I'm working on a paper for a college class on the development of baseball (and they say college is easy these days...) in which I'm to examine the top ten things my team—in this case the beloved M's—can do to improve itself. This could be short term/right-away or more adoptive of a long view; but best hedge bets and amass a combination of both. Aside from classic "build with the young talent the organization has all while somehow getting more offensive oomph without overpaying" answer," I would love to open the floor to a discussion.  I'm obviously trying to tack a serious course so "sign Prince Fielder for 10 yr contractzomg!!!" and "make Ichiro assume his natural dragon form" will not be among the feasible options. I'm talking about tangible on-field and off-field improvements from the player personnel angle to ballpark promotions.

I come to LL as a haven (heh, HHaven) of some of the most thoughtful fans in baseball. Have at it!

/this is a shameless crowdsource, but I am very curious as a longtime reader, not-so-frequent commenter what the hive mind has to say. Oh, and once I finish the paper I will be sure to share it (in abridged form) with everyone here for your reading and critical pleasure.

So the sports blog Deadspin has been running a series called "Why Your Stadium Sucks" which has actually been pretty funny (go read the ones about Angels Stadium and the Ballpark in Arlington).  As I read down to the end of the most recent entry (about the Metrodome), I saw that Safeco Field is due to be covered next.  Panic sets in.  I always thought Safeco was among the nicer parks (well better than Wrigley, US Cellular, Fenway, both Yankee Stadiums, the Rogers Center, Shea...) and am loathe to read people's negative (if not erroneous) impressions of it next week.  So I thought I'd direct it this way to give probably the most informed group of M's fans the opportunity to present those few bad things about Safeco as accurately as possible to the larger sports blog reading public.  Have at it.

Next up: The Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field. Got any horrible experiences to share? Send them tocraggs@deadspin.com.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3171167

Shane Monahan, now 33 and living with his family in Vail, Colo., openly admits to being a juiced player in baseball's steroids era.

He says he used anabolic steroids when he played for the Mariners. He says Deca-Durabolin and Winstrol were his primary enhancers. He says he got them from "guys" who regularly hung around the clubhouse. And he says he regularly used amphetamines, better known around baseball as energy-boosting "greenies."

I remember getting Monahan's "top-prospect" card or whatever as a kid and being semi-conscious as to his presence on the team for a while...but yeah, another roidin' M.