FanHouse Mark Lowe

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

After a disastrous 2008 season that claimed two managers (one interim) and a general manager, the Mariners returned to respectability in 2009. General manager Jack Zduriencik placed an emphasis on bargain players -- Franklin Gutierrez, Russell Branyan, David Aardsma -- while manager don Wakamatsu stressed fundamentals. The result was the Mariners finding a way to 85 wins despite being outscored by 52 runs over the course of the season.

A major factor was how good the defense made the pitching look. Despite injury woes for Erik Bedard and the loss of Jarrod Washburn in a trade at the deadline, the Mariners had an AL-best 3.87 ERA (and it wasn't close, as the White Sox checked in at second with a 4.14). According to most advanced metrics, Seattle had the best defense in baseball thanks to Gutierrez, Ichiro, Jose Lopez and company. Of course, they'll be looking for some firepower as they move to 2010. Last season, only the Padres and Pirates crossed home plate fewer times than Seattle.

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An interesting statistic just flew by me. Over the last two weeks three pitchers have blown two saves. While that's not earth shattering stuff, it is odd that two of these three pitchers play for the Seattle Mariners.

In addition to David Aardsma and Mark Lowe's inability to close out games over the last two weeks, they've also seen spikes in ERA. Aardsma hasn't had a month yet where his ERA was above 2.25. But, in August he's exploded for a 7.36 ERA. And, his 2.16 WHIP is approaching those low ERA's he enjoyed earlier. Lowe's high ERA of 4.34 from April to June has now risen to touchdown status as his post-June ERA is 6.84. These aren't the trends you want in your late inning pitchers.

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.

From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from Spring Training. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster making a surge for the "big club" we'll let you know the fantasy implications.

Los Angeles Angels
It turns out the Angels only rented Mark Teixeira for a few months. Now it's time to find a replacement. Kendry Morales tore up the Dominican Winter League to the tune of a .404 batting average with eight home runs and 29 RBI in only 26 games. He's also 6-17 through six Spring Training games. Nobody expects, or even asks, Morales to fill Teixeira's shoes, but the Cuban defector could blast 18 to 20 home runs and bat upwards of .280 if given full-time at-bats. He's a great late round fantasy draft flier in mixed-leagues and should be grabbed in AL-only leagues of any depth.

For your fantasy assistance, Always Be Closing will occasionally stop in and take a look at some relief gigs that are worth monitoring, should the current closer falter. Finding saves is a cheap and dirty business. And there are always a few jobs that are murky, especially early in the season. Thinking ahead never hurt anyone.

Milwaukee Brewers -- Currently, Eric Gagne, he of the longest save streak in MLB history and Mitchell Report implications, is the closer. His name is funny for blown saves because it has so many "choke" implications in it. But it's not funny if you're Ned Yost or a fantasy owner dealing with the ERA inflation. The reality is, Gagne has lost something, whether it's an outside boost or an inside-the-head thing; if you witnessed his meltdown against the Cubs, it's obvious. Derrick Turnbow might not be the answer though, because one would think the Brewers wouldn't pay Gagne if they already had him and felt he could close. David Riske is the guy I'd take a cheap run at -- last season in Kansas City he had nearly a 2:1 K:BB ratio and he very quietly hasn't had an ERA over 4.00 since 2003.

With the Sonics on the verge of skipping town and Seattle likely to end up with an expansion team, at the very least the Mariners were keeping the city alive, what with their MVP candidate Adrian Beltre (okay, maybe I'm the only one who thinks that ... yet), new ace in Erik Bedard and stud closer J.J. Putz.

Actually, you have to scratch that last one now, since Putz has been placed on the disabled list this evening following a rib cage injury he sustained before coughing up a monster jack to Josh Hamilton last night.

When Putz was still sore after the game, the Mariners ordered a precautionary MRI exam for today, which revealed that he has something called mild costochondritis on his right side. That is described as inflammation where cartilage attaches to a rib. Right-hander Roy Corcoran was called up from Tacoma to take Putz's spot on the roster.

Now, one could have already argued that Putz' stats were going to revert back to at least "mortal" this season after a ridiculous 2007. But there was no question that his skills were legit and he was going to be a lights out closer for the M's this year. So this is not good news.

Costochondritis is described on WebMD as "an inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum". Purportedly it is "a relatively harmless condition and usually goes away without treatment".

So, in other words, breathe, Seattle. Putz should be back sooner than later. If WebMD isn't completely wrong, or if the Mariners didn't misdiagnose him, the closer should be back within a few weeks.

Bonus Fantasy Spin: The link above, Larry Stone's blog at The Seattle Times makes the best joke about who will close now: "Could be George Sherrill, could be Rafael Soriano. Oh, wait. Never mind." So I won't try. I will tell you that Mark Lowe would be a very nice guy to grab for a short term saves solution, seeing as how he's the current set-up guy for Seattle and would ostensibly begin closing. (Update: Miguel Batista closes for the M's tonight.)

Going into the spring, the Mariners had a trio of pitchers coming off of injury who were all battling for a spot in the Seattle bullpen as a bridge to the dominant J.J. Putz. Arthur Rhodes, Mark Lowe, and Chris Reitsma all pitched better than manager John McLaren anticipated, but in the end, the only one of the three hurlers to make the opening day roster was Lowe.

This news didn't sit well with Chris Reitsma, who left Mariners camp as soon as he found out he wasn't going to make the team. As for what Reitsma is doing now, the Mariners would like to know, because if they don't find out soon they won't be signing any paychecks with his name on it. (Third item)

Reitsma, who left the Mariners' spring training camp after being told he wasn't going to make the team, still hasn't told the Mariners whether he'll report to Triple-A Tacoma. He has a minor league contract, and if he does not report he would likely be placed on the restricted list, which would let the Mariners retain his rights but not have to pay him.

I guess I can understand Reitsma's decision not to report to Tacoma yet. After spending the last seven seasons in the Majors, it can't be the easiest thing to accept a demotion back to AAA. The problem is, Reitsma signed a minor-league deal with Seattle, so it's not like he didn't know that this was a possibility.

If he didn't want to go back to AAA, he should have never signed the deal in the first place, and if I were the Mariners I'd already have him on the restricted list.