One of the most popular questions I get about the Mariners involves pitcher Gil Meche and why the Mariners did not do more to keep him before he became a free agent.

Anyone who has watched the Mariners the past few years has seen Meche pitch one of those games where it looks like the big right-hander can do no wrong. Fastball's popping, control's sharp, breaking stuff's working. And then you've seen the starts where Meche looks like he just picked up a baseball for the first time in his life. No control and worse, no idea of what to do with what he has got. This is the Gil Meche problem in a nutshell and the Mariners were spooked to spend to spend millions on a pitcher who might – or might not – be any good.

Mariners coaches were frequently frustrated with Meche because of his lack of consistency. Some of that could be blamed on the arm troubles Meche had but those have long since ceased to be a concern. Worse, Meche seemed to always have some little problem/excuse that caused his bad outing. Bad arm slot, too long of a stride, didn't feel right warming up, etc. I think these things got to be a bit tiring, too.

Your right if you're thinking at least the Mariners knew something about Meche, who has been with the organization since being drafted, instead of gambling with an unknown pitcher. And that fact alone might speak volumnes why the Mariners didn't push harder to sign Meche.

One more thing to remember: Meche may not have wanted to return to Seattle. He might have vetoed any deal this summer with the Mariners with the thought of getting out of town. Maybe he realized his time had come and gone here or maybe he was holding out for the big payday, which seems likely given the state of pitching and what team's are willing to pay. Whatever the reason, Meche himself might have decided that Seattle was no longer in his plans.

Scanning the internet, there seems to be many teams that have an interest in Meche. The Yankees, White Sox, Cubs, Blue Jays and even the Royals! have been reported to have interest in signing Meche.