The Little Things That Keep You Up At Night

Though I hate to admit to it, I tend to consider myself to be somewhat of a worrywart. Call me the anti- Bobby McFerrin. I just cannot watch television without seeing commercials for prescription drugs and pondering whether or not I truly do have irritable bowel syndrome. I do not drink Mountain Dew because I fear what the infamous Yellow Five may do to me. Hell even as i type this out, I cannot help, but ponder if my laptop is rendering me impotent.

When I grow old I know that am destined to be that crazy old man sitting in a rocking chair on his porch, touting a shotgun and whistling to himself.

And this is exactly why I still catch myself second guessing the Adam Jones trade.

Yes, I know that the trade garnered the M's arguably the best one two starting combo in baseball.

Yes, I know that the season is only three weeks old.

And yes, I know that both George Sherrill and Adam Jones are still on the waiver wire in my Fantasy Baseball League.

I am aware of all of these things and yet I still worry.

Do you recall Ryan Anderson? I sure do. The 6' 10" pitching phenom nicknamed the "The Little Unit." He garnered this label due to the M's front office executives picturing him paired with Randy Johnson. Yes that Randy Johnson, who has since played for four different ball clubs since his tenure with Seattle.

I remember Ryan Anderson because he was hyped in the minor leagues to be a homegrown stud. Even after multiple surgeries, his name was still brought up in the local newspapers. The reason? The Mariners staunch denial of accepting the fact that they stink at developing talent.

Since Ken Griffey Jr. we have had Gil Meche, Jose Cruz Jr., and Alex Rodriguez come through the system. All of these players were homegrown, but all departed before reaching their primes. Thus the fans never got to see them blossom into the stars we had heard about through the farm system. If this is any indication, then Felix Hernandez (whom really was not homegrown per se, but was purchased ready to play and allowed to grow into his body) will be down in a matter of years, which brings me even more anxiety about the Mariners ability to evaluate young talent accordingly.

This has always been the Mariner's problem. They evaluate talent terrifically when making trades (for prospects not cagey veterans) but are terrible with their own minor league system. This is why chumps like Ryan Anderson received so much undeserved hype. Because their typically is no one to be excited about!

Adam Jones had the potential to atone for this. The entire city already knew his name before he even played his first pro game. Everyone was excited entering the 2008 campaign due to the open outfield spot for him start in. He was the next messiah! The next Griffey! The minor league system would garner much needed credibility and the people would accept the growing pains.

But instead I will watch him make stellar catches in the Baltimore outfield, as he did yesterday. I will see him make the necessary adjustments to his swing to hit for power. I will watch all of this and I will wonder what could have been.

And I will find myself worrying about the eventual fate of the next chosen one.