Lookout Landing: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
New Blog: Sounder At Heart for Seattle Sounders Fans!

Community Projection: Brad Wilkerson

The eighth in a non-alphabetical and irregularly updated series of review pieces for each(?) of the players we predicted last spring.

LL/USSM Community: .253/.340/.441
Actual Line: .232/.348/.304 with Seattle, .220/.308/.326 overall

In his rookie season, Brad Wilkerson batted .205/.304/.325. Last year, he batted .220/.308/.326. I'm not saying his career is totally finished, but we are a people who yearn for symmetry, so it wouldn't really come as a shock. That's pretty much the perfect bookend.

I'm not sure what there is to say about Wilkerson. He was here for a month, he sucked, and he went away to suck somewhere else. It's not like we didn't all know from the beginning what we were getting ourselves into. Wilkerson was a low-reward/medium-risk free agent at whom Bavasi only looked because he was one of the last right fielders left on the market when the team had a need. His upside was as a league-average corner guy with decent power and patience, and his downside was as a $3m doorstop. After 68 trips to the plate, it became apparent that he was a doorstop, so he was sent off on his doorstoppy way, never to be thought of again. His only legacies are the expression "Bradtastic!" and a confirmation that Seattle is where careers go to die.

Wilkerson was advertised as a guy with two tools, but when a broken-down body sapped him of his power, only the ability to draw a walk remained, and even that started to disappear down the stretch as pitchers came to realize he no longer posed a threat. If he is to find another Major League job, it'll be because his agent pitched him to the Braves as a pinch-hitting alternative to Jeff Francoeur should he ever come up in a clutch situation against Barry Zito. Other than that, I just can't picture an organizational meeting where everyone's kind of sitting around the table quietly and looking at each other and then the assistant GM perks up and says "I know! Brad Wilkerson!" Unless they're playing No-Talent Pile Of Crap Trivial Pursuit. Sometimes meetings are fun.

Brad, you had a nice little run there for a few seasons, but unless something crazy takes place, it would appear that your time as a useful player in the Major Leagues has come to an end. We shall remember you only as a warning for what could befall Russell Branyan. Come 2010, you will mean nothing to us.

0 recs  |  Comment 47 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

More from Lookout Landing

So Much For Posting A Weekend In Review

Jun 2008 by Jeff - 191 comments

Mariner Flowchart

Mar 2008 by Jeff - 11 comments

Comments

Display:

oh come on

We’re two comments into this thread and no one’s designed some sort of horrid Cockrell-related Photoshop?

Sports and Bremertonians. Because we can.

by wackomann on Dec 7, 2008 8:08 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

JP Ricciardi actually let Wilkerson take bats away from an aging prospect! Unbelievable. This is a good offseason for the Mariners to sit back and wait for the free agent prices to bottom out then sign a few players on one year deals who want to try the market next year.

by brent in Korea on Dec 7, 2008 8:11 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Not saying we should have kept him,

but it’s just classic Mariner decision-making that the guy who gets run out of town is one of the only guys in the lineup with an above-average OBP.

On the day Wilkerson got shit-canned:

Wilkerson: .232 /.348 /.304
Jose Vidro: .209 /.270 /.330

One of those guys just wasn’t getting it done and had to go, because dammit this team is going to contend this year. The other guy was the designated hitter who would in the coming months be installed in the cleanup spot for a few games.

by Teej on Dec 7, 2008 8:34 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

I blame the media

they made us hopeful. Also, 2008 was.. how do you put it…
The Perfect Suck, By Sebastian Junger.
A tale of how several unrelated and somewhat random events combined to turn what was already likely to be an unsuccessful wild card bid into a six month long ugh during which every Mariner fan never quite got the taste of bile out of their mouth.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Dec 7, 2008 9:23 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I meant to mention this, but yeah, what JI said.

I thought it was a bit optimistic, but I didn’t expect a sub-.400 SLG.

by Teej on Dec 7, 2008 9:44 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

These posts need more mocking of specific individuals projections

I am scared that my projection was dangerously retarded.

by JI on Dec 7, 2008 9:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Bradtastic!!

That was actually a rare awesome moment from last season.

by MFAN on Dec 8, 2008 12:48 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Remember when the Nationals traded Wilkerson to the Rangers for Alfonso Soriano, and a majority of commentators confidently declared that the Nats had gotten hosed on the deal?

Because I sure as fuck do. Now to be fair there was a lot of drama w/r/t getting Soriano to switch from 2B (where he was a giant black hole of defensive suck) to LF (where he was actually a very good defender in his year with the Nats, though he’s since regressed. But that year he put up for an otherwise boring Nationals team (40/40, a classic 3 HR game against the Braves, some hilarious defensive adventures in LF), plus the draft pick he gave us in return, were a huge steal for the club. (The pick turned into Jordan Zimmermann, one of the Nats’ best pitching prospects. And those who faulted the Nats for not trading Soriano at midseason deadline need to realize that there were no offers on the table that were nearly as good as the 1 or 2 draft picks we got for letting him walk.)

As for Wilkerson, I knew he was going to be a bust wherever he went. I know it’s impolitic to float such things, but Nats/Expos fans have been well aware of rumors that Wilkerson was a major juicer, and that this is where his power came from. He went off of it and he immediately started getting injured and losing his pop. Getting much of ANYTHING of value for him would have been a job well done. Getting Soriano – and turning that into a great record-achieving season for a fledgling team plus a winner of a draft pick – was a giant dollop of gravy. I pitied the M’s when they signed him. I knew he would continue to be the lemon that he had been for the previous season or so: it wasn’t about injury, it was about true talent level.

Patriotism, Pepper, Professionalism

by esoteric on Dec 8, 2008 7:00 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

By reading a game thread of your own volition you agree to accept all liability for any and all damage done to your delicate sensibilities.
Start posting about the Mariners »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Small
FootbaLL III (Nov 7th)

Recent FanPosts

Ichiro_small
Ackley and Triunfel on MLB TV right now
Small
Xbox LLive, Pt 3
Clemente_small
OT on a friday morning 11/6
Curry_small
Curiously wondering what the plan is...
Griffeys_last_game_1_small
Is anyone else going to make fun of this picture?
Sth70021_small
Exploring Hit f/x, Albeit Badly.
Hunter_small
Somewhat OT: Kid dies from aluminum bat, family now rich
Small
OFFTOP: 10/30/09
Commproj08_ajones_small
Sounders Playoffs Gamethread

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >


Sexy People

1_small Graham

Small Matthew

Small Jeff