Seattle Mariners Sign Raul Ibanez

Ugh.

One year, for $2.75 million is the reported deal. The Mariners apparently intend Raul Ibanez to fulfill the Memorial Ken Griffey Jr. role of left-handed bench bat and sometimes DH who is there mostly for clubhouse reasons. Yay.

There's a lot of easy analysis on why this is a bad idea. Raul Ibanez's numbers away from Yankee Stadium for one. His age, for another. His uselessness in the field, for a third. We'll get more into that later, when it's not a burgeoning Saturday night.

To play the other side, this might be a good signing. Raul Ibanez actually could be a useful presence in the clubhouse. And that actually could translate, through positive energy, mentoring, who knows, into a performance increase for some players.

But there's no way to prove that. Which doesn't mean it's not true, but in the end, we can only analyze what we can prove and on paper this is a pointless move.

It's not a crippling move of course. It's one year. It's not a lot, baseball-wise, of money. Nor is there a commitment to playing time (though with Wedge...). There's no reason to freak out over this move. It's just ehhhhhhhhhhhh.

Go Seahawks.