My two cents: Mariners finished trading season with a grin

Although it can’t be quantified like a batting average, expectations for Seattle Mariners fans marked a power surge over the winter after a big gain off the field in the off season. The Mariners and their fans came out of the winter trades with a collective grin.

Things, they say, are going to get better. Again, supporters of the Ms are pegging a win in the AL West with the Angels falling off the throne.

The Ms last year improved to 85-77, a gain of 24 wins over the horrible 2008 season. Seattle topped the American League in pitching with a 3.90 earned run average with 1,348 hits allowed Felix Hernandez rated number-two in the league with a 2.48 ERA.

The down side for Seattle was a .258 team hitting average, tied for last with the White Sox.

Seattle finished 2009 third in the AL West, two games behind the Rangers. Still, they marked a joyous farewell at the end of the season, probably the best field parade ever for a third-place finisher.

Once again, an effort was made here to log the winter trade action which made the team what it is today. The scrapbook doesn’t include all the moves, but it provides a sketch of what happened and what could happen. Day to day sources, of course. were the baseball writers who get the credit here. The aim is to compile the info to answer the basic question: who are these guys and how did they get here?

Oct. 6-Kirby Arnold of the Everett Herald points out only Ichiro Suzuki in left field and Franklin Gutierrez in center field are solidly booked to be back for 2010. Suzuki finished with a .352 average and Gutierrez with a .283.

Arnold notes second baseman Jose Lopez top RBI man with 94 on 165 hits could be traded because of his defense and the talent coming up.

Oct. 20-Catcher Kenji Jojhima, who complained about being benched while rookie Rob Johnson played, opted out of the last two years of his 2008 contract. He leaves $15.8 million on the table. GM Jack Zduriencik said Jojhima’s decision was somewhat unexpected.

Jojhima’s contract allowed him to opt out by Nov. 15 to finish a career in Japan. Now 33, he hit .268 in his four years with the Mariners. After nine years of playing in Japan, Jojhima set a record as a major league rookie in 2006 with 137 hits.

Third base coach Bruce Hines departs. Zduriencik said the rest of the coaches will stay.

Adam Moore, 25, who joined the roster Sept. 17 and played in six games, is the lone active catcher on the roster. Johnson is expected to undergo operations on both hips and rehab all the way to spring training.

Nov. 12-Ken Griffey, Jr., who will mark his 40th birthday Nov. 21, signs one year contract. Earlier reports noted Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, was actually checking out a contract when Griffey and the Mariners wrapped up the season. He is expected to get a higher base salary with fewer incentives, Griffey signed for a $2 million base.

Griffey hit .214 last year with 19 homers. He had a big role in changing the morale in the clubhouse. It was his 21st year in the majors.

Nov. 14-Jack Wilson, the shortstop obtained in the big late July trade, signs a contract for two years at $5 million per year. The Mariners traded Ronny Cedeno and Jeff Clement to Pittsburgh for Wilson and Ian Snell. Zduriencik said Wilson arrived last year with a strained hamstring and sustained a heel bruise when he hit first base while trying to run out a hit. He played in 31 games and averaged .224.

The year ended with Josh Wilson filling in for Jack Wilson. Josh hit .250 in 128 at-bats.

Wilson’s arrival followed Yuniesky Bettancourt’s departure for Kansas City. At this time, the Mariners expect two other infielders, Adrian Beltre and Russell Branyan to become free agents.

In signing the two-year contract the Ms put aside a club option to keep Wilson for one year at $8.4 million.

Nov. 19- Kirby Arnold of the Everett Herald reports on catcher Rob Johnson’s surgeries. Johnson over the 32-day span underwent operations on both hips and the wrist of his non-throwing hand. He will do six days of workouts a week at his home near Peoria, Ariz., and should be ready for camp.

Nov. 20-Opening day for 171 free agents who were previously restricted to talking with their own teams. Wilson signed. That leaves Adrian Beltre, third base; Russell Branyan, first; Endy Chavez, outfielder and Mike Sweeney, DH, in the market. Also, Erick Bedard and Miguel Batista, two pitchers in the “didn’t work out” category after signing big contracts with the Ms, are on the free agent list, finally.

Nov. 22-Chris Jakubauskas, the Mariners’ minor league survivor who had success in a long-awaited rookie season, is claimed off the waiver wire by Pittsburgh.

Dec. 6- Chone Figgins, Angels third baseman, is reported to be on the brink of signing with the Mariners as a free agent. Closing the Figgins deal is delicate at this point because Beltre could still be in the fold as the M’s third baseman. He has one more day to accept arbitration

Geoff Baker’s article in the Seattle Times points out the Mariners’ GM will depart for the baseball winter meetings with a lot a cash leeway on the books. About $50 million in cash had been cleared as player contracts expire.

Some of that could have to go to pay arbitration settlements and there could be a whopper extension in the works for Hernandez.

Dec. 8-Beltre declines arbitration.

Dec. 9-Figgins deal wrapped at $36 million for four years with $9 million possible for a fifth year if he makes 600 plate appearances in the fourth year. Figgins, 31, hit .54 RBIs last year. He scored 114 runs, and stole 242 bases. He’s averaged 48 steals in eight seasons.

Dec. 10-Mariner Minor leaguer Robert Rodriguez suspended for 50 games after testing positive to using performance enhancing drugs.

Dec. 13- Deadline for clubs to offer contracts to free agent. Ryan Langerhans, 29, didn’t get an offer from the Ms.

Dec. 17- Mariners get Cliff Lee, 2008 Cy Young award winner, in trade with Phillies. The Mariners trade minor league pitchers Phillippe Aumont and Juan Ramirez and outfielder Tyson Gilles. Lee arrives with just one year left on his contract at $9 million, and the Phils decided to trade him rather than face the big free agent contract he will seek next year Instead they sign Toronto’s Roy Halladay. Lee, 41, has a 90-52 mark with a 3.97 ERA over eight years. He pitched two world series wins over the Yankees to finish the season. Lee booked 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA with Cleveland in 2008 when he won the Cy Young award.

Dec. 18- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports Lee was somewhat shocked by news he was headed for Seattle. He thought his agent was working on a long-term deal with the Phillies. He was deer hunting on his property in Arkansas when the rumors started. Lee said he likes the Mariners’ lineup and believes Safeco is pitcher friendly.

Dec. 19-Spokesman Review’s John Blanchette suggests the real reason the M’s signed Ken Griffey, Jr., to another year: he will be needed to help keep “Misanthropic Milton,” Milton Bradley, on task. The Mariners picked up Bradley in a trade for Carlos Silva. It was described as a dual dumping. Bradley was sent home for the last two weeks of the 2009 season by Manager Lou Piniella and the Cubs after he riled the Chicago team.

Zduriencik said he’s checked with former coaches who believes Bradley’s problems are based on his passion to win.

The Mariners sent along $9 million with Silva who has $25 million left on a four-year, $48 million contract. Bradley, 31, has two years and $22 million left on a three year contract with the Cubs.

Dec. 22-Payroll tax time. The Yankees with $226.2 million on the payroll last year will be the lone team to pay a luxury tax, $25.69 million to small market teams. Over the seven-year history of the tax, the Yankees have paid $174 million, all but $16 million of the total paid in the pot. Remember seeing CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira in the playoffs. Add the tax to the actual payroll and the Yankees’ total was $251.89 million.

Seattle’s payroll last year actually dropped, from $120.5 million to $102.3 million.

Dec. 24- Brandon Morrow is traded to Toronto for reliever Brandon League and Johermyn Chavez, a minor league outfielder. After a great close in 2008, Morrow was booked as the M’s closer for 2009, but he blew saves and David Ardsma answered the call.

Morrow was sent back to Tacoma to tune back up as a starter and eventually returned to the Ms in September. He finished at 3-6 with a 5.58 ERA. Toronto plans to use him as a starter.

League, 26, has 168 career appearances with the Jays. He has a great sinker and hitters put down 2.33 grounders for every fly.

Chavez, 21, from Venezuela, played at Class A Lansing last year.

Jan. 6.-Good-bye to the Big Unit and Mr. Snappy. Randy Johnson retires at 46. He was 303-166 overall with 4,875 strikeouts, a record for lefties.

Jan. 7-Edgar Martinez gets a 36.2 percent mark in Hall of Fame voting in his first year of eligibility. He needs 75 percent.

Jan. 8-The first base mystery clears: the Ms get Casey Kotchman, 26, from Boston in a trade for Bill Hall and a player to be named later. Kotchman was traded to Boston by Atlanta in the middle of last season and played in 39 games for the Red Sox over the balance of the season. He hit .268 with seven homers and 48 RBIs last year.

Zduriencik likes Kotchman’s ability to play defense. He did not make an error last year in 114 games at first base.

Jan. 9-Beltre signs with Boston for $9 million with option for $5 million in 2011, or $10 million if he logs 640 plate appearances this year.

Jan. 22-Felix signs into the future. One of the big pay question marks is removed with a five-year contract which avoids arbitration. Felix, 23, was two years away from being a free agent. He gets $3.5 million for signing, $6.5 million this year, $10 million in 3011, $18.5 million in 2012, $19.5 in 2013, and $20 million even in 2014.

Jan. 29-Outfielder Eric Byrnes signs a one year contract for $400,000. Byrnes comes off the Diamondbacks’ roster where he signed a three-year deal on 2007 for $30 million. Arizona still has to pay him $11 million for this year.

Feb. 6-Bedard signs for $1.5 million. The contract offers big incentives, $8.5 million if he produces.

Feb. 13-Russell Branyan now reported by the Times to be looking elsewhere after the Mariners signed Kotchman to play first. Branyan eventually signs $2 million deal with Cleveland for one year. Back problems, which knocked him out of the M’s lineup last year, sidelined him in spring training with Cleveland.

Feb. 19-David Aardsma reported happy to have a slot firmed up at the start of camp. Aardsma, signed at $2.75 million, answered the call last year after the Brandon Morrow faded. He had 38 saves in 42 chances. Last year he was unsettled; this year he’s underpaid.

Feb. 22-Ian Snell, 28, a pitcher in the seven-player trade back in July, signs for $4.4 million. Snell looks more and more like he’ll be in the rotation, but nobody seems to know where.

Feb. 24-Ichiro reports to camp for his 10th season. He notes it’s nice to return to a coaching staff which has undergone just one change. He’s a little surprised to see Jose Lopez playing over at third and Figgins, the newcomer, at second.