And do we get rid of Woodward? If so, then who backs up :(edeno?

Can I get me some Beltre at SS this year please?

When I logged onto my mlb.com one day during the 2004 off season, I jumped up and began running around in circles in my parents living room screaming “YES! YES! YES! We got him!”

Beltre has been my favorite Mariner ever since. I can’t even believe its already been five years and his time as a Mariner may be over.

Beltre has been hated, loathed, made fun of and laughed at by uneducated fans. Even this year as I sat in left field listening to some idiot go on and on. “God can you believe this guy? Already 9 errors this year. Some Gold Glover this moron is.” I was taken aback. Could anyone really be that stupid? Even after I explained to him “If Beltre gets to a ball that no other third basemen can get to and makes an error, how should that count against him?” The fans replied “Still an error.”

 Moron.

And it’s morons like that that really make me happy. Happy because I know Beltre is good. Because I appreciate his body of work. I appreciate his unbelievable defense. I appreciate his bat. I appreciate his hustle, and his style of play.

I will miss Beltre more than most fans, and that makes me sad.

Goodbye Beltre, thank you for everything.

He is also the leader of the Latin contingent in the clubhouse.

He’s an above-average hitter. He’s strong. He’s quirky. He’s personable. He’s funny. He’s a magnificent defender. He runs well. He always plays at maximum effort. He’s durable. And he’s maybe the hardest-working player the team’s ever had.

I agree with all of that whole-heartedly.

Well, I was actually about to disagree with the first sentence until I looked up Beltre’s stats on Fangraphs. It really seems like he’s struck out, or even wildly swung and missed, a lot more than he actually has over his whole time here. We’ve been really spoiled.

Maybe Felix can talk him into staying… “c’mon, man, we’re getting the band back together… just one more gig…”. Assuming Felix is going to want to stay…

Beltre’s 2004 established an (unreasonable) expectation in fans’ minds, and he failed to live up to those expectations.

If they expected him to play like he’s been playing, they’d probably love him.

There are any number of other examples of how people react differently to very similar events based on what their expectations were, but the ones that spring to mind are too political to list here.

Why is it that whenever a player is finishing off his last year of a contract with a team, it is almost given that the player will not be with the team anymore? I don’t mean Beltre/Washburn specifically but generally many players that have expiring contracts with at team…

I’m sure some players typically have more incentives staying with the same team and living in the same city. People say sports and all of the transactions that happen is business, but I would think more players would want to stay with the same team, to build on everything the player has been through with the team organization/fans/teammates and if they like the coaches, even if they will make a little bit less money.

He always goes all out. You can always assume that if beltre couldn’t get to the ball… noone could. He is great at his job. It would take a beast like Pujols to consistantly rocket 48 HRs out of Safeco. During his time here I have thought about an assortment of options at a variety of positions but 3B was always his. I hope he sticks around a few more years.