Game 77, Mariners at Athletics
DMZ · June 30, 2005 at 11:33 am · Filed Under Game Threads
RHP Meche v RHP Haren. 12:35, radio only.
Rare day game, as the Mariners look to get this series over with so they can get on their flight back home.
Comments
88 Responses to “Game 77, Mariners at Athletics”
Again, this is the real Ichiro. Twice before in just the last 3 seasons he’s had monthly averages at least this low
I see they’ve decided to use Eddie in a high-leverage non-save situation, finally.
Apparently [/sarcasm] tags get eaten by WordPress.
That’s 3 errors on Beltre. Man, when he loses focus, he loses focus.
Teh funny is that so far, we’re at 176 pitches byt M’s pitchers and counting. The M’s are so bad, they can’t even mail it in right.
#27 – “Sexson walks a fair amount…”
Yep. He can’t run once he’s on base and Beltre isn’t making them pay for putting him on. It works beautifully.
Now that we can close the books on June, I’d like to point out the following:
2004 Seattle Mariners record from May 1 to June 30: 23-30
2005 Seattle Mariners record from May 1 to June 30: 21-32
So, no, actually, you’re not imagining things. This team is playing just as badly over a long stretch as the 2004 team. In fact, they are playing worse.
#57: Beltre’s usually out by the time Sexson walks. You mean Ibañez?
oops Didn’t I see Beltre hitting behind Sexson the other day or was that just my meds kicking in…?
Re 57: And yet the front office isn’t ready to give up on this season… why?
The thing about losing 5 games in a row is that in order to keep pace with the leaders you need to follow it by winning at least 7 games in a row.
If they can’t look at the M’s and honestly see them winning 7 consecutive games, it’s time to realise the season is done.
Oh, and while I’m at it: we’re a grand total of 1 game ahead (33-44) of last year’s pace (32-45) after 77 games.
What put us well on the way to 100 losses last year was a record of 8-19 in July- with a 6.33 team ERA.
Based on how the staff’s performing right now (not good), it may be reruns again.
Unbelievable. That’s all I have to say about this game. I was in the photo booth next to the M’s dugout and the players looked like they couldn’t believe that Hargrove put in Thornton in the middle of the 7th (one out, no runners) with the team down two.
All I can say is today’s move has to be borne out of Hargrove’s frustration with the front office for not getting Thornton off the roster. I refuse to believe that a manager of Hargrove’s caliber (before his tenure in Seattle) would put Thornton into this game in that situation unless he had an agenda. The team badly needed the win.
FYI, the Mariners didn’t score a run the entire series when they didn’t hit a home run.
OOooh, the old Piniella strategy. That’s an interesting thought.
And yet the front office isn’t ready to give up on this season… why?
I believe that would be what we call “comments meant for public consumption”.
I suspect Bill Bavasi can read a schedule, and there are only 7 games at home and 13 on the road from now until the 25th- for a team that’s 14-23 on the road and 19-20 at home.
This could get pretty ugly, folks.
#63: “Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.. Pinch hitting: Jose Offerman…”
He bunted foul for strike three with the tying run on 3rd, if I recall correcty.
#65: “*get* pretty ugly”?
Also, I noticed during this series that this team appeared to be too loose before the games. A lot of joking around, not doing their stretching. Seemed a little weird to me that a team in the midst of a losing streak would be clowning around, seemingly accepting the losing that’s going on every day.
Since I only cover two or three series a month, I asked a couple of the reporters who cover the team full-time about it and they said they felt the same way — that the team has no discipline and just seems to be content to be in the major leagues, drawing their paychecks.
The feeling around the people covering the M’s today was that changes are coming, possibly before tomorrow’s game in Seattle. From what I’ve been told the player most teams want is Randy Winn. I find this hard to believe since he’s due $5 million next year (or a $3.75 mil buyout) but that’s what I’ve been told. What kind of an “option” is that? The only way the option would get declined is if he was hurt and would miss the whole season. Another great contract by Bavasi (on top o giving a no-trade clause to Scott Spiezio!)…
#60:
Because it blows the hell out of their negotiating position. If they mail it in now, then every other GM in baseball won’t take them seriously.
You can’t look desperate in public.
“*get* pretty ugly�
Let’s just say I’m not convinced we’ve hit bottom yet- and this could have some fairly serious repercussions/organizational chaos. I don’t think Bavasi was kidding when he intimated his job wasn’t very safe if he couldn’t point to some improvements, and I don’t think the ownership had a one game improvement in mind when they committed to 110+ million in future salary.
Ok, another reallllly dumb question. Do other GMs actually fall for this B.S? Just asking. If the record is as bad as last year. If the offense is as bad as last year. If the pitching is as bad as last year, why would anyone think this team is going to be better than last year’s?
I guess I could have just said,”What negotiating position?”
Do other GMs actually fall for this B.S
I don’t think so: GMs know when other GMs are saying things for public consumption and when they’re not; it’s part of the job description.
Scouts sure as hell know that Piniero has lost his good fastball, and so on, and they talk to their GMs.
It doesn’t matter if opposing GMs fall for it.
If a GM publically states that his team blows goats, other GMs will know that he needs to do something about it. Soon. Blowing sunshine at the fans buys the GM time to act, not by fooling the opponents, but by fooling the consumers.
As long as the fans have hope, they’ll still come to the ballpark. As soon as that stops, the GM had better do something about it, and quickly.
I find this hard to believe since he’s due $5 million next year (or a $3.75 mil buyout) but that’s what I’ve been told. What kind of an “option†is that? The only way the option would get declined is if he was hurt and would miss the whole season. Another great contract by Bavasi (on top o giving a no-trade clause to Scott Spiezio!)…
That’s not the case. Winn has a mutual option that’s frequently misreported, but the team has an option at $5m and then Winn has a player option for $3.75m if they decline. It’s not a buyout — he’d be under contract for 2006.
Bavasi should be fired, perhaps right along side many others. He had some chances to add/detract from the roster and he made some bad choices. He offered extensions, options and salaries that had not been earned. Had all of this spending led to some winning it could be tolerable. Considering that this season is deep enough to make some judgements, I think it is fair to say this is a disaster of major proportions.
The roster is in shambles. The starting 5 doesn’t include 1 person any major leage player fears nor do we have that one guy who can stop a losing streak or rally.
The bullpen is void of any life and the one guy getting it done could have his arm fall off any moment.
The big names, Sexson, Beltre and Boone are not leading the team either by example nor influence.
We have young guys who come up and get some things done and we send them back down to allow Boone and Borders more playing time. What kind of message does that send to the Minor league players? I’d bet they are praying to be traded.
Price is complicit in the decimation of the pitching staff as well as the whole system’s ability to judge and develop pitchers. Last year we thought we had a bumper crop of talent waiting to take the league by storm, we are now at a point where a junkballer nearly 30 years old is among our best prospects.
Anyone who believes this team as the ability to turn in a .500 season is full of serious optimism or cannot see that our pitching staff had been working with mirrors and now that the smoke has cleared, it’s not enough. They cannot see that a line-up with but 1 .300+ hitter (Morse, not going to last) and many, many sub .240 hitters simply are not going to score runs.
#40
That’s pretty hillarious (even Rizz’s getting pissed), you know when he starts losing hope it’s all over.
#75: Well put.
The M’s would have to play .565 ball for the remaining 85 games to get to .500 for the season. That would mean playing like a 92 win team. Nope, it’s not happening. I’d be delighted if they won just 42 of those games, and that would only get them to 75 wins for the season.
#76: I would have thought Rizz never, ever gave up.
I’m getting scared…I’m going to KC on tuesday to watch the game. I’m going with an avid Royals fan and I have been talking a lot of trash. If the M’s keep up like this…Its going to be a LONG drive home.
#79: KC should actually be a fair fight for the M’s.
Tony Pena-KC might be a fair fight (they went 13-37). Buddy Bell-KC is 13-14, and I sure wouldn’t bet on the M’s to win that series.
#79-
Doesn’t a KC and a Seattle fan trash talking about the upcoming series sound similar to “my blind three legged Chihuahua can beat up your blind three legged Chihuahua”?
Exactly how would either side in the great KC vs SEA debate defend themselves from the statement “Your team sucks”?
Have fun in KC. Enjoy the BBQ!
That’s easy. If you’re a KC fan:
Emil Brown is better than Ichiro! this year, so your team sucks!
If you’re a Seattle fan:
At least MY manager didn’t walk out on us!!
you really don’t have much to fire…
Did anyone else realize that Rich Waltz, former Mariners postgame man, is now the play-by-play broadcaster for the Marlins? Wow, that surprised me — I never thought he was that good.
Who knew?
Do you suppose the word ‘collapse’ is too strong to apply to a team that’s already weaker than a plague victim in a famine year?
i wouldn’t say its to strong; may i suggest instead a “Kingdome-size implosion”?
Two years of 90+ losses (which we may be well on the way to after the next 20 game stretch) isn’t going to be pretty, folks… but it WILL have the advantage of seriously making Lincoln and the higher ups sit up and take notice.
Oddly enough, for how bad the franchise has been at times, the M’s haven’t had back-to-back 90 loss seasons since 1980. I think they’d rather celebrate a 10th anniversary than that Silver one.
#74 DMZ wrote: “That’s not the case. Winn has a mutual option that’s frequently misreported, but the team has an option at $5m and then Winn has a player option for $3.75m if they decline. It’s not a buyout  he’d be under contract for 2006.”
Thanks for the correction, Derek. I thought that was the case but it was reported yesterday at MLB.com (aren’t they the gospel???) that it was a $3.75 million buyout (link below) Thankfully not even Bavasi’s that stupid 🙂
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050629&content_id=1108456&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb