Links - Numbers Game Mariners Sign Figgins - North River Minor Hockey Association

Numbers Game Mariners Sign Figgins LOGINREGISTERHELPYOU ARE NOT LOGGED IN NHLNBAMLBCFLNFLCurlingTennisGolfSoccerNASCARFormula OneIndyCar NASCAR Canadian Tire SeriesNationwideCamping WorldAuto RacingWorld JuniorsSpengler CupMenS WHCWomenS WHCHockey CanadaAHLBoxingCanada GamesCHLCISECHLFigure SkatingLacrosseMMANCAASkiingSummer SportsWinter SportsMoreOlympicsFantasyDaily LineShowsTSN TalentCommunityeotText SizeBringing in Chone Figgins nets the Seattle Mariners a marquee free agent who adds an element of speed to the lineupNumbers Game looks at the Ms new additionThe Mariners Get 3B Chone FigginsFiggins 31 has been one of the top basestealers in baseball swiping 265 bags over the last six seasons and hes coming off a season in which he set career highs with 101 walks 114 runs and a 395 onbase percentage Certainly the Mariners could use Figgins ability to get on base and combined with Ichiro Suzuki at the top of batting order use their speed more effectively to put pressure on opposing defences Though the addition of Figgins doesnt automatically mean that he will take over at third base from last years starter Adrian Beltre that is the likely result Should the Mariners retain Beltre or pursue a powerhitting third baseman Figgins can play both shortstop and second base as well as some outfield in a pinch so he gives the Mariners some positional versatilityWhile Figgins doesnt have the power that is typical of a corner infielder the Mariners only got eight home runs out of Beltre last season so going in a direction that puts more focus on speed makes some sense Figgins also is a strong fielder possibly even better than Beltre so the Mariners wont lose out defensively at the hot corner following a recent trend of focusing on defence that helped the Mariners to the best ERA in the American League last seasonSigned to a fourdeal for $36million Figgins isnt outrageously expensive as long as he can stay healthy (he missed more than 45 games in 2007 and 2008) and continue his streak of six straight seasons with at least 30 stolen basesIt may not be a major factor for the Mariners but there may be some concern with Figgins lack of success at pitcherfriendly Safeco Field posting a 685 OPS in 199 career atbats the secondlowest mark of his career with Torontos Rogers Centre the only road venue in which he has at least 100 atbats and recorded a lower OPSThe Angels do have Brandon Wood in the organization a minor league power hitter who hasnt been able to handle major league pitching hitting 192 in 224 career atbats yet hes the leading candidate to take over after mashing 76 home runs at TripleA in 1232 atbats over the last three seasonsLooking at the free agent market the leading candidates could include Beltre Mark DeRosa or Pedro Feliz so Wood comes with more promise at an economical priceScott Cullen can be reached at ScottCullen@ctv...