[Taylor's note: In an effort to make the off-season more interesting, Griffin and I are bringing in several guest writers (we've seen the likes of R.J. Anderson and Jay Yencich so far), as well as a possible permanent writer in Nathan Hoover.  Here's the second part of our interview with the incredibly knowledgeable Mariners prospect master Jay Yencich.]
Sodo Mojo: In your opinion, who is the fastest man in the Mariners minor league system as of right now? The one with the most power potential? The best overall defender? The best pitching prospect?
Jay Yencich: For speed, now that Gillies has skipped [...]

Hey guys. So yesterday, I was presented with a nice writing opportunity, and as of today, I am now the Seattle Mariners writer for Heater Magazine, which is a digital baseball magazine. Here’s a little more about the magazine, directly from their site.
A one-year subscription to HEATER is $39. Our publishing year starts in February with weekly issues of ”Radar Tracking” (augmented by Spring Training stats in March), and then, after Opening Day, we publish twice-weekly (Monday and Friday evenings) through September. Subscriptions purchased in mid-season extend to the following year.
From what I’ve seen, it’s a really cool thing they’re doing, and I’m happy to be a [...]

Sodo Mojo: Dustin Ackley headlined the 2010 Mariners draft, but Rich Poythress and Nick Franklin, two clearly very talented young position players, flew slightly under the radar. What’s your take on these two and their respective potentials and weaknesses?
Jay Yencich: I think perhaps the only reason they were “under the radar”, so to speak, was because our expectations around that time were rather different from what happened. I suppose anything after Ackley might end up disappointing anyway, though with the state of the system right now, both have their arguments for top ten placement.
I loved the Poythress pick at the time, still [...]

The Mariners have signed Eric Byrnes to a one year deal, according to several different sources. Still waiting on details. In short, I like this move. He was awesome in 2007, but after he signed a giant three year deal with the D’backs, he started getting hurt a ton, and his production completely fell off. However, he’s only 33, he can still play solid outfield defense, and he was really, really good just two years ago. Also, the Diamondbacks are going to be paying pretty much his whole salary, so it’s very likely that we’ll be getting him for the [...]

[Taylor's Note: Nathan is auditioning for our open 3rd blogger position with this post, along with several others (whose work may or may not be posted).  Griffin and I really like what he has to offer, and we'd like input from readers as well.]
Griffin is nice enough to give me an opportunity to try my hand at blogging. So, of course, I’ve got to find a way to publicly show him up. *That’s* called a first impression, folks.
First off, let’s get the idea of Griffey in LF out of the way. Dave from USSMariner debunked this idea before the start of the season [...]

This is a series in which I’ll be going over my personal top 20 Seattle Mariners 2010 Prospects. As you can see, I’ll be counting them down, starting at 20,  and I’ll try to do them, well, whenever I get the chance. Keep in mind that almost all of these are completely debatable, and reflect only my personal opinions.
James Jones is a 21 year old, speedy, left handed outfielder. He was the Mariners 4th round draft pick (113rd overall) in the 2009 amateur draft, and he spent the 2nd half of 2009 down in Everett. His value as a prospect [...]

[Taylor's Note: We are happy to announce that Rays blogger and Fangraphs.com author R.J. Anderson has graciously agreed to write a guest article for SoDoMojo, and we are even happier to announce that said article is about the sexiest fourth outfielder currently on the Seattle Mariners roster.]
Griffin’s Note: Big thanks to R.J. for posting this. Read more of R.J.’s stuff at either FanGraphs or DRaysBay. Do it.

Truth be told, I never had a soft spot for Ryan Langerhans.
I took full advantage back when the Braves were always on TBS. Langerhans broke onto the scene for more than a cameo in [...]

Originally when Harrison left, we decided that we were going to see how things would work with just two of us on board. Well, it’s worked alright, but both Taylor and I feel like this is a blog that really isn’t complete without a third writer. So, we’re casually hunting for one. What we’re looking for is someone who knows a good amount about sabermetrics & using them in analysis, as well as someone with above average writing and grammar skills. If any of you happen to be interested in this opening, and feel like you meet the aforementioned criteria, [...]

Up until now, pretty much everyone has been looking at the AL West as a three horse race. It was generally agreed on that it would be the Mariners, Angels, and Rangers fighting it out until the end – but now, it’s starting to look more and more like anyone’s game. The A’s landing Ben Sheets certainly doesn’t make them the division favorites, but with the upside that he has, it’s probably enough to push them into contention. I mean, even before today’s signing, they really weren’t as bad as a lot of people seemed to think. Just a couple [...]

According to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, Ben Sheets has signed a one year deal with the A’s, reportedly for more than $8MM. Disappointing, but I’d rather see him end up in Oakland than in Texas, I suppose. We knew that the A’s had money to spend, so this doesn’t really come as a huge surprise, although I know a good portion of us had been holding out hope that he would end up in Mariner blue. Oh well.
Update, 10:56 AM: Both Buster Olney and Jon Heyman are reporting that the deal is for $10MM plus incentives. That’s quite a [...]