Trading Deadline...

There are several parts of the season that usually draw a baseball fans interest. There is spring training where hope springs eternal (no pun intended). Opening day is fun with all of the team introduced to the usually sold out crowd.

The All-Star game is the halfway point of the season, plus a few games, and the fans hope to see their favorite player hit a home run or strike out the home run king with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to secure a win for their favorite league. Okay, that’s the way it used to be. I’m not sure the passion is quite the same for this game these days.

When Labor Day hits, we start looking to see if our team has a chance to put on a stretch run that will see our team squeeze into one of the final playoff spots and eliminate that hated rival. Think 1995 when the Mariners eliminated the Anaheim Angels in a one game playoff. Those were the days.

In order to get to that spot we sometimes need to look back to July 31, which is trading deadline day. That day is important for the frontrunners as well as those teams who were pretty much out of the running around the Fourth of July. But the trades that are made can vary greatly.

I’ve seen a lot of trades that looked good on paper only to wish that paper would have been wadded up and thrown in the garbage can first. General Managers (GMs) of teams who are in the running are looking for a solid bat or a quality starter or for relief help in the bullpen. The teams with the most money may be looking for all three, especially if they are leading their division or are within striking distance of the leaders.

The also ran teams are looking to either shed payroll by getting rid of a high priced player and most definitely if that player is in the last year of his contract. At that point in time the also ran teams are looking for prospects who can help them in a year or two or that may fit in to the starting lineup immediately.

We’ve seen a lot of great young talent leave Seattle for potentially great players but we’re less than enthusiastic when the losses pile up and the player spends more time on the disabled list (DL) than they do on the mound while the prospect in the trade starts playing like an All Star (think Eric Bedard for Adam Jones).

GMs will sometimes trade players because the effectiveness of the player has dwindled due to injuries or loss of confidence or less than stellar performances. There are a lot of trades that fit this category the most recent for the Mariners was Brandon League.

The recent trades made by Mariner management are addition by subtraction. The players who were traded most likely need a different atmosphere in which to perform and it will allow young Mariner talent to get their chance to show what they have in the big boy league.

Last Saturday afternoon, my brothers Don, Larry and I were at Safeco Field to see Randy Johnson and Dan Wilson get inducted into the Mariner Hall of Fame. And yes we got the bobble heads, which are pretty cool. We were one of the first 20,000 to get one so you know we got there early.

Just to let you know, and hopefully the word will get out to Mariner management, the Anderson brothers are 3-0 when attending Mariner games in the last two years.

You may think that is no big deal or a lot of luck must be involved. We happen to think that we bring a little something extra. After all the three pitchers who started those games are Charlie Furbush who is now in the bullpen; Hector Noesi who is in Tacoma; and Kevin Millwood who hadn’t won a game since June 16. In all three games these guys pitched great lights out. Coincidence? What do you think?

While we were on the other side of the mountains we read a few things from fans that leaned toward wanting to trade Felix Hernandez. This guy is still pretty young and you always need an ace as part of the pitching staff and as of late the M’s have started to hit and score some runs. I think it is difficult to get enough talent to make a trade worthwhile in this particular case.

There is a good nucleus in place to start playing some great baseball in the last two months of this season. Seattle is already the best defensive team in the American League and with some run support they could make a lot of teams miserable down the stretch.