Author Topic: Mariners sign Chone Figgins (Read 154 times)

thisoneguy360 · « **on:** December 09, 2009, 05:08:10 PM »

Upon signing a free-agent deal with the Seattle Mariners - and finally confirming what was held as public knowledge - Chone Figgins had a question for his new boss.

“I’m batting second, right?” Figgins asked Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik on Tuesday.

In addition to his ability to bat from both sides, play several positions and run with abandon, Figgins is a quick study. A leadoff hitter for most of his career, he’ll bat second, behind Ichiro Suzuki, for Seattle.

On a personal list of Most Urgent Needs for the 2010 Mariners, I can’t recall craving a No. 2 hitter. I’ve been craving a No. 2 starter and a couple of run-producing bats, but somebody with the tools fit to complement Ichiro at the top of the order?

Never occurred to me.

I guess that’s why Zduriencik’s a big shot at the baseball winter meetings this week in Indianapolis, and why I’m working in a basement so chilly the keys on my laptop computer keep stickinggggg.

When a baseball team wins 85 games despite its consistent struggle to score in bunches, the knee-jerk presumption is that they must acquire power. But there are different ways to push runs across the plate, and one of them is to capitalize on the threat of a speedy leadoff man by assuring there’s just as much speed behind him.

Ichiro-Figgins represents the sort of one-two leadoff punch the Mariners haven’t had since Randy Winn typically batted behind Ichiro in 2003 and 2004. And though Winn was fast – he stole 44 bases over those two seasons – he wasn’t as fast as Figgins, who had 42 steals this past season.

Only once, in their 33-year history, have Mariners opened a season with two men at the top of the order who’d go on to steal at least 25 bases. That was in 2001, when Ichiro (56 steals) and Mike Cameron (34) combined to create dynamic tension on the basepaths.

The ’01 Mariners were nothing if not versatile; it’s easy to forget that their almost daily rallies often began by exerting pressure on a pitcher and a catcher – and all the infielders, as well – with speed. No matter that Cameron eventually was replaced by Mark McLemore as the No. 2 hitter in 2001 – McLemore stole 37 bases when he batted second.

Stolen bases, of course, are only a slight measure of a No. 2 hitter’s effectiveness. He must make contact, hit the ball to either side, and put down the occasional bunt. Figgins can do all those things, and while his ability to draw walks makes him more of a prototype leadoff hitter, Ichiro is comfortable in that role. As long as Ichiro is maintaining his All-Star skills, and breaking hitting records that had survived a century, it’s sensible to assemble a batting order with his preference foremost in the equation.

So Ichiro leads off, followed by Figgins, and already Don Wakamatsu has one less conundrum on his hands. The manager never did settle on a successful No. 2 hitter last season, opening with Franklin Gutierrez, who was better suited in the middle of the lineup.

When the season ended in October, Wakamatsu had written in 13 names in the No. 2 slot. The revolving-door corps featured everybody from a future Hall of Famer (Ken Griffey Jr.) to some temps who likely never will wear a Mariners uniform again (Josh Wilson, Chris Woodward).

Wakamatsu more or less determined the answer to be Russell Branyan, who offered none of the conventional attributes of a No. 2 hitter. But he hit 14 of his 31 home runs batting second, and drove in 41 of his 76 runs batting second, and as nobody else was inclined to produce while batting second, Branyan inherited a role that was as goofy as the idea of Yuniesky Betancourt batting cleanup. (That happened, too. Once.)

Despite Branyan – perhaps more accurately, because of Branyan – the second spot in the 2008 batting order became a hit-or-miss proposition. Among the nine hitters in Mariners’ lineup, the guys batting No. 2 had the most strikeouts, the most grounded-into-double plays, second-worst batting average (.224) and the third-worst on-base percentage (.297).

Wakamatsu’s “who-bats-after-Ichiro?” dilemma figures to be solved by Figgins, whose all-around game with the 2009 Angels found him ranked 10th in the league’s Most Valuable Player vote. Which poses a question: Why wouldn’t Anaheim engage in more of a bidding war to secure the services of such a multiple-threat commodity?

Well, Figgins will be 32 by next Opening Day, and he wanted four years on his last jackpot contract. The Angels were willing to go only three years. Besides, they’ve got a young prospect at third base, Brandon Wood, touted as a potential star. Exit Figgins.

He’s a .291 career hitter, with an on-base percentage of .363. And though his stats as a No. 2 man can only be analyzed in terms of one season – 137 games over his career – he’s got a .303 batting average, with an on-base percentage of .368. He’s a born leadoff hitter, in other words, who’s slightly more effective when he bats second.

“Certainly, we’d love to have players with power,” Zduriencik told reporters Tuesday. “You’d love to have them all over your ball field.”

In lieu of power, Zduriencik has picked up a running mate for Ichiro, and the scariest one-two punch at the top of a Mariners batting order since 2001.

A powerful thought.

Chamillitary Click · « **Reply #1 on:** December 09, 2009, 05:24:23 PM »

thank god, glad he is out of Anaheim.

good sign too; i root for the Mariners.

thisoneguy360 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 09, 2009, 07:16:59 PM »

Quote from: Chamillitary Click on December 09, 2009, 05:24:23 PM

thank god, glad he is out of Anaheim.

good sign too; i root for the Mariners.

Yeah I love this signing, we won 85 games last year which was a year where we were expected to rebuild. Hopefully we can make some more good FA signings, Zduriencik hasn't disappointed me yet.