From espn.com's David Schoenfield:

"The Mariners are in search of a setup guy, in part because J.J. Putz has apparently had too many four- and five-out saves this season (he's had nine).

Here's the deal: That's a good thing. It's good to have the best reliever in baseball coming in with a one-run lead in the eighth inning and two runners on rather than saving him for the ninth inning.

Plus, Putz has hardly been overused; he's on pace for 71 innings, a typical total for a closer. Also, because nobody gets on base against him, he's remarkably efficient with his pitch counts. In 28 of his 46 games, he's thrown 15 or fewer pitches. He's thrown more than 25 pitches just once.

So, Bill Bavasi, the point is managers Mike Hargrove and John McLaren should be applauded for how they've used Putz. In fact, a trade for some mediocre reliever like Octavio Dotel or Al Reyes is likely to result in a couple of extra blown saves in the eighth inning. If you're worried about the seventh and eighth innings, how about simply telling your manager that George Sherrill (.222 against righties this season, but just 31 innings pitched) is not just a lefty specialist."

If y'all have seen this, my bad.