http://www.sportsnipe.com Seattle Mariners, Team News, Updates, and Stats from all sports sources, updated continually. http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1048033/mariners-prospects-playing-for-all-fall-league-marbles-heraldnet.html Mariners prospects playing for all the Fall League marblesHeraldNetThe Peoria Javelinas and their seven players from the Seattle Mariners' organization will play for the Arizona Fall League title Saturday in Scottsdale ... Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1048032/lett-radison-join-nationals-coaching-staff-washington-post.html Lett, Radison join Nationals' coaching staffWashington PostThe team also made official the hiring of former Seattle Mariners manager John McLaren as bench coach, and that Pat Listach (third base), Rick Eckstein ...Nationals Name 2010 Coaching StaffWashington Informerall 28 news articles » Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1048031/fields-getting-confidence-back.html Fields getting confidence back Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1047174/royals-ink-campillo-to-minors-deal-mlbcom.html MLB.comRoyals ink Campillo to Minors dealMLB.comHe was 8-7 with a 3.91 ERA in what was considered his rookie season, although he'd pitched briefly in the three previous seasons for the Seattle Mariners. ...and more » Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1047173/i-before-u-except-after-t.html Since there’s been some talk about comment moderation, along with proper spelling, this seems like a good opportunity to write this note. As you know, some employees of the Mariner organization have names that can be mildly difficult to spell (Zduriencik, Rizzs, etc.), but we expect that if you care enough about the Mariners to discuss them here, you should care enough to spell them correctly or use an acceptable shorthand. The pair people have struggled with the most in the past, probably because they have a superficial similarity but the pattern is reversed (and then you have to remember which is which), are Piniella and Pineiro. Nowadays, we have another pair a bit like that who have been coming up through the system, Tuiasosopo and Triunfel. People seem to get Matt right, partly because shortening to “Tui” is an easy save, but Carlos gets butchered constantly. It’s hard to know what the future holds for Triunfel. What position will he ultimately play? Will he recover from his injury well enough to compensate for the lost development time? How much power will he develop? Is he a future star, or a future Jose Lopez? Is all this going to happen for the Mariners, or will he become a trade chip? Whatever the outcome, though, it’s at least time to start getting his name right. -- This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright by the authors. This RSS feed is intended for the personal use of readers and not, for instance, spam blogs.I before U, except after T Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044874/seattledetroittampa-bay.html Last offseason the Seattle Mariners were said to be fairly close to a three way trade involving the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays.  When at first you don’t succeed, try again.  Rumor has it that the three may be at it again (Bob Nightengale tweet, Prospect Insider post plus comments), with Brandon Morrow and [...] Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044032/lincecum-wins-cy-young-again.html Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044031/lincecum-makes-first-statement-on-marijuana-incident.html Tim Lincecum just did a conference call with reporters to talk about winning the Cy Young Award for the second year in a row. I'll have some of his comments on that in a bit, but at the end of the call, Lincecum made a statement on his recent traffic stop in Hazel Dell, Washington, about four miles north of the Oregon border, on Oct. 30. It's the first time he's talked about the incident. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044030/tigers-minor-league-3b-ron-bourquin-suspended.html A minor leaguer in the Detroit Tigers' organization has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for an amphetamine under baseball's minor league drug program. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044029/that-threeway-mariner-trade-rumor-other-stuff.html As Chris from Bothell noted on the Lincecum thread, Bob Nightengale of USA Today sent out a tweet that has Mariner fans all atwitter. Here's how it read in its entirety: "Keep and eye on developing three-way trade talk with Tigers and Mariners and mystery team involving M's Brandon Morrow and Dets Jackson" Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044028/alomar-hoping-for-election-to-hall-fame.html Roberto Alomar has career numbers that compare favorably with many of baseball's greatest second basemen. The question is how will one memorable lapse impact his bid to make the Hall of Fame. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044027/tim-lincecum-on-cy-two-quotit-just-means-worldquot-plus-entire-young-voting-list.html Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044026/rays-add-3-to-40man-roster-activate-pena-from-dl.html Minor league outfielder Desmond Jennings and pitchers Jeremy Hellickson and Alexander Torres have been added to the Tampa Bay Rays' 40-man roster. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044025/diamondbacks-acquire-rhp-aaron-heilman-from-cubs.html Reliever Aaron Heilman was acquired Thursday by the Arizona Diamondbacks from the Chicago Cubs for two minor league prospects. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044024/giants-ace-lincecum-wins-second-straight-cy-young.html Tim Lincecum has been so dominant in his first two full major league seasons that even his top bosses don't know how he can get much better. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1044023/two-cy-young-trophies-one-colossal-blunder.html | For the second time in two seasons, Tim Lincecum, the 25-year-old Bellevue native and former Washington Huskies ace, has won the National League’s Cy Young Award. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1043825/thursday-bullet-points.html The hot rumor of the day is that the M's and Tigers have been talking about a three-team deal involving Brandon Morrow and Edwin Jackson. I'm only bringing this one up because the M's have been linked to Jackson before, so I can believe in their possible interest. That said:(1) Jackson isn't very good. Don't believe the ERA. He took a step forward, to be sure, as he's cut his walks in three straight years, but he's still a flyball guy with come-and-go command and stuff that doesn't get as many strikeouts as you'd expect, and when you put it all together, he's (maybe) a #3 with upside. Ignore anyone that focuses on his first half while ignoring his second. That isn't how these things work. Nor is it reasonable to focus on Jackson's 2009 while ignoring his prior track record. Pitchers develop differently than hitters, to be sure, but they're still prone to regression from presumed breakthroughs, as we saw from guys like Edinson Volquez, Ervin Santana, and John Danks. So just because Jackson improved in 2009 doesn't mean he's necessarily going to sustain or continue that improvement going forward. You have to play the odds. Plus the guy he was in 2009 wasn't terrific in the first place. (2) We have no idea if, in this scenario, Jackson would be coming to us anyway.I don't know if this rumor has legs. As is the case with every rumor that comes up around this time of year, my conclusion is that, yeah, it could happen, but it probably won't. You know what's really unfunny? Any joke about the post-game spread. For some reason, people love to make these jokes. They make them all the time. And they're always terrible. Knock it off. Free agency is upon us, and as such, all 30 teams are free to negotiate with Russell Branyan. If you're someone that really wants him back, I wouldn't be concerned. If you're someone that really doesn't want him back, I wouldn't get excited. Branyan is one of Z's guys, and though nothing in the offseason is guaranteed, I would be really, really surprised if Branyan weren't back as next year's 1B/DH. Branyan's going to look at the market, but once he realizes that no one's offering huge money for an aging slugger with a bad back, I'd expect him and Z to agree to terms. If I made 100 different roster predictions for the 2010 Mariners, something like 97 of them would involve Russell Branyan. Dave wrote about the Ryan Doumit possibility last night. A lot of people are trying to link the M's to John Lackey. You shouldn't listen to them. You should probably listen to Dave. If I tried to rank rumors on a five-point scale from really likely (1) to really unlikely (5), Doumit would probably rank a 2. The Jackson stuff would be a 3 or a 4. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1042824/dear-media-this-isnt-helping.html From the LA Times. Article headline: Dodgers won't be pursuing John Lackey Article content: [LA's team president] said that would rule out Lackey "unless there is an effective way to make that kind of deal." In other words, the Dodgers won't try to sign John Lackey unless it makes sense for them, and unless they can get him at what they perceive to be a fair and decent deal. So, the Dodgers won't do anything that they perceive as being "outlandish" and irresponsible. This is a quote that says nothing. Nothing at all. It's a team president saying the team won't do something the team thinks is stupid. Mannion might as well have said "We can't get him, unless we can." And yet someone at the Times thought this was enough to support such a concrete, assertive headline. This isn't a big issue on its own or anything. John Lackey almost certainly will not be going to LA. It's just symptomatic of what I hate most about this time of the year - people making far too much out of far too little. I get it. Rumors are fun. People like to talk about roster change. But this business of trying to make little things out to be bigger than they are really soaks my socks. Quit it. Quit it. Just quit it. It sucks. Be honest. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1042078/window-exclusivity-shutting-on-mariners-where-russell-branyan-other-free-agents-are-concerned.html Tomorrow is the start of the free-agency period, where the Mariners can window-shop for some of the bigger names from other teams. But those squads can do the same thing for Mariners' free agents as well. The only name Mariners fans should really be concerned about is first baseman Russell Branyan, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2009 and has expressed a desire to remain in Seattle. The M's attempted to get a deal done during the 15-day window of exclusivity that followed the World Series, but, with that clock ticking down, nothing has been announced. "Nothing is imminent,'' Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told me moments ago. Now, there is nothing preventing the M's from going out and signing Branyan tomorrow, or Saturday, or next Wednesday. That part won't change, The only thing that will is that other teams will now be able to negotiate with Branyan as well -- perhaps driving up his price. "Any player goes into free agency, they're testing to see what's out there,'' Zduriencik said. "And you become one of 30 clubs that can negotiate with him.'' As for Seattle's other free agents, it was always assumed Adrian Beltre would test the open market, so the fact he hasn't re-signed with Seattle is nothing to be surprised about. With Mike Sweeney, there will be limited demands for his services and the M's want to see how their off-season starts slotting out before any commitments in that direction. Erik Bedard should attract some interest, but no one really knows how he's going to rebound from shoulder surgery, so expect some incentive-heavy offers if and when anyone gets a handle on his progress. Miguel Batista? Safe to say he's done in Seattle. And so, there is Branyan. Let's see what happens from here and whether the M's get a deal squeezed in over the next few hours. "We don't have anything done right now,'' Zduriencik said. "But that said, there's nothing stopping the player from accepting an offer at any time.'' One thing of note that crossed my desk today. Bill James just released his Strong Seasons Leading Index list of the 10 players he thinks are most likely to sustain or improve upon their high performances next year. He also put out a list of 10 players least likely to do so. Guess which list Branyan made? Read more... Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1041242/free-agency-lite-mariners-prepare-idahostatesmancom.html Free agency lite? Mariners prepareIdahoStatesman.comAn offseason that has seen the Seattle Mariners sign Ken Griffey Jr. and Jack Wilson will heat up considerably Friday, and not just because teams on that ... Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1040620/giants-lincecum-wins-second-consecutive-nl-cy-young-award.html | San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum won the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday for the second straight year, emerging from one of the tightest votes in the history of the honor to become the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1039072/selig-sees-light-postseason-schedule-will-be-condensed.html One of the real annoyances of the past two years, since MLB revised its postseason schedule to start the World Series on a Wednesday, rather than a Saturday, has been the increase in days off during playoff baseball. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1039071/selig-some-clubs-lost-money.html Some teams lost money in 2009, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday after the final owners meeting of the year. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1039070/pettitte-tatis-file-for-free-agency-on-final-day.html The Yankees' Andy Pettitte and the Mets' Fernando Tatis have become the final players to file for free agency this year. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1036948/no-love-for-mr-gardenhire-bleacher-report.html Chic DishNo Love For Mr. GardenhireBleacher ReportOr do you vote for the manager who led a less talented roster to over-achievement, such as Don Wakamatsu of the Seattle Mariners? When casting my own ballot ...M's Skipper Eyeing 2010Kitsap SunM's Wakamatsu finishes fourth in AL Manager of the YearKING5.comFormer Mariners manager John mclaren is glad to be back in the dugoutSeattle TimesSeattle Post Global -FOXSports.com -Fort Worth Star Telegramall 20 news articles » Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1036064/free-agency-lite-mariners-prepare-olympian.html Free agency lite? Mariners prepareThe OlympianAn offseason that has seen the Seattle Mariners sign Ken Griffey Jr. and Jack Wilson will heat up considerably Friday, and not just because teams on that ...and more » Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1036063/free-agency-lite-mariners-prepare.html MARINERS: Sabermetrics whiz Blengino’s the guy Seattle relies on to find little-known prospects | An offseason that has seen the Seattle Mariners sign Ken Griffey Jr. and Jack Wilson will heat up considerably Friday, and not just because teams on that day can begin making offers to free agents other than their own. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1035886/celebrity-homes-for-sale-forbes.html Celebrity Homes For SaleForbesThey include Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and Phat Farm's Russell Simmons. Their actions mirror those of luxury homeowners nationwide. ...and more » Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1035885/ms-johnson-finished-round-surgeries-kitsap-sun.html M's Johnson Finished With Round of SurgeriesKitsap SunNow the Seattle Mariners' catcher is eager to spend the rest of this offseason getting his body back in shape for the ...Mariners announce spring scheduleMariners.orgall 2 news articles » Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1035884/name-to-tuck-away.html Due to the varying abilities of the players already on the roster, the M’s find themselves in a rather interesting position this winter. They have four talented young position players who are all close to major league ready. They aren’t finished products necessarily, but they can play, and they have enough ability to fight for a spot on the team in spring training. Quality young talent is the lifeblood of an organization, and the upside of having first or second year players contributing for the league minimum is tough to match. However, none of the four project to be good enough in 2010 that they should have job security heading into next season. They should have the opportunity to make the team, but the M’s can’t go into the season depending on these guys stepping up. It has to be a pleasant surprise, not an expected outcome. So, at each of their respective positions, the M’s need to provide a realistic alternative, but they need to do so without slamming the door shut on the kids. At those positions, they need options, not necessarily solutions. That’s easier said than done, honestly. You generally don’t expend significant resources to acquire a player and then put his job up for grabs in spring training. You’re not going to sign Nick Johnson, then make him beat out Mike Carp for the first base job. That’s just not going to happen. There is a path that can make this work, however – targeting players with positional flexibility. This is one of the ideas behind the acquisitions of guys like Jack Hannahan and Bill Hall. If Tui flops, those two could platoon at third base. If they trade Lopez, maybe those two share second base. Or maybe they keep Lopez and Tui wins the third base job, so Hall ends up as Saunders platoon partner and Hannahan fills the role of infield super-sub. Those guys give the M’s options. What they don’t give the M’s is enough offense. They’re nice enough role players, but they’re backup plans if the first option doesn’t work out. The M’s need a guy with some positional flexibility who they actually want in the line-up and is good enough to hold down a fairly regular job. They need a guy who could slide in at two or three of the LF/3B/1B/C/DH jobs, depending on where the team needs him. It would also be great if he was a switch-hitter, giving the line-up some balance regardless of which position he ends up playing. Oh, and if he was already under contract for the next two years at reasonable salaries, that would help. If he happened to grow up in Moses Lake as a big Mariner fan, that would just be icing on the cake. Believe it or not, that guy exists. His name is Ryan Doumit. He’s spent the last couple of years alternating between catcher and the disabled list for the Pirates, though they’ve also used him at first base and in the outfield, because his strengths behind the plate begin and end with “he can hit”. The rest of the resume is all pulled straight from Doumit’s file. He’s a switch hitter without much of a platoon split. He has some pop in his bat, and for his career, has been an above average major league hitter. He’ll be 29 next year, and is signed for $3.5 million in 2010 and $5.1 million in 2011, with a team option for 2012 and 2013 following that year. And yes, he’s a local kid. He’s even Willie Bloomquist’s cousin, so you know there’s grit and hustle in the genes somewhere. He comes with downside, of course, or he wouldn’t be available. He posted a .299 OBP in 2009 when he was on the field, which wasn’t often. A good chunk of that was a low BABIP (.271 versus a .307 career mark), but he’s not a particularly patient hitter, so his on base percentage will always be driven by his batting average. He’s got enough power to make the approach work, but if you’re tired of guys hacking at pitches out of the strike zone, you may not love Doumit. He’s also been hurt a lot in his career, never compiling more than 465 at-bats in a season, and had wrist surgery last year, which is known for sapping power. And, as mentioned, he’s not much of a receiver behind the plate, nor would likely be particularly great at either first or in left. He’s a hitter first and foremost, with the bonus ability to not totally embarrass himself at three positions. And that gives the M’s options. If Rob Johnson’s recovery from multiple surgeries don’t go well or Moore flops in spring training, Doumit can fill in at catcher. If whatever 1B/DH they bring in has say, a herniated disc in his back that requires a rest, he can play there. If Saunders can’t hack it in left just yet, you can stick him in the outfield until Ackley’s ready. And, if the M’s hit the lotto and all the young guys play well, then you have the best 10th man in baseball. Doumit would give the M’s flexibility and productivity. That he’s not particularly expensive and is coming off a poor season makes him exactly the kind of player Zduriencik has shown to be interested in. While the names of higher profile players float around, keep Doumit’s name in the back of your mind, and don’t be too shocked if the M’s end up making a play for him. -- This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright by the authors. This RSS feed is intended for the personal use of readers and not, for instance, spam blogs.A Name To Tuck Away Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034783/joe-dunigan-making-progress-in-seattle-mariners-system-chicago-tribune.html Joe Dunigan making progress in Seattle Mariners systemChicago TribuneWhen he tweets "good Halloween ... another win for first-place Javelinas, a bomb and two knocks," the Mariners prospect is saying he had a good day with a ... Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034782/have-hot-dog-me-don-wakamatsu.html Kirby Arnold talks with Don Wakamatsu. It’s worth reading, but one sentence sticks out: But even long at-bats aren’t necessarily good at-bats. Both Jose Lopez and Adrian Beltre had at-bats when they fouled off several pitches. ?There would be an 11-pitch at-bat and a lot of guys would say, ?Hey, great at-bat. Way to battle,’? Wakamatsu said. ?But we’d go back and look at it on video and not one of the pitches they swung at was a strike.? YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES! You’ve heard me rant about this before. It is not a good at-bat when you foul off 10 pitches that were out of the strike zone. That is a stupid at-bat that demonstrates a profound lack of understanding of the value of a walk. Jose Lopez probably had four or five of these at-bats last year. Every single time, the announcers would praise him for hanging in there, battling, refusing to give in, blah blah blah. And every single time, he could have been standing on first base, but instead, he insisted on swinging at crap that wasn’t even close. A good at-bat does not teach the opposing pitcher that he never has to throw you a strike. If its ten inches outside, don’t swing*. I don’t care if you think you can hit it. I don’t care if you can hit it. Don’t swing at pitches over your head. Don’t swing at pitches that bounce in the dirt. Don’t swing at a 3-0 change-up on the inside corner at the knees. That Wak gets this is awesome. I love our manager. * Ichiro has earned the right to do whatever he wants. He’s the exception. -- This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright by the authors. This RSS feed is intended for the personal use of readers and not, for instance, spam blogs.Have A Hot Dog With Me, Don Wakamatsu Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034780/cy-young-voter-explains-he-put-felix-hernandez-no-1-on-his-ballot.html Here's an interesting take from one of the two voters -- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (so much for East Coast bias) -- who put Felix Hernandez No. 1 on their Cy Young ballot. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034779/dumb-dumber-poll-unlike-any-other.html Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034778/nationals-hire-davey-johnson-as-senior-adviser.html After years of working with national teams, Davey Johnson is returning to the Nationals. The longtime major league manager joined the front office of the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. The 66-year-old Johnson will work as a senior adviser to general manager Mike Rizzo. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034777/selig-baseball-will-tighten-playoff-schedule.html Baseball plans to cut down on off days during the postseason next year. Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday he's working on tightening up the 2010 playoff schedule so there will be fewer gaps between games. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034776/felix-hernandez-finally-gets-some-hardware-to-take-home.html Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034775/former-mariners-manager-john-mclaren-glad-to-be-back-in-dugout.html McLaren, bench coach for Washington Nationals under Jim Riggleman, says he's ready to go after a year as a scout. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034774/hicks-trying-to-keep-majority-ownership-rangers.html Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks is putting together a group of local investors, including Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, for a bid that would enable him to keep majority ownership of the team. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1034773/scioscia-tracy-named-managers-year.html For his deft touch during a trying season, the Angels' Mike Scioscia won the AL Manager of the Year award on Wednesday for the second time. Jim Tracy of Colorado was selected for the NL honor. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1033977/baseball-life-worth-first-impressions.html Warning: what follows is not a baseball post. Driving home from work today, I found myself in some approximation of bumper-to-bumper traffic when a guy in a sports car to my right floored it to get ahead of me and merged into a 15-foot gap without signaling. Per usual, it pissed me off, and I spent the next half mile thinking about what I could do to him if I could catch up. I could flip him off. I could smirk and wave dismissively. I could throw a banana peel I had on the seat next to me at his windshield. I wanted to catch up bad. I wanted to catch up and teach him a lesson about being an asshole. Drivers who pull those sorts of stunts bother me to the point where sometimes I've memorized and made note of their license plates so that I could indulge in a fantasy where I track them down at their houses. But this isn't about annoying drivers. This is about the human compulsion to judge other people based on very limited information. People love to judge other people, and they love to arrive at these judgments so quickly that our culture has come to recognize and embrace the significance of a good first impression. When you're applying for a job. When you're meeting the parents. When you're on a first date. A good first impression can open doors while a bad one can lock them, and this isn't really something that people have ever questioned; rather, it's something that most people are happy to go along with, accepting that it's just a part of living life. In the past I've gone so far as to gloat about how important it is for people to make a good impression on me if they want me to like them. And the nature of first impressions is that they're being made all the time, by everybody, to strangers. The man in the sports car this afternoon, for example, made a bad one on me, and presumably on others. The same goes for someone that talks on his cell phone too loud. A good first impression will be made by someone that, I dunno, holds a door open at the grocery store. People are always making impressions on other people, and in so doing are being judged on their actions. But it's not that we judge their actions. We don't think "it was nice to hold the door open," or "it was a dick move to pass me on the street." We think "that woman is a good person for holding the door open," or "that guy is a prick for passing me on the street." We have a tendency to arrive at these sweeping conclusions based on very limited observations of behavior, and too often we celebrate these conclusions as being evidence of our perceptiveness. "Adam didn't say very much at dinner. He's kind of jerk." Evolutionarily, you can kind of understand where this might come from. In nature, it's necessary for one to make snap judgments about another so that the former knows whether it's safe to proceed. If the other animal seems non-threatening, you can go ahead and eat the plant. If the other animals is a potential predator, it's best to avoid it at all costs. In nature, every being has to think quickly, or else it may shortly no longer be able to think at all. But we don't really live in nature anymore, nor do we encounter frequent situations in which we're met by a possible predator, so the tendency to arrive at these snap judgments of another isn't nearly as important anymore. We can afford to take our time. We can afford to take our time in evaluating other people, and as such it seems like first impressions should play a far lesser role than they currently do. The reason I'm posting this on a baseball blog is that it was baseball that got me thinking in this vein in the first place. Consider the scout. A scout will observe a potential draft pick over a small number of games. Maybe one game. Maybe four games. And based on these games, the scout will file a report on the player that goes back to the organization. This report will in large part determine where the player goes on the organization's draft board. What of the scout that catches a pitcher on a day that he has the flu? What if he's watching a talented hitter who maybe strikes out against a couple breaking balls and goes hitless? What if he's watching a worse hitter who maybe stays back on a breaking ball and hits it for a single? Scouts are hired based on their skill in player evaluation, but they are limited to their windows of observation, and sometimes those windows can paint a remarkably misleading picture. What of all the scouts that saw Ichiro in his first Spring Training and called him a bust? We - the more statistically-inclined and forward-thinking baseball community - insist on basing our evaluations on all the available evidence, and if there isn't enough evidence, then this is reflected by our conclusions. But take us outside of the realm of sports and we start to act more like the rest of the population, judging people on one or two acts and a ton of alleged intuition. First impressions are dangerous. They're dangerous because they bias you in one direction or another when these biases aren't justified. They can open you up to people who may not be very good, but worse and more often, they can close you off to people who have a whole lot to offer. One of my best friends is a pastel polo, pink hat-wearing Red Sox fan from Massachusetts. She possesses a number of characteristics I ordinarily consider off-putting, and it was only because of situations outside of my control that I got to know her better and realized how great she is. Left to my own devices, I doubt she'd be a friend of mine today. That sucks. By believing so heavily in the significance of a good first impression, we are costing ourselves some potentially excellent relationships, because by and large we ignore the odds and see everything in black and white. This is probably best expressed in graphical form: Any single act by another person gives us insight into that person's true nature, but there are very, very few acts - perhaps none - that give us an absolute answer as to whether or not the person is worth getting to know, or whether that person is romantically compatible, or whether that person is worth flipping off on the freeway. And so it is only by accumulating a wealth of information that we can approach a valid answer. A wealth of information that doesn't often fit into one act or one conversation or one first date. Think about your worst qualities. We all have them. For example, I'm short-tempered. Sometimes I'm obliviously inconsiderate. I have a bad memory and things often slip my mind. Now think, would you want to be judged on these, or are you allowed to have the occasional bad day? Shouldn't you then afford others the same courtesy? There are any number of innocent or perfectly acceptable reasons for why a person may act in such a way that we perceive to be obnoxious, and it seems to me that we should try harder to give other people the benefit of the doubt, because the risk is minimal, and the reward is potentially gargantuan. Try not to consider this preaching. I'm not preaching, because I don't take my own advice. I got mad at that guy in the sports car. I wish ill on the woman in front of me who ordered the last chocolate croissant. But I'm trying to get better. I'm trying to get away from being so damn judgmental, because the truth of the matter is that there isn't a benefit. How does writing off another person based on limited interaction help in the least? There is far more to gain by opening yourself up to other people than there is to lose, and just being aware of this...I don't know if I'll ever be able to reverse my wiring, but I feel like I have a chance. And that makes me happy. Time. In life, as in baseball, you need to give people the time and the opportunity to prove what they are. Don't, and you may find yourself running through Times Square in a thong. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1033083/isotopes-park-to-host-rockies-mariners-krqe.html KRQEIsotopes Park to host Rockies, MarinersKRQEALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners will play back-to-back exhibition games in Albuquerque in April, the Albuquerque Isotopes ...Major League Weekend Returns To AlbuquerqueOurSports Central (press release)all 4 news articles » Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1033082/no-additional-surgery-for-rob-johnson.html Looks like three surgeries is all Rob Johnson is going to need this off-season. Johnson met earlier today with team medical director Edward Khalfayan and they both went over an MRI taken previously on Johnson's elbow. It was determined that while there is some inflamation and a small bone spur in the elbow, it's nothing that will require an operation. "I'm really excited about that,'' Johnson told me moments ago. Johnson said his arm was feeling strong towards the end of the season and that his throwing times to second base were in "the high 1.7 (seconds)'s and 1.8's.'' In other words, this is something he can work through with physical therapy. Johnson is recovering from surgery No. 3, a minor procedure done yesterday to repair ligament damage in his wrist. The operation took only an hour and Johnson was awake and watched the procedure on a video monitor -- his arm numbed, of course. "It was a really cool thing to see,'' he said. "The doctor showed me what the good side looked like, then showed me the bad side. By the time he was done, the bad side looked exactly the same as the good side.'' In the end, the damage to the ligament was not as extensive as Johnson had first feared it might be. He'll now continue to recover from that operation and a pair of recent hip procedures and expects to be fully ready to start spring training. Photo Credit: AP Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1033081/comparing-40man-candidates-lists.html The deadline to add minor leaguers to the 40-man roster in order to protect them for the upcoming Rule 5 draft is the 20th, and Jay Yencich posted his candidates to be added over at USS Mariner earlier today.  I posted my candidates back on October 31st, so as a way of (re)bringing your attention [...] Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1032177/wakamatsu-fourth-in-al-manager-year-voting-seattle-post-intelligencer.html New York Daily NewsWakamatsu fourth in AL Manager of Year votingSeattle Post IntelligencerDon Wakamatsu, who guided the Seattle Mariners to a 24-win improvement in his first year, finished in a tie for fourth in the 2009 American League Manager ...Rockies give Jim Tracy a 3-year contract, announce deal right after he wins NL ...Gaea TimesM's Wakamatsu finishes fourth in AL Manager of the YearKING5.comWhat to Make of the Manager of the Year Award?New York Times (blog)all 652 news articles » Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1032176/mariners-announce-spring-schedule.html Mariners announce spring schedule Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1032175/inbox-who-will-earn-10-catching-duties.html Inbox: Who will earn '10 catching duties? Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1032174/scioscia-tracy-win-manager-year-wakamatsu-tied-for-fourth-in-al.html Here is the rundown. I can't say that I'm surprised in any way. The Angels' Mike Scioscia got 15 first-place votes out of 28; Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire, who finished second, got six, and the Yankees' Joe Girardi , the third-place finisher, place got four. Don Wakamatsu got two first-place votes and finished tied with Texas's Ron Washington, who got the final first-place vote. Wakamatsu was named on seven ballots (two firsts, two seconds, and three thirds), while Washington was on 13 with one first, one second, and 11 thirds. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1032173/wakamatsu-scioscias-handling-tragedy-earned-him-manager-year-award.html Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates http://www.sportsnipe.com/main_sportsnews/1032172/tracy-wins-nl-manager-award-gets-3year-contract.html The Colorado Rockies have rewarded manager Jim Tracy with a three-year contract. Seattle Mariners - Sport Snipe - Team News - Stats - Updates