We trade the very best in the game (Cliff Lee) for a f'kin .209 hitter and 2 schmucks. Jesus christ this team has goine stupid. I used to think Bavassi was the real turd but its much bigger than he ever was.




The M's sent Lee and reliever Mark Lowe to Texas for first baseman Justin Smoak and minor-leaguers Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Matthew Lawson.

The Mariners will also send $2.5 million to the Rangers to subsidize the $4 million still owed to Lee. Texas has financial limitations due to bankruptcy hearings associated with the sale of the team. There has been speculation that the Rangers -- despite leading the AL West -- would not be able to add weapons for the stretch run.

And there still could be trouble. An anonymous official of an MLB team said that the Rangers taking on $1.5 million in salary "is going to be an issue" since the team is currently being run by the league. It is not clear if the bankruptcy court would allow the team to take on that kind of debt.

Lee is 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA this season for the Mariners, his first in Seattle. The Phillies traded him this offseason after acquiring Roy Halladay.

Lee won the Cy Young while with Cleveland in 2008. Over nine seasons he is 98-55 with a 3.84 ERA.

It's unusual for a team to trade a start pitcher within it's own division, but the Mariners have been a huge disappointment. Heading into Friday's action, they trailed the Rangers by 16 games.

When asked how he felt about the deal, Lee texted "good I guess. Gonna be on a very good team. Definitely gonna be hot!"

Trading within their division is stupid. I thought Smoak was rated a top ten prospect in baseball?

F### the yankees is right!

I don't mind the trade, but you are basically guaranteeing a loss everytime you face him and he is in your division. Lee is an incredible pitcher. So fun to watch.

I agree with that part

He wanted out and was not going to sign another contract with Seattle. So you get whatever you can. It is not like the Mariners will make t he play offs.

It was a certainty Lee would be dealt this year. No way the M's wanted to drop the 20mil/year it will cost to sign him to a long term deal next year. Especially considering we need so much help on offense and already have a solid rotation without him. The Rangers won't have that kind of scratch either so it will be the Yanks signing him after the season is over like they planned to do all along.

Smoak is young and should develop nicely. The M's had the choice of keeping Lee the rest of the season and still finish last in the AL West only to lose him next season and get nothing for him this season or,........do what they did today and deal him to a contender for as many qualities players as they can get for him.

If people want to be pissed at someone for this season being in the $hitter they should look no further than Griffey. Dumb $hit Seattle fans who are more entertained by the dancing grounds crew than the actual game and ogle over the aged Griffey should know we could have had Vlad Guererro in the DH spot if Griffey knew he wasn't going to have what it took this year at 39yrs old. Hell,...he didn't take 1 AB during spring training.

Chuck S.,

It seems like you didn't know that the Mariners are a farm team for MLB. They don't retain quality players. They move them up to the major leagues. Does that help?

Sg

Where is Dan S and his matches when I need him

No.

Gotta remember they are owned by a corporate consortium.

Corporations don't go around owning things that don't turn a profit.

I think what we're seeing is a return to the Mariners of yesteryear where it's essentially a "farm team" that sells up & coming players for profit...

...Like Mark Langston.

I have become frustrated by the lack of knowledge Mariner fans display. Although I understand y'all are getting sick and tired of losing good players, this was a trade that needed to be made.

The Mariners are a bad baseball team right now. They suffer not from bad ownership but from money and draft picks spent poorly by Bill Bavasi. Bavasi signed free agents to big money contracts, losing many draft picks at the same time. You see in baseball if you sign a free agent the is good (type A or B) you lose raft picks So draft pcks were lost with the signings of Silva, Beltre, Sexson et al. Not only did the signings not pan out and handcuff the team monetarilly but by the time Bavasi was fired the farm system was bare.

Fast forward to when trader Jack cam along last year. The M.'s were below major league average at all positions but 3B and RF. At all other positions they had bad players. He engineered a trade for Guittierez where hegave up really just Putz. Guittierrez was statistically the best defensive CF'er in the history (albeit short history) of defensive metrics. He hits well and IMO is a top 3 CF'er in the game.

The M.'s still have MLB above average players at only 3 position CF, RF and 2B (Figgins will hit).

Here's the kicker though. 2 years ago they had one of the worst farm systems in the game. As of today they have 3 of the top 25 prospects in the game. These players (Ackley, pinata and Smoak) have the oportunity to produce and won't cost the team much in salary. This frees Jack from filling the team with tpe A or B free agents and losing more top draft picks. Addditionally this years Mariners draft was one of the better ones.
Cliff Lee is 31 and would have cost them a bunch of money. Decline phase for pitchers starts at around 33 w/o steroids. He would be declining at the time Smoak, Ackly, Guittierez etc. are starring.

This was an outstanding trade for the Mariners. They don't need pitching, they needed a young inexpensive middle of the order hitter. They got just that. Sure, he may not pan out. There is always a risk, but it's less of a risk then betting that you can sign a 31 year old from Arkansas to stay in Seattle. Even if the could, which they could not, it would be a risky move to give 7 years and 1000 Million or so to a 31 year old pitcher. Only teams with money to burn or Bill Bavasi as GM make that move.

Go Red Sox,
cds

Irie,

Remeber who they gor for Langston? If you recall that was one of the best trades in Mariner history.

Go Sox,
cds

MLB is a farm team for the Yankees.

Lee will be a Yankee next year no question as will Carl Crawford. MLB is a joke regarding the financial imbalance, go watch some Little League once in a while, its good for your soul:)

Thought it was a good move for the M's, got a better package then they gave up to get him and now they can make more moves ie Branyan and Lopez and possibly Bedard before end of July. Bring up the kids and start to see what they have, rebuilding an entire Bill Bavasi clusterfook of a farm system will take a few years...when does football start again????

For all the Yankees fiscal muscle, they have not been as succesful as you would think. With the end of steroids and amphetamines their model of having an older expensive team is more and more unsistainable. They make up for it by the huge money imbalance but Jeter is 36 A-rod is aging before our eyes Posada is 38. That thing could crumble by next year. Of course their pitching is excellent but Rivera is 38. Injuries happen to old players.

5-5 (5th),
cds

No Abu, painful and sports teams I root for go hand in hand. Nothing a few or 6 beers cant handle on any given Sat or Sun...Hawks will be better and should be fun to watch, SunDevils will have the best D in the Pac and the worst O but at least they will beat the Huskies and Cougs so that should make the year bearable...

No the Yanks dont win it every year SS, I get that but they also take about whoever they want each offseason after they move off a huge veteran contract or two and win 90-100 as a given. How bad would they be with 100 million less in salary? No one will beat them this year, not your Sox , Rays, Rangers or Minny. You have to give Boston credit for playing tough with a ton of injuries this year though...

The Sox if healthy can play with them as can Tampa.
You are right that it gets old watching the Yankees sign the 2 top free agents every year. They flex their muscle by drafting high ceiling tough sign kids and with the international free agents, but they are really old. With the exception of Cano and Granderson their best position players are all old. Like I said injuries happen to old teams. My beloved Sox have had their share even to some young players.

Nava,
cds

Charles,

There ya' go making me look ignorant about the Mariners. It just works better for me mentally if I believe that the purpose of the Mariners is to act like a farm team, train players until they get good enough for the "show" and then send them up to the major leagues. If I think about the Mariners being a ML team, then I just get frustrated.

Sg

Slamosalar is the guy here who knows what he is talking about. The M's front office did well.

Smoak has a chance to be an every-day middle of the lineup player. There are no guarantees, but he's ours for years to come, not months.

Trading within the division? This year is lost, and Lee is a pending free agent. No effect.