Three years ago today, the Mariners fired GM Bill Bavasi after five years at the helm. Seattle was an MLB worst 24-45 at the time, and they went on to become the first team in history to lose 100 games with a $100MM payroll. Current GM Jack Zduriencik took over after the season and immediately went to work rebuilding the team around Felix Hernandez and Ichiro Suzuki.
Here are this week's links as we draw closer to the trade deadline…
- Crashburn Alley says the Phillies should proceed with caution if they pursue Josh Willingham in a trade.
- Cracked Bell Sports makes a case for Philadelphia letting Ryan Madson walk after the season.
- Brotherly Glove bids farewell to J.C. Romero.
- The Blog That Boredom Built explains why the Twins need to update their evaluation methods.
- The Cub Reporter looked ahead to the Cubs roster and payroll obligations going into the 2012 season.
- Bleacher Nation tells us what Cubs owner Tom Ricketts' vote of confidence in GM Jim Hendry really means.
- Lasorda's Lair says that Mark Cuban's next project should be to save the Dodgers.
- From The Upper Deck evaluated Pirates GM Neal Huntington's trades.
- Bay City Ball wrote about the Giants' unlikely aces.
- Camden Crazies praised Orioles' shortstop J.J. Hardy.
- SF Giants Rumors spoke to Baseball America's Jim Callis about the Giants' top two draft picks.
- Beer Leaguer refutes Ozzie Guillen's claim that Paul Konerko is a Hall of Famer.
- FanSpeak says the Nationals need to trade Tyler Clippard.
- Two Guys And A Sports Blog explains why MLB needs Bryce Harper.
- That's The Bottom Line thinks the Mets should trade David Wright instead of Jose Reyes.
- Rising Apple lists ten players the Mets should trade before Wright or Reyes.
- River Ave. Blues explored the concept of restructuring the Yankees' front office.
- Bronx Bombers Report wonders if the Yankees should pursue Scott Kazmir.
- D'Backs Central, meanwhile, wonder if the Diamondbacks should go after Kazmir.
- Call To The Pen looked at two breakout players from the 2005 Devil Rays that were cut this week.
- Tomahawk Chop tries to figure out what the Braves will do once Nate McLouth is healthy.
- The Hardball Times tackled the myth of Dan Haren, with a fantasy twist.
- MLB Reports makes a case for expanding and changing the MLB playoffs.
- Baseball Nation matches up some baseball players with their representative volcanoes.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.
