As for Daisuke, you’re talking about a whole different issue. If a player makes decisions that hurt the team’s on-field performance because he doesn’t like his teammates or whatever, I’d call that stupidity, not a chemistry issue. And things like that only happen in rare cases. The Mariners already have Griffey, as well as a guy like Jack Wilson and a cool-headed manager. They were going to get along just fine, with or without Sweeney. If this was a team that was having clubhouse conflicts all the time with players that were constantly at each others throats, I think this would have been a lot more easily justified.

The relevance of the list is that, like it or not, the value of a non-positional RH bat is seriously reduced given the decision to start Kotchman everyday. And if Bradley starts getting DH starts against LHP, that role is pretty insignificant until someone gets hurt.

As for the 08 mariners, look at the 07 roster and give me another reason for dropping off 27 wins. Sure their was some talent lost, terrible trades, and a big fat pitcher signed to suck it up. 27 wins though? I think that 08 team had the worst attitude, worst coaching, and just generally shitty morale after injuries. Take the total flux of changes between the two seasons, and bad chemistry has to amount to a few losses right? By the way I hate assigning the word “chemistry” to every intangible that takes place off the field. Is good coaching chemistry? Are friendships chemistry? Leadership? Mentoring? Healthy communication? I just think there is value in all this that shouldn’t be derided as “just chemistry.” I know it’s not as important in pro baseball, but it is important in all team sports to a degree. The real point isn’t that GOOD chemistry necessarily helps in the win column, just that teams with BAD chemistry like the 08 M’s seem to let it effect their play and lead to underachievement. We all know of teams struggling, then getting bad attitudes and exacerbating problems while the season spirals out of control.

Was Dice-K’s decision last year not to take place in Red Sox conditioning program a chemistry issue? I would argue it was, or at least a case of a player not joining his teammates in the program b/c he felt special (I know, WBC contributed). If he swallows his ego he probably doesn’t get hurt though.

So all I would say, in conclusion, is that “chemistry” isn’t just slapping backs and making friends in the dugout. It’s the totality of actions taken by the organization to get the most out of their players, and the players to get the most out of each other. I hope this is the case with Cliff Lee mentoring Ryan Rowland-Smith!