Kuzul

The 2011 baseball season is upon us, and that can only mean one thing for eager fans: a fresh start.  With hopes of celebratory bliss, you announce confidently, “this is our year,” as you retrieve the enormous foam finger lodged behind your bed. The once prized possession is now dusted with crumb remnants and dead ants.  While one’s prophecies for the upcoming season may be nothing more than fantasy, players must approach each year with the goal to maintain past success, improve on past failures, or return from an injury, thus proving they still are one of the elite.  No player is more eager to prove he can return to greatness than Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan.     Nathan made great progress this spring and has reestablished himself as Minnesota's closer to open the season. This tale, however, is not about Nathan’s return to the mound.  This is ...

Everybody loves Brian Wilson because of that crazy beard. Mariano Rivera is…the…best…closer…ever. However, the closer position, perhaps more than any other position, provides more value picks. Average Draft Positions are from Mock Draft Central.Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers: Broxton had just 22 saves last year, and even lost his gig to Hong-Chih Kuo, but was one of the top closers in 2009 when he saved 36 games and struck out 114 batters in 76 innings. He has the closer gig back, and if he can hold onto it, a return to 30 saves with 90 strikeouts is a strong likelihood. His ADP is 164, making him the 15th-ranked closer, though he has top-five potential.Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies: Lidge bounced back last year to save 27 games and post a 2.96 ERA. With the Phillies four aces, he should get plenty of save opportunities. With an ADP of 192 he’s a terrific value. Francisco ...

Hey, did you hear? The Mariners were lousy in 2010. Terrible. Awful. Dreadful. Ah, heck. I'll just link you so you can see all the synonyms for "bad." That poor, poor dead horse. Much has been ballyhooed about the shortcomings of the most recent episode of Mariners' baseball. Especially due to the predicted success placed on them entering the season. No one had delusions of an express lane to the division title, but it was widely thought they could duke it out and hang in there in a weak AL West. A knockout in round one is hardly hanging in there. So, let's all agree to officially move on. We'll start by focusing on the immediate future to see how we can expect some of those let downs to turn around, becoming 2011 success stories. When your baseline is so low, a relative term like "much" doesn't seem so far-fetched, right? However, I believe the improvement from certain players next season will unquestionably be ...

Life is pretty funny sometimes. I was sitting in my office late in the afternoon thinking about what I was going to write about tonight. I kid you not, I was really going to write a “David Aardsma: What’s His Trade Market?” post. It seemed pretty logical considering that the Seattle Mariners aren’t going anywhere in 2011 and Aardsma, coming off a year where he had 31 saves and a respectable 3.44 ERA, has some trade value.   That idea went up in smoke in about 10 minutes because it was reported earlier today that Aardsma will undergo left hip surgery to repair a torn labrum. This news really came out of nowhere and really put an end to any trade rumor or value Aardsma had this offseason. According to the Seattle Times, Aardsma been bothered by pain in his left hip area since the end of the season. Aardsma and the Mariners ...

In a much publicized battle of the aces, Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Dan Haren matched Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez pitch for pitch. Neither backed down. After the two aces hit the showers, Seattle capitalized, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Angels, 3-1. For seven innings, Haren and Hernandez gave the crowd at Safeco Field an old-fashioned pitcher's duel, tossing goose eggs until both tired after seven innings. Haren scattered seven hits and struck out eight, throwing 110 pitches, while Hernandez threw a gem of his own, giving up just three hits and striking out eight, throwing 103 pitches. In the top of the eighth, the Angels scratched across a run. After Peter Bourjos struck out swinging, Alberto Callaspo doubled to left. Howie Kendrick then laced a double to left field, the ball bouncing into the stands for a ground-rule double, plating Callaspo with the ...

The Major League Baseball Trade Deadline passes this Saturday, and baseball’s buyers and sellers will be in negotiations all week over potential deadline trades. The Seattle Mariners are undoubtedly sellers at this year’s trade deadline. At 39-60, the Mariners sit 18.5 games behind the AL West leading Texas Rangers, and have already traded away this year’s most sought after trade target, ace pitcher Cliff Lee. Having made a clear move towards selling at the trade deadline, the pressure is now on Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik to prepare his team for contention in 2011. Zduriencik must now decide what other players, if any, he can deal at the deadline. Here is a quick list of five current Mariners who could have new addresses by next week. 2B Jose Lopez The Mariners seem to have a future built around LF Michael Saunders, C Adam Moore, 1B Justin Smoak, and last year’s first round draft pick, ...

Well Mariners fans, lets face it, the 2010 season is a bust. There will be no comeback, no 1995 style legendary run to the post season. No, I'm afraid the last exciting moment for the Mariners will be watching who they dump in the upcoming midseason fire sale. Cliff Lee is a lock to be traded, and rumor has it that everybody not named Felix or Ichiro is up for grabs. I'd expect a lot of familiar names to be playing in different markets come August. So, what does that mean for the 2011 squad? What does the future hold for Seattle baseball? Well for starters, expect a lot of call-ups here in the second half of 2010, young players auditioning for a role in the 2011 campaign. I expect Mike Carp to get a lot of reps at first base the rest of the season. But I do not expect to see ...