Mariners Analysis

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Adam Jones sure looks good

There is no way as a Mariner fan you can't have an interest in Adam Jones. There were plenty of fans who were convinced Wlad was the better power hitter and ready replacement, and the team was all to happy to insinuate Jones was expendable due to his presence. I think that fantasy has offically been put to rest.

(Of course real talent evaluators loved Jones and saw Wlad for what he is- a guy who had one great season in AAA but otherwise still has lots of question marks.)

Dave over at USS Mariner caught a lot of heat for claiming he wouldn't trade Bedard for Jones straight up. So all the critics who said Cameron was crazy- how do you feel now?

Does the fact Jones is one of the best defensive outfielders in all baseball while making next to nothing mean anything to you? Does the fact his first week of the season has him slugging over .600 change your opinion of his value? I'll admit I still check his numbers regularly and root for him. It's not his fault or my fault we had a bunch of short-sighted critics who didn't correctly value "rookies."

Hargrove wasn't interested in playing a rookie like Jones to see what he could do. Jose Guillen didn't care if Jones had potential. Bavasi didn't care. McLaren didn't care. Baker argued the team was better off with Jones on the bench so Vidro and Ibanez could get at bats.

It's great Bedard is on the team. He's a nice pitcher but he's a free agent after this season and he's injury prone. Would I trade Bedard back to Baltimore for Adam Jones?

In a heartbeat. How about you?