Monday goodness
DMZ · May 22, 2006 at 9:27 am · Filed Under Mariners
Joel Pineiro yelled at Felix, and that may have made all the difference. The next logical leap will be Meche yelling at Pineiro.
Johjima on the squeeze and his preference for scoring, rather than having someone try to score on him.
Hargrove takes the long view on the sweep.
Team’s not pleased Felix wasn’t honest about his ankle.
And Steve Kelley gives up on entire season (despite being 3 games back while getting absolutely zero from the bats of Sexson and Beltre) and calls for a complete tear-down and re-build. Trade Ichiro, bring back Luis Sojo, etc etc etc.
Yeah, I try not to pay attention to that guy.
Look, Buhner’s just sitting at home doing nothing. Twenty bucks says he doubles the production of Beltre and Sexson combined.
Yeah, I try not to pay attention to that guy.
I don’t read the Times sports section just so I won’t encounter a Kelley column.
Ya’ gotta love Grover. So what if JJ is blowing away batters? We’re a “better team” with Guardado as closer. Because, because . . . . eh, um, the Platonic Ideal of closing?
I want to believe that Grover’s “Eddie is still the closer” line is diplomatic coach-speak. The team is better with Putz closing and having Sherrill and Eddie available to face lefties late in the game.
No new ground being broken, but the Oregonian covers the Mariners’ attendance woes and its implications for future plans.
Besides, Jim Thomsen’s Steve Kelley parody is MUCH better.
I don’t read the Times sports section just so I won’t encounter a Kelley column.
I do remember that Kelley was the only local columnist who dared to take Don James to task when he quit on his team after the NCAA sanctions were imposed. I still respect him for that. However, I don’t think he’s written anything worthwhile reading since then.
I’m all for firing Grover, but not if that means bringing back Sojo or Joey Cora as a manager.
Closer J.J. Putz pitched a flawless ninth inning for his sixth save, but Hargrove indicated his preference is to reinstate Eddie Guardado at some point.
“That’s the goal, to do that,” Hargrove said. “I really feel we’re a better team, and have a better bullpen, if he’s the closer.
‘”But it’s nice to know we can go to J.J.”
It is, isn’t it?
From the Oregonian article:
To this mix the Mariners would finally add next offseason that No. 1 starter they have sought for years. Kelso’s Jason Schmidt, who is in the final year of his contract with the San Francisco Giants, would be the likely target.
Uh… we’re going to sign a 34 year old P with a history of arm trouble and declining K/9 numbers to ace money?
Uh… we’re going to sign a 34 year old P with a history of arm trouble and declining K/9 numbers to ace money?
Sure, why not? We already signed a 31-year-old pitcher who had arm trouble last year and whose K/9 numbers have already vanished entirely, for just short of ace money.
re: 9
I totally agree with Kelley’s article on James, the quitter. It’s the finest article he ever wrote.
We signed an aging 1st baseman from Battle Ground WA, with a history of shoulder injuries to allstar slugger money for 4 years.
We signed an AVERAGE utility backup player from Port Orchard to everyday player money for 2 years.
Why not sign an aging Pitcher from Kelso with a history of arm troubles to Ace caliber money for 4-5 years?
UGH!
I love Schmitty, but another thing to look at is his Ground Ball to Flyball ratio this year (among the leagues lowest)….Look out!
I don’t read the Times sports section just so I won’t encounter a Kelley column.
Ditto, and I don’t read the PI sports section just so I won’t encounter the Go2Guy. So I don’t read local papers’ sports sections.
The benefit of being is Spokane is that I don’t read the local Seattle papers because print is dead and spending time reading them on the internet is that much less time I can spend refreshing this page…
that was a joke, really.
#8 – Got to agree with you that Jim Thomsen’s paroday makes Steve Kelly’s employment almost worth it. Out of all the great posts and comments I’ve seen on this blog that had to be one of my all time favorites.
#1, How bad has Beltre been? So bad, I’ve been thinking about how I’d rather see Dobbs playing third.
Beltre 2006: .206-.278-.275
Dobbs 2005: .246-.288-.331
ewww.
Or at least bat Beltre 9th, so on the rare occasion he gets on we can use his speed. Or pinch hit for him instead of Betancourt in the late innings.
Sexson and Beltre have some seriously depressing numbers.
Name, Salary, OPS, Projected HR, Career OPS
Sexson, 13M, .626, 18, .871
Beltre, 12.9M, .553, 7, .775
If they finish the season with 18 and 7 HRs respectively… bleh. Some recent ex-Mariner numbers for 2006:
Olivo w/ FLA — .243/.287/.449 => .736 OPS
Borchard w/ FLA — .194/.286/.290 => .576 OPS
R Winn w/ SFO — .287/.371/.439 => .810 OPS
Franklin w/ PHI — 21.1 IP, 20 H, 9 R, 9 BB, 11 SO, 1.36 WHIP, .247 BAA, 3.38 ERA (1W, 3L)
This was a bit surprising:
Scott Spezio w/ STL — .301/.402/.534 => .937 OPS
** He only has 73 ABs which is about 40-50% of what a normal starter has, is mostly playing 3B, where he has 1 error, 2.79RF, .875 ZR, and has played some 2B, 1B, and LF with no errors.
#19 That is really sad data. I’ve had this thought rolling around that baseball in Seattle is cursed. The Pacific Northwest is the place where baseball talent dies a slow and painful death, only to be rebirthed upon the dead talent touching the infield while wearing another team’s jersey.
Don’t forget Kirby Arnold in the Evt Herald in the Monday Goodness.
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/05/22/100spo_c1g001.cfm
“I know it’s early to be saying this, but I ain’t going to be on a losing team,” Guardado said. “I want to win just like everybody else. I’m getting older. We all play this game for one reason, to put that ring on our finger. I see Carl Everett wearing his World Series ring, and that makes you kind of jealous.
“I think I can help this team, whether it’s closing or setting up. I’m the last person who wants to cause havoc or be a disruption.
“But I know I can still close. I have no doubt about that.”
I think there’s just something wrong with Beltre that can be fixed. He is a good player who’s just missing. It really feels like he’s putting too much pressure on himself or overswinging or something.
There’s just this sense that he’s so close to turning it around constantly. I just don’t get it.
Some more statistical masochisticals for you –
Jeff Cirillo (25 games/47 ABs): .383 .431 .511, 6 HRs
Rich Aurilia (26 games/90ABs): .267 .323 .522, 1HR
OK now I’m officially depressed. Somebody please tell me Quinton McCracken is either out of baseball or really sucking somewhere, preferably Arizona. I’m afraid to look it up myself.
whoops flip those HR numbers – Aurilia has 6, Cirillo 1.
McCracken is playing for the Reds currently, and is hitting .182/.270/.303 in 33 AB hot on the heels of last year’s .237/.312/.298 in 215 AB for the D-Backs. So, not out of baseball, but definitely not playing well.
#23– not surprising though, as historically both player hit better in the NL — which does lead one to speculate again about the NL hitters who struggle when they come to the AL…
Corey Brock has a piece on Sherrill today, and Greg Johns in his column votes JJ for Closer
oh, and re: the Kelley piece– it isn’t so much that he give up on the season, it is more how just wrong he is about every thing he asserts… I am assuming of course that next week’s Times sports section letters to the editor will have a few leading off with “Steve Kelley is right on the money”….
By the way, today is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday (I noticed because they changed the graphic on Google to celebrate, heh). Maybe it’ll be a Double Doyle Day!
#20 — Jamie Moyer and Bret Boone would seem to work against the theory, but yeah, it’s been ugly lately.
Alan Benes was shutting out the Rainiers in Memphis until Choo just got the first hit off him, in the 4th; Doyle struck out in the 1st, and just lined straight to Benes for a DP in the 4th…. boy, Memphis is the home for former big-leaguers: Benes, Timo Perez, Brian Daubach, Jr. Spivey, Desi Relaford…
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