Scooter Chapman
Seeing the Cliff Lee trade up close
Published on Wed, Jul 14, 2010 by Scooter ChapmanRead More Chapman
A funny thing happened to your old scribe last Friday. It was one of those moments you never forget and it worked right into today's prose.
I had a rare weekend with nothing scheduled, so I decided go to Seattle to see Cliff Lee pitch Friday and Felix Hernandez Saturday and make a side trip to Auburn to check how the ponies are doing at Emerald Downs.
Before I could get to Safeco Field Friday afternoon, I was listening to one of the Seattle radio stations and heard that Lee had been traded and a news conference was set for 3:30 p.m.
It was about 3 p.m. and I was in Shoreline. I hustled through traffic, found a parking spot at Safeco and hustled to the interview room just in time to hear general manager Jack Zduriencik announce that the Mariners had traded Lee and pitcher Mark Lowe to the Texas Rangers along with $2.1 million in cash to help pay Lee's remaining salary.
The Mariners received first sacker Justin Smoak, along with three minor leaguers in the deal.
The full house in the interview room heard Mr. Z explain: "This is a bittersweet day for us. While we are excited about the group of young players we have acquired from the Rangers, it's never easy to trade a player like Cliff Lee, who has been outstanding here. We decided that if we were able to acquire the amount of talent that we wanted, we would make a deal for Cliff. We concluded that these four players fit very well into our long-term plans, and at the same time we obtained some immediate help for our offense. Justin Smoak has a chance to be a special player, and we regard Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Matt Lawson highly as well."
After several questions, Lee, who had a 5:15 p.m. flight to Texas, entered the room and took some questions, said he enjoyed his stay here, was excited to go to Texas, which leads the division, and will take next year (he will be a free agent) when it comes. In the meantime, he added, he's a Ranger and will wear that uniform in the All-Star game.
The Lee deals
It was December 2009 that Seattle traded pitchers Phillippe Aumont, J.C. Ramiriz and outfielder Ty Gilles to Philadelphia for lefty Lee.
In spring training it looked like a great deal. Lee and Hernandez were one-two in the pitching rotation, with a lot of kids returning who had experience.
It was reported Lee wanted to discuss a long-term extension to his contract, but the M's did not want to talk.
Anyway, Lee missed the first month of the season with ailments and Seattle's brain trust thought they would have more hitting than they had.
Lee was 8-3 in 13 starts, but the Mariners were last in the AL West and showing no signs of gaining ground on the Rangers. Wait until trade deadline? Mr. Z was talking with the Yankees about a trade for a young power-hitting catcher, Texas was waffling on the deal for Smoak, then decided to act, made the offer and Seattle said yes.
Seattle sent cash and Lowe in the deal. Lowe, the terrific set-up man last year for David Aardsma, has missed most of the season with an injury and is out for the year. The Mariner bullpen has missed him.
Here's what Seattle got for Lee:
Justin Smoak. He's 23. He's 6-4 and 220 pounds. He is a switch hitter and was second in home runs with eight, with 10 doubles and 34 runs batted in 70 games as a rookie. He was .266 in June with six doubles, four homers and 22 RBIs to go with 17 walks and 16 runs scored. Smoak is in his second full season in professional baseball. Many feel he has the tools to be the next Mark Teixeira, the switch-hitting first sacker for the Yankees, who started as a Ranger. If he can come close to Teixeira, it will be the deal of deals.
Blake Beaven. He was 10-5 with a 2.78 ERA in 17 starts for AA Frisco. He's 21 and twice has been named Texas League pitcher of the week. He ranks first in the Texas League and was rated the pitcher with best control in the Ranger organization.
Matt Lawson. He is 24, with good stats. The 6-5, 200 pounder was batting .277 with 48 runs, 16 doubles, five triples and seven homers with 34 runs batted in 76 games for Frisco. He's a second baseman. He has an on-base percentage of .371, which is outstanding.
Josh Lueke. This guy is 6-5, 220 pounds and a closer. He has limited foes to a .209 batting average, walking 10 and fanning 62 in 38.1 innings for Hickory (A) and Frisco this season. He has had four minor league seasons and, at 26, looks to be odds-on-favorite to be a future stopper for the Mariners.
M's results
Seattle lost Friday's game to the Yankees, 6-1, but I did get to watch Hernandez go all the way in Saturday's 4-1 win highlighted by the grand slam homer from Jose Lopez in the eighth inning.
Lee, probably very tired from his trip to Texas, started last Saturday for the Rangers, went the distance and lost 6-1. He gave up three homers and wasn't sharp, although he threw only 22 balls.
He learned in a hurry that pitching in Arlington's band-box of a park is a lot different than pitching in Seattle's spacious Safeco Field where the air is not light like it is in Texas.
Smoak reported to Seattle late Saturday, tried on his uniform, met his new mates (some while he was taking infield ground balls during batting practice) and started at first base.
He fanned three times, the last one with runners in scoring position. It was too much to expect for him to do well the first time out, but he looks like a player and a good one.
Looking ahead
The results of the trade, of course, won't be known until after spring training next year, but on paper it looks like the Mariners have done well.
With first-round pick Dustin Ackley doing well at AA, Seattle's right side of the infield is looking strong for years ahead as they have Ackley playing second.
With Smoak playing first, time for Casey Kotchman will be limited. Russell Banyan also is a first-sacker, but look for him to continue at DH. With Victoria's Michael Saunders getting most of the play in left, Milton Bradley's days are numbered.
Zduriencik ended his Lee news conference this way: "The process of building a world championship team, which is what we're doing here, is based on continually acquiring more top talent for the organization. We were able to accomplish that in this deal with the Rangers. And we believe we have taken another step closer to winning a championship in the future with this trade."
Rule out the Mariners making the playoffs this season but don't rule it out for 2011.
Columns by KONP 1450 AM sports announcer Scooter Chapman appear weekly in the Sequim Gazette. He can be reached via e-mail at scooter@olypen.com.
I had a rare weekend with nothing scheduled, so I decided go to Seattle to see Cliff Lee pitch Friday and Felix Hernandez Saturday and make a side trip to Auburn to check how the ponies are doing at Emerald Downs.
Before I could get to Safeco Field Friday afternoon, I was listening to one of the Seattle radio stations and heard that Lee had been traded and a news conference was set for 3:30 p.m.
It was about 3 p.m. and I was in Shoreline. I hustled through traffic, found a parking spot at Safeco and hustled to the interview room just in time to hear general manager Jack Zduriencik announce that the Mariners had traded Lee and pitcher Mark Lowe to the Texas Rangers along with $2.1 million in cash to help pay Lee's remaining salary.
The Mariners received first sacker Justin Smoak, along with three minor leaguers in the deal.
The full house in the interview room heard Mr. Z explain: "This is a bittersweet day for us. While we are excited about the group of young players we have acquired from the Rangers, it's never easy to trade a player like Cliff Lee, who has been outstanding here. We decided that if we were able to acquire the amount of talent that we wanted, we would make a deal for Cliff. We concluded that these four players fit very well into our long-term plans, and at the same time we obtained some immediate help for our offense. Justin Smoak has a chance to be a special player, and we regard Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Matt Lawson highly as well."
After several questions, Lee, who had a 5:15 p.m. flight to Texas, entered the room and took some questions, said he enjoyed his stay here, was excited to go to Texas, which leads the division, and will take next year (he will be a free agent) when it comes. In the meantime, he added, he's a Ranger and will wear that uniform in the All-Star game.
The Lee deals
It was December 2009 that Seattle traded pitchers Phillippe Aumont, J.C. Ramiriz and outfielder Ty Gilles to Philadelphia for lefty Lee.
In spring training it looked like a great deal. Lee and Hernandez were one-two in the pitching rotation, with a lot of kids returning who had experience.
It was reported Lee wanted to discuss a long-term extension to his contract, but the M's did not want to talk.
Anyway, Lee missed the first month of the season with ailments and Seattle's brain trust thought they would have more hitting than they had.
Lee was 8-3 in 13 starts, but the Mariners were last in the AL West and showing no signs of gaining ground on the Rangers. Wait until trade deadline? Mr. Z was talking with the Yankees about a trade for a young power-hitting catcher, Texas was waffling on the deal for Smoak, then decided to act, made the offer and Seattle said yes.
Seattle sent cash and Lowe in the deal. Lowe, the terrific set-up man last year for David Aardsma, has missed most of the season with an injury and is out for the year. The Mariner bullpen has missed him.
Here's what Seattle got for Lee:
Justin Smoak. He's 23. He's 6-4 and 220 pounds. He is a switch hitter and was second in home runs with eight, with 10 doubles and 34 runs batted in 70 games as a rookie. He was .266 in June with six doubles, four homers and 22 RBIs to go with 17 walks and 16 runs scored. Smoak is in his second full season in professional baseball. Many feel he has the tools to be the next Mark Teixeira, the switch-hitting first sacker for the Yankees, who started as a Ranger. If he can come close to Teixeira, it will be the deal of deals.
Blake Beaven. He was 10-5 with a 2.78 ERA in 17 starts for AA Frisco. He's 21 and twice has been named Texas League pitcher of the week. He ranks first in the Texas League and was rated the pitcher with best control in the Ranger organization.
Matt Lawson. He is 24, with good stats. The 6-5, 200 pounder was batting .277 with 48 runs, 16 doubles, five triples and seven homers with 34 runs batted in 76 games for Frisco. He's a second baseman. He has an on-base percentage of .371, which is outstanding.
Josh Lueke. This guy is 6-5, 220 pounds and a closer. He has limited foes to a .209 batting average, walking 10 and fanning 62 in 38.1 innings for Hickory (A) and Frisco this season. He has had four minor league seasons and, at 26, looks to be odds-on-favorite to be a future stopper for the Mariners.
M's results
Seattle lost Friday's game to the Yankees, 6-1, but I did get to watch Hernandez go all the way in Saturday's 4-1 win highlighted by the grand slam homer from Jose Lopez in the eighth inning.
Lee, probably very tired from his trip to Texas, started last Saturday for the Rangers, went the distance and lost 6-1. He gave up three homers and wasn't sharp, although he threw only 22 balls.
He learned in a hurry that pitching in Arlington's band-box of a park is a lot different than pitching in Seattle's spacious Safeco Field where the air is not light like it is in Texas.
Smoak reported to Seattle late Saturday, tried on his uniform, met his new mates (some while he was taking infield ground balls during batting practice) and started at first base.
He fanned three times, the last one with runners in scoring position. It was too much to expect for him to do well the first time out, but he looks like a player and a good one.
Looking ahead
The results of the trade, of course, won't be known until after spring training next year, but on paper it looks like the Mariners have done well.
With first-round pick Dustin Ackley doing well at AA, Seattle's right side of the infield is looking strong for years ahead as they have Ackley playing second.
With Smoak playing first, time for Casey Kotchman will be limited. Russell Banyan also is a first-sacker, but look for him to continue at DH. With Victoria's Michael Saunders getting most of the play in left, Milton Bradley's days are numbered.
Zduriencik ended his Lee news conference this way: "The process of building a world championship team, which is what we're doing here, is based on continually acquiring more top talent for the organization. We were able to accomplish that in this deal with the Rangers. And we believe we have taken another step closer to winning a championship in the future with this trade."
Rule out the Mariners making the playoffs this season but don't rule it out for 2011.
Columns by KONP 1450 AM sports announcer Scooter Chapman appear weekly in the Sequim Gazette. He can be reached via e-mail at scooter@olypen.com.
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