FSN better be broadcasting in HD. I can't even remember how many games were supposedly in HD last year(heck, there was even an 'HD' icon in the corner), but were, most certainly, NOT.
If we've got to put up with Brian Davis, then at least let us see his shining dome in all its warty HD glory!

The Besmircher thinks that GEOFF, at the big press conference and using his best Canadién French, should publicly invite Monsieur Érik Bédard to the only baseball Blog-In in town that night.

The Besmircher thinks that Lance and Adam will be well behaved if Monsieur Erik makes an appearance.

The Besmircher is not sure how to say "Blog-Fest" in French, but then again, The Besmircher's French ain't too good.

The Besmircher thinks that Geoff should start with: S'il vous plaît, Monseur Bedard...Blog-Fest...sensationnel... (or something like that).

The Besmircher hit the wrong display name again. [DANG]

The Besmircher is annoying and not funny
The Besmircher needs to get a life
The Besmircher needs a hobby
The Besmircher needs a rolemodel
The Besmircher needs to go away
for good, right now, really

Cubbie? Is that you?

How many name tags will the besmircher be wearing at the blog fest?

KONG-TV is simply a KING TV's sister station. Has an early last night news at 10:00 p.m. No current NBC network shows, just reruns, and replays of talk shows like Oprah at different times. And, some replays of other local programming, like Silvi's show.

In Seattle Comcast, it's on channel 6, whereas KING is on channel 5.

Comcast also has NWCN on cable channel 2. It's news for the entire northwest region. It also replays some KING-TV programs, and programs from other KING-TV sister stations in Spokane, Boise, Portland.

So, Geoff, you're going to be seen by the whole region. Not just the KING-TV area.

1. KONG-TV is the "sister" station to KING-TV. Get it?

2. Today is a French kinda day. Laissez les bon temps roullez, after all. Mardi Gras day! SuperFat Tuesday!

3. Waiting for Bedard is getting more like waiting for this frickin election to be over. But I'll be really, really glad when he touches down safely.

4. Have fun at the Blogfest. I have to work.

5. Next convergence day is when pitchers and catchers converge in Arizona and Florida.

The Besrmircher will be wearing a button that says:

"Abolish Bestiality"

As a long time M’s fan and observer of this blog I want to say that Griffey would be perfect for the team and the fans. His presents would double attendance and bolster morale, while giving power to the offence.
Also I am rather on the fence about the trade but now that it’s practically over anyway I will wish good luck to Sir Erick the Badard in 08!!

PS.
The Besmirched is the best personality on the blog for quite some time hope he can keep it up.

"Being fresh off the snomobile from Canada, I still have no real clue what KONG TV is, but it sounds kind of cool. Like a giant ape."

One of the few times I've laughed out loud while reading this blog.

Good stuff.

Dido to r0ryAK!

Lame,
Where's your sense of humor?

The Besmircher does tend to speak in the 3rd person of himself - which is kinda reminiscent of a certain Mr. Baseball from the Sportspot boards. Wait a minute! Come to think of it, i've never seen the two of them post at the same time. Hmmm....

Wish I could get to the blog-in but alas, I am a divorced father of 3 and have my girls this week. Don't think I could get my 7 year old daughter to sit still long enough for me to enjoy the event. Besides, I'm not sure I want her exposed to Adam's pessimism ;) (J/K Adam.....)

Pitchers and Catchers report next week! Go M's!!!!

Queen of Sheba

Yes, Adam is indeed too pessimistic. Maybe we should cheer him up with a pony.

KOMO just said Bedard is in Seattle for his physical.

Noted on PI Blog!

"Has anyone heard this rumor that Baltimore will be flipping Sherrill to Chicago for an additional 4-5 players? According to blogs on the Baltimore site, this is why the Brian Roberts trade has not gone through, as it is awaiting the official Sherrill trade."

Think Lou is manovering behind the scene alittle?

Mr. X,

First you compare statheads to Damhm, then you say you didn't. Then you say they are disgusting, but then you say that doesn't include the statheads who comment on this board. As a stathead, I want to thank you for excluding me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. But man, that Dahmer reference. What the **** does that mean? Sounds like you should be talking to shrink, not a baseball blog. Get some help, dude. i won't come to this blog if people are going to be talking like that.

Hey Guys!

Lay off of Mr. X, he is the reason I have so much passion for the M's.

"The Besmirched is the best personality on the blog for quite some time hope he can keep it up."

The Besmircher does not suffer from E.D.

"The Besmircher needs a hobby"

The Besmircher thinks that following the Seattle Mariners and devoting too many braincells to GEOFF's blog is a hobby.

The Besmircher thinks that Kara M and Mr X might hit it off at the Blog-Fest, but the The Besmircher doesn't really care because he already has a hobby [or two. ;=) ]

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!

All of you can speculate on how we will do with the injury prone Bedhead, but to give up this much from the farm is Baldvasi's way of screwing every last fan before he is fired for being a complete and utter moron! Baker, you are the worst culprit of this as well! This one sometimes healthy pitcher who will only factor in a game once every five days is not worth what we gave up! As much as I would like to believe that we will contend, well.....we will not as we have incompetent management as well as lead blogger, Baker, I have liked your blog, but please, stop with this passion of yours for pushing this trade down our throats! I have lived and died with the M's since 1977 when I moved to this country and I have been dissappointed to many times, but what kept me coming back was the hopes that a few of the prospects would make the team and light a fire, but yoy keep pushing this trade as if this will push us into the playoffs...well pass the bong IDIOT, good research and journalism is showing both sides and not letting YOUR biased opinion try to sway the argument, let the chips fall as they will and us fans read a story with-out your true beliefs that Bedhead is going to make us instant contenders in the West, there are only 4 teams in the West and the A's decided not to contend, and the Ranger's pitching is just as bad as ours, but their offense will kill us just like last year! I pray that I eat crow on this, but this is baseball..9 men on the field, one player doesn't make you an instant contender and you of all people should know that. We know have an ubder average outfield, and a pathetic 1B and 2B side of the infield, but offensively we have digressed back to the heydays of being challenged at the plate!

Singles hitting CF - I can live with that

Singles hitting DH - THAT SUCKS FOR $9 million

Can't hit the ball 1B - What a waste of $14 million

Fat Lazy and stupid 2B - should let him go back to AAA

SS - I love Yuni!!

3B - Beltre is still tops in my books

Slow, Slower, and painful to watch LF

Overpaid RF - Great a 230 average, should fit in nice with Sexson

C - Joh is going to be even better this year

So I see 5-6 offensivly challenged players for their positions that they play

BUT BEDHEAD will cure this all away................................................................................................WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The dumbest argument out there against the trade was that we should hold on to Jones because we don't have a prayer of catching Anaheim.
There are so many variables in a season, that to say something like that is just plain stupid, especially when you consider the pitching staff we will have now.
I do think our offense is still a little weak, but if you look at our offensive numbers last season, they compare very well to Cleveland's 2007 numbers. The difference between us muddling around in August and them surging into the ALCS? Starting pitching. We both had great bullpens, but the Tribe's combo of Sabathia and Carmona made all the difference down the stretch (look at their July, August and September numbers).
Not only that, Cleveland's offensive numbers DROPPED quite a bit from 2006 to 2007, but they actually improved as team, primarily because their starters and bullpen were so much better.
I tried to point this out on other threads, but it seems to be completely lost on the anti-traders.
Now we will have a very similar 1-2 punch to Sabathia and Carmona. Our bullpen is still solid, and I think our hitting can actually improve, particularly if Sexson and Lopez pull their heads out. It's a big if, but if we can produce the same as last year (like Cleveland), we can compete with the best in the AL.
And even if it's not enough in 2008, with the money we'll have available after Sexson and Washburn exit, we'll be able to do some major offensive upgrading for 2009 - and we'll still have a great top of the rotation in place, which is the most important and most difficult part of a team to build.

One other thought slightly off-topic: I have no problem with putting Morrow in the bullpen another season. If you know how to get guys out, it doesn't matter if you do it in the bullpen or as a starter. It's not like he's 35 or anything. If he does start in the pen, he'll be able to gradually stretch out his innings and become a starter next year if they need him to. John Smoltz has pitched in both places and done well. I don't see any reason Morrow couldn't spend another year in the bullpen before pitching another offseason as a starter in winter ball. He'd be ready to take over Washburn's spot in the rotation in 2009.
The guy has a great arm, he just needs to learn to change speeds and throw strikes consistently. I like his toughness and ferocity. He came into some tough situations last year and showed a lot of guts.
If O'Flaherty or Rowland-Smith prove capable of getting lefties out consistently, we'll be OK in the pen. Morrow is another great arm McClaren can use in 08, so I have no problem with keeping him there another year.

Maybe Kara and X can bring their friend Jeffrey.

I read on an orioles message board that heard on XM MLB radio that Bedard was on a plane tonight to Seattle to take a physical tomorrow. But I haven't seen anyone confirm it yet.

So ALL the games will be on TV this year? That's awesome news.

Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday!

After reading the Bautista article, it puts all of the trade hype and arguments into a bit of perspective. Still, it's cool that the players seem to be looking forward to it. Looking forward to Thursday!

Any other out-of-state M's fans hate the Fox Saturday games too? I can't stand it. You get your regional game and nothing else. Even with the package you are SOL on Saturday.

I think Batista's opinion means a little more than alleged Oriole fans who post on here. I can guarantee that if you took a secret poll of the players, 90% or more (except the person who runs to get George Sherrill's snacks, whoever that may be) are looking forward to the trade. Because they want to win now, and aren't getting any younger. They have their priorities in order.

Over on the PI, Andriesen spoke to Sam Perlozzo and Leo Mazzone, Bedard's former manager and pitching coach.

Mazzone had this to say:

"He's one of the top-shelf lefties in the major leagues and one of the top starters in the major leagues, period," Mazzone said. "If (the Mariners) get him, they have put themselves in the thick of the pennant race."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/350215_bedard06.html

It's a good read. Former O's Manager/New M's third base coach Sam Perlozzo says:

"He's got great stuff, No. 1 stuff," said Mariners third base coach Sam Perlozzo, who managed the Orioles from 2005 until last June. "When he's on, he's on, and he's got a lot of pitches to work with.

"But when he struggles, he can adapt. Like all people that can sustain a good record, he's someone who can think. He's good at seeing when something's not working and making adjustments."

Pitchers and catchers next week!!!

I think the best stat to determine a pitcher's value is Baserunners per 9 IP. Of last year's American League pitchers, I was shocked to see that not a single Mariner pitcher made the top-20. But our two new Mariner acquisitions were both in the top-20.

1. Johan Santana (9.82)
2. Erik Bedard (10.04)
3. James Shields (10.38)
...
20. Carlos Silva (11.99)

Two innings eaters that don't give up a lot of hits or walks? I'm starting to like this more and more.

I think the best stat to determine a pitcher's value is Baserunners per 9 IP. Of last year's American League pitchers, I was shocked to see that not a single Mariner pitcher made the top-20. But our two new Mariner acquisitions were both in the top-20.

1. Johan Santana (9.82)
2. Erik Bedard (10.04)
3. James Shields (10.38)
...
20. Carlos Silva (11.99)

Two innings eaters that don't give up a lot of hits or walks? I'm starting to like this more and more.

The problem with baserunners per nine innings is that there is a lot beyond the pitcher's control, namely the ability of his defense.

Are there paparazzi outside Bedard's house tracking his movements? If and when he gets on a plane to Seattle will we know as soon as the ticket is purchased? Or do we have to wait until he checks in at the airport? Will he fly on a private jet? If he travels by airline will he sit in first class or coach? Does he have phony name he travels under?


Have Jones and Sherrill returned from Baltimore?

Mr. X,

Do you think the M's traded George S. because his weight problem could shorten his career?

Nice post, Scrapiron. Of course, as your detractor says, the defense plays a role in number of baserunners/9 innings. However, over a long season, strikeouts, forcing the batter to keep the ball in play when contact is made, and not giving up walks is indicative of a pitcher's effectiveness.

This stat makes sense, and makes me like the addition of both Bedard and Silva!

From Buster Olney's (ESPN) blog today:

Another executive on the proposed swap, which is perceived by rival officials to be a tremendous deal for the Orioles: "If somebody offered me that package, I'd drive Bedard to Seattle myself to get it done."

Nice...

Well, unfortunately almost every pitching stat is affected by the defense to some extent. A better use of base runners per 9 would be to compare it vs. other pitchers on his team, although in Bedard's case he's going to look pretty good since the rest of the O's staff really stunk. Still it's great to see your new pitcher rank 2nd in the league in a pitching stat no matter how much the defense plays in it (postive pitching stats of course). Thanks for pointing it out.

For all that gisupply gets a little unhinged above, his core point is spot-on, and something I don't think gets talked about enough: the M's offense. A 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation doesn't matter much without a knockout blow. The reliable offensive guys are singles-hitters. The unreliable offensive guys would all need to catch fire at once to produce as well as the Angels, or the current leading Wild Card favorites. And the people in between like Yuni and Wilkerson, you just can't tell.

Also agree with AlMartinUSC - I have an HD setup, watched the super bowl in HD, have seen enough of the Ms in HD on the monitors on the 200 level... I and plenty of other fans will be able to tell pretty quickly if their HD is really HD or not. I think we Comcast folk are kinda s.o.l. on this one, as I couldn't find an FSN HD in the subset of HD channels the other day...

This from Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun:
"Meanwhile, Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times mentioned how the majority of Mariners fans seem to be concerned that the club is giving up too much for Bedard.

I still think they should be relieved that the Mariners didn't lose Brandon Morrow, Carlos Triunfel or Jeff Clement. This deal works for both teams."

Not at all sure that's a "majority" of anti-traders here, GEOFF. That contingent may just be more adamant. I will say that, while there are many O's fans opposed to this trade, the sentiment for this trade (and rebuilding) is at least a 60% majority. The pro-trade VS anti-trade crowd in Seattle seem more split down the middle.

I agree with Kubatko's assessment that, [barring injuries AND and immediate extension of Bedard], this deal works well for both teams.

"However, over a long season, strikeouts, forcing the batter to keep the ball in play when contact is made, and not giving up walks is indicative of a pitcher's effectiveness."

You are absolutely right about 2 out of these 3. Keeping the ball in play when contact is made, however, makes the pitcher completely dependent on the defense.

Last year the Ms converted .678 of balls in play into outs which was worse than all but 3 teams in baseball. The top teams were over .710. Another way of looking at that is that batting average against for balls in play for the Ms was .322 versus .286 for the best defensive team. That works out to be a hit a game.

Strikeouts and not walking hitters are both very important but even the best strikeout pitchers are relying on their defense for 2/3 of the outs.

Since there is discussion on the comparative ranks of pitchers in Baserunners per nine innings, here is the complete A.L. top-20 list.

At Minnesota Santana-Silva was one and two, and at Baltimore it was Bedard-Guthrie.

1 Johan Santana Min 9.82 ( 239/219.0 )
2 Erik Bedard Bal 10.04 ( 203/182.0 )
3 James Shields TB 10.38 ( 248/215.0 )
4 Josh Beckett Bos 10.50 ( 234/200.2 )
5 Javier Vazquez CWS 10.55 ( 254/216.2 )
6 C.C. Sabathia Cle 10.57 ( 283/241.0 )
7 Dan Haren Oak 10.99 ( 272/222.2 )
8 Dustin McGowan Tor 11.09 ( 209/169.2 )
9 Jeremy Guthrie Bal 11.09 ( 216/175.1 )
10 Joe Blanton Oak 11.11 ( 284/230.0 )
11 Brian Bannister KC 11.24 ( 206/165.0 )
12 Roy Halladay Tor 11.30 ( 283/225.1 )
13 Fausto Carmona Cle 11.34 ( 271/215.0 )
14 A.J. Burnett Tor 11.35 ( 209/165.2 )
15 John Lackey LAA 11.37 ( 283/224.0 )
16 Kelvim Escobar LAA 11.55 ( 251/195.2 )
17 Mark Buehrle CWS 11.55 ( 258/201.0 )
18 Gil Meche KC 11.79 ( 283/216.0 )
19 Justin Verlander Det 11.92 ( 267/201.2 )
20 Carlos Silva Min 11.99 ( 269/202.0 )
Since there is discussion on the comparative ranks of pitchers in Baserunners per nine innings, here is the complete A.L. top-20 list.

Chris from Bothell, the M's games get shown in HD via Comcast on one of the channels in the 660+ range where a lot of the other HD channels are. I don't remember which one specifically, and you wouldn't know the games were played on that channel unless you saw it coming up in the guide. It's pretty lame that FSN doesn't have a dedicated HD channel yet though. Not sure if that's Fox or Comcast dropping the ball, but it's 2008 and time to get with the program.

Man is this deal ever going to get done, whats with all the secrecy(Im asking you Angelos)Didn't the Mets/Twins announce the deal before the physicals/contract signing. Im starting to wonder if Angelos got cold feet again or something, and is this deal dead/is there more to it (Lopez and Roberts) or what I have never in all my years as a sports fan seen something take so long, i mean the heat are about to move an overrated and aging Shaq and his 20 million dollar contract and you would have thought that would be imposable. C'mon already lets announce the damn thing.

Besides all the grunge work put in by GB and Stone, perhaps the best indication that the deal is done:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/350215_bedard06.html

Human interest BS story on Bedard. That's the nail in the coffin IMO. What's in the coffin will surely be debated here for quite a while.

Mike:

You are right that defense is a definite factor in a pitcher's performance which is why any pitcher that throws a No Hitter/Shut Out/Perfect Game should be buying drinks for the guys behind him. Invariably, the team played a role.

I also liked DirtyP's point about comparing Scrapiron's pitching stat within the same team.

As to your post: How many games in the loss column does a 3.12% difference (fielding convertion to outs) convert to over the course of a season? (.710 - .678)

Or, although I'm not sure how you made this calculation, how many games over the season will one extra hit per game cost?

In comparing just ERA last season, the M's will be replacing Weaver with a 6.20 ERA and HoRam with a 7.16 ERA with Bedard's (presumably) 3.16 ERA and Silva's 4.19 ERA. This is a differential of 3.01 runs per game for 2/5ths of the starting rotation. Assuming Felix, Washburn and Batista perform the same, how many wins over 44 games (200 innings times two players divided by 9 innings) will a differential of three runs per game mean for the 2008 Mariners? With our defense the same, except for Guillen/WIlkerson and the loss of Sherrill, most of the other variables have a good probability of staying roughly the same. (Except for Sexson who we pray will leave the land of the dead and contribute offensively).

I'm not a Sabermetrician and am making this up as I go, but a three "RUN" ERA differential over 44 games should translate into more wins than a one "HIT" differential over 162 games.

I can't be certain with my limited statistical bearing, but gaining three runs in ERA over the course of a season for two SP should trump, by far, the slight inferiority of our defense. This seems to indicate to me an excellent example of why pitching is valued higher than fielding.

Memo to Mr. Peter Angelos:

Yesterday rumors began to circulate that the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns may be involved in a trade of Shaquille O'Neal for Shawn Marion (and others). Today, O'Neal is in Phoenix under going a physical where it's expected that the deal will officially be announced this afternoon.

That, my friend, is how you conduct a trade in professional sports. Quit pussy-footing around and get this thing done!

scottM-- I reached the hit a game figure by taking the number of at balls in play (At bats minus, strikeouts, minus home runs). There were 4,439 for the Ms last year. The Ms gave up 1,431 hits on these for an average of .322. The most efficient defensive team (The Blue Jays) gave up a batting average against on balls in play of .286. If the Ms had been that good they would have only given up 1,270 hits which is 161 less than they did which is almost exactly one per game. Whew.

Now, I'm not a sabermetrician either but the Ms gave up 1578 total hits and 813 runs. That's over half a run a hit but that overstates the case because home runs are counted here. Pull out the 147 HRs from each side and we're at .46 runs per hit. This is probably still high due to runners who score on HRs so I"ll arbitrarily say .4 runs per hit. At that rate if the Ms had played great defense behind their pitching they would have saved 64 runs. Now I'm really tired.

The new TV deal is NOT good news for M's fans in British Columbia. FSN is not available in Canada.

A limited number of Mariners FSN are relayed on Sportsnet Pacific, and but too often they're joined in progress because of Toronto Blue Jays games (Rogers Communications owns the Blue Jays and Sportsnet) or they're not picked up because of NHL hockey coverage.

Very disappointed - The CW11 games were the only telecasts fans in Vancouver could actually mark on our calendars and count on to see the M's.