2009 Mariner Prescription: Trade Ichiro, Beltre, and Blow Shit Up

Even before it became public knowledge that Ichiro Suzuki's way less-talented teammates hated him, Buzzer Beater was firmly committed to trading the superstar outfielder. Our logic was that Ichiro, at 34, is about to enter the downslope of his career (he'll be 35 on Oct. 22). Now, it might be a pretty effective downslope, which is why the future Hall-of-Fame outfielder will no doubt still be able to fetch a king's ransom of prospects from the likes of the Yankees. We felt like he should have been traded back in June, and we really feel like the M's should trade him now that they've lost 101 games, marking the franchise's worst season in a quarter century.

Last night, the Mariners lost 6-4 to the Angels, in particularly heartbreaking fashion. J.J. Putz gave up a ninth inning moonshot to Vladimir Guerrero in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie. Let's start there: Putz, whose season has been reminiscent of vintage Bobby Ayala, should either be relieved of his duties as closer now, or should be given a very short leash to start 2009. If he blows, say, three out of his first nine save opportunities, hand the ball over to Josh Fields. Of course, that would require that the M's actually sign their MLB-ready, first-round draft pick, which they've yet to do. Signing Fields, obviously, would be a good place to start the 2009 rebuilding effort.

Remember that word: rebuilding. This is why the M's should trade Ichiro. This is also why they should let 36-year-old Raul Ibanez walk,and it's also why they should trade Adrian Beltre, who has one year remaining on his $12 million per annum contract. Beltre is a divisive creature in Mariner nation, such as it is (last night's attendance was generously announced at 16,939). He's the best defensive third baseman in the game, and yet his offensive output has been very uneven, and certainly not worthy of the gargantuan sum the M's gave him a few years ago after he put up A-Rod-like numbers for one glorious, suspicious, contract year in Chavez Ravine before swifly plummeting back to earth in the batter's box. But yeah, rebuilding -- Beltre is still in his prime age-wise; he should be able to fetch some decent prospects in return.

If even a couple of the M's AAA prospects had shown us much of anything since the Labor Day roster expansion, we might not be advocating for such drastic measures. After all, the M's could have a decent pitching rotation, what with Felix Hernandez, Brandon Morrow, and Ryan Rowland-Smith, for years to come. If the M's had any truly hot batsmen above the AA ranks, we might be inclined to ride this process out for another year, with Ichiro and Beltre in tow, to see if the team could return to respectability without dynamiting the roster. But the M's September call-ups have been absolutely awful. What's worse, two fo the three guys they called up earlier in the year, Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien, have been equally awful -- so awful that we question whether they're simply overrated as prospects. (By simply being mediocre, .250 hitter Bryan LaHair acquits himself here, although 10 RBIs in 136 at-bats should erase any doubt about whether this guy's the club's first baseman of the future. He's not.) Clement finished the season hitting .227 in 203 at-bats, while Balentien has turned in one of the worst seasons at the plate in Mariner history. Heading into last night's game, where he went 1-3 with an RBI double, Balentien was hitting .199 in 231 at-bats. Man, that Adam Jones deal just keeps looking worse and worse, doesn't it?

What should remain intact: the aforementioned starting pitching core, as well as the M's middle infield. Kenji Johjima had a catastrophic year, both offensively and defensively, and the decision to sign him to a multi-year, multi-million dollar extension still reeks. But even good players can have a bad year here and there, so he should be given an opportunity to redeem himself, if for no better reason than no team is going to be particularly interested in trading for him given his contract's largesse. The double play combination of Betancourt and Lopez remains solid, although there have been rumblings about moving Lopez to first or third due to his somewhat limited defensive range. Of course, that would require "hot" second base prospect/Mendoza-straddler Luis Valbuena to be ready to step right in, which he most certainly is not. This isn't just a ballclub in tatters, folks, it's an entire organization. Hence, our call to break out the dynamite.