AGRI Biz

Recently dubbed the "rock-solid, no-questions-asked, No.1 trade target in baseball" by Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, Cliff Lee has done nothing but improve his trade value every time he takes the mound. Last week, I discussed where the Mariners could send Cliff Lee as a second half rental. The consensus leading contenders in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes are the New York Mets and Minnesota Twins. The Mets recently stated that they ...

If the Seattle Mariners trade Cliff Lee before the 2010 trading deadline, he has made sure that the Mariners will get top value in return. Lee has posted an historic start to his 2010 campaign. Over his first 10 starts, Lee has 67 strikeouts and only four walks. Since 1900, no pitcher has posted as many strikeouts with as few walks over his first 10 starts. Additionally, over his last five starts, ...

  On his way out of Chicago, Milton Bradley burned a number of bridges. When asked about his lackluster season with the Chicago Cubs, Bradley didn’t refrain from playing the blame game. He blamed the coaching staff, the media and the fans for an unprecedented level of expectations and pressure. “I never hit more than 22 homers in my career and all of a sudden I get to Chicago and they expect me ...

As I wrote last week , Milton Bradley's appointment as the Seattle Mariners' cleanup hitter highlighted a bitter truth about the Mariners' lineup; it is (nearly) completely devoid of power.  If Seattle's first game against Oakland proved anything, it's that skipper Don Wakamatsu made the right decisions at the top of his lineup. The top two hitters, Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins, both reached base four out of 10 plate appearances ...

The Texas Rangers claimed Seattle Mariners 1B Ryan Garko off of waivers on Wednesday.  Garko, acquired this offseason by the Seattle Mariners, was expected to spell Casey Kotchman at first base, but his skill set did not match the Seattle Mariners' expectations. A career .279 hitter, Garko is an offense-oriented first baseman whose defensive capabilities are oft-criticized. Kotchman, conversely, is a talented defensive first baseman who is also known as a disciplined ...

Seattle Mariners’ Manager Don Wakamatsu announced the team’s starting rotation on Wednesday afternoon. With Cliff Lee and Erik Bedard battling injuries, the Mariners’ rotation will begin the season as follows: Felix Hernandez Ian Snell Ryan Rowland-Smith Doug Fister Jason Vargas   The rotation offers one true ace, some mild upside, and a whole lot of uncertainty. Here is a look at what to expect from each starter:   Felix Hernandez At only 23 years old, Felix Hernandez finally delivered on his ...

The Seattle Mariners announced on Sunday that recently-acquired outfielder Milton Bradley will serve as the team’s cleanup hitter to start the season. Bradley, who endured a miserable 2009 campaign with the Chicago Cubs, sports a career line of .277/.371/.450 (AVG/OBP/SLG). In some respects, the appointment of Milton Bradley as Seattle’s cleanup hitter highlights Seattle’s largest potential problem entering 2010: a severe lack of run production and power hitting. Milton Bradley’s career statistics ...

The 2010 Seattle Mariners feature a new lineup, but much about the team remains the same. Here is the projected lineup: 1. RF Ichiro Suzuki 2. 2B Chone Figgins 3. LF Milton Bradley 4. 3B Jose Lopez 5. DH Ken Griffey Jr. 6. 1B Casey Kotchman 7. CF Franklin Gutierrez 8. C Rob Johnson 9. SS Jack Wilson Let’s take a look at who will carry the Mariners to success, drag them ...

Every sports franchise has certain trades that linger with the team. To use basketball as an example, the Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol for peanuts in 2008 constitutes a good trade which sticks with the team. Conversely, the Vancouver Grizzlies trading a future draft pick (which could have been Carmelo Anthony) to Detroit in exchange for Otis Thorpe (yes, THE Otis Thorpe) is widely remembered as a bad trade. Baseball is ...

In Seattle Mariners' history, there have been dry spells (see 1980s) and hot streaks (see late 1990s and early 2000s). In most franchise-changing moments, the winning play can be traced to a single at-bat that changed the course of the game. In this article, I have identified what I believe to be the five most important hits in Seattle Mariners history. Some of these are milestones accomplished by the franchise's ...