Lookout Landing

It's Friday night. You and your partner have plans. You've been looking forward to them because you've both had really bad weeks and this'll be a chance to unwind. She's done getting ready and you're just about to shut down the computer when you see that Lookout Landing just put up a new post. "One minute, one minute" you say and you click through, only to find that it's a post about Brian Sweeney signing a minor league contract, and not even signing a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. A minor league contract, just. You get upset with yourself. You get upset with me. You miss your reservation. The night is ruined. You get upset with Brian Sweeney. "How could you do this to us, Brian Sweeney!"

That's 131 words right there. I'm squeezing some juice out of this old, dry lemon. That way we can have pure, unsweetened lemon juice. Perfect for waking up the tongue or getting out stains.

So anyway, this comes courtesy of Greg Johns. Minor league contract, no invite. I don't know why he didn't get an invite, but it's not like he would've made the team anyway so this way he gets a head start on minor league camp. I'm guessing that, unlike a lot of minor league contracts with invites, this one doesn't include an opt-out date. Sweeney knows damn well he's going to Tacoma. He knows damn well that's where he's spending his season. He's okay with that. Maybe he's eager for that.

I should say that Sweeney's going back to Tacoma because he was there in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2010. In case you've forgotten about Brian Sweeney, who got some time with the Mariners in 2010, he's 37 years old. He was born in the same month as Doug Mientkiewicz and Derek Jeter. He's accomplished a little bit less than them. In his baseball career, anyway. He might really like it in Tacoma. He might have a lot of friends there. He spent most of last year in Buffalo so he's probably most happy to just not be there.

I'm still writing about Brian Sweeney. This post is going on its fifth paragraph. Like hell am I stopping now. He's the rare righty with a sub-90 fastball. Lots of breaking balls and changeups from this guy. Makes him tricky for lesser-developed hitters. Not so tricky for more developed hitters. About that time with the Mariners in 2010 - in Sweeney's first 7.2 innings, he had seven strikeouts. In his last 29.1 innings, he had seven strikeouts.

So he's not a big league weapon. He's a triple-A guy, and he's pretty good there, and he might well be happy there. Jack Zduriencik has talked about the importance of having veterans in the Majors to serve as mentors to youth. There's no reason to think he's wrong, and it stands to reason that there's also value in having veterans in the minors to serve as mentors to youth. Brian Sweeney's not a prospect, but maybe he can help prospects. Maybe he can help a guy with his changeup. Maybe he can help a guy with his preparation. Who knows what Brian Sweeney could do?

Sweeney's put in a lot of time with Tacoma, but this'll be his first visit to Cheney Stadium since it was renovated. All right, it looks better! Also it's more hitter-friendly. Godspeed!

Still writing. Okay. In Sweeney's Major League debut, back in 2003, he pitched in relief of Joel Pineiro. The first batter he faced was Damian Jackson. His first strikeout victim was Todd Walker. Remember when the Red Sox had Damian Jackson and Todd Walker? And Gabe Kapler and Scott Williamson? For additional reference, their top prospect before the season started was Hanley Ramirez. He was followed by Kelly Shoppach.

Incidentally, Sweeney wasn't drafted. As a 22-year-old he pitched for Lafayette of the Heartland League. He was signed by the Mariners in September 1996. He's the only player from that Lafayette team to reach the bigs. The scout that first noticed him and was responsible for bringing him into the organization? A certain Northeast area scout by the name of Tom McNamara. I knew if I kept writing I'd get to something good. McNamara saw something in Sweeney more than 15 years ago, and McNamara's probably the reason that Sweeney's back now.

Not every team is so formal.

I still like reading these because I think that it's neat that Conor got a job working for them, and now gets to write these lists every year. Here's what he came up with:

1. Jesus Montero, c

2. Taijuan Walker, rhp

3. Danny Hultzen, lhp

4. James Paxton, lhp

5. Nick Franklin, 2b/ss

6. Francisco Martinez, 3b

7. Chance Ruffin, rhp

8. Tom Wilhelmsen, rhp

9. Vinnie Catricala, 3b/1b/of

10. Phillips Castillo, of

Continue reading this post »

What's a strange or interesting way you learned about an artist or band you wound up liking?

Lookout Landing was quiet today, but it wasn't quiet due to anything worrisome, or out of some sort of protest. Rather, it was quiet because Matthew's out of town and I was invited to attend the Mariners' annual pre-spring training conference and luncheon. I considered it something of an honor. Then I parked without getting ID'd. Then I entered without getting ID'd. Then I helped myself to lunch without getting ID'd. So it turns out today's event was effectively open to anyone from the president to the homeless.

You've probably already read about what was discussed. Larry Stone posted his coverage. Shannon Drayer posted her coverage. Greg Johns posted his coverage. And so on. There were also real-time tweets, and the conference was broadcast on Mariners.com. Unsurprisingly, nothing earth-shattering was revealed. Jack Zduriencik didn't pull back any curtains to show Joey Votto standing behind. It was basically a two-hour State of the Mariners address, given by a number of people representing the Mariners.

But there were a handful of interesting nuggets. I'll get to them in no particular order because I forgot to take notes. First, Rick Griffin confirmed that Franklin Gutierrez has added about 14 pounds since the end of last season, and that those are 14 pounds of muscle. Justin Smoak apparently worked himself into terrific shape as well, but Gutierrez is the bigger story, because one senses that Gutierrez's performance was more directly tied to his physical condition. Last season, Guti was practically frail. Now he's not frail. Griffin said that Guti hasn't experienced any symptoms in several months and has his diet under control, so hopefully our comments section is done hearing from the armchair naturopaths.

Eric Wedge isn't just thinking about removing Ichiro from the leadoff slot - it sounds like he's probably going to remove Ichiro from the leadoff slot. If you're a reader of Internet blogs, you're probably smart enough to know that by and large lineup arrangement doesn't make much of a difference, but this is at least psychologically significant just because Ichiro has been entrenched up there for so long. Other leadoff candidates were named. Dustin Ackley was one of them. It's going to be Ackley. It's totally going to be Ackley. I mean, it has to be Ackley, right? Wedge mentioned Chone Figgins which made me want to laugh, but it wasn't an appropriate venue.

Figgins' hip is all better, by the way, in case you were worried. You can stop sending all those cards and gift baskets. And Casper Wells is over his balance problems, although I'm still not convinced we have a good explanation for where they came from in the first place, and there's nothing more reassuring than mysterious neurological pathology.

In the surprise to end all surprises, Zduriencik didn't go into any detail with regard to Prince Fielder. You might think that he could open up now, since the sweepstakes are over, but opening up about how those sweepstakes went could work against him come the next opportunity. It doesn't sound like any other transactions are imminent, although I guess the team's interested in adding some kind of veteran position player. If you were wondering who's going to be this year's Adam Kennedy, there's a good chance he's not yet in the organization. Kevin Millwood will be this year's Adam Kennedy for the pitchers. So I guess that makes him this year's...Jamey Wright?

Jesus Montero's going to catch. The team loves his opposite-field power. Duh. Miguel Olivo's still going to catch more, at least for the first while. Trying to think of other things...Figgins can expect to play pretty much everywhere in a super-utility role. It's what he used to do, so maybe that'll make him comfortable. Of course, another thing he used to do is hit. Eric Wedge is a prolific blinker. In a side conversation, Tony Blengino told me about what Dazzy Vance used to do. Look at this Baseball-Reference page, about 1924. Look at the strikeouts. Vance led the National League in K/9, at 7.6. In second place was Burleigh Grimes, at 3.9. There were eight teams in the NL that year. There were a total of 3,381 strikeouts. Vance was responsible for 8% of them.

Anyway, back on topic, the theme of the day was basically growth and development. So much emphasis was put on how the team is doing things the right way, or in the way that the team believes is the right way, by building from within. Zduriencik was very adamant about this. I guess he has to be. Something he said that stuck with me was that baseball isn't like basketball or football. You can't turn a team around with one guy. (He cited Andrew Luck.) I knew that already, and most of you knew that already, but it's worth keeping in mind. It's so critical to understand the limited impact that individual players can have in this game.

Wedge was optimistic. Wedge has always been optimistic. Zduriencik was a little less optimistic, as far as 2012 is concerned. His big quote that people kept talking about was "This is going to be a challenging year at the big league level. Let's not kid ourselves." As Mike Salk pointed out, it lends itself well to a team slogan. Mariners Baseball: Let's Not Kid Ourselves.

But as much as people are bracing for 2012 to be another development year, it should be an exciting development year, and there's no question that things are looking up. The organization has made tremendous progress, as hard as that might be to believe if you just look at the surface. The Mariners' day will come. The day brings no promises, but it'll be brighter.

When misfortune strikes the young, people have a tendency to assume the future. "He was going to be a superstar." "She was going to be a senator!" "They were going to be the best musicians Missouri's ever seen." The future is never knowable at any point, and I think most people understand that, but when one path gets blocked, all of a sudden people act like they're damn sure of what would've gone down. According to people, people are high achievers. Or at least, unfortunate people are would-be high achievers.

It's usually not true. I guess I can't prove that. Odds are, it's usually not true. Not every promising young person goes on to become an accomplished older person. So not every promising young person who suffers through life-changing misfortune would've gone on to become an accomplished older person otherwise. Some of them would've become average. Some of them would've become less.

It's almost certainly true in the case of Ryan Anderson. There are prospects who flame out, and then when you look back, you realize, well, I guess they weren't that good. Ryan Anderson was that good. Ryan Anderson was an outrageous prospect, well on his way to having an outrageous career.

Anderson was stopped by injuries. Devastating injuries, involving his shoulder. He's not unique in that regard. Shoulder injuries have ruined countless careers throughout baseball history, and they'll continue to do so in the future, albeit less and less often. What makes Anderson stand out is what he managed to do before the injuries became such a significant part of his life.

#23. #7. #9. #8. #14. The Mariners drafted Anderson in the first round in 1997. They drafted him a few picks after Lance Berkman, and one pick before Adam Kennedy. Those numbers represent where Anderson stood on Baseball America's lists of the top 100 prospects for the next five years. He shot to the top. He was ranked #14 overall before the 2002 season even though he hadn't thrown a pitch in a year and a half.

Maybe you prefer this list: #1, #1, #1, #1, #1. Those numbers represent where Anderson stood on Baseball America's lists of the Mariners' top prospects for the next five years. Ryan Anderson. He had a little hype.

And he deserved it. You probably remember that he was obnoxiously tall, checking in at 6'10. "Little Unit", and everything. You probably remember that he was a lefty with a high-90s fastball. What you might not remember are his numbers. The numbers he put up in the minors are staggering.

Anderson debuted with single-A Wisconsin at the age of 18. In 111.1 innings, he posted a K/9 of 12.3. That was second to A.J. Burnett's 14.1 among starters, but the next-closest competitor came in at 10.7. Burnett, by the way, was 21. Anderson was among the youngest players in the league.

The next year, Anderson moved up to double-A New Haven. In 134 innings, he posted a K/9 of 10.9. That was the best strikeout rate by a starter in the league. The next-closest competitor came in at 9.9. Anderson was the second-youngest pitcher in the league.

The next year, Anderson moved up to triple-A Tacoma. In 104 innings, he posted a K/9 of 12.6. That was the best strikeout rate by a starter in the league. The next-closest competitor came in at 9.9. Anderson was the second-youngest pitcher in the league.

Sure, Anderson's walks were a little elevated. Not surprising for a guy who got into so many deep counts. And there were concerns about his maturity and cockiness. But then again, he was a kid. He was a kid with unbelievable talent. Of course he'd have some growing up to do. Between three levels in his first three years, getting all the way up to triple-A, Anderson threw 349.1 innings over 66 starts and struck out 460 batters. That's flabbergasting. I can't remember the last time I used the word "flabbergasting". But Anderson's strikeout numbers flabbergast.

And then it was over. Anderson dominated in Tacoma, and then he got hurt, and hurt, and hurt. He had a very brief fling with the Brewers in 2005. It didn't go anywhere. In Anderson's last professional season of significance, he was a 20-year-old in triple-A with a league-leading strikeout rate. Poof.

I don't bring this all up to torture you. You don't need to be tortured. I don't bring this up as a cautionary tale for trying to build around young pitchers. You know it's risky to build around young pitchers. I bring this up because I happened across this article earlier in the morning from AZCentral.com. Quote:

"The Japanese want the vegetables to taste like vegetables, and along with appreciating the taste, they understand the health benefits of making vegetables such an important part of the cuisine," said Sushi Roku sous chef Ryan Anderson.

The story of Ryan Anderson leaving baseball's frustrations behind for a career in cooking is an old one. The man's still at it. It's a weird sensation to read his name in this context. He could've been so much. He could've been the best pitcher in the game. He's a sous chef. I didn't even know a sous chef was a thing until just a couple years ago. He's good at it, I'm guessing. He's happy at it, I'm guessing.

Ryan Anderson. It's not tragic. That isn't the word. He quit doing one thing his body couldn't do in order to do something else that it can. But, those numbers. Ryan Anderson, today, is 32 years old. He's the same age as Colby Lewis and Rick Ankiel. It's great for Ryan Anderson that he found something he's good at, but baseball's worse off without the career he could've and should've had.

I had some increased, and a touch irrational, hope that the Mariners would still prevail in signing Prince Fielder to a reasonable contract. He's a good bat but his market appeared to be severely and quickly drying up. However, what I was more interested in was the signal that such a signing would send. Having Justin Smoak, Prince Fielder, Jesus Montero and Mike Carp all on the same team would possibly force the team into an offense-heavy line up that would be exciting in the way that disregarding your preset and tested sailing route in order to get a better view of an island and damn any probably-totally-not-harmful rocks potentially in the way would be exciting.

Not at that price though. Nooooooo. I'll have to check when the full details become public but the money is close enough that it's conceivable that Prince Fielder is, in terms of real (i.e. adjusted for expected inflation) dollars, going to be paid the same or more than Albert Pujols will over 90% of the contract length. I never believed that Fielder was going to come at a bargain, but wow.

With Seattle's payroll currently well below last year's mark, few big money targets left and a still-present thirst for a big push for offense, there are going to be fans angry that the Tigers, not the Mariners, are the team to ink Fielder. Some will claim that the Mariners could have made this contract work. If those people are willing to listen, I say that I sympathize, but beware of speculating based on what Fielder signed for. We just don't know that Fielder would have signed with Seattle at the same price. Or if he would have signed here at any price for that matter.

There's a rumor that he didn't want to sign here, but rumors are just rumors. That Fielder wouldn't want to sign here was always a possibility, whether the media speculated on it or not. Of course, the trade for Jesus Montero appeared to make the Mariners much less likely to pursue Prince Fielder even if he were open to the idea. Instead, it's the Tigers that get the talented bat, but have to deal with the defensive fallout. I was initially disappointed that he didn't sign with the Nationals for the chance of some entertaining Mike Morse in left field GIFs, but based on other rumblings, we'll get the joy of Miguel Cabrera back at third base GIFs instead. Hooray!

Like Jeff and others, I don't have an idea where the Mariners put their remaining offseason money, however much that is. One consideration I hadn't yet seen mentioned is that for the third season in four, the Mariners have a top three pick in the MLB draft. Those picks are not cheap to sign so perhaps some of the slush money is going to end up there. I hope it goes somewhere to make the team better. I still believe that it will.