Game 23, White Sox at Mariners
DMZ · April 26, 2006 at 6:53 pm · Filed Under Mariners
LHP Buehlre v LHP Washburn. 7:05 FSN.
Bloomquist plays center in the non-platoon platoon… and bats SECOND. It’s that situational hitting he brings to the team.
Other lineup news: Johjima moves ahead of Beltre in the batting order to sixth.
Probably going to be a small game thread, what with the server switch and so many people still pointing in the wrong direction, getting errors and whatnot.
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hey, Bloomie just kills Buehrle…
here’s something we all could have used last night later
This platoon is going to give me an aneurysm. Please, oh powers that be, rid us of Grover!!! There simply is no justification for WFB starting, let alone hitting gsecond.
The Beer Belly, nice.
Mmmm, Reuben Dog.
The site is working just fine for me, and there’s really only one problem. My uncle is domintating the TV to watch “On the Record w/ Greta Van Sustenern” (spelling?) on Fox News. Because hearing about all the inactivity in the Natalie Halloway case is excatly what I was hoping for…this is killing me.
Let’s see:
Mariners when facing a left-handed starter this season: 0-6
Mariners batting average against lefties: .195
Washburn’s lifetime record vs CWS: 4-5
Jermaine Dye career vs Washburn: .447…but maybe the homers last night cooled him off some?
Homers at Safeco this season: M’s 9; everybody else, 21
The good news is, this one is going to be over quick. Well, unless Grover wanders through the bullpen and the bus from Tacoma looking for arms.
But hey, maybe Bloomie will start? Let’s put him in the outfield again for added forehead-smacking hilarity!
Dan Rohn… charting the hitters, charting the pitchers, and charting the layout of his new office.
The home base umpire also likes candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach.
How can you expect a young guy like Reed to learn how to hit lefties when you sit him EVERY damn time we play a lefty…UGH!!
oh dear god, WFB is batting second? ugh..
Didn’t Rizzs say (on the radio last night) that the ump who was going to be behind the plate tonight was just up from the minors and this would be his first major-league game calling balls and strikes? As if things weren’t looking ugly enough already.
That’s right, Gil Meche’s shoes were just too tight, and he finally figured it out
Now nothing can stop him!
bases juiced…no outs…beltre up…can you say triple play?
And it’s rally killing time!
Alright Beltre. Whatdya say, kid?
Well, that’s one!
ill take a ground out rbi for beltre!
Ok, just as good as a sac fly
Bases loaded, no one out for Beltre.
The odds against hitting into a triple play must be astronomical.
So why do I find myself concerned about the possibility ?
The Mariners with an early lead? It must be Bizzaro land!
lopez!!!
holy crap! yahoooooo !!!!!
Man, Lopez and Ibanez, most valuable M’s batters so far
Wow, 3 early runs. Our pitcher can actually try pitching with a lead.
That was a nice looking AB by Ichiro. Oh well.
Beautiful….
F’IN BASERUNNING!!!!
Bloomquist? What? Starting? Huh? Hitting second? Wha…? But, but… Lopez…?
Gritty.
Baserunning idiocy. Vicidin.
“The greatest baserunner of all time” – everyone on the M’s, referring to WFB
The Zephyr got zapped.
I had a hell of a time getting on tonight. I kept getting a message saying no posts matched my request.
What I wanted to say was that Washburn is looking like an excellent pick up so far.
Gotta love Willie’s scrapiness.
“Scampering”?
Should be 2 on, no out
You all must surely see, aggressive baserunning is really what this team needs.
Yeah.
I would rather have someone batting over .290 in the lineup, given the number of weak hitters we have. There is some defensive liability, but you can always put Reed in later in the game for defense.
In all seriousness, does Grover realize how many extra bases the aggresive baserunning has to get us now just to make up for the outs it has already caused?
If they never made another error on the paths, they wouldn’t even break even until August.
To Grover’s credit, he had nothing to do with that mistake. It’s not like he called out to Willie
“Take two!…Oh shit, nevermind, get back!”
No wonder gas prices are so high, with those Banner Bank customers driving all over the state.
Rick L… that assumes that the small sample size that brought you the .290 is likely to continue.
Why would I assume that? I have so much evidence to the contrary.
This is what I hear every year, “Put Willie in until he stops hitting!” Which invariably happens about 80 at bats before they catch on AGAIN that he is not a major league hitter.
I am not related in any way to Banner Bank.
bpdawg24 –
Grover isn’t to blame because he sent Willie to second… Grover is to blame because he has instilled this ludicrous philosphy of baserunning aggression. this is what you get… over and over again… when you encourage people to run aggressively instead of intelligently.
41. I agree he is likely to revert to form, but I would like him in until he does stop hitting. Right now, he has the highest average on the team. Meanwhile, Sexson is approaching the Mendoza line. I would also like to see Petagine replacing Everett to see if he can hit better than .220
I did not know, however, that “Willie has a cannon of an arm” (Niehaus)
43. Agreed. Reckless baserunning is what we have seen. Far too many mistakes that are seen at the high school level, not the bigs.
45, yea I heard that I was like are you kidding me? What did WFB do to be praised as the greatest Mariners player of all time by everyone but the fans?
#29– vicodin. I am trying to get by on ibuprophen,myself.
the way Rizzs was polishing up the Cy Young for Washburn, I was sure this would e the inning he got killed.
Catcher speed.
hey, turns out Crede has a rocket of an arm. I’m sensing a long throw contest, myself.
Does Beltre know what his average is?
#48 – ibuprofen? For an extraction? That’s madness.
Hey, five hits through four innings is pretty good for us. And three runs in four innings is the very top of our curve.
52. Against one of the best pitchers in the AL, it is way above our curve.
hey, it was working up to about now– I’m eying the hard stuff though, for overnight….
Geez, that was a quick inning. Washburn hardly had time to sit down.
Reed needs to be batting against left handed batters, period. WFM should start periodically at best.
That said, WFM should be at third over Beltre, at least he is hitting the ball at a greater frequency then Beltre. I say sit Beltre down, screw his pride or ego or whatever. Toughen up buttercup and start hitting, you’ll get your AB’s back.
Washburn looks really good tonight!
Maybe the stranding batters thing is a repeatable skill. When Jarrod had two runners on, he worked more methodically…and worked out of the jam.
If he posts a similar OBPA this year, with similar up front numbers, maybe we should rethink some assumptions that were made prior to the season.
Thome looked like a left-handed version of Beltre there.
RAUUUUUUULLLLL!!!
RAUUUUUUUUL Werewolves of london!
With a four run lead, if it holds into the 9th, we can put Guardado in with confidence in a 4-3 victory.
58. Washburn was awesome in his last start too.
Russ –
Beltre is batting around .300 over the last nine games.
And how can he get his job back when he starts hitting if he isn’t batting?
Hey, go over to MLB.com and see the lead splash – “White Sox on their mark to take series from M’s” which ironically has the 4 to 0 box score below it.
Beltre looked like he hit that ball right on the button. Maybe that would have gone into the upper deck before the steroid ban.
Get Putz up, Grover.
wow
WFM is now a Mariner for life with that gritty catch.
It almost makes up for his stupid baserunning error earlier in the game.
Actually, it doesn’t.
Need a little 2ball real quick to get out of this mess.
There goes the Guardado cushion.
John, beats me but I’m a few beers in and I’m mad about Reed getting sat down so often. Logic has little to do with it.
What an outing. He has been absolutely terrific these past 2 starts. Jesus, maybe if we could give him some run support every time…
Nice work by Washburn.
Rick, I agree…Washburn looked great last time. I’m just wondering if there is something to his ability to strand runners that the numbers aren’t telling us.
It’s very hard to measure. I suppose we’d need a comparison of run expectancy numbers for certain situations where runners are on base, and compare them to Jarrod’s stats in the same situations over 3 years (that should be a big enough sample size to compare).
If he’s consistenly better than the league…then we might be able to draw some conclusion about him.
Alrighty Soriano. You can help out the M’s cause and my fantasy team. How about you mow down everyone you see.
Soriano, making it exciting.
Soriano has lost a lot of velocity, but he might be a better pitcher than he was when he was throwing 97.
Well according to the stats over at THT, Wash’s LOB% is at 69.7%
I kinda wish he could still throw 97, though…
80…what’s league avg. LOB%? Do they have that as well?
81. Me too. Maybe it will eventually come back.
Soriano hit 96 the other night.
By the way that new umpire behind the plate just underhand threw one to Soriano from like 63 feet. Keep that shit up and he’ll be umping highschool JV games in Akron.
Hopefully some zany teammate has superglued Guardo to the bullpen bench tonight… Please?
Got him on an 82 mile an hour pitch.
Honestly I’m not sure why we’re bagging on WFB versus Reed quite so badly. WFB hits .500 against their pitcher. Ok, then the numbers say play him. Not to mention his defense is not as big of a defensive downgrade as we seem to make it out to be, so the NUMBERS say YES play WFB tonight.
Until Reed actually HITS major league pitching anywhere close to projections then it makes it hard to stand up for the guy other than saying that his Defense is better than Bloomquist. I’m not necessarily saying WFB for CF, but the platoon seems to be working out numbers wise.
80….also, it would seem that LOB% is kind of a blunt instrument to look at since it would treat runners at first, second, or third equally.
But its a good start I think. Is THT a pay site?
89- Free oh charge my friend.
84. That is good news. He also did hit 93 once tonight.
THT LOB% stats are all free. Just search “Washburn” and it’ll be the result.
If Eddie kills this gem, there’s gonna be hell to pay.
Here’s the big HEATER!
90 and 92….do you realize what you’ve done to my productivity? This could get me divorced…good times.
91. I’m not getting the game on TV tonight (John in L.A. are you?), but yeah he was mostly at 94 with 1 or 2 heaters hitting 96.
Coming after Moyer, the new Pineiro and Livingston (maybe) it’s nice to have guns like him and Putz.
Johjima should be hitting here, not C-Rex
Wait a minute, we didn’t carelessly send a runner home? Wow, maybe grover and Co. are learning
Alright C-Rex, let’s tack on a few more, to ensure that Eddie sits his ass all night.
Agree with #88 for most part but I did not think that was “a great jump” that WFB got on that “incredible catch.” (Rico)
C-Rex makes me eat my words. Sort of.
YESSIRRRR. No Eddie tonight, in my coffee, no Eddie tonight in my tea!
94- Then I shouldn’t tell you about the Pitching and Hitter Day to Day database over at Baseball Musings. lol
If they get two runners on base, does that make JJ eligible for a save?
103. No, can’t work your way into a save.
How about some strikes, JJ?
Why didn’t we leave Soriano in?
Nice DP. Nice play by both YuBet and Lopez.
NIIIIICE. Me likey splitter.
DP! Well executed.
That’s the JJ I remember
Why didn’t we leave Soriano in?
When he reaches arbitration, the team wants his number of saves to be as low as possible.
Or it was, the JJ I remember for a while.
110 – and the number of L’s as high as possible… that way they won’t have the money and the arbitor must take it into account
Andren – yes, 740 on DirecTV.
88 – Reed, as disappointing as he may have been, has STILL hit better than Willie. And that’s at about the bottom of Reed’s ability. His worst is pretty much better than Willie.
Not against lefties, but he’s only had 7 at bats against them this year… and why would you want to handicap a promising young player to upgrade to mediocore?
Reed
Career: .269/.338/.703 and .230 w/RISP
2006: .207/.273/.583 and .000 w/RISP
Bloomquist
Career: .261/.308/.649 and .260 w/RISP
2006: .294/.350/.630 and .500 w/RISP
Reed FP .989 at CF
Bloomquist FP .971 at CF (1 error in 15 games)
So…by the numbers why NOT platoon Reed/Bloomquist?
nerrrrrrvous moments
A WIN!
I’m certainly happy with this…obviously. This was a solid response to the thumping they took yesterday.
And Valle begins the tongue bath for Willie. Sigh.
Nice win.
With that shot of all of them shaking hands and what not, is it me or does Hassey needs to stay away from the catering table? lol
#114 because reed might actually be a good player given enough playing time, and using bloomquist as a cf means you lose the team’s best close-and-late pinch runner.
114 – because Reed is a promising young talent you want to give every cahnce to develop and Bloomquist is a replacement level player you gain almost nothing by giving more playing time? In fact, you hurt yourself by taking your only reserve infielder off the bench.
And because, as I said, Reed’s floor is about level with Bloomquist’s ceiling.
Very nice W and series win over arguably the hottest team in the land.
It would be nice to have another reserve infielder so Reed could substitute for WFB in situations like the 9th. Even though Willie has a decent fielding percentage in CF, it is a lot different to play the outfield than the infield.
122 – indeed.
So, if you beat the World Champs 2 out of 3, that make you the World Champs. Right? That’s what I’m getting from the FSNW guys, anyway.
82 – LOB% AL league average is 70%
NL league average is 71%
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/teams/
121, granted Reed should have more upside in the long run and should be the regular CF. He also should have been on the bench if WFB hits .500 against their starter and Reed hits .200 against lefties. Now if the next lefty owns bloomquist and reed equally (or even by .100 points) then fine give Reed a chance to hit. But if WFB continues to steal bases, hit with runners in scoring position and Reed doesn’t, it makes it hard to convince Hargove (moron that he is) to keep sending Reed up there.
That being said, all the M’s suckfest hitters are looking better the last 6-9 games despite the record of the team. Reed might be next to catch fire.
82 – LOB% AL league average is 70%
NL league average is 71%
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/teams/
Thanks, I totally missed that…
So with that said, Washburn is right around the AL average..
#127 i had that mindset last year. it’s a bit harder this year when there are enough guys hitting well in the lineup that we shouldn’t be sacraficing playing time for players (reed) just to give a bench guy who is doing well more playing time.
but that’s just me.
so, off to Baltimore & the Twins, right?
I’m off to bed with my friend Mr Vicodin. Good luck with your pal, John.
See last year I would have kept willie benched except late in games. I would have guessed Reed would have a huge year then this year he’d sophmore slump as there was more footage of him.
Wudjabuhleeevit?? Just when Ye Old Home Nine look as though they’re about to sink away in an unlovely dissolve like a third-grade wedding cake in a hot station wagon, they put on a professional performance for a full nine innings to get a W?? Well, wunderbar! (Only one to a customer, though.)
Lopez is a difference-maker on this roster, fersure, fersure. If J-Rod keeps throwing games like that, he’ll be someone he hasn’t been before: consistent. He’s had stretches of effectivness in his career—and wipe-out bad years, too. I’m waiting until June before I commit to a position on the man, but I’m almost willing to go to the park to watch him pitch, now.
M’s win (Buerhle no less), Hendu is nowhere to be found- I must be dreaming.
So at what point does Boom-Boom give Beltre a night off?
Re: Reed or Willie out there in CF, this is the third time this year Willie has dived for a line shot; the first two he flat missed for XB RBI hits. There’s a good chance that Reed, with good jumps and good routes, doesn’t even leave his feet to make this catch. That’s the difference.
Putting Willie in the lineup tonight to get the match-up is exactly what a manager is supposed to do. I don’t care for Bloomers either, but it’s simple spite to fault Grover for playing a guy with better stats when his team needs a win. One can fault him easily, however, for not making the defensive substitution in the 8th. Decent managers spot a match-up and use it; good managers spot _every_ match-up and make the optimal change, inning by inning.
125.
To be the man, WOOOOOO, you got to beat the man!
“Spite” isn’t why I’d fault Grover for playing WFB over Reed. Instead, it’s because I believe that:
WFB’s advantage against Buehrle is ephemeral.
WFB is a clear defensive downgrade in CF compared to Reed. (To your examples of missed dives, I’d add the double that he turned into a triple this week by misplaying the bounce off the wall.)
Grover’s pattern of sitting Reed against lefties is preventing his development against same.
I’d say use the excuse of Willie’s previous success against Buehle to play him in place of Beltre or Sexson tonight.
I agree that the fawning over Willie is overdone, but there is sure a lot of other undeserved platitudes said about other players, too.
Well as long as the M’s are 3.5 games out of the AL West (or is it waste?) lead then were likely to see the duties in CF split between The Ignitor and Reed. Just don’t call it Platooning. It’s “Sharing”.
138 – Who?
Assuming we are talking about mariners, which is all I really care about, I can’t think of anyone who comes close to the level of undeserved fawning of Bloomquist. I’d say that a distant second is Guardado, but even he gets called out once in a while. They’ve never really over-fawned, on Betancourt or Lopez. They’ve been pretty hard on Lopez, actually. They’ve never fallen over themselves praising Reed. All of those young guys they talk a lot about what they need to learn, even when they are outperforming everyone else.
Betancourt gets a lot of glove praise, but that’s hardly undeserved.
2003-2004 Bret Boone, maybe gets about halfway to Willie on the undeserved platitudes scale – and at least in his case at one point he had been worthy of the fawning.
Two days ago Betancourt has a real big moment in a young guy’s career – he drove in a run in the bottom of the ninth to win the game… and all anyone wanted to talk about was how awesome Willie Bloomquist was to steal that base.
137 – my sentiments exactly.
Mariners management has really backed themselves into a corner with Willie. For years they’ve oversold him… and now they have to justify finding playing time for him to appease the masses.
And at this point it is irrelevant how good a utility guy he is, because the Mariners largely refuse to use him as such.
just curious, how has M’s management ‘oversold’ Bloomquist?
Bret Boone in 2003 was a legitimate MVP candidate, and in 2004 was still one of the best players on the Mariners. Willie has never been within a country mile of either of those conditions.
in 2004 was still one of the best players on the Mariners.
Whaaa?
Bret Boone, 2004: .251/.317/.423
TEAM stats for 2004 Mariners: .270 BA (6th), .331 OBP (10th), .399 SLG (14th)
His defense was nothing to write home about in 2004, either. In 2004, Bret Boone was just bad, as opposed to 2005 being truly awful.
Steve T – Ooops. I meant 2004-2005, sorry.
msb – announcers/press/interviews… they sold the local scrappy guy angle hard and it worked too well, fans like him way out of proportion to his value.
not management then, but the local media (who just love that he is a very honest interview, and more esp. a very easy story for them) and the hired broadcasters (who prob. fall into the exact same catagory) …. I sure couldn’t recall anyone on the management side making a point of talking him up as the 2nd baseman of the future (they have always gone out and gotten someone else to play his positions) or as anyone other than a local guy they like….