Q.  Was the Scutaro rumor okay by SSI?

A.  But of course, m'sieur.

I think Geoffy is being held to quite a double standard in the blog-o-sphere.  :- )

If Prospect Insider, or USSM, or somebody, had alerted their readers "What I'm hearing is that he Mariners are one of four teams talking most seriously to Marco Scutaro's agent,"

.... and that "The M's are most interested in him for third base," .... then their comments would have been filled to brimming with attaboy!'s.

If any of the blogs had followed up a few hours later with, "Hey, the source in Venezuela had a couple of facts mixed up and maybe we read him wrong, so here's the best info we have right now," their fans would have been nothing but sympathetic.

..............

Baker gave us information -- not conjecture -- that 4-plus teams are the most serious about Scutaro, going into December.   He followed up by giving us Scutaro's remarks, via Cardenas, that the Sox and Dodgers wanted Scutaro for middle infield and that the others wanted him for 3B.

This was interesting.  It's what Hot Stove is about.   If the Mariners are interested in Curtis Granderson but not in Carl Crawford, I'd very much like to know that.  What's the problem-O, amig-O's?

Baker is giving us more "hard" information than all the blogs combined, and he's making it crystal clear what he's relaying, vs. what he is surmising.

I'm on two sites daily:  Baker's and SSI.  ;- )  Next is Mariner Central, several times a week.  After that is Prospect Insider, about twice a week.  Somewhere in there are the big national news/rumors sites, with preference to RotoTimes.  A few others.

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Q.  What do you make of Zduriencik's interest in Scutaro for 3B, if accurate?

A.  Well, of course he's into proliferating his options to the max.  As a Game Theory guy this puts a Cheshire Cat smile on jemanji's face.

Some people like having lots of options, but some people pay the price to obtain lots of options. 

Such as (but not limited to) the price of committing to a Stars & Scrubs roster strategy, to enable the fluid bottom-of-roster options.  Such as creating a Beane-style glut of ML-worthy players at one position.

Having hung around a few globetrotting chess celebs in his day, Jemanji knows a chess master when he sees one.  In terms of the complexity,  agility, and no-apologies sharpness with which Zduriencik works, he is right at the top of the GM list.

.............

He also is too skeptical of ML-ready blue chippers, IMHO.  That has its plusses, though.   The blue-chippers will push through like weeds one day.

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Q.  Are these kinds of rumors worth ANYthing at this point in the offseason?

A.  They're not in the box hammering on each other yet, but so what?  By this time two years ago, we'd all have been informed that we shouldn't expect anything out of the club.

We'd have been told that the Mariners, due to their attendance (not losses!) were not players for Lackey, were not players for any impact players, that they'd try to exploit any and all options that would make the team better but they have to wait for the big free agents to sign somewhere (else).

Instead, we hear YEP!  The M's are in on this guy! and often hear it from New York.

Right now Baker is the local Rosenthal.   Take the seismo's for what they're worth and enjoy the hot stove.

That's free advice,

Dr D