Felix out of WBC, spring training invites
From the Seattle Times,Check it out, looks like no extra pitching for Felix.
Here’s the list of NRIs as they’re known, with some sorting for your convenience. Lotta unfamiliar names. I’ll be updating this as I run stuff down.
Pitchers:
RHP Kevin Appier
RHP Scott Atchison
RHP Dave Burba
RHP Francisco Cruceta
RHP Rich Dorman
LHP Lindsey Gulin (Issaquah High School grad)
RHP Jeff Harris
RHP Jeff Heaverlo
RHP Chris Jaile
Hitters
IF-B Asdrubal Cabrera
C-L Jeff Clement
DH-L Greg Dobbs
C Andy Dominique
C Rob Johnson
CF-R Adam Jones
?-R Rayon Lampe
C-R Corky Miller
IF-R Jose Morban
IF-R Cody Ransom
1B-L Todd Sears
SS/?-R Matt Tuiasosopo
2B-L Fernando Vina
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Thanks, DMZ. Jaile is a right hander who actually looks modestly interesting, given his age. He converted to pitching in 2004, it appears, after catching professionally in the Athletics organization. He pitched in the Texas organization last year. I’m surprised he got an NRI, but they must like something to bring him to camp from A ball. Presumably they got good reports on him for their affiliates in Midwest and California Leagues
Chris Jaile is a RHP. He pitched at Clinton and Bakersfield in the Texas organization.
The other name that jumps out is Rayon Lampe. I don’t see anything in his performance in the VSL last year that suggested he was headed for the big camp. Judging from the stats, it appears that he is a patient, strike-out-prone third baseman. He is young (11-20-1986), but I wouldn’t have figured him for even playing short season let alone being invited to spring training.
Any chance that Corky serves as Johjima’s backup so that Rivera can catch full time at AAA? Do the M’s want to develop Rivera into something more, or is he viewed as a back-up catcher by the organization?
in the KC Journal wrap-up of media day they run through Meche, the WBC, and discuss Tui’s progress.
They also have an interesting note that Safeco will host the WAII 4A and 3A baseball finals at the end of May, and also that “the Mariners will then play host Aug. 12-13 to the inaugural Mariner Cup tournament, which will pit a team of Northwest high school all-stars against a select team from southern California. Mariners personnel will choose and coach the Northwest team, and any high school player who is scheduled to graduate in either 2007 or 2008 is eligible to try out. The 25-player roster will be selected from Washington, Oregon, Utah, Montana and Idaho.”
and MLB has announced the WBC rules on pitching limits and the like…
Yesssss! I’ll be rooting for Corky Miller, HBP machine.
Whoa. When/how did we pick up Cody Ransom? I don’t really know anything about him, but I remember his name from a Giants-Phillies game I went to see when I was in the bay area for a weekend in 2003. I’d never heard of the guy before then, and he hit his first major-league home run off Vicente Padilla that day, so they made a big deal about it.
(Most sites still have him listed as being on the Cubs, though the Rainiers site has him on their roster. Hmm…)
Cody Ransom made an error that many Giants fans will never forget. I think it was 2004 against the Dodgers – an error that cost them a playoff spot, in some people’s eyes. The M’s signed him as a minor league free agent.
In 2003, Lindsay Gulin pitched a no-hitter against Tacoma. In a remarkable result from the PCL, he pitched the no-no for Las Vegas – and did it at the launching pad of Cashman Field. He’s a lefty who throws about 85 mph and has a big hook.
M’s management sure sounds like they’ve got pitch count religion for Felix these days. Hopefully there won’t be any unseemly backsliding once the season starts.
And is there *any* way to get rid of Dobbs permanently? He’s worse than a baseball zombie.
I realize this is off topic, [deleted, off-topic]
#9– an error that cost them a playoff spot, in some people’s eyes.
I think this harkens back to the earlier “NY Times: Partisan thought is unconscious” post 🙂
Going into that last weekend in 2004, this was the Giants’ shot at making the postseason: “If the Giants sweep the [Dodgers] series and the Astros sweep the Rockies, the Dodgers, Giants and Astros will finish the season tied for two playoff spots. Again, the Dodgers and Giants would play on Monday at SBC Park for the division title, with the loser then playing the Astros on Tuesday at a site to be determined.”
By the Ransom game, the Giants’ hope of making the post-season was down to them beating the Dodgers two more times, AND the Astros losing once. In the 9th (with a 3-0 lead) Dustin Hermanson gave up a single and then walked three more, including walking in the 1st run for the Dodgers. It was then that Ramsom booted his ball, which allowed another run to score, but the Giants still had the lead at that point. If Matt Herges doesn’t come in to give up the tying run, and if Wayne Franklin doesn’t follow that by presenting Steve Finley with a grand slam opportunity, why then the Giants don’t lose the game, hand the division title to their rivals, and leave any shot for making the post-season down to hoping the Astros would lose the next day to force one of those play-off games.
[ot]
speaking of Felix, there is a Q&A with Rafael Chaves on the M’s site:
“We’re going to make sure that we don’t overdo the amount of innings he’ll pitch this year. We have a game plan I’d rather not discuss right now, but we have a plan. I’m counting on Felix to pitch in the playoffs. That may sound silly, but that’s the way it is. Felix is probably one of the smartest pitchers I’ve ever coached in my young career. He retains knowledge and applies the things we work on. It doesn’t take him two months to come out and do the things we want him to do — it comes right away. I had the luxury of seeing him in Triple-A last year, and hopefully, that stays with him. Not only does he have a great arm, but a great mind for pitching, and he’s very respectful.”
Fun Corky Miller fact: Thanks to a quirk in the calculation of EQA and a small sample size over the last two seasons (51 ABs), Corky Miller actually has a negative EQA for 2004-5. That was good for 8 runs below replacement level. Obviously, I don’t think he’s that bad, but he’s got some funny looking numbers.
If Todd Sears somehow works his way into Tacoma’s lineup, it’ll be his 5th PCL team, having played for Salt Lake, (now defunct) Edmonton, Portland, and Albuquerque. His raw line last year at Albuquerque of .323/.399/.503 was pretty good, but then again, you’d expect a 29-year old repeating AAA to rake in the PCL.
Is there any reason to think that the Ms looking like the “bad guy” in this decision is going to produce a backlash against the organization signing prospects out of Venezuela? I was under the impression that guys like Felix and Freddy (among others) rise pretty quickly to national hero status in Venezuela when they have success. I wonder if this gives the Ms a black eye with respect to the next generation of prospects? I think it is the right decision, just speculating.
woot! I love Todd Sears.
Was Morban an agegate guy? I feel like he has some significance but I can’t remember why.
Ah…he was a Rule 5 Guy.
Regarding Lampe… he was one of the premium talents in Aruba a while back, but kind of raw which is why we haven’t seen much of him. Some saw him as a center fielder, but the M’s used him as a second baseman his first season in Peoria and a sort of utility player in the VSL last year (most often as a left fielder).
I talked with Jason over at ITP about it and he says that Lampe had the invited written into his contract, and some of the other recently signed minor league FAs did as well.
Does Clement’s contract guarantee him a spot at spring training or is he ready to compete?
I assume it’s an issue of respecting your prospect for who he is (ie. Adam Jones), and it never hurts to have extra catchers around. Or as my dad says, those willing to sport the ‘tools of ignorance’.
RE 12: A Boston Globe sportswriter made the same observation about Bill Buckner and his infamous error in the 1986 World Series: He wasn’t the only one not doing his job. (Same could be said too for the infamous Cubs fan.)
Not an especially promising bunch.
I’m checking out the new PECOTA numbers, and every M the projections like is either under 24 or in the bullpen.
So is Todd Sears like Buckyball the 2nd? Looks like a real AAAA masher.
Except I’ll take Todd Sears over Bucky at first base 8 days a week. I’m a huge supporter of the dude and I’m hoping he makes the big club this year, although I doubt it.
#21: he was promised an invite…..and he is ready to compete…he just wouldnt be competitive
Well with the recent rash of signings and spring training invites, it looks like the M’s understand the concept of replacement level player…
Yeah! Here’s to Todd Sears being our designated lefty masher off the bench!!!
(If there ever were a Corcoendorsed player it’s Todd Sears)
Todd Sears = A.J. Zapp = J.R. Phillips. Quad-A filler who likely won’t play for the Mariners except in extreme emergency OR if he hits 26 HRs by July.
CODY RANSOM – When I read that Cody was not yet listed as a Mariner on many websites (# 8), I thought I’d check out the “Player Index” of WAYMORESPORTS (Toronto STAR), the website DAVE laid on us long ago.
Sure enough, Cody’s listed as a Seattle player.
http://tinyurl.com/bul4p
The ink is hardly dry on the tranfer papers before those guys do their up-dating.
Interesting note ….
Local boy Lindsay Gulin pitched in Japan the last two years, where his catcher was … Kenji Johjima.
I think Gulin has Jeff “Emergency Fill-In” Harris potential.