Say Goodbye to Mariners’ Savior

This post is a bit of a social experiment. Do we still care about the Mariners? I’ll let the comments be the guide.

Meet Stephen Strasburg. As a starting pitcher who regularly reaches triple-digits on the radar gun, he might be considered a solid addition to a pitching staff that features Fats Silva and a host of other mediocre veterans. His most notable achievement so far is a one-hitter against Utah with 23 strikeouts.

Generally acknowledged to be the #1 pick in next year’s MLB Draft, the Mariners lost a chance to get him by sweeping the Oakland A’s in the last series of the season. Way to go Bombs. Wah-waaah.

Here’s the thing though. He’s going to end up in New York or Boston. He’s already retained Scott Boras as an “advisor” and I don’t consider it likely he’ll be suiting up with the Washington Nationals next season. So maybe it worked out for the better.

So what’s going on with the Mariners? Who would you keep off this 40-man roster? Here’s my list:

Infielders:

• Adrian Beltre
• Jose Lopez
• Yuni Doubles (maybe?)
• Luis Valbuena
• Jeff Clement (the only catcher with a future)

Outfielders:

• Mikey Morse (official H&F heartthrob)
• Wladimir Balentien
• Jeremy Reed
• NOT Ichiro

Pitchers:

• Miguel Batista
• Ryan Feierabend
• R.A. Dickey
• Sean Green
• Felix Hernandez
• Mark Lowe
• Brandon “I should really be Tim Lincecum” Morrow
• J.J. Putz
• Ryan Rowland-Smith
• Jarrod Washburn
• Sean White (Mercer Island woot! woot!)
• Jake Woods

That’s 20 players for the 25-man gameday roster. If you can somehow manage to unload the deadwood on that roster, you can sprinkle in five Rule V field players and try to duplicate the Tampa Bay Rays.