The Attrition War, Yankees
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Yankees. Next up: the summary, methodology, and all kinds of good stuff.
The Attrition War, White Sox
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the White Sox.
Game 129, White Sox at Mariners
Felix’s mentor (shudder) goes against Jamie Moyer.
Thrill as Carl Everett bats left-handed against Moyer, muttering to himself about dinosaurs! Shudder as Greg Dobbs once again occupies the Designated Misser slot! Wait in anticipation for the next King Fleix start!
The Attrition War, Twins
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Twins. Only two more after this.
The Attrition War, Tigers
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Tigers.
Game 128, White Sox at Mariners
Anyone else notice that Dave Niehaus pronounces Orlando Hernandez’ nickname like “El Dookie,” which I believe is Spanish for “The Album that Made Green Day Big”?
It’s a good thing Jose Contreras doesn’t have a nickname that Dave can turn into a homonym for poop. And speaking of fecal matter, Joel Pineiro … nah, that’s too easy.
Oh, and one other note: evidently, getting knocked around by the Mariners earns you a ticket to the minors these days. Hard to argue with that, either.
Confidential to Peter C.: Don’t think I didn’t notice that you left the game last night just before Eddie served up the game-winner. You’re lucky the Jeff-man has a loving heart, and is not superstitious.
The Attrition War, Royals
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Royals.
Game 127, White Sox at Mariners
Its Game Five of the Felix Hernandez Experience. We’re running out of superlatives. I’ve been told that if I put up another Felix worship post, I’m going to have my Stuffy Objective Analyst card revoked. If you’re not sure what we think about Felix, you can read this, this, this, or even this. And this too. You could say we’re obsessed. You’d be right.
All hail the King. Long live the King.
Week #22 in Review
Happy Felix Day!
(We here at USS Mariner choose to look at rosy side of life when we can.)
Vital Signs
Wins: 54. Losses: 72. Games out of first place: 18.5.
The Mariners drop another game in the standings. Again. The Angels widen their AL West lead to 2.5 games. Third place is still a gaping 5 games away. They are 3.4 games below their projected wins according to third-order wins.
Runs Scored: 556 (12th in the American League, tied with Minnesota). Batting average: .256 (last). On-base percentage: .315 (last). Slugging percentage: .397 (13th, thank you, Kansas City). Home runs: 110 (13th, again, thank you, Kansas City). Bases on balls: 352 (9th). EqA: .250 (11th).
Runs allowed: 595 (8th). Staff ERA: 4.55 (10th). DIPS ERA: 4.70 (13th). Strikeouts: 682 (last). Bases on balls: 403 (10th). Home runs allowed: 140 (11th). Starters ERA: 5.12 (11th). Relievers ERA: 3.47 (5th). Defensive efficiency: 70.0% (7th).
The Mariners spoiled a perfect opportunity to gain ground on the slumping Rangers and the ever elusive third place in the division. They dropped 2 of 3 to the Twins and then 2 of 3 from those pesky slugging Texans. I say “slugging” – the Mariners actually outslugged their opponents 9 home runs to 7. Despite this muscle-fest by the M’s, they were still out-scored 34-28. How does this happen, one asks? That’s the difference 18 singles in a week makes. There’s more than one way to get on-base. They drew the same amount of walks as the Twins and Rangers, 19.
Heroes
For the month of August, Adrian Beltre leads the team in home runs (6), doubles (8) and RBI (23). He is the only starter with an OPS above .800, and it happens to currently rest at a healthy .933. This week, Beltre went 7-for-24 (.292/.320/.583) with 4 doubles and a home run. On Tuesday, Beltre doubled to lead off the seventh inning, starting a 3-run Seattle rally that brought the Mariners within one run. In the 8th, he again doubled, driving in Raul Ibanez and, again, the Mariners were within a run. But with Beltre standing at second, representing the go-ahead run with no outs, the Mariners failed to score again and lost 6-4.
On Thursday, 31-year-old rookie Jeff Harris limited the Rangers to just 4 hits and 2 walks in 7 scoreless innings. He also struck out 2.
Read more
Off the Wall: Felix’s ROY Chances
Word is that the Mariners have a highly regarded rookie pitcher who shares a first name with a once-famous cat.
Now, I’m just a simple man who enjoys working with hands, so I don’t know much about this “Felix” character. I don’t even know much about cats. Except that they are supposed to like sardines. I like sardines.
Apparently, someone else does know about Felix, someone who writes for something called the “Post-Intelligencer,” and whose name is “Derek.”
One time, I went to the sea lion caves. I fed the seals sardines. The sardines were wrapped in a newspaper. I don’t know if it was the Post-Intelligencer or not.
In this article, Derek covers Felix’s chances to win something called the “Rookie of the Year Award,” which are higher than you might think at first.
This linked article might not a novel, but it is a well-told story. I like my well-told stories with numbers, hold the sardines.