TERRY MOSHER
If you are rooting for any non-roster player to make the Seattle Mariners’ 25-man roster out of Spring Training, it might be good to go with Chance Ruffin, 26-year-old right-handed pitcher that has a unique connection to baseball.
Well, I’m probably the only one who thinks it’s unique.
Ruffin’s dad is Bruce Ruffin, a lefty who pitched for Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Colorado from 1987 to 1997. Bruce Ruffin was added to the Philadelphia roster in 1986 when the Phillies released future Hall of Fame (1994 inducted) Steve Charlton, also known as “lefty.” Charlton has the second most strikeouts of any lefty in MLB history (4,136) and the second most wins by a lefty (329).
This unique connection extends to Randy Johnson, the sullen former Mariner pitcher who like Charlton will likely be a first-ballot member of the Hall of Fame. Johnson has the most strikeouts of any lefty. (4,875).
Johnson will be eligible for the Hall of Fame vote in 2015, and while that ballot will be crowded with many players who deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, voters, like myself, are limited to voting for a maximum of 10, which could make it difficult to get a first-timer like Johnson in the Hall on his first try.
But if he doesn’t, I will be sullen.
This connection extends to Edgar Martinez, who deserves to be in the Hall but is being pushed further back by the pack of talented players who have become eligible or will soon eligible to be on the ballot – Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz along with Johnson will be eligible on the next ballot.
We all know that spring is full of hope. Trees and flowers start to bloom with the promise of a beautiful spring, the grass becomes greener and starts to grow again and the weather becomes warmer, or at least we hope so.
In Arizona where it is already warmer, hope springs eternal and as you and others flock there to watch a little baseball, play golf or just sit poolside with a big cigar and a bigger drink, players also congregate, many of them with a hopeful eye on a spot on the 25-man.
I’m going to jump ahead to April and take a half-educated guess what the final 25-man roster will be. This prediction is not intended for gambling purposes. In fact, it should be taken with a big grain of salt, along with a cold bottle of Corona.
Of course, all of this depends on everybody remaining healthy and not being traded to the Gorst Rubes before the regular season opens.
Pitchers – Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma (who may open on the disabled list (DL) with a bad finger), James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, Danny Farquhar, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Fernando Rodney, Carson Smith, Blake Beavan, Erasmo Ramirez.
Catchers – Mike Zunino, John Buck, and Humberto Quintero.
Outfielders – Dustin Ackley, Michael Saunders, and Abraham Almonte.
Infielders – Willie Bloomquist, Robinson Cano, Corey Hart, Logan Morrison, Kyle Seager, Justin Smoak, Brad Miller, and Nick Franklin.
Now that I have named my 25-man roster, I’m not satisfied. I hear rumblings Franklin will be traded. I don’t know whether Hart or Morrison will be the big nuggets that gold panners in Alaska continue to hope for as they weather the Alaska weather.
I do know that in order for Cano to pay dividends on the $240 million free agent contract he signed in the off-season he will need protection in the lineup, back and front. So who is going to do that? Hart and Morrison and Seager are the logical contenders, so we will see.
Carrying three catchers is probably not going to happen, although Quintero could be used as a DH or pinch-hitter.
Starting pitching is full of hope. Will Paxton and Walker be able to make the jump from the minors full time? And the backend of the rotation is still dubious.
Carson Smith looked good at in the AA Southern League last season with 15 saves. He throws hard. The M’s shut him down early in the Arizona Fall League to protect him, and to save him for a shot in the bullpen this spring.
The way it looks for me right now is that there are plenty of spots to be earned in the spring, which is something new manager Lloyd McClendon is already preaching. It’s a new canvas that is yet to be painted.
If the pieces fall in place like the plan – Hart and Morrison are big keys, as is new closer, Rodney – then the Mariners could surprise and finish better than the fourth place experts project them in the American League West. If Rodney is everything experts say he is, then the bullpen becomes very tough, and as we all know a good bullpen saves a lot of close games.
But then, again, there is always hope for better days in the spring.
Just as there is a chance for Chance.