Scraps: Wilson, Aumont, Fonseca, YuBet

by ~ February 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm

Some odds and ends to get some new conversation going:

  • Mike Wilson managed to clear waivers and has been re-signed by the Mariners on a minor league deal.  Some call him a lost cause, but I’m glad to keep him in the system for now.  [link]
  • Phillippe Aumont will be pitching for team Canada in the WBC as a reliever.  Canada originally wanted Aumont as a starter, but the Mariners didn’t approve and Aumont turned his country down.  That all happened a while back, but Aumont has since asked the Mariners if he could compete as a reliever, and the team approved.  I don’t especially like this and would prefer he continue to build up his arm strength under Seattle supervision, but he’s at less of a risk as a reliever so I can’t complain too much.  [link]
  • Seattle has signed utility man Alex Fonseca to a minor league deal.  Fonseca was drafted out of Florida Atlantic University in 2006 by the Angels (36th round).  He had a pretty successful pro debut offensively, producing a .885 OPS in the Arizona League.  Since then he has bounced around various independent leagues, drawing lots of walks but showing little else.  He’s listed as a catcher despite being an infielder last season, so perhaps he’s simply being brought to camp to help catch all of Seattle’s pitchers this spring.  [link]
  • Geoff Baker (linked above) and Shannon Drayer both pass on manager Don Wakamatsu’s consideration of Yuniesky Betancourt as the number two hitter this spring.  Yuni doesn’t fit there, but Seattle doesn’t have many options.  Lopez can make do, but it’s time to see what he can produce in the middle of the order for an entire season.  Beltre would work, but his production is also needed in the middle of the order.  Gutierrez seems like a solid fit, but he is still unproven as a Major League hitter and could use some time at the bottom of the order to get settled.  Seattle has struggled to find stability from the number two slot the last few years, so it will be (as always) interesting to see who gets the early season nod in 2009.
  • One block of note from Drayer’s post:

Wak isn’t just concerned about the physical aspects of Yuni’s hitting. He wants to know just what is in his head as well.

“We talk a lot about this emotionally. Is that emotions, is he uncomfortable or unhappy hitting in different spots, those are things we look at. Is there an urgency? If we can get guys to try and pass the torch a little bit. Sometimes in seasons like last year or offenses like that everybody wants to try to do everything and if we can get guys to understand that hey, they’ve got guys behind them that can do the job too, it’s a group effort.”

It was refreshing to hear that Wak wants to know the whys and not just the mechanics. I am convinced that two years ago Jose Lopez felt buried in the line up hitting 8th or 9th. In order to get noticed he swung away, hoping to hit home runs. When he was moved up to the two hole, he was excited often telling me, “I have to move Ichiro over, I have to take a pitch, give him a chance to steal, I have to go the other way, maybe I will steal a base too.” I think the position and the duties that came with it focused Lopez and helped make him a better hitter. Could the same work for Yuni? While I don’t think they can coach him into more walks, maybe they can coach him into being a better contact hitter or laying off some pitches to get into a better hitters count. Time will tell.

«
»

  • Slugoben

    I think Yuni is going to have a solid year.

  • Mariners121212

    Me to.(But not 2nd in the lineup worth) I think Lopez will hit, and should hit in the 2 hole.

  • Keith

    I’m HOPING Yuni is going to have a solid year. (knocking on wood, crossing fingers, and tightly grasping a rabbit’s foot) My theory on Yuni is that as it became clear that last season was over (by early May or so) he lost focus. Not sure if the numbers back thiup, its just a theory. If he can regain his focus he could be on track to be a good shortstop again, if not, then well…

  • ppl

    Yuni has a career OBA of .305 and has stolen 21 bases in 40 attempts, that would suggest that the ninth in the order is his spot. But on the upside, his extra base hits: 46 last year and 49 in 2007, along with his 150+ hits three years in a row, and .282 career BA. Would seem to project him to be a possible 75+ RBI man if he hits behind Ichiro. So I can’t say that it is a potential disaster there. I just hope he rebounds on the field. It should be a good experience for Aumont to play in the WBC, more than he will get in the California league this summer. Wilson being back as a non-roster guy, is probably a + only for the Rainers at this point.

  • Slugoben

    PPL- All the patience Yuni has shown this spring is amazing. No other years matter. But I think I would put Yuni at #2 so that Lopez can go to the middle of the lineup.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    I have no idea what you’re talking about. Spring Training is just now getting going, so how has he proved anything? On top of that he’s been hurt and held out of most of the action so far.

    “All the patience Yuni has shown this spring is amazing”– pretty ridiculous statement right there.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Also, I don’t really buy in to the whole “move a hitter to 2nd to force them to be more patient.” People think that Lopez was so much more patient last season after becoming the 2-hitter, but in reality he saw the same number of pitches.

    2005: 3.8
    2006: 3.6
    2007: 3.5
    2008: 3.7

    At the beginning of the year he wasn’t swinging at the first pitch, which suddenly made him such a patient hitter! Then pitchers caught on, and he was suddenly hitting down 0-1 every at bat. He hit well in the 2 spot, but he wasn’t really a great number 2 hitter.

    I don’t really see Yuni, who saw the fewest pitches per at bat in ALL OF BASEBALL (3.2) becoming patient enough to effectively hit 2nd.

  • Slugoben

    In BP Yunie passed up 5 balls. Also remember his amazing September?

  • section331

    I don’t know – they didn’t invite Aumont to ST, so he probably figures he might as well go play ball for the WBC. Playing for your country at the very least has to improve your mental game, I would think…or am I way off on that?

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Aumont is just 20 years old, still doesn’t have many competitive innings under his belt and dealt with elbow soreness last season. Pitching with extra adrenaline this early in the season just doesn’t seem like a good idea, especially since he’s young enough that he’ll have plenty of opportunity in the future to play for Canada in the WBC.

    That said, pitching as a reliever is much safer and I’m overall okay with it. Also, ppl made a good point about the level of competition he could face, which should help his development (unless he gets plastered, but he’s already got the stuff to avoid it).

  • Brandon

    I think I side more with jon than most of you others…I think Yuni is gonna be a bad deal in the two slot…Yuni is a bad deal in any slot.

  • http://www.section331.com section331

    Jon – for some reason, I thought he was older than that. I knew he had had some medical issues, but honestly haven’t been paying as much attention to the minor leagues as I maybe should be. It’s a lot to keep track of! :)

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    “In BP Yunie passed up 5 balls. Also remember his amazing September?”

  • bakomariner

    Slugoben

    “In BP Yunie passed up 5 balls. Also remember his amazing September?”

    For one, his September was last year, and you said no other years matter but this spring. You contradict yourself in your own argument…

    And for the 5 passed balls, if I read the article right, he was participating in a tracking drill, so he HAD to let the balls go by…

    You really have no clue what you are saying do you?

    Yuni is terrible…he’s a hacker and he always will be…what strengths he had (speed and defense) were all but gone last year because he was fat and unfocused…

    Supposedly, he’s in great shape, and this new season could give him new focus, but as a hitter, he’s not going to change…

  • bakomariner

    And to comment on the rest:

    I’m glad Wilson was brought back too…he’ll probably never contribute to the Mariners, but as a franchise, you want all the levels to do well…if he can do well at AAA for Tacoma, and help them win a championship, it helps the entire franchise…it’s a good move…

    Aumont pitching anywhere but with the Mariners scared the hell out of me…he could be a legit stud for the Ms in the future, and he’s already having health issues…if he never pans out and becomes another “Little Unit,” I’m going to be extremely pissed…

  • MtGrizzly

    I’ll be reasonably happy if Yuni recovers at least some of the range he flashed early on. Offensively, I think he is what he is but it’s the degradation of his defense that has really hurt his value.

  • Slurve

    Hey if I get to see Aumont pitch on TV without that much of a risk of him blowing out his arm and with a chance of an A-Rod SO by Aumont I’m all for it.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    ^That is a good point. There isn’t very much quality video of Aumont out there and seeing him in the WBC would be kind of nice.

  • Mariners121212

    First off the M’s really didn’t invite Aumont to ST? I could have sworn they had. Second off I hate it when people do this. Whenever anyone say that a professional athlete is terrible I think they are idiots, seriously if you want to call any player on the M’s terrible it better be Silva.If Yuni is so terrible why is he our starting SS?

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    “If Yuni is so terrible why is he our starting SS?”

    That is a great question.

    Yes, Yuni is a professional baseball player. Yes, Yuni is better than 99.9999% of the people reading this. But he is indeed TERRIBLE when compared to other starting shortstops. Last season every single starting SS was more valuable than Yuni, including the Bobby Crosbys of the world.

    Why is he our starting SS? Because Bill Bavasi thought he was going to become a star and didn’t provide the team with a better one. This season he finally has some legit competition in Ronny Cedeno, and if Yuni doesn’t perform in 2009 you can bet there will be someone better in Seattle before Opening Day 2010.

  • Slurve

    ^
    *Cough*Carlos Truinfel*cough*

  • ppl

    I hope that Yuni can turn it around this year, but the shelf life of middle-infielders who are sub-par defensively and don’t hit good enough to move to the outfield, third or first is not a long one. But I have always hoped he would excel not just because I am a M’s fan, but because I like to see all the Cuban defectors do well, and he was one of the younger ones with a chance for a long career. Growing up in the seventies, I got see Tiant, Cuellar, Oliva, Tony Perez and several others in the back ends of long careers who represented the last wave of Cubans who could freely come here.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Dustin Shires

    “^*Cough*Carlos Truinfel*cough*”

    I think he’s going to be a main-stay by 2011. The earliest I think we see him is a September call-up in 2010.

    Yuniesky Betancourt has to go. He’s garbage. I haven’t hid my opinion on this, and Jon and I have talked long on this too. I don’t know if he shares the exact same opinion as mine, but I’d be ALL for signing Orlando Cabrera to a one-year deal. Who knows, maybe Triunfel dominates Double-A and is ready by 2010. I just can’t stand seeing Betancourt go out there and hurt the team.

    This team is so close to being a team that can win this AL West, and I’m not sold on our ability to win it with Betancourt sucking both at the plate and in the field…

    As for Aumont, I’m against him pitching in the WBC. I don’t care if he is relieving or not. That doesn’t change that fact that even relief pitchers get hurt. A kid with so little experience on the main-stage needs to be kept under the control and supervision of the Mariners, not Canada. I can’t wait to see him pitch, but I just don’t want him hurt over something that could have easily been avoided.

  • moethedog

    Heck…I thought the M’s 2nd spot hitter (and SS) should have been Hulett!

    Yuni should be in KC…or Tacoma…or anywhere but Safeco…

    Keith

  • FelixFanChris420

    Is there a worse starting SS in baseball than Betancourt?

    He has taken less than 60 walks in the past 3 seasons combined, has the range of my kid sister and the power of a 90 year old woman.

    Truinfel can’t get here soon enough!

  • FelixFanChris420

    Dustin Shires,

    “This team is so close to being a team that can win this AL West”

    I disagree and am curious as to why you think this is the case?

    Oakland has gotten alot better in the offseason, the Angels are a little bit weaker losing Big Tex, but are still better than we are by a considerable amount. We could finish ahead of Texas and their terrible pitching, but even that isn’t a sure bet.

    If everything breaks perfectly our way, and I mean PERFECTLY I have us in second place.

  • Mariners121212

    Do you know many 90 year old women who can hit 10 homers against professional pitching? If you do I would like to meet her.

  • Mariners121212

    And the A’s have not done enough to contend. They got two great hitters to help out their offense which will now be a mediocre offense. They didn’t bring in any pitchers so they are relying on 5 young starters to be healthy and effective for a whole year.Good Luck.