I think the general consensus is that most of what you've said is true; he's a good utility guy to spot sub and a great baserunner to pinch run, and as long as he's used in those situations most people don't have a problem with him.  It's just Hargrove thinking that he can be an everyday CF that rubs most serious baseball fans the wrong way.  He just can't hit that well (or at all against righties), so he shouldn't be up there that often.  Grover's misutilization of him leads to people bashing on Willie more than he probably deserves (although I don't think it's possible to bash Grover any more than we already do).

That said, Willie is a huge fan favorite of what I would call the "casual fan" and a lot of the Ms fans from Seattle, but when you get online with all the stat-crunching hardcore baseball guys from across the country who have no interest in the home-town thing, yeah he gets a lot of crap.

Person who should've taken steroids before baseball started cracking down.

In all fairness, he is an adequate defender at many positions and he hustles, but none of that matters when he steps into he batters box.

If only baseball had a designated fielder...

He does get too much crap, frankly.  He's a terrible hitter, but there are a surprising number of those out there.  A good base-stealer, a flexible (if unspectacular) defender, plays hard.   He's not the anti-christ.

As for his laments about playing time, well, yeah, he's probably misjudged his own ability level.  But we deem a form of arrogance/cockiness/confidence well-nigh essential in players we like - we just hate it in other players.  Part of it is the disconnect between his performance and his demands (you'd like to see a bit more self-awareness there; get a couple of doubles before demanding the starting RF job, ferchrissakes), but I think that just adds a surrealistic/comedic flavor that I really enjoy.  So thanks for that too, WFB.  

And don't hate WFB for getting 250ABs, hate the manager and the front office for that one.  It's not just Hargrove, either - I don't know what 'it' is that WFB displays in practice, but he's been the favorite now for years, a status that no amount of futility can undermine.  For this too, WFB deserves to be studied, not cruelly mocked.  

He is playing the 25th man who isn't ever going to be a starter or get more then 100-125ab's a year.

When you give a horrible hitter 250ab's a year and then pay him a million a year, it becomes a fucking joke.

Bloomquist had 122 ABs as a CF last year, 15 as an RF.  I don't see him getting those king of ABs this year.  These happened simply because Reed got hurt and nobody else stepped in to fill the gap when given the opportunity (Borchard, Jones).

He's a decent option to give Lopez or Betancourt a day off.  Maybe 5-10 games in the outfield.

If he has tops 150 ABs, fills in for a game every week and a half, pinch runs, and is a defensive replacement in a pinch, he's a fine quality 25th man.

He's overpaid, but not so overpaid that he's going to break the budget or cost us much.

Our bench was horrible last year and he was seen by Hargrove as the best option.  It's that simple.

He's the reason every NCAA coach in america gets mail from untalented white guys delusional enough to think they deserve a scholarship.

Willie Bloomquist is the only player on the Mariners who has ever thrown me a baseball.

as syphilis is epic poetry.

Without him blogging would be mind-numbingly dull. I'd have to spend my nights praying for the Mariners to sign Darin Erstad.

I know it must be hard for you that you found out that your favorite player sucks, but why create a thread trying to rationalize why you still like this pussy?  

I think most people that read this site are baseball analysts, I want to know how to construct the best possible roster and the minimum price, I want to find unvalued commidities.  Bloomquist is the antithesis of that.  He gets more money and more playing time than he deserves because he is a 'fan favorite' and a brown-noser.  There are hundreds of minor-leaguers that are as good or better than Bloomquist and can be had for nothing more than a more league contract.  

I hate Bloomquist because the more playing time he gets the more he hurts my teams chances of winning.  On top of that he is a tool.  Who ever liked the teacher's pet, the buster, the nark?  When I see a Willie Bloomquist fan I see someone who doesn't know much about baseball or a bitch, which one are you?

Did the beginning of his career in pinstripes never happen either?

I hear Dan Wilson never played for the Reds.