SB Nation User Blog: EireDuck

Squinty Somehow 8th Most Likely to be Fired, Says Yahoo

EireDuck — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:42:01 -0000

Our own beloved John "Squinty" McLaren is somehow the last manager mentioned in an article about skippers on the chopping block early this season. Almost an afterthought, his chances of getting axed are only linked to a major front-office overhaul.

As much as the M's may mess up their valuation of players, how can Yahoo mess up this valuation of managers so badly? Even Bruce Bochy gets mentioned before Mac, and Bochy has probably exceeded expectations!

When things aren't going your way, just pretend that they are! This is the actual screenshot...

EireDuck — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:35:46 -0000

When things aren't going your way, just pretend that they are!

This is the actual screenshot of the M's homepage just after gametime on Thursday, 5/8/08. The Mariners had lost the prior two games to Texas in their four-game series.

So Long Safeco Field...

EireDuck — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:51:30 -0000

...get ready for - Liberty Mutual Stadium?

Insurance Merger = No More Safeco?

Don't get me wrong - it's not like Safeco Field was the best name ever. But for a corporate name, it was okay. The Safe. Starts with the same letter as Seattle. Has a couple things going for it.

Liberty Mutual has no such advantages, plus it sounds like a whole new place. It's hard to get more corporate than the word "Mutual". Maybe someone can donate millions of dollars to Liberty Mutual to rename it Edgar Martinez Field.

Soriano, Sherrill to Close this Year

EireDuck — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:32:54 -0000

Two recent ex-Mariners will be closing this year...

Mixed feelings ensue.

Sherrill:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AtfrSV4NCf4O3S6.EairlVYRvLYF?slug=ap-orioles-sherrill&prov =ap&type=lgns

Soriano:
http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/02/16/braves_0217.html

On the one hand, these are great ex-Mariners who didn't choose to leave the club, so we should be happy for them. After all, with JJ around, they would never have the opportunity to close in Seattle, barring some sort of major injury.

On the other hand, of course, it's hard to imagine a more stifling bullpen than one consisting of three potential closers, especially given that Sherrill's a lefty and Soriano's a righty. When this is compounded with the realities of the HoRam trade for Soriano, the whole picture looks pretty bleak. Only time will tell how Bedard holds up and whether AJ blossoms to help determine the validity of the more recent trade, but it's tough to see so many great ex-M's slamming doors elsewhere.