Bedard for Jones

Just now, Paul e-mailed me this:

Are you as excited about the possibility of him in Seattle as I'm guessing you are? How good does a Felix-Bedard one-two punch make you guys in the AL West?

On the other hand, are you as disturbed about the possibility of adding Luis Gonzalez to the Seattle lineup as I'm guessing you are? On a scale of Beltre to Sexson, where would signing Lu-Go rank?

Brad Wilkerson?? Isn't he just an above-average NL hitter?

A few things, in no particular order:
1. I've loved Bedard for years. Gammons has been trumpeting him ever since I can remember. The possibility of him in Safeco is thrilling.
2. I love he spells it "Erik."
3. Throwing Felix, Erik or Erik, Felix back-to-back will force opposing lineups to strike out almost as much as we will. (For two days in a row). Sexson, Beltre, Wilkerson? Brutal.
4. This trade ensures that we are reasonably competitive, like last year, for the AL West title. Nothing more. That's a harsh reality, and one not every Seattle fan understands or believes.
5. I own both Felix and Bedard on the fantasy team I care most about. They are both penciled in as keepers. I'm not sure I can keep two Seattle starters -- out of four keeper spots. Trouble brewing.
5a. I'm keeping two Seattle starters!
6. I had two fantasy teams last year. The other one was named, from April until September, "adam jones fan club." I went to two Triple-A games last year -- over an hour from my home -- to watch him play. I'm not anxious to lose him.
7. We cannot trade Brandon Morrow. We cannot. Our first round pick last year, the 23-year-old was selected in front of Tim Lincecum and struck out 66 batters in 63 IP last year. Memo to Bavasi: Do not trade Brandon Morrow.
8. Good move otherwise.
9. It will be Wilkerson. Geoff Baker, Seattle Times, has been all over this story. For months. LuGo was a serious possibility a few months ago, now much less likely.
10. A guy named Wladimr Balentin will get more playing time than whoever else is signed.

Andruw Jones in Seattle? Wha'?

Buster Olney's column today had the following predictions for MLB's 2007-2008 centerfield carousel: First, he said that because the Mets/Yankees/Sox are pretty much set at centerfield, the CF market is already saturated. Teams will be looking for inexpensive solutions. With Andruw Jones, Torri Hunter, Ichiro and Mike Cameron on the market, though, players will be looking for massive contracts.

The situation could resolve itself like this, Olney said:

There will be very heavy bidding on Cameron, because he's going to be the cheapest option. In the end, he signs with Atlanta.

The Texas Rangers, looking for a long-term center field solution, will sign Hunter, a Texas guy.

That will leave Jones and Ichiro. I'm guessing that Ichiro winds up with the White Sox -- he fits a lot of what they do, with their running and hitting and hitting-and-running -- and that leaves Jones … in Seattle. We know the Mariners don't shy away from Scott Boras clients, like Jones; they offered a huge deal to Barry Zito last offseason.

Whack. I don't support it at all. I want no part of that one-hand-catching, always-makes-Paul-happy-to-see-him-struggle jerkface. No part.

Also, I don't really want to see Ichiro leave, either. He's a punk, and I'm not a big Ichiro supporter, but he's definitely a Mariner. He's in our big four: ARod, Randy, Griffey, Ichiro. If none of them finish in Seattle, that's bad news, I think.

(Felix isn't a big four member. Felix is in the one man category: Awesomest ever).

King Felix

Ai ai ai!!! Felix is in the house! Ai!

Youngest Opening Day starter since Doc Gooden. First Opening Day starter to strike out at least 12 batters without surrending a run since 1967. Ai!

"I told the team, 'Give me one run, we win,'" he said before the game.

I'm ridiculously pumped.

This is Love

Tomorrow, Yahoo! opens fantasy baseball. I can't hardly wait. I'm freaking giddy over here. I just read Peter Gammon's new piece — "I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see Gary Sheffield in a Tigers uniform, or Daisuke Matsuzaka, or Barry Zito in the uniform Carl Hubbell once wore, or Greg Maddux, period. I can't wait to see Jon Lester take PFP, Eric Gagne pitch and Aaron Rowand on the field" — and I'm going nuts.

Baseball!

My self-imposed Sonics boycott — and my general ambivalance towards the NFL — has turned me into a rabid Mariners fan. I cannot express to you how thrilled I am by the prospect of a Yuniesky Betancourt - JoLo - Richie Sexson 6-4-3. Brilliant! Adam Jones in center? Are you kidding me! The boys of summer.

Also, my keeper league fantasy players are like sons to me. It kills me that I'm going to have to cut either Delmon Young or Jonathon Papelbon loose. That is a horrid fate. At least I've got Hafner (Pronk!tastic), Crawford and — I almost made it an entire post without mentioning him — King Felix.

Baseball!

Super Bowl (of Fantasy Sports)

I think the Bears miss Tommie Harris more than anybody realizes. I love Freeney and Marvin, and I like Manning, but Cedric Benson is a force to be reckoned with. If he starts rolling, Indy could be in trouble. He won't, of course, and Indy'll be fine: Colts win, 20-17.

I'm much more distracted by Spring Training talk, though, than I am by the approaching Super Bowl. I can hardly wait.

Three players I'm excited for:
1. People are going nuts about Gary Sheffield, who now plays for Detroit. He's pissed at the Yanks, and that bodes well for his 2007, people say. Rock.
2. King Felix (Hernandez) dropped 20 pounds over the offseason. One Seattle baseball writer wrote a story about how, at Felix's first press conference of the year, the writer did not recognize Felix when Felix walked on the stage. Felix has lost his baby fat, the dude wrote. Brilliant.
3. I freaking love David Wright. Yes.
4. Finally, I'm excited about Seattle's second baseman, mostly for a nickname I'd love to see catch on. I'm so sick of these First-Initial-of-the-First-Name First-Few-Letters-of-Last-Name things: ARod, JLo, KMat, etc. But, in Jose Lopez, we have a nickname that might be ridiculous enough to kill the pattern: Jose Lopez, Seattle's second baseman, should go by Jo.Lo. (Pronounced, of course, "Ho Low"). Nice!