FanHouse FranklinGutierrez

SEATTLE -- Given that the Mariners have struggled mightily offensively, the signing of No. 2 pick Dustin Ackley serves as a serious momentum boost for an organization looking to escape a series of shaky moves under the Bill Bavasi tenure.

For example, Bavasi traded Adam Jones and George Sherill for Erik Bedard, and he selected Cal's Brandon Morrow over the University of Washington's Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft. Morrow is in the minors while Lincecum is one of the top starting pitchers in the major leagues.

So the Mariners needed this. They needed to sign the best hitter in college baseball. Ackley hit .422 with 22 home runs and 73 RBI in 66 games for the University of North Carolina. Signing him went down to the final minutes, with general manager Jack Zduriencik revealing that the deal was agreed upon at 8:45 PM PT, about 15 minutes before the deadline.

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

"This concludes our test of the emergency attendance enhancement system. We now return to the regularly scheduled season."

Yes, the 13th season of interleague play wraps up Sunday, except for a Cubs-White Sox makeup game. We have survived six San Diego-Seattle games (that's more zeroes than an A-Rod paycheck).

We didn't learn much we didn't already know: the system has inherent flaws and the American League rules.

For the sixth straight year, the AL has had** the better record in interleague play – 129-108 going into today.

Take out Cleveland and Oakland, and the AL is 119-84.

"It probably is" as big a gap between leagues as in past years, one AL team official said, "until you get to the World Series. Then it doesn't matter."

As you might have heard, defense is the new big thing. It's not a revolutionary idea to suggest that having good defense can help you win baseball games, but the improvement the Rays made from 2007 to 2008 was quite a wake-up call around the majors. They had essentially the same pitchers, and they actually scored fewer runs, but they won 31 more games with good defense.

Which brings us to the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners were a train-wreck of a team last year, despite what we all thought was supposed to be pretty good pitching. Now, the Mariners are riding high in the AL West, with the best ERA in the league. Most of their pitchers are the same (granted, Erik Bedard has been healthy).

The difference could be Endy Chavez and Franklin Gutierrez.

In 2008 the Seattle Mariners, projected by many to contend with the Angels for the AL West title, suffered through a miserable season, finishing the year 61-101. Because of that disappointment -- they ended the season 39 games behind first place L.A. -- people were generally down on their prospects in '09. So when they started hot out of the gate, 9-6 and 2 1/2 games clear of the rest of the division, it took many by surprise.

For a variety of reasons, though, it's really not all that shocking. First and foremost, it's only 15 games; I mean, come on, even the Pirates are 9-6. But there were also a number of reasons to think that Seattle would be significantly improved entering the season.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the...
Team who someone predicted would win the World Series last year. Seriously. When you stop laughing, you can check out the link (he's the top one listed -- though when you see his other atrocious picks you won't be surprised). Was I any better? Glad you asked. I actually took Mr. Downey to task before Opening Day. You can check the rest of my stuff if you wish, as there were some misses in there.

Anyway, it's safe to say expectations are a slight bit lower heading into '08.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Cleveland Indians.

Coming off a 96-win season in 2007, the Indians were expected to be one of the stronger teams in the AL last year. Cleveland looked like it was going to compete with the Tigers all year for the division crown. They had Victor Martinez, one of the best catchers in the league, along with a 1-2 punch of CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona atop the rotation. As always, there were some concerns, including fifth starter Cliff Lee, whose 2007 ERA was 6.29. But on the whole, it looked like it was going to be a pretty good year.

The Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians may both call the AL Central home, but apparently that isn't going to stop them from trying to work out a trade that would help both teams.

You see, the Royals feel like they need to improve their offense, and while they're at it, they'd like to move David DeJesus to left field, where he's a better defensive option.

The Indians, meanwhile, have a surplus of young outfield talent and have an opening at third base after sending Casey Blake to the Dodgers in July. They were hoping Andy Marte would grow into that third baseman, but it's starting to look like Marte will never reach the potential the Tribe originally saw in him.

Which is why this prospective trade between the two teams makes so much sense.

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote that want ad for the Cleveland Indians, who were looking to fill a position out in left field? Well, stop sending in your applications because apparently the Indians found someone to take the job. As a result, Jason Michaels is about to be designated for assignment.

Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro held a conference call on the team's day off Monday to announce officially what had been rumored for a few days: The team will designate veteran outfielder Jason Michaels for assignment and recall rookie Ben Francisco from Triple-A Buffalo today.

''(Francisco) is an outfielder that we felt potentially could give our club a spark. (He's) obviously got more power and has the ability to not necessarily be a platoon guy,'' Shapiro said. ''He has been a guy who has hit left- and right-handed pitching, so he gives [Indians manager] Eric [Wedge] the ability to both keep [left fielder] David Dellucci strong and healthy and also protect [right fielder] Franklin Gutierrez some as well.''

This move is one that had to be made, because while Dellucci has been giving the Tribe some production, Michaels has been terrible. In 21 games he's hit .207/.258/.276, which just doesn't cut it unless you're some kind of defensive superhero, which Michaels isn't.

Ben Francisco hasn't really done much better down in Buffalo, hitting .228/.308/.315, but he did go 2-for-6 in a brief four-game stint with the Indians a few weeks ago.

In sports, there are always surprises in the first week or so of the season. For baseball, think Chris Shelton's April two seasons ago. Then think about the rest of his season and remember that the length of baseball's season, unlike other sports, is the great equalizer. Knee Jerk Store will be here to help you rationalize the reality of an out-of-nowhere big performer (If there's someone else you'd like to see profiled at any point during the season, email FanHouse's friendly fantasy experts.)

Kosuke Fukudome -- I don't know how to say "Holy Moses" in Japanese, but if I could, I would. I was live-blogging the game Monday and man, was he freaking awesome. I'm serious when I say he might post a .750 OBP this season. I would really like to change my NL ROY pick now. So very much legit.

Xavier Nady -- With two taters and four RBI he beat down my Bravos, basically singlehandedly, not to mention Nady led the majors (well, tied with Jim Thome) in both categories for today. Which means absolutely nothing. Dudes, ladies, brahs. He's 29. He posted a .330 OBP with an above average BABIP last year. He's gotten better against righties, but he's still not great, and well, that doesn't fly if you're starting in the major leagues. As Pat Lackey pointed out to me Monday night when I mentioned the X-man's big night -- and he's right, by the way -- the Pirates need to give Steve Pearce some run instead of wasting a spot with Nady. I suggest you do the same with your fantasy team.

Yunel Escobar -- I will now abandon all the statistical reliance that you see above and just say that I implicitly trust Bobby Cox beyond any reasonable limit. The man took my team to 14 straight division titles. He's not Joe Morgan-y, in that even if Cox is old-school he's not curmudgeony about it. And he likes Escobar. And so do I, especially his 2B, SS, 3B eligibility. You'll just have to trust me on this one. Legit.

Yesterday Matt Watson reported that all that talk of Jason Bay going to Cleveland in exchange for Kelly Shoppach and Cliff Lee was dead. The trade wasn't going to happen.

Things changed over night, because now it appears that a deal is seriously being looked at by both sides, and it could be completed by the end of the day.

That Jason Bay deal, all of a sudden, is alive.

In a surprising twist, the Pirates and Cleveland Indians revived talks at the Opryland Hotel late last night and developed a framework for a five-player trade, Bay and catcher Ronny Paulino going to Cleveland for outfielder Franklin Gutierrez, catcher Kelly Shoppach and either starter Cliff Lee or a minor-league pitching prospect.

So let's see. As of yesterday afternoon, the Indians didn't feel that this deal was necessary. While they were offering Kelly Shoppach and Cliff Lee, they didn't feel giving up anything else for Bay was needed to make their team better.

Then there was that minor trade between the Tigers and Marlins, and for some reason the Indians were willing to add more to their offer, in the form of Franklin Gutierrez.

Still, in my opinion there has to be a better deal for the Pirates out there somewhere. Franklin Gutierrez and Kelly Shoppach are nice, but Cliff Lee had a 6.29 ERA last season before being sent to the minors, and is guaranteed $10.5 million over the next two years.

Especially now that the Indians feel pressured to make a move after the Tigers big catch, the Pirates could probably try and pry a little more value out of them.