Why is it that...

[TheUrbanZealot]

...everyone the Mariners trade away or let go end up having career years/turn into solid players, and everyone the Mariners trade for or sign, suck?

I mean it's almost uncanny. Can we name the last IMPACT free agent signing? The last IMPACT trade? There is only one signing in the last 20 years that had a genuine impact: Ichiro. To a lesser degree, John Olerud. Everyone else, without fail, has been a bust. I mean go down the list, it's seriously mind-boggling:

Richie Sexson
Adrian Beltre
Rich Aurillia
Scott Spiezio
Eddie Guardado
Andy Benes
Paul Spoljaric
Mike Timlin

I mean the list just goes on an on... I tried to find players to fill the other side, but I mean I serious, after Ichiro and John Olerud, can't really think of too many IMPACT players...

[Bulltalk]

...everyone the Mariners trade away or let go end up having career years/turn into solid players, and everyone the Mariners trade for or sign, suck?

I mean it's almost uncanny. Can we name the last IMPACT free agent signing? The last IMPACT trade? There is only one signing in the last 20 years that had a genuine impact: Ichiro. To a lesser degree, John Olerud. Everyone else, without fail, has been a bust. I mean go down the list, it's seriously mind-boggling:

Richie Sexson
Adrian Beltre
Rich Aurillia
Scott Spiezio
Eddie Guardado
Andy Benes
Paul Spoljaric
Mike Timlin

I mean the list just goes on an on... I tried to find players to fill the other side, but I mean I serious, after Ichiro and John Olerud, can't really think of too many IMPACT players...

We've had some other good signings/recipients in trades:

--Kazuhiro Sasaki
--Jamie Moyer
--Bret Boone

[TheUrbanZealot]

...everyone the Mariners trade away or let go end up having career years/turn into solid players, and everyone the Mariners trade for or sign, suck?

I mean it's almost uncanny. Can we name the last IMPACT free agent signing? The last IMPACT trade? There is only one signing in the last 20 years that had a genuine impact: Ichiro. To a lesser degree, John Olerud. Everyone else, without fail, has been a bust. I mean go down the list, it's seriously mind-boggling:

Richie Sexson
Adrian Beltre
Rich Aurillia
Scott Spiezio
Eddie Guardado
Andy Benes
Paul Spoljaric
Mike Timlin

I mean the list just goes on an on... I tried to find players to fill the other side, but I mean I serious, after Ichiro and John Olerud, can't really think of too many IMPACT players...

We've had some other good signings/recipients in trades:

--Kazuhiro Sasaki
--Jamie Moyer
--Bret Boone

Well even those signings are more of an aberration. Kaz Sasaki was only here for a couple of years. Jamie Moyer, I'll give you that one since he was one of our more consistent pitchers for an extended period of time. Even then, he wasn't that perennial all star type. Bret Boone, I don't know if I even count him since he came up w/ us in the first place. He had 1 impact year, 1 solid year, and really the rest of the time he was mediocre.

In any sense, please fill me in on any others? Definitely no other all-star players

[Bulltalk]

I wasn't contesting that we've been weak in this area. Pat Gillick did a good job of picking up decent middling/role players that proved to be effective. Nothing sexy. That seems to be his thing.

Bavasi proved to be a monumental splendor of ineptitude in this area. Silva, Washburn, Beltre, Sexson...if I couldn't see the black humor in this, I might have gone Rip Van Winkle on the Mariners.

[Ex-hippie]

It's funny, even some of the moves that look good at the time wind up blowing up in the team's face. Case in point: Freddy Garcia for Jeremy Reed, Miguel Olivo and Mike Morse. Reed was an upper-echelon prospect, an on-base machine who could play three outfield positions; Olivo was a very young starting catcher who was already solid; and Morse was a projectable shortstop. That was supposed to be a steal. Reed wound up being a barely adequate fourth outfielder, Olivo was a train wreck who had to be jettisoned before he could do any more damage, and Morse couldn't play the infield and couldn't hit enough well to earn his keep as a corner outfielder.

[Bulltalk]

It's funny, even some of the moves that look good at the time wind up blowing up in the team's face. Case in point: Freddy Garcia for Jeremy Reed, Miguel Olivo and Mike Morse. Reed was an upper-echelon prospect, an on-base machine who could play three outfield positions; Olivo was a very young starting catcher who was already solid; and Morse was a projectable shortstop. That was supposed to be a steal. Reed wound up being a barely adequate fourth outfielder, Olivo was a train wreck who had to be jettisoned before he could do any more damage, and Morse couldn't play the infield and couldn't hit enough well to earn his keep as a corner outfielder.

I agree. Couldn't at least Reed have panned-out?