Time to Catch On

With the Mariners announcing the switch of touted minor league prospect Marcus Littlewood from infielder to catcher, the search for the holy grail continues. While the left field position gets more media attention (justifiably since they couldn’t find one in all of Griffey’s years of success), the Mariners continue to search for a catcher of their future and hopefully present.

Following years of mediocre hitting, pretty good defense, and a lot of cheap beer (the local bar FX McRory’s used to sell beer at Dave Valle’s average), Dave Valle provided consistency at the very least for much of the 1980s. The catching conundrum in Seattle reached a level of sedation with the Dan Wilson years. An incredible defensive catcher, Wilson put together a nice run of offensive success including an All-Star berth. With years of high averages (.278 in ’95, .270 in ’97) and some power (18 HR and 83 RBI in ’96, 15 HR and 74 RBI in ’97), Wilson cemented himself in Mariner lore for years to come. Unfortunately it turned out to be many, many years to come.

The Mariners attempted to fill the void left by Wilson, yet they keep failing miserably. Jason Varitek was deemed to be a semi-bust in 1997 when he was traded with Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb (yes, the worst trade in team history). Slocumb posted a five-plus ERA in 1997 and only lasted one more season in Seattle. Varitek? Lowe? They have been alright I guess.

The next catching hope came from high school stud Ryan Christianson from California (#11 overall pick in 1999). He posted a season at age 20 of 14 HR and 85 RBI, but a career minor league average of .244 left Christianson out of baseball at age 26. He never seemed to get very good defensively according to scouts and he ended up doing nothing for the big club. Meanwhile the team attempted to fill the void through trades with players like Miguel Olivo (first time around and .200 average with almost no power) and Ben Davis (.259 with 7 HR in 2002 – seems like a stud on this year’s team). While Davis soon became one of my favorite players (I even bought a Davis t-shirt, why?), he looked like Paul Bunyan but hit like Paula Abdul. (Hint: she can’t hit because she is a washed up 80s diva).

The M’s went back to the drawing board which means the draft. Rob Johnson was drafted in the 4^th round in 2004 and while he posted a .308 average in AAA in 2008 (and .271 in the minors overall), he hit nothing in the majors. Pitchers seemingly loved him, but more time was spent analyzing his hips (or injuries to them) then was worth anyone’s time. Just in case he didn’t work out, the Mariners went for USC stud Jeff Clement in 2005 with the third overall pick. (Don’t think about the fact that they passed up Troy Tulowitski to get him). While Clement did rake a bit in the minors (.335 with 14 HR in 2008, .274 with 21 HR and 90 RBI in 2009), he was atrocious defensively. He got moved to 1B after the famous Ian Snell trade (what? Poop!), and toils with injuries and the buses in the minors.

Keep searching! OK! Adam Moore was drafted in 2006 in the 6^th round and he is a career .303 minor league hitter with some defensive ability, but a season ending injury pretty much put a hold on his career. Since Moore and Johnson hit in the minors, but didn’t do much for anyone at the major league level, the Mariners decided to draft another fricking catcher in the first round (sandwich pick at least – I wonder if that makes people hungry when they draft) with Steve Baron (high school kid) in 2009 (33^rd overall). He sucks thus far. He is hitting .197 in A this year. Good call guys! I think they know this since they drafted – and already signed – John Hicks in the 4^th round this year out of Virginia. He is already playing in A Clinton and hitting .275 in 11 games.

This list is exhaustive, I know. What is the point? The Mariners want a catcher to play for 10 years at the major league level and they don’t know where the frick to find him. So they moved Marcus Littlewood (2^nd round in 2010) to catcher with the hope that he can learn the position enough to become a big time prospect. He was widely considered a top 10 prospect for the M’s (who rank in the middle of the pack in the league for farm systems), and his value goes up at the catcher spot. Yet he is 19 years old and playing in low A ball, so who knows? We need a catcher for the future and apparently for the present we will be stuck with Miguel Olivo. Not a bad option for now, but let’s hope that Moore, Hicks or Littlewood develops quickly. One of those three would be my best bet to become the starter of the future. And the Mariners hope so too or they will just keep drafting catchers that waste away year after year.

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Seattle sports fans seem to be infatuated with the hard-working, nice demeanor, less talented athlete. Some of the city's favorites include Willie Bloomquist, Roger Levesque, and Reggie Evans. We seem to flock to those who underachieve, yet have a great work ethic. Why? What good does this do for our teams?

Maybe it has to do with our laid-back, easy going mentality in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe it has to do with all the losing. Maybe we just don't like conflict, thus we like guys who play hard and say nice things. And maybe this is the reason why everyone is freaking out about losing Matt Hasselbeck to free agency (and ultimately the Tennessee Titans).

By all accounts, Matt Hasselbeck is one of the better human beings to play football. The media loves him. Dopplegangers love him (that would be me). Wives. Kids. Teammates. Coaches. Everyone loves Matt Hasselbeck. He says the right things and he is a good person. But that doesn't make him a good football player anymore.

(Side note: I rooted for Matt Hasselbeck when many fans booed him at Husky Stadium in the Trent Dilfer, early Mike Holmgren era. I have a Hasselbeck jersey. I am a fan of his, so this isn't me picking on a guy I don't like or root for).

The Titans signed Hass to a three year, $21 million contract to fill the gap for a couple years until Jake Locker is given the reigns. People in Seattle wanted Matt to stay as they see it as the only way to win this year. It isn't.

Hasselbeck was stellar in the playoffs last year, but he struggled during the regular season. He pasted a 73.2 quarterback rating, after putting up a 75.1 the year before and a 57.8 rating in 2008 in only seven games. That is three straight very subpar years. In the those three years, he didn't once throw more TDs than interceptions (a total of 34 TD and 44 INT). He doesn't pose a threat on the ground and with a young offensive line, the chances of him getting injured again are very high. In fact, he injured himself jogging last year without being touched. At age 35, why sign him again?

Most people say: "because he is the best option unless you trade for Kevin Kolb". Is that true? You have to give up a 1st and 3rd round pick for Kevin Kolb and he hasn't proven anything more that Tarvaris Jackson. Kolb posted a 76.1 quarterback rating with 7 TD and 7 INT (60.8 completion %) in half a season before Michael Vick decided to return to Madden-status (play with Mike Vick on old Madden games and then realize you are unstoppable a.l.a. Bo Jackson in Techmo Bowl). Meanwhile Tarvaris Jackson posted a 95.4 quarterback rating with 9 TD and 2 INT in limited duty (9 games, but same as Kolb basically) in 2008 (pre-Favre). Jackson is

a free agent, Kolb requires two draft picks and more money to sign long term.

Other options discussed were Donovan McNabb. Really? 77.1 quarterback rating with 14 TD and 15 INT plus limited mobility and 34 years old. Carson Palmer? Owner Mike Brown won't deal him right now. Kyle Orton? Trade also and he doesn't seem to win. 4-12 with Denver last year and 8-8 the year before. I like his numbers, but why not take a chance between Charlie Whitehurst and Tarvaris Jackson?

If it doesn't work out, you can draft the QB of the future among the great prospects next year in the draft that includes Andrew Luck (Stanford), Landry Jones (Oklahoma), Matt Barkley (USC), and a list of others. I am not here to tell you that the Seahawks will win more games this year or even be competitive with the QBs they have now. I just don't think it would have been any different if Matt Hasselbeck had stayed. And the reason most people think differently than me is that they LIKE Matt Hasselbeck. It isn't wrong to like him, but it is wrong to think he would have made a difference.