Seattle Beat Writers and BS About the Offense.

[Seattle or Bust]

Mariners beat reporters (of various publications) have a nasty habit of taking what the M's front office says as gospel. They seldom challenge the shaky PR narratives coming out of an organization that has done little to inspire confidence in a fanbase that is quickly losing faith.

The roots of real journalism stem from the concept that you seek the truth and report it. When a reporter hears something that sounds like nonsense, it then becomes their job to uncover the truth and tell the masses.

Recently, a narrative surrounding why the Mariners chose not to pull the trigger in acquiring Red Sox slugger Triston Casas has been making the rounds and it should be raising serious alarm bells. Per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, the Mariners ultimately chose to pass on Casas because they determined he was not a good fit for their ballpark.

Really?

This coming from an organization notorious for landing hitters who have come to the Mariners and more-or-less ended their careers with poor performance? They now think they have a handle on the right profile to hit here after 10 years of failure? AJ Pollock, Jesse Winker, Jorge Polanco, Kolten Wong and Mitch Garver are just a few names of players who have come here and collapsed under the weight of the T-Mobile Park.

Being honest, anything the M's put out surrounding their offense should be met with severe skepticism given their abject failure to assess talent over their most recent "contention window." Last season, Jerry Dipoto and Co. set out to reduce overall strikeout numbers and instead led the league in the K's. But we're supposed to believe the front office has it figured out?

Garver, the most expensive position player Dipoto has ever signed in free agency, was a career 0-38 at T-Mobile when the M's signed him prior to the '24 season. But you're going to sit here and tell the fan base that you have a better grasp on why Triston Casas won't fit here when you handed a guy $12 million a year who had never gotten a hit in almost 40 at bats in your ballpark?

And what is it exactly about Casas that doesn't fit? Lefty power bats have had success in this ballpark. Ken Griffey Jr., Russell Branyan, Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager all enjoyed immense success hitting here.

In '99 when the park was fresh, Griffey enjoyed a 42-game stretch where he hit 14 homers and dropped a .998 on base plus slugging percentage. In '10, Branyan hit 16 of his 31 homers at T-Mobile while slashing a .920 home OPS vs .822 on the road. As Seager turned into more of a power hitter, he enjoyed a '14 year that saw him hit for an .893 OPS and 16 homers at home and a '16 year where he dropped an .850 OPS with 11 bombs. Cano's numbers at T-Mobile weren't too far off what he put up hitting in Yankees stadium. Hell, even 152 games from former outfielder Seth Smith saw him hit to an .838 OPS at T-Mobile with 21 homers.

So what is it about Casas that have the M's gun shy (a question the reporters should be digging into)? When healthy, the kid has rocked elite walk rates, decent contact rates, and the power has potential to produce 40+ homers a season. Nothing about his offensive profile should scream that T-Mobile won't be kind to him.

I call BS.

I'm going to say that it's actually nothing at all. I think this narrative is a hand-written excuse to take heat away from a front office that so far has failed on all levels to augment a roster than again finished short of the post season.

How easy must it be for the front office to have failed in talks with the Red Sox and then go to reporters and make up this lame excuse that the casual fan will struggle to challenge. Oh, they did their research? Yeah, that's not fooling this writer - not given their past.

Simply put, the front office balked when Boston demanded the M's take on Masataka Yoshida's contract and then walked home with their tails between their legs. Something they've apparently been doing a lot of given the reports that the M's are "frustrated" with trade talks concerning Luis Castillo.

And the beat writers? Full compliancy. Clear instructions that in order to maintain sources, they cannot and will not dig deeper to help fans understand the depths of failure this off season has been.

How do we know? Just listen to a podcast that features one and you'll know. On a podcast posted by The Marine Layer, a fan-made podcast discussing news surrounding the M's, Jude stated that fans should be happy that the M's are being more selective about the hitters they bring in. He then failed to qualify that statement when he said that it's more-or-less and crapshoot because you won't know if a guy can hit here before he steps in that box.

Sure throws the, "we did research about whether he can hit here or not" argument out the window, doesn't it?

[Lamda]

Agree 1000000% Had it be one-for-one or asking for another prospect/two I think we make that trade but the addition of a bad contract made them walk away. Now I don't think they could go back and say ok to the deal even if they wanted to.

This has just been a disaster of an offseason and nothing short of signing Alonso would change it.

[D-train]

Mariners beat reporters (of various publications) have a nasty habit of taking what the M's front office says as gospel. They seldom challenge the shaky PR narratives coming out of an organization that has done little to inspire confidence in a fanbase that is quickly losing faith.

The roots of real journalism stem from the concept that you seek the truth and report it. When a reporter hears something that sounds like nonsense, it then becomes their job to uncover the truth and tell the masses.

Recently, a narrative surrounding why the Mariners chose not to pull the trigger in acquiring Red Sox slugger Triston Casas has been making the rounds and it should be raising serious alarm bells. Per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, the Mariners ultimately chose to pass on Casas because they determined he was not a good fit for their ballpark.

Really?

This coming from an organization notorious for landing hitters who have come to the Mariners and more-or-less ended their careers with poor performance? They now think they have a handle on the right profile to hit here after 10 years of failure? AJ Pollock, Jesse Winker, Jorge Polanco, Kolten Wong and Mitch Garver are just a few names of players who have come here and collapsed under the weight of the T-Mobile Park.

Being honest, anything the M's put out surrounding their offense should be met with severe skepticism given their abject failure to assess talent over their most recent "contention window." Last season, Jerry Dipoto and Co. set out to reduce overall strikeout numbers and instead led the league in the K's. But we're supposed to believe the front office has it figured out?

Garver, the most expensive position player Dipoto has ever signed in free agency, was a career 0-38 at T-Mobile when the M's signed him prior to the '24 season. But you're going to sit here and tell the fan base that you have a better grasp on why Triston Casas won't fit here when you handed a guy $12 million a year who had never gotten a hit in almost 40 at bats in your ballpark?

And what is it exactly about Casas that doesn't fit? Lefty power bats have had success in this ballpark. Ken Griffey Jr., Russell Branyan, Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager all enjoyed immense success hitting here.

In '99 when the park was fresh, Griffey enjoyed a 42-game stretch where he hit 14 homers and dropped a .998 on base plus slugging percentage. In '10, Branyan hit 16 of his 31 homers at T-Mobile while slashing a .920 home OPS vs .822 on the road. As Seager turned into more of a power hitter, he enjoyed a '14 year that saw him hit for an .893 OPS and 16 homers at home and a '16 year where he dropped an .850 OPS with 11 bombs. Cano's numbers at T-Mobile weren't too far off what he put up hitting in Yankees stadium. Hell, even 152 games from former outfielder Seth Smith saw him hit to an .838 OPS at T-Mobile with 21 homers.

So what is it about Casas that have the M's gun shy (a question the reporters should be digging into)? When healthy, the kid has rocked elite walk rates, decent contact rates, and the power has potential to produce 40+ homers a season. Nothing about his offensive profile should scream that T-Mobile won't be kind to him.

I call BS.

I'm going to say that it's actually nothing at all. I think this narrative is a hand-written excuse to take heat away from a front office that so far has failed on all levels to augment a roster than again finished short of the post season.

How easy must it be for the front office to have failed in talks with the Red Sox and then go to reporters and make up this lame excuse that the casual fan will struggle to challenge. Oh, they did their research? Yeah, that's not fooling this writer - not given their past.

Simply put, the front office balked when Boston demanded the M's take on Masataka Yoshida's contract and then walked home with their tails between their legs. Something they've apparently been doing a lot of given the reports that the M's are "frustrated" with trade talks concerning Luis Castillo.

And the beat writers? Full compliancy. Clear instructions that in order to maintain sources, they cannot and will not dig deeper to help fans understand the depths of failure this off season has been.

How do we know? Just listen to a podcast that features one and you'll know. On a podcast posted by The Marine Layer, a fan-made podcast discussing news surrounding the M's, Jude stated that fans should be happy that the M's are being more selective about the hitters they bring in. He then failed to qualify that statement when he said that it's more-or-less and crapshoot because you won't know if a guy can hit here before he steps in that box.

Sure throws the, "we did research about whether he can hit here or not" argument out the window, doesn't it?

You stealing my material bro???? lol

[D-train]

It is because they didn't want to pay Yoshida's salary plain and simple. Anyone that can't figure that out still believes in the Easter Bunny.

[GL_Storm]

They didn't have to give an explanation. They could have just said that there were talks but they never progressed to a deal.

[Seattle or Bust]

They didn't have to give an explanation. They could have just said that there were talks but they never progressed to a deal.

Sure.

But they did put out an explanation b/c they're obviously feeling the heat and the explanation was total crap.

[Seattle or Bust]

It is because they didn't want to pay Yoshida's salary plain and simple. Anyone that can't figure that out still believes in the Easter Bunny.

Yeah that's it.

But instead of countering they just gave up and got upset.

[Lamda]

Here's hoping Casas comes here and hits 2-3 hr's in the 3-game set they play in June.

[Vogelbomb]

Umm, it's actually a reporter's job to report.

Jude reported what he was told by his source. It's not his job to opine on whether or not the M's were right in thinking so, not unless he's given the freedom to write a column. Currently at the Times, that responsibility falls on the shoulders of Vorel and Calkins.

And did any of you stop to think for a second that maybe the Mariners FO -- in which it has already been reported this winter is changing up their approach on finding hitters who will thrive at Safeco -- is finally now doing a deeper dive on which players will be successful at their home park after so many failures, Garver included?

It might be a new thing. I understand the pessimism, but man, it is awfully tired.

[GL_Storm]

And did any of you stop to think for a second that maybe the Mariners FO -- in which it has already been reported this winter is changing up their approach on finding hitters who will thrive at Safeco -- is finally now doing a deeper dive on which players will be successful at their home park after so many failures, Garver included?

I think this is possible and I hope it is the case.