That is all.

EOM

Figgins to third, Ackley at second. Done.

Lopez has been a non-event all season long; announcing that he's been "let go" is no different. I mean, doesn't a ballplayer have to first SHOW UP ON THE FIELD to merit any sort of recognition like this? The way he played last year who could not help but think that the M's let him go a long time ago.

It's been obvious that the M's have been gearing up to part ways with Lopez for almost a year now. There were some signs before last season started: 1) When the season ticket packages were sent out, Lopez was notably absent from the players featured on the tickets. 2) When the promotional schedule came out, Lopez was not featured in any of the giveaways. 3) When the M's commercials came out, Lopez wasn't in any of them. The bullpen guys, yes; Ryan Rowland-Smith, yes; even Jack Z and Don Wakamatsu, yes; Lopez, no. Now, had Lopez been able to repeat or even come close to his 2009 performance, then there would at least have been discussions about bringing him back by either exercising his 2010 option or re-negotiating another deal. But his offensive implosion sealed his fate. Part of that may have been due to the inexplicable decision to switch Lopez and Figgins in the field with ZERO notice in spring training. But, in all fairness, Lopez had ZERO protection in the lineup from day one. Given how effective he had been in 2009, pitchers didn't see any reason to give him anything good to hit, especially at the beginning of the season when Wak was batting Lopez 6th behind Griffey and Bradley with only guys like Rob Johnson and Jack Wilson to protect him. Thank you, Don Wakamatsu. Lopez will have no shortage of suitors once he hits the free agent market: the Rockies have been looking at him for a while now, and teams like the Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays, White Sox, Twins, Marlins, Nationals, Cubs, Astros, D-Backs and Padres all have openings at 1B, 2B or 3B. The more interesting question is: will the M's non-tender either Ryan Rowland-Smith or Garrett Olson? Both are arbitration-eligible (I believe), and neither really deserves a raise. I could see the M's possibly holding onto Olson, as he is a lefty reliever, but he didn't exactly light the world on fire. RRS, on the other hand, was an unmitigated disaster last season. I like the guy personally, but he just didn't bring it last year. And that was especially disappointing after a strong 2009 campaign; he looked to be a lock in the M's rotation for a few years. Now, he might not be in the team's plans at all.

This is so sad, I mean these comments. Lopez is being tossed-up as the scapegoat for a team that hit .235 and scored the fewest runs in the DH era. If Lopez had a 100 RBIs, they still would have been the worst hitting team in the MLB. The reality is this: Lopez had three pretty good years previous to this, but he was no four-hole hitter, and he was expected to be one on a team that had no legitimate four-hole hitter. Lopez is gone, but so is other players that the Mariners had decided were useless to them: Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer, and Raul Ibanez. They all wound-up playing on World Series teams--teams that found a proper place for them. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Lopez lands on a contending team that knows where his proper spot is in the line-up. They will know that Lopez had a bad year on a bad team. And the Mariners--in between a winning hiccup or two--will continue to be a bad team.

Chirstmas just came early!!!

When will you all realize that the Mariners WILL and WILL ALWAYS be a farm system for MLB....Lopez will go on to another team and shine.

You're an idiot.

not an idiot, just a Yankee fan. Oh...... never mind......