04/19/24
November 19, 2003
"In what might be regarded as baseball's first significant signing of the offseason, the Mariners are thought to have reached agreement with free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez," says the Seattle Times.: While the M's can use a left-handed bat, the fine folks at USS Mariner argue that $13 million over three years is a joke. That seems correct given what Gammons calls a "recession mentality" in baseball, and that Ibanez is arguably not even an upgrade over Randy Winn, who already patrols left field. A little more inside
I would argue the resigning of Mike Timlin by the Red Sox was a more significant move than the M's picking Ibanez. The Seattle Times is simply applying an old journalistic standard — an elephant crapping is not news ... unless it does it in your living room.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:20 AM on November 19, 2003
Listen - screw Cameron, the guy has been really quite bad the last couple years. The M's next move should be to sign the little Godzilla, Kazuo Matsui. Supposedly he wants to play for the M's.
posted by vito90 at 11:57 AM on November 19, 2003
Agreed on Kaz Matsui -- I saw him play while I was in Japan, and he is legit. The Mariners should go get him.
But geez, "screw Cameron?" Even if you don't consider his (fabulous) defense, he's among the most underrated players in baseball. Compare Cameron's numbers to, say, Ichiro's, and it's tough to argue that one is a star and the other isn't.
BTW: ESPN is now reporting the Ibanez deal is official.
posted by jeffmshaw at 12:56 PM on November 19, 2003
My take: the good news is that the Mariners can use Ibanez, especially if this move indicates a willingness to open the checkbook and make more moves (i.e., re-sign Mike Cameron or go after another solid outfielder). Ibanez provides insurance against Edgar Martinez going down with an injury, and could be a valuable OF/1B/DH type that could easily get 450 at bats even if he doesn't have a solid starting position.
The bad news is, this is too much money to pay him. I don't think anybody else was going to throw down this kind of coin for a player of his caliber on the wrong side of 30 who has had his best years in a great park for hitters.