shotgun!

2:20 PM, Aug 12, 2008

Geoff or anyone know why the Mariners placed Raul Ibanez on waivers over the weekend??

'Because of the injuries, Buster Olney thinks that the Rays will try and put a waivers claim on Raul Ibanez, but that the Red Sox will block that move by making a claim of their own.'

Reported by Peter Gammons also...

It'd be nice to know the M's 'PLAN' and if they actually have one or are waiting for a new GM!

according to RotoWire/Fox sports - there's a claim out there for Washburn.
http://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.htm?ID=5798

Not sure if that's true. Hopefully it's not true about Ibanez. He's one of hte only bright spots these days.

KennewickMan,

They placed him on waivers to see if they can trade him for more than two prospects (if and after he rejects arbitration). If the team that puts a claim on him can't work out a deal with the M's, the M's can simply remove their waiver wire move and keep him. If he makes it all the way through the whole AL and NL, he can be traded to any team who works out a trade for him.

The thing to note is if a trade is consummated, the other teams players, if on the 40 man roster, must clear waivers (the positive is, we're so bad, we can the first claim).

thanks for your hard work and dedication to bringing us the news fastest. i love you

Ken Rosenthal

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8446822/Sources:-M%27s-Washburn,-Ibanez-claimed-on-waivers

If we couldn't work a trade prior to the deadline, why do it now? Maybe Ibanez doesn't want to DH next year, so he's gone??

Geoff,
Can you please fill me in on the Josh Fields stituation... I just read he hasn't signed and we only have till tomorrow

Josh Fields doesn't have to sign until 1 week before next years draft. He has no college eligibility left and thus cannot just go back to school.

So that means the mariners have a bit of time before they really have to sign him.

Geoff covered that earlier today i believe.

K,

We don't only have until tomorrow. The Aug. deadline to sign rookies is the 15th.

Furthermore, since Fields is a senior, he doesn't have to sign by the deadline. The deadline is only for players who still have eligibility in school. We can, hypothetically sign Fields all the way up to a week before next years draft.

Hope that helps.

It is also addressed on the M's official website and says that there are two top 10 draft picks that have not signed besides Josh Fields who do not intend to sign by the 15th.

Let me see if I can expleen what I say. The youth will be cheaper to field and they're just happy.
There are 2 things you can't teach, being young and being happy, simple.
Also, height does matter. Reed is too short. We need players who can reach over the fence to prevent more home runs.
We need a short catcher so the ball won't roll under him. Rarely does a ball go over his head.
These things will make 2009 very succesful.

Well it is about time!

Manny - so you want CFs to be 6ft 3" or taller?
Ichiro 5ft 11
Reed 6ft

Can't teach being young? Interesting, I guess cash is just as good as money.

Taller sometimes means slower too. Raul is 6ft 2

I think the amount he hurt this team was GREATLY exagerated by a certain sect of mariners "fans". He was our 2nd best hitter last year and played at a near all star level batting .310, while slumping this year he had more HR/RBI than ichiro and ADrian (RBI, Clutch). He was a good guy too, better than the likes of the punk Clement.

Washburn and Ibanez have until Thursday to have trades worked out

Adiós José y Pepe. Lo único que lamento es que nunca he tenido la oportunidad de apoderarse de usted alrededor del cuello y te lanzan contra una pared. Adiós mi amigo, el Jefe de Buffalo

Any truth to the rumors of the current owner possibly selling the team in the near future (w/in the next few years) and that the front runner to buy the team is Paul Allen?

Oh Kennewick beat me to it.

There you go, Jose Vidro -- cleanup hitter for much of his final month in Seattle -- is placed on irrevocable waivers and officially released by the Mariners. No takers for him in a trade.

Nobody wants our clean up hitter for free, but you don't think there is a talent gap between the M's and the contenting teams???

Hmmmm,

Geoff,
Maybe that scout you were talking to this morning needs to get a new message delivery service if he didn't know Ibanez was placed on waivers.

It's not only the injuries, it's the youth movement! We have set into place Balenetien, Clement, Morrow, and a slew of young starters for the future.
Has anyone stopped to notice the young bull pen and how they have responded. The best two young relievers are still in the minors!
Trunfiel can't be stopped - he will hit big. Halman is a rabbit on the bases. Tui has a great chance.
We are rich with youth in the outfield, infield and pitching arms. The cost of this youth movement may be missing the playoffs next year.

He was a good guy too, better than the likes of the punk Clement.

Care to show someone who actually knows him who thinks Clement is a "punk" - like a teammate perhaps?

I hate to rag on Ichiro, but he has become detrimental to this organization.
Balls that he used to catch, have now become base hits. He has lost that burning desire.

Agreed, Ichiro is a defensive liability but the USSMgeeks who rag on raul all the time wont admit it. Just look, he wont dive and dogs it routinely. Why dont we try to send him, reed and fierabend to boston for elsbury? A NW native who is a true outfielder and hustles like u wouldnt believe

So if the M's can't come to an agreement on a trade (cmon, we all know they won't), more than likely they will settle for the $50K per player on the claims.......woo hoo 100 grand!

Beaver -

Ichiro is still one of our best defensive players (behind Beltre). So what if he doesn't dive. With diving, you're chancing injury (Mike Morse) or missing the ball, which would mean more than a single. It's a conservative way of playing, but it's the right way to do it. Ichiro, this season, is the least of our worries.

USSMgeeks? geeks = intelligence, so thanks!

Oh and Raul is the worst defensive player in the league, just like Vidro was the worst hitter.

Nothing will happen to either of them because this team is ran by incompetent morons. Don't even waste time speculating it because they will not make a move. The Seattle Mariners organization is a joke and I'm sick and tired of this disaster of a team.

PUKE-

The thing is that if we don't deal Raul, we will still get two high draft picks next year by offering him arbitration. That's not a bad thing. It's actually really good news.

Now about Washburn, it's just a bad job by LeeP. He needs to realize that Wash is only a number 4 or 5 starter on a good team and that at 10 million next year he should just give him to the team that claimed him. He played "chicken" with the Yanks during trade talks and lost. He had better not do that again.

What it all comes down to his the M's big wigs need to step down. Armstrong and Lincoln. Those two need to go.

I've just heard on the pre-game Mariners' TV program that Rauuuuul Ibanez and Jared Washburn have both been claimed on waivers. They're not gone yet but they could be. If the M's had any sense at all, they'd hang on to Ibanez. But of course I don't expect anything to make very much sense when it concerns the Mariners anymore.

Okay, I thot I had hot news; everyone beat me to it. Still, I'm bummed that Ibanez has been placed on Waivers. I really feel in a lot of ways, that he's the heart and soul of this team. A nice guy, good hitter, and he just seems to be a good person. Approachable, with a lot of knowledge to share. You've gotta keep SOMETHING to build around, after all. It's already hard enough watching M's baseball, without these waiver developments hanging over our heads. I'd rather keep Ibanez around than go for a couple of prospects, both of whom are potentially good, but as of yet unproven qualities. I just think Raul is good for the psychology of this team. I'll leave it to others to Debate The Numbers.