A Dilemma

The real question now is "Who's in Left?"

Current candidates with Seattle:

• Raul Ibanez
• Greg Dobbs

Yep. That's it, folks. Jamal Strong is the latest casualty. Winn was traded, Morse is suspended, and pretty much everyone else (Snelling, Willie Dynamite) is on the DL. Will they call someone up? Not likely, since my favorite Minor League team pulled a '95 Mariners and took the last 3 from the AAA Yankees (a.k.a. Oakland's Sacramento affiliate), and are going to face Nashville for the PCL title. The only outfielder left in Tacoma on the 40-man is Choo, although I could argue that we need to find a 40-man spot for Abraham Nunez.

We do have one outfielder on the 40-man roster who's neither injured nor playing for a championship. A certain 21-year-old put up some decent numbers for High-A Inland Empire. What can it hurt? I'd rather give him a look-see for a few weeks than have to deal with Ibanez in left (and Dobbs as DH). The kid's got some power, with 38 doubles and 25 HRs in 123 games. Problem is, he strikes out too much, and I'm not sure about his defense.

Update: 9/13/05 -- According to the P-I, it looks as if Wladimir Balentien may be coming up after all.

Update 9/13/05 -- 4:00 p.m. Again, according to the P-I, it looks like Jaime Bubela is taking Jamal Strong's spot on the 40-man and is being called up. Bubela's a lefty, though a little weak in the power department. I'm a little surprised by this move, although being 27 in AA isn't a good thing, and they probably are more inclined to move cautiously with Wlad.

So, scour the waiver wire, folks, and find us a scrub that we can add to the 40-man for a week or so.

Who says the Hot Stove League has to start in October?