Mariners Sign First Pick Morrow
There's controversy rumbling in the underbelly of Mariner fandom, about whether the team passed over a pitcher named Andrew Miller in last week's draft because they felt he'd want more money than is allowed under "slotting," a Bud Selig brainchild meant to reduce signing bonuses.
USS Mariner Dave will brook no argument that Miller was, is, and will be a better pitcher than the Mariners' pick, Brandon Morrow. Mariner scouts, he says, agree. What happened, he writes in a post dripping with indignance, is this:
Due to his contract demands, Andrew Miller was not an option ... The club wasn’t going to fight Bud Selig on this issue. While we might all despise Seligula, the owners love him. He’s made them huge amounts of money and turned the public reaction against the players in almost every labor dispute. When Bud tells the ownership of every club to do the right thing to hold down costs, they listen, whether we like it or not.
Forgive us, but we can't get too fired up about stuff like this. In 1997, the M's supposedly made a ballsy decision by taking Ryan Anderson when other teams passed on him because they thought he wanted too much money. The M's gave him more than $2 million to sign. Now, he's in culinary school.
Seattlest's memory is littered with the names of supposedly can't miss pitching prospects that never amounted to a hill of sauteed veal cutlets on a bed of spinach served with a red wine reduction. Todd Van Poppel. Bill Pulsipher. Paul Wilson. Roger Salkeld. Mike Campbell. Brien Taylor. Poor Rick Ankiel.
Worrying about losing a guy in the baseball draft is like worrying about losing the phone number of a girl you met when you were drunk. Sure, she could have been "the one." More than likely, though, not. The guy we've got, Morrow, signed today, meaning that he'll pitch in the low minors this season.
He'll probably start in single-A Everett, in fact, so you'll have a chance to see him at least once. The Aquasox season begins June 19th.
