A supremely interesting article that runs in ironic contrast to the general theme across ESPN.com.

I happen to wonder if the Seattle-based Caple doesn’t still harbor some love for A-Rod from the shortstop’s now-charmed days in the city of the Mariners.

At the same time Caple puts a lot of this in perspective. We’re really angry about the steroids, legitimately, but then use a number of other very personal items (some of them awful decisions, some of them not at all) to degrade his entire character. Maybe it’s even true, but no person deserves that kind of treatment in the media, particularly not the apparent psychological evaluation Selena Roberts offers.

As I write, I’m obsessively following the Mariners-Angels game on ESPN GameCast. Welcome to the life of a Seattle fan abroad (this makes the dearth of nationally televised Seahawks games hurt hard).

I wonder if I’m caught up in the same frenzy as most other Mariners fans or observers. I’ve found it laughable how quickly attitudes about the Mariners have shifted. Somehow Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times and the crew of columnists there have suddenly found the bell of hope, conveniently timed after a nice road win streak. These same men just two weeks ago termed the Mariners a “rebuilding” club and many other similar epithets. So when they write about the M’s defying early expectations, remember that these guys, expert journalists without any apparent willingness to take a risk, had those same low expectations.

You see, I wish I had made time to write my predictions for this season on the blog. I’m not at all surprised by the Mariners’ start, though apparently these guys are pretty willing to change their tunes eight games into the season. I’m not surprised that the Mariners are winning, and I’m not surprised that there are still major problems (like the lack of an offense impressive beyond its timeliness). Above all, I would have written that the Mariners will be fun to watch. They won’t stand for mediocrity – anyone, even Griffey, will lose playing time or lineup status with poor performance. They have two many young, hungry players to let that happen, and they have leadership that now understands this.

So here’s my state of mind, and my suggestion for you: don’t be surprised, but don’t be overwhelmed, either. Just enjoy the ride and continue to love baseball!

So Adrian Beltre, who struggled with injuries last season, might play in the World Baseball Classic. The word “defy” used by ESPN.com is a little strong.

I’m with Beltre, no matter what. As a fan, I want one of my best players to care, to have pride in winning. That’s why it’s fine if he plays for the Dominican Republic in the WBC. We can only hope he’ll bring the same passion, and inclusive leadership, to the Mariners clubhouse.

Just writing about baseball makes me excited, so let’s hope that the GMZ and Wakamatsu don’t start off the season on a negative tone here. If Beltre gets injured, hindsight will be 20-20. I don’t remember any significant injuries from the last WBC, though.

Almost all dissension from Mariner fans went away once the team signed Ken Griffey, Jr. Maybe it was the rumors that he’d chosen Atlanta that came right before his homecoming decision.

Leadership – I don’t think this is wishful thinking. First, Junior chose the Mariners. That matters. Too many M’s played last season like athletes condemned to 162 games. Second, Junior has been a leader with this franchise before – almost 10 years ago – and will immediately command respect as the team’s elder statesman. Griffey bridges two decades of Mariner history.

Emotional Impact – Wednesday’s news affected the landscape of Seattle-rooted Facebook statuses across the country, and probably across the world. The Seattle Times featured a startling array of links that must have required work from all their remaining staff members. Junior’s first at-bat at SAFECO during the regular season could cause a 15-minute standing ovation. Imagine his first home run. Imagine his first walk-off home run (it’ll happen). Imagine the hyperbolic heights I’ll reach then…No, it’s not just about economics. Griffey will stir the M’s fan base to a rabid pitch and increase excitement in a ballclub that needs to win back its fans. Last year they didn’t play baseball the right way. Junior has always played baseball the right way, from his leadership, to his effort, to his joy, to his production when healthy, to his humor. With success, he will inspire fans and stir passion for good baseball’s return to Seattle.

Production – I list production third, whereas for almost any other player, it would be first. Because I list it third, it’s easy to devalue Griffey’s on-field production. Every Mariner fan hopes for Griffey to continue his recent trend of odd-year production. In 2005 he hit .301 with 35 homers and 92 RBIs. in 2007 he hit .277 and put up 93 RBIs on 30 homers. That was just two seasons ago. At SAFECO, 25 homers is a more realistic number. Especially for an M’s fan, it’s easy to devalue Griffey’s entire time in Cincinnati (and Chicago) as a complete waste. That would be foolish, because Griffey showed in Cincinnati that when healthy, he can provide numbers worthy of a corner outfielder/dh/#5 or 6 hitter in the lineup.

The major drawback: As mentioned before, Griffey doesn’t fit with the whole “everything is up for grabs” idea promulgated by the GMZ and Don Wakamatsu. He’s uncuttable under any circumstances and he’s probably unbenchable as well. Let’s just stay optimistic over spring training, though.

As usual, Egan is spot-on. A particularly astute comparison of A-Rod and Michael Phelps, though the whole column centers on the issue of “young and stupid,” an excuse that expires at an unspecified age.

Also, the Mariners appear close to signing Ken Griffey, Jr. I wrote awhile ago here that it would be a good idea, but given the Mariners’ current trend toward spring training competition, why would they sign a completely uncuttable player like Griffey who might not be good enough to make the team?

Kudos to A-Rod for admitting his steroid use immediately. He’s automatically a more sympathetic public figure than Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens.

Speaking of sympathy, that’s what I feel. Maybe it’s a romantic strain of Seattle sports fans, as a friend suggested earlier today, but I still have some soft spot for A-Rod. It’s more pity than anything, though. His marriage fell apart, he has a maddening inability to perform in the playoffs despite his historic numbers, and he didn’t even know which steroids he took in 2001-2003. Also, how could he have felt pressure to perform in Texas????

Here are some thoughts from Jayson Stark: A-Rod has destroyed game’s history.

Baseball will retain fans, though. Somehow we’ll stick around, perhaps because we really don’t care about the statistics or the individual players as much as these articles would have you think. We care about excellent matchups, heated playoff races, and exceptional performances from everyday players. We care about the moments in every game that we’ve never seen before. We care about the magic of a young prospect and the heroics of an old veteran. Of course we care about the great players and their records, that’s undeniable, but ultimately we care more about the game and its history.

That’s why baseball will endure, this season and the next.

Over the last day, I’ve re-thought my A-Rod reaction. I stand by the Hall of Fame notes, but I do recognize the moment as fairly monumental. Maybe it will crystallize once the season starts, very soon.

This Denver Post article contrasts A-Rod with Ken Griffey Jr. in a comparison sure to win many fans from the Seattle area. Griffey received a double-digit standing ovation in his return to SAFECO Field, while A-Rod got booed and showered with Monopoly Money.

Today’s big news: Alex Rodriguez may have tested positive for steroids in 2003, when they weren’t yet a punishable offense.

Not actually a big deal – first, it’s just a report, and second, using steroids carried no real penalty, so how taboo were they? Also, A-Rod may have unknowingly used steroids. Despite Barry Bonds’ less-than-robust defense of such a position, it really is possible.

Anyway, the bigger deal: 15 percent of voters on ESPN.com (scroll down) wouldn’t have considered A-Rod a Hall of Famer before this news report. So far, that’s almost 1,000 people. 1,000 sports fans, I assume.

Look, maybe you’re subconsciously biased by this positive test, or by all the negative press about A-Rod that claims he isn’t a winner. A-Rod hasn’t won a title and he has been awful in several postseasons, but he hasn’t been a loser. He also has some of the greatest statistics of all-time, even in the now post-steroid era (one assumes).

He has over 500 home runs and a career average of .302. He has 1600 RBIs, 1600 runs scored, and a career OPS of almost .1000. He has three MVPs.

OK – a 2003 positive steroid test would take away one of those MVP awards, but otherwise, it’s absolutely indefensible to say A-Rod isn’t a Hall of Famer. People can be real stupid when they take moral stands, or when they say “I knew all along and that’s why I wouldn’t vote for him.” That’s why, fortunately, very few sports fans get to vote for the Hall of Fame (but some curmudgeonly, soap-boxing sportswriters do).

I thought Joe Torre was above stirring classless controversy. Maybe he is, but his publisher Doubleday isn’t. Regardless, let’s try to put Torre’s claims in perspective.

What does it really mean for A-Rod to be A-Fraud? It means he wasn’t himself and that he tried to copy Derek Jeter. Somehow we’re expected to blame this for the Yankees’ losing ways? Even when A-Rod, despite obvious playoff foibles, has produced numbers that could leave him as the greatest ever when he retires? He hasn’t slowed down with the Yankees.

So, yes, maybe A-Rod isn’t the greatest person in the world, and that probably has significant impact on the Yankees’ clubhouse culture. But Torre will not benefit from calling out one of his former players. It ultimately has to be, as the article states, an overarching issue with management.

As we all know, the Yankee model hasn’t worked for a decade (if you define “work” as winning a World Series), so Torre’s claims aren’t really that new.

Slow down. Take a breath. Get ready for spring training and prepare to put an artificial news cycle behind us.

You can read Part 1 here. In it I established “my” starting rotation.

Now it’s time to move to the bullpen. As with closers, almost all relievers experience drastic swings in their effectiveness. Few relievers remain a solid middle reliever for 15 consecutive years, unless they’re a situational lefty like the eternal Mike Myers.

From the Mariners’ roster, I gather these guys as bullpen candidates:
Randy Messenger
Roy Corcoran
Cesar Jimenez
Miguel Batista
Mark Lowe
Aaron Heilman
David Aardsma (acquired today from the Red Sox for a minor leaguer)
Ryan Feirabend
Tyler Walker

Too many. Now you’ll understand why R.A. Dickey had to go. No-brainers for roster spots include Heilman, Jimenez (one of two lefties in the group), Corcoran, Batista (who finished in the top 10 in the AL in both walks and losses last season), and Lowe.

I think Ryan Feirabend deserves a shot as the second lefthander, though Ryan Rowland-Smith, if he gets left out of the rotation (read Part 1 for why this shouldn’t happen), will make the pen. Feirabend needs a chance to develop in the major leagues, but he’s not ready for the starting rotation. From the bullpen he can learn major league hitters and become a major league pitcher. If not, then at least he’s been given a chance.

To the righthanded trio of Batista, Lowe, and Heilman, let’s add Aardsma and Walker, two guys with significant big league experience that the M’s traded for. Aardsma, with about a 1:1 strikeout/inning ratio in 2008, appears a solid candidate for the closer’s role. However, he also walked 35 in 48 2/3 innings. Way too many baserunners for a closer. Neither Jack Zduriencik, the GMZ, or M’s manager Don Wakamatsu has made any indication toward their choice for closer, meaning it almost certainly won’t be decided until the end of spring training. Aardsma and Heilman are the strongest of a weak closer’s field. Unlike the Mets, J.J. Putz’s new team, the Mariners have too few closer candidates, not too many. With the team unlikely to contend for the playoffs, the closer position shouldn’t be a major concern in the short-term.

You’ll note that we have eight pitchers in the bullpen. This won’t happen. Wakamatsu and the GMZ will have to make a difficult decision about one major-league ready pitcher, especially considering the six-man glut in the rotation. In a perfect world they would package Washburn with Lowe, who has electric stuff but hasn’t shown much ability as a pitcher in the mental sense of the position, for a prospect or two.