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Power play Mariners likely to make big move for bats
The Seattle Mariners stashed some money under the mattress last spring training knowing they would need a proven run producer. They waited until July to make their move. After passing on David Justice and David Segui and spending too much time on a fruitless attempt to get Juan Gonzalez from Detroit, Seattle wound up with the underwhelming Al Martin. The Mariners, largely on the strength of their pitching and defense, did make it to the ALCS, but lost to the Yankees in a six-game series in which the Seattle lineup batted only .215 while Justice drove in eight runs. Martin? He had two singles in 11 at-bats without an RBI. Now the Mariners find themselves begging for a bat again, and the need is even more acute with Alex Rodriguez gone. The Mariners are confident that right fielder Ichiro Suzuki will help, though he's hardly expected to be a big-time run producer. One Seattle official called him "a Rod Carew -type." The Mariners need more offense than that, however, and this time general manager Pat Gillick knows he cannot wait until July to get Martinized -- not with the powerful Athletics in their division. That's why Seattle is the team most likely to make a big move between now and Opening Day. The Mariners are one of the few teams in baseball with a surplus of pitching from which to deal, though the injury that will keep Gil Meche out for most of the season has thinned their staff. Paul Abbott, John Halama, Brett Tomko, Joel Pineiro and Robert Ramsay cannot all fit into the rotation, especially if Ryan Anderson forces his way onto the team with a big spring. Ideally, the Mariners want to add some offense at third base as an upgrade to David Bell. Here are the players most likely to help the Mariners' need for good wood: Phil Nevin, San Diego. He has already been traded once this winter, though the deal with Milwaukee fell apart when the Padres couldn't sign Jeromy Burnitz to an extension. Nevin is productive and cheap, which raises questions as to why San Diego wants to move him, but the Padres see Sean Burroughs as their third baseman of the near future. The Mariners don't match up real well with San Diego for a deal, though, so Seattle might have to rustle up a third team to come up with a major league-ready young position player to satisfy the Padres. Vernon Wells of the Blue Jays would do the trick, but Toronto would prefer to move Jose Cruz Jr. before the talented Wells. Alfonso Soriano, Yankees. Scouts are divided on whether Soriano will wind up in the infield or outfield. The Mariners know he doesn't have good hands, but he would be less of a liability at third base than at shortstop, a position he is unlikely to play with regularity in the big leagues. Todd Zeile, Mets. The Mariners, who lost out to Montreal in the bidding with St. Louis for Fernando Tatis, asked New York in December about Robin Ventura. The Mets, with their paucity of left-handed hitters, suggested Zeile instead. Seattle had some interest, but those talks fizzled when the Mets signed Steve Trachsel to complete their staff. A spring-training injury could revive talks. Troy O'Leary, Boston. Ideally, the Mariners would like a No. 3 hitter to put in front of Edgar Martinez and John Olerud. They may have to settle on a No. 5 hitter and bump Martinez and Olerud one spot up. O'Leary is no No. 3 hitter and he is not a third baseman, so Seattle is aiming higher for now. John Vander Wal, Pirates. He's not happy -- after driving in 94 runs -- about losing his job to Derek Bell, who had 69 RBIs with 162 more at-bats than Vander Wal last season. Vander Wal would like to be traded, but again, the Mariners would prefer to acquire a third baseman such as Nevin before they look for an outfielder. Gary Sheffield, Dodgers. Put Sheffield into the Seattle lineup and the Mariners can contend with anybody in baseball. But Seattle quickly squashed talk of Sammy Sosa ending up at Safeco Field, and a trade for Sheffield presents the same hurdles: Giving up top-shelf talent (the Mariners insist Anderson is not going anywhere) and taking on more payroll than the Mariners want. Moreover, would Sosa or Sheffield like hitting in a pitcher's park for a franchise that often is below the national media radar? Ask Rodriguez for his answer on that one. The post -A-Rod Mariners still have plenty of pitching to keep them competitive, especially with Jeff Nelson, Jose Paniagua, Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki comprising a formidable late-inning bullpen. But to keep up with Oakland, they will need to find another bat. And this time they'll have to move quicker and do better than Al Martin. The flip side of Coors FieldStrange things happen to good hitters when they play for the Rockies. Take Jeff Cirillo, for example. Cirillo is a lifetime .295 hitter on the road, but last season, his first with Colorado, he struggled away from Coors Field. Cirillo hit .403 in his home park, but only .239 away from its thin air and spacious outfield. "We know he's always been able to hit on the road, so it's just a matter of making adjustments," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "And it is an adjustment in Denver. It takes some getting used to. The conditions are so different for playing at home and on the road. We expect his numbers will not have such a big separation this year." It is the reverse psychological impact of what happens with pitchers, O'Dowd said. The pitchers love to get away from Coors Field and get re-energized. "If you took out all games at Coors Field, our staff would rank third in the league in ERA," he said. Hitters aren't so eager to leave behind Coors' creature comforts. "Everybody talks about pitching at Coors Field, but it's very hard to evaluate offense, too," O'Dowd said. "I can tell you that last year we were not a very good offensive team, even though we led the league in runs. We just weren't. The outfield is so big that we felt we needed players with speed who could cover ground. But what we learned is that we probably went too much in that direction. You also need power, because when we went on the road we didn't have enough power. We think we're better this year, and I expect Jeff will be a big part of that simply because he's had a year in Denver to adjust.'' Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers baseball for the
magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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