Kuzul

How do you fix a team that has lost 100 games twice in three seasons?

That’s the glaring question that general manager Jack Zduriencik and manager Eric Wedge are tasked with in 2011.

After a few nice trades and additions propelled the team a giant step forward in 2009, they took another giant step back in 2010. Though most assumed that ’09 team overachieved, the additions to the club last season led those same pundits to believe we’d at least see a similar outcome, perhaps even a better one.

With pitchers and catchers doing bullpen sessions and position players trickling in ahead of the mandatory report date this Friday, the team is getting a chance to have a hard, long look at their squad early.

It’s a good thing, too, because there are questions that must be answered post-haste.

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It’s time we all take a breather from worrying about the sports themselves and focus on the players involved. This article is written with the intent of recognizing that there are bigger things that we should be focusing on at this time in the world rather than sports. On 3/11/2011 an unprecedented 8.9 earthquake rocked the country of Japan. It brought devastation, injuries, life loss and widespread panic but that was only the beginning.

After the earthquake hit, a gigantic 23 foot tsunami tore throw the coastal areas of Northeastern Japan. The waves pushed inland as much as six miles in certain spots devouring everything and anything in their way. We are reminded how strong the forces of nature that are out of our control truly are. If you are reading this article now, then please take a moment of silence to meditate on this tragic event and to pray to God for the safety of Japan and it’s people.

We hope the worst is now in the past but danger still looms as nuclear meltdown is the newest concern in Japan thanks to damage at three nuclear power plants inflicted by the mega-quake and powerful tsunami. You may be asking yourself, “How could this terrible, horrific event possibly tie into sports?”

In this gigantic melting pot known as the United States of America, the land of the free and home of the brave, we have taken in many Japanese athletes as our own and have grown to respect them in the process. We have looked up to them, we have cheered their names and now it’s time we reach out and send our condolences to them, their families and their friends. Our hopes and prayers are with you and we are thankful to have you all here competing in our nation. May God Bless America, God Bless Japan and God bless the whole world.

Here is a brief slideshow that points out all active major leaguers that come from Japan. Be sure to pray for all of Japan and it’s people but say a special prayer for these major leaguers and their families as they take time away from baseball to focus on this tragedy.

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Bobbleheads, t-shirts and refrigerator magnets.

Oh, my!

One of the pleasures a fan of a lousy team has to look forward to every season are the cool promotions that sucker you in to handing over a hundred bucks you may not have otherwise.

I’ve become an expert at this in recent years rooting on the Mariners, unfortunately. I have more dolls than any 31 year old man should, thanks to the annual Ichiro bobbles. Though, they’re sucking me in again this season.

This year’s edition includes a hit counter so we can follow him on his quest to 200 a season and 3000 overall.

I got to thinking, naturally, because that’s what this stuff does to me: what promotions would us fans who like a good old chuckle line up for, even though our favorite team would never do it?

This list is the byproduct of that thinking. I apologize in advance.

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In 20 years, will we look back and ask “Who will be the next King Felix?”

We may. Or, we may think about how some injury stopped him from turning a promising youth into a hall of fame career that put him alongside the game’s greats.

It’s a fun exercise, comparing players of today and yesterday. Was Bonds better than Ruth? Was Pudge as good as Fisk?

We’ll be looking at extreme upsides in most cases. Remember, these guys are young. They could blossom or stall just as fast. Don’t take these too seriously. Just join me in dreaming about the stories we might be telling our grandkids about them.

In no particular order, other than alphabetical by city and grouped in divisions, here’s a look at players currently 25 years old or younger, and who they might compare with someday if all goes well.

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Have you ever wondered what goes through your girlfriend’s mind when she stops dead in her tracks, her eyes glaze over and she goes into a trance while looking at that ring in the window?

That’s what this is for men. Players like this only become freely available once a generation, and we too have paused and slipped into an alternative universe where this shiny jewel could be ours.

Well, at the risk of being the bearer of bad news, the parallels don’t stop there. There are only so many guys who can drop five grand just to make their girl smile, and only so many teams who can throw $300 million at a player.

In case you’re just back from a sabbatical in the Himalayas, Albert Pujols has reportedly cut off negotiations with the St. Louis Cardinals and plans to dip his toe into the murky waters of free agency.

While his legs dangle off the dock and you have visions of the fortunes of your team turning around by way of the hottest free agent signing in baseball history, I’ll have to ask you to snap out of it.

For you, the fans of the forthcoming 10 teams, it’s just not in the cards.

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Outside of the Seattle Mariners farm system, both of these players are virtually unknown.

Also, both have taken different routes prior to being put on the Mariners’ active roster list.

Ackley went the college route and played three years for the University of North Carolina.

Not to mention he finished runner-up to Stephen Strasburg for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award (nation’s top amateur baseball player).

As for Pineda, he bounced around through six different minor leagues from 2006 through 2010.

However, currently he ranks as the Mariners’ second best prospect.

The Seattle Mariners look to be on the rise, and 2011 has higher expectations.

Both players have a great amount of potential, but who will be the better Mariner?

There’s only one way to to stir up a discussion.

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Ken Griffey, Jr. has rejoined the Mariners as a special consultant. I don’t really know what a special consultant does, and there’s no telling if Shannon Drayer’s account tells the full story.

While Greg Johns of MLB.com reports that the role is “evolving,” you need not wait further. I just got the inside scoop.

First things first, and that’s player development. We’re talking about a first ballot Hall of Famer who is in the 600 home run club and also played solid defense. He has a ton of insight to offer.

However, the Mariners believe they have the talent on their young roster already. What they really want to do is build chemistry. As we know from ESPN experts, talent doesn’t matter in team sports. It’s all about how you get along with your teammates.

Junior is scheduled to be in Seattle six times in the upcoming season. While there, he’ll visit the clubhouse pregame, spin his hat around and tickle Ichiro. A good time will be had by all.

While the team trots out to the field with smiles on their faces, Junior will saw some logs in the clubhouse. Last one out, please hit the lights.

After a perfect game thrown by David Pauley against the Yankees, the team will rejoin “The Kid” for some postgame hijinks. Crank the hip-hop, bob your heads and let’s play pin the smile on Milton Bradley!

As Drayer notes, this isn’t all about player development.

Having his “Swingman” brand with Nike, along with numerous bobbleheads and t-shirts, Junior has experience in marketing. He’ll quickly get together with the Mariners marketing staff, that being people who actually hold degrees in the field, and put his personal spin on things.

On May 30, a day game matinee, we’ll have “Siesta at the Park Day.” Leave your Lunexor at home. Griffey won’t be on hand that day, so the non-chemistry-infused product on the field will be the only pill you need. First (only) 15,000 fans get a Junior Blankey.

Come July 1, Mariners fans will enjoy the first ever “Demand a Trade Night,” where you get to wander the ballpark and threaten ushers to upgrade you from your nose bleed seat to the Diamond Club, else you’ll move to San Diego next year and be a fan of the team we play that night, the hated rival Padres.

Last season, Griffey was featured with Ichiro in the first ever bobble head to feature two players. On a still-to-be-determined night this season, they’re going to top that with the first ever three person doll. Junior and Chone Figgins will be wielding bats at “Revenge on Don Wakamatsu Bobble Head Night,” with a ceramic version of the former manager between them.

That’s all I could dig up on Griffey promotions, but more are expected to be announced soon.

Then there’s the broadcasting that got mentioned in Drayer’s report. I couldn’t get hard proof on this, but I’m told Junior will spend some time in the booth with Dan Wilson and Jay Buhner. Other rumors include Junior swatting Rick Rizzs’ hairpiece off every time he starts a sentence with, “Say, fans…”

This is all secondhand information and speculation at this time, I’m afraid. It’s quite possible Junior will just have some ideas pop in his mind while playing golf and pass them on to actual decision makers. Perhaps give a few rah-rah speeches to minor leaguers who will be tweeting, “OMG Griffey just talked to us!”

Whatever the case, it’s good to have the franchise icon home again. Again.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In articles such as this, many websites give readers a list of the best overall prospects at a given position, but the intention here is to focus on those prospects who are most likely to provide a significant fantasy impact during the 2011 season; thus, a guy like Red Sox SS prospect Jose Iglesias—who is blocked at the big league level by Marco Scutaro and Jed Lowrie—is not on my list.

Here is my list of the five shortstop prospects who will likely have the most impact at the major league level in 2011:

1. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, MIN
2010 performance: .346, 11 HR, 59 RBI, 22 SB, 121 R (for the Chiba Lotte Marines, Nippon Professional Baseball)

Nishioka, 26, was the premier offensive player made available through Japan’s (outdated) posting system last year. The Twins bid $5.3 million for the right to negotiate with him, and then signed him to a three-year, $9 million contract. The switch-hitter is coming off a career-year. He won the NPB batting title with a .346 average, collecting 206 hits in 144 games (the highest hit total since OF Ichiro Suzuki in 1994).

With that said, his success in the United States is anything but assured. As Aaron Gleeman pointed out, he entered last season as a career .280 hitter (batting just .260 in ’09). His performance last year was fueled by a .395 BABIP, a number that is not sustainable over the long term…therefore, he is unlikely to repeat such a performance. “Yoshi” has averaged 28 stolen bases over his last seven seasons of play.

Nishioka will likely play both second base and shortstop for the Twins, though it is very possible he will eventually settle in at second base. Ultimately, the determining factor as to where he’ll end up over the long term is the performance of shortstop Alexi Casilla.

2. Zack Cozart, CIN
2010 performance: .255, 17 HR, 67 RBI, 30 SB, 91 R (at Triple-A Louisville)

There were pundits who felt Cozart might be able to break camp with the Reds in March, but that was before the front office signed free agent Edgar Renteria two weeks ago. So for now it looks like he will probably return to Louisville in an effort to improve on his 107-40 strikeout-to-walk ratio from last year.

But with Paul Janish (a career .226 hitter) and Renteria as the only impediments to his promotion to Cincinnati, it seems very likely he could make his Reds debut during the second half of the season.

Janish has a good glove, but he has registered a lowly .634 OPS over parts of three seasons with the Reds. Cozart has some power, plus he has excellent range, a good glove and a cannon for an arm. For these reasons, it’s plausible he could end up with the Reds anytime after July 1st. As with Grant Green, below, his prospects for a 2011 debut are intertwined with the team’s success.

3. Grant Green, OAK
2010 performance: .318, 20 HR, 87 RBI, 9 SB, 107 R (at Single-A Midland)

Green has drawn comparisons to Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki at the early stage of his professional career, but before fantasy fans get too excited they need to remember he put up last year’s gaudy numbers in the hitter-friendly California League.

The Athletics have SS Cliff Pennington (who hit .250 last year) and utilityman Adam Rosales (a career .241 hitter) ahead of Green on the depth chart, so the road to Oakland may not be lengthy. But, Green will have to improve on his 117-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio to force the door open at the big league level.

Still, the A’s are desperate for offense and could be tempted by Green’s power potential if they have fallen out of the division race in the second half of the season. My gut instinct is that he’ll be overmatched in The Show should he get promoted, so caveat emptor!

4. Nick Franklin, SEA
2010 performance: .283, 23 HR, 65 RBI, 25 SB, 92 R (combined stats at High-A and Double-A, primarily at High-A Clinton)

Franklin didn’t get a lot of respect as a prospect last winter. Baseball America listed him among the team’s Top 10 Prospects because of his defense, not his offense. But he was one of only three players to forge a 20-20 season in the minors last year, and he did for Clinton in the Midwest League.

He is not quite two years removed from being chosen in the first year player draft, but scouts are already saying that he looks like he will develop considerably more power than originally thought. He could reach the majors in 2011—if only because Josh Wilson is all that stands between him and The Show.

5. Andrew Cumberland, Padres
2010 performance: .350, 7 HR, 41 RBI, 21 SB, 68 R (combined stats at High-A and Double-A)

Cumberland doesn’t come with the hype of the other guys on this list, but he grabbed scouts’ attention by hitting .365 with 20 SBs for Class-A Lake Elsinore (but, once again, they’re stats that were accumulated in the heavy-hitting California League and are thus subject to scrutiny).

Considering the Padres do not have an answer at the position right now, it’s possible he will compete for a job on the Opening Day roster during spring training.

More likely, he’ll return to Double-A for additional seasoning, and if he has a solid first half he could be promoted to San Diego after the All-Star break.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

While the Mariners keep dumpster diving, we keep counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report.

Here’s a look at what happened with the team this week and in the blogosphere, such as the M’s signing OF Gabe Gross to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training and the effects Safeco Field has on certain types of players.

Read about how awesome Nick Franklin might be on and off the field.

Milton Bradley’s court hearing has been pushed back. Sorry folks, but we’re stuck with him and his contract.

Felix Hernandez‘s big brother has signed with the Mariners. Unfortunately, looking like Felix is all they have in common.

Speaking of King Felix, his Twitter account is finally verified. Trying to match the timing of his tweets to when he’d realistically be available to do so was getting frustrating. He tweets in Spanish often, which gives you a chance to use Google’s translator.

MLB.com beat writer Greg Johns digs up some answers on the progress of a Dave Niehaus statue. You’ll have to dig through the silly questions to hear about it, though.

Vladimir Guerrero’s nephew, Gabriel, signed (video included) as an international free agent. He’s 17 years old, and is described as having raw power with a strong arm and projects as a corner outfielder. He gets a $400,000 bonus.

RHP Manny Delcarmen was signed to a minor league deal, but he has a problem. Add him to the heap of players the Mariners now have extended invites to spring training to.

There will be a whopping 33 pitchers in camp. Let’s hope 12 of them don’t suck.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Seattle Mariners recently signed Moises Hernandez to a minor league contract. Not a huge deal, right? Well, he’s the brother of reigning AL Cy Young Felix Hernandez.

I’ll get into more specifics on that later in the next slide.

I started to think, though. How many other brother combinations have there been, and often did the shared genes translated to shared talent? The best duo was Lloyd and Paul Waner, who are both hall of famers.

After that, there were some combos who both played in the major leagues, but it became apparent that sharing the same parents is about all most of these guys had in common.

This list will be solely for brothers who had large disparities in baseball talent. For a related piece, check out Asher Chancey‘s top 50 list that looks at all sports and relatives.

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