Mariners' Brandon Morrow Plays Musical Chairs

Minor leaguers Jake Woods and Ryan Rowland-Smith stand to be the primary beneficiaries as the Mariners prepare to trade starter Jerrod Washburn and convert former top closer prospect Brandon Morrow into a starter.

At the same time, former starter Miguel Batista has been demoted to the bullpen, leaving a total of three holes in the Mariners rotation with the loss of injured ace Erik Bedard. Look for Wood or Rowland-Smith to claim at least one of the spots, though Woods seems to be holding down a bullpen position for now.

The spate of personnel moves appear to set the stage for the trade of Washburn to the Yankees, or perhaps to another suitor as other teams may try to claim him.

Though the non-waiver trading deadline has passed, Washburn would ordinarily have a high probability of going unclaimed because he is owed one more year on his four-year $37.5 million contract, which initially had been worth more than $50 million with incentives.

But any number of teams might find room for him -- not only to block the Yankees -- but to take advantage of the veteran lefty's recent rounding into form, as Washburn has a 3.24 ERA over his last 10 starts, games in which even the underperforming Mariners have managed an impressive six wins.

Washburn's career mark stands at 98-97.

Morrow -- the former UCLA starter whose fastball occasionally tops out at 98 mph -- is a major puzzle piece in the team's effort to fill the vacuum to be left by Washburn, with Wood and Smith-Rowland also looking to advance from Tacoma as the 25-man roster revamped before expanding to 40 players Sept. 1.

The team anticipates Morrow will be ready to start for the parent club well before the end of next month, though he has yet to throw more than 50 pitches in any of his minor league appearances.

Bedard meanwhile is expected to miss time for at least another three weeks. Though the Mariners have maintained loyalty to rotation mainstay Carlos Silva, it would appear the team would have little to lose by sitting Silva in favor of offering youngsters more chances to pitch, leaving yet another opening in the rotation, even if just for a start or two.

Lefties are hitting .344 against Silva, righties .300, as he has failed to last more than six innings in two of his last three starts.

Mariners Finally Address Bill Bavasi's Incompetence

Bill Bavasi's amusing run as general manager of the Seattle Mariners has ended. Hired before the 2004 season, Bavasi managed to assemble only one team that did not finish last in the AL west -- the 2nd place finishing 2007 team. The current squad is not only in last place, but its 24-45 record is the worst in baseball.

Some of Bavasi's questionable moves during his tenure:

• Signing Richie Sexson for four years $50 million
• Trading top prospect Adam Jones, George Sherrill (now Baltimore's closer), and three pitching prospects for Erik Bedard
  
• Signing Carlos Silva for 4 years $48 million. Silva is 3-7 with a 5.79 ERA

This list is kind of a waste of time because you can trace just about every Mariners player to a questionable signing or trade. The Tacoma News Tribune has Bavasi's lengthy rap sheet here.

The Mariners are going nowhere this year and probably nowhere next year or the year after, but this firing could set the stage for an Erik Bedard trade.

The new GM will have no attachment to Bedard and it would make sense to trade the team's most valuable commodity. The Yankees might be interested, now that Chien-Ming Wang is out for six weeks. The Cubs and Blue Jays have also shown interest in the past.

Pitcher Erik Bedard's Status? Vexing

Seattle Mariners superstar southpaw Erik Bedard -- the American League's 2008 Cy Young recipient-in-waiting -- is on the trainer's table again with a bum hip, doubtless receiving a wide variety examinations, radiological imaging studies and physical therapy modalities followed by a raft of anti-inflammatory injections, oral medications, potions, liniments and incantations.

The Mariners medical staff (along with a sizable representation of the Mariners Nation) likely would take a dead cat to a graveyard at midnight under a full moon and swing it three times if they thought it would do any good. Heck, manager John McLaren would probably sacrifice a virgin if he could find one.

What's most troubling is that Bedard (1-0, 3.27) has had his left hip chirp at him before, and it may very well be that it is worse than the team describes it. Certain things do not add up.

Remember the report that the injury was holding up the trade with Baltimore? Yet McLaren says the injury occurred when Bedard was "throwing in the outfield." Then Bedard was quoted as saying he woke up with the problem. Well, which is it? And why was he throwing on flat ground in the outfield?

Some fans may be reassured because Bedard's problem is in his hip and not his shoulder or elbow. But it would be foolish to think his lower extremities are unimportant.

Look at the action photo of Bedard. Yes, he knows how to pitch, and he has a lightening bolt coming from his shoulder joint. But look at his left leg! His power is largely generated from his legs. All hard throwers will tell you the secret to their heat is in the legs.

Now, is it possible that his is a new, true-true-and-unrelated injury related to casual throwing in the outfield? Possible -- but doubtful.

There is some loose talk about that Bedard is suffering from an "impingement" syndrome of the hip. What's that? Perhaps he has ileotibial band syndrome or simple trochanteric bursitis -- not dissimilar from what Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado was complaining about a few weeks ago. If Bedard is feeling a snap or a click, it may not be the hip joint at all, but inflammation of the musculoskeletal structures about the hip joint.

Regardless -- all the miracles of modern sports medicine notwithstanding -- Bedard is just going to have to rest, and with that, his arm will unavoidably wither.

Bedard can perform physical therapy, lift weights or participate in long toss, but to be a sharp pitcher, on his game, he has to pitch. He is just going to have to take a break. He'll be back, but it's a good bet he won't get 20 starts this year. Bye, bye, Cy Young. See you in 2009.