Prospect Insider

27 days

By Jason A. Churchill

By 01-17-2011

There are 27 days between now and the day pitchers and catchers report for spring training on February 13 -- the rest of the squad will report no later than February 18 with the first full-squad workout slated for the day after.

The M's first spring game is the annual charity game versus the San Diego on the 27th with their first Cactus League matchup the following day against the same Padres.

Minor leaguers won't report until the second week of March, though these dates are more of a deadline than the day most players show up for camp.

In any case, we'll be here daily to round up the thoughts and ideas as the club heads closer to the 2011 season, lending you all anything you might need to get yourself ready.

Previewing the M's
We'll have our own previews in February and March but The News Tribune's Larry LaRue started scouting the Mariners, so to speak, first on 3B Chone Figgins, then on LHP Jason Vargas here, CF Franklin Gutierrez here, as well as RHP Brandon League, 24-year-old OF Michael Saunders, and RHP Doug Fister. They aren't so much scouting reports as we know it here at Prospect Insider, but more a mini bio with a 2011 outlook prefaced with a glance back at 2010.

At Mariners.com, Greg Johns tackles the 10 Burning Questions surrounding the 2011 club. Pretty general take on things, but a good wrap-up at this stage of the offseason.

One fewer reliever
Right-hander Anthony Varvaro, who was designated for assignment January 3 when the M's made the Miguel Olivo signing official, was claimed by the Atlanta Braves last week, as first reported by David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

If Varvaro, 26, were to make the Braves' 25-man roster out of spring training he would be one of three former Mariners in their bullpen, joining lefties George Sherrill and Eric O'Flaherty. O'Flaherty was claimed in similar fashion after the 2008 season.

Varvaro has good raw stuff, but his control and command both need work. He's capable of touching 95 mph with his fastball, and his curve and change flash as big-league offerings, however inconsistent they typically appear. The Mariners basically chose to risk losing Varvaro over Edward Paredes, Josh Wilson, Mike Carp or any of the newly-acquired fringe members of the 40-man roster.

Spring Training Fever: Get Infected
If you have never been down to spring training in Arizona, you're missing out, and I highly recommend making arrangements to do so. There's a buzz in the air that rings of hope and excitement, and the atmosphere is like no other; it's relaxed.

Those that enjoy checking out the kids can get a fresh look from a rather wide open perspective, as the minor league field are not gated, you don't need tickets to watch them play, work out, take BP, etc.

Here are a few other things you should know about Staying near Peoria:

1. Staying right near the complex is ideal if you wish to avoid renting a car or taking a taxi to the ballpark during your stay. But I avoid staying that area because it gets booked up in December and I never know what exact dates make the most sense for me until February. So I cab it or rent a car.

2. Check the spring game schedule before you plan. I can't tell you how many times people have told me they went down for the weekend and the M's didn't play at home the entire three days they were there. It's rare, but it happens on occasion.

3. Realize that games listed as "@ San Diego" are games at the Peoria Sports Complex as the M's and Padres share the field. Surprise ballpark, where the Royals and Rangers train, is just a few miles down the road, so plan on checking that stadium out, too, even if the M's don't play there while you are in town. Pretty nice facility.

4. It won't be hot, so bring spring clothes. If this were the Arizona Fall League I would suggest no such thing, but in March the weather is very much like early summer in Seattle. It rarely gets into the 90s until late in the month, if at all.

5. If you're there and see me or Chris Crawford, feel free to come say hello.

Now, go set up your trip.

27-days

Comments
The following 10 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: jgstecker on 01-17-2011 11:11:06
Re: Tip #3

You can often find much better seat availability for the @SD games. The Padres fans don't travel in nearly the numbers that the Mariners fans do, so these tickets tend to get overlooked. A couple of years ago I found front row dugout seats at a San Diego home game while most of the surrounding @SEA games had sold most of the best seats.

Along the same note, try to avoid planning around Cubs games in Peoria. Cubs fans tend to swarm to those games and getting good tickets can be tough.

2. By: Jason A. Churchill on 01-17-2011 13:27:28
I'd recommend avoiding Scottsdale and Mesa, too. Not a lot to see, really. Just follow the players, otherwise.

On the days tickets sell out, spend the morning and early afternoon watching the prospects!

3. By: Chris Crawford on 01-17-2011 16:52:11
Tip 4: If you see me, I love hot dogs and beer.

4. By: safecochatter on 01-17-2011 21:02:22
be there 24th thru 30th of march with my 15 yr old son.
went the rental car route cuz close by motels were double.
i usually drink lite beer,but if someone else is buying....

5. By: marinermutt on 01-17-2011 21:47:27
Nothing like spring training for a baseball fan. Love coming down and going over to the M's complex. Don't normally go to the spring training games, but go watch the minor league teams. There can be 3 games going on all at once. Great way to look at the prospects.

Also fun to go watch both the majors and minors practice. Can get pretty close to the major league players and you can walk side by side with minor league players as the head down to their fields.

Also, In-N-Out is less than a half mile away. For us who live in Seattle, the trip down for that alone is almost worth it.

6. By: cdiggins@whidbey.com on 01-17-2011 22:07:49
The M's have not had a decent DH for years now and I don't think it was Jack Z's fault. I think the suits made him bring on Griffey both years and Jack would not have done that on his own especially last year. He is too smart for that. He knows he can't win without someone in the middle of the order to drive in runs, and with Cust he must have added a number of wins. ( I do not know enough to statistically figure that out).

And Saunders had 10 HR's in 298 AB's and that comes out to 20 for 600 AB's. What if he does? And he had 8 outfield assists in just 89 games (most on the team). So with just these two additions- Cust and Saunders for full year they should be maybe a 70 win team.

And with Gutierrez not needing to be HR hitter, he should return to his strengths.

Here is hoping that things improve this year. Finally a DH who can hit.

7. By: Jason A. Churchill on 01-17-2011 23:08:55
Anyone who finds me down there and says they read Prospect Insider, beer is on me that night!

8. By: mauricewilliamsiii on 01-18-2011 00:03:39
I'll be there March 12-27 so if I see you Chris I'll keep tip #4 in mind.

Jason with the relatively low payouts for Ryan and Olivo this season and the non guaranteed nature of the Paperboy, Kennedy and Bard contracts do you get the sense the team might have a mil or two left for the right player in trade or free agency?

And there is no way I'd let you pay for my beer Jason so you can forget that right now.

Where is a good place to see photos of you guys by the way?

One last thing I know a lot of people see Cust as lacking the pull power to really benefit from Safeco but looking at hittracker I see a lot of warning track outs to straight away right in Oakland that should be homers in Safeco. I could see Cust approaching the 30+ homers he hit a few years ago. Do you agree?

9. By: Jason A. Churchill on 01-18-2011 00:09:27
I think the M's would make room payroll wise for just about any salary if it made sense.

10. By: Edman on 01-18-2011 01:30:22
#6, where do I start?

First, the whole Griffey this is pointless. Just who was Jack going to sign that would be much better than Griffey's first year back? It wasn't like he was paid $10 million a season to be in Seattle. And, while I don't think there were too many anticipating that Griffey would be better than he was in 2009, nobody expected him or the team to be as bad as it was. Who cares if the M's FO wanted Griffey, 2009 he earned his money, 2010, he didn't, along with several teammates? Just who was Jack going to go get that would have made everything all better, for the same amount of money?

The whole Saunders prognostication thing is no indication of anything. If he never gets another homerun for an additional 300 ABs, those projections are meaningless. It shows there may be hope, but it's not any form of justification. He has a minor league career that indicates that he has some power, but not 20 HR a year power in the major leagues.

Some may want to believe that it wasn't Jack's decision to bring back Griffey in 2009, but I don't. If so, why did he wait so long to make the decision? Wouldn't it have been better to make the decision early in the offseason, when the could sell more ticket plans? It's more likely that Jack couldn't find a better option for the money he had to spend. There's no secret agenda. And, what about Griffey's 2009 performance indicated that he wasn't a good option. He generated fan interest, he had the image of being a team leader on a young team, etc. Again, just who was available for the money he got paid, who could have made a big difference.

It was a horrible season when everything went wrong. They happen. For as long as I've been watching the game, teams that are suppose to win, don't sometimes. And, like the Giants last year and the M's in 2009, sometimes teams that aren't suppose to win, do much better.

There is nothing mystic about it, it's just baseball.

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