The Mariners were figuring out who to pinpoint as potential trade targets and Blengino ... had his eye on an outfielder he'd been monitoring since the prospect was in the Dodgers' system several years back. So, he researched some defensive numbers on Franklin Gutierrez, then a struggling young right fielder for the Indians, using traditional statistics like outfield chances, as well as some more advanced modern ones like Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) and Revised Zone Rating (RZR).

"We knew who the kid was," Zduriencik said. "But the numbers Tony showed us really opened our eyes."

These days, Gutierrez is regarded as possibly the best defensive outfielder in baseball.

Gutierrez is a prime example of the type of hidden gems the Mariners are hoping to uncover with their fledgling department of statistical analysis. The department is overseen by Blengino, and it has one full-time employee, four seasonal interns and two outside consultants.

Wonder what effect this could have on the PTBNL.

Rob discusses the scott lewis selection and ends with this:

"I like the Indians. I think they're going win their division. But their No. 1 starter isn't going to go 22-3 again, their No. 2 starter went 8-7 last season and Nos. 3 through 5 are question marks wrapped in enigmas surrounded by conundrums. So at the very least, it should be an interesting spring and summer in Cleveland."

"When you consider that Cleveland signed Blake as a minor-league free agent on a one-year deal in 2003, received almost five years of big-league production and flipped him for two prospects, the ROI on the original deal must be off the charts."

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