Kuzul

A team paying a pitcher $5 million for 180-200 innings gets more value for their money than one paying the same amount for 70 innings. So it stands to reason that so many teams are insisting pitchers stay in the rotation as long as their performance is tenable.Unfortunately, this means many teams miss out on potential dominance from those pitchers over shorter stretches. For some, this is due to the restraint needed to stretch one's effectiveness out over 100 pitches. While they may be dominant giving 100 percent, they can only give 80 percent to last that long.For others, they have only two effective pitches, which is enough for one or two innings, but starters usually need three to turn over a lineup twice. These pitchers would be much better off used in the 'pen, but of course, the value of raw innings pitched will keep them slaving away in ...

After a disastrous September, Boston missed the postseason for the second straight season. We saw a major upheaval of the organization and the roster.Theo Epstein and Terry Francona left.Ben Cherington and Bobby Valentine are here.The front office made several moves during the offseason to try and revamp the team with hopes of making a postseason run in 2012. This included letting players walk during free agency as well as trading players to try and give the team a new feel.Here are six players that didn't return to Boston after their epic collapse last season and have made strides to help their new teams.Begin Slideshow

Even after extending Felix Hernandez, the Mariners were faced with speculation that they’d trade their ace at the beginning of 2011. In the past couple days there has been a ton of speculation in the media about the team trading Erik Bedard, Jason Vargas or Doug Fister.The Mariners should trade one of these guys, if the package they get in return is right.There are a ton of components that go into a decision to trade a starting pitcher, not the least of which is that starter’s talent. We talk a lot about years of team control, which is certainly important, but are years of team control as valuable for a pitcher, presumed to be a back-of-the-rotation starter, as perhaps a mid-to-upper-rotation starter?Certainly not.And in Bedard, Vargas and Fister, the team has guys who can easily be perceived by some teams as fits in any of their rotations slots.Fister is a ...

If only the Seattle Mariners offense could actually show up before they found themselves hopelessly behind—such has been the underlying theme of the Mariners’ 2011 campaign. And Friday night was a microcosm of that very issue, too little too late. Against the Kansas City Royals, the Mariners offense floundered for the first seven innings, registering just one lone hit. Three up, three down was the story for the offense through innings three through seven, as Royals starter Luke Hochevar dominated the hapless hitters. After 100 pitches in seven innings, Hochevar was finally done for the night and the M’s immediately took advantage in the eighth inning. Off reliever Blake Wood, Ichiro singled in Luis Rodriguez to cut the lead to 6-2. Then, in the ninth inning off closer Joakim Soria, the M’s were able to get four walks and a Michael Saunders RBI single to narrow the lead to 6-4. With the bases ...

One key to winning a fantasy baseball league is finding value in the latter stages of the draft, especially starting pitchers who can provide help with wins and strikeouts without hurting a team’s overall ERA. Late-round value picks who pan out can also be excellent trade bait to help bolster other weak areas of a fantasy roster.   After spending all of 2010 on the disabled list, Erik Bedard returns to the Mariners rotation this spring after making only 30 starts for the club since being acquired in 2007. Bedard joins a rotation of young arms led by defending AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernadez, who will again be the team’s ace and opening day starter.  A Franco-Ontarian, Bedard’s journey to the major leagues can be described as anything but typical. He began his college baseball career by haphazardly accompanying a friend to tryout for the Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut. After ...

It's like hitting the big red reset button.Spring comes and players report to Arizona. Some have new looks with their hair or physical condition. Some spent the winter hibernating while others never stopped to enjoy the downtime.You never know what you'll get from your team heading into a new season. Unfortunately, the 2010 Mariners saw that these surprises aren't always as sweet as the contents of a box of chocolates.So we turn the page to 2011 and find out what surprises lie ahead. Here are 10 of those that we might (maybe, possibly, could) see.Begin Slideshow

No one said it was easy to get into the Major Leagues.  No one said it was any easier to stay in the Major Leagues.But it is possible and you are about to see some of the once highly-touted prospects who have made it to the show.  The only problem is that their careers have not exactly blossomed in the fashion that was expected of them when they were first signed.Jose Bautista was one such player before he exploded for 54 home runs a season ago.  So with that in mind, here are some players who are in dire need of a career turnaround soon, as their value continues to drop—perhaps to the point of no return.Begin Slideshow

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 ...

It's possible that the expectations for Erik Bedard, especially considering what Bill Bavasi sent to Baltimore to get him, added to the perception that he's a jerk. He's not a great interview. He gives that little smile when asked a question he doesn't like. There is a belief that he doesn't care. Of course, his inability to stay on the field has added to that. When he does pitch, you see so much potential. There's a solid pitcher in there and it drives us nuts when starts are pushed back, an entire season is lost and he goes under the knife. Again. However, it's entirely possible that Erik Bedard actually has something other than ice water running through his veins. Signed for 2011 to a non-guaranteed contract for one-year and $1 million, something not too common for a major league veteran, it appears Bedard really meant it when he said he owed something to ...

EDIT: Erik Bedard will miss Tuesday’s start with a stiff shoulder. Seattle Mariners’ pitcher Erik Bedard is scheduled to make his first start of the season against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. The 31-year-old southpaw had surgery to repair a torn labrum last August, and hasn’t pitched since. In three rehab starts (11 innings) between Rookie League and Triple—A this season, Bedard boasts a 1.64 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and a 14/3 K/BB ratio. He’s worth an add in all leagues, although managers should be leery of his long—term value. Since posting a 3.16 ERA with a 10.93 K/9 and 2.82 BB/9 in 182 innings in 2007, Bedard has combined to pitch just 164 innings in the last two seasons. In fact, he’s failed to reach the 200-inning mark in any one of his six seasons at the big league level. Not only is Bedard extremely fragile, but he’s been wildly inconsistent as well. Here are his strikeout and walk rates since ...