Ok, we just got out of a brief meeting Jack Zduriencik's sweet suite here at the Bellagio. (Needless to say, his room has a much better view than mine.

The headline pretty much says it all. Zduriencik didn't rule out making a pitch to resign Raul, but at this point, I don't see it happening. He's 36. Yes, his production was good and I think he could replicate it this season, but he wants more than one season. Will he get it from a team, oh yes, he'll get a three-year deal easily. Teams like him and for good reason. He works his ass off in the offseason, during spring training and during the season. He knows he doesn't have as much talent as other players so he tries to outwork them. He's turned himself into a productive player.

Here's my story for the paper...

LAS VEGAS - As expected Raul Ibanez declined the Mariners offer for salary arbitration. Ibanez’s agents notified Major League Baseball after Sunday’s 9 p.m. deadline that he will apply for free agency. MLB officials then notified the Mariners.
It wasn’t much of a surprise to those familiar with the situation, including Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik.

“I’m not surprised that he turned it down,” Zduriencik said after hearing the news. “It’s his right to do it as a player. Had he said yes to arbitration, we would’ve been happy to have him back.”

Ibanez was probably the Mariners most consistent offensive producer last season, hitting .293 with 23 home runs 110 RBI.

At the end of last season, Ibanez was amenable to resigning with the Mariners, but was looking for a multi-year deal to provide some security. Zduriencik didn’t rule out the possibility of the Mariners coming back at Ibanez with another contract offer.

“It’s possible,” he said. “I think we can talk. It certainly leaves the door open.”
However, Zduriencik is walking a fine line of offering a multi-year deal to a player that will turn 37 in June with a team that will largely be in rebuilding mode.
Ibanez also hinted toward a desire to play for a playoff contending team. The Mariners aren’t necessarily in that category.

Teams like the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and New York Yankees have all shown some interest in Ibanez and could give him the multi-year commitment and possibility of winning that he craves.

Under MLB rules, if Ibanez were to sign with another team, the Mariners would be awarded two compensatory draft picks because Ibanez was classified as a Type A free agent.

Greetings from the city of sin, it's your favorite sinner. Anyways, I will be down here covering the winter meetings this week. Me, Vegas? No problem. I am putting together a bigger preview post after finish up my stuff for tomorrow's paper.

But I wanted to get his out to you quickly ... We just got word that Alan Cockrell, who was rumored to be named the Mariners new hitting coach, will indeed take that position.

The Mariners just sent out the release ...

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik and Field Manager Don Wakamatsu announced today at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings that the club has named Alan Cockrell as hitting coach.

"We are very pleased with the group of Major League coaches that Don and our baseball operations staff have put together," Zduriencik said. "Alan shares the key strengths of the other coaches in this group: Great energy, an ability to teach and a passion to help players perform to the best of their abilities."

Today's addition completes the Mariners 2009 coaching staff. In addition to Cockrell, Ty Van Burkleo will be bench coach, Lee Tinsley will be the first base coach, Bruce Hines will be the third base coach, Rick Adair will serve as pitching coach and John Wetteland has been named bullpen coach.

Cockrell, who turned 46 Dec. 5, joins the Mariners after serving the last two seasons as the hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies. He also served as the Rockies hitting coach for the last five months of the 2002 season after Clint Hurdle was promoted to manager on April 29 of that year. Under Cockrell's guidance in 2007, the Rockies finished first in the National League with a .280 team batting average, while the club also led the league in hits and on-base percentage. Prior to becoming the hitting coach in Colorado, he was the hitting coach at Triple-A Colorado Springs for four years from 2003-06, was the Rockies' roving hitting coordinator (2001-02), a minor league manager (1999-2000), and a professional scout (1998).

Cockrell was the ninth overall pick by the San Francisco Giants in the 1984 June draft out of the University of Tennessee. He was a minor league outfielder for 13 seasons, with his only major league action being 9 games for the Rockies in 1996. He spent time in the farm systems of San Francisco, Minnesota, Cleveland and Colorado, and played the 1991 season at Triple-A Calgary in the Mariners Minor League system. An All-American at Tennessee, Cockrell was also the Volunteers' starting quarterback in 1982-83.

Raul Ibanez will decline binding salary arbitration today and, for the second time in his career, leave the Seattle Mariners.

The first time was even less appetizing – the Mariners simply let Ibanez go after the 2000 season, and Kansas City signed him as a free agent. As a Royal, Ibanez got the chance to play regularly, and he blossomed.

Lou Piniella, who saw the drive but never the payoff in Seattle, was in favor of letting Ibanez go in 2000. When he watched Ibanez play for the Royals, he told Mariners scouts he wanted that left-handed bat back.

Ibanez was never the best outfielder, the fastest runner, and his natural abilities wouldn’t have gotten him far in the major leagues.

What made Ibanez the player that contending teams – including the World Series champion Phillies – covet was his work ethic. Last year, on a team that lost 101 games, Ibanez played all 162 games.

On a great team, he’d probably be a No. 5 or No. 6 hitter. He didn’t have the luxury in Seattle, especially after returning to the team following the ’03 season. Instead, Ibanez played left field and batted third some days, fourth in others.

He batted .293 with 23 home runs and 110 RBI last season at age 36. Over 986 career games as a Mariner, Ibanez hit .284.

This time, the Mariners will get a pair of draft picks in return, and hope that he signs with a National League team. One of the reasons the Mariners brought Ibanez back was the damage he did against them in two seasons in Kansas City.

The Mariners will miss more than Ibanez’s bat. In a clubhouse where few veterans talked, he was accountable – after good games and bad. He took younger players aside and talked baseball with them. He’d challenge veterans.

And after every game, he hit the weight room to work out.

The Phillies, Cubs, Mets, Rays, Yankees and a half-dozen other teams are pursuing Ibanez, who last year made $5.5 million. He wants a multi-year contract, and the Mariners weren’t in position to offer him one.

Someone will, and Ibanez will leave Seattle for a second time. He will be missed