THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Here's a gamble, bet on the guys on the roster

Yes, I promised we’d continue the chat.

If you read Wednesday’s column, you know that I’m trying to answer as many readers’ questions (or address their opinions) as best I can.

The goal is to respond to everyone, or at least to discuss the subjects they’ve inquired about, by the end of the year.

Obviously, there’s no way I can detail every single nut and bolt that’s been mentioned in all your emails — but I’ll try to reach all the topics, at least.

Reader Kim Golden sent an interesting and forward-thinking question about the NCAA’s possible plans to create “tiers” for competition, and thus allow schools (mainly big-time football programs) to actually pay athletes as employees.

Kim was curious about how such a change in intercollegiate sports would affect non-football schools like Gonzaga.

It’s a fascinating topic, and we’ll give it a long, well-researched look one day soon.

In the meantime, though, I had to smile at this line from Kim’s email: “I wanted to add another question to your long list.”

Indeed, Kim, it’s longer than my dinner list.

But I’m so glad (and grateful) that you’re all getting in touch, and I’ll do my best to make sense of things.

IN OTHER words, I’ll sort things out the way I personally see them, and my opinions are by no means meant to be universal.

Feel free to disagree.

As author Leo Tolstoy once said: “If everyone pulled in the same direction, the world would tip over.”

Right.

We all good?

OK, on Wednesday I tried to skim over some issues that people have brought up regarding the Seahawks’ quarterback situation, and then we hopped over to Gonzaga hoops.

Specifically, is there some voodoo going on with the Zags’ 3-point shooting, or what?

We’ll surely get back to the Hawks and Zags —  pretty frequently, in fact — but today I think we need to catch up with the Mariners.

You know, the team that did NOT sign Shohei Ohtani.

Or to be accurate, one of 29 teams that didn’t put up $700 million — and by the way, the manner in which the Dodgers have structured Ohtani’s deal has quite a few other clubs up in arms.

That’s definitely a matter that requires some explanation, and a serious dive into MLB finances.

Let’s just say that the Dodgers’ little deal to pay Shohei $2 million per year and then, after the contract expires, hand over $68 million annually for the next 10 years is something available to ONLY the three or four richest teams in baseball.

In other words, it’s not quite a scam — but it’s financial bullying to further separate the Dodgers from almost every other team in the sport.

There will be a ruckus over this, and perhaps even a change in the length of contracts permitted in MLB.

That’s fine with me.

SPEAKING of teams without the Dodgers’ massive pile of money, I have plenty of emails here concerning the Mariners.

Some of you simply believe the club’s ownership is cheap, and chairman John Stanton’s group keeps payroll down to routinely pocket the yearly profits.

Stanton argues that point but, in any case, it appears that baseball boss Jerry Dipoto can work with only a modest increase over last year’s payroll ($140 million, 18th in baseball despite attendance of 2.7 million, 10th overall in the game).

Most fans, and several Mariners players, are grumpy because the club can’t or won’t spend the money to land two or three big-time players.

I can’t change the payroll, but for baseball junkies who will root for the club anyway, I can suggest a move or two that actually might give the M’s a shot at the playoffs — and a deep run once they get there. 

Look, the Mariners were second in MLB in strikeouts last year (and I don’t mean the pitchers).

Dipoto has shed a lot of those whiffs, and even a decent lineup working with what should be one of best pitching staffs in baseball will take Seattle past 90 wins.

MY PLAN for the Mariners involves a little gambling — counting on two young players they got from Arizona last year, Dom Canzone and Ryan Bliss — and then spending the bulk of the remaining cash to sign Seattle native Blake Snell.

With Snell aboard and the pitching staff REALLY deep, Dipoto could afford to trade one (or more) of his young starters to Tampa Bay for outfielder Randy Arozarena and infielder Isaac Parades.

Yes, the two clubs have already been talking.

This trade would likely have to be tweaked, with the Rays perhaps demanding one or more of the Mariners promising minor leaguers (maybe another pitcher, Emerson Hancock).

At the end, though, you’d have a pretty exciting lineup to back that pitching staff.

Best of all, you could do it on ownership’s budget — which tells you how valuable it is to have plenty of good young pitchers.

Should I be the general manager, or what?

C’mon, more emails.

How do you like the plan?

We’ve changed the franchise in less than a day.

What do you think?

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”