Game 80, Mariners at Diamondbacks
JMB · June 29, 2006 at 6:36 pm · Filed Under Game Threads
Gil Meche vs. Arizona’s other E. Gonzalez, Enrique. 6:40pm.
Oakland has won; Texas has lost.
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I smell second place.
Why isn’t the pitcher allowed to field a pop-up, especially when the infield fly rule applies?
I love the smell of second place in June.
Beltissimo!
Adrian is just swinging the bat so well right now. Great swing.
Man, this series Adrian loves that right field corner.
They are allowed to, Jim. They’re just trained not to. Every coach teaches the pitcher to just get out of the way and let someone else handle it. The other fielders can track it off the bat better than the pitcher.
I was looking at the baseball prospectus page today for the first time. Most of it is too involved to be of any use to to anyone who hasn’t spent a month trying to decipher their formulas, and many of their stats have too long an acronym to even begin to decipher what they might mean. However, there was something called VORP (value over replacement player) which ranks a players worth over (or under) what an average bench warmer might do. The point is that in the pitcher rankings Moyer was tops for mariners at about 9th in the league, but interestingly, Meche was second (for M’s) at about 20th. Above guys like Millwood, Santana (erwin), and some other guys you;d expect to be better.
green looked likea ’stranger in a strange land”
I’ll have to look into this VORP business someday.
Not to mention they don’t have to run down an elevation and they’ve taken far far more popups than a pitcher. They can be tricky plays with how high they get and how much spin can be on them.
Soon to come: VOWB
Moyer almost caught one popped up along the rail on the 1st base side his last outing. He was actually closer to it than Sexson, but the ball was just out of reach.
I love watching the way Moyer takes charge on pop ups. You can hear him directing traffic from the cheap seats.
Regardless of being able or unable to catch the pop up, you never know what your prize (or filler) pitcher may be able to accomplish in terms of injuries to various parts of his body. Tripping on the mound? Running into a fielder? Ouch.
I wonder how this recent tear by the M’s will affect home attendance.
Attendance will increase… lots of folks love a good bandwagon
gil meche… i suggest a poll on that question. i believe we’re divided. i’ve liked him from the start. and do to this day.
#16: True that. In 1995, I had season tickets, and I never met so many first-week lifetime Mariners fans in my life.
Was the hit by Lopez scored as a hit or an error? Different sources are telling me different things.
Hit
Niehaus said it was changed to a hit
Not just attendance at the games but this site should get more hits as well. Imagine if the team can get a hold of first place for awhile?
Nice job with another early lead.
Oooh! The first annual Diamondbacks sleepover!
Meche would be far more effective if his control got better. He goes to a full count too much.
#8: I know….and to add insult to injury, they want money!!!!!!! geesh…they make you have to use your noggin and they charge you for it….talk about rip offs….
a strikes looking to end both innings so far. Both with RISP. Not bad.
So, 2 IP, 3 GB, 3 SO; is there a Good Meche? On the other hand, .875 OPS against. Hmmm…
Jeff Clement drives in a run with a single in his first at-bat tonight. 1-0 Tacoma.
full-count, half full is called, effectively wild…coach!
Beltre’s season OPS just passed Betancourt’s. He’s climbing the ladder.
Pretty impressive after his historically bad start.
And these Diamondback announcers are growing on me. They don’t have the Dave N./Vin Scully sort of charm, but I like what they actually say quite a bit.
man, dbacks pitchers just own us.
Good grief.
I see Meche is adept at giving away free runs nowadays.
The Dbacks have the worst closer in history even worse than Eddie.
i must defend gil: moyer lost a game that way earlier…my dear cranks
#30 you mean they talk about baseball and not about, say the good places to eat around the stadium they are at?
I can’t recall having seen a run balked in before this season, and this is the second.
35 – How is that defending Gil? Does that make it good?
i must defend gil: moyer lost a game that way earlier…my dear cranks
Just goes to show that they both need to be a little more careful at times.
wonder if in his carefully-balanced sport psyche, Gil might be over-thinking his pitching, being once again in front of BP again.
of course, there is also often a fine (if statistically unvalidated) link between Rizzs praising Gil effusively on-air and a sudden dip in Gil’s ability to make his pitches.
The Semi-Good-Meche won’t be so with much longevity if he keeps those balls up in the zone, as they have been to start this inning…
I think we need to get a few more hits here eventually. The last 12 M’s have been unable to come up with one.
to defend of course is to not make it good but to defend (from the scary *highly influentual* sports intellectuals here)
Jeff (small mullet) Brantley just blamed Gil’s balk on “the Johjima factor.” I’m about ready to start a letter-writing campaign.
If Meche is being scouted by other teams tonight, I can’t imagine they have many good things to write up in their reports.
Damn. And that’s exactly the kind of swing you want to see from Reed.
Meche can’t hit, either.
lol
damn, just figured out the game is on UPN tonight… stupid W
Meche has an ERA under 4-that means he’s good right?
#44– so when Brantly was pitching, anything that went wrong was his catcher’s fault? He must have been popular.
oh man. that’s about the 4th or5th hit for dback pithcers against us…
oh error, my bad
Gonzalez should be batting leadoff.
Has Meche ever got out of an inning without pitching at least 15 pitches? I’m guessing the answer is “No.”
Gil Meche=Groundball pitcher.
Reed=Johnny Damon.
When’s the last time we’ve committed an error? It seems to me that it’s been a while.
Reed’s throw was terrible.
Three words Meche: Not. Up. There.
I am keeping up with the game on gameday. Why are we having troubles with Enrique tonight?
This is the first mariner at abt since the first thaht was over three pitches
i never realized there was a huge difference between wood and aluminum bats….very insightful color commentary….
I wonder if there is also a huge difference between wood and composite bats… :-p
Luis Gonzales goes on the “Guys With Hispanic Names Who Don’t Look Remotely Hispanic” list with Tino Martinez, Emilio Estevez and Senor Wences.
64- Don’t forget Ibanez.
that was a lousy route to the ball by Ibanez
66- Hey at least he got the out.
66- Hey at least he got the out, right?
nice low-pitch inning.
need more of those.
My god my computer has problems.
There’s your first ever under-15-pitch inning for Meche. You can thank Green for making all this possible.
first ever! go gil go… sticks and stones…
From the Associated Press:
SAN DIEGO — Jose Canseco returned to baseball Thursday when he agreed to a contract with the independent San Diego Surf Dawgs, planning to be their designated hitter and — get this — pitch.
The Golden Baseball League announced the deal Thursday night, saying the former AL MVP and Rookie of the Year will make his Surf Dawgs debut Monday night on the road against the Chico Outlaws.
Canseco’s return to baseball comes some 19 months after he attracted Congress’ attention with an autobiography, “Juiced,” that accused several top players of steroid use.
In March 2005, he testified before the House Government Reform committee that he used performance-enhancing drugs as a player.
Canseco didn’t immediately return a message left on his cell phone.
The news release announcing the deal said Canseco will be the DH “and will showcase his knuckleball as a member of the team’s pitching staff.”
Everyday Eddie is warming up! Yay!
Grover’s giving up on the game already? but were only down by one!
[psst, make sure you test that guy...]
i’m really rooting for Reed to catch fire
The problem is that Meche is at 99 pitches and isn’t getting any better.
doesn’t matter, meche is getting pinch hit for as soon as reed doubles here. watch
I watched and I didn’t see him double. You disappoint me.
well, I dunno. The other day I posted something to that effect and it worked. Had to try again. Guess it’s back to sticking dirty needles into my Melvin doll.
Meceh is picthing like he’s gassed … overthrowing, dropping his shoulder.
how ’bout those dudes with european names that don’t look european?
Real low amount of comments tonight.
Nick, you got a bit of an axe to grind eh?
if the Ms win tonight then go 9-0 on their homestand, they will be 11 games over .500!!!!!!!!
He’s fun to whip, that boy, but Meche’s breaking stuff has looked great tonight.
Meche has done very well for himself tonight. He gets a cookie and a nice story before bed.
85, come now, just havin’ fun… axes, i take to real political events
Time to feast on the D’back relievers.
does anybody have an Office 2007 beta on their computer?
Beltre HR…I’m callin it now
Well still an extra base hit…
How about a Beltre double?
Here we go.
This is why Mariners baseball is cool now!
the good Beltre is ALOT of fun to watch hit….
Beltre is hitting .262 now. That’s actually getting to the point of respectable!
don’t K. please don’t K
Poop.
almost.
Eddie! Come on D’backs – Get some!
eddie isn’t looking too shabby tonight. If we could get Good Eddie, too, this could be a good team!
If we come back to win in the 9th, Eddie will be the winning pitcher.
that just increases his trade value. And we WILL come back.
Bad Eddie…
Another meatball from chef boyardi
Someone please tell me what happened with that Jackson grounder.
Reed!
Reed just saved our asses…
And Reed saves Guardado’s butt…
Jackson grounder = Eddie knocked down a line drive up the middle, got spun around, couldn’t find the ball for a second, recovered and threw a second too late to first.
as is often the case, when a player makes an incredible catch to end an inning, one of his teammates leads off the next inning….
David J: It is time for you to start the “Richie Sucks” comments. He usually hits one out shortly thereafter.
Since when is Tony Clark a reasonable defensive substitution for anyone?
Adam Jones learns The Power of Positive Walking: 2 BBs, 2 runs tonight.
YES!
Ibanez CRUSHED that!
Eddie thjought he had caught a liner. He held up his glove, looking for the call from the ump, then finally found out that HE DIDN’T HAVE THE BALL!!! I have never seen anyone beyond Little League take so long to realize that they didn’t have a catch. If he’d picked it up right away, he’s have thrown him out at first, but he was too late. I’m not sure whether he figured it out himself or a teammate yelled to him.
Wow.. Homer!
YES!!!!!
BONG!!!
RAAAAUUUUULLLLLLLLL!!!!
YES!!!!!
Go Raul Go!
RAUUUUUUUUUUUL!
Home run. That has to be.
Home rruuuuuuunnn!
Back to Back now!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
A park with a line to mark the home run is a bush league park. But I’ll take it.
Ho-mer! Ho-mer!
Delayed RAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUL
THIS TEAM IS THE SHIT!!!
WS HERE WE COME!
Probably the hardest Raul has ever run on a homer.
Melvin should get pissed off and throw something.
Gameday hasn’t said anything yet, did he hit it out?
Even though they made the right call this is where I’d like to see replay in baseball.
Who’s the guy out there arguing with the umpires?
BoMel…shut up.
C’mon Melvy at least get your money’s worth.
#136, the umps have called HR already and Melvin is holding things up.
34. Is Julio the closer you are referring to as the worst in history? He seems to have pretty good numbers.
Bob Melvin has emotions?
Yeah!!!!!
Well Seattle fans, that’s what you always wanted out of Melvin…
Okay, now I believe. This is positively 1995ish. Remember when you just KNEW that Buhner or Tino or Junior or Doug Strange would hit one out in the ninth to tie or win the game? This game suddenly brought back the way that run felt.
Where is terry? He called that one for sure!
Melvin has more emotion than Hargrove.
Well, Tony got that one and Conor probably only would have had a 99.995% chance, so I guess Tony’s doing all right so far.
Julio isn’t the closer, Valverde, the guy with the 7+ ERA is their closer.
By the way, Gameday folks, Ibanez crushed it out to dead center.
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again – it is ridiculous to design an outfield fence such that it takes the vision of an ump from hundreds of feet away to decide if it is a home run. This case is even more silly, because the slight angle of impact makes it even more difficult to judge.
I never recall seeing these stupid yellow lines in old parks; they started appearing in the multipurpose stadiia of the 70’s and 80’s, and they’ve stuck around.
That is probably the angriest I’ve ever seen Bob.
God I haven’t had that feeling in five years
I always thought Melivn was a robot… or a Vulcan.
146
I was thinking that too.
Triple by Jojima. Unreal!
YES!!!
oh yeah!!
Look at him run!!!
Agressive baserunning pays off!
Woooooooooooo! Kenji!
We are the triple team. Our catchers are even hitting them. Wow.
Johjima
Kenji!!!!
Bring out the oxygen mask.
This is awesome. Runner on third, one out…we can do it!
OK, so for the gameday folks, what the hell was there to argue about with a HR?
Squeeze!
Bunt! Bunt! Bunt!
(It’s tough with a lefty, I Know).
Still got some legs at his age, not bad.
Love the short Japanese seasons. Wonder if he can run like that in September.
Bad play in the corner by Green.
damn I love Mariners on tv
Dear lord this is great
wfb is in to steal home
IF in?
Swing away.
Wow, I’m not even watching the game and I’m getting all tingly inside. I feel the same way as 146’s post.
Squeeze coming?
I love the late inning Sodo Mojo. I love scoreboard watching.
Am I dreaming?
In CF they have a tall wall, with a yellow line. It’s not all that clear what’s a homer and what isn’t.
Nice! What a game! I love it when we have a team that has a chance to win games like these!
Free ball.
Thank you, Melvin.
Redd’s ahead.
166 – The ball hit very near the Yellow Homerun line in dead center field, they initially played it like it was off the wall and then the umpires conferenced and called it a homerun.
This is the perfect time for the squeeze.
Yeah, but now it’s 2-1.
Good one, Reed.
Why don’t we bring in Petagine in that situation?
Or not…
Reed…
Yuni!
YUNI!!!!!
I’m gonna party like it’s 1995!!!!!
YUBETCHA!!!
I’m surprised they didn’t walk him.
Woo!
Get JJ warmed up!
I was just thinking Petagine.
But who needs him!
WOOOOOOO! God I love this team!
Oh yeah!
Refuse to loose anyone?
[deleted]
Ah, the drawback of listening online. Apperently, Yuni did something great.
There it is!! Mariners lead!
Yuni > Alex Diaz
YUNI! YUNI! YUNI! YUNI!
Call him Yuni, call him Juni, I call him Yuki, it’s all good in Betancourt land.
Yuniesky Amaral!
Man, I like the way Petagine swings that bat.
Reed is terrible with RISP.
Yuin > Fermin
I hope Rene Rivera calls a good 9th. Hee hee
Who are these guys?
197: Just because you preface it with “I’m sorry if this offends anyone” doesn’t make it any less offensive.
I was thinking that the references to 1995 were a bit much, but that hit by YB was vintage 1995 – the wins weren’t just from clutch hits by horses like Edgar or Griffey, they were late-inning heroics by Strange, Rich Amaral, Alex Diaz, anyone and everyone.
Cmon Ichiro!
Wow how much things can change in a month!!
Ichiro is due for a hit.
Bring back the Teal Jerseys!
Come on Ichiro…extend the hit streak to six.
208 – Well, nothing was prefaced; it was, what, epilogued?
197
Travesty
Tragedy
Heinousness
Lousy
Effin’ stupid
Not good.
Yuni > Spike > Mario
I love this fucking team!!!!! Winning Baseball!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
the point wasn;t to make it better, the point was to preemptively apologize. An I still can;t think of a better word.
For the record, I did not see Jim’s #199 before writing #209.
You british, mt?
And just a comment, I know its late, but Bob Melvin ejected? I think Neihaus said it was for the third time this season. Was he ejected three times when he managed the M’s? I can only remember once, and thats when a pitcher got thrown out for throing at a guy, triggering an automatic ejection of Melvin.
Luis Sojo still rocks.
Everybody scores!
Rizzs knows it by heart.
ruski
Come on JJ…
6 of the top 11 AL players in triples are M’s.
That’s pretty weird…and very exciting.
‘= apostrophe
;= semicolon
226, that’s just your aggressive baserunning in action!
All-Star voting’s now over…hopefully Ichiro’s in.
Isn’t it nice having a closer you have confadince in again?
A splitter at 91, that’s just not fair.
JJ hasn’t walked a batter since May 14. Suppose he could talk to the others about throwing strikes?
3 pitch strikeout… he is brutal
219: I’m not going to beat this to death, but, for reference purposes, try imagining using the derogatory “N word” in its place, and see how that would sound coming out of your mouth. That’s how some folks react to the F word. Now, rather than use the N word when you can’t think of anything else, I’m guessing you just keep it to yourself. That might be an option to consider next time.
Cheers.
Good morning, good afternoon, and goodnight.
My mostly negative 2006 Seattle Mariners Drinking Game is losing it’s flair with recent successes.
I bet it still works pretty well though.
err, confidence that is
I had acid reflux until Putz started closing
Why do they call bouncers straight off of the plate a foul ball? Couldn’t it come down in fair territory?
Did you see the movement on that pitch, and at 98!!!
Putz = straight money.
Is Putz going to get any All Star consideration?
JJ definitely should be on the All-star team.
Seriously, J.J. Putz isn’t even the same guy anymore. This pitcher is incredible.
seems like there are a bunch of M’s fans in the desert
His stuff is insane. Too bad he won’t be in the all star game.
OK OK OK. Everyone, please, I have been well chastized on both language and syntax. By the way, no gay man or woman has ever been offended by my use of this word to my knowledge, I and have used it liberally in all kinds of company. Its just too good a word to get angry over.
Putz just looks mean, like Trevor Hoffman used to look. He now has obtained that closer persona that I think scares batters. Tosses 98, has a split to look for and JJ just looks vicious.
Throw another splitter.
So…
Putz or Soriano
Who’s better?
What’s the pitch that has screwball movement that he throws? It’s moving away from a left handed hitter.
With the pitches he has thrown tonight, he better get some consideration.
249 – Doesn’t matter, current configuation seems to be working just fine.
Haha, brooms at the stadium?
Right now, Putz. When batters do get hits, they hit groundballs. Soriano’s one of the most extreme flyball pitchers in the game.
Fastball coming.
damn!
That rattlesnake noise they play at the DBacks ballpark sounds a lot like the air escaping slowly from their season.
a walk? CUT.
wow two of those pitches looked to be on the edge of the strikezone of gameday. How close were the two high pitches called balls?
SWEEP!
Forty one and thirty nine.
7-2 on the road? money.
Happy birthday to me!!!!!
41-39!!! W0000TTT!!!
God this team is fun to watch right now
MT, I don’t think anyone would’ve really brought up your use of that word if you didn’t have the disclaimer at the end.
253
It’s unbelievable. This time last year his fastball didn’t move.
Second place!
sweep! This team is on fire!
SWEEP!!! And in second place!
Dear lord man, what happened to Putz this year?
Happy Birthday to Jim!
Why do I love hearing Grace and Brenneman talk about what gut wrenching agony this loss was for the Snakes?
Could it be – - – - we’ve been there?
Wooo! I’m going to have good dreams tonight!
Wow there’s been an F-Bomb and slanderous words used here tonight. Not exactly what I’d expect from my fellow USSM readers…
Gonna be a fun plane ride home.
So are we only 2 games behind the A’s now?
41-39 … now THAT takes the sting outta turning 41 years old.
A nice little gift, eh? Happy Birthday, Jim.
The M’s will finish their first 41 games with a record over .500.
And to think people were going to hang Beltre.
P.S. Sportscenter just said Rafael Betancourt with the GW single.
I
BBTN: “Rafael Betancourt with the game winning hit . . . “
As much as I hate to give Hargrove any credit — mainly because he doesn’t deserve much — he has done a nice job of stabilizing the lineup. Have we all noticed that the Mariners got hot once Willie Bloomquist was no longer employed as a quasi-regular?
279 – Neihaus has made the mistake before too. Heh.
Looks like Grover’s boys have saved his job.
281 – Seems to be we caught fire after moving Beltre to 2nd as well.
Doesn’t hurt that he’s OPSing the 900 territory in June either.
Remarkable how good we our once our studs (Beltre and Sexson) start hitting. And Johjima, my god, Johjima.
People can talk about playing the NL and it’s easier and blah blah.
We beat Jason Schmidt and Brandon Webb recently, those aren’t easy opponents.
We’d be so good in the NL considering our DH sucks.
Remember how Hargrove probably would have been fired had the M’s dumped the Kansas City series? Just three weeks ago … and yet it seems like a million light-years. THAT is the magic of baseball right there.
And Reed saves Guardado’s butt…
someone had a headline much like that last week, after Eddie’s two (almost three) home-run inning, along the lines of “Reed saves Guardado’s career?”
oh, and FWIW, during those two years Melvin managed the M’s he was ejected more times than Lou was in Tampa over the same period…
happy birthay, Jim, ya young pup.
Remember how Hargrove probably would have been fired had the M’s dumped the Kansas City series? Just three weeks ago … and yet it seems like a million light-years. THAT is the magic of baseball right there.
Or there’s this: On June 1, the night before the Royals series that was supposed to be the end of Hargrove, Bob Melvin was a genius for having the D’backs at 31-22 with a 1/2 game lead in the NL West.
Tonight, the D’backs are 37-42, 4 1/2 games out of first, and there are questions about whether Melvin will hang on to his job.
great win
I am just concerned how they will play against the AL again
Don’t worry.
Be Happy.
#287: id still like to see him fired….
THIS is what I was always hoping for having the Mariners FINALLY come to the desert… Chase Field was seriously about half Mariner fans (if not more) and there was this feeling the whole way that they would make a comeback. PS, Arizona fans are TERRIBLE. Going into the 9th inning, with a one run lead, they had a mass exodus, probably about 8,000 people left going into the 9th inning. Maybe they knew what was coming? Haha, definitely made it more fun to just party with the many Mariner fans there. Good times!!! I fly back to Seattle tomorrow as well to go to games, hopefully a birthday present for ME is in order a la Jim
Jake Woods is the ‘Bullpen’s Bloomquist!’
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/5886915p-5214823c.html
Thank you Larry LaRue of Tacoma News Tribune for giving me a chuckle.
AAAA PART OF SCHEDULE ALMOST OVER (See # 289) – I’m concerned too. But the other NL West-AL West match-ups lately haven’t been so one-sided.
Here’s another way to view the issue since the M’s have cuaght fire while playing MLB’s version of *who’s the biggest loser*:
If the Ms beat down the **AAA** part of their schedule like they have, shouldn’t you at least entertain the thought that they should be able to compete with the cream of the league?
All things considered, with the 12th most difficult schedule, they are 2 games over .500 and so solidly within sniffing distance of the A’s that even Oakland’s silent farts will have efficacy…
ah me, I wake up this beautiful morning to hear Sandmeyer & John Clayton in for Mitch on KJR, so my ‘2 games back’ buzz is severely tempered by getting to hear Clayton tell us the NL is terrible, terrible, that the M’s have just a handful of games left this year against teams with worse records than they do, that the M’s need to do something as they get to the trading deadline, and that we have to lay our trust in a man who deserves an extension for solidifying the franchise, but whose every trade (including Thornton) has made the team weaker … um, ok.
The problem is that Clayton says everything with the same tone of authority he uses when talking football, so he sounds plausible even as nonsense comes out of his mouth.
oh, and Sandmeyer thinks there is no way anyone should extend Bavasi.