Since both Vargas and Morrow are in Tacoma and Olson isn't, it seems safe to say that Olson's our fourth starter ahead of both of them (and also RR-S); but while neither Olson nor Vargas are world-beaters by any means, it looks to me like Vargas has been the better starter -- his K/BB numbers are better, and he does a better job of keeping the ball on the ground.  Maybe I'm just too influenced by Matthew's June report card, but this doesn't make great sense to me.

I don't think I've seen anyone this furious over a baseball deal since Bavasi shipped half our farm system off for Bedard; the subhead on his blog now reads, "July 10th, 2009. The day the music died."  Rany writes,

Look, I could count all the stars in the sky and all the fish in the sea, and I still don’t think I will have calmed down. Sorry, mom. I actually finished writing this last night at midnight, but decided to sleep on it and read through it again in the morning. I’m afraid the sleep didn’t do me any good.

Eight years ago this July, the day the Royals traded Jermaine Dye for Neifi Perez, I came on Kevin Kietzman’s show and the first words out of my mouth were, “I have never been more embarrassed to be a Royals fan than I am right now.”

I wouldn’t say I feel as embarrassed at this very moment as I did that day. But in every other way, this moment is perhaps the lowest point I have ever reached as a Royals fan. I have never been more disheartened than I am right now. I have never been more disillusioned as than I am right now. I have never been more angry than I am right now. . . .

The Betancourt trade reaches the level of signature significance in my eyes, but in reverse. It’s just one trade, and if Cortes doesn’t pan out it’s possible that the only thing this trade will cost the Royals is some money and some opportunity. But this trade is so utterly indefensible, and the thought process that led to this trade is so utterly diseased, that I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this one trade is prima facie evidence that Dayton Moore can not be a successful GM.

The reasons for his reaction, of course, we know; as Mariner fans, we know them all too intimately, in fact . . .  I feel for him, but I have to admit, it's a relief to no longer be on his end of these kinds of deals.

Joe Posnanski posted a great column a few days ago (thanks to Ryan Divish for the link) on the Royals' signing of Willie Bloomquist, and their non-signing (so far, anyway) of Adam Dunn, and the significance of that for understanding Dayton Moore's philosophy of baseball.  Posnanski notes that the two are almost complete opposites as ballplayers, and goes on to say, "I think that, in many ways, Dunn and Bloomquist represent opposing philosophies about baseball. . . . I believe every baseball fan, at his/her core, leans Dunn or Bloomquist."  Now, I think he overstates his case somewhat -- in particular, I think he's wrong to say that those "who believe that on-base percentage and slugging are the most significant things . . . that what matters is what you do and not how you look doing it" also believe "that defense and speed are overrated"; that's not really true at all.  Even with that caveat, however, I have to say that I think he's on to something here, as he often is.  Go read his column and see if you agree.

I pulled BA's 2003 Prospect Handbook off the shelf yesterday to see what they had to say about Franklin Gutierrez, and then moved over to look at their take on the Seattle system.  They had the M's 9th in their talent rankings that year (having ranked them 2nd the year before); here were the players they tagged as our top 30 prospects:

1.  Rafael Soriano, RHP
2.  Chris Snelling, OF
3.  Jose Lopez, SS
4.  Shin-Soo Choo, OF
5.  Clint Nageotte, RHP
6.  Aaron Taylor, RHP
7.  Travis Blackley, LHP
8.  Rett Johnson, RHP
9.  Greg Dobbs, 3B/OF
10.  Jamal Strong, OF
11.  Ryan Christianson, C
12.  Luis Ugueto, SS
13.  Willie Bloomquist, IF/OF
14.  Ismael Castro, 2B
15.  Kevin Olore, RHP
16.  Michael Garciaparra, SS
17.  Kenny Kelly, OF
18.  Ryan Anderson, LHP
19.  Jeff Heaverlo, RHP
20.  J. J. Putz, RHP
21.  Allan Simpson, RHP
22.  Bobby Madritsch, LHP
23.  Aaron Looper, RHP
24.  Rene Rivera, C
25.  Craig Anderson, LHP
26.  Juan Done, RHP
27.  Bobby Livingston, LHP
28.  Jon Nelson, 1B/OF
29.  Troy Cate, LHP
30.  Ryan Ketchner, LHP

I was struck by this comment on Lopez:  "Lopez' defensive abilities have been apparent since he made his pro debut.  Managers said he had the best infield arm in the Cal League, and he has fine hands, range and actions at shortstop."  Having seen him play short at Everett, I agree with that assessment; I still have trouble understanding exactly how that Lopez turned into this Lopez.

As for Gutierrez, there wasn't all that much of interest in the paragraph on him, but I was struck by this line:  "There are some holes in his swing he needs to address, though the Dodgers think his aggressiveness is one of his strongest assets" (emphasis mine).  That explains a lot.

via the scope, as per ESPN; doesn't sound like reason for concern, but I did think it ought to be noted here.  He'll miss minicamp in consequence, but is still hoping to be in the lineup to start the season.

Personally, if he can stay healthy going forward, with Bane and Rocky starting and Tripplett added to the squad, I think we have a heck of a rotation at DT; barring injury, I'm betting Red Bryant winds up on the practice squad this year to watch and learn.