Dejan Kovacevic link, as mentioned in the comments:

Jack Wilson, the Pirates' shortstop most of this decade, is discussing a multiyear extension with Seattle that would keep him from becoming a free agent.

The Mariners are believed to have offered a two-year contract worth more than the two-year offer the Pirates made Wilson -- $8 million -- shortly before trading him July 29.

I don't know if JJ Hardy was ever on Z's radar, but now that he's off the table, Wilson's about as good a shortstop as this team's going to be able to get without surrendering something(s) of considerable value. So, rather predictably, the M's are seeing if they can extend him for a couple years for something below the $8.4m price of his 2010 option. While Kovacevic doesn't give us a number, mentioning only that it's worth more than $8m (total, not per year), I can't imagine Z would go beyond $10-12m, so that should be in the ballpark. Which...well, it's not amazing, but Wilson's a perfectly legitimate everyday shortstop, and Kenji Johjima's return home helped alleviate the budget problem a little bit. So provided Wilson re-signs for a reasonable price, which is the likelihood, then all things considered I'll be happy with it. Yay defense, and all that.

Not a whole lot to say on this, but Dave passed along the link, so I might as well post it:

Goldberg [Griffey's agent] said he was scheduled to meet with the Mariners soon and any decision on Griffey's future with the team -- and in baseball -- would be made sooner rather than later.

We'll tackle this story once it's resolved. For now, just something to think about. It's not exactly news, but at this point in the offseason, it might be close enough to qualify.

As much as people love to debate the Cy Young and MVP results every year, the problem is that rarely can anyone be absolutely certain that their suggested pick is the right one. There are so many different ways of evaluating who was the best pitcher or who was the most valuable player that, as much as fans live to call other people and especially the award voters stupid, these awards make it hard, because oftentimes there are so many different but legitimate arguments that there can be any number of players who seem deserving of the honor.

Fortunately, 11 years ago, Major League Baseball invented the Hank Aaron Award. The Hank Aaron Award is very simple. Via Wikipedia:

The Hank Aaron Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players selected as the top hitter in each league.

Where the Cy Young and MVP awards are always open for debate, the Hank Aaron Award leaves little room for argument. The Hank Aaron Award is to be given to the top hitter in each league. And the top hitter in each league is easy to identify. There are no questions about defense-independence or replacement level or performance in the clutch; it's just a matter of who hit, and who hit the most. Of all the awards baseball gives out, this is the one for which I would feel most confident submitting a ballot.

It's with that in mind that I'd like to point out that this year's AL Hank Aaron Award went to a guy who finished with the same park-adjusted wOBA as Jason Bartlett.

Derek Jeter was very good in 2009. Of that there's no question. But as a hitter, he wasn't more productive than Joe Mauer, or Miguel Cabrera, or Ben Zobrist, or Kevin Youkilis, or Mark Teixeira, or Alex Rodriguez, or Jason Bay, or Jason Bartlett, or Adam Lind, or Kendry Morales, or Shin-soo Choo, or Jason Kubel. Five of those players were approximately Jeter's equal at the plate, and seven were unquestionably his superior. In addition, for an award intended to go to the top hitter in each league, one has to notice that Jeter didn't actually finish #1 in any meaningful offensive category.

I can't think of a single reason why Jeter would've won this over Mauer, nevermind the other guys. Most of the time, when voting results look funny, you can point to a guy's ERA or RBI total and say "well that's why they did that." But here...what is it? Jeter wasn't close to Mauer in batting average. Jeter wasn't close to Mauer in RBI. Jeter wasn't close to Mauer in home runs, or OBP, or SLG, or even control of the strike zone. And while you'd think Mauer might've been penalized for being a catcher instead of an actual everyday player, just last season these people gave the Hank Aaron Award to Kevin Youkilis, who racked up all of 15 more plate appearances than Mauer did in 2009.

It doesn't make sense. It's not that I care, because I don't. It's just an award, an award that by and large is pretty much meaningless. No, the reason I'm posting this is that, at long last, it gives me the opportunity to say this with all the confidence in the world:

Hey, voters. You're stupid.

Over the next few weeks, we'll find out which players were awarded the 2009 Cy Youngs and MVPs. The results may seem fishy, and you may disagree with them. Just know that, however much you might think the voters got those wrong, it is impossible that you will be as certain of the wrongness of the voters as you can be today.

Derek Jeter.

Amazing.

Update: Turns out the voters for the 2009 Hank Aaron Award were - wait for it - the fans. I think I've found the problem.

Still no contact between parties. Not that there's a set window to this, and we were told that they'd only sit down and try to hammer something out somewhere within a span of several weeks, but when Alan Nero said there's "no urgency," he wasn't kidding.

I'm not concerned that the Mariners are somehow undervaluing their star pitcher, or that they don't much care to keep him around. Nobody is more aware of how good Felix is than the people who employ him. Thought it might be a new front office, it's a new front office that's been around long enough to see Felix pitch like a legitimate ace at the age of 23. They get it. They know how to recognize a good talent, a good WAR, or a good repertoire when they see it, and they know what the package is worth.

No, the reason I'm concerned is that this is just the latest bit of evidence to the suggestion that the new M's have done little to foster a connection with their stud. Sometimes it's not enough to want a guy to stick around. Sometimes you have to let the player know how important he is and how highly he's valued. You know how, even in the most committed relationships, it's better to say "I love you" too much than too little? This is kind of like that. Felix knows that he might be the face of the franchise, but he could be the face of a lot of franchises, and to date the M's haven't done enough to make themselves more than just one of 30 teams. They're the organization with which he signed and the organization with which he blossomed, but they haven't worked to strengthen that bond, and it's hard to expect someone to be loyal to you when you've given little indication that you're loyal to him.

Sometime before too long, the Mariners and Nero will sit down, and the M's will present what they feel is a fair and competitive contract extension. Of that there's no doubt in my mind. I just wonder what effect all this is going to have. It may not mean anything. Nero's an agent and both he and Felix understand that, more than anything else, baseball's a business. If presented with a good offer, they may jump at the chance to get Felix his money. It's just that...generally speaking, you want both sides in a negotiation to be in a positive state of mind, and to be honest, I'd understand if Felix is feeling a little bit bitter.

This whole situation just sucks.

The voting results for the 2009 Fielding Bible Awards have been released, and Jack Wilson, Ichiro, and Franklin Gutierrez claimed 33% of the electronic hardware, with both Adrian Beltre and Jack Hannahan finishing as runners-up at third base. This is about as significant as the Kids Choice Awards, with the only real difference being that most of the Mariners have probably heard of the Kids Choice Awards.

It is interesting that, of the eight non-pitcher defensive positions, you could make the argument that the Mariners wound up with the best glove at four of them. It's absurd how good this defense was all season. It's also absurd how few people realize the difference that made. Can a brother get a big bat over here?!

This should be good.

McGwire: See, what you want to be doing is hitting dingers.
McGwire: When you go up there, first pitch, you're looking dead red so you can hit a dinger.
McGwire: Sometimes you're gonna miss. That's okay. Stick to your guns. There's no more efficient way of scoring than hitting a dinger. That's what we want to be doing.
McGwire: The pitcher might pick up on your strategy. Don't worry about it. He's more afraid of you than you are of him.
McGwire: If he throws you something offspeed, like a curveball, don't be fooled. Just hit it for a dinger.
McGwire: Walks are good too. If the pitcher tries to get you to chase something out of the zone, don't swing at it.
McGwire: You only want to swing at strikes. Take balls. Hit strikes for dingers.
McGwire: Now let's break up and practice. Group A, get in there. I want to see you guys hitting dingers. Group B, practice your dinger swings.
McGwire: Who's first in Group A? Skip? Get in there, Skip.
McGwire: Let's see some dingers!
Schumaker:
Schumaker: Coach, I don't
McGwire: What're you doing over there?
McGwire: You're standing on the wrong side of the plate. Bat righty.
McGwire: You hit dingers batting righty.

For those of you hoping the Mariners would land the 18 year old hot Japanese prospect, you can forget about it - he's elected to stay home, and while he's strongly suggested that he'll want to make the move later in his career, that won't happen for a while, if ever; unless he's posted, he has to play nine years in Japan before becoming a free agent. So, so much for that. Not that the M's were ever being talked about as frontrunners, but it was an appealing possibility. Now we're back to being stuck with the young pitchers we already have, and aw God dammit Brandon Morrow

Voting results came out today, and Branyan finished 5th for the American League's Comeback Player Of The Year. Word has it he would have placed higher had he actually come back from something. Aaron Hill's a decent enough pick, I guess, what with his brain problems a year ago, but I feel like rewarding people for getting knocked out by David Eckstein might be setting a bad precedent.

Chris Carpenter's the obvious and perfect selection in the NL. My only quibble is that, rather than Yovani Gallardo, second place should've gone to the Rockies.