Boy, did we post enough content today, or what? Anyway, next game is on Tuesday, when the Mariners head to Cleveland to beat the heck out of the Indians for a couple of games.
Tuesday, RHP Pineiro v RHP Anderson
Wednesday, RHP Garcia v RHP Davis
Thursday, could go a couple of ways — probably RHP Franklin on 5 days rest v. RHP Westbrook
I like the M’s chances here. It’s telling that the Mariners made a big deal out of what Freddy’s next start would tell them about his dedication (etc). Last time he faced their stopgap lineup, he gave up 7 hits, one a homer, two walks, and struck out only one, allowing one run in six innings of work. That’s what we call ‘lucky’. Meche shut them out the next day (8ks), and Jamie gave up two runs (striking out 7) the day after that. It’s weird, though, the Mariners are playing .600 ball but if you’d asked me, I’d have told you they were closer to .550, and I’ve seen every game so far (I think). That says something about me, or the team, I don’t know which. Still, I was the only guy at Prospectus to predict the Mariners would finish as high as second in their division.
Also, the Mariners have escalated their continuing battle against the Grand Salami, the unofficial and frequently-critical (though not of advertisers) program sold for $3 outside Safeco Field that is markedly superior to the $4 official program. Tired of having fans buy the Grand Salami on their way to the park and pass up the official program, the team is now deploying street hawkers who do the Grand Salami schtick, with one adjustment — “Programs! Four dollars!” in the hopes, I think, that fans used to buying the Salami will buy from them, thinking it’s a price increase… I’m not sure what the next step will be, but I suspect it involves some kind of favorable legislation to ban vendors not sanctioned by the team from Safeco Field property, forcing the vendors away from the gates and the lucrative parking garage-to-ballpark fan streams.
Minor League Highlights for Saturday, May 10
Oklahoma 1, Tacoma 0. The Rainiers held Oklahoma to just three hits in the game, but unfortunately managed only three hits of their own and were unable to scratch out even a single run. LHP Craig Anderson (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) had yet another good start, lowering his ERA to 2.61 on the year. It took him a few starts at the beginning of the year, but he’s apparently figured out how to fool PCL hitters with his assortment of junk. RHP J.J. Putz (2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) took the loss in relief, as he allowed a run in the top of the 9th. 3B Luis Figueroa had two of Tacoma’s three hits.
Midland 6, San Antonio 4. The once-hot Missions have now lost two in a row, as RHP Clint Nageotte (4 2/3 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) was hit quite hard and took his first loss of the season. If you’re looking for a positive, it’s that he only walked one this time out; command is key to Nageotte’s success down the road. 1B A.J. Zapp led the offense with a homer and a double, and 3B Justin Leone walked three times to go along with his second homerun of the season. CF Michael Curry stole two bases to give him 18 on the year, by far the highest total in the system.
Lake Elsinore 5, Inland Empire 2 (DH Game #1). In typical 66ers fashion, the team scored just two runs despite having ten hits in the game. For comparison, Lake Elsinore scored their five runs on seven hits. 3B Hunter Brown and CF Sheldon Fulse each had a pair, and six other players chipped in with one hit each. LHP Glenn Bott (4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) took the loss in the abbreviated game, dropping his record to 0-2 on the season.
Lake Elsinore 3, Inland Empire 2 (DH Game #2). The 66ers were done in yet again by a poor offensive showing, this time managing just five hits. It should be noted that they also drew six walks; this team actually walks quite a bit, but for whatever reason they seem incapable of stringing together hits to score than just a single run here and there. It doesn’t help that they’re dead-last in the California League in homers, either. Getting back to the game, RHP Enmanuel Ulloa pitched very well (5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and left with a 1-0 lead, only to see RHP Emiliano Fruto cough it up in a poor relief outing (1 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K).
Wisconsin 6, Battle Creek 2. LHP T.A. Fulmer (9 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) gave the Timber Rattlers their first complete game of the year, picking up his second win and lowering his ERA to 3.63. Fulmer took a no-hitter into the 4th inning, but allowed a two-out double followed by an RBI single which tied the game at 1. Wisconsin countered with a SS Michael Garciaparra solo homer in the bottom of the 4th, followed by a 3B Matt Hagen three-run shot in the 6th. Hagen and Garciaparra, hitting 8th and 9th in the batting order, combined to go 6-8 with two homers, three runs scored and four RBIs on the day.
Let’s talk about Freddy. Pitching coach Brian Price has hinted around knowing what’s up, saying that the amount of effort someone puts into becoming a great pitcher is a personal choice, and lately that “Freddy is facing a challenge right now, and we’ll see what he’s made of.”
Freddy’s known as a party dude, a nightclub-hanging-out guy with a reputation for enjoying the women his fame attracts. I have no personal knowledge of any of this, I only know that he does get spotted at clubs a lot. He’s also got issues with his work ethic, preparation, and his tendency to come unraveled easily. Now, do any of the local media types come out and confront this?
Nope. Steve Kelley (“The worst sports writer in Seattle”) writes a column “Garcia more like a house of cards than supposed ace” in which he dances around this: he asks if Freddy wants to win, or “Or is he more interested in using baseball to help him live the good life?” and then, after discussing the collapse, writes “[the Mariners didn’t sign him to an extension because] they saw a flaw in his personality that told them he wasn’t worth their long-term faith. Garcia likes having a good time.” Uh huh? How, exactly? Kelley goes on to talk about these other guys who party, or have a wild lifestyle, after-hours habits. “Is Freddy Garcia a big-league ace? Or a big-time party animal? Is he more interested in night life or night games?”
Look, if you know something, say it. Put it in black-and-white on a page. There are obvious flags out there if you look for them, but what Kelley does here is say that Garcia likes a good time, and then gives examples — of other players.
The P.I. ran a bit in their notebook in which Price offers the theory that it’s when Garcia reaches back for more speed on the fastball that he’s getting hurt. That seems to run counter to my own opinion, which is that Garcia sucks, has no plan, and is easily rattled. Anyway, Price bravely tries to take the blame (this is a huge credit to Price, btw).
Also, while I’m ranting, I’d like to complain about Bob (“I’m well acquinted with other lint in the Mariners pockets”) Finnigan’s May 10 notebook, which starts off being about Freddy and then goes horribly wrong. As one of the M’s unofficial spokespeople Finnigan writes about the possibility of a Portland franchise and said “While the Seattle club maintains its silence on the matter, it is thought that as much as one-third of its broadcast audience and 20-25 percent of its attendance comes from this state’s southwest corridor. Those fans could be drawn away to support a team nearer to them in Portland.”
Thought by who? Who in their right minds believes that one in every four or five fans is driving to Safeco from Vancouver, Washington, given that the Seattle-Tacoma metro area has 3.5 million people in it. The total population of Washington is 5.9m, and there are ~650k in Spokane-Yakima, 189k in the Tri-cities… does Finnigan really think that of the remaining 1.8m people in this state, that they’re all baseball fanatics hiding in the southwest corridor of Washington who watch the game in far greater proportions and are also willing to drive two, three hours in traffic to see the Mariners play, that they’re so baseball crazy… argh. That this 1.8m hidden population in Finnigan’s southwest corridor attend games at a rate (0.75% of population per game) barely below that of people in the Seattle Metro area (1.1% of the population)? What kind of utter stupidity is this?
“It is thought” that that’s true? Here’s a thought, Bob — you work for the Seattle Times. If you want a story, COMMISSION A FREAKING POLL. Here’s my stat: it’s between 90 and 125% of Seattle Times readers wish their baseball section featured more writers like Stone and less of the Kelley-Judd-Finnigan-Newham League of Lazy Sportswriters.
Speaking of Larry Stone, he’s got two good articles on sign-stealing for your reading enjoyment: “Sign language is game’s lifeblood” and “Masters of sign-stealing get in opponents’ heads but aren’t proud of it“). I’m a huge sign-stealer myself, and last year wrote about stealing Mariner signs for Baseball Prospectus, after which Piniella went to Toronto and was annoyed and baffled that the Blue Jays seemed to be stealing his signs (they weren’t, he was just predictable in many situations).
Aaaaaand with another time through the rotation, it’s time for Derek’s Rate Stat Extravaganza:
Who batters* h% hr% bb% k%
Nelson 54 24% 4% 7% 26%
Soriano 16 13% 0% 13% 25%
Sasaki 48 29% 2% 8% 23%
Moyer 179 23% 3% 9% 20%
Meche 182 22% 3% 5% 20%
Rhodes 68 21% 0% 7% 19%
Mateo 81 23% 5% 6% 17%
Pineiro 194 20% 2% 11% 13%
Hasegawa 83 17% 0% 6% 13%
Garcia 197 22% 4% 10% 13%
Franklin 205 24% 4% 7% 9%
Carrara 83 29% 4% 8% 8%
* batters as outs+h+bb, doesn’t include hit batters, etc.
Carrera’s really starting to show his true and historic suckiness. Meche, even with yesterday’s performance, still looks pretty good. He’s not walking anyone, he’s getting strikeouts, and not particularly prone to the long-ball. Franklin’s putting the ball in play and letting it fall where it may so far this year, which is obvious from watching any of his starts.
Notes from the game: McLemore’s defense at short could only get worse if there was a large dog (an adult husky or malamute, say) attacking his ankle all game long.
Guy who sang the national anthem was “Safeco Favorite” John B. Cooper, who took 20m to sing the anthem. The ‘B’ stands for ‘Bad’. The pre-game home run contest was the worst ever. Kids try to hit balls over the fence off a tee, and featured a kid who totally hammed it up, making the ‘raise the roof’ arm gestures, then grounding out weakly. Both kids hit 1 HR, then in the tie-breaker, none. Now, I like to boo the kids — I feel it’s important for them to get used to criticism — but this was torture. It was almost as bad as the celebrity softball game at the All Star Game 2001, which was the most pain I’ve been in at the ball park. This is part of a larger trend of kids-on-camera hamming it up: the Kid PA announcers have been over-the-top lately, too.
The same people who were so annoying at Freddy Meltdown #2 were behind me again, complaining all game long about… Freddy. Yup. They’re like the Bill Waltons of Safeco fans. And I’m a pretty negative guy, so if you’re annoying me with your gnashing and wailing… well, that takes some doing. If these idiots have the tickets behind me for the rest of the season, I’m going to be really annoyed.
It’s cliche`, but it’s cliche` because its true; baseball is a game of inches. It will be written up as a blunder in the paper tommorrow, but Willie Bloomquist did what 98 % of all major league players would have done in that situation. This was not a mistake of inexperience, but simply a ridiculously hard judgment call on what to do. The right play would have been to just run back to second base, but that simply isn’t something that any player has enough experience with to do anything but guess. I’m far from a Willie Bloomquist supporter, but he’s going to get a lot of undo flak from that 9th inning play. I really doubt Randy Winn would have made a different choice.
A few other things I noticed:
Gil Meche’s arm stroke from the stretch concerns me. He gets better push with his legs from the wind-up, but it appears he’s compensating for this by torquing his arm from the stretch for extra velocity. This was my first real good look at Meche this year, and judging arm movemnts from TV isn’t a science, so hopefully I’m just being paranoid. The fact that he was shaking his arm between pitches in the 4th and 5th innings wasn’t reassuring, though.
Carlos Lee is a ridiculously strong human being. Damaso Marte’s 91 MPH fastball looks about 96 with the tail he gets on it. Joe Crede has turned into a hack, and is not the same hitter I saw in AAA Charlotte last year. And I’m more convinced than ever that the White Sox would finish in last place in the AL West.
Giovanni Carrara is once again used in the 9th inning of a game where we trail by one run. This simply shouldn’t happen. Melvin has to learn to use his bullpen more effectively. This is his biggest weakness right now, and it will cost the Mariners ballgames.
I was going to make a crack about how it took until May 10 for Greg Colbrunn to get his first pinch-hit appearance of the year, but its hard to stump for more plate appearances for a guy with a .452 OPS.
Heading down to the game right about now. Colon v. Meche — should be a good one. This will be the first time I’ve seen Meche in person this year, but more than that, it marks just the second game all year I’ve been to when Freddy Garcia hasn’t pitched. I don’t know about you, but it seems every season there’s one starter I see a disproportionate number of times. A few years ago it was Jeff Fassero, two years ago Jamie Moyer and last year James Baldwin. That last one was particularly painful, not to mention all those agonizingly slow Zombie Walks (tm 2002 Derek Zumsteg) back to the dugout after each inning.
I heard a rumor there’s an ad for this very website in the May issue of the Grand Salami magazine. OK, that’s a lie, I have a copy right here. In any event, if you’re just now finding our little corner of the web because of this ad, we welcome you aboard the good ship U.S.S. Mariner. Ahoy, and all that.
Minor League Highlights for Friday, May 9
Colorado Springs 13, Tacoma 8. The mile-high air claimed another victim as RHP Brian Sweeney gave up 11 earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings, raising his ERA to 4.83 on the year. Sweeney gave up 12 hits, walked 3, and struck out 2. RHP Allan Simpson closed the game by recording all four of his outs via the strikeout. He now has 23 strikeouts in just 16 2/3 innings. Super utility man Craig Kuzmic went 2-4 with his 4th homer while starting at second base and LF Adrian Myers did the same, knocking his first home run of the year. Tacoma will gladly return home today to take on Oklahoma at Cheney Stadium, with LHP Craig Anderson getting the start for the Rainiers.
Midland 18, San Antonio 12. After 3 innings, the Missions held an 11-1 lead and looked like they would roll to their 19th consecutive victory. However, the Rockhounds put up an astonishing 14 runs in the last 3 innings as relievers Justin Lamber, Randy Williams, Jared Hoerman, and Craig House put 20 men on base from the 7th-9th innings. LHP Bobby Madrtisch started the game, but could only manage 4 1/3 innings due to continuing issues with his command. He walked 5 and struck out two in that time, allowing 3 unearned runs. Offensively, it was a singles-fest, as the two teams combined for 30 runs without the benefit of a home run. Of the 32 hits in the game, only 5 were extra base hits. DH John Lindsey, 3B Justin Leone, and CF Michael Curry had 3 hits apiece and RF Chris Snelling went 2-5 to lead the offense.
Lake Elsinore 4, Inland Empire 3. OF Shin-Soo Choo came within a triple of the cycle, but he didn’t get much help from his teammates as the 66’ers fell to 15-17 on the season. Ismael Castro got the start at shortstop and added 2 hits, raising his average to .245 and giving hope that he may be coming out of his slump. LHP Jared Thomas got the start and continued to struggle with his command, walking 4 and striking out 3 in 6 innings. He did hold the Storm to 1 run during his time, however. RHP Brian Strelitz took the loss by giving up the lead in the 8th inning on 2 hits and a walk. The 66’ers play a doubleheader today, shorthanded by the loss of Cha Baek to the DL (again). He’s expected to be out 2-3 weeks. LHP Glenn Bott and RHP Manny Ulloa will come out of the pen to start today’s twin bill.
Wisconsin 11, Battle Creek 2. The T-Rats gave the M’s system one win on the day with a drubbing of the Yankees low-A affiliate. 3B Matt Hagen was the offensive star, going 3-4 with his 4th home run and 7th double of the year. C Rene Rivera also added his 4th homer and 2B Tim Merritt went 2-5 and stole 2 bases. LHP Bobby Livingston moved to 4-1 on the year with 6 1/3 solid innings, giving up 2 runs, walking 2, and striking out 3. His ERA now stands at 2.52. RHP’s David Viane and Renee Cortez provided solid relief, shutting the door on an easy Wisconsin win. SS Michael Garciaparra is now hitting .171/.243/.219 after another 0-3, and his time in Wisconsin is nearing an end.
So, are we allowed to call Ryan Franklin’s start “gutty”? I think that’s what announcers would call it. He got hit hard early on, and appeared to be right on the verge of losing it entirely before being saved by a double play in the 2nd. Come to think of it, he didn’t pitch particularly well, but manged to scatter the hits he allowed and hold the White Sox to three runs. Didn’t hurt that he only walked one, either. Oh, I think the other announcer cliche for this type of performance is saying he “kept his team in the ballgame.” All kidding aside, I’m not unhappy with Franklin, and the team certainly needed a solid outing from him tonight.
Minor League Highlights for Thursday, May 8
I’m pinch-hitting for Jason today, which is somewhat akin to the Mabry-Colbrunn fiasco of a few weeks ago. Have no fear, Jason shall return with his blend of witty humor and insight soon.
Tacoma 15, Colorado Springs 10. The Rainiers finally remembered that they were playing at altitude and pulled out the whooping sticks on their way to a five run win. C Pat Borders continues his improbable run with one of the best games of his life, going 6-6 with 2 doubles, a home run, a walk, and 3 RBI. He’s now posting a Ruthian .395/.427/.756 on the season. By the way, he turns 40 in four days. OF Jalal Leach also homered and every starter except OF Jacque Landry had at least one hit. The offense overshadowed another tough outing for RHP Ken Cloude, who gave up 8 runs in the first five innings before departing. His ERA now stands at 6.95. RHP Aaron Looper picked up the win in relief by pitching 2 2/3 innings, and the box score credited RHP Aaron Taylor with his 7th save for pitching a trouble free 9th inning, even though he was protecting a 5 run lead.
The San Antonio Missions game at Tulsa was canceled due to rain, undoubtedly brought on by the prayers of angry Drillers’ fans who were tired of seeing the Missions pound their home team. The Missions return home to host the Midland Rockhounds and send LHP Bobby Madritsch to the hill looking for their 19th consecutive win. Despite a 6.35 ERA, Madritsch is 3-2 on the season. God bless run support.
Inland Empire 5, High Desert 2. The Ryan Ketchner show continued its roll with an easy transition into the rotation. Ketchner earned his 4th win by allowing 2 base hits and 1 walk in 6 1/3 innings, striking out 5. He retired the first 13 batters he faced before giving up a harmless single. After another sterling performance, Ketchner has now walked 5 and struck out 42 in 30 1/3 innings. Together, southpaws Ketchner and Troy Cate have amassed an 11/80 BB/K in 66 innings of work. RHP Mike Steele picked up his 8th save and lowered his ERA to 1.15 after taking over for LHP Russ Morgan in the 9th. 1B John Castellano provided the offense with a 3-3 evening and C Chris Collins took advantage of a chance to play by going 2-3.
Wisconsin 8, Lansing 5. The Timber Rattlers put up a strong offensive show behind OF T.J. Bohn’s 5th home run of the season and 2 doubles from 1B Jon Nelson. CF Gary Harris added to the balanced attack with a 3-5 evening, and everyone in the line-up except LF Dustin Delluchi scored a run. Delluchi simply went 2-4 with an RBI. RHP Juan Sandoval had one of his finer performances of the season, giving up just 2 runs in 5 innings of work. LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith got the win in relief, however, giving up just 3 unearned runs in 3 2/3 innings, walking 2 and striking out 1. His ERA now stands at 0.82 and Rowland Smith is a good candidate to move into the rotation if the T-Rats decide to shake things up. RHP Rich Dorman earned his second save by striking out the only batter he faced to end the game.
I spent 6 years of my youth as a catcher, donning the tools of ignorance and watching the game from behind forty pounds of armor. I played on some truly terrible teams where ace pitchers were hitting 70 MPH with their fastballs and flashing the #2 sign meant throw whatever the heck you feel like. During these years, I learned to love the chess match at the plate. I took it as a challenge to set up the hitters, despite the fact that my pitchers had the stuff of an over the hill church league reliever. Working with guys who simply didn’t have the capability to fool anyone forced us to gameplan, strategize, and simply outsmart the other team. The only way we were going to win is if they couldn’t figure out what was coming next and failed to swing at pitches they could drive with ease.
I have fond memories of sitting in the dugout an hour before the game laying out the first innings worth of pitches. I loved the fact that our pitchers would show up early to come up with a way to circumvent their lack of ability. There wasn’t a lot of talent on those pitching staffs, but we ended up being pretty darn good because we simply outworked every other team in our league. Its amazing what a 60 MPH “changeup” on the inside corner will do a 15-year-old kid when he’s looking fastball. Realizing that we could suceed at this game through work ethic and intelligence is one of the things that caused me to fall in love with baseball.
That is why Freddy Garcia drives me insane. In the land of pitching IQ, he’s an Oompa Loompa. He doesn’t set up hitters. He doesn’t pitch to their weaknesses. He doesn’t change his gameplan for different hitters. He’s the starting pitching equivalent of a professional wrestler. He’s going to flex for a while, strut around the ring, and then try to beat the snot out of you with brute strength. Unfortunately for Garcia, baseball is not a game decided by who has the most testosterone. More often than not, the game is won upstairs. I’m not even sure if Garcia’s house has stairs.