Ok this was a monster post. I can't believe how long it took me to crank out all these answers. And all it did was leave me with more questions. Remember, I'm no expert, no scout, just a wordy sports writer with lots of free time.

Enjoy ...

From Wabubba: Who has replaced Wilkerson and Norton on the 40 man roster? I am assuming that Clement and Balentien were already on that list.

You would assume correctly WABUBBA… Clement and Balentien were already on there, and currently if you look at this link … you’ll count only 38 players…

Technically, though Wilkerson and Norton are still officially on the 40-man until the Mariners make a move with them i.e. trade, outright or designate for assignment. Until that becomes official they are still on there, even if they aren’t on that linked list.

As for who will be added, I talked with Jeff Evans, manager of baseball information with the Mariners, and he said there is no rule saying that the organization has to add somebody as soon as Wilkerson and Norton come off. If you remember, the Mariners were at 39 for almost all of spring training.

“You don’t have to be full,” Evans said. “You could have 35.”

And really there is no benefit or detraction for staying at 38.

From Gary Marshall via email:I have been A season ticket holder at the Rainer's since 2001, I am by no means a expert but Reed is twice the ball player that Balentien is and is hitting better right now with all the talk on the radio and in the paper is Reed the forgotten man he also has major league experience can you offer any clues as to why he is still in Tacoma?

Reed seems to be a lost man in the Mariners organization. I don’t know that he is twice the ball player that Wlad Balentien is, but I think he’s twice the ball player that Brad Wilkerson is.

Reed will be 27 on June 15. That’s far from ancient, but let’s face it he’s probably not going to show us anything more than he already has. Currently, he’s hitting .375 with six doubles, a triple, three home runs and 14 RBI, with an OPS of over 1.000. But the problem has never been his hitting at the Triple A level, but his hitting at the major league level, where he’s a career .253 hitter 112 strikeouts in 775 at-bats. But he talked about going back to being more a spray hitter this spring, and it seems to be working. Plus I think he’s finally 100 percent healthy for the first time in a few years. It’s not that he’s injury prone, he just gets dinged from playing hard.

Reed is good defensively and can play all three positions, and is a solid base runner, it all adds up to a solid fourth outfielder for a team. Do I think he could fit on this Mariners team? Yes, I’d gladly take him or Jimerson over Cairo. Still, somewhere along the way, Reed has seemed to fallen out of favor with the organization, perhaps it was his surly attitude for much of last season. If the Mariners were in need of an outfielder in a pinch, I really don’t know if they would call up him or Jimerson.

From Moo: Ryan, as another similar alternative, how long would it take the M's to stretch Morrow back out to be a starter? Could it be done in a couple weeks since he started during the winter? IF that was realistic, having Morrow as the #5 starte; Washburn; Dickey in the bullpen would seem to me to strengthen the entire staff (I'm assuming here that JJ comes back to form, that either Lowe or Green is capable of set up).

It’s interesting premise to think about. To stretch Morrow out now would take perhaps a month and a half of starting in Triple A to get him going. It’s not an impossible situation. But I think there would be some concern particularly after the dead arm issues he had earlier this spring. Also Mark Lowe hasn’t been particularly consistent in the pen. McLaren likes having the three power arms – Morrow, Lowe and JJ.

Washburn seems to get fatigued at about 90 pitches, perhaps it’s age, but also because it takes max-effort from him sometimes to be effective because he doesn’t have the overpowering stuff or the good out pitch. He’s still a competitor, but on certain nights you know and he knows it’s going to be a fight to get every single out. I think he'll come around a little.

I do know this, if Washburn were moved to long relief, he’d be getting paid 9.85 million a year for four innings of work every so often.

From Moo again: Regarding Sexson; Ryan is (Bryan) LaHair an MLB quality 1b?
I really don’t know because we’ve never seen him in a major league situation. LaHair seemed to be a guy with some potential coming into last season, but that all fell apart as he hit right around .200 for the first two months. He recovered to hit .275 with 12 home runs and 81 RBI, but it wasn’t the production the Mariners had in mind. He also struck out a 126 times in 552 at-bats, that’s not a good ratio at all. He didn't even get a September call-up.

I don’t know that he projects as an every-day major league first baseman because that’s a power position – not that the Mariners have consistently seen it from that spot in the past two seasons. But LaHair hasn’t proven he can provide that power consistently.

Still, I thought LaHair played well in the spring when he got his chances, he hit the ball hard and showed good athleticism around first base. It’s carried over into this season, he’s hitting .304 with eight doubles, six home runs and 21 RBI. He does have 19 strikeouts, but he also 12 walks and his OPS is at .977.

I really think he’ll get a September call-up this year and that might be an audition of sorts for him.

I still think the Mariners will make a play for a free agent hitter, either first base or outfield in the offseason, and possibly begin Raul transition to first next year.

From ACQB – aka my boy Aaron Chantler, Wilson High School offensive coordinator: I had a couple of quick questions for you about some rumors that I've been hearing about the M's. First of all, I keep hearing that resigning Kenji was the choice of the owner and that he kind of pushed it to happen. I believe that to be true, have you heard anything on that? I've also heard that with the signing, there might be a chance that they use Clement as trade bait. Lastly, I keep hearing Griffey's name coming up everywhere. Even Ken Rosenthal at Foxsports.com has a story on that today. While I love Junior, do you think he is a fit? I'd be ok with Junior in right, Wlad in left and Raul or Clement at 1B while the other is at DH.

Well, Aaron since you have so many questions… let’s start with the first one.

Yes, I do think the owners pushed to sign Johjima. They’re a Japan-based corporation and he’s a Japanese player with a very high level of popularity back home. We heard the same rumors around the stadium and they seem logical if not confirmed. It has to be the reason, because what other reason could it be.

As for Clement and his trade status, I really don’t see the Mariners parting with him at this point. They’ve invested a lot of time and effort into this kid and I doubt they will trade just as the investment is starting to pay off.

There has been a lot of talk about Griffey coming back to the Mariners. And I think it would be great for the fans and the Seattle. For the ball club? I’m not as convinced. If you could get Griffey for minimal prospects, then I’m all for it, but I wouldn’t be willing to give up Clement, Morrow, Triunfel, Adam Moore or any of your top prospects, for a guy that’s clearly on the decline. Remember this isn’t the Griffey from 1995, and it’s not even Griffey of 1999. This is a guy who’s on the downside of his career. But even on the downside he did post 30 home runs and 93 RBI last season. Could he help the Mariners? I think on some level, but you couldn’t rely on him completely because of his injury issues in the past. I don’t have a problem acquiring Junior, but don’t mortgage your future over it.

And now answers to my questions:

Why is Miguel Cairo on this team?
I’m not certain. McLaren said this the other day on why he kept Cairo over Norton: We need pinch-runner every night, with so many guys who need pinch-running for. We're not going to pinch hit for that many guys, so we felt like this was the way we needed to go.”
OK that’s all well and good, but if you need a guy specifically for pinch running, why not go with Charlton Jimerson or Jeremy Reed, who are better base runners and provide better outfield defense that Willie Bloomquist.

If I were the manager, I’d have Bloomquist, Burke, Reed or Jimerson, and Vidro. That gives you Willie as your utility infield guy, you have a Burke as the third catcher, Reed or Jimerson to be your pinch runner, particularly for Raul late in games and Vidro as your pinch hitter.

When is Cha Seung Baek going to figure it out?
I don’t know. Every time I want to write him off he has a good outing. And every team, I think he might have started to find some consistency he throws out a lemon like yesterday. Some people question his toughness, his heart and his competitiveness. The kid has some talent, but talent will only get you so far in this league.

Why is Kenji Johjima struggling so much?
Pitch selection, and he can’t seem to hit on the road. All but two of his hits have been in Safeco this season. Teams are consistently pounding him on the hands with fastballs and he hasn’t been able to do much with them. Until he does, they’re going to keep doing it.

What is the identity of this team?
They don’t have one yet. And that could be a problem. But it’s a month to the season, perhaps the recent moves will move them closer to finding one. Still, they need to find one soon, it’s important. I don’t think the Angels have that problem.