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Is anyone watching this guy? He is looking like the most dominant closer in baseball right now. He's simply unhittable. His K/IN ratio is sick. His ERA is under .7. He is just sick right now. He's hitting close to 100 MPH on the radar, I mean the guy is just playing ridiculous right now....

Do we have him be our closer for the next 10 years, or do we pencil him in as our #3 next year? We can't have someone of his talent just as a setup man...

I think he will remain the closer for the rest of the year but not sure what the higherups have in store for him down the road. Two factors to consider, what do they do with JJ Putz when he comes back and why did they draft Josh Fields (a closer) out of Georgia? I guess in a perfect world Morrow becomes an ace starter, they get a top prospect for JJ and Fields becomes your closer. I would think these are the type of problems you would like to have.

On a totally unrelated subject is anyone else worried that Jeff Clement isnt going to be able to hit major league pitching? I wont mention the guys they passed up to take him in the 2005 draft (Longoria,Braun,Tulowitzki, Bruce, Ellsbury) like i saide i'd rather not mention any names.

jumanji wrote:I think he will remain the closer for the rest of the year but not sure what the higherups have in store for him down the road. Two factors to consider, what do they do with JJ Putz when he comes back and why did they draft Josh Fields (a closer) out of Georgia? I guess in a perfect world Morrow becomes an ace starter, they get a top prospect for JJ and Fields becomes your closer. I would think these are the type of problems you would like to have.

On a totally unrelated subject is anyone else worried that Jeff Clement isnt going to be able to hit major league pitching? I wont mention the guys they passed up to take him in the 2005 draft (Longoria,Braun,Tulowitzki, Bruce, Ellsbury) like i saide i'd rather not mention any names.

Norrow's biggest problem has been his consistency, but this year, all of a sudden, he's been lights out. if he can be our #3, and we have Felix, Bedard and Morrow pitching like they are capable, I think we could see a new SP team K record. I just don't know if Morrow is ready to pitch 6-7 innings, and I wouldn't want to risk burning him out if he can close like this. Then again, the pressure is really off of him since the team is pretty much in the gutter...

I don't see Clement being in the class of the guys you mentioned, but I think he will be somewhere in the Jason Varitek range. Pencil him in for 20, .250, lot of K's. Good hitting-defensive catchers are one of the biggest rarities in baseball. I'm more concerned Clement plays good d and doesn't help the other team win than expecting him at the 8-9 hole hit .300 with 30+ pops

There's a far greater need on this team for a starter than closer. If Morrow tops out as a closer, I think he's a bust draft pick. I'd rather see him try to convert back to a starter and fail over seeing him kept as a closer, as I'd always wonder what he could do as a starter. Without a starter to bridge the gap until the 9th inning and put this team in a position to win, a closer's pretty much worthless...

As for Clement...I'm not concerned. The guy's been a monster in AAA and I think he just needs to calm down a bit and make a few adjustments. He'll be fine, and really at this point...there's no rush.

Sweezo wrote:There's a far greater need on this team for a starter than closer. If Morrow tops out as a closer, I think he's a bust draft pick. I'd rather see him try to convert back to a starter and fail over seeing him kept as a closer, as I'd always wonder what he could do as a starter. Without a starter to bridge the gap until the 9th inning and put this team in a position to win, a closer's pretty much worthless...

As for Clement...I'm not concerned. The guy's been a monster in AAA and I think he just needs to calm down a bit and make a few adjustments. He'll be fine, and really at this point...there's no rush.

If Morrow tops out as one of the premier closers in the game, I wouldn’t call him a bust by any means. Hell, if he even tops out as a very good set-up guy, considering that most prospects fizzle out, that’s still not a bust…

I don’t think Morrow has the stamina or repertoire to become an effective starter. To that extent I think he ends up being a Papelbon type, where he’s infinitely more valuable as a dominant reliever than a marginal starter.

Still, what a season. Makes trading Putz seem like a valid option now…

The Mariners absolutely need to transition Morrow into a starting pitcher. It will be good for the long-term..

Felix-Morrow could turn into one of the most dominant 1-2 punches in the game

If Morrow fails as a starter, I think he could still go back to being a dominant reliever.

I'm pretty anti-organization when it comes to the Morrow-as-starter talk and think they'll only f**k him up more, but humor me here. Why exactly is he considered a valid starter option?

He's got two good pitches, throws them for high heat and has pretty good arm strength. (We know because he hits 100 on the gun, but even then he can go a decent ways.) But it just doesn't seem like he has ENOUGH to become a starter. His breaking pitch is becoming a solid strikeout option but it seems like he needs a third pitch to even be successful if his fastball isn't quite there.

PhilipNelsonFan wrote:I'm pretty anti-organization when it comes to the Morrow-as-starter talk and think they'll only f**k him up more, but humor me here. Why exactly is he considered a valid starter option?

He's got two good pitches, throws them for high heat and has pretty good arm strength. (We know because he hits 100 on the gun, but even then he can go a decent ways.) But it just doesn't seem like he has ENOUGH to become a starter. His breaking pitch is becoming a solid strikeout option but it seems like he needs a third pitch to even be successful if his fastball isn't quite there.

Answer these three questions for me...
Is Carlos Silva good enough to be a starter?
Is Jerrod Washburn good enough to be a starter?
Is Miguel Batista good enough to be a starter?

Does Brandon Morrow have better stuff than all three of the players mentioned above?

It'd be a crime not to let Brandon Morrow become a starter

You could argue that J.J. Putz has better stuff than all three of those guys, and the day he starts is the day the franchise disbands.

Like i mentioned before they didnt draft Fields in the 1st round to make him a setup guy and he's not starter material, or is he?



















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Fields was an abysmal pick; it was a pure panic selection made solely on the need for immediate help at the ML level. I don’t really know if he’s a better closer option than Morrow. Personally, I’d rather have Morrow take over for Putz as his repertoire would make him a damn fine shutdown closer.

Basketball Jesus wrote:Fields was an abysmal pick; it was a pure panic selection made solely on the need for immediate help at the ML level. I don’t really know if he’s a better closer option than Morrow. Personally, I’d rather have Morrow take over for Putz as his repertoire would make him a damn fine shutdown closer.

How was Fields a need pick when the bullpen is the strength of the Mariners and they are desperate for position players throughout the organization? My guess is they want to move Morrow to the starting rotation and maybe are a bit worried about the future of JJ. Heck i dont think they know what they are doing down there,especially with the GM situation in flux, so you're guess is as good as mine.

It was a need in that Bavasi was pretty much on borrowed time and Fields was the one prospect in the draft closest to being ML-ready. Granted I don’t know what the true thought process was, but I’d like to think that, in making a strange selection like Fields, Bavasi was leaning heavily on Fontaine to select a player that could produce immediate tangible results in order to (futilely) save his job.

Otherwise, how the hell do you explain taking Fields? I sure as hell can’t. Like you mention, the farm is bereft of positional talent. (Although they more than made up for Fields by taking Raben in the second.)

Until he proves me differently, I see Morrow as a stronger closer candidate than a starter. I can see why the team would be desperate to turn him into one, even after the success of this season, but I just don’t think he’ll end up a very good starter.

Basketball Jesus wrote:It was a need in that Bavasi was pretty much on borrowed time and Fields was the one prospect in the draft closest to being ML-ready. Granted I don’t know what the true thought process was, but I’d like to think that, in making a strange selection like Fields, Bavasi was leaning heavily on Fontaine to select a player that could produce immediate tangible results in order to (futilely) save his job.

Otherwise, how the hell do you explain taking Fields? I sure as hell can’t. Like you mention, the farm is bereft of positional talent. (Although they more than made up for Fields by taking Raben in the second.)

Until he proves me differently, I see Morrow as a stronger closer candidate than a starter. I can see why the team would be desperate to turn him into one, even after the success of this season, but I just don’t think he’ll end up a very good starter.

Unfortunately i think right now there isnt anyone there brave enough or capable enough to turn this ship around. It's like they're sitting there with a pair of 4s and are deciding to stand pat.