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2014 Seattle Mariner Roster is set

Mariners make moves to set their final 25-man roster

By Shannon Drayer
PEORIA, Ariz. – A ton of stuff came our way in the last hour so we will just get straight to it. For starters, the Mariners have a 25-roster. To be more accurate, they have 28 on the roster after cuts Friday morning but three who are on that list – Taijuan Walker, Hisashi Iwakuma and Stephen Pryor – are heading to the disabled list. So the final 25-man roster would appear to be:
Starters Felix Hernandez
Erasmo Ramirez
James Paxton
Roenis Elias
Chris Young
Catchers Mike Zunino
John Buck
Infielders Justin Smoak
Robinson Cano
Brad Miller
Kyle Seager
Willie Bloomquist
Logan Morrison
Outfielders Dustin Ackley
Abraham Almonte
Corey Hart
Stefen Romero
Michael Saunders
Relievers Fernando Rodney
Danny Farquhar
Charlie Furbush
Tom Wilhelmsen
Yoervis Medina
Joe Beimel
Hector Noesi
Nick Franklin, Blake Beavan, Lucas Luetge, Endy Chavez and a number of others were told that they had not made the club. Obviously this was tough news for Franklin, who did not have a bad spring by any means. Brad Miller just had a better one.
"Both played extremely well but Brad separated himself," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "I would be a fool if I told you he didn't. We all saw it. He separated himself and played extremely well. He deserves the opportunity and he is getting it. Nick didn't lose the job, it is more of Brad winning the job."
Franklin will go to Triple-A, where he will play shortstop. McClendon said there was the possibility he could play some outfield, too.
The Franklin conversation was no doubt difficult to have. No manager enjoys sending a player down. They do enjoy, however, granting a player his big-league dream. McClendon got to do that with Roenis Elias, who was overjoyed to get the news that he made it to the big leagues.
"He was very happy. I don't understand everything that he said because most of it was Spanish, but I think in the end he tried to kiss me," McClendon said with a chuckle. "I figured he was happy at that point."
There are some who have expressed concern that Elias is jumping from Double-A to the big leagues and have pointed to what happened with Brandon Maurer, who made the same jump last year. In my opinion, both pitchers are talented, but have two different mentalities. While you never know what is going to happen until they get into a big-league game, Elias appears more ready in that aspect than Maurer did a year ago.
"Look, getting here was a major accomplishment," McClendon said, "and really I thought this was really important. You talk about the lights coming on, I don't think there is anything that is really going to phase this young man because he came off a boat where he was fighting for his life to get here. I think he is going to be just fine and I think he has got a bright future ahead of him."
One last note on the final 25-man roster: the pitching order listed above is the pitching order they will start the season with. Yes, they have lefties going back to back but it will be against different clubs the first two times through the rotation. They will most likely make an adjustment down the road.

Seattle Mariners April will tell the story Art Thiel Sportspress NW

For the Mariners, April is the telltale month

History says if the Seattle Mariners finish March/April with a losing record, they are pretty much doomed to finish the season with a losing record.

Dustin Ackley has had a strong spring training and needs to carry that into the regular season. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest

When the Mariners wound up 2013 spring training with a 22-11 record and a Cactus League-record 58 home runs, hopes ran high among local hardball fans that the positive momentum would sustain into the regular season. It didn’t, of course. The Mariners went 12-17 in April en route to a final mark of 71-91, their sixth season in a decade with 90-plus losses.

The Mariners are finishing another strong spring (17-11-3) in terms of record, but the larger point is that they have not had a winning month of April since 2009, when they went 13-9 and finished with a record of 85-77.
The importance of a quality start in April cannot be emphasized enough, the Mariners serving as nearly perfect example of what happens to teams, especially in the AL West, that get off to sluggish starts.
Since 1994, when baseball sub-divided into three divisions, 41 editions of the Mariners, Angels, Rangers and Athletics have combined for losing records in March/April. Not counted is April 1995, when the season did not launch until the end of that month due to the previous season’s player strike (each of the AL West clubs played only a handful of April games that year), nor is included Houston’s one season (2013) in the division.
Of those 41 losing March/Aprils suffered by the four AL West entries, 30 resulted (73.1 percent), in losing (sub-.500) seasons, meaning that just 11 clubs had a losing record in April, but a winning mark at the end of September.
Since 1994, April has been the most telling month as to how the Mariners are going to perform throughout the season. Consider:

• 7: Number of times (again, since 1994) the Mariners posted a winning record in March/April.

• 7: Number of times the Mariners finished with a winning record after having a winning March/April.

• 10: Number of times the Mariners had a losing March/April.

• 0: Number of times the Mariners recovered to post a winning record after a losing March/April.

In the AL West, the Angels (5) and Athletics (4) have combined for nine losing March/Aprils, but rebounded to end the season above .500. Oakland had the most remarkable turnaround, going 8-17 in March/April of 2001, but finishing with 102 victories compared to Seattle’s record 116.
The following are the only AL West clubs that started out losing in March/April, then went on to finish with a winning record. Note that of the 11 teams that recovered to end on a positive note, only four wound up in the postseason, and only two went past the American League Division Series.

Year	Team	April	Season	Postseason
1999	Angels	10-14	87-75	Failed to make playoffs
2000	Athletics	12-13	91-70	Failed to make playoffs
2001	Angels	11-13	99-63	99 wins, but no playoffs
2001	Athletics	8-17	102-60	Lost to NYY in ALDS
2004	Athletics	11-12	91-71	Failed to make playoffs
2006	Angels	12-13	89-73	Failed to make playoffs
2009	Angels	9-12	97-65	Lost ALCS to NYY 4-2
2009	Rangers	10-11	87-75	Failed to make playoffs
2010	Rangers	11-12	90-72	Lost World Series to SF
2012	Athletics	11-13	94-68	Lost ALDS 3-2 to Detroit
2012	Angels	8-15	81-73	Failed to make playoffs

A winning record in April is no guarantee the Mariners will make the playoffs. In franchise history, the Mariners have produced 10 winning first months. They reached the postseason in only three seasons (1997, 2000, 2001). But a losing record out of the blocks almost guarantees no postseason.
This season, the tattered state of the rotation compromises Seattle’s chance of producing a winning April. No. 2 starter Hisashi Iwakuma, who finished third in Cy Young voting last year, will start the year on the disabled list and likely won’t return until late April or early May.
Taijuan Walker, a rotation candidate when spring training commenced, reported with a sore shoulder and was shut down for a week, ailing from inflammation of his bursa. He’s throwing again, reportedly pain free, but will remain on the shelf at least until the middle of the month.
Suddenly, Erasmo Ramirez is the No. 2 starter with James Paxton, 3-0, 1.50 ERA last year, at No. 3. That leaves the back end of the rotation to rookie Roenis Elias and probably newcomer Chris Young, signed off the discard heap Thursday.
The Mariners had Randy Wolf ticketed for one of those jobs until he abruptly walked away from the team Tuesday, correctly balking at the team’s request to sign a 45-day clause granting the club the power to release him in that span at a pro-rated portion of his guaranteed salary.
Advance-consent clauses are not unprecedented, but Wolf’s deal called for him to make $1 million guaranteed if he made the roster, which he did, which is why the Mariners absorbed a deserved skewering when Wolf walked.
Not that they lost much. The 37-year-old hasn’t pitched since 2012 when he went 5-10, and hasn’t had more wins than losses in a season since 2011. But his departure left the club in a bind, thus the quick signing of Young.
But the club remains in a bind. According to manager Lloyd McClendon, Ramirez has “yet to learn how to throw quality strikes.” Elias, 25, makes a jump from AA (Jackson), a leap Brandon Maurer couldn’t do last year. Young spent 2013 in the minors rehabbing from a third career shoulder surgery. Behind that trio are Blake Beavan and Hector Noesi, both of whom have proved to be sensationally inadequate.
Iwakuma and Walker will return for the final five months. But it’s always the first month that points to the road the Mariners will take.
 

Peter Gammons: 2014 MLB Predictions

March 28, 2014 by Peter Gammons 3 Comments

Predictions are, by and large, silly. There are too many variables, unforeseen injuries and things that go bump in the night.
It’s easy to remember that in 2002, with a labor agreement up on Labor Day Weekend, Commissioner Bud Selig lobbied for revenue-sharing and union cooperation by claiming that 20 of the 30 teams went to spring training knowing they had no chance of making the playoffs, and, in retrospect, it was more truth than propaganda. Selig wanted to push drug-testing, but the union made it a strikeable issue, and appreciating that baseball couldn’t afford another strike after the long winter of 1994-95, Selig backed off.
So here we are in 2014. The players are agreeing to a strengthened drug-testing policy, with USADA acknowledging that it will make it the best testing policy in sports. Players clearly want a level playing field, which appears to have resulted in the sport skewing younger than it has in generations. We all love it when GMs comp Mike Trout to Mickey Mantle, and we look at Wins Above Replacement for players finishing three years at the age of 20 and see Trout is the all-time number one, with Al Kaline (my original Trout comp) and Bryce Harper tied for second.
Teams clearly would like to pay their highest dollars to players in their peak years, ages 26-29. But the business is awash in money, at least until a few teams tap out their regional television deals, hence Clayton Kershaw and Miguel Cabrera have signed the two highest contracts in terms of AAV in history, on the heels of Robinson Cano. Is there an economist at The Kellogg School who can estimate Trout’s AAV at ages 26-30 when Cabrera is getting a ten year, $292M deal after 30?
Perhaps, most important, I calculate that at least 20 teams will open their seasons in the next few days with hope that they can make the post-season. Is Washington a strong favorite in the NL East? Yes, especially because of the injuries to the Braves starting staff and the wear they may have on their bullpen.
Are the Dodgers big favorites in the NL West? As long as Kershaw’s injury is minor and there are no implosions, yes. Hey, they went through nine different starters in April, a season of injuries to Matt Kemp, and at one point went 42-8. Kemp comeback player of the year? Very possible. Hanley Ramirez MVP? Very possible. Yasiel Puig gets it? Entirely possible. But the Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies all think they can play in October.
Are the Cardinals favorites? Of course. They may be the only team in the game that can take Carlos Martinez and use his 96-99 MPH gas for 4-6 outs in front of Trevor Rosenthal. But the Reds and the Pirates have every reason to believe they’re going into October.
It isn’t electric ladyland thinking in Tampa Bay, Boston, Baltimore, Yankee Stadium, Detroit, Kansas City, Cleveland, Anaheim, Texas and Oakland that they are post-season teams. I can think the Rays are the team to beat in the American League, then I look at the depth of the Red Sox, 50+ homers out of the left side of their infield, the 162 game shuffle and shuttle of Shane Victorino, Daniel Nava, Jonny Gomes, Grady Sizemore, Jackie Bradley, Jr., Bryce Brentz and Mike Carp and think that if Clay Buchholz is healthy in October that this team could have a play-in game and be deep enough to be able to pull the extraordinarily difficult task of winning three more series. Anyone can look at the Tigers and think that Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer can pitch well enough for the Tigers to win nine of their starts in October.
So here are the predictions made at this weekend’s MLB Network Show:
Most Valuable Players
American League                National League
1. Evan Longoria                  Bryce Harper
2. Albert Pujols                    Jason Heyward
3. Eric Hosmer                    Buster Posey
Cy Young Award
1. David Price                     Clayton Kershaw
2. Justin Verlander              Adam Wainwright
3. Felix Hernandez             Matt Cain
Rookie of the Year
1. Xander Bogaerts            Kolten Wong
2. Nick Castellanos            Chris Owings
3. Jose Abreu                     Travis d’Arnaud
Division Races
AL East: Tampa                 NL East: Washington
AL Central: Detroit            NL Central: St. Louis
AL West: Los Angeles       NL West: Los Angeles
AL Wild Cards:                  NL Wild Cards:
Boston                              San Francisco
Baltimore                         Atlanta
World Series
Washington over Tampa Bay
But if Kansas City were to win it all, I wouldn’t be shocked. I’m not sure this Royals team isn’t better than the one that came back from 3-1 deficits to beat the Blue Jays and Cardinals in 1985. This team just doesn’t have George Brett.

Buster Olney Baseball Podcast March 28th 2014

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MLS Extrs Time Podcast

http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime

NPB Japan Baseball Opens season

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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/baseball/

Shannon Drayer Seattle Mariners Clubhouse reporter on RHP Chris Young

By Shannon Drayer
PEORIA, Ariz., - We learned Thursday morning why Lloyd McClendon was hesitant to announce his complete starting five despite the fact that there were only five starters remaining in camp. There was another on the way.
The Mariners announced that they have signed RHP Chris Young to a Major League deal. Young had been in camp with the Nationals where reports on him were favorable. He did not make the 25-man roster however, and opted out of his minor league deal.
Young, 34, has pitched for three teams in his 9 year big league career and put up a 53-43 record with a .375 ERA. Last year he underwent surgery to repair thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve issue that puts pressure on a pitcher's throwing shoulder. He made 9 starts in the Nationals minor league system after the surgery but threw only 37 innings.
His spring numbers with the Nationals were good but he only threw 10 1/3 innings. I would assume that he threw in some minor league games as well - those numbers are not included in spring stats - so I wouldn't be worried about that. By all appearances he is coming here to start.
My quick thoughts on this? Well my job just got tougher. He is 6'10. Time to put away the flats and get ready for some teasing which I have already seen on Twitter. Seriously though, this is a good move. Regardless of the recent health history if he is healthy now that is all that matters. The Mariners may only need him for a handful of starts. They may see good things in those starts and have him all year which would be fantastic as it again would provide depth and add a little needed experience to a young rotation. Is this an upgrade over Scott Baker or Randy Wolf? Only time will tell but most likely. Baker didn't look ready and will start in the minors for the Rangers. Wolf has yet to sign.
We should learn more about the Mariners plans for Young in the next day.

Buster Olney Baseball Podcast 3/27/2014

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English Premiere Leauge Podcast #32

https://audioboo.fm/boos/2019781-barclays-premier-league-podcast-episode-32

Forbes: Mariners value up 10 percent to $710M | Sportspress Northwest

Forbes: Mariners value up 10 percent to $710M | Sportspress Northwest

Cleveland Ohio Sports Podcast for Cleveland Ohio Sports Fans Mike and Tom Kresic Host # 190

http://www.same3guys.com/2014/03/25/gametime-cleveland-190-march-madness/

Buster Olney Podcast 3/26/2014

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Mariner Starting Rotation and Randy Wolf ESPN 710 Seattle Clubhousr Reporter Shannon Drayer

By Shannon Drayer
PEORIA, Ariz. – Barring any surprise signings in the next six days, it would appear that the competition for the Mariners' final three rotation spots is down to three now that Randy Wolf has asked for and been granted his release.
"They told me I made the team but they wanted me to sign the 45-day advance consent release," Wolf said Tuesday. "I was principally objected to that because we negotiated in good faith in February on a very team-friendly contract if I were to make the team. I felt like I came in in amazing shape, I pitched great, I earned a spot on the team, they told me I earned a spot on the team, and then to me that advance consent thing is kind of renegotiating a contract.
"I told them I wouldn't sign it. I disagreed with that."

With Randy Wolf no longer in the mix, the Mariners have three internal candidates for the final three rotation spots. (AP)

The clause is a part of the basic agreement between baseball and the players union but cannot be negotiated in deals. It is an avenue that basically gives teams the chance to get a look at a player in the regular season and provides an out in those 45 days if they don't like what they see. It cannot be made part of the contract until that player is about to make the club. The contract can be terminated for performance reasons but not health or injury problems.

"All we did was ask Randy to sign the 45-day clause, which is very common. It is not unusual, it happens a lot," general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "All it does is gives us a degree of protection. We didn't have any fear of anything happening to Randy but he has not been on a mound in a Major League Baseball game in a year and a half."
Wolf seemed surprised that the Mariners asked him to sign the clause, although at the very least his agent should have known it was a possibility. If Wolf made the major-league team he would be given a contract worth nearly $1 million that had a number of incentives as well. The question that was probably in his mind was how long would the team need him with Taijuan Walker and Hisashi Iwakuma coming back. He could compete for the more permanent No. 3 spot in the rotation but there was no guarantee that he would win it.
"It's a rule that gives a lot of power back to the teams," Wolf said, "especially with players that they consider low tier. It's not even health risk. It's really if they want to send you down or release you. I felt that what I signed for it was basically just above the minimum salary. I was uncomfortable with the fact that that seemed like such a financial risk considering that I came in and earned a spot."
Wolf called the situation a bitter pill to swallow. It had been a good spring for him and he was very pleased with where he was at coming off his second Tommy John surgery. He was very disappointed that the news that he had made the club was accompanied by the request to sign the clause.
"The day should have started with a handshake and congratulations instead of a 24-hour feeling of licking a D-cell battery," he said.
"It's unfortunate," Zduriencik said. "We made it reasonably clear yesterday that we would give him the opportunity to break with us but we also wanted him to sign the 45-day clause for that to happen and he refused to do it. We were within our legal rights within the baseball basic agreement and that is where I guess misunderstanding came in. Randy felt strongly that he has come in and pitched well on this club and he had every right to basically pitch the entire year and be paid the salary accordingly, and we just saw a little differently."
Wolf said that he hopes to catch on with another team and it would appear that there could be a number of opportunities.
As for the Mariners, with two competitors for the rotation leaving the team in the last 24 hours there are just three pitchers remaining for three spots. Erasmo Ramirez, Blake Beavan and Roenis Elias most likely have made this club and Hector Noesi is depth assuming he isn't claimed as he is out of options.
Yes, they are thin on starters right now, but Zduriencik expects to have a number of his injured pitchers back soon. Until then we will have about a month long audition of the remaining three to see who sticks.

Buster Olney Baseball podcast 3/25/14

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CC Sabathia and the Yankees Peter Gammons has More 3/25/2014

OPENING DAY: CC Sabathia and the Yankees

March 25, 2014 by Bill Chuck Leave a Comment

Saggy baggy Sabathia

Just like he has done each of the last five seasons, CC Sabathia will be the Yankees starter on Opening Day. Sabathia who has lost both weight and a few miles off his fastball will be on the mound to pitch the season-opener in Houston next Tuesday.
Starting his sixth Yankee OD breaks a tie with Red Ruffing, and ties Sabathia with Lefty Gomez, but still places him behind Mel Stottlemyre, the Gator – Ron Guidry, and the Chairman of the Board – Whitey Ford, who each started seven times. CC also made five Opening Day starts for the Indians.
Quick trivia question: Who was the last Yankee before Sabathia to start on the hill on Opening Day?
(answer below)

Nine to Know: Yankees on Opening Day

1. There will be a new second baseman for the Yankees on Opening Day this season. Robinson Cano, who has started the previous eight openers, this year will be starting for the Mariners. Kudos to whomever remembered that in 2005 Tony Womack started for NY.
2. For the sixth straight season, the Yankees will have a different DH on OD. In 2008 and 2009, the designated hitter was Hideki Matsui; in 2010 it was Nick Johnson; in 2011, it was Jorge Posada; in 2012, it was Raul Ibanez; and last season, it was Ben Francisco.
3. Derek Jeter is expected to start for the Yankees at short in what can officially be called “the beginning of the end.” Since 1996, he has been the Yankees OD starter each season with the exceptions of 2001, when Luis Sojo started, and last season, when Eduardo Nunez filled in.
4. Jeter’s 16 Opening Day starts are the most for any Yankee. The Yankee captain is followed by Bill Dickey who made 15 starts behind the plate, Lou Gehrig, who started 14 games at first, and Willie Randolph and Mickey Mantle who made 13 starts each at second and in center respectively.
5. Yankee manager Joe Girardi is 2-4 in his Opening Day starts.
6. Joe McCarthy managed the most Opening Days in Yankees history, with a 10-6 record in his 16 games. His 10 wins ties him with Casey Stengel who had a 10-2 OD record.
7. The Yankees have hit 99 homers on Opening Day. Of the 66 players who have hit them, Babe Ruth leads with five, followed by Yogi Berra, Jorge Posada, and the Mick with four each.
8. The last Yankee to have a multi-homer OD was Joe Pepitone, who put down his hair dryer and slammed a pair against the Atheletics on April 9, 1963 in Kansas City.
9. All-time, the Yankees are 63-47-1 on Opening Day and have lost the last two and four-of-five. The 1910 opener against Boston (who else?) was called a tie because of darkness with the score tied 4-4 after 14 innings.

The last Yankee before Sabathia to start on the hill on Opening Day

UCSB Baseball Earns First Top-10 Ranking In Over 25 Years: Santa Barbara Athletics - UCSBGauchos.com

UCSB Baseball Earns First Top-10 Ranking In Over 25 Years: Santa Barbara Athletics - UCSBGauchos.com

Buster Olney Podcast 3/24/2014

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Peter Gammons On authentic Leadership 3/24/2014

Peter Gammons: The first tenet of leadership is authenticity

March 23, 2014 by Peter Gammons 1 Comment

Mike Matheny, Jim Leyland and Brad Ausmus before a game this spring.

JUPITER, Fla.—One of Mike Matheny’s best players, Matt Holliday, will tell you that Matheny is one of the most honest, authentic persons he has ever met. Which Matheny admits means a great deal, given that Holliday carries an aura of respect from his own clubhouse to every field on which he plays.
In Matheny’s office in St. Louis, he has a simple sign that reads, “To Thine Own Self Be True.” “I am who I am,” says Matheny, which is why one spring training, while doing a television interview, he diverted the discussion to a stirring defense of teammate Scott Rolen, who had been the subject of unattributed criticism. “I am not surprised to hear Mike did that,” says Holliday. “Teammate, friend, great man.”
There is an adage in the psychology world that the first tenet of leadership is authenticity. It applies to the President of the United States. Or why Tim Russert was who he was, Mariano Rivera, Eddie Vedder, Russell Wilson. It is, as Matheny believes, being who one is. “Authentic is the perfect word to describe Mike Matheny,” says Holliday. “Players respect managers who command respect because they are who and what they really are.”
Managing in 2014 is totally different than it was in the Forties, Fifties and Sixties, when the owners took all the profits, players had no rights, much less the right to an agent who might question a Gussie Busch. It is different than it was in the Eighties. Today, it is about Joe Maddon finding a way to communicate with Yunel Escobar, convince him he is a Gold Glove shortstop and get the best out of him. It is about understanding, about John Farrell being able, as Dustin Pedroia says, to look every Red Sox player in the eye the way he does his three sons, who happen to all be remarkable individuals.
It is, as Brad Ausmus says, Bud Black always being the same person, “completely authentic,” really the same guy he was when he pitched. It is why Bob Melvin is who he is, and why Bryan Price will establish his leadership, why Ausmus already has. The job is no longer about strategy, except handling bullpens, and modern teams have enough intellects and information and coaches to make shifts and defenses a routine part of a (modern) organization. “Hang around the Giants for a while,” says one baseball man, “and you realize Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti never change. They never try to con anyone. They are both very smart, but they can relate to any player because they care enough to do so. The same applies to Don Mattingly, although his situation is obviously far more complicated because of all the egos on so many levels.”
“Managing,” says Matheny, “is not about self. It’s about the team, the franchise, the organization and all the people who work in it.” The Cardinals are arguably the sport’s best example of an organization. They have had great scouts, who could get a Michael Wacha sliding and overcome glitches like Tyler Green and Derek Wallace. They have great development people; now it’s Gary LaRocque in the George Kissell tradition, which is why they can draft players with position questions like Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig, Matt Adams, Stephen Piscotty—and prepare them to play other positions in St. Louis.
“It’s about never forgetting how difficult it is to play this game,” says Matheny. “That’s respect, for the person and for the game. Mistakes will be made. They are human.”
Holliday says, “Mike is a very strong person, a very strong family person with five kids and respects that part of his players’ lives.” Holliday is out throwing to his boys every day in spring training. He points out to Chris Carpenter’s son shagging in the outfield, and loves the fact that when his son isn’t in school, he, too can be on the field.
“We recently had a day off, and the players were told not to come to the park,” says Matheny. “They understand that I feel that it is a long season, with a lot of stress on families, and it’s difficult for everyone not to keep the families together as much as possible. It’s more important on a day off in March to go to the beach with one’s wife and kids than hit in the cage or lift weights.”
Holliday knows there is no hidden agenda in Mike Matheny, and so do the players. That’s why the young pitchers respect the fact that Carpenter and Adam Wainwright insist all starting pitchers be on the bench during games, rooting for their teammates. “It’s why Matt Holliday doesn’t have to say a thing,” says Matheny. “He simply goes about being Matt Holliday and every young player respects him, and follows his example.”
This is all part of what makes the Cardinals such a significant part of one of the great traditions in sports. Few pitchers have ever been more authentic than Carpenter and Wainwright. Few players are more authentic than Holliday.
Thus when John Mozeliak hired Mike Matheny, he hired the perfect person to lead this team in this city, because the first tenet of leadership is authenticity.

Churchill: Elias, Romero Should Make Roster « CBS Seattle

Churchill: Elias, Romero Should Make Roster « CBS Seattle