Kuzul

It’s like hitting the big red reset button.

Spring comes and players report to Arizona. Some have new looks with their hair or physical condition. Some spent the winter hibernating while others never stopped to enjoy the downtime.

You never know what you’ll get from your team heading into a new season. Unfortunately, the 2010 Mariners saw that these surprises aren’t always as sweet as the contents of a box of chocolates.

So we turn the page to 2011 and find out what surprises lie ahead. Here are 10 of those that we might (maybe, possibly, could) see.

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This week, we take a look at the best hitter-pitcher combo in the American League.

I’m one who believes total value wins championships. Not pitching, not defense and not a power bat. If you have the overall balance and more total value, you’re the best.

So, then, it would be important to have both a solid bat (who can play defense, but that’s not factored in here) and an ace on the mound. A door slammer if you will.

There are a few things I valued highly when sorting these rankings. Some of them will be viewed as unconventional to some readers, and that’s fine. I welcome any and all comments below.

For batters, I used an advanced metric called Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+). The link can explain this to you far better than I can. In a nut shell, though, wRC+ is a park and league adjusted stat that combines everything a player does to contribute to runs scored.

Why is this better than conventional stats? It’s not Player A’s fault no one is ever in scoring position when he gets a hit, so RBI is kind of sneaky in that it doesn’t tell the whole story. Same with Player B who always gets stranded at third. His run total isn’t revealing everything.

For pitchers, I went with Fangraph’s version of WAR. Pretty much every way I looked at pitchers, they shook out in the same order. I put very little stock into stats like wins for pitchers, but having to defend that became a lot less likely now that Felix Hernandez won a Cy Young with such a low win total.

For both pitchers and hitters, I made some adjustments for expected regression due to age, luck etc.

Now that we have that stuff out of the way, let’s get to the results.

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From “Mr. Mariner” to “The Bone,” there have been nicknames.

From Arquimedez Pozo’s one plate appearance to Edgar Martinez’s franchise record 8,678, there have been different lengths of stays.

Since 1977, the Mariners have employed hundreds of players. While not every team has a history rich with players like the Yankees, they all have a large pool of players where you’ll find interesting characters who defined the franchise.

The following rankings were determined by a combination of stats, longevity with team and character. Only factors we know were considered.

Without further delay, here is a look at 50 players who wore the trident or compass rose that we’ll never forget.

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Ah, yes. Chone Figgins. The man that was supposed to tag team with Ichiro to form a 1-2 punch in the lineup that would drive managers and pitchers batty.

Things didn’t go so hot for Figgins. Which, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t make him a guy you’d give up on. However, consider almost ever other Mariners player had a poor season and the team now looks to rebuild, Figgins and his big contract are no longer a good fit.

Before we jump to any expectations of a trade happening, we must first realize that the odds of a deal happening are low. At least until (if) Figgins rebuilds some of his value. Currently, his trade value couldn’t be any lower. If he gets off to a hot start, though, another team may become interested.

Moving back to third base will help get him part of the way there. Getting on, stealing bases and scoring runs will be the other needed ingredients. Then, of course, there needs to be another team with a need.

Here’s a look at five potential deals to get this done.

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Milton Bradley must have found the challenge of getting into trouble on the field too simple.

On Tuesday night, it was reported by KING5 News that Bradley had been arrested and charged with a felony in Los Angeles.

Full details aren’t yet available, but according to Mike Ferreri of KOMO News, he was in violation of penal code 422 which translates to some sort of bodily harm threat. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but this could be as serious as a death threat.

Bradley has posted $50,000 bond and has been released from police custody.

What does this mean for his Mariners future? Well, there was a pretty good chance that Milton would be out of the picture. Considering his history with new manager Eric Wedge, a couple bad years statistically, and his continued issues, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see him let go.

This pretty much just gives the Mariners every reason they need to move on.

The question will surely be asked about what this means for the Mariners having to pay Bradley. The CBA is very much in favor of the player in these incidents. Unless he does significant jail time, the Mariners are most likely on the hook for all of his remaining salary.

Let the “get out of jail free” card jokes commence.

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Hey, did you hear? The Mariners were lousy in 2010. Terrible. Awful. Dreadful.

Ah, heck. I’ll just link you so you can see all the synonyms for “bad.”

That poor, poor dead horse.

Much has been ballyhooed about the shortcomings of the most recent episode of Mariners’ baseball. Especially due to the predicted success placed on them entering the season. No one had delusions of an express lane to the division title, but it was widely thought they could duke it out and hang in there in a weak AL West.

A knockout in round one is hardly hanging in there.

So, let’s all agree to officially move on. We’ll start by focusing on the immediate future to see how we can expect some of those let downs to turn around, becoming 2011 success stories.

When your baseline is so low, a relative term like “much” doesn’t seem so far-fetched, right?

However, I believe the improvement from certain players next season will unquestionably be seen as a large step forward.

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In a surprise announcement, the Kansas City Royals have sent out a press release that RHP Gil Meche will retire, effective immediately.

Meche, who is only 32 years old but has fought injuries, spent the past four seasons with the Royals after beginning his career with the Seattle Mariners. He was drafted 22nd overall in the first round of the 1996 MLB Amateur Draft.

Though he had mediocre success while in Seattle, the Royals handed Meche a five-year, $55 million contract after the 2006 season, which at the time matched Mike Sweeney for the largest contract in franchise history.

Due to baseball contracts being guaranteed, Meche could have stayed with the club and collected the salary from the final year of his contract, even if was unable to pitch. There was some thought that he may pitch out of the bullpen if healthy.

Meche finishes his career with an 84-83 record and a 4.49 ERA.

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First off, I don’t think it takes expert analysis to realize the Mariners probably won’t be competing in 2011.

However, baseball is a funny game. The same Mariners that lost more games than anyone expected in 2010 could make a quick turnaround as soon as 2012—possibly sooner.

When I talk about competing, I mean exactly that: competing. I don’t think the Mariners have a great chance to win the division this next season, but there’s reason to believe that the core they have and a mediocre AL West could have them hang around in the hunt for a while if the ball bounces their way more often than not.

We saw it in 2007 and 2009. A team expected to be bad hung in there late into the season. That doesn’t mean we should view those results and be optimistic that it can happen again, but perhaps with a few moves they can increase the probability just a little.

If those moves don’t, well, at least it sets them up for their real run at contention coming in the next few years.

Here are 10 moves the Mariners could make during the course of this season to improve the club now and in the future.

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The Mariners continued their expected bargain shopping today by signing infielder Adam Kennedy to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

Kennedy, who turned 35 today, is coming off a poor season with the Nationals where he hit .249/.327/.327 with only three home runs. Although, he’s only one season removed from his last productive season, where in 2009 he hit .289/.348/.48 with 11 homers.

He does provide above-average defense at second base, so even when the stick isn’t working, he’s not a complete black hole on the roster.

It’s difficult to gauge how a player will progress as his career reaches the mid 30’s. Many players start to regress, as Kennedy did in 2010, but there’s also a chance that last season was an off year.

This is a no-risk move with some upside, of course.

If Kennedy doesn’t show anything in spring training, the Mariners can dump him for nothing. If Dustin Ackley doesn’t break camp with the team, though, and Jack Wilson gets hurt again, Kennedy is a nice low-cost veteran to plug the second base hole allowing Brendan Ryan slides over to shortstop.

This also means there is no situation that would see either Chone Figgins playing second base, or Josh Wilson playing every day. Both of those things are a net plus for the team.

It’s never a bad thing to have a log jam when it costs you nothing.

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Word came out today from Kirby Arnold of The Herald up in Everett that the Mariners have asked Chone Figgins to slide back over to third base.

Figgins has agreed to do so. Not that he’d really have a choice, and it’s silly to think he wouldn’t want to.

Though he bounced around during his days with the Angels, third base is quite obviously Figgins’ best position.

In 2008 and 2009, Figgins posted a UZR of 10.6 and 16.6 in each year respectively. For the Mariners in 2010, Figgins’ UZR at second base was a meager -12.3. While UZR is a dish best served after two years of aging, it’s quite obvious he’s better suited to the hot corner.

This now opens the door for newly acquired Brendan Ryan to start the season at second base until Dustin Ackley gets the call. At that point, Ryan can slide over to shortstop if—when, Jack Wilson gets hurt.

Who knows if this will lead to Figgins being more comfortable and thus a return of some of his offensive value? It surely can’t hurt, though.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com