What Went Wrong?

At the MLB halfway mark, the Seattle Mariners season is more dead than Mel Gibson at a Lilith Fair concert. What looked like a team primed for a postseason run has turned into yet another rebuilding effort for a franchise that hasn't reached the playoffs since 2001.

Everyone knew that the Mariners would struggle to score runs. And while they have, few could have predicted the M's would have this much trouble. Getting the Mariners to put runs on the board has become the baseball equivalent to getting George Michael to stop crashing his car. It only happens on rare occasions.

What makes the Mariners 2010 season even more frustrating is that every single regular sans Ichiro has underperformed. Add Chone Figgins to the unimpressive list of Mariners free agent signees who screwed the pooch in northwest green and navy blue. Casey Kotchman seemed primed to finally fulfill the potential that made him a top prospect for the Angels. What he's shown proves why he's on his third team in less than a year. Milton Bradley was supposed to recapture his 2008 All-Star numbers, but all he's done is have a mental breakdown and struggle to keep his average above .200. The list goes on and on.

GM Jack Zduriencik made a surprise winner of the 2009 team by unearthing talent that other organizations had given up on. While it looks like Jack Z overplayed his hand by applying the same strategy on the 2010 squad, nobody could have predicted such offensive ineptitude.

Nobody expected Ken Griffey Jr. to hit 35 plus home runs as the Mariners designated hitter. But nobody could have foreseen Griffey hitting .184 with no home runs and retiring in a huff.

Griffey serves as a microcosm for the M's season thus far. Hoping for the best. Getting the worst.

But for all the commotion over how bad the offense has been, the achilles heel for the Mariners season has been the bullpen. The offense was intended to put 3-5 runs up per game, while the starting pitching, stellar defense and lockdown bullpen would take care of the rest. The offense is a big issue. The major issue and the primary reason why M's fans are suffering at record high rates (OK, just me), is the bullpen, stupid.

M's relievers have a 4.81 ERA. Good enough for worst in the American League. They are tied for the league lead with 13 blown saves. If the bullpen did what it was supposed to do, then you're looking at a team that's very close to .500, instead of 18 games under. Everyone in the pen from closer David Aardsma to mop up guys like Garrett Olson have sucked beyond belief. Throw in setup man Brandon League who routinely quits on the mound, and you've got a real problem.

Luckily, a bullpen is the easiest thing to restock and revamp. The Mariners have enough live arms in their minor league system that it's hard to imagine the pen being a problem going forward.

This brings us to last week's Cliff Lee trade, aka raising the white flag. Lee had to go because the Mariners stand a better chance of resigning John Olerud next offseason than they do Cliff Lee. To let Lee leave via free agency for two of the Yankees (Lee replaces Andy Pettitte who will retire after the Yanks win the Series) draft picks would have been ridiculously irresponsible on Zduriencik's part.

But Jack Z is a master dealer and he brilliantly struck a trade with division rival Texas for Lee. Even with Lee, the Rangers aren't going to the World Series. So while this trade strengthens the Rangers in the short term, it undoubtedly weakens them long term as they gave up their starting first baseman in Justin Smoak, along with three pitchers.

All indications are that Smoak will has a great career ahead of him. But he's a prospect. Casey Kotchman was a prospect too. So was Jose Lopez. Let's hope Smoak's path diverges from theirs.

What can't be denied is that what the Mariners got in return for Cliff Lee was far better than what they gave up (kinda hard not to do considering they gave up a kid who's hearing impaired, and a French Canadian selected by former GM - high functioning retard Bill Bavasi).

With the trading deadline just two weeks away, one could assume the Mariners will start trading any usable parts. But the sad truth is that right now Lopez Aardsma and whoever else you want to throw in that pack aren't worth more than a couple A, or AA fringe prospects.

George Steinbrenner's passing on Tuesday got me thinking about the cost of building a winner. The Yankees are seemingly in the playoffs every year thanks to their never ending payroll. Yes, they've wasted ridiculous amounts of money on players like Raul Mondesi, Gary Sheffield and Carl Pavano. But their recent signings of Mark Teixiera, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, along with trades to obtain Curtis Granderson, Javier Vasquez and Nick Swisher have not only made the Yankees a better team, but also far younger.

The Yankees, along with the Red Sox spend money to make money. They've had competitive teams every year for the last 15 years. It makes for a great story when a team like the San Diego Padres, whose entire payroll is barely more than what Alex Rodriguez earns in a season, is leading the NL West. But the Padres, along with every other mid to small market team is going to have some good years and some bad years (unless you're the Royals, Pirates or Orioles and you always suck).

As long as the Mariners organization remains intent on spending just enough to give the impression that they're trying to put a competitive product on the field, there is no reason to believe the M's will be anything more than a team that produces a few solid years, mixed in with some really crappy ones.

Throw together some terribly poor performances on the field with the Mariners front office's refusal to up their payroll, and you've got what will ultimately be the fifth losing season out of the last seven in Seattle.

And that's Mariners baseball 2010.

Witness Protection

The LeDouche James free agency melodrama that ultimately culminated in his decision to um...take his talents to South Beach has created all sorts of reactions throughout the country. Cleveland fans are understandably irate, while the incredibly loyal Miami Heat fan base is beside itself. Everyone else seems to accept LeDouche for what he is - a phony who can now never be considered an all-time great player. Hurricane LeDouche tore through Cleveland at a ferocity not seen since the Browns left in 1996.

The issue is that LeDouche played Cleveland, the Cavs, and every team that courted him into thinking that they stood any chance of signing him. LeDouche has known for some time that he wasn't going to be playing in Cleveland long term. Why else would he force his way into free agency?

But instead of being a man and coming out and saying it, LeDouche lead everyone on like the hot girl in high school who starts getting rides from the poor schmuck who just got his driver's license.

The Cavs organization bent over backwards to put together a team of player's that could complement LeDouche. When he needed a point guard, they snatched up Mo Williams. When he needed some muscle after Dwight Howard manhandled the Cavs, they brought in the Shaqtus. When they desperately needed an all-star power forward to help them get over the hump in this year's playoffs, they made a deal deal for Antawn Jamison. And lest we forget about the humanitarian effort the Cavs made when they found a lover for LeDouche's mother.

Nobody understands what Cleveland's going through better than Seattle sports fans. We lost Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez in a 29-month span. But aside from losing a great player, we lost and ENTIRE FRANCHISE! (Yes, I know Cleveland lost the Browns temporarily. Seattle is not getting a NBA team in the next 10 years). Now Seattle is known as the best soccer city in America (yay!). Beat that.

LeDouche has received considerable praise for leaving $30 million on the table to sign with Miami. So in that regard, his situation is similar to Junior's. But Junior didn't force his way to the Yankees (or as my grandma's Puerto Rican care taker says, "the Jankees"). He forced his way to Cincinnati so he could be closer to his family. Instead of leaving home like LeBron, Junior went home.

Yet the overall feeling I get from this deal is reminiscent of Pay-Fraud's $252 million payday that followed months of Pay-Fraud talking about how much he loved Seattle and wanted to stay there. The Pay-Fraud deal was solely driven by money. LeDouche clearly is not. But the way both athletes carried themselves and put on a front for fans and other organizations is eerily similar.

Almost ten years later, Pay-Fraud still remains one of the most despised player's in baseball. Ten years from now, don't be surprised if LeDouche is held in the same regard.

A New Crown

Sports Illustrated runs a blurb in every issue called "Sign of the Apocalypse". It's aptly titled considering you'll see something like, "A Philadelphia woman refused to go to the hospital after going into labor during an Eagles game".

I fear that next week's "Sign of the Apocalypse" will be viewership for LeBron James' free agency special was higher than the State of the Union.

Now I must admit, LeBron has expertly milked his free agency for two years. The only thing missing is that he didn't offer his press conference on pay-per-view. I haven't been so anxious to hear an announcement since the classic Ruben vs. Clay battle in 2003.

Part of my anxiety stemmed from the uncertainty that live TV brings. ESPN devoted an entire hour in prime time for LeBron. I was hoping to see World Wide Wes perform a solo tap dance. Maybe even a couples interview like they do on "The Bachelor" with Delonte West and Gloria James.

In the end, LeBron chose Tony Montana over Joe the Plumber. Is that such a crime? You'd need a psych eval if you chose to live in Cleveland over Miami. But when you consider that LeBron is an Ohio native and the only thing keeping Cleveland afloat economically, it really makes you wonder how LeBron could leave.

The irony of this is that even with LeBron, the Lakers are still better than the Heat (the Celtics might be as well). Not only does the Lake Show feature a far deeper roster, but they have a better power forward than Chris Bosh in Pau Gasol, a LeBron stopper in Ron Artest and Kobe, who regardless of what the "experts" say, is the best player in the NBA.

LeBron now becomes the most hated basketball player outside of Miami. So along with his new team and his new city, I propose a new name - LeDouche.

Trading Places?

After my month-long moratorium on blogging following the dagger to the heart of my 2010 Mariners dream season, I figure it's time to switch gears.

The NBA free agent frenzy will hopefully move from rampant speculation to legitimate decision making in the coming days. The balance of power could shift to a super team that features a combination of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Or we could see James and Wade stay put, with Bosh floating around as the wild card.

For the Cleveland's sake, it would be great to see LBJ stay put. But if LeBron does decide to bolt, the National Weather Center should create "Hurricane LeBron". The nightly news will show chopper shots of Clevelanders standing on their roofs, begging to be rescued. Cleveland will immediately become Detroit 2.0 and we'll see another Midwestern city go down for the count.

LeBron's legacy would also be greatly enhanced for showing loyalty to Cleveland. He's let this entire free agency hoopla take on a life of its own solely for his ego's sake. He could have signed an extension with Cleveland at any point. But James chose this path. It's hard to imagine his defection going over well with anyone except those who root for whatever team he potentially ends up with. King James could easily become the NBA's answer to Alex Rodriguez.

D-Wade's situation doesn't have nearly as much riding on it as LeBron's. While Wade is undeniably one of the Top 5 player's in the league, the city of Miami is not nearly as dependent on him. (They survived Bimbo Coles being traded, so they'll get by). And even more importantly, Wade peacing out would leave the Heat with just Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers under contract. This would ultimately have to be made into a reality show called "Mario and The Bease", featuring the two hot boxing the Heat locker room while they openly mock Pat Riley's hair. Riveting TV.

What's gotten lost under all this free agent madness is how financially inept most NBA GM's are. Unless you put a value on pouty power forwards who can't rebound or defend, Amare Stoudamire is not worth $100 million. Nor is Joe Johnson worth anywhere near $120 million.

Why a franchise like the Hawks that is perennially bad (even their "good" teams of the mid-eighties couldn't get past the Eastern Conference Semis) feels compelled to give dole out $120 million to a guy who averages slightly north of 20 points a game, while struggling to shoot 45 percent from the floor is Example A of what's wrong with the NBA.

There are maybe 10-15 players in the NBA that aren't replaceable. If you play fantasy basketball then you understand that statement. What it basically boils down to is that 90 percent of NBA players will put up good numbers if given enough minutes. There are a few select player's whose production simply can't be replicated. But otherwise the parity is astoundingly similar. It's not coincidental that Flip Murray averaged over 20 PPG for the 2003-2004 Sonics when Ray Allen opened the season on the injured list. Flip got the minutes. Flip filled up the box score. Simple as that.

LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh are three of the best in the league. Wherever they land, and where they don't, will be greatly affected for years to come.