RotoSynthesis Blog Posts for Seattle Mariners

Early Returns on Roster Expansion Madness

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 54:00 AM 0000

Last week, fellow RotoSynthesizer* Rob Leibowitz discussed September roster expansion and its implications for the fantasy player. I agree with Rob that it's an exciting time of year -- especially for those of us in keeper leagues looking to get a sense of an organization's intentions for 2010.

*Is this the term?

Just a couple of days into the new month, RotoWire's Recent Debuts page is as active as it probably will be all season (with the exception of early April, maybe). Not every personnel decision has been made, but there are already enough to take a look at some early returns.

Here are three players of note as we head into the final month of regular season play.

Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced-Loaded With Talent

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:00 PM 0000

Preliminary rosters for the Arizona Fall League were announced today. The rosters are loaded with talent. In the past, however, for one reason or another some preliminary names were removed when the games actually began. So this list is subject to alteration.

On Roto and Outliers

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 37:00 AM 0000

Jarrod Washburn pitched a 1-hitter last night and is now 6th in the AL in ERA. In April, I called Jarrod Washburn this year's Cliff Lee. This weekend, I traded Washburn for Marco Scutaro. I believe the term for this is idiot savant. Though I'm probably a much bigger idiot than savant.

Jarrod Washburn

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 27:00 PM 0000

Another great performance by the unheralded lefty.

Yahoo's Can't Cut List and Projecting the Fall(s)

Fri, 1 May 2009 42:00 AM 0000

So here's a little exercise for you: Who's going to end up with the worst season among players considered pre-season MLB superstars?

This Year's Cliff Lee? Jarrod Washburn

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 48:00 PM 0000

Making the case for a most unlikely breakout pitcher.

My New Favorite Beat Writer

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00 AM 0000

Chico Harlan, who now works the Nationals beat for the Washington Post and who wrote the great piece on Kory Casto I linked to last week, hit another home run last night with a column about how beat writers can lose their objectivity during spring training on the team they cover.

Ichiro, Ulcers and Stress

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 38:00 PM 0000

According to WebMD, stress does not cause ulcers but may be a contributing factor. If so, it's easy to think that Ichiro Suzuki's recent WBC experience perhaps contributed to the bleeding ulcer he was diagnosed with Friday.

The pressure of representing Japan in the WBC comes through clearly in this fascinating interview Ichiro gave to Japanese television short after the tournament. Ichiro said during his final at-bat with the series on the line, he "thought about a bunch of negative things too, like I maybe I couldn't go back to Japan in the offseason" if he failed.

Morrow to the Pen -- Forever

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 54:00 PM 0000

You step away for the afternoon to watch a little college hoops and the whole world changes. Well, at least Marinerworld. And in my view, it's not a positive development -- Brandon Morrow is going to the bullpen for good.

Defensive Stats Getting their Due

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:00 AM 0000

Interesting article on the world of defensive statistics in the Seattle Times today. For starters, that a newspaper would take the issue seriously without resorting to cliches and snide asides regarding sabermetrics, stats, et al, is perhaps an indication that advanced statistical measurements are gaining acceptance among the last of the holdouts -- the mainstream media.

Prospect Tuesdays with John Sickels on Fantasy Focus

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 33:00 PM 0000

Just like last week, we'll spend the full hour on Fantasy Focus talking prospects with John Sickels. This week we'll cover the AL West and NL West. For those of you who haven't heard yet, we've moved from XM to Blog Talk Radio. You can find tomorrow's show here:

Blog Talk Radio.