Only three back, the bigger bats haven't really heated up yet, but I'm sure the Jay brass expects them to. The Jays are fueled these days in large part by...wait for it....Michael Saunders (.913 OPS), Justin Smoak (.836 with an OBP north of .400), even Ezquel Carrera is pitching in at .870, mostly playing caddie to Saunders and his occasional tweaks and twists. 

Pitching ERA+ is at 121, lead by JA Happ's 5-0 and 2.05. Someone remind me what we ended up with when parting with him and Michael.

Russell Martin is doing a Zunino impression with a 15 OPS+. Tulo is at 72.  

When the ex-M's fade, and get hamstrung, I have a feeling the big boys will take over.

Spare me Papelbon. Hmmm...Reddick, Chapman (PR problems there or are the M's truly pushing beyond the soccer mom market?) Rent an Orc? I do like Reddick. 

Although I will admit he is effective throwing shade at any and all things management-related, including ownership,  the Ms way.

Well, in terms of finding things to dispute with the honorable proprietor of this fine site, we might as well throw Hillary Clinton's name out there.

But let's deal with Baker.  

I'll start with a couple positives!  Rememer the feature he did several years ago about the 'Ichiro museum' (run by the player's father) in Japan?  Excellent.  The man can write a feature.  And he has to be given credit for actually picking up the phone and calling people for info, as opposed to most 'journalists' these days who earn their livings simply repeating what other people have reported, or analyzing those same things.  

But Baker is, in the end, the most dangerous type of reporter.  One who selects only those facts or opinions which fit his own pre-determined narrative...and turns opinions into facts.  (I don't know--maybe Howard Lincoln once forbade his daughter from dating Geoffy?  Who knows?)

In any case, this article is simply a regurgitation of Geoff's Greatest Shibboleths.

--"Paroll matters"--at last!  The foundation of Baker's worldview is that money, in the end, is what really matters, and the Mariners won't spend it.  And conclusively, the more you spend, the better you get.  So lets look at that two ways.  First, the M's are currently listed as #12 in total payroll at $145m.  I guess you could say that being in the upper half still qualifies as cheap, but I don't.  And Baker's second belief on this is perpetually disproved.  Every year, there is little or no correlation between spending and playoff appearances.  Last year payroll #14 won the Series, and payroll #13 lost 14 more games than it won.  But let's get current: the top five payrolls in baseball this year are collectively 4 games UNDER .500.  Don't you think an 'investigative' reporter would point that out?

--The trade deadline.  Ah, here's what he's left with.  Cheapness really comes into play at the deadline, since that's what Lou complained about a couple decades ago.  He does concede that in the last couple years they went out and acquired Morales and Jackson.  But that really doesn't count, because if they were serious, they'd be getting the Tulos and Prices (his examples) of the world.  No matter that Price currently sports a 6.74 ERA (yes, he's pitched better than that) and Tulo is hitting .178 (apparently justified).  But more aggravating is the idea that these kinds of deals require just money.  Does he not understand--or choose to ignore--the fact that players also move the other direction?  Tulo cost the Jays the lottery ticket that is Jose Reyes (probably no big loss, but still...) and what is now the Rockies #2 prospect.  Price cost the Tigers the guy Baseball Prospectus now lists as the entire organization's #1 player under age 25...and another pitcher throwing at 96mph, and striking out 10+ in the minors.

--'Signing your own players'.  Too bad we let Felix and Kyle get away.

--Nintendo as bully.  The overall implication to the piece is that now that the restructure has taken place, the real 'baseball guys' will have a final say.  Which suggests that somehow the minority owners were in disagreement previously with key financial decisions (like payroll or acquisitions).  That's a pretty damning statement.  Doesn't it seen to warrant at least one example--even via anonymous source?  John Stanton has been clear that he voted against the sale of the Sonics as a minority owner.  Why would he have remained silent in a similar role with the M's?  

--Lincoln as puppet. He "used to have to run every decision by the Japanese representatives of Redmond-based Nintendo of America'.  If I understand correctly, there is a board of directors that runs NOA, and has only two members--one of which is Lincoln.  There was no one else to answer to once the controlling interest was transferred to NOA.

--Money grubbing. Accordingt to our Jimmy Olsen (anyone get that?), Nintendo held off selling just because it wanted to see its investment soar.  Well, two things here.  First, according to Geoff's own breathless filings from divorce court, the second largest owner, Larson, has been in no position to pony up more cash.  And Stanton remains a smaller investor than Larson.  So there's no evidence that there was ever enough money previously available among the current group to pull off this deal.  But of course, that didn't ever preclude the second option--putting the team up to open bid.  Nintendo would have made more.  And we'd see another franchise leave town.

--Geoff's beloved arena.  Look, I was a great Sonics fan, and thought the Payton/Kemp/Schrempf/McMillan group was one of the most entertaining sports teams I've ever watched.  I would love to see thse days come back.  But to lamely cite 'a vocal segment' as feeling the M's 'played a significant role in the city council thwarting' the proposed deal borders on slander.  Does anyone really believe that even a single one of the 'no' votes would even take a phone call from the Mariners?  To put this empty assertion at the very top of his piece demonstrates the travesty that this article is.  

--Mariner 'freebies'.  The team didn't build the stadium, the public facilities district did.  And if the value of Safeco is in any way tied up in the valuation of the team (since they don't own it), I'd think tht an investigative reporter could find that out.  

Without argument, the Mariners have lost a lot of ballgames, and certainly inserted foot-in-mouth on several ocasions.  But if Baker is right that this is now about 'repairing PR damage', they might be best served by working to have the Seattle Times send Baker to the Akron Beacon Joural for a Hack to be Named Later.  

In the past, when Baker was Times beat reporter for Ms, I would engage with him on their blog.  If he disagreed with something I wrote, seemingly out of nowhere, he would become rude and insulting.   Not only did he disagree but I was wrong and apparently too stupid to understand his point of view.  One time Thiel responded similarly and I called him on it as I did with Baker.  Baker basically said to get lost.  Thiel on the other hand apologized immediately,  realizing it is not an insult to disagree politely.  The comparison of Baker to Trump is prescient. 

Then resigned him in the offseason, smh...

We got Adrian Sampson from the pirates for Happ, and then he became a free agent.