With youngsters in the fold, Seattle Mariners looking to become competitive
The Seattle Mariners are increasingly under the sharp critical scrutiny of the game observers this time. The reasons are numerous. It is in no way the eagerness to set the ball rolling as far as the commencement of Spring Training, prior to any other team
is concerned.
The scrutiny is generated in part by the team’s willingness to venture something not-so-unheard of. They have devoted their attention and energy to find a pool of young talent and rely on energetic Draft picks.
As far as amassing an aggregate of agile players is concerned, the club has achieved the planned. Their calculation and execution of plans for rebuilding the team will have the tangible results in the near future.
It will be quite hasty to criticise this approach. It may have flaws, but there are positives that cannot be overlooked, or omitted. All the same, the simplification of this approach will not be considered advisable either.
Faced with teams like Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels in the American League, not to mention the Oakland Athletics, the Mariners have gone for Draft picks to fill the 40-man roster. Names include and are not limited to, Danny Hultzen, James Paxton and
Taijuan Walker coupled with that of Erasmo Ramirez.
The Draft picks mentioned above do not play in different positions. They are exclusively the pitchers. Of the four, Ramirez is one exciting addition. The reasons being, the fact that the young player is excited to do what is expected of him.
He knows the challenge involved in getting your name slated in the roster. But the fact that he is only 21-years-old and has the chance to play shows the club’s willingness to try the young talent this time.
"I'm pretty excited," Ramirez said. "This is the opportunity everybody wants. I tried to find a spot in the Seattle rotation, but you've got a lot of guys over here. You never know what's going to happen, but all I can say is I'm going to keep working. The
general manager and manager and everybody are going to make a decision and say who is going to stay or not, so my only worry is just to take every opportunity they give me."
Seattle Mariners might not have inspired much excitement in the recent past by their performance. However, their willingness to go for an endeavour that most Major League teams avoid shows how farsighted their calculation for the future is.
With the inclusion of the relatively new, inexperienced and young players in the roster, they have demonstrated that what the team could not achieve in the past will be attained in the future with the help of these players.
However, this inexperience cannot be refuted as lack of sophistication and talent. All these youngsters will surely have something exciting to offer. In the long run, their utility will be ever more treasured for the team that is in the re-building phase.
It will be exciting to see some of these young players take the field during Spring Training. The team will be hoping they get some experience playing against some of the top tier teams in the League.
The Mariners will definitely be taking a big chance on pinning their hopes on the inexperienced players, but with the support being given, the players look like they are up to the task of leading from the front during the 2012 Major League Baseball regular
season.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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