Well, I'm glad that General Manager Jack Zdurnklafjls (I do know how to spell it...Zduriencik. THERE) still gets "excited" (this is a PG website) by anything having to do with his old club, but jeez, until today I didn't think there was such thing as a poor man's Richie Sexson. I guess that would make Russell Branyan the child molester's Ryan Howard.
.250 average, 12 homers in 132 at bats last year. Whole lot of strikeouts for the career.
Awesome.
Fun Fact: I actually saw big Russ play last year...FOR THE AAA NASHVILLE SOUNDS.
He seemed like a nice enough guy. He even waved to his daughter from the on-deck circle when she cried out, "Daddy!"
And his wife was super hot.
Maybe this wasn't such a bad signing after all...
4 comments:
Matt, I think you're overlooking the big picture here. This is definitely a good move for the Mariners for a variety of reasons:
1. Cost. Branyan is cheap, and we only have him for one year. This means that even if he is a total bust here, our investment was not very significant. In other words, he is a low risk player. Besides, we're giving millions to the collective black holes of Washburn, Johjima, and Silva per year - an extra million or two to Branyan is chump change for this club.
2. Versatility. He gives us a cheap, decent option at either 1st, 3rd, or DH. He could ride the bench and hit against righties (career OPS of .826 against). Don't tell me you feel comfortable with having Brian LaHair playing first this season.
3. He can hit the shit out of the ball. As a left handed power hitter, he is a great fit for Safeco and its accommodating right field wall dimensions. You mention that he hit 12 homers in 132 at bats last year as if its a bad thing. Small sample size aside, I'll take any player who goes yard one in every 11 at bats any day.
4. You're missing out on the big picture. Do you expect the club to make a splash with a big name 1st baseman free agent? Surely that would be a mistake at this point. Branyan is not going to make us a winning team, but he's a cheap, undervalued option that can fill the gap while Jackie Z rebuilds the team.
I'm not trying to make him sound like some kind of deity - you already pointed out some of his downsides. I just think you're selling him a little short by saying that one of his only redeeming qualities is the attractiveness of his wife...
-Mbad
Wrongo bongo, my blogging compatriot! As the other Matt already said more eloquently, Branyan is a fit for the ballpark, a fit for our roster holes, and a fit for our budget. He'll make nothing.
The move itself is nothing spectacular, but the mentality is. Bavasi would never look for solid bargain options like this that cost us NOTHING in talent (cough, Vidro, HoRam, cough). We got no current talent at DH or 1B, so he's not blocking anyone. There's literally no downside to signing Branyan. How can it be bad?
Also if we just want guys with super hot wives we should trade for Casey Daigle
great blog. first post i've totally disagreed with. last one too. good thing i started reading from the beginning i guess.
very easy for me to throw stones here 3/4 the way through the season, but as has been said, he's cheap, a consistent and decent hitter, and fits the park.
now he's one of the most over-achieving acquisitions we've had in a good while. i don't even recall hearing the word "over-achiever" tagged to a seattle sports player in a long time.
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