As if the philosophy change between current GM Jack Zduriencik and GMs of the past– namely Bill Bavasi– wasn’t apparent enough, Seattle’s newly formed sabermetic analysis department gives convincing evidence that today’s Mariners are nothing like the Mariners organizations of old.  We’ve known about this department since mid-November, but I haven’t talked about it on this site much.  Geoff Baker has some new info, though.

One new development with the Mariners that kind of got lost in the crazed aftermath of that 12-player J.J. Putz trade is that Seattle will no longer use an advance scout for games. This role is instead being transferred to the team’s new department of statistical analysis. The idea is that the team will receive video of their opponents and have workers in the new department break down each pitch from a statistical viewpoint. They can grade the break on curve balls, tendencies to throw certain pitches in certain situations, figure out what hitters like to swing at, that sort of thing.

The Milwaukee Brewers began using that approach when current Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik and assistant Tony Blengino were running their scouting operations.

This is pretty cool.  Traditional scouts are part of baseball tradition, but there is very little you can do to justify their existence at this point.  Can a scout in the third row behind home plate really determine more than someone sitting behind a monitor, who has multiple camera angles, access to slow motion, and many other technological advantages?

This is not the Seattle Mariners I grew up with, and that isn’t a bad thing at all.  I’m beaming.