1 year deal. Details to come. Yay actual news and things.
Short analysis: Byrnes can field and used to be able to hit and can still hit lefties. He cannot stay healthy.
Fuller analysis, Dave's post on Byrnes from two weeks ago is here.
I like the move since Arizona is likely picking up the full tab above the pro-rated minimum, but if I had my druthers, I would still be calling the Nats about Willingham.
0 recs | 190 comments
That's not how you spell "Josh Willingham"
Oh well. So is Z done or think he has one more trade up his sleeve?
ManifestDestiny - January 29, 2010
Sounds like Z and Co. haven't fully penciled Byrnes in just yet.
I’m still looking forward to acquiring Willingham.
JLProck - January 29, 2010
Probably not the bad everybody was looking for.
But I like the move… should be a relatively small contract.
srm07 - January 29, 2010
Telling typo
No…it’s ok to hope! Z is here now!
short - January 29, 2010
NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Goose - January 29, 2010
Note:Obviously I'm biased here and I'm gonna refuse to be rational about this but god fucking damnit Jack!
Goose - January 29, 2010
I can't even imagine your pain.
It would be like having Carlos Silva traded back to the Mariners.
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
Look on the bright side,
One of your favorite two teams is not paying a bunch of money to Eric Byrnes.
And the other one doesnt have him on the roster.
ARock - January 29, 2010
That's about the brightest the situation can be for him.
BrettJMiller - January 29, 2010
Or you can look at it this way.
One of your two favorite teams has Byrnes on their roster.
And the other one is footing the bill.
JLProck - January 29, 2010
I like it
OlSalty - January 29, 2010
God I love Eric Byrnes
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
mariners club house needed more of this
BYRNES SMASH
cedarA - January 29, 2010
JUST LIKE THE MARINERS NEEDED MORE FUCKING POPUPS AND MORE FUCKING SOMERSAULTS IN THE OUTFIELD AND MORE DOUCHEBAGGERY!
Goose - January 29, 2010
The somersaults are a serious dealbreaker for me.
He’s so fucking annoying.
Teej - January 29, 2010
I love the somersaults.
Its the dives on balls towards the line that drive me batty.
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
Does a Byrnes somersault gif exist?
Manzanillos Cup - January 29, 2010
Yes, somewhere.
Goose - January 29, 2010
So he's a fit then
Jeff Sullivan - January 29, 2010
The contract will be for the minimum
Arizona has to pick up the remaining portion of Byrnes’ deal, and Byrnes can’t make any more money on top of his original deal this year, too.
Bodhizefa - January 29, 2010
Why can't he make more on top of his original deal?
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
He is already under contract.
Sec 108 - January 29, 2010
So MLB prohibits you making more then minimum?
Huh never knew that.
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
Arizona is already paying him.
Unless the Mariners wanted to sign him for more money than his original contract, there’s no point.
Matthew - January 29, 2010
You can't make more than you're under contract for
Graham MacAree - January 29, 2010
What if Dayton Moore and Omar Minaya got into a bidding war
And Omar signed him for a contract worth more than what Arizona owes him?
arbeck77 - January 29, 2010
There is no incentive to get into a bidding war on him
But sure I guess my statement is not completely accurate.
Graham MacAree - January 29, 2010
When have Omar and Dayton made sense?
arbeck77 - January 29, 2010
From Dave's article:
Janic - January 29, 2010
Source?
JLProck - January 29, 2010
None needed.
Matthew - January 29, 2010
I should've read the Dave's article.
JLProck - January 29, 2010
So Dave is now "the Dave"?
Huh, that’s interesting.
Coach Owens - January 29, 2010
Coach the "grammar Nazi" isn't nearly as fun as Coach "the Moral Compass."
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
Personally, I am looking forward to Coach "the Moral Nazi".
mark sobba - January 29, 2010
I just look forward to Coach the Nazi.
Kirk - January 29, 2010
The Coach of Yahtzee?
baetown415 - January 29, 2010
you need at least one more sig line
pdb - January 29, 2010
Some random poster at DRB told that to me too..
baetown415 - January 29, 2010
That person might have actually been serious.
Here, rather…
Matthew - January 29, 2010
I think this requires a little photoshop merger between Dave and "the dude"
Edgar for Pres - January 29, 2010
Could this team be any more annoying?
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
.
lemonverbena - January 29, 2010
I said annoying, not terrible.
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
Both traits in one package! Used to be an M's requirement.
lemonverbena - January 29, 2010
They could be Canadian.
CapSea - January 29, 2010
What's left to fill that would be worth the $10M that we are supposed to have?
Janic - January 29, 2010
I am beginning to wonder if we have it.
If we do, maybe we’re saving it for Bedard/Wang later in the season.
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
There's the distinct possibility that payroll went down from last year
Due to lower attendance.
mebpenguin - January 29, 2010
But Griffey!
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
Hey Jack
Goose - January 29, 2010
I wonder if they first check the facebooks of potential signings
ermac - January 29, 2010
Flip flops + socks = victory
Big Jared - January 29, 2010
He looks like that dick head friend everybody has had at one point.
The one that wakes you up at 8 am on a Saturday, already (still?) drunk and guilt trips you into going golfing, even though you hate golf. He is dressed exactly like this, and drinking vodka on the rocks. He wants you to drink vodka with him. By noon he is a complete train wreck, yet still full of energy and wanting to keep the party going.
Kermit. - January 29, 2010
What did golf ever do to you
lemonverbena - January 29, 2010
That game can leave your lower back in ruins if you're not used to it.
Kermit. - January 29, 2010
I don't look like that, but I think you just described me?
Andrew E - January 29, 2010
That burns my soul
royalcurve - January 30, 2010
Maybe the budget is more strapped than we thought?
At this point he seems like an unhealthy RH Langerhans… not bad if there’s not a lot on the line financially.
universalguru - January 29, 2010
His bat has a shot to be significantly better than Langerhans.
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
YES!
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
Story?
RunningFool - January 29, 2010
He tackled a guy that ran out on the field that was trying to get away.
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
That's awesome.
BrettJMiller - January 29, 2010
I remember that game.
That was awesome. Byrnesie was entertaining, I’ll give him that.
He’s a shoo-in for a broadcasting job after his playing career is over. He has exactly the right personality and intellect for the kind of analysis you see on TV.
iglew - January 29, 2010
Are you saying he's dumb?
Mariner John - January 30, 2010
Well, I didn't *say* that....
iglew - January 30, 2010
Weee!
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
I am Rec-ing this and I have no Idea what's going on in it.
JY - January 29, 2010
You never seen the video during the allstar game when he sent his dog after a ball in the water.
And it started swimming away.
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
He's gonna be at FanFest tomorrow!
ermac - January 29, 2010
At least his defence seems to be above average, so even if ge tanks again at the plate he will still [hopefully] be producing in the field.
EnglishMariner - January 29, 2010
Until he hurts himself again
Matthew - January 29, 2010
The franchise pitchers-forced-to-pinch-run record may be in jeopardy
lemonverbena - January 29, 2010
So...much...potential fun...
Jeff Sullivan - January 29, 2010
New GIF section!
Scruffy Lefty - January 29, 2010
Like this?
Goose - January 29, 2010
Woops
Goose - January 29, 2010
I recognize that!
Jeff Sullivan - January 29, 2010
And I want to thank you again for creating it.
Goose - January 29, 2010
Stupid wall, he was just getting ready to unload the cannon!
Andrew E - January 29, 2010
Thats awesome.
What result does that have on the play? Do the runners all get to advance 1 more base?
ARock - January 29, 2010
Yes.
Kirk - January 29, 2010
Free corndogs
lemonverbena - January 29, 2010
Our new OFers seem to have quite a bit of trouble keeping live balls out of the stands.
This seems to be an oversight on Jack Z’s part.
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
This made me so happy when it happened.
Kirk - January 29, 2010
I so vividly remember this play.
ThundaPC - January 29, 2010
Oh, for some sound effects.
[doink]
msb - January 29, 2010
Maybe a slide whistle
DaCheez - January 29, 2010
We signed this guy? The guy from the funny GIF? What the fuck, Z?!?
I don’t like it.
sanford_and_son - January 29, 2010
If you want to really annoy us A's fans,
you could make one out of the time where he plows into Jason Varitek in a collision at home, and then does a little victory dance while forgetting to touch home plate.
I think we lost an ALDS on that one.
iglew - January 29, 2010
I tried to find that on YouTube.
Painful as it was, I wish I had found it instead of this, which is just all other kinds of wrong.
Poppy - January 30, 2010
Byrnes is married???
That’s already wrong.
iglew - January 30, 2010
I agree!
Robert - January 29, 2010
This really makes me think that we dont have much money left.
They mustve reduced payroll again? So they now only have money left for one starter. And it wasnt enough to get Sheets.
This basically rules out Willingham and Damon. So much for improving at LF.
Everything we heard at the meeting yesterday was true. Griffey will get plenty of time as DH, and Saunders will have a chance to make the team in spring training.
ARock - January 29, 2010
Griffey will get as much time as Bradley allows him to
Jeff Sullivan - January 29, 2010
Great leaps of assumption there.
Bravo.
Really. Just fantastic.
Matthew - January 29, 2010
You "analysts" could learn a thing or two
pdb - January 29, 2010
Maybe some alone time with a real baseball man would learn 'em a thing or two. *wink wink nudge nudge*
Kermit. - January 29, 2010
You wouldn't understand, you're not a coach
OlSalty - January 29, 2010
Yes I am making the assumption that they wouldnt fill this spot with Byrnes,
And then go get a better option (Willingham/Damon/etc).
Am I wrong in thinking this? I’d be very happy to be wrong. Could they cut Byrnes if they wanted and not have to end up paying anything?
ARock - January 29, 2010
Yes, they could.
Matthew - January 29, 2010
Interesting.
I would think they’d still have to pay him the 400k if they did that.
So then this really does limit the Mariners at all?
ARock - January 29, 2010
400k is basically nothing.
Kirk - January 29, 2010
This is a depressing thought.
wilsonpdx - January 29, 2010
Or it could mean we went with the cheapest option so we have more money to sign another pitcher
OlSalty - January 29, 2010
Or it could mean something that none of us know because we're not privy to the dealings of the front office
pdb - January 29, 2010
Exactly
OlSalty - January 29, 2010
Very True.
ARock - January 29, 2010
I had that thought too
Someone we could trade for but might take up a chunk of payroll, like say Harang.
mebpenguin - January 29, 2010
Washburn!
kentroyals5 - January 29, 2010
Don't try to trade him Jack
MP3
Goose - January 29, 2010
I think this move proves the M's are really high on Saunders
They’ve protected themselves in left field by putting together a platoon that should be worth something around league average, but they’re giving themselves the space to take advantage if Saunders blossoms next year.
mebpenguin - January 29, 2010
I think this move proves they don't want Saunders to be a bench player
ermac - January 29, 2010
I agree, he only plays if he steps it up
But like they said yesterday, he’s going to get that shot, and in that light this move makes sense.
mebpenguin - January 29, 2010
Or maybe it proves that they'd like to give Saunders more than 387 PAs at AAA after struggling at the ML level
edddgar - January 29, 2010
I can dig it.
Griffin Cooper - January 29, 2010
I assume this means no on Damon
Poochie - January 29, 2010 via mobile
Get used to this Seattle
Goose - January 29, 2010
Lots of foul balls?
coreyjro - January 29, 2010
And majestic poses!
pdb - January 29, 2010
That's actually his batting stance, he hasn't swung yet
ermac - January 29, 2010
Yay!
Jeff Sullivan - January 29, 2010
Red uniforms! Whoa
Graham MacAree - January 29, 2010
You aren't supposed to call your shot and swing at the same time
Jeff Sullivan - January 29, 2010
As long as he poses like that before every at bat I'll be happy.
Kirk - January 29, 2010
Wak needs to give Byrnes the "Willie Mays Hayes" treatment.
Every pop-up costs him twenty push-ups.
JLProck - January 29, 2010
Z: "We look forward to him competing for a spot on our roster when spring training starts."
They aren’t penciling him in, folks. Calm down.
Matthew - January 29, 2010
Who would he really be competing against?
A TBA player? (Besides Saunders)
Edgar for Pres - January 29, 2010
He's going to be my new Yuni!
:)
Robert - January 29, 2010
I would watch a Milton Bradley and Eric Byrnes cop drama.
coreyjro - January 29, 2010
Clay Zavada as the arch enemy.
MFAN - January 29, 2010
That's mustache profiling.
coreyjro - January 29, 2010
POTD
New drama in NBCs 10 spot?
blueside714 - January 29, 2010
They could do an update of CHIPs
Except call it WASPs (Washington State Patrol). You would get to watch them catch all the speeders coming into Ellensburg heading east, busting some meth labs, etc. It would be great.
seattle_since_81 - January 29, 2010
Too bad it wasn't Erik B. instead
Janic - January 29, 2010
I don't care what people say about Byrnes
Ever since the Lee deal I’ve become a crack whore for Mariners transaction news. I’m just now getting over the rush.
short - January 29, 2010
As a result of picking up Flipper:
Goose - January 29, 2010
Oh no!
Coach Owens - January 29, 2010
Season over
Griffin Cooper - January 29, 2010
God Fucking Dammit
CapSea - January 29, 2010
Actually we still have him.
Unless/until someone claims him off waivers or if he elects to become a FA.
Terminator X - January 31, 2010
Dave's article said we wouldn't get him without a trade; we did...
Did a bunch of stars align to get him to choose Seattle? Is it possible the M’s offered incentives of some sort?
RunningFool - January 29, 2010
More likely that nobody else was interested and could potentially offer as much playing time
Jeff Sullivan - January 29, 2010
Brian Sabean told him he wasn't interested in reuniting him with his best friend Barry Zito.
Goose - January 29, 2010
Jack Z said that he would be competing for a roster spot!
According to Larry Stone’s newest blog post. So this may not necessarily end the chances of getting Willingham. Even though I am little bit worried.
lowrig - January 29, 2010
You get to compete for a spot and you get to compete for a spot, everybody gets to compete for a spot!
Jack Zdurienk’s favorite things.
Janic - January 29, 2010
He seems at first glance like the kind of guy that could be great trade bait even on a contending team.
Depending on how Saunder does in AAA, we won’t really need Byrnes even if both he and we are doing well. Or am I incorrect with that assumption?
CapSea - January 29, 2010
Definitely expendable
Won’t bring us much back, but maybe a decent reliever if our pen is getting tired.
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
If he bounces back I'm sure he could bring back quite the prize for us.
Kirk - January 29, 2010
I'd say he's also the type of guy you cut when you bring Saunders up
Edgar for Pres - January 29, 2010
Ah, but if he's good, he's still tradeable.
And yet bringing up Saunders would still make sense. So that’s pretty cool. Having a great replacement to a guy that could play well is probably great from a GM standpoint.
CapSea - January 29, 2010
I have never liked the argument of picking up guys so that you can trade them at the deadline
If they were valuable somebody else would pick these guys up and keep them. It works out in some cases but most the time I’m guessing its a waste. They might not cost much but they also take up a roster spot we could use to pick up a AAA DFA’d player. If you trade them for a prospect that is much worse than a minor leaguer who is released then it makes sense but there is a cost associated to giving a roster spot to players that you plan on trading.
Edgar for Pres - January 30, 2010
I really like this move.
Yes, he can be frustrating and annoying at times, but as Dave pointed out he was a +3 player or better from 2004-07. Sure, there are big injury concerns, but I trust Z to be creative enough to deal with that issue if it arises (we still do have Saunder and Langerhans).
This is a perfect low-risk high upside move that could bring a guy who might have close to the same impact as Willigham for virtually nothing.
SethGrandpa - January 29, 2010
Byrnes is on right now with Kevin Calabro on 710.
BrianL - January 29, 2010
Only caught the last 30 seconds or so, but he doesn't sound too crazy.
Griffin Cooper - January 29, 2010
He sure isn't afraid to talk to the media, though.
BrianL - January 29, 2010
That's because he IS the media.
msb - January 29, 2010
Yeah, his entire baseball career has been an audition for baseball broadcasting.
Teej - January 29, 2010
Funny story about Byrnes that I hope isn't off topic:
My grandparents live in the Bay Area in the same golf-community that Byrnes does during his offseasons and my grandfather works as a marshall for the course. Apparently Byrnes was using his own private cart (which is against the rules) and when told he could not do that he blew up and started freaking out. He had a major tantrum and sited complaints later. Typical star-syndrome, but still amusing.
Woodinville_12thMan - January 29, 2010
Well this all happened fast.
I do like how active this team is.
mark sobba - January 29, 2010
So can we sign Bedard and trade for Liriano now?
So Byrnes is the righty bat……..underwhelming, but since hes basically free we should really SIGN A STARTER! I will be sorely disapointed if Vargas, Olson or Fister makes the rotation, we need more upside than 4.50 – 5.00 ERA guys in the 5th spot to take the division
E2ESQUARE - January 29, 2010
I doubt Liriano will come cheap enough to be worth it.
And I doubt Bedard will sign until he’s a little healthier.
Fuckmikereilly - January 29, 2010
I went to two diamondbacks games last year
as they weren’t doing so well, it seemed like there were only diehard fans around. And they fucking hated him. It was actually pretty damn funny to hear so many people absolutely trashing someone on their own team. Especially since it was quiet enough in there that you know he could hear every word. He seemed to be sort of a headcase.
I remember lots of hassling about his clothing line. Time to stock up.
Astrobiology - January 29, 2010
Yes because everyone should be showing up to games in this...
stredarts - January 29, 2010
Jesus fucking Christ
why is his clothing so expensive.
resurrect_ha28 - January 29, 2010
My goodness, $89 for a Champion shirt with an armband?
Teej - January 29, 2010
But some of the money get donated to the Pat Tillman Foundation.
How are you going to make a profit if you are donating money to a foundation without overcharging for the products.
seattle_since_81 - January 29, 2010
Kind of like it was at SafeCo from 2004-2008?
mark sobba - January 29, 2010
Upon further review I like this because we'll need a token retard whem Lopez is dealt
Poochie - January 29, 2010 via mobile
Upon further review I like this because we'll need a token retard whem Lopez is dealt
Poochie - January 29, 2010 via mobile
Echo
echo
echo
seattle_since_81 - January 29, 2010
Kenji Johjima has back spasms
Astrobiology - January 29, 2010
No.
No no no no no no no no no no
Matthew - January 29, 2010
sorry, i thought it had been long enough
dead dead dead. like mars. my mistake
Astrobiology - January 29, 2010
Sorry I didn't capitalize
It’s been a long day. On a good note, we bought our season tickets today!
Astrobiology - January 29, 2010
I'm so sorry for you
Hopefully, should Byrnes ever attempt to score a run, he’ll remember to TOUCH THE FARKING PLATE.
doctorK - January 29, 2010
You can say fuck here
In fact, as one of the leaders of the SBN we take pride in our appropriate usage of the word fuck. I don’t have the stats in front of my, but I believe we put up a fuck+ of 180 which was good for the league lead.
edddgar - January 29, 2010
Our wFU is off the charts, that's for sure.
CapSea - January 29, 2010
Profanimetrics.
Love it.
JLProck - January 29, 2010
Byrnes
Oh goodie, another person who says they’re in the best shape they’ve been in a long time.
ThundaPC - January 29, 2010
Eh yeah, but would you rather have a player say
“No, I actually feel pretty shitty. I don’t think I’ll contribute that much.” ?
Woodinville_12thMan - January 29, 2010
What Cliff Lee said was fine.
ThundaPC - January 30, 2010
That worked out great for Rob Dibble, Lou's motivational speech in the locker room later was amazing.
That man was a real people person. Kind of reminded me of Terry Tate.
Kermit. - January 30, 2010
Jack Z values previous AL West experience.
With Figigns, Kotchman, Bradley,and Byrnes familiarity within the division, this is a huge advantage than just bringing in random players. Obviously, the biggest influence will be the production of Lopez, Bradley, Griffey/Byrnes, Gutierrez, and Kotchman in the 3-7 spots. Whichcandrive in a ton ofruns with Ichiro and Figgins on base. Anything that WIlson and Moore provide offensively will be a bonus.
MagicMike23 - January 29, 2010
Jack Z values good and cheap players.
It just happens that the ones who were available this off season had previous tenure in the AL West.
BrianL - January 29, 2010
I don't see Vladimir Guerrero on this team.
ThundaPC - January 29, 2010
When did he ever say this?
wyte_lightning - January 29, 2010
I highly doubt this
Besides Figgins and maybe Kotchman, the AL West looks way different than when Bradley or Byrnes (!) played in it
Corco - January 29, 2010
I love the Byrnsian route
To every routine fly ball.
Hit4TheCycle - January 30, 2010
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