Prospect Insider

23 days

By Chris Crawford

By 01-21-2011

There are 23 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.

Position Change
Something we haven't talked much about -- partially because it was fairly obvious -- was the announcement that Chone Figgins is in fact moving to third base. It's been mentioned a time or twenty that the move certainly improves Seattle at second, but just how good will Figgins be at third?

Well, if he's able to duplicate 2008 or 2009, really good. Those two seasons, Figgins had a combined UZR of 27.2, including an unreal 16.6 in 2009. The two seasons before that, however, Figgins UZR at the position was -9.6. The sample size is a lot smaller, but it still gives you an idea that consistency isn't a large part of Chone Figgins game. How good Figgins is defensively will go a long way towards re-establishing his trade value, and/or whether or not he can be counted on to help win when the time comes year(s) later.

The blogosphere speaks
Geoff Baker has a piece up discussing whether or not Milton Bradley should take some time off from baseball. Jon Shields from ProBallNW checks in on the outfield prospects. Dave Cameron over at U.S.S. Mariner (please insert link) talks about the precedents that have been set in handling cases like Bradley and Josh Lueke. And Larry Stone has a look at 10 'exhibition games" that are worth paying attention to. These are all very well written and reasons to be thankful to be a Mariner fan.

When in doubt, In N Out
There's nothing fancy about it, there's nothing healthy about it, and you won't see them written up in Zagats -- but if you are in Peoria, you have to stop by In N Out. They are the best burgers in the world. If you want an extra special treat, ask for a double-double animal style. You will not be disappointed. I will have some more fun places to eat -- because I'm fat and I love food -- but I had to start with the best. In N out, for the win.

day-23

Comments
The following 3 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: SolusFood on 01-21-2011 13:16:37

Don't you mean "Animal Style"? I have never heard of Clown Style at In N Out

2. By: Chris Crawford on 01-21-2011 13:34:53
You're absolutely right. Not sure where I got clown from. Animal style.

3. By: maqman on 01-21-2011 13:45:07
Animal style has always been one of my favorites.

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