Chone Figgins

One of the more interesting things from Fan Fest was Eric Wedge's response to the question "How are you going to use Chone Figgins this year?" Wedge replied that Figgins is his top consideration for the leadoff spot and he planned to use him all over the field.

Ichiro Moving From Leadoff?

The Mariners leadoff hitter for the past 11 years has been Ichiro Suzuki. 
We read other teams rumors about their search for a leadoff hitter, but we could never really relate to that. 
Up until last year, Ichiro did pretty much everything one would want from a leadoff hitter. From 2001-2010 he hit .331/.376/.430 making himself one of the most dynamic hitters in the game. He hit for a high average, got on base, and was fast. Boy was he fast.  
We all know what happened last year. His age seemingly caught up to him as he hit a un-Ichiro .272/.310/.335. There was talk that he could be moved out of leadoff next year, but I never exactly pondered the idea. 

Updated 2012 offseason plan

Trade Kyle Seager to Padres for Will Venable, Ernesto Frieri:

The Padres are looking for middle infield help and Seager fits that bill, and the home park. He could share time with Hudson or Bartlett in 2012, then has a clear path at second base once their contracts are up after the season. 
Will Venable brings us a perfect platoon partner with Casper Wells. He is currently at the bottom of the  Quentin/Maybin/Blanks/Denorfia/Kotsay pile in San Diego.  He was on my mind as a potential trade candidate, and once Dave made his case, he sounded like just the kind of player the M's should target. 
Venable, 29, is a career .272/.336/.435 hitter on the road. Hitting at Petco park (a notorious death zone for LH hitters) has made his overall offense statistics look a lot worse than his true ability. Basically all his power is to right field, where Safeco has proven to help left-handed pull hitters in the past. 
That and his ability to fill in for Gutierrez at center field from time-to-time, make him a perfect fit for the Mariners in my opinion. 

Ernesto Frieri is also a very intriguing player. He has quietly had two very good seasons out of the Padres bullpen the last 2 years, posting a 3.28 FIP last year with a 2.98 FIP the year prior. He has had one of the highest strikeout rates in baseball without classic strikeout stuff. His average fastball last year was 92.0 mph, but he kept hitters off-balance with his slider and curveball. He could very easily step into the closer role if/when League is dealt at the July 31st deadline.