**Seattle Mariners 2024 Season Thread ** | 6-8 | v. Cubs & Reds |

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Word on the street is Zunino can't hit a breaking ball. What better place to learn than the majors? But in all seriousness, I hope he does well. Shoppach is getting ran into the ground and Sucre is hurting. This shall be interesting...
 
Booradley said:
Word on the street is Zunino can't hit a breaking ball. What better place to learn than the majors? But in all seriousness, I hope he does well. Shoppach is getting ran into the ground and Sucre is hurting. This shall be interesting...
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That got me to thinking...maybe he'll be up for a week or so just to give him a sample of what it takes and then send him back down and watch him run with it. Earn that call up. I can't see him staying up for long unless there's a Profar or Puig type impact that he makes.

All I know is Wedge is going down swinging. 
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Edit: I'm just going to leave this here; http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=t529&t=p_pbp&pid=554429
 
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Yes, I'm hoping he has a Puig-type impact too.
It's official: Zunino selected from Tacoma, and as expected, Brandon Bantz DFA'd. Zunino has arrived and will take BP.
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Maybe sending him down accomplished what it was supposed to or maybe he's just one of those players that hit .400 in the minors, but in the MLB are below the Mendoza line.

At any rate...I'm still mad at him.
 
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The Astro's are horrible. Also, you guys think Franklin has staying power? And if so, what do you do with Ackley? With him killing AAA, they have to call him up soon, right?
 
Harrrrrrang 
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Barring a trade, I think Franklin is up for good. Where he'll be playing...I dunno. Might be part of the reason Ack is still in AAA. Once he returns I believe you gotta keep Franklin at 2B, or slide him to short. I think Ackleys best position is 2B but can play OF and did so in college, then moved in after surgery.

Then you got guys like Brad Miller, Smoak, Kendrys, etc. We've got some depth in our infield.
 
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***a5in11 said:
:wow: dude even called on montero's name being involved in the miami thing as a possible reason
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Haha, Montero's name was linked the whole time since the news was leaked of the lab in Miami.

With the World Cup Qualifier next door at C-Link, I wonder how many were in attendance at this M's game...
 
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Booradley said:
The Astro's are horrible. Also, you guys think Franklin has staying power? And if so, what do you do with Ackley? With him killing AAA, they have to call him up soon, right?
Click to expand...

I think it depends on what the M's now see as being Ackley's big league position. Brad Miller is this teams future SS, so if Franklin wants to stick, it's most likely going to be at 2B. If they still want Ackley in that slot then Franklin is auditioning to be traded. I think even if Ackley did move the outfield, then Franklin has a good chance to be traded unless he goes on an absolute tear to where they reconsider is potential ceiling.
 
I guess Iwakuma and Felix need to learn from Harang. The only way to get a W when you pitch for the M's is with complete game, shutouts.

:lol: But :smh:

This dude is still at a 5.60 ERA
 
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^^ I feel you. 
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 Can't wait to see how he plays tonight.

#FreeAckley

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=t529&t=p_pbp&pid=554429

Good read on Ackley, Franklin & how they can all fit together.
The Mariners outfield is a complete disaster. Not that this was that hard to see coming, but with Michael Saunderslooking more like the 2011 version of suck than last year’s useful role player, the Mariners simply don’t have a single outfielder on the team that projects as any more than a decent bench player  going forward. Talk of sending Saunders down or giving him time off to work on things falls apart when you actually look at what that would leave. Endy Chavezis a replacement level scrub at this point in his career, but he’s the only other guy on the roster who can play center field, and if he’s in center, you’re locked in to Ibanez playing everyday, and that is nothing short of a total disaster  out there.

Michael Morse  can’t play the outfield either, not in any kind of competent way, and not without one of his oversized muscles giving out. While the people who built this abomination of a roster might not want to admit it, the realities of building a team full of designated hitters are currently punching the Mariners square in the face. If they want to stop running out embarrassing line-ups, they need an entirely new outfield.

Unfortunately, the team’s total lack of off-season planning has left the organization bereft of outfielders, even at the minor league level. Carlos Peguero  is still terrible. Eric Thames  is not much better. Abe Almonte is Endy Chavez with worse defense. There’s no one in Tacoma’s outfield who is any better than replacement level either.

So, while I’ve been resistant to the idea in the past, maybe it is finally time to ask Dustin Ackley  to start taking some reps in the outfield. No, I don’t think Ackley should be converted into an OF full time — and I still prefer him to Nick Franklin  long term at second base — but with Franklin playing well enough to deserve a real shot at second base, Ackley’s best path back to the Majors this year involves him having some defensive versatility. And he’s got both the history and the skills that suggest that he could probably pick up the OF fairly quickly.

OF isn’t a new position for him, as he played there when his arm was healthy enough to allow it in college. Most of the people who were skeptical about his ability to become a quality defensive second baseman have projected Ackley as a long term OF since he has the foot speed to cover some ground out there. You’d probably want to give him a little bit of time to get used to reading balls off the bat again, but it wouldn’t be long of a process to get him to a point where he’s an upgrade over what the Mariners are using in the outfield right now. After all, anyone who isn’t an amputee is an upgrade defensively from Ibanez and Morse.

Ben Zobrist  is probably the model you point to here. Zobrist is an excellent defensive second baseman, but he spends a few hundred innings in the OF every year so that the Rays can take advantage of platoon advantages and mix-and-match their roster of role players to best fit on a daily basis. Ackley’s bat isn’t at Zobrist’s level and might not ever be good enough for him to hold down a regular OF job, but giving him the versatility to be able to play the OF when needed can’t hurt his long term value. And it’s the only real way for the Mariners to get both Ackley and Franklin into the line-up together in the second half.

The Mariners are probably going to have to pick between those two at some point, as both are most valuable at second base and neither one has the defensive chops to be a true super utility guy, but with 2013 a lost season and the team in desperate need of competent outfielders, giving both Ackley and Franklin extended looks won’t cost them meaningful wins. This isn’t a pitch to try and fix this roster or turn the season around — that’s an impossible task, and everyone should, at this point, just admit that this roster is bad and the season is over — but it might give the Mariners their best chance to put a decent group of Major League players on the field together, and give them a few months to evaluate, side by side, whether Ackley or Franklin should be their long term answer at second base.

Unlike with Montero, this isn’t the kind of position change that has been long overdue and is required by some kind of skill deficiency. Ackley can still play second base and could still be the organization’s future everyday second baseman. Right now, though, they need three new outfielders, and he is the only guy in Tacoma with any hope of providing value out there. Getting him some versatility and a path back to the big leagues make this a move worth considering, at the least, and maybe worth implementing immediately.

Whether they like it or not, the Mariners are once again building to the future. Endy Chavez, Raul Ibanez, Michael Morse, and Jason Bay  are not the future. Dustin Ackley might be. The best way to get him back on this team in the second half is to have him replace one of those guys, and the best way to do that is to have him start playing the outfield again.
 
CHECKS Grossman said:
^^ I feel you. 
laugh.gif

 Can't wait to see how he plays tonight.

#FreeAckley

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=t529&t=p_pbp&pid=554429

Good read on Ackley, Franklin & how they can all fit together.
The Mariners outfield is a complete disaster. Not that this was that hard to see coming, but with Michael Saunders
looking more like the 2011 version of suck than last year’s useful role player, the Mariners simply don’t have a single outfielder on the team that projects as any more than a decent bench player
 going forward. Talk of sending Saunders down or giving him time off to work on things falls apart when you actually look at what that would leave. Endy Chavez
is a replacement level scrub at this point in his career, but he’s the only other guy on the roster who can play center field, and if he’s in center, you’re locked in to Ibanez playing everyday, and that is nothing short of a total disaster
 out there.



Michael Morse
 can’t play the outfield either, not in any kind of competent way, and not without one of his oversized muscles giving out. While the people who built this abomination of a roster might not want to admit it, the realities of building a team full of designated hitters are currently punching the Mariners square in the face. If they want to stop running out embarrassing line-ups, they need an entirely new outfield.



Unfortunately, the team’s total lack of off-season planning has left the organization bereft of outfielders, even at the minor league level. Carlos Peguero
 is still terrible. Eric Thames
 is not much better. Abe Almonte is Endy Chavez with worse defense. There’s no one in Tacoma’s outfield who is any better than replacement level either.



So, while I’ve been resistant to the idea in the past, maybe it is finally time to ask Dustin Ackley
 to start taking some reps in the outfield. No, I don’t think Ackley should be converted into an OF full time — and I still prefer him to Nick Franklin
 long term at second base — but with Franklin playing well enough to deserve a real shot at second base, Ackley’s best path back to the Majors this year involves him having some defensive versatility. And he’s got both the history and the skills that suggest that he could probably pick up the OF fairly quickly.



OF isn’t a new position for him, as he played there when his arm was healthy enough to allow it in college. Most of the people who were skeptical about his ability to become a quality defensive second baseman have projected Ackley as a long term OF since he has the foot speed to cover some ground out there. You’d probably want to give him a little bit of time to get used to reading balls off the bat again, but it wouldn’t be long of a process to get him to a point where he’s an upgrade over what the Mariners are using in the outfield right now. After all, anyone who isn’t an amputee is an upgrade defensively from Ibanez and Morse.



Ben Zobrist
 is probably the model you point to here. Zobrist is an excellent defensive second baseman, but he spends a few hundred innings in the OF every year so that the Rays can take advantage of platoon advantages and mix-and-match their roster of role players to best fit on a daily basis. Ackley’s bat isn’t at Zobrist’s level and might not ever be good enough for him to hold down a regular OF job, but giving him the versatility to be able to play the OF when needed can’t hurt his long term value. And it’s the only real way for the Mariners to get both Ackley and Franklin into the line-up together in the second half.



The Mariners are probably going to have to pick between those two at some point, as both are most valuable at second base and neither one has the defensive chops to be a true super utility guy, but with 2013 a lost season and the team in desperate need of competent outfielders, giving both Ackley and Franklin extended looks won’t cost them meaningful wins. This isn’t a pitch to try and fix this roster or turn the season around — that’s an impossible task, and everyone should, at this point, just admit that this roster is bad and the season is over — but it might give the Mariners their best chance to put a decent group of Major League players on the field together, and give them a few months to evaluate, side by side, whether Ackley or Franklin should be their long term answer at second base.



Unlike with Montero, this isn’t the kind of position change that has been long overdue and is required by some kind of skill deficiency. Ackley can still play second base and could still be the organization’s future everyday second baseman. Right now, though, they need three new outfielders, and he is the only guy in Tacoma with any hope of providing value out there. Getting him some versatility and a path back to the big leagues make this a move worth considering, at the least, and maybe worth implementing immediately.



Whether they like it or not, the Mariners are once again building to the future. Endy Chavez, Raul Ibanez
, Michael Morse, and Jason Bay
 are not the future. Dustin Ackley might be. The best way to get him back on this team in the second half is to have him replace one of those guys, and the best way to do that is to have him start playing the outfield again.
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i know people in this thread and hell alot of seattle fans in general want to see him in the outfield.
i don't see whats stopping them from moving him there
 
Word on the street is that Ackley is playing left field tonight in Tacoma. Could he be called up soon? Things that make you go hmmmm...
 
Wow.
Here are some more extensive comments from Jack Zduriencik  on the Ackley move. It’s a pretty significant development when a No. 2 overall draft pick switches to a new position.

“I think it’s good for Dustin. Actually, when he was in college, I didn’t personally see him play the outfield, but during BP he would take balls in the outfield. We’ve always talked about that. You never know what will happen. Versatility is a good thing. Right now, we spoke to him yesterday, asked him to take balls in the outfield, and he’s wide open to it. It’s great. He took balls in center field yesterday, took balls in left field, and tonight he’s starting in left.”

(more…)
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http://blogs.seattletimes.com/mariners/

Way to go, Nick. 
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Good God...

Jason Bay STAY taking pitches down the middle for strikes then goes down swinging on something off speed in the dirt. If only there were more options right now, this dude is trash. 
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