Tony LaRussa, Masahiro Tanaka, Mariners Rumors

Happy Saturday Mariners fans. We are just over a month away from the start of Spring Training. It’s been relatively quiet with the team of late – frustrating to most. But let’s recap some of the latest news including Tony LaRussa, Masahiro Tanaka and other Mariners rumors.

This is a Mariners Morning.

But first, some breaking news. Alex Rodriguez has been suspended for the entire 2014 season. The Yankees will not be on the hook for his salary and therefore should be expected to go on a shopping spree like an 18-year old with their first credit card.

Mariners Caravan

As we reported last week, the Seattle Mariners Caravan started its tour of the Northwest on Tuesday.

The caravan makes several stops at area schools and Boys and Girls clubs, but also makes several public stops. The first was in Lacey, Wa. on Wednesday. It included an autograph session and Q&A with Danny Farquhar.

They made another public appearance in Longview, Wa. on Friday and are scheduled to make additional appearances on the following dates and places:

YAKIMA
Monday, January 13, 2014
Yakima Valley SunDome
4:30pm – 6:00pm
Scheduled to appear: Nick Franklin, Brandon Maurer, & Aaron Goldsmith

WENATCHEE
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
U.S. Bank Wenatchee Branch
1:15pm – 2:15pm
Scheduled to appear: Nick Franklin, Brandon Maurer, & Aaron Goldsmith

MOSES LAKE
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
U.S. Bank Moses Lake Branch
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Scheduled to appear: Nick Franklin, Brandon Maurer, & Aaron Goldsmith

WALLA WALLA
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Whitman College-Sherwood Center (Main Gym)
4:15pm – 5:45pm
Scheduled to appear: Brandon Maurer, Charlie Furbush, & Mike Blowers

TRI-CITIES
Friday, January 17, 2014
Columbia Basin College – Gjerde Center
4:15pm – 5:45pm
Scheduled to appear: Brandon Maurer, Charlie Furbush, & Mike Blowers

TUKWILA
Friday, January 24, 2014
Southcenter Mall Mariners Team Store
5:00pm – 6:00pm
Scheduled to appear: Brad Miller, James Paxton, Michael Saunders, and Rick Rizzs.

Edgar Loses Ground in Hall Vote

Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

As you are all painfully aware of by now, Edgar Martinez was not elected to the Hall of Fame, in this, his 5th year of eligibility.

Adding insult to injury, the crowded ballot actually took votes away from Edgar as he fell to 25.2% down from 35.9% last year. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were all inducted on their first year of eligibility. Craig Biggio missed election by two votes.

We made our case for Edgar both individually and as a group. But the twitter post on the Mariners twitter page says it all.

The other nine are: Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Tris Speaker, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Harry Heilmann, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial and Manny Ramirez. ALL Hall of Famers, with the exception of Ramirez whom you can argue should or shouldn’t be depending upon how you view him.

Always classy, here is what Edgar had to say, courtesy of Greg Johns at MLB.com.

"The class going in is well-deserved, first-ballot players for sure. That is great. I kind of was expecting that it was a pretty good chance my percentage was going to go down. I wasn’t sure how much, but it was so crowded and writers can only vote for 10. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it’s never pleasant to go down in percentage. So we’ll see.Just being on the ballot and being mentioned as a potential candidate for the Hall of Fame is a great honor. I’ve been fortunate to have many people making a case for me, and that’s a great honor in itself. The ultimate honor is to get in, but I’ve been blessed to play the game and play for a long time and having people mention me as a potential candidate. We’ll just see what happens from here. –Edgar Martinez"

Tony LaRussa for President?

Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Now before you all start making your LaRussa 2014 buttons and your “In Tony We Trust” bumper stickers, let’s take a step back and look at this.

LaRussa’s name came up when we first reported that Chuck Armstrong was retiring. Now, a report from USA Today states that LaRussa is on the short list of potential candidates.

Then, later Friday, according to Greg Johns, the Mariners seem set in making the decision from a list of in-house candidates.

I’m not sure what kind of front office guy Tony LaRussa would make, but I’d be willing to find out. Seems like we will more than likely have to watch another team he takes control of to see how it works out.

Tanaka and all the rest

My 2011 baseball card of Masahiro Tanaka. Will he be in Mariner teal next year?

The latest on all fronts can best be summed up in one word.

Nope.

That’s the response the team is apparently getting from Masahiro Tanaka. According to Jason Churchill:

I get it. He probably has his eye on New York, Chicago, Los Angeles. Big market, high-profile cities. So scratch Tanaka off your wish list M’s fans.

As for Nelson Cruz, Matt Kemp, David Price and all the rest of the rumors, I wouldn’t say they are dead, but given the recent indicators that the M’s ownership doesn’t want to spend anymore money, I wouldn’t hold your breath.