Much has been written about the Hindenberg style disaster that is the 2008 M's season, picking apart very facet of every loss, complaining about lack of accountability, and generally asking God "Why, do we suck so bad?". Through it all the USSMariner.com has been doing their best to shine a light and expose the true problems that plague this franchise. Too often are the teams problems explained through good/bad chemistry, lack of accountability and the need for veteran leadership when the true cause of this malignancy that hangs over this franchise is ignored.
In the spirit of showing the fan base what is killing their team they had a nice little article on Bill Bavasi's take on why we are where we are(dead last in the MLB in wins). Bill's take was, more or less, that it's not our crappy manager who continues to bat our slap hitting DH in the 3 spot. It also is not due to the fact that the team was built on the premise that a bunch of old no-skill players would do what even Hugh Jackman could not accomplish in "The Fountain" and find the legendary well of eternal youth.
No, according to our GM Bill Bavasi it is because the team lacks a leader to light a fire under them. Someone to hold them accountable for their failings and get them to play at the level they are capable of. He believes the team is a horribly under performing contender just waiting to bust out if just a gritty veteran clubhouse leader who has been through the wars would hold their feet to the fire.
Why does Bill Bavasi believe this? Why, because the talking heads on ESPN all concurred, in their sage-like wisdom, that with the addition of #1 Staff Ace EriK Bedard (prounounced buh-DAR, he's a Canuck, let it go), The Seattle Mariners were favorites to win the AL West. Also tons of sports writers who rarely, if ever, see our team play also spouted in agreement "Best 1-2 punch in baseball!!! Pitching will carry them to a division title!!!!" None of these "analysts" had "the nerve" to pick us anything less than second in the division, Bavasi ranted.
Sadly, as Dave at USSM points out, any sort of real analysis showed that the M's were a paper tiger. In today's sports world, an especially in baseball, the amount of statistical data available to help guide smart decision making is almost endless. There are formulas and programs that can execute said formulas given the proper data that can make fairly accurate predictions of teams given performance.
Now there are many stats I won't try to pretend I understand, UZR, RZR, tERA, etc...but I do understand runs scored and runs allowed. And I know last year the M's scored 794 runs and allowed 813 and I know that normally when give up more runs than you score you are going to have a losing record almost every time. That the M's won as any games as they did last year was not an upward trend but a statistical anomaly.
Some would argue that with Ho-Ram and Dream Weaver off the team and the additions of Carlos Silva and #1 Staff Ace EriK Bedard would shore up our runs given up and allow us to be the contenders were seemed to be before the collapse. While our pitching staff may have been bolstered the defense took a serious hit to any already shaky unit with the loss of Adam Jones in the outfield. Offensively, everyone is a year older and for the majority of our line-up that's not a good thing. Altogether, the upgrade in pitching is washed up by sub-par defense and aging hitting.
When Bill Bavasi says he and is analysts could have never predicted the team so poorly to start the season it reminds of when President Bush says he could not have predicted things falling apart like they did in Iraq. It's the kind if myopic statement one would expect out of someone surrounded by yes-men tuning out all opposing thought points on the subject. Truthfully it's childish. Reminds me of a time when I broke a window by being too close to the house taking batting practice. My parents asked me I just didn't take my swings out in the yard and I told them I didn't imagine the bat'd slip from my hand and go crashing through the window. The difference being my parents didn't buy it and I got in trouble while people seem to continue to buy or at least permit the lies woven by Bush and Bavasi.
Anyone that had been watching this team last season and thought about all that needed to go right for us to be good knew what Public Enemy was saying with "Don't Believe the Hype". In my post on the M's winning their first game I even predicted that the M's would need to be very lucky to be good and that it wouldn't require much for everything to fall apart. I said that the offense is very hot and cold and that the defense is over-hyped and there could be a lot of well pitched games lost to lack of defense and hitting. I thought the expectations that Suxson would regain his form of 4 years ago, Vidro would continue to bat an extremely hollow .300, Wilkerson would do much of anything, an that our expensive veteran pitchers would step up and prove their mettle were very tenuous and more than likely would not happen. And I've been proven right.
So, Bill Bavasi, when you say no one predicted your team to do so poorly how about you pull your head out of your ass before you do so. Then you might see that a 25 year old lowly suite runner with 0 baseball experience accurately forecasted your season. And that should shame you. Because if a dumbass like me is out-thinking you on how to run your team I'd hate to see what some of those bright baseball minds are doing to you throughout the league.
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2 comments:
"While our pitching staff may have been bolstered the defense took a serious hit to any already shaky unit with the loss of Adam Jones in the outfield"
The Rainier's outfield took that hit, I'd suggest losing Jose Guillen was more of a serious hit.
Ha! I assume this is a joke about managements misuse of him last year. Leaving him down in AAA when he was going all Ted Bundy on AAA pitching, begging for an extended shot at the bigs. Adam Jones, prior to the Bedard trade, was set to be the starter out in right.
The only thing that took a hit in losing Guillen was our team pharmacy's stock or the clear and the cream. Ha!
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