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Around SBN: Chan Sung Jung Wins Thriller Over Dustin Poirier

Hypothetical 2005 Seattle Mariners

This following roster for the 2005 Seattle Mariners assumes what the roster could've looked like if no players departed via free agency or trades.  In order to qualify, players must have originally signed with Seattle as an international signing or through the amateur draft.

 

Star-divide

Everyday lineup:

RF Ichiro
SS Omar Vizquel
CF Ken Griffey, Jr.
3B Alex Rodriguez
DH David Ortiz
LF Raul Ibanez
C Jason Varitek
2B Bret Boone
1B Tino Martinez

Bench:

Util Willie Bloomquist
OF Jose Cruz, Jr.
2B/SS Ramon Vazquez
C Rene Rivera

Rotaion:

Derek Lowe
Gil Meche
Felix Hernandez
Mike Hampton
Shawn Estes

Bullpen:

LR Joel Pineiro
LR Ryan Franklin
MR Julio Mateo
MR George Sherrill
SU Rafael Soriano
SU Brian Fuentes
CL J.J. Putz

Offense: Though many in the starting lineup were reaching the second halves of their career (Vizquel, Griffey, Ibanez, Varitek) or even playing their last professional season (Martinez, Boone), there is very little to not like on the offensive and defensive capabilities of this lineup.  Perennial batting champ and gold glover Ichiro leads off, and defensive whiz Omar Vizquel slides into the 2 slot as a batter who can do all the little things you'd want out of his spot.  The meat of the order that contains Griffey, A-Rod, and Big Papi provides an offensive core that would've soiled many an American League pitcher's jock strap, as well as provide solid defense from the position players.  Ibanez has been one of the AL's most steady producers over the past few years, and Varitek's leadership skills (an SI player poll had him rated as one of the toughest players in the league, and he gained status of team captain for the Boston Red Sox) coupled with his offensive prowess add on to the offensive potential for this lineup.  Bret Boone (recently removed from a gold glove season) and Tino Martinez finish up this lineup.

Bench: Willie Ballgame provides defensive versatility along with good speed, and Vazquez provides solid defense in backing up the middle infield.  Cruz, Jr. will hit almost 20 homers in 2005, and Rivera gives Varitek the occasional breather without sacrificing defensive prowess behind the plate.

Rotation: While this rotation doesn't have a dominating ace, there are a trio of upper-rotation veterans in Lowe, Meche, and Hampton (assuming the hypothetical Hampton is healthy) with a 19-year old ace-in-training and the wildly inconsistent (or consistently wild?) Shawn Estes.

Bullpen: Perusing the names in this bullpen, we can see multiple names that are currently closers for different teams, such as Soriano (Atlanta), Sherrill (Baltimore), Franklin (St. Louis), and Fuentes (Colorado).  Pineiro and Mateo provide solid if not spectacular depth, and Putz will develop into one of the best closers in the game.

While it's hard to say how well this team would've done in relation to the rest of the league (assuming the rest of the league followed the same roster rules), how many wins would you forecast this team as capable of?

 

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Read the rules:

“In order to qualify, players must have originally signed with Seattle as an international signing or through the amateur draft.”

Johnson was drafted by the Expos and came to the M’s in the Mark Langston trade.

by DrunkIrish on Jun 26, 2008 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions  

Obvious Question

How many mortgages would the M’s have had to take out on the stadium in order to pay that team?

by aap212 on Jun 26, 2008 1:00 PM EDT reply actions  

After doing some research, this team’s payroll would have been (excluding bonuses, salary deferments, and performance bonuses) around $155 million, which is obviously high (it would’ve been the league’s second highest payroll), but then again it’s not Yankees of the current era high. Regardless, this was more so an exercise to see how each teams’ respective scouting departments/draft strategies look in applied to their best selections rather than an economic feasability study of a fictional team. I’ve got some other teams that I’m working on for hypothetical rosters as well. Can you imagine a Grady Sizemore/Jason Bay/Vlad Guerrero outfield in Washington right now?

by Grudyfan on Jun 26, 2008 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions  

You should try the Giants. It would be a mess on offense.

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Jun 26, 2008 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions  

Giants

Yeah, but the bullpen would have been titz!

by StickRat on Jun 26, 2008 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions  

Rotation 2008

The starters (if it were 2008 instead of 2005) would be pretty good too, and not much different than they actually are (I still have dreams where Kurt Ainsworth and Jerome Williams pan out):

Lincecum
Cain
Sanchez
Bonser
Correia

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Jun 26, 2008 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions  

Francisco Liriano...

or would he have been the giants left fielder??

by kershaw_equals_stud on Jun 26, 2008 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions  

Ahh, I missed him since he wasn’t drafted. I had thought about him, then forgot as I was going through the draft classes. He would obviously replace Correia and would slot in between Lincecum and Cain nicely assuming his ability comes all the way back.

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Jun 27, 2008 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions  

Surprisingly, yes

Aside from Tino and Big Papi, the only other options at first were career minor leaguers or journeyman utility guys like Justin Leone, Desi Relaford, or Greg Dobbs

by Grudyfan on Jun 26, 2008 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

Dobbs should have been groomed as a first baseman and given a chance to play the position in the bigs from the moment he was promoted. The M’s had lightening in a bottle there.

by StickRat on Jun 26, 2008 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions  

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