Bavasi fired!

Bavasi fired today! Three years too late in my opinion but the only good news around these parts in a while! Go Mariners and let the search for a competent GM begin!

It appears we may have jumped the gun...

In the style of ESPN -- pick one of these two players:

Both hit left-handed and both are a wash defensively.
A - .257BA, .377OBP, .490SLG, 2:1 K-BB
B - .251BA, .310OBP, .434SLG, 2:1 K-BB

OK - now:
Player A is 30
Player B is 34

Player A will make next to nothing
Player B will make $4 million you could have spent on pitching.

Good news and bad

Well the Orioles spared us all from a season of watching Corey Patterson get on base less than 3 out of every 10 times. Though word is the two prospect that they gave up to get him weren't all that much so at least we know Bavasi wasn't dangling anyone of significance.

Unfortunately he must have felt like he needed to make up for lost time, so the two newest invitees to Peoria are... Kevin Appier and Fernado Vina? Uggh...

Please spare me the washed up veteran routine... It may have worked once with Tony Phillips for the Angles in '95 (the trade that he claims "made me think I could be a GM") but it didn't work last year and I doubt it will work this year. What we need are proven talents - capable of getting us out of 29th place in team .OPS, 25th in team HR's and 20th place in team ERA.

By the way - Jeff Angus details the Tony Phillips signing in 1995 here: http://cmdr-scott.blogspot.com/2005/12/baseball-genome-project-bill-bavasi.html

Please no Corey!

According to the Baltimore Sun the O's are no longer the favorites to acquire Corey Patterson from the Cubs leading to speculation on Rotoworld.com that the M's may, in fact, be the front runners for CP - in which case they would trade Reed to Boston.

Please, please tell me this isn't true. I don't even know who we'd have to give up or would get for Reed, but it doesn't matter. I don't want Corey roaming CF in Safeco and I don't want him batting second.

Corey Patterson 2005: 451AB, .215 avg(!!), .254 obp, .348 slg, 13 HR, 15SB
Jeremy Reed 2005: 488AB, .254 avg, .322 obp, 3HR, 12SB

More on this if it actually happens...

The PI forum rocks!

Man, who knew there were so many idiots on the PI's forum...

My post to promote the site there was met with replies like:

Posted by the evil genius at 1/6/06 2:26 p.m. in reply to: #947158
You must be a very sad mad. Sorry bro. Usually I try to respect everyone's views regardless if they don't follow my views but this is WAY over the top.

Consider the following constructive critisism.Word of advice: get out of the house and
find a girlfriend. You have no idea how pathetic you and your website is.
Maybe I should petition to get you fired from your job. However, it sounds like you still live at home with your parents. I GOT IT: www.kickFireBillBavasi.comoutofhisparentshouse.com

An online petition is "WAY over the top"? Since when? Am I missing something here? I had no idea the thought of voicing my opinion via on online site is pathetic and makes me sad. I'll keep it in mind.

And then there was this guy:

Posted by ichirobo at 1/7/06 1:18 a.m. Slapping together a preschool ultimatum does nothing more than prove you need a date on a friday night.What a joke.

The best part was he wrote this at 1:18AM on a Friday night. Yeah I'm the one that needs to get a date.

But this was my personal favorite:

Posted by The Chicken at 1/7/06 1:54 a.m. in reply to: #947786Last
edited at 1/7/06 1:59 a.m.
Let's breakdown his line of thought....

We feel like we know the stats better than he does:
Thinking.....and KNOWING, are two different things. Would you like to be fired because the guy sitting next to you THINKS he is smarter than you? Stats alone are NO WAY to run an organization. Never EVER gonna be a day where that rules decision making.

Jarrod Washburn’s K:BB ratio has declined the past 4 years
Ummmmmmmm......so this indicates he has ZERO chance of success? There have NEVER, in the history of baseball, been successful pitchers who had declining K:BB numbers? Grow up, stats geek.....it's about the wins, not who's stat sheet looks better.He’s averaged only 163 innings the past two yearsAGAIN, stats geek.....did you look into WHY he was out? Freakin' moron. An Angels fan noted on another board, that his loss of innings, the last two years, were MOSTLY related to NON-BASEBALL conditions....you know, things some people incur in regular life. But, all you can do is look at those numbers on your screen.....you don't go any deeper than that.

Carl Everett’s OPS have been .721 & .746 the past two years
Tell me what other lefthanded (yes, I know he switch-hits) hitters, who'll sign for about what RYAN FRANKLIN got to pitch in Philly, were available via trade or Free Agency? I'm waiting, Stats boy.......still waiting. Oops, time is up....answer is.....NONE. So, I'm confused how Bavasi failed, getting a cheap bat, who if things don't work out, could be moved at the trading deadline for a prospect....who.....now pay attention......WAS A BETTER HITTER EVEN WITH
DECLINING NUMBERS....than anyone he'll replace this year.

All but 8 of Everett’s HR were in U. S. Cellular (the AL’s most HR friendly park)
See above.....ohhh, and who cares? Just ANOTHER sit at home on your butt looking at a stats page, observation.

Pokey Reese had 351 at bats in the two years combined before coming to the M’s
Please, don't tell me this is an actual comment you wish to use as a basis for your arguement? Ummmmmm.....let me explain what ISN'T IN A STAT SHEET. Bavasi brought him in here to provide a stop gap solution, knowing that Bettencourt or Lopez were his future starters at shortstop. He paid him a whopping $1 million a year, with a second year option. Ummmmmm....hang on here, Sparky.....ya think that MAYBE that's why he didn't get a $3 million a year contract, because he WAS A HEALTH risk? I have to assume Bavasi didn't expect
him to stay healthy all season, but hoped to at least get enough games out of him to not have to rush the kids to the big show.

Bottom line is, UNTIL Bavasi is PROVED to be wrong, ain't nothing gonna happen. NOBODY, and I mean, NOBODY cares that YOU, or any other stat geek who's got his head stuck in a computer, THINKS that he's wrong. GM's are hired and fired based on results. So, just sit back, Roto boy, and WAIT to see if your worse fears are realized.....until then, you don't matter. Maybe if you're so brilliant, you can replace Bill James......as I suspect, he's near God like, to
you

If you want to argue my opinions fine. I'm not saying everyone has to agree with me or this site, but at the very least try to make sure your thoughts make sense. If you don't know why it matters when someones K:BB ratio has gone down consistently or why it would matters if someone hits almost all their home runs in a HR friendly park starts playing full time in Safeco, then please don't embarrass yourself.

Obviously there are some very passionate people in the PI forum who don't agree with me, which is a good thing. But I'm not forcing anyone to sign the petition or even visit this site. If you don't like the idea don't come here. But whats the point of calling me sad or pathetic over an online petition?

Finally, I know the M's FO most likely doesn't care about my little petition. But I'm not going to stop going to the games or stop watching games. I've watched them before when they were bad and I'll watch them again this season. But is this better than sitting around doing nothing or complaining in forums? Maybe, Maybe not. We'll see...

Bill Bavasi must Go!

Well the site is finally up! Thanks for visiting.

The idea for this site came to me a few seasons ago right around the time when we started signing guys like Aurilia & Spiezio. Last off-season at least gave me hope - I was very happy with the Beltre and Sexson signings - but this off-season has to be one of the worst ever. And after sitting around watching the big names sign elsewhere, the Carl Everett & Matt Lawton signings finally gave me the motivation I needed. I mean, seriously - CARL EVERETT is his solution our anemic offense? And is he really the answer to the lack of leadership in the clubhouse?

Anyways - most of the site is functional. Please sign the petition to let the M's management know the masses are becoming concerned. Also check out the forums where you can share your thoughts, ideas, whatever on the Mariner's state of affairs.

Continue to check this blog for my thoughts on trades, signings and rumors. I'll also try to link to any major happenings.

Finally, take a look at some of the items we have for sale. Not only do they show your support for getting rid of Bavasi but they also help fund this site. We'll have more designs coming next week too!