Game 117, Royals at Mariners
RHP Runelvys Hernandez vs. RHP “King” Felix Hernandez, 7:05pm. FSN & KOMO.
When these two Hernandezes (or is that Hernandi?) get together, you may as well throw out the record books — they flatout do not like each other.
Runelvys, who I still think of as a “young pitcher” despite that we’re the same age, is eight years older than Felix. When he was Felix’s age, he hadn’t even signed his first professional contract with the Royals yet. Think about that. After signing in December 1997, he spent three years in the Dominican Summer League before breaking into full season ball in 2001, at the age of 23. By the time Felix turns 23, he’ll probably have 50 big league wins under his belt.
RF Ichiro
3B The Ignitor
LF Ibanez
1B Sexson
DH Beltre
CF Reed
SS Morse
2B Betancourt
C Torrealba
One of the weirdest lineups of the season, for reasons we’re beating to death in the comments.
Roster moves: C Miguel Ojeda and OF Jamal Strong are up from Tacoma. C Wiki Gonzalez is back to Tacoma.
“You know you’re having a bad season when…” Department: 3B coach Jeff Newman is out for the season with a torn ACL. 1B coach Carlos Garcia will take his place the rest of the way, with minor league roving instructor Mike Goff “called up” to take over at first.
Comments
513 Responses to “Game 117, Royals at Mariners”
USSM uses and recommends
Not that Wiki is any great shakes, but is Ojeda really any better?
And has he ever caught Felix? If you really want to make the swap, why not wait one more day to let Wiki catch tonight?
jason
KJR claims that:
Morse at SS
Betancourt at 2B
Bloomquist at 3B (!)
Beltre as DH
Um, ok.
Yeah – I’m very concerned about sending Wiki down with Felix pitching as well. I think that the last start was good enough reason to believe that, when Felix is pitching well, Wiki’s bat doesn’t matter much.
I think that the Ms catchers are at the point that their hitting instruction should consist of: “lean into pitches and wear a helmet.”
Um, ok, indeed. Betancourt at 2B makes no sense to me. If you want to play both guys, why not stick Morse at 2B instead and improve your infield defense? And The Ignitor at third? I know, I know, none of this really matters. Still bugs, though.
jason
As others have suggested, perhaps Hargrove is a moron.
5: I think it matters. If you have a groundball-tastic pitcher, you should play the guys that can pick it in the spots where the ground balls go. Might save a run here and there and might save the King 10-15 pitches in a game.
Wiki sent down? Don’t really understand that one. Not particularly upset about it, just seems weird. Especially, as Jason pointed out, after all that Wiki-catching-Felix business last week. Odd.
And Bloomiquist at… oh, whatever. Content yourselves with mediocrity, front office.
Uh, make that guys, not guoys in my last comment.
Yeah, good point TGF. Especially with Felix on the mound, you should put out your best possible infield D. Instead, we’ve got Bloomquist at 3B, Morse at SS, and Betancourt wasted at 2B.
jason
Why send Wiki down? I thought he was doing a decent job and calling a very credible game plan in Felix’s last start. If they truly want to see what they’ve got in Ojeda, then waste a start from Meche or Franklin, ie guys that don’t matter.
Don’t ask me about that infield configuration either — BlowGoats at third, Betancourt at second? How does Hargrove come up with these lineups, throw darts at a board?
It’s taken a while but I’ve definitely landed on the side of Hargrove being a complete idiot. His lazy, slacker attitude is really beginning to piss me off. Bring up Rohn or Brundage for the rest of the way and send Jabba the hut back to Cleveland.
Go Felix!
I don’t see where it’s been mentioned, but Randy Winn hit for the cycle tonight. Good for him. He deserves success.
Management of this team (unrelated to Winn point, by the way) makes my head explode.
If this is what shaking things up produces, it just goes to show how inflexible the current roster is. Unlike others, I’m not as outraged over Yu-Bet at 2nd. I find it hard to believe that moving a poor fielding shortstop over to a position he has possibly never played professionally probably would not have such positive results. Im not saying its great that Yu-Bet is at 2 and Morse at Short, but at least the managements choice is defensible. It seems like a choice between great D at short and really awful D at 2nd, or slightly less awful D at short and slightly less great D at 2nd. Seems they went for the smoothing aproach.
Lineup’s now up.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=250815112
For the love of God, why is Willie Bloomquist at third base tonight? I mean, it’s not like some hack is pitching tonight. I can understand this if Ryan Franklin was pitching. But I want the best infield possible for the King, dammit.
It’s a good thing my fridge is stocked tonight.
I would argue that great defense at short is more important than good defense at second tonight. And I would say that that is more the distinction.
Which goes back to leaving Beltre at third and putting either Morse or Bloomquist (grrr) at second.
Which goes back to the fact that Lopez should still be at second to begin with.
Which goes to this question for any USS Mariner guys around…
Admitting that they are probably very slim, what would you say the chances are of Hargrove not being our manager next year? 5%? 1%?
Is there any rumbling along those lines from anyone other than fans?
We’ll see how the Morse and Betancourt combination plays out, I’m not totally against it.
That’s impressive, Winn hit for the cycle already.
Watch me make the lineup better with the same players:
Betancourt SS
Morse DH
Beltre 3B
Bloomquist 2B
Watch me make it even better with a callup:
Lopez 2B
Hargrove will almost certainly be back next season. He’s Bavasi’s guy; I doubt you’d see Bavasi bring in someone new for what could be his last season. IMO, both will sink or swim based on next year, however.
jason
KJR’s Puckett really reaally wants Felix to be know as ‘the cat’….
OK, maybe i missed something but shouldnt Betancourt be playing SS when The “King” makes his starts, Mike Morse should be Dhing and Willie should be 2nd and Beltre should be 3rd. Beltre can have a breather next game when we go back to depressing Mariners pitching. We should take no chances with Felix, I mean against the Royals, there has to be some speculation towards a shut-out.
I don’t mean to rain on the parade here, but I’m pretty sure Mike Hargrove “isn’t a total idiot.” Maybe Adrian’s sick? Maybe he asked for a day to focus on hitting? I’m fairly certain that Grover realizes that this isn’t is optimal defense, but I’m also fairly certain that he realizes that it doesn’t matter that much who is playing where.
Mike Morse has never played an inning at second base. You want him to start trying to make that pivot with Felix on the hill, for the first time ever? Why? Betancourt’s playing, and his range at second is, at worst, 90 percent as valuable as it would be at short. Having Morse/Betancourt swap spots might be a marginal improvement rangewise, with the downside that Morse has never played the position.
Then again, keep in mind that Felix is pitching against one of the most punchless offenses in baseball. While I certainly agree Hargrove’s lineup is bizarre, it may not be as game-influencing as if, say, Felix was up against the Red Sox at Fenway.
Good for Winn… plus I have him in the lineup on my fantasy team today. :moon:
I won’t be able to watch the game tonight, unfortunately. CRAP. I will be listening on the radio, though (doing chores around the house). Let’s hope Morse doesn’t boot the ball that gives up the one run the Royals win by.
Jimmie the Geek
JO-SE LO-PEZ
WE WANT
JO-SE LO-PEZ
LETS GO
JO-SE LO-PEZ
How about Randy Winn?
Dang, he has played well for SF so far, thats good to see, I like Randy.
Could Beltre’s hammy be bothering him? It seems like there has to be a reason he’s DH’ing other than Hargrove being an idiot.
Otherwise it seems so clear to have Morse DH and Beltre-YuBet-Bloomquist around the infield.
I agree with Dave, you can’t stick Morse at 2B tonight without ever having played there.
Couldn’t Morse play 3rd, with the ignitor at second? Maybe not; maybe Morse is a one trick pony, but I thought short-stops were the “best athletes” and could play any position w/ ease.
Anyway it won’t matter if Felix strikes out 12. Plus, if we don’t beat up on Runleyvz (sp) Hernandez, then we’re worse than I thought.
Hey — just be glad Spiezio isn’t playing 3B.
Thanks, Jason. I have been troubled for two years now at the depressing similiarities between my baseball team (the Mariners) and my football team (the Dolphins). Two franchises on the cusp of post-season success, but before they could make it over the last hump they were ground into dirt by abbysmal management.
It didn’t really have to happen with either team, either. But a series of terrible decisions combined with poor in-game management will drag a team down.
Just a few years ago it was a legitimate hope that both my teams could be world champions in the same year.
Then both became benchmarks for suckiness.
I think that era is over in Miami. I wish I felt the same way about Seattle.
Ralph – SHHHHHHHHH!
Wow is management purposly trying to mess with the success of Hernandez? The left side of infield makes no sense either does not having Wiki catch him.
I just do not comprehend this lineup. Best of luck to Felix. Hope there are no E-5 E-6 tonite.
I guess I don’t see the point in letting Spiezio occupy a roster spot any longer. His value is so nonexistent that there’s no possiblility another team — even the Padres with one of their goofball trades — would take him off our hands. Why the Mariners wait to release him and eat his contract — and give a deserving young player a shot — is mystifying to me.
My mistake Dave, I thought Morse had played second in the minors. And if there is some other motivation for Beltre DHing, than that would explain the rest of it. But I have seen enough, to my mind, boneheaded roster construction and organization this year to make me skeptical.
But he DID play Doyle while he was up the second time. And I’ll give him points for that.
Way off topic, so I assure you I’ll not be upset if this is deleted, but…
At halftime of the preseason Steelers-Eagles game, Stuart Scott just reported that JOEY Cora just hit his third home run of the year for the Red Sox. Made me cry just picturing it.
MLB.tv doesn’t have a link for the M’s game yet.
jason
What? NOOOO! Why isn’t this game on MLB.TV???
How much longer do you guys think untill Bloomquist gets booted from the 2 spot in favor of something new?
JMB – Beat me to it. But… you said yet. So it should show up? Promise?
Oh I got the link for mlb.tv
“Kansas City Royals . . . Baseball! Kansas City Royals . . . Baseball! Kansas City Royals . . . Baseball!” Shoot me
Thanks to the local blackout restrictions, I can’t watch tonight’s game on MLB.TV. It’s not like the Royals games are on television that often here in Arkansas. Maybe 5-6 games a season, at the most.
Blackouts are the worst thing in sports, IMO. Why shut out your customers from watching your product? I can go on about the NFL blackout rules, but this is a baseball site, so I’ll keep my thoughts to myself.
The Ron Fairly count on “Young” Fernandez begins now at 1.
Still no link. There’s no grey box, so it’s not a national blackout…
jason
Thanks to the local blackout restrictions, I can’t watch tonight’s game on MLB.TV. It’s not like the Royals games are on television that often here in Arkansas.
Not on the Tulsa stations? I seem to recall that 41 or 47 or 17 used to show Royals games, but they may not reach far enough into Arkansas.
It’s showing up like it’s supposed to be archived on mlb.tv already.
At least no Matt Morrison on pre game other wise that line-up may have created too much stress.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Why must you taunt me, MLB.tv?! Why?!
jason
#44 DW,
I know that the PAX station in Little Rock picks up around 5 games a year from the Royals’ over-the-air affiliate, KMCI, mostly on Sundays.
Not only am I in the Royals territory, I’m also in the Cardinals, Astros, and Rangers territories. However, I do get those three teams’ games on my cable system. It’s a good thing that when the M’s play the Rangers, the majority of those games are on FSN Southwest.
mlb.tv apparently all better now…
When asked on KING TV News tonight why Wiki was sent down the day Felix was pitching Hargrove replied that Felix has to be able to pitch to all the catchers. He didn’t elaborate much on that statement.
If we are making roster moves why isn’t Spiezio DFA or sent down and Lopez brought up. Obviously we aren’t going anywhere this year and it would be a great chance to evaluate Lopez for an extended time.
Whew. Got it.
jason
Last team to lose 16 straight? The 1988 O’s (during their awful start-of-the-seaon losing streak).
We’re bad, but they’re terrible. Have some sympathy for the old farmer in WaKeeney.
RE: 41
They black out the TV coverage so you can drive the 8 billion hours from Arkansas to KC and attend those Royals games, Jeremy. Makes perfect sense to me.
Wow, the Safe is EMPTY.
So,here I am. it’s 4AM,the coffee’s brewing,and I’m ready to bow to King felix.
Weird lineup. But No spiezio. Cool.
ready,strady,go!
k
K!
worth waking up THIS early!
k
KK!
How in the world are you supposed to hit pitches like that? It almost doesn’t seem fair. Almost.
Looks like the M’s will sell out every five days.
This is comical. He’s toying with them.
jason
5 minutes of this,and I’ve already forgotten bout franklin and meche..
My god this is awesome. I was out of town for his first two appearances. He is even better than I imagined. I haven’t heard Niehaus this excited since 2001.
He looks a little rusty, he didn’t even strikeout the side!
(man, I love this kid)
11 pitches, 10 strikes, 2 Ks, one ground out.
It’s like a dream.
If Doyle was batting right after Ichiro here, I think I’d cry with happiness.
16. 0
oh,given the hour the (glug glug) won’t stand for me gulping down belgian beer-best beverage in the world,trust me..-but will stand for me swilling piping hot coffee..
(glug glug)
Only bad thing,we get the Royals feed here on MLB TV..
Re the lineup: Maybe Beltre is tired. But to me the best thing is to have Morse (6 errors in five games) DH. Beltre is an awesome fielder.
22. Right on.
a bunt.Why?
To anyone who uses MLBTV… is there any way to watch the Royals feed (which we have to) but listen to the home radio feed?
I love King Felix as much as the next guy, but Art Thiel’s piece in the PI this morning was pretty chilling. I remember when Meche came up and I was pretty excited for his future…now it will probably be a future of mop-up work if that.
I’m going to enjoy every pitch of Felix, but I’m not going to get carried away. The interview of Blyleven linked from this site…the interviewer asked Blyleven if Felix could win 300 games. I will restrain such idiotic thoughts. I’m focusing on 8/15/05
Well, the Royals announcers aren’t worthless homers like the White Sox announcers, so things could be worse on mlb.tv…
I got to think Wiki never plays again with the M’s. His Catcher ERA (I know some of you don’t trust this stat) is about 2 runs higher than our other catchers this year and that is with catching two Felix games. Somewhere along the way he pissed off Grover (room in the doghouse with Morse).
Ojeda was hitting well at Tacoma but this was a strange move now.
I’ve had trouble opening both an audio and a video feed from mlb, but if I do one in Firefox and one in Internet Explorer, it works just fine. The only (major) problem is that they aren’t in sync very often.
Sorry for the redundant posts. I was late to this party and didn’t read everything before I started opining. The only thing I regret is that Spezio isn’t in the lineup to try to set the record for consecutive hitless plate appearances and lowest average in a season.
Back when I was a kid, we watched the Juan Marichal StroMotion breakdown in black and white!
k
A-cha-cha-cha-cha!
jason
David… Thiel’s piece, I thought, was a wee bit silly. First of all, Meche was NEVER as good or projected to be as good as Felix. The comparison is only good in the most general sense of “pitchers might get hurt or not pan out.”
To which I say… duh.
Secondly, why would I want to deprive myself of hope and excitement because it might not work out in the future?
I’ll keep my excitement for Felix just where it is.
That article reminded me of the people that won’t fall in love because they are afraid of getting hurt later on. Not the attitude for me.
wow… good play
No other Mariner at second could have made that play.
OK, so Morse doesn’t make that play. Bloomquist neither.
jason
Nice job, Betancourt!
That had “past a diving Blomquist” all over it.
I know that the PAX station in Little Rock picks up around 5 games a year from the Royals’ over-the-air affiliate, KMCI, mostly on Sundays.
It’s on 53 in Tulsa, which is a lightbulb-powered station. Looks like it might be on the UPN affiliate in Fort Smith, though.
Not only am I in the Royals territory, I’m also in the Cardinals, Astros, and Rangers territories.
I understand the Cards (Tulsa and Little Rock both had Cards farm teams once upon a time) and the Royals and Rangers, but the Astros? That’s a looong way from Arkansas.
I guess that if Boise could be in the Mariners territory that Arkansas could be in the Astros’, but St. Louis is closer.
However, I do get those three teams’ games on my cable system. It’s a good thing that when the M’s play the Rangers, the majority of those games are on FSN Southwest.
Back when it was HSE we got the Rangers and occasional Astros games in Tulsa; the Cards had some games as well. That was on top of the Braves on WTBS and the Cubs on WGN. On a Saturday afternoon you could see five games with the NBC game of the week.
Stupid blackout rules. Someone needs to go to the Fox morons and kick their asses.
great play by yuni!
I still think he’s a bit wasted there on 2nd base with his arm..
Randy Winn is feasting on National League pitching.
Okay, who wants to do me a favor? My MLB.tv account is having issues, so anyone out there want to be a kind soul and share their user/pw with me? I’m a paying customer, so I’m not asking for some freebie here. I just want to be able to watch what I’ve paid for.
If you’ve got mlb.tv (don’t worry, two people can watch simultaneously) and want to share the Felix-watching love, drop me an email asap.
Thanks
Why are people driving from Topeka? To get out of Topeka, of course!
jason
Is this Felix’s first flyout..?
just guessing..
The King’s so good that he’s kinda boring to watch. K, groundout, hit, flyout. Yawn.
91 — done!
Now THAT’s a DH!
Why are people driving from Topeka? To get out of Topeka, of course!
Why are so many of the roads out of Oklahoma toll roads?
So they can get something out of everyone fleeing and fleece people dumb enough to come in.
DrJeff is the greatest poster of all time. No one else need send me a MLB.tv login.
Welcome back indeed!!!!!!
Morse agrees with Dave! He hit one out for me!
Stupid Dr.Jeff with his greatest posterness. I hate him.
Morse!!!…stupid grover
MORSE! Put him in left tomorrow…
MORSEEEEEEEEEE!
Come on Mike!
Mr. Morse has left the building.
MORSE!!!!
Mike Hargrove = Genius.
Morse, after getting loose by playing a few innings in the field, knocks one out of the park. We were fools to doubt the old-school wisdom of Grover. Repent sinners.
Boy, Morse would sure have been a worse DH option that Spiezio…
Hargrove is a bloody great manager inserting Morse in the lineup.
Oh; In answer to the question posed in the introduction, I’d imagine that the plural is Hernandites.
T
Felix gets to pitch with an early lead, there’s a first.
#110: He’d be even greater if he’d put him in there more often…
safe.
93 Yes it was
The Royals commentators have just said,that,apart from the Ms,that are scuffling like them,they have a tough Agust ahead.
Oh,how the mighty have fallen..!
(glug glug)
101 — I get the same reaction from guys when they check out my bevy of hot girlfriends and my vintage Porsche.
HAHAHAAH! Right.
Well, no one can say that this ump is giving Felix a wide strike zone.
Keep on rollin’…
jason
All hail the King
Oh to see this kind of performance in the post season again.
That should have counted as two strikes.
jason
75, 83 —
Meche 99-00 (738 PA)
2% HR
13% BB
15% SO
Felix, Tacoma 05 (374 PA)
0.8% HR
13% BB
27% SO
Felix, first two Seattle games
0% HR
4% BB
20% SO
Felix is much, much better
Was that a grimace?
Well, Dave, I just figured out why stupid DrJeff got to be greatest stupid poster. Your email link was to “ussmairiner”… my email to you just got kicked back to me.
Ok, I take it all back, DrJeff. You really are the greatest poster.
Holy five strikeouts in eight batters.
I am amazed the Safe has so many empty seats.
That’s almost unfair.
Almost.
2 and two thirds,5K
wow..
It’s sad to think that Meche used to be this good. Isn’t that right, Mr. Thiel?
How long can Felix go? Before Grover inserts Hasegawa and he repeats his 2001 all star game appearance.
The King is my non-sexual man crush
I’m not that surprised with the empty seats in the Safe. The M’s have lost so many games now, most casual fans are likely to be skeptical that Felix is the real deal. It takes a long time for fans to come back after you’ve started down the path of losing…
it’s probably been discussed already,but..
when is KF’s next start?
I wonder what the deal is with these new M’s commercials, clearly of another set than those that Copacino did during the offseason. Has a new crop of commercials appeared in other years, or is this strictly because so many of the early commercials’ stars are gone?
Maybe Bloomquist bunted last time because he thought Ichiro was on first.
3 innings, 5 strikeouts, 32 pitches.
I know its the Royals, but this is like Clemens in his prime. Striking out half the batters you face and averaging 11 pitches per inning? Absurd.
i didn’t know until now that ransy had hit for the Cicle in the game today
nice job randy!
Ok aside from the “Royal” curveball, I have a name for Felix’s changeup, the Crown Jewel. What do you guys think?
i didn’t know until now that randy had hit for the Cycle in the game today.
Nice job randy!
I wonder what the deal is with these new M’s commercials, clearly of another set than those that Copacino did during the offseason. Has a new crop of commercials appeared in other years, or is this strictly because so many of the early commercials’ stars are gone?
Huh? What new commercials?
Maybe now you know why WFB bunted before.
I don’t know about that call.
That was not a “very good pitch,” Fairly. That was a bad call by the ump.
I know its the Royals, but this is like Clemens in his prime. Striking out half the batters you face and averaging 11 pitches per inning? Absurd.
And this is his THIRD START. And he’s NINETEEN.
I hate to compare him this early yadda yadda yadda… Bob Feller.
There’s an assortment of “we’re all in this together” ads. Maybe done by FSN? But I still wonder whether that’s normal.
The ads are pretty lame, but possibly not as lame as the first crop. They show a bunch of Seattlites relaying signs until they get to the ballpark, wearing all their headgear inside out in rally fashion, etc.
142. Especially cuz he got that same location called for a ball earlier that same AB
145
Those are done by Fox Sports, they have identical commericals for each team and they’ve been there since the start of the season.
Maybe Beltre is just getting a semi day off. You think?
That would probably be a smart thing to do once in awhile, so maybe Grover didn’t think it up all by himself.
Wiki must have run over Grover’s dog or something.
If they want to go for a theme for the year, the commercials should have a trump style “corporate restructuring” with one guy picking out the guys he wants on his team. I can see… Ichiro! barking at a guy in Japanese.. hehe. And the poor guy left at the end, with awkward silence… like Wiki’s asleep or something.
144 Yadda yadda Sandy Koufax
Ahhh. So those aren’t Seattlites at all, they’re Everyman. (and woman.)
Felix: awesome.
There’s another Young Hernandez
Where are you, Barking Pumpkin? Germany?
After A Few innings,i must say I like the Royals commenters.There are far worse commentators around..
(glug glug)
sick. just sick.
boy..
SICK
JUST SICK!!!!!!!!
Betancourt at second is still pretty freaking good.
wow!!!…great play #2
I was in Rio this past week and went to the top of corcovado (where they have the big Jesus statue). They have a chapel there inside the statue, and I said a couple of prayers for the continued health of the King. I said them in both English in Portuguese since I’m not sure what language God speaks down here.
Not sure if it’s going to make a difference, but I figured why not give it a try.
2 outs that Bloomquist wouldn’t have made… and Morse goes yard…
Grover… a genius?
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooah, Yuni!
jason
What a brilliant play. What a brilliant move by Hargrove to put Yuni at second.
Everyone apologize to Grover.
I was only semi joking
Yuni flat out owns that turf. Anything in sight is going into the glvoe. Man, he is fun to watch.
Wow. On the replay, the fact that he could scoop that ball and transfer it to throw so fast was amazing.
#153
i’m actually located in Firenze,italy.
WHAT A play from yuni!
#74…XM Radio.
Just clone Betancourt now and have him play 2nd and SS. Wow….
You know, I bet you if Yuni would have been playing short, he still would have made that play.
Yuni’s defense is almost as impressive as Felix’ pitching.
Sit down!
Slice and dice, big guy!
All kidding aside, it’s nice that for at least one game this season so far tings seem to be going our way. I couldnt think of a better time to have that happen! KKKKKKK!
Yadda yadda Sandy Koufax
I lean towards Feller because Koufax was an OK pitcher in his first few years before his five year megapeak. Feller came up at 17 and just dominated.
7 K’s through 4 – nice!
Watching the replay, it didn’t even look like Betancourt threw nearly as hard as he’s capable of throwing.
The King is dealing tonight, man he is good. I was expecting him to be good, but not as good as he has been in these first three starts. He is downright filthy! Long live the king!
can we get a Strike/Ball ratio for the King?? CBS doesn’t show it
171 I think so too
13 batters faced, 7 strikeouts. 44 pitches through 4 innings.
On pace for:
9 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 15 strikeouts, 99 pitches.
171 lol…good point
44 pitches, 32 strikes.
This is the remedy I need from that series against the Angels!
41 pitches, 29 strikes.
I wonder if there’s a metric that can adjust Felix’s stats tonight to the Red Sox lineup for comparative purposes.
Looks like i picked the RIGHT gamw to wake up at 4AM!
Not only King Felix,but Yuni being Yuni
And Morse..
Come on!
No, Dave’s right. I had the wrong Hernandez in the boxscore. Easy mistake.
jason
Wowowowow.
I was thinking the same thing about that play. If Yuni had been at short he would have grabbed it, too.
Startlingly good defense from that guy.
And… seven Ks in four… how long has it been since we’ve seen that here? Randy?
41-29 is for the other, weaker hernandez.
Felix is 44-32
You know, I bet you if Yuni would have been playing short, he still would have made that play.
Let’s be honest… if Yuni would have been playing $position, he still would have made that play.
My 9-year-old son, after the shot of the people standing by the cardboard K’s: “They’d better go make some more of those, dad.”
Yes!
And my six-year-old daughter thinks the Ti-Gar is freaky.
also
4 GB, 1 FB
Runelvys is pretty darn good too. If your last name was Hernandez, would you rather be named Runelvys or Felix?
#147– it’s weird when you see them shown in another market with another team’s announcers/jersey/hat cut in. Kinda like Bonanza dubbed in Spanish
hey, the Junebug plays 2nd too!
btw, I think Runelvys should be held up as an example for Felix on how not to condition.
Best. Swing. Ever
Felix for 2005 AL Cy Young.
Runelvys has a great change up.
Terrence Long makes the catch
“Oh man, inning’s over, now I have to go bat against that monster.”
Too bad jerry..
Tigers, Twins, and Royals, so caveats apply:
17 innings, 9 hits, 2 BB, 17 strikeouts, 30 groundballs, 7 flyballs, 0.53 ERA.
I’m just saying.
Is it time yet to say Butencourt is our SS for the next 5 – 10 years and move Jones to CF?
That’s at least four Young Hernandez’s from Fairly
Eric,
They’ve just moved Jones to CF last night or the night before.
jason
203. I dont know much about Jones, but he can’t possibly be as good in the field as Yuni.
To the others watching the game on MLB TV,and therefore on the Royals feed..
Have you noticed how the cameras are always checking out the babes around safeco=
havw nwvwe seen this on FSN..
Thats got to be the most strikeouts this year by a Mariners pitcher in a game.
204:
My count is at 14 references to ‘Young’
He’s incapable of saying any part of King’s name w/o adding Young.
@05:
Cool! hadn’t heard that. The sooner the better.
That’s been both called a strike and a ball.
But THAT one was a strike.
That was the same location as the one they called a strike on WFB. That one too
That his first ball 3 tonight.
King Felix gets through the inning starting after Dominos calls to say they’re on the way and before they arrive – he’s not just efficeint and filthy, but he cares about me not missing my dinner just to see him pitch!
(Also, Teahan’s broken bat went further than the last ball he put in play)
Just tuned in. Let’s see….4 2/3 innings is….14 outs? And The King has struck out EIGHT of them? YEAH!!!!
Jon Wells was just on the Royals feed!
jason
Damn… this is exciting!!!
Unreal. I’m freaking giddy. It’s retarded.
I want my Young Hernandez jersey.
Niehaus just called him King Felix I
So, this Hernandez, is he an old pitcher?
got him!
also,never minf my spelling mistakes..
it’s 5am here,and I’m half-asleep!
better get some more coffee..
(glug glug)
This is just sick. It’s like engorging yourself on too much sugar because it tastes so good and then you’re ruined for the rest of the week. Such is Felix in the Mariners rotation.
Those change-ups are evil. Curveball from hell? That changeup is just as wicked.
Fucking sick.
That last AB, it almost seemed like the ump was trying to give him a challenge. This is just sick. Sure, we have to remember that he’s facing a AAA club. But I honestly didn’t think Felix would dominate like this in his first two home starts.
I’m ordering a Hernandez jersey. And I’m a broke college student. Damn the expense.
Most guys don’t come up and pitch better than they did in the minors… but special players do special things. Unreal.
jason
The reaction of the hitters, the ease of everything, it reminds me a lot of Pedro in his prime.
Whatcha gonna get on the back? Hernandez, or King Felix? I still have my #19 jersey that says “Bone” instead of “Buhner” on the back…
jason
#223
perfect description!
If only our offense would start producing..
Prediction:
Felix is the first pitcher taken in ESPN Fantasy drafts next year.
HenduWatch:
“unpressive”
“Torreabba”
230: Hernandez.
I’m big on the replica part. I’ll save the King Felix for the cheaper stuff.
You know, tonight reminds me of this game.
Except Kerry Wood never had a changeup or command. Felix is like what Kerry Wood with better stuff.
You don’t have to be Felix to master the M’s offense. I think Felix is seeing that first hand.
I understand the M’s are planning to follow up their Ti-Gar promotion with one that gives free therapy to all the 10,000 kids who come to the ballpark with one of those things. I mean, seriously, it gives ME nightmares.
My only concern is if Felix keeps 59 as his number next season. But I guess that would just make my jersey ‘old-school’ and thus cooler.
222 I am with you, as promised
Joejessica Torrealba runs well for a catcher. I also like his style.
I-CHI-RO!
9 games hitting streak..
The Ignitor!!!
That was a dumb dive for the ball. No wonder they suck worse then us.
“Irregardless, Torreabba has been unpressive.”
Or is irregardless a Valle-ism?
jason
Willie Freakin’ Ignitor Ballgame Bloomquist!!!!!
Ignitor, baby!
KC broadcasters just said it was a good gamble — with this low scoring game, they can’t afford to give up any more runs. 4-0 with Felix going the way he is, and their offense, is like 15-0.
jason
Long must be a pretty weak arm and slow fielder… a triple? Any description?
#239
Welcome!
The coffee’s on me!
Finally some OFFENSE!
Come on boys!
I’ve ALMOST forgiven them for saturday and sunday. Almost.
He really IS the Ignitor!
5-0 is like 20-0.
jason
RAUUUUUUL!!! The Ignitor scores. Two outs so what?
#235. Except that Wood was facing Biggio and Bagwell in their prime, with a pretty good Moises Alou in the lineup, too. Felix is facing Terrence Long, Emil Brown, and David DeJesus…and those are the “good” hitters in the Royal lineup (besides bad back Sweeney).
Again, I hate to see us get carried away…
Though it is sweet to watch.
ray — Long dove, headfirst, missed the ball, and it got all the way behind him to the wall.
“Ignitor”? Jesus. Even hearing that someone thinks that makes me sad. Our school systems have failed us.
Now, “wet match” I could get behind.
# 235…Love that comparison, need 11 of 12 left to K.
I’ll take tying the Unit with 19K’s tonight!
Hey..
I’m having fun watching a mariners game.
How about that?!
Come on!
Gee… I don’t see how the Royals have lost all those games in a row! Looks like a pretty tight unit!
heh.
That was the same thing Raul did yesterday, trying to get caught stealing so Sexson wouldn’t strike out again.
thank you,thank you,and thank you!
Boy,i feel sorry for the Royals commentators..
255 You have to take it as half-joking.
Thanks JNB. I thought something like that had to happen. My darn broadcast has been interrupted by an earthquake hundreds of miles away where the damage was minimal but they are treating it like the end of the world.
Except that Wood was facing Biggio and Bagwell in their prime, with a pretty good Moises Alou in the lineup, too. Felix is facing Terrence Long, Emil Brown, and David DeJesus…and those are the “good†hitters in the Royal lineup (besides bad back Sweeney).
Wood also had one of the largest strikezones since Livan Hernandez pitched for the Marlins. Check out Shane Reynolds line in that game; the ump was giving out strikes like they were buy one, get one free.
There goes Beltre chasing the ball a foot off the plate again. BTW, I don’t think there’s been a ball hit to third yet.
D’oh. Beltre pulled a Beltre
Dejesus went to my high school, I hope he gets owned tonight.
RickL… Oh, I do, man. Sorry for infering I didn’t. I was just setting up “Wet match”. Though I do harbor lingering anger towards whoever coined the phrase.
Maybe it’s like calling a bald man “Curly”.
He got all of that one.
jason
I think the M’s No. 59 jersey should take a cue from its No. 51 jersey and just put “Felix.”
Is it safe to say that earlier in the season (before the M’s started their firesale/rebuilding) that Felix may have been a little bored at Tacoma? He is just dominating Major League hitters* right now…it is like a video game almost.
*Major League hitters, in this case, refer to the Twins/Royals…..still in the big leagues, but not top-notch competition
Can we get a scouting guy up there to talk with that Alcala kid?
263. Well, Reynolds wasn’t exactly Ryan Franklin back in 98; he was in the middle of some pretty good strikeout years…
My only point is that Felix has had a verrry soft landing, and we shouldn’t rush to coronate him (didn’t we fight a revolution against a Monarch?) so quickly. I’m loving every pitch, but golly gee let’s not get carried away simply because we’ve had nothing else to cheer about all year long.
Uh oh, a walk.
Ugh! I could kill NHK.
First walk he’s given up in Safeco.
Somebody said once that the way to hit Randy Johnson was to look for the fastball — because if he was getting his slider over for strikes you didn’t have a chance.
If The King is getting his curve from hell over, well…..
HE’S CUT, THE RUSSIAN’S CUT!
kidding
Well, if he’s gonna walk someone, it might as well be on a pitch that fools the hitter so badly he nearly swings at it.
I think Beltre wanted to see Felix pitch again so got that AB over quick:-)
Is Felix tiring? He is having trouble finding the plate.
There is a world of difference between the Royals and the Angels but having Felix pitch and not seeing Spiezio walk out dressed as a baseball player gives me hope.
I wonder if the long inning for the Mariners at the plate broke his rhythm?
282: I was thinking the same thing.
Maybe sitting on the bench during that offensive explosion threw him off a bit.
Still, if that’s his ‘big inning,’ wow.
The Ignitor ends the inning!
Aw, too slow.
187:
Royals batters, last 30 days
HR%/BB%/SO% AVG/OBP/SLG OPS
2.3%/6.6%/16% .254/.309/.407 716
Red Sox batters, last 30 days
3.2%/11.4%/16% .292/.375/.483 858
League, 2005
2.7%/8%/16% .269/.331/.427 758
Twins, Tigers, Royals vs Felix (through 5th inning today)
0%/3%/30% .142/.169/.142 311
So, as for adjusting…some people adjust OPS linearly. But even going from the Twins (.654!!!) to the Red Sox would be 311 * (858/654) = 406…still pretty dang good for Felix. And for the component pieces, x * 0% HR rate is still zero, doubling the walk rate would still be good, and 30% is better than the best (Santana) pitcher qualified for the ERA title.
What is Felix’s pitch count max today?
I dunno, but it seemed to me earlier in the game that he was overthrowing a bit and falling extra-hard to the left side of the mound. I don’t think he’s tiring so much as… maybe trying to throw too hard, or trying to aim too much?
That was the worst we’ve seen Felix so far. Fastball was 94, not 97. Change was 84, not 87. He couldn’t locate either one.
And he still was basically unhittable.
288, Hargrove said something like 105 pitches on KJR, but mentioned that he hadn’t really talked to Price about it yet.
Up 5-0, I don’t see much a reason to have him go more than 7 unless you want him to complete the game.
The game has slowed down… I was hoping for another two-hour affair so I could get to bed at a decent hour.
jason
So I’m just wondering what the deal is with Felix and his shirt. Has anyone noticed that he stretches his arms at least twice after every pitch? He did it 31 times in the sixth — and those were just the ones on camera.
RE 272: To the gallows with the commoner! Long live The King!
I hope everyone realizes that with another scoreless inning, the King’s ERA will equal Sandfrog’s BA…
Feliz is rocking good today. The opposing Hernandez isnt that bad either. The Royals defense is terrible.
#297, Pedro Feliz went 0-2 with a run today…I’m not sure that qualifies as “rocking good”
Mike-tastic!
MLB has McEwing being HBP rather than a walk, Anyone watching more closely than I was whether the Home Ump pointed to first after the pitch?
I think Mike Morse might get another start
ladies and gentlemen,Mike Morse!
RE 296 OMG You’re right. That means either that The King is dominating or Spiezio…. Well, okay, it’s both.
That should read Felix.
Morse looks fantastic today as well.
Say what you want about Morse’s defense…but on a team with little offense, his bat has got to be in the lineup more often than not.
75 pitches through 6… unless he really cruises, might as well pull him after seven.
jason
I also would like to see Morse play, but if they put him in the outfield, it will look ugly for a while.
He’s thrown no more than 15 pitches in any inning. Even if he struggles again in the 7th, that puts him at 90. You’re gonna yank him after 7 if he’s at 90 pitches and has a 1 hitter? Not me.
Spezio is doing a fantastic job of warming up the bench. As long as he stays there and doesnt get up at all for this game, he should win player of the game.
Thunderstick Yorvit!
No,what are you doin’, STOP!
gah
(glug glug)
Who here also thinks Torrealba is the slowest catcher ever? First he can’t out run a bobbled ball then this.. jeez. I hope he quickly realizes he slow.
308, but whats the point of him throwing even a CG SHO 1 hitter? Might as well continue to limit his pitch counts this year. Especially up 6-0.
I wouldn’t ne too opposed to morse splitting time between DH and ss, Yu-Bet between 2nd and ss, and willie between ss and bench.
Um, remember The War of Attrition? Remember all our trashed prospects? Pull him out after 85 or so pitches even if he does have a one hitter.
93, 94, 100 (single).
re:313 . . . er willie between 2nd and bench
Especially with how’s he looking the last IP+
Last inning Grover.
OK, something’s off. He’s overthrowing, his speed is down, and he shook out his arm.
And that’s his third straight 1-0 count.
he’s getting the ball up, now. If he doesn’t adjust, I say warm up the bullpen.
If you’re so afraid of him getting hurt, why let him throw 85? Why not limit him to 50? Or 20?
The M’s pitchers haven’t gotten hurt because of overuse. Yanking him just because he’s at 85-90 pitches is being penny wise and pound foolish.
[deleted for extremely long text link which messes up comments]
Nice play by Mike anyway..
OK, way to get ahead.
jason
Because there’s no real point this year in stretching him out. It’s all risk, no reward.
Morse was really, really slow on the flip to second.
Guh.
You know what I’ve learned tonight?
Major leaguers can hit a fastball if they know it’s coming.
Like, duh.
Sick curve there, though.
He threw 94 pitches in his last start. If he throws 95 today, is that stretching him out.
The injury problem has you guys paranoid.
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Man, Morse sucks at turning the DP.
Mike Morse: Not a SS.
Was there an announcement as to why Beltre is DH’ing?
87 pitches.
jason
Felix is getting the ball down again, tho. Looks like he’s psychologically dealing nicely.
Dang, Morse gave up a run.
I don’t have a problem per se with him throwing 95. I just don’t see the point. You have a comfortable lead, and a bullpen that can protect it.
Nice recovery.
When was the last time a Mariner pitcher had 10Ks in a game?
That was very good to see.
#332
That is absolutely correct..
but we need him in the lineup if he swings the bat like tonight.
So,where do we play him?
The injury problem has you guys paranoid.
Uh, yeah.
Aren’t torn labrums caused by overwork?
Felix is getting jobbed here a little. Those were two double plays. Not that it matters, I guess. He’s certainly doing his job. Gets in a jam and then gets ground ball ground ball strikeout.
MSH said:”I also would like to see Morse play, but if they put him in the outfield, it will look ugly for a while.”
It’ll be interesting to see– apparently Mike Goff is working with him (after being credited with improving Morse’ ss defense this year) Blowers, when asked yesterday, did mention that Lou threw him out in the outfield for the first time with just an afternoon’s practice… but pointed out he was also a more experienced player at that point. He also thought Mike would be just fine & that he’d like to see him back in the line-up sooner rather than later….
TEN!
Last M’s pitcher with ten strikeouts in a game? Anyone?
So,where do we play (Morse)?
The letters “L” and “F” stick out in my mind.
Okay, I think, in this point, taking him out now might be justifiable. He’s tiring, and he’s probably not going to get through the 8th under 100 pitches. So, I’d probably give him the hook here too.
That said, you can’t just pull him every time he gets near 90 pitches and he’s cruising just because there’s “no reward”. You have to at least have some kind of feasible reason to give Felix when you take him out of the game. He’s a human being, and an ultracompetitive one. “Hey, the fans are scared you might get hurt” isn’t going to fly.
Great game for Felix, now lets send him to the showers. That right arm need to be protected.
342, I believe shoulder and elbow injuries are primarily caused by mechanical flaws in the motion. Overuse simply hastens the injury. With sound mechanics (which Felix doesn’t have, but they’re pretty solid), overuse simply causes fatigue.
So, Dave, are you saying that Felix shouldn’t be allowed to start an inning if we don’t think he’ll finish the inning with less than 100 pitches? That seems like a very justifiable position to me.
if he was still cruising, I might send him back in…but they’re starting to time the fastball and fight off the other stuff. He’s getting it up and I don’t see a point in a 5 run game. Yet it doesn’t look like anyone is warming up in the bullpen, so Hargrove the genius apparently knows what to do.
Dave, I think it’s a good enough reason for these 2 months. Next year, sure let him go 100-110. But I don’t see any reason why keeping him at 90 for the remainder of this season is bad.
I don’t think there should be a hard-and-fast rule. If he’s got a no hitter with 14 strikeouts and he’s at 96 pitches heading into the 8th, you better believe he’s going out for the 9th. If he’s throwing 97 and rolling, I’m okay with pushing him to 105-110. If he’s throwing 94 and laboring at 80 pitches, though, I might yank him in the 5th.
Basically, when he’s struggling and his mechanics are off (like the past two innings), I take him out. When he’s rolling, I leave him in.
Do you have any reason why 90 is better than 100?
It’s a pretty arbitrary number. I just don’t know why you picked 90. Why not 80?
We have a hole in left and a traffic jam in the middle infield. So Morse becomes the new Rich Amaral, a converted infielder who plays much better in the outfield.
Any idea how quickly Morse actually starts a game in LF. Need to get his bat in the lineup.
Also Jose Lopez is tearing it up at AAA. Hopefully can get some sept. at bats to claim 2B job.
Anybody got a handle on The King’s groundball outs versus flyball outs?
w00t! Big Sexaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
And that’s what we call a power hitter.
Bad news: Looks like it’s Nelson.
Good news: Sexson just gave us a seven run lead.
Nellie warming up in the Pen..
and goodbye baseball!way to go Richie!
Because 100 is about the normal pitch count for a SP.
80 is too conservative.
Guys it shouldn’t be that hard to get Morse in the lineup without him playing SS, DH with some LF when they think he is ready for it, he and Ibanez can go back and forth.
Felix has induced 8 groundouts and 3 flyouts to go with the 10 strikeouts.
MLB has 8 GB, 3 FB for Felix.
How many balls has KC hit to the outfield? 2 singles and 1 or 2 flyouts? Everything else has been a K or something handled by the infield.
David said: “My only point is that Felix has had a verrry soft landing, and we shouldn’t rush to coronate him”
well, he should get the Twins, the White Sox, the Yankees & Baltimore the next four times out…
That was a hit, but he swung at a ball way out of the strike zone again.
weird,but..
this lineup is working..
So why lop 10 off a “normal pitch count”? Why not 7? Or 13?
Look, my point is that you’re basically just randomally picking a number with no real reason behind it. You can’t manage a club by fear.
I guarantee you Felix would love to throw a CG shutout. If he has a chance at one, and he’s at 90 pitches, I have no idea how you tell him he’s coming out “just because”.
#369 – Or the Royals’ pitching isn’t…
Sorry for asking a question that had just been answered.
#346 and #363
You’re both quite right..
I’m with Dave on his pitch count standards. If Felix is only going to go over 100 pitches here or there, it’s not a big deal. Maybe you get worried if he’s at 110-120 pitches start after start after start, but as long as they are being reasonably cautious with him, there’s no reason to adopt an artificial pitch limit.
here’s the reason (actually 4 of them).
you’re not fooling them as much over the past few innings
your mechanics are getting a bit out of whack
we’re up by 7 runs
long delay given Sisco’s implosion
hit the showers, kid. get ready for a real challenge over the next few weeks
10K Games By M’s Pitchers, 2002-present
11 Moyer, June 21, 2002
12 Garcia, Sept. 11, 2002
12 Pineiro, May 30, 2003
11 Meche, May 21, 2004
?? Hernandez, Aug. 15, 2005
I want to see Felix versus Randy.
Because I don’t want Felix treated like a normal pitcher this year. Normally you can just let them pitch until you see their velocity dropping and their mechanics sagging. That’s typically about 100 pitches. I want Felix out before that point. That point is hard to see so I simply took 10% off the standard 100 pitch count.
As pointed out above, Felix doesn’t have perfect mechanics. And he has already had shoulder pain this year. So keeping his pitch count down is fine by me. Especially with a big lead. Even Hasegawa, could hold this lead. For an inning anyway. Okay, maybe not Hasegawa. But Nelson could. Okay, maybe not Nelson. But Thornton could. Okay, maybe not Thornton, but Harris could. Oh, right. They sent him down.
#379
you’re not fooling them as much over the past few innings
your mechanics are getting a bit out of whack
we’re up by 7 runs
long delay given Sisco’s implosion
These are legitimate reasons. “You’re at 90 pitches” is not.
Can we petition the Commissioner to play the Royals for the rest of the season?
Big test here. He’s been shaky (for him) the last 2 innings, he’s had to sit for awhile again, he might run through to the 4th time around, and he’s already at 90.
This is what I would prefer he didn’t face in his 3rd ML start, but whatever, lets see what he does.
The Royals commercials are killing me
Dejesus: “It’s all about hustle” (rejoinder: “because it sure ain’t about talent”)
Buck: “It’s all about heart” (rejoinder: broken hearts apparently given the sad state of KC baseball)
Teahan (?): “It’s all about the name on the front of the uniform” (rejoinder: “because the names on the backs of the uniform are has-beens and never-will-bes”)
and what the hell is Felix doing back on the mound?
Cameras on the Royals feed are on babewatch again!
Pretty unusual.Again I’ve never seen this on FSN,northwest or other
I guess Grover must have read my last post. They put him back in. And he does look less sharp than before.
It would be more humane to petition the Commissioner to have the Royals humanely destroyed, no?
382. If we did that could you imagine how many teams would be petitioning to play us. Can’t please everyone.
Okay, maybe not less sharp than before.
Exactly why did Harris get sent down when he’s been performing 1000% better than Meche and Franklin?
Frankly I’d pull then King after the 7th this game. He was getting a little sloppy in the 7th. I’m a little suprised he’s pitching in the 8th.
I say we draft that little leaguer who’s currently throwing 90 mph that’s in the stands tonight. He’s 15. The King signed when he was 16.
Wow.
First two fastballs were 92 and 94. I’m not a huge fan of him being out there right now. But those two curveballs were pretty nasty.
sick sick curve
Looks pretty sharp to me.
Bow to the King
All Hail!
Beltre must have nightmares about that breaking ball.
I don’t think Bloomquist makes that play either.
Again..
Yuni being Yuni!
Touched 96 on the fastball, but w/o command, he was reaching back for 96.
Still, that was a VERY encouraging inning and Yuby is great.
If he comes out for the ninth, I will be very upset.
I don’t care how big of a competitor he is. You’re done kid; come out and bring it during your next start.
Okay, so he’s definitely done now. 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, 99 pitches (67 strikes), 9 groundballs, 4 flyballs.
Season Line: 21 inning, 9 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 21 K, 35 groundballs, 10 flyballs.
Metz, I’d say it was since Harris has options and after the number of pitches he threw in his last game probably was unavailable for the next 4 games anyway, so sending him down for 10 days isn’t that many potential appearances
I don’t care how right you are, David, I don’t want to see you using “kid” again in your next post. Hit the showers, blogger; you don’t want to overuse your “k” key.
he’s done for tonight…smart move Grover…Exactly when does the King Felix merchandise come in?
#390
I’m VERY surprised, actually. It was totally meaningless to put him back in in the 8th (frankly, I’m so nervous every time young talented arms make it to the big leagues in this organization).
Bryan Price in the dugout there was saying to Felix “hey, man, thanks for saving my job”.
401 has the impressive season line; here’s the unimpressive season line: Tigers, Twins, Royals.
And Dave, with Betancourt at SS easily another 8 scoreless innings!
Slovak Mariner,
Are you still with us?
Or am I the only crazy European left??
(glug glug)
408 Yep
Until Felix can buy me a beer with his signing bonus, I think I’m within bounds to call him a kid. And I was actually channeling Grover there, who has even more right to call the Kid a kid.
I can see the rationale for having go back out for the 8th, he struggled a little in the 7th (for him anyway!) and his D let him down, given that he was well under 100 pitches it was good to see how he handled coming back out for another inning after that.
And yeah it is the Tigers, Twins and Royals, but a lot of pitchers have faced those teams and aren’t shutting them down like this.
Maybe charting Felix’s pitches is what turned Joel around.
That’s with a Betancourt at SS and a Betancourt at 2B, right?
jason
ICHIRO!!! Man this is a fun game to watch.
Ichiro!
Morse is not a MLB SS. It’s a smart move to convert him to the OF. The smartest move would be to trade him this off season for some more arms.
Re Pitch Counts: I am still haunted by Melvin letting Madritch throw 140 plus pitches.
408, but what about the plays Betancout made at 2B? Unless he was playing both positions, Felix might have given up that 1 run.
THAT,ladies and gentlemen,was the icing on the cake!
I’m in Baseball Heaven!
place your bets…
who hits more bombs this year: ichiro or beltre?
That “kid” is the biggest man in that dugout tonight.
Maybe charting Felix’s pitches is what turned Joel around.
Joel: Oh! So *that’s* how you set up hitters!
Price: Uh, you don’t have that kind of stuff.
Joel: Oh yeah…
jason
just got in on the east coast and all i see is the 11 k’s and the score…anyone care to give a quick synopsis of what the king did tonight and how dominant he actually was?
Did Ichiro just get a homer or does he just have no respect for the Royals outfielders?
423: lol….
Strong now has an OBP of 1.000
Completely unhittable through 5, then tired a bit, was semi-human in innings 6 and 7, dominant in the 8th again.
Go Jamal! Doing what he does best.
jason
The King was dominant through 5 innings. The Royals couldn’t touch him. He got a little tired and his defense let him down a bit in the 6th & 7th. Then he powered through the 8th. He looked like Colon did on Saturday against the M’s. Dominant and on cruise control.
True but the plays Betancourt made at 2nd were spread out, none clearly prevented a run, in the 7th Morse cost at least 2 outs; back to back.
It’s officially garbage time.
I doubt it gets to that level 423, prolly more like
J:”So you throw a strike on the first pitch?”
J:”Then another strike?”
J:”Man, that’s a lot of strikes.”
J:”You don’t throw it above the beltline?”
Grover: “Dammit Strong, why did he draw that walk, I wanna get back for that Denny’s special. Get Spiezio up there!! That’ll kill the inning.”
Haha, I like how Felix being semi-human means he doesn’t go ahead and K 2 out of 3 but a measly 1 out of 3 (exagerated . . . slightly)
thanks….its just hard to describe how ridiculously exciting he is…i realize that this is the royals, losers of 423 in a row, but stil…#401 says it all…just unreal numbers, god bless this kid
#433
Take a bow!
you know, I would have been happy with just one of those home runs yesterday. Esp. when the clock was creeping towards the 3 hour+ mark and RISP were staying in SP.
Strong’s got wheels.
Maybe Beltre has been charting Ichiro’s swings and that’s why he swings at the crap he does.
Meanwhile 3-5 tonight.
Completely unhittable through 5, then tired a bit, was semi-human in innings 6 and 7, dominant in the 8th again.
Almost seemed like that run woke him up.
Did Hendu just say…”Jamal’s not going to throw himself out.” ??????
I am listening to the game and watching it on Gameday. I noticed on the 3rd pitch to Beltre the radio call was “a little high”. Gameday showed the ball as outside at the knees. Which was correct? Do the radio folks make up location/pitch type or do the Gameday folks?
They all make up the location and the pitch type. Honestly…
Almost seemed like that run woke him up.
Makes you wonder if his biggest problem in the majors will be boredom.
Oh, and while I’m not arguing that Felix has certainly had a soft landing in very pitcher friendly environments against bad teams, coming into tonight, the average batter Felix faced was hitting .268/.331/.406. The AL average is .269/.331/.427.
I feel soooo disillusioned.
442: Both. but radio is usually more accurate. Gameday gets within an inch (screen size) of the location.
444. taking that with a grain of salt I suppose
I mean, what, a hundred plus years of history in this game, and I don’t think any major league pitcher has suffered from boredom on the hill, unless they were mentally deficient.
his .5 era will not last the season. I will bet my car on that.
Just out of curiousity, anybody know off the top of your head what the requirement is for number of games/ innings to be eligible for ROY?
Beltre would have made that play.
Willie Bloomquist: Not a third baseman.
There is no minimum to be eligible. Considering what Huston Street and Gustavo Chacin have done, however, it’s going to be almost impossible for Felix to win the award.
Nellie…
(glug glug)
448. Yes. I think I need to learn the art of the smiley.
Just out of curiousity, anybody know off the top of your head what the requirement is for number of games/ innings to be eligible for ROY?
>50 IP before the start of a season. So, if Felix is going to win ROY, it’ll have to be this year.
449, I believe it’s 50 IP.
what’s the over/under on how many runs nelson manages to give up this inning?
Oops,
that was a strike..
Yep. I don’t see it happening this year, maybe if he had been called up in June he would have had a shot at it.
The stat that just came out of Dave’s mouth is incredible. Felix had 4 more K’s tonight than any other M’s pitcher has had all year…
Arrgh. <50 IP.
Felix: First teen with a 10+K game since… Dwight Gooden.
Oddly enough Sexson and Beltre tonight 4-8 with 4 k’s. so if they made it contact it was a hit.
461:
Just keep up the chant.
Felix, Burnett, Matsuzaka, Madritsch, Pineiro.
*sigh*
What’s the King’s VORP now?
Nelson’s looking sharp. Way to improve the chances anyone resigns you…
Nellie..nellie..nellie..
I’m tired and I want to sleep..
Come on!Le’t finish this one..
Felix,
BurnettMillwood, Matsuzaka, Madritsch, Pineiro.Fixed it for you.
Is it just me or does Betancourt seem almost like a shortshop/leftfielder with his range?
Yuni being Yuni..
What a game defensively for Betancourt!
Nice one Morse.. Time for you to head to Left Field.
#465 I would be happy with Millwood over Burnett.
Morse edging closer to leftfield now.
Felix’s VORP is probably 11.0 or so after tonight.
Mike: NOT a SS,methinks..
470, 474
Burnett, Millwood, Schmidt, whatever. They all good with me. It means the same thing.
no meche
no moyer
no franklin
ballgame.
That does it for me,almost 7am here,time to catch some Zzzzs..
was it worth it? You betcha!
All hail the king. Long live the King.
I’ll see you back here for the next games..
BuonaNotte!
Well, I think the fielding concerns over Willie at third and Morse at short were proven valid. Yuni, however, proved he can play both short and second.
And even on a night that Beltre hits .600 people will still criticize him for that night. He’s been our best hitter in August by over 150 OPS points. Over the entire team. Only Ichiro is within 200 points of him.
Since some of you in the know, what’s the deal with Matsuzaka. What are his vitals (age, k/p, bb/9, etc). Know any decent sites where i could dig up a scouting report?
A VORP of 11 would put him 9th among AL rookie pitchers. Fourth among AL rookie starters. I agree Chacin, Street, and Blanton are probably out of reach, but if he keeps it up with the eight-inning one-run ten-K games it might not be. Eight more starts? If he pitches like this that’s about 40 more VORP, estimating roughly. I’d be very happy to see him with 30 or so total; this can’t last.
Can it?
Felix has not given up an extra base hit yet.
John in LA, I’d just like to thank you for carrying the Beltre banner. I am totally with you on this, and am tired of him constantly getting bashed. Keep up the good work.
#477 amen to an overhauled rotation
especially no meche no franklin
And even on a night that Beltre hits .600 people will still criticize him for that night. He’s been our best hitter in August by over 150 OPS points.
Whoa. Really? That’s astonishing (and shows how bad the hitting has been, hasn’t it?)
480
He’s 24 (turns 25 in Sept), been pitching since 99 with Seibu
His DIPS numbers for his entire career (through 2004)
.773 HR/9
3.766 BB/9
8.350 SO/9
Compare and contrast: how you felt last night, how you feel tonight.
Nice, isn’t it?
486. Thanks, LS. Appreciated
The key to Daisuke is his funky pitch, the gyroball along with a mid 90s fastball. A gyroball moves almost totally laterally away from RH hitters.
Matsuzaka’s raw stats are here, but not including this season.
http://www.japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=1104
I’m not so sure he would really be all that good. For example I don’t think he would necessarily be another Nomo (When Nomo first arrived).
The most interesting NPB free agent this offseason to me is catcher Jojima.
No problem.
FWIW, my sources on Daisuke
-Will Carroll (Saving the Pitcher)
-Bill Bavasi
-japanesebaseball.com
troy – thanks. I know he’s had a real rough year. But he’s been at the very least “not bad” for awhile now. With flashes of great. I think he’s going to be great next year and I’m still thrilled he’s on our team.
He has deserved a lot of the flak he’s gotten this year, but it’s gone beyond that to an area pof misperception. When Beltre is good, people still think he’s bad… the converse is that when Willie is bad people still think he’s good.
I’ve never seen perception play such a big role with a hitter… I think you see it all the time with defense – people thinking good defenders are bad and vice versa… but not so often with hitters.
Roger Tang… yes. August has not been a good month for our hitters. Only Ichiro and Beltre have an OPS over .700. And that’s with a good portion of Ichiro’s bad streak happening at the start of August.
Still, Beltre’s .878 OPS for August is good. And about what I expect from him next year. Along with his defense.
Is he in the funky windup class of Japanese pitchers who can get by the first season in the majors on his different look, or does he project to have staying power? COmparables? Too early to tell? Worth the shot? Also, the Japanese leagues are generally considered equivelant to AAA, correct? I really do appreciate any info. I’ve heard his name thrown around a few times but have been unable to really dig up anything besides old international game articles and such. Thanks
- Mike
By the way… my “Beltre is .150 better OPS than anyone else in August” should have said had a disclaimer saying active players… I didn’t look up Doyle, but I am sure his is higher.
Useless Info: Winn hits for the cycle
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=250815117
By the way, nice game from Yorvit at the plate and behind the plate.
He might take advantage of his first real chance to be a #1 catcher.
493
Daisuke does have a different bran of mechanics that what you’ll usually see in the US. Called many names, I’ll go with Will Carroll is labeling it double spin mechanics. Basically it attempts to generatore force from the rotation of the arm rather than the extension of it. I’m not sure what it looks like in person, but, it’s more of a pitcher’s thing and from the sound of it, shouldn’t be as offsetting to a batter like Nomo.
Scouts have been drooling over the kid since the 2000 Olympics when he was doing great on the Japanese team. With his age, I would say he’d fall more along the lines of a tradional prospect rather than than someone who’ll fool hitter from a year or two then completely lose it.
For #480 (hope you can read some Japanese on your system)
http://japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=1104
http://bis.npb.or.jp/players/31233888.html
Awesome, thank you again guys
It’s generally accepted that if he does post, the Mariners top the list in likelihood to acquire him.
For this pitcher do the M’s bid for the right to sign him (like Ichiro) or is just a free agent?
#490 I agree. I’ve being saying for awhile that Jojima is the best FA catcher the M’s can get. I’m sure he will feel more comfortable with the M’s here than with any other team. He has said he’s worried about going to the states because of his children but I bet Ichiro could give a talkiin’ to him. And if we could get Matsuzaka that would be doubly great because Matsuzaka could pitch to him. That would be something.
Jojima’s page: http://bis.npb.or.jp/players/31733880.html
I think Jojima could hit .250 or better with at least 15 dingers a year His home park is a pitcher’s park. He won’t be expensive. He is also a gold glove. I think he is the best option the M’s have. And you needn’t worry about language trouble. He has caught foreign pitchers on his staff.
#501
The M’s would have to bid for Matsuzaka but Jojima is a straight FA. With money coming off the books I think the M’s could easily outbid any other team.
Hey guys, back from the game. I’ll have some pictures for everyone to see soon. I also have a picture of the KKKKing sign if anyone wants to see it. Soon
Go Felix!!!
What a great time tonight. Safeco was fun! An Ms pitcher was dealing heat. The offense pounded out runs. And my little girl went home with a foul ball . . . that the King pitched. Tonight, all is right with the world.
Actually, Daisuke still hasn’t been posted, and there are no guarantees that he will be. So IF the M’s were to acquire him this offseason it would be via bidding, but it’s not like the M’s can just decide they want to place a bid. His team in Japan has to post him first.
As such, there are so many ifs (will they post him, would we even want him given his crazy pitch counts, how much would we bid for him, would our bid be big enough to gain his rights, could we sign him after that), that speculating about him at this point is a bit silly I think. The odds are certainly stacked against seeing JoeJessica catch the next year.
And I really hope we don’t sign a catcher, Japanese or otherwise.
506 should read, “catch THE GYROBALL next year.” Sorry about the deletion.
If you’re up at 2am Pacific, you can watch Lions games over the internet. When I was unemployed earlier this summer I caught a couple of Matsuzaka’s starts. Scary stuff.
(media page: http://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/teams/movie/7.html)
If I had to guess from their rotation, I’d say his next start will be at 6pm on the 17th over there, which is 2am Wednesday morning for us.
However, given how Seibu fell from Japan Series chapmions to second division this year, I find it unlikely they’ll post Matsuzaka unless they really need the money. And I’d hate to see Johjima come over here — he’s like the next Atsuya Furuta, only better. It makes me sad when the teams over there hemorrhage all their star players.
497
Doesn’t it tax his arm tremendously? Sounds like it…
Also, “Scouts have been drooling over the kid since the 2000 Olympics when he was doing great on the Japanese team.”
Kind of like Franklero…
I just got back from the most enjoyable game I’ve seen at Safeco in over two years. Two things struck me:
The King is an absolute phenomenon. To write more would oblide me to swear to an unacceptable degree.
Betancourt is a defensive wonderworker whereever the Mariners put him. He made three outstanding plays in the game, playing out of position.
I took two friends to the game, neither or whom has been there in years. Their verdict om Felix: “As advertised”.
496. I was thinking the same thing Jim. Torrealba looks as though he has an idea what he’s doing at the plate, a quality we have not expected from a Mariners’ catcher in many, many years.
Last game I was at, Gil Meche got pounded in the first by the Indians. Game before that, Bobby M blew out his shoulder. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous prior to the start of tonight’s game. I didn’t want my bad luck to touvh Felix. As soon as David DeJesus walked back to the dugout shaking his head in the first, I knew this game would be different. Felix is amazing, and he alone is reason to watch the M’s this year and beyond. Not even the meathead frat boy Red Sox fans sitting in front of me, swilling liquor out of a flask, swearing up a storm in front of little kids could dampen my enthusiasm. This kid is the real deal, and we’re lucky to have him.
So do we think Felix will be able to touch 100 mph in a few years? I mean he is only 19…
On the flip side how likely is it that he’s going to blow out his arm? I just can’t believe what he is doing at such a young age. It’s not natural!!! I can’t see his arm holding up without extremely strict pitch counts. But I’m sure he’ll still be able to toss a no-no without going over 100 pitches.