Jack's Report to the Fans - 美國職棒

收E-mail收到的

大Z寫給不離不棄的水手球迷的信



October 4, 2010

Some of you may remember an old-time player named Rocky Bridges, a colorful
middle infielder who went on to manage in the minor leagues for many years.
Rocky once said, "Well, there are three things that the average person thinks
he can do better than anybody else. Build a fire, run a hotel and run a
baseball team."

After the 2010 season, I'm sure a lot of you are ready to step up and tell me
how to run our ballclub. And I'm always willing to listen.

But despite our poor performance at the Major League level in 2010, there are
plenty of reasons to believe that our long-term plan is working. In fact,
looking at the big picture, our organization actually took a step forward
last year.

Before you click away from this e-mail, give me a chance to explain.

Let's start with the cornerstone strategy established when I came to Seattle
in October, 2008: We will build a winning franchise through talent that we
draft, acquire and develop in our farm system. This is the key to long-term,
sustained success in baseball.

The good news is, you gotta like what you see down on the farm.

‧ Eight of our nine minor league teams made it to post-season play in 2010.
‧ The AAA Rainiers, Class A Lumber Kings and Northwest League AquaSox all
played in their leagues' championship series. Two won league titles.
‧ As a group, Mariners minor league hitters ranked #1 in home runs, runs,
slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
‧ The cumulative won-loss record of our minor league teams was 489-410, a
.544 winning percentage. Only one organization did better - the Cardinals
at .549.

Does this mean that we should start printing 2011 World Series tickets?
Unfortunately, no, not yet. But it does mean that we've got talent at every
level of the organization - talent that's developing, scoring runs and
learning how to win.

Let's talk about some of these kids.

We've got a flock of top-rated prospects on their way to the big club. These
include position players Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Carlos Peguero, Nick
Franklin, Kyle Seager, Johermyn Chavez, Greg Halman and Matt Mangini, along
with hard-throwing pitchers like Michael Pineda, Blake Beavan, Dan Cortes,
Mauricio Robles, Maikel Cleto and Anthony Varvaro. Many of our best prospects
are headed for winter ball and the fall instructional league - they're driven
to improve and play at the next level.

Some of these youngsters will develop faster than others, but we've got a
rich pipeline of talent. Impressive, considering how thin our minor league
system was just a couple of years ago. Plus there are more top prospects
coming: We have the #2 pick in the 2011 June draft and we continue to scout
and sign top international players.

At the big league level, Mariners pitchers tied for the third best ERA in the
American League in 2010. Felix Hernandez has fulfilled his potential as a
perennial Cy Young candidate. Jason Vargas, Doug Fister and Luke French made
major strides in 2010. We like our pitching; our staff is young, developing
and hungry.

Two young players, catcher Adam Moore and outfielder Michael Saunders, got
valuable playing time and impressed scouts around the league. Meanwhile, our
four core players - Ichiro, Felix, Guti and Chone Figgins - are signed to
long-term deals.

I'm a baseball man. I'm not trying to sell you on the idea that we're at the
top of the baseball world. We still have work to do, lots of it. My first job
is to hire our field manager - and I'm already hard at work identifying and
reviewing candidates. Obviously, we need to score more runs by adding to the
middle of our lineup. And, for much of the past season, our team didn't play
the fundamentally sound baseball that I want to see. I'm addressing all our
team's needs and I'll keep you posted throughout the winter.

But there's one thing you need to know about the Seattle Mariners
organization:

Everybody wants to win - from Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong to the
clubhouse attendant in Everett. We have a plan in place and we're working
days, nights and weekends to make it successful.

But as a fan, you want results, not promises. We know that. So we're doing
everything we can to make it happen sooner rather than later.

I love the people of this city and this region. I love the energy you bring
to the ballpark and the loyalty you've shown to the organization. We owe you
a winner. It's coming. Stick with us, there's a bright light at the end of
the tunnel. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jack Zduriencik


其實短短兩年內，大Z就能把農場提昇到這種境界，已經令人相當佩服了

只是今年西雅圖可能被下咒了，所有不該發生的鳥事通通發生

全隊好像都遇到魔神仔一樣，連朗神季中也陷入好長一段低潮

但是看看未來幾年，咱們仍然大有可圖啊!!!

Go Mariners!

--
Zu jeder Zeit, an jeder Ort bleibt das Tun der Menschen das gleiche.

--Legend of the Galactic Heroes

--