CF)
15.FLA- Jose Reyes (SS)
16.OAK- Travis Buck (RF)
17.TOR- Adam Lind (LF)
18.COL- Chris Ianetta (C)
19.CHW- Cole Hamels (SP)
20.MIN- Brent Clevlen (CF)
21.BOS- Cla Meredith (RP)
22.LAD- Fausto Carmona (SP)
23.SEA- Jacoby Ellsbury (LF)
24.ATL- Franklin Gutierrez (RF)
25.PHI- Matt Capps (RP)
26.CLE- Jeremy Sowers (SP)
27.MON- Jose Lopez (2B)
28.HOU- Mark Reynolds (3B)
29.STL- Edwin Encarnacion
30.NYY- Danny Richar (2B)

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Art imitating life: Jacoby Ellsbury was the 23rd pick in reality.

It's kinda a shame that you couldn't quite get to 116 wins. Good luck in year 2!

[asianinvasion]

The 2002 Seattle Mariners Draft Class

With the 23rd overall pick in the 2002 amateur draft, the Seattle Mariners pick Left Fielder Jacoby Ellsbury from Madras High School in Oregon.
Ellsbury was determined the best available player at 23 by our scouts. He should project out to be a one or two hitter.

In the Second Round, we picked up starter Billy Buckner from Decatur Georgia. He can throw three pitches and has a high endurance. He has to work on his movement and we project him to be in the bigs in 4 to 5 years.

With our third round pick, we chose another starter. From Denver, the Mariners chose Luke Hochevar. He throw a fastball and two variations of a curveball. A slow one and a 12-6. He like Buckner, will be a project and we wont see him for a while.

With our forth and last pick, we selected Zack Segovia from Dallas Texas. He is also a pitcher and we may never see him in a Mariner uniform.


Note: There were only 4 rounds as there were no more players left.

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2002 Spring Training Preview

Goals heading into season:
1. Win AL West
2. Get to World Series
3. Win World Series
4. Rebuild Farm System


Position battles.

1. Backup Catcher: Jaime Burke and Kenji Johjima will be battling it out for the spot. Both are good defensive catcher so the better hitter will probably win the spot.
2. 4th Outfielder: Veteran Al Martin, rookies Jeremy Reed and Scott Podsednik will battle it out. We may keep two of them.
3. Final Bench spot: All are eligible, whoever proves to be the best bet wins.
4. #5 starter and Long man: Aaron Sele was atrocious in 20 starts last year. He, John Halama and Joel Pineiro will fight for these two spots.

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Spring Training Report

Position battles.

1. Jaime Burke won the backup role over Kenji Johjima. Burke hit .353 to save his job. Joh was sent to AAA Tacoma.
2. We decided to have three outfielders this year. Jeremy Reed and Al Martin won the jobs. The third spot went to Charles Gipson, a bit of a dark horse. He played well in spring but is on a short leash.
3. The #5 starter role went to Aaron Sele who proved himself in the Spring. John Halama also saved himself with a good spring. Pineiro had a good spring but we had no room for him.

Injuries:
Rafael Soriano will miss the first two weeks of the season with a wrist stress fracture. George Sherill has been called up to take his spot. Sherill had a sub-2 ERA during Spring.

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The 2002 Seattle Mariners

Starting Lineup:

1. LF Ichiro Suzuki (.316/7/68)
2. 3B Bill Mueller (.258/4/28) w/CHC
3. 1B John Olerud (.313/16/108)
4. RF Jay Buhner (.235/36/98) 130 games
5. DH Edgar Martinez (.340/21/86) 188 games
6. CF Mike Cameron (.260/27/97)
7. 2B Bret Boone (.280/19/86)
8. C Dan Wilson (.292/13/73)
9. SS Carlos Guillen (.285/14/82)

Bench:

INF Scott Spiezio (.243/19/66) w/ANA
OF Jeremy Reed (.304/11/76) w/AAA Tacoma
C Jaime Burke (.220/0/6)
OF Charles Gipson (.284/0/73) w/AAA Tacoma
OF Al Martin (.203/2/18)

Starting Rotation:

1. Randy Johnson (17-6, 3.21 ERA) w/ARI and SEA
2. Freddy Garcia (14-11, 4.02 ERA)
3. Brett Tomko (14-9, 5.04 ERA)
4. Jamie Moyer (15-9, 4.39 ERA)
5. Aaron Sele (3-8, 6.02 ERA)

Bullpen:

Closer: Brian Fuentes (2-3, 3.90 ERA, 20 sv.)
Set Up: Arthur Rhodes (9-5, 3.33 ERA, 0 sv.)
Short Relief: J.J. Putz (8-4, 3.33 ERA, 1sv.)
Short Relief: Jeff Nelson (5-4, 4.52 ERA, 2 sv.)
Middle Relief: George Sherrill (1-1, 3.41 ERA, 29 sv) w/AAA Tacoma
Long Relief: John Halama (3-5, 4.09 ERA, 1sv)

Injuries:

Rafael Soriano (1-0, 4.28 ERA, 1sv) 17 days

[asianinvasion]

April 2002
13-12 Second Place AL West 1.5 GB Oakland

Good:

Top three hitters in order: Ichiro is hitting .362, Mueller is hitting .320 and John Olerud it hitting .404.
Freddy Garcia: He is 3-1 with a 3.44 ERA in 5 starts this season.

Bad:
The rest of the order: No one else is hitting over .260. Jay Buhner is hitting .171.
Pitching: The whole staff seems to struggle. This may be because of the catcher. Dan Wilson has a 66 handling rating. We will try Jaime Burke at the starting catcher role.

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May 2002
27-24 Tied 1st AL West (Oakland)

Good:

ERA's have gone down: The team ERA has dropped almost a full run in a month. The relievers are doing great but the starters are still struggling.
1-3 hitters: The averages ave leveled out but they have been doing good. Mueller got hurt but Spiezio has filled in.
Bullpen: We have the third best bullpen ERA with a 3.27.

Bad:

Offense: Other than the top three hitters, everyone are still struggling. Jay Buhner is still below the Mendoza line but has 9 home runs.
The Lefties: Both Jamie Moyer and Randy Johnson have ERA's above 6.
Injuries: The Injury Bug came back as Bill Mueller hits the 15-day DL with what the medical staff is calling a mild shoulder separation. Aaron Hill has been recalled from AAA Tacoma to take his spot.