The one thing I would do is to have him stay right handed. He seems to just have a quicker bat from the right side. If he his not agreeable to such a drastic change, then I would trade him. He has had ample time to show some progress. And Ackley might be right behind him too.

Nothing against Smoak. I actually still have a little hope left that he can at least become a capable everyday player. He needed something like this. I am really excited for the first time since opening day now. I am expecting to start making a lot of roster moves, possible trades, and seeing a young developing team actually start the ACTUAL Rebuilding process. Now all we need is to see Brendan Ryan and Miguel Olivo shipped off for absolutely anything, or DFA'd so we can start seeing glimpses of what to expect from some of the future Mariners.

I completely agree with you about getting rid of Olivo. Wedge seems to have finally found a good 1-2 punch at catcher, with Montero hitting well against lefties and Jaso doing equally well against the righties. Olivo can still have some good trade value for a club looking for a good veteran catcher - someone with a strong throwing arm who knows how to call ball games can be a lot of use to a team who needs to give their regular C a few days off. About B Ryan, though, I have to disagree with you. The M's lead the AL in fielding %, and Ryan is the #1 reason why. His D is so phenomenal, he makes breathtakingly tough plays look ordinary almost every day. As far as his struggles at the plate go, he's been steadily improving. In the weeks leading up to the All-Star break, his obp increased steadily, and he's been putting in a lot more intelligent AB's. It looks to me like he's finally starting to pull out of that first half nose dive he was in, and I am willing to bet that his numbers will actually look somewhat respectable by the end of the year. Honestly, the guy reminds me a lot of Omar Vizquel (F*u Man Chu aside), with his D, and his overall intelligence both at the plate and on the field. I think this guy could turn out to be the leader this young ballclub desperately needs in the near future, if we let him. Besides, who else are we gonna put at short? Kawasaki? I'm wondering if that guy's even going to be able to make it through an at bat without breaking into tears for the rest of the season, due to the loss of his idol.

Olivo has no value, or he would have been dealt by now. He's hitting below .200 and can't block balls. You have to be able to call games to catch, that's a given, but a strong arm doesn't make-up for his negative attributes. Having said that, Montero is actually worse defensively (Yes, he is, look at the stats). The one-two punch will come in a year or two, with Zunino and Jaso -if they're smart enough to keep him. Montero is destined for first, or DH.

"As we said to Justin last night, 'Hey, it could be 10 days, it could be two weeks, it could be a month. A lot of it depends on you, how you go down there and handle this and your preparation to get back up here,'" Zduriencik said.

And it could be goodbye. If this guy ever sees a Major League diamond again, he should bend down and kiss the turf. He was handed the keys and could not deliver.

Yeah, he plays in the second-most hated park for hitters. Yeah, being traded from the World Series-bound Rangers must have messed with his head. But those dollars he is paid are real dollars. And real dollars require real results, not sub-.200 results.

You're spot-on. He's had over 1000 PA's and has failed to produce. The road-splits argument doesn't fly, because those numbers stink, too. I hope he can figure it out, but at this point, it would be nothing short of a miracle.

I agree with the move to send Smoak down, and they may have to sen Ackley down as well. Ackley may have been brought up to soon , I have not herd anyone mention that but he did arrive sooner than most. He is still being pitched away which is a clear sign that he can't yet handle hitting where the ball is pitched. An open stance that shows pull will always invite a pitcher to pitch away until that hitter shows that he can hit it there. Carp will take at least a month to get up to speed and maybe we will know something about him.

Hour glass has been turned over! Z, Wedge are all on notice now that #51 is gone. 2013 All-star Break if M's are still looking up 10/15 games back, well you know "Don't let the door hit you.....SHSP/71-91

...in the AL right now. That's why the Rangers were hot on him; they should know about power, of all things. But he's raw, as raw as a PO'd class-A hitter not a bad day multiplied. He does need to learn NOT to swing at everything and pick and adjust to his pitches. I believe he'll be the next Buhner, if he gets his head together.

Smoak isn't as powerful as he was given credit for. The Mariners are learning that the hard way. Raw is the wrong descriptive word as well. He's had over 1000 PA's. He isn't 'raw', he's well seasoned -and still sucks. But I do hope he can get into better shape )physically and mentally) and turn things around.

Lucky break. Hone that swing. Catch that ball. Focus Focus Focus.

I don't think he has what it takes to be a big time hitter. He just does not seem to have the drive.

I hope this young man can get it together and become the player we traded for. I do believe, however, he must become more aggressive at the plate. He just seems lost when he's at bat. Stop worrying about "working the pitches" and start swinging at pitches on or very close to the plate where he can get the barrel of his bat, and of course, stop swinging at those at his shoe laces.