Mariners close to deal with Carlos Silva

Great, just great.

I guess after the Kuroda signing with the Dodgers, talks between the Mariners’ front office and Carlos Silva have intensified. Silva will provide innings and limit runners on base, but he’s no Erik Bedard. Or Joe Blanton, for that matter.

On the bright side, a Silva signing would lessen the need to trade some of the M’s bumper crop of up-and-coming talent. It might also rule out the potential to compete in 2008 as well.

Geoff Baker on the Kuroda signing

Over on his Seattle Times blog, Geoff Baker agrees with me on the Kuroda signing.  Mostly.

The signing of Kuroda by the Dodgers is indeed a “big setback, just not catastrophic.”  By missing out on the best pitcher in a weak free agent class, Baker agrees that the Mariners need to focus like a laserbeam on Erik Bedard, if they’re to have “any hope of taking a step forward this season.”  Joe Blanton is next on Baker’s wish list after Bedard, but while Baker would send Adam Jones across the country to Baltimore for Bedard, he sides with the Mariners’ brain trust against trading Jones within the division.

Instead of mortgaging the future for Erik Bedard, perhaps attaining Blanton might be the most sensible option for a package of Brandon Morrow and Jeff Clement, thus retaining young Mr. Jones?

Mediocre pitcher now admitted wife-beater

Earlier today, Julio Mateo, former M’s reliever specializing in vulture wins by allowing opposing teams to score the tying runs in close games, pleaded guilty to beating his wife last season in a Manhattan hotel room.

Now out of baseball, here’s hoping that Mateo doesn’t return….