Game 92, Mariners at Blue Jays
Felix vs Burnett. This could be a lot of fun.
And here’s a fun note; Shin-Soo Choo was optioned back to Tacoma after going 1 for 11 in four games, and Mike Hargrove noted the other day that they were trying to get his bat into the line-up, but it just didn’t work out because his defense in center is just poor. And he’s right, Choo’s defense in center is poor.
Of course, going 1 for 11 happens quite frequently, and is almost never cause for demotion. In fact, here’s a list of the times Carl Everett has gone 1 for 11 (or worse) this season:
4/7 – 4/12, 0-17
5/25 – 5/29, 1-14
6/2 – 6/6, 1-16
6/22 – 7/2, 1-11
7/3 – 7/7, 1-11
In fact, after last night’s 1 for 6, Everett is now 17 for his last 97. Since the beginning of June, he’s hitting .175/.231/.288.
Shin-Soo Choo was deemed unworthy to play for Mike Hargrove’s team because he went 1 for 11 and can’t play center field. Carl Everett, however, is allowed to hit .175 for 6 weeks, not be able to play any position on the diamond, and not even worry about getting moved down in the order, much less lose his roster spot.
I know we mention this a lot, but it’s mind-numbing that a team that is in contention for a playoff spot is willing to live with a DH who hits like a pitcher, while staring at several internal options who, it cannot be argued, are better hitters right now, and have the bonus appeal of adding some value on defense and on the bases. Regardless of what you may think about the reliability of minor league data in predicting major league performance, it’s an incontravertible fact that Shin-Soo Choo and Chris Snelling are better major league hitters, right now, than Carl Everett is.
Thanks to the rest of the AL West, the M’s are in the playoff hunt. And for the last 6 weeks, they’ve been sporting a DH who is hitting like a slumping Rey Ordonez. That’s just remarkable, and is a massive black mark against the people who control the roster and the line-up.
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Om, yeah, but Shin-Soo Choo doesn’t bring that veteran fire and grit into the clubhouse. And neither he or Snelling have contributed and played on major league championship teams like Everett has. Remember, Bavasi said Everett has proven he can produce under such circumstances and in the center of the lineup. (Apparently, once you prove that you can, you no longer have to do it anymore…)
Maybe the only way to get rid of Everett is to get rid of his boy (and ballwasher) Hargrove as well. Yeah, sounds great to me.
Maybe it’s because they think that since Choo’s young that he can still improve while Carl has no chance of improvement. Besides the Mariners are a lot closer to .500 last year.
would it be wrong to think evil thoughts about Burnett’s elbow after Gibbons has exhausted his bullpen? I mean, it’s not like I’m wishing that weird staph infection on him or anything, or an actual injury– it would just be, I dunno, a tired muscle or something….
“Dog Day” sounds like a terrible promotion. One of the perks about attending a baseball game is the different smells: hot dogs, pretzels, garlic fires. “Dog shit” is not an aroma I particularly would like to take in at the ballpark.
I find it weirder that no one in the media (local or otherwise) feels compelled to comment that Carl can’t hit. We know that Bavasi must have noticed, because he did go get Perez, but, man, Hargrove is baffling, even with his well-worn theory about letting a veteran hit his way out of it…..
Hargrove is platooning Bloomquist for a right-handed Adam Jones, though I’m sure he’ll be denying after the game that there’s a platoon.
(shaking head)
Imagine how awesome all of those Indians teams of the 90’s would have been had Hargrove not been their manager.
Well A.J. Burnett is a RHP, therefore, playing Bloomquist instead of Jones is not a platoon.
Poor Yuni has to bat 9th behind Everett, Bloomquist and Rivera. I’m just guessing, but I don’t think he’s going to have many RBI opportunities today…
Everett has posted his .175/.231/.288 line since June 1 despite Hargrove sitting him against most LHP starters (only 13 AB against LHP since June 1). Even as a strict platoon hitter, Everett is failing miserably. Forget clubhouse cancer, Everett is a lineup cancer.
I didn’t pay much attention to the game yesterday because I was moving into my new apartment, so I’m shocked that Hargrove did not use Putz last night in a 14 inning game. That is baffling.
Ichiro’s struggling too. In his last 3 games he’s 2 for 15 (.133/.188/.133).
Friggin’ Bloomquist.
Friggin’ Hargrove.
That was a nice play, Beltre.
C-REX IS ON FIRE
[spell]
Our left-handed sock is reliant on bloopers to keep his average up. Whhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Everett got a basehit! it’s a miracle!
#12– as I understand it, Putz was going to come in after Fruto got his out, which he didn’t….
I wasn’t sure if Hargrove was non-platooning, or just giving the baby a day off after a hard, long day. I guess we’ll find out against the next lefty. oh, wait, that’s RJ. That might be another day off
Carl!
17 – “Up” to .233, no less.
Could someone explain to me why Bloomie and Rivera are hitting ahead of Betancourt?
22. Because Hargroves an idiot?
Well, Derek, that is how most pitchers keep their batting average above .000.
Jones played ten innings before Dobbs PH for him in the 11th. It’s not like he was out there for all fourteen. And Bloomquist was out in the field for… what, four innings?
I would think that if/when they do make a decision on Everett, they’d have to do it well before the option comes close to vesting, or bein linbe for a grievance …
I don’t know what Bloomquists average against right handers is, but since he is batting .328 against left handers, it must be pretty bad. I don’t understand the logic of his being in the lineup today.
um, that would be “be in line for a grievance”. Not sure what happened there.
Jones is a rookie and he gets tired.
Ibanez’s range exposed…..
I think bein linbe is German.
Oh no. Deju Vu.
If Felix has a bad start, I bet Jeff Brantley blames it on the Johjima Factor on BBTN.
grr
#29– Jones is a rookie and he gets tired.
IIRC, Hargrove is a fan of giving someone a “mental day”, as he calls it.
Well, not Joh. Or AB. Or Richie. Or Carl.
Felix is not going to go very deep into the game at this rate.
I’m a big fan of bringing up Snelling today and making him the DH for the rest of the season with some playing time for Perez. If that goes well, Snelling gets an audition for left field during spring training.
On another note, there have been few managers I’ve loathed more than Hargrove.
It’s John McDonald–
CHALLENGE HIM!
BTW….despite last night’s obvious injustice of a loss, the Ms OWN toronto this series…
The home plate umpire has a rather bizarre strike zone tonight.
RE: Bullpen
We’re fine, Putz is fresh and rested.
The day before yesterday was the bottom of my patience for Hargrove. He seems like a nice guy, just makes the wrong decision everytime he’s given a choice.
But when he refused to sub Perez in for Everett with the game on the line TWICE on Friday, he slipped below Dusty Baker on the chart… and that is low, low, low.
#42: Just thank god Hargrove has a good bullpen…..could you imagine Felix with a pitch count around 180?
So for those watching, how’s Felix looking today? Dave, are you charting pitches?
On a different note, reading the Hargrove bashing I wonder: how does Bob Melvin compare, would we want him back instead of Hargrove?
44 – I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but “agressive baserunning” alone puts Hargrove below Melvin on my list.
Mind you, that’s like one of those “Would You Rather” questions one of my friends always likes to pose… “Ok, ok, you HAVE to have sex with either Nancy Reagan or Tom Arnold…”
Oh, man, Adrian…
I won’t want Bob Melvin back because he was too calm. I’d rather have Lou back than those two combined.
I would take Melvin back right now with no complaint.
45: Nancy Reagan.
That’s the way Ichiro.
Fuck the Blue Jays and their defense.
The Jays’ outfield defence has been incredible the last two games.
By contrast their infield defence has been a comedy.
Is that Nancy Reagan now, or in her prime…
54: Both. At the same time.
If ESPN is right, that was Felix’s first fly ball.
And in the Bronx, Freddy Garcia seems to have lost quite a few mph off his fastball. It’s topping out below 90, and NY is hitting him pretty hard.
The Royal Curve!
I see where Bob Melvin (of the brand-new 2 year extension) has Stephen Drew playing ss for him now….
Carl, bunt the ball. I dare you.
60. …Or strikeout.
New name for Felix-King Fat Face.
I know we mention this a lot, but it’s mind-numbing that a team that is in contention for a playoff spot is willing to live with a DH who hits like a pitcher…
It’s funny (in a masochistic sort of way) to go back and find pitchers from the ’60s who hit better than Carl.
.175/.231/.288 — Carl since the beginning of June
.247/.265/.323 — Jim Kaat, 1965
New idea for this blog. You could post a graphic showing the level of animosity towards certain M’s, both players and management…Here’s C-rex at 89%, WFB at 62% and falling, Reed at 45%, Grover at 78%, etc…
willie is the bad.
Bloomquist’s SLG% just dropped below the Ordonez-line…
I’m watching on gameday. What happened to Glaus?
63… Don Drysdale was a career .186/.228/.295 batter.
I’ve figured out batting Betancourt 9th… it’s the only way Hargrove can have anyone on for Ichiro.
Willie’s SLG is lower than his OBP. I didn’t even know that was possible.
Beltre is the awesome.
I like Good Beltre.
Adrian the good.
Woo-Hoo!
Damn, he just scorched that baby.
Beltre!
Beltre is likely the best FA signing in Ms history!!!!!!!
It’s always a rude awakening when the commercials end going into the bottom fifth and I hear Rizzs’ voice.
Sometimes, Finnigan DOES come up with interesting stuff, like this this little nugget:
With Kenji Johjima back from Japan after seeing his newborn son and the little-used Petagine waived Sunday, Dobbs is up after playing a lot of corner outfield and corner infield for Tacoma.
“He gives us more flexibility than we had before,” Hargrove said. “It gives us a chance to do more in games than we have done. Not that we will, but we have the option now.“
Ladies and gentlemen, Mike Hargrove, manager of the 2006 Mariners.
Ah, the 5th inning refresher course in the easy commentary already mined by the first guy. I can’t get enough of these mid-game switchovers.
reason no. 1 to have a radio nearby.
I bet you Mike Hargrove eats at The Sizzler. He always thinks he’s wants a buffet of options, but in the end, he gets the gross looking meatloff every time.
Felix is on the Bartolo Colon diet.
This umpire’s strikezone is all over the place.
Gary Peters batting stats in a 14 year career .222 .253 .348
my, Schreiber’s strike zone is interesting.
oh, re: Glaus, he had a big overswing on friday, and his body language after reminded me unpleasantly of my own when the back is threatening to act up … wonder if Glaus’ often balky back took him out?
You know what would be fun? A Strat-o-matic tournament with Bob Brenly, Bob Melvin and Mike Hargrove, accompanied by a drinking game for each in-game managerial misstep.
Make sure paramedics are on hand for the alcohol poisoning, though…
Once again, Felix is throwing way too many damn fastballs.
What an arm on the Willie kid!
Felix looks like he’s tiring.
87: Bring Ron Gardenhire and make it a neat foursome.
I think we are seeing what Dave called the ‘20 year old brain’ this inning.
how can Burnett have 7 strikeouts and Felix only 2? Oh yeah, the Blue Jays are playing the free-swinging Mariners
Has Rivera ever thrown a runner trying to steal?
Even when it’s a strike…
Great relay–nice play! Ichiro!
See, there is an outfield arm.
And that was a really nice block by Rivera. Good for him.
Ichiro has a terrible arm all of a sudden.
Small sample size that I have seen but I feel a lot more comfortable with Rivera behind the plate on a close play at home…plus a threat of injury isn’t a worry
I can’t believe he thought it was a good idea to try to score from first on Ichiro.
98 – ? Off balance, that throw went in blazing.
#93– um, hasn’t Burnett always had a pretty good s.o. ratio?
Yes, that was an incredibly dumb play by Catalanotto.
You know, on the radio yesterday with Carl coming up to bat against a lefty Rizzs said something like “Hargrove has Perez on the bench, but the Jays have a right-hander ready in the bullpen to counter that” — which completely ignored the points that (a) we were in a bullpen-attrition scenario so that was a good thing and (b) Perez was a better choice regardless. But I’m sure Rizzs was echoing Hargrove’s thoughts.
98. He threw it to Lopez on a hop. But there is nothing wrong with Lopez’s arm.
98 – Saw the replay, see what you mean. Still had some speed from the awkward postion.
#102 – mlb says Burnett: 41 SO this year, 100 for Felix
ok, so obviously the M’s have to keep the ball in the infield….
107: Burnett has spent a good chunk of this season on the DL.
#109 – good point
92 pitches for Felix. I assume he is done. Who gets the call? Sherrill? Woods?
Felix will go out for one more. Hargrove will feel he “has no choice” because the bullpen was “depleted” last night.
This home plate umpire is special.
That was a disturbing exchange between Val and Rizzs.
114,
Hearing Rizzs say “Oh yeah! Oh yeah!” in a slightly suggestive way makes my skin crawl too.
I want to bring my dog to the stadium. He’d be running up and down the stadium barking the whole time.
yup. Burnett has his s.o.’s in 6 games, 35+ IP– Felix has started 17 games, with 103+ IP…
Hargrove manages his player substitutions like he’s more afraid of what the other manager can do. Or like it’s somehow better to have options than to use them.
115
Not only that, they way he was describing the hair on Val’s neck standing up…
Now Felix is done.
What’s Felix doing? On GameDay I’m just seeing some ridiculously high pitches, followed by what must be killer pitches down.
He’s basically lost all feeling for any pitch except his changeup and his two seamer every so often.
Ump is consistent at least. He’s not giving Burnett that low and away fastball strike either.
I can always tell when Ichiro is struggling. When he puts his bat on the ball but doesn’t react immediately to where it’s going, that means he has no feel for his swing. Ichiro is on when he knows where the ball is going off his bat. That pop out was a pretty obvious example.
And why am I the only one talking here…? Fine, I’m a trend follower. I’ll shut up too. Screw y’alls.
We’re all hiding for a surprise birthday party, sorry.
Felix is still out there? amazing.
Felix is back out for another inning? So much for taking care of his arm…
He left Felix Rex in.
Ix-nay on the urprise-say, You’ve ruined it!
Damn, could I go for a run or two right now.
We’re all hiding for a surprise birthday party, sorry.
[No text, still being trendy]
Is someone ready in the pen? I don’t mind sending him out there to face the bottom of the order, but now we’re back to the top.
They initially scored that an error on Beltre. When they announced it, on the radio Dave blurted “What?!” — as incredulous as I’ve ever heard him. It was pretty funny.
Uh oh their getting close to Ryan time.
Here comes The 2006 Towel.
Nice 112 pitches for the King (who lost his crown).
Woods?
Granted I missed yesterday’s game, but I could have sworn that Sherrill only worked 0.1 IP, and Putz didn’t pitch at all.
exactly. But Sherrill is exhausted. Those 5 pitches…man.
Woods has terrible control.
Bases full.
Vernon Wells.
Christ on a bike.
Well, it’s better than a grand slam.
2 ER now for Felix. Thanks Jake.
i feel like there gettin blown out!
Well I guess they changed it to all 3 runs being earned.
I think a few days off helped Beltre. Go, man, go.
Go Beltre.
Burnett is a danger to himself and humanity. How does a guy with such random control not walk more people?
I feel an urgency to score before we hit the Carl/Wille/Rene black hole.
According to Valle, loss of location is a sign of warm weather.
Jesus Christ. Get that guy out of there before he kills someone.
Rizzs just said that Ibanez is tough on lefties…ha.
Consistent Raul.
148. You got at least part of your wish.
Raul is a badass.
Would have been tied.
Here’s a weird statline – Adrian Beltre hasn’t homered since June 20th against the Dodgers. That covers 81 at-bats, including today. His line since then:
.321/.375/.543. 26 hits, 12 doubles, 3 triples, 0 home runs.
This is about as productive as a major league hitter can be without going yard.
According to Valle, loss of location is a sign of warm weather.
Burnett – another casualty of global warming.
156. I’ll take it.
Our great hope, Carl Everett. God help us.
Rizzs grew up in Chicago? Wow, he’s never mentioned that.
Lopez hasn’t homered since June 2nd, right? Wonder what his stat line is.
156 – that’s interesting. Three triples, that’s crazy.
Man, they better pinch hit for Willie.
This is where it would be nice to have Petagine instead of Dobbs. Or Doyle.
Will we have ignition?
PLEASE pinch hit for Willie!
You have got to be kidding me.
WHAT THE FUCK?!
WILLIE NOT PINCH HIT FOR IN A HUGE SITUATIOIN?!?!?!!!?!
Aw, damn.
I’m really tired of complaining about Hargrove, but…
wtf? Why not pinch hit with johjima?
I love willie…but is there no pinch hit options here?
What a friggin’ moron. Seriously, what does he have to do to get fired?
Hargrove is just terrible
Yee. Haw.
170… what is this ‘pinch hitting’ you are talking about?
well, assuming B.J. Ryan is available today this probably won’t go well for us.
168 Complaining about Hargrove makes me feel even more depressed, because, after doing it again and again, it becomes really clear to me that things just aren’t going to get better, because he isn’t getting smarter and the FO isn’t willing to let him go.
Hargrove is saving his options for the 9th.
Dave… why won’t Hargrove get fired? Do you have any sense that Bavasi is pissed off about the non-use of Perez, for example?
I don’t live in Seattle, so I don’t get to catch any of the postgame stuff on the radio. When hargrove talks to reporters after games, do they ever ask him about any of his insane decisions? And what does he say in response? I’m just wondering how the press can give him a pass on all the accumulated idiocy of this year.
He is firing himself. Just a matter of time.
How about a new stat, VURM, Value Under Replacement Manager. This way we can quantify how badly Hargrove hurts the team. We don’t need to count any old mistake, just mistakes that a replacement level manager wouldn’t make.
If Bavasi doesn’t want to fire Hargrove, then Bavasi needs to be fired as well. Hargrove is castrating this team.
Hargrove is saving his options for the 9th.
Dobbs against B.J. Ryan?
175. Our hope is that Ryan is tired. Maybe we will see Kenji for Rivera to lead off the 9th.
Dave… why won’t Hargrove get fired?
Because the team is playing reasonably well. Teams don’t fire managers for poor strategy.
Do you have any sense that Bavasi is pissed off about the non-use of Perez, for example?
Bavasi is so loyal to his employees, it’s nearly impossible to get him to express his feelings on one of them, unless he’s gushing about how great they are.
But yea, I don’t think he’s thrilled with how the 25 man roster is being used.
179
Yes, something insane / devoid of logic.
do they ever ask him about any of his insane decisions?
They do ask him and he gives the reasons we all make fun of here.
But yea, I don’t think he’s thrilled with how the 25 man roster is being used.
But Bavasi has control over whether Everett plays, simply by dropping him. Why doesn’t he?
Eduardo Perez sighting.
Perez? I feel faint.
Oh, THERE’s a pinch hitter… Okay… yeah… with NOBODY ON…
Reporter: Why didn’t you pinch hit for Willie in the 8th?
Hargrove: Because then we would lose our #4 catcher, and I wanted to keep open the option of using Johjima in the 9th.
I am finding it hard to explain to non-Seattleites just how unbelievably stupid Hargrove is. One anecdote, or two, or ten, doesn’t suffice; you really have to have followed the whole season to comprehend it.
I honestly can’t remember a worse in-game manager.
But Bavasi has control over whether Everett plays, simply by dropping him. Why doesn’t he?
Grover wants veterans on the roster. Bavasi’s already given him a roster with a “rookie” catcher, two middle infielders who are effectively rookies, a 20-year-old center fielder, and a 20-year-old starting pitcher. He just took away Eddie Guardado and gave Hargrove a guy with less than 30 innings at Double-A in return.
Oh PLEASE. A man on third with Willie up isn’t a good reason to pinch-hit. But starting off the inning? Sure.
Dusty Baker is often cited as an example of a poor in-game manager (often for misuse/abuse of pitching staff), but I think Hargrove may be worse that Dusty.
YUNI!
Betty!
COMMMUNISMMMMM!!!!!
YUNI!
Mike Hargrove = Dave Wannestadt.
YUNI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YUUUUUUNIIIIIII!!!!!!
Woo hoo!
That’s just Yuni being Yuni.
YUNI! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!
Now who the hell would have predicted that?!
Reasons why Johjima couldn’t PH for Bloomquist:
A) Can’t PH a righty for righty
B) Bloomquist is scrappier in pressure situations.
C) It would make Carl angry.
D) Johjima can’t play center / Double-switch not allowed in AL
E) Joja-who? What inning is this?
F) The game is not on the line unless it is the ninth inning.
G) Doesn’t matter, Betancourt just homered, game tied.
Go Yuni!
YUBET!!
And that’s the first homerun given up by Ryan this season.
Awesome!
YUUUUUUUUUUUNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Ryan must be tired. Or something.
Putz should be warming up right now, and should come into the game no matter what happens.
Betancourt!
Grover wants veterans on the roster. Bavasi’s already given him a roster with a “rookie†catcher, two middle infielders who are effectively rookies, a 20-year-old center fielder, and a 20-year-old starting pitcher.
And how does this tie Bavasi’s hand? What is Grover going to do if Everett is DFA’ed, quit?
207 – Exactly. Nevermind that he has an .826 OPS against righties and .692 against lefties.
213: Amen
213- I’ll be SHOCKED if we see JJ in the 9th.
213. I agree. Closer against closer, and ours is rested, theirs isn’t.
Too bad Grover didn’t wake up from his nap in time to give Ichie the steal sign
What is Hargrove going to do if Everett is DFA’ed, quit?
I hope so.
Grover wants veterans on the roster.
Why does it matter thar Grover wants? If he’s unhappy having younger, better players to choose from, he’s unqualified to manage a ML team.
Holy Shit. Fruto?
But that would be too logical for Hargrove.
Put Putz in the game you dumbass.
Sorry, that was supposed to read “Why does it matter what Grover wants?”
218–No worries.
The reasons those at bats by Beltre and Lopez sucked (didn’t make Ryan work)? Ryan gets to face Ibenez AND Everett from the right side in the 10th (if we get there).
I want Hargrove in my Strat-o-Matic League.
Time for another extra-inning loss. Yay.
No Decision for Felix, which is only the second one this season.
Not to be overly negitive, but at last check, Oakland was kickin’ ass at Fenway– Today is a must win game, where in the hell are our relief aces!?!
Grover’s decisions are expontentially worse because of how he never keeps people fresh. Of course Woods comes in and walked a few people, because he’s a poor control guy WHO HADN’T PITCHED IN TWO WEEKS!
Lawton, Petagine, Woods and Green have been casualties of his forgetfulness, just to name a few. You can’t be effective playing once or twice every few weeks.
I see Fruto gets to pitch about everyday he’s up here. He wasn’t my first choice of pitchers to use again today
Wow, for the second day in a row I just turn the computer on and find the M’s locked in a tie game in the ninth. Hopefully today ends better than yesterday, of course you never know when Hargrove’s still behind the wheel.
233, don’t forget Borchard.
Had to go put the kid down for a nap… holy crap, Betancourt homered off Ryan?!
The BoSox seriously had no one better to start against the A’s, than Snyder, a KC reject? (Interesting to know even the Royals have reject pitchers)
Well… shows how smart I am.
I think the only way well see Putz is if we lead by 3 runs or less. Has any junk stat changed / ruined it’s sport as much as the save has?
Reporter: Why did you leave Fruto in to start the 9th?
Hargrove: We are playing the Yankeess tomorrow, and I wanted to get the team a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, he mowed them down, so I had to go to Mateo in the 10th.
Fruto has a very interesting off speed pitch. Is that 81mph somethingorather a changeup or just a 12/6 breaking ball of some sort?
I am going to use logic here…a foreign concept to the manager of our beloved Mariners. Most extra inning ballgames end in the first few innings. Therefore, it makes sense to use your best relievers early on in extra innings as the game is more likely to end sooner rather than later.
Oops
well = positive, satisfactory
we’ll= we will
I heard on the Blue Jay broadcast on XM, that yesterday was the first time in 28 years (Sept of ‘78) that there were a full set of games and NO SAVES WERE RECORDED.
Do we ever score in extra innings?
Let’s go Carl!
Hey.. where’s Ed Perez? Oh yeah…
Hey! No one in scoring position, so Everett had a chance
Another hit for Crazy Carl. Oooh! Run Jones for him!
Did Right Handed Carl just avoid making an out?
I need to change my pants.
holy crap everett got a hit off of a lefty. am i hallucinating?
Willie getting one more chance to prove how worthless he is at the dish
A hit and run with Everett? On an 0-2 pitch?
This is a little late, but I wanted to reply to the thread’s opening comment.
If Beltre and Sexson were put up, say 280/350/550 for the season, Everett would stick out more. The mess of CE is not their fault. But it makes it harder to drop Everett.
Tough call there.
Oh Blue… you haven’t been calling that ALL GAME LONG…
The pitch was low…and I heard Valle comment “Not a strike” as he thought he was off the air.
Willie still sucks though unfortunately
If Beltre and Sexson were put up, say 280/350/550 for the season, Everett would stick out more. The mess of CE is not their fault. But it makes it harder to drop Everett.
Even amongst those that suck, Everett’s numbers are horrifyingly bad. They’re way below PECOTA projections, way below any guesses any blog-o-sphere person made, and probably well below what anybody in Seattle expected. Someone mentioned earlier that nobody in Seattle is calling out Carl Everett. I recall an article recently by Thiel that said that Everett needs to catch fire in the second half, implying that he did exactly the opposite in the first.
It’s a start. Someone is noticing. If it persists there will be more.
Sherrill looks like he’s been eating well.
Sherrill’s trimmer than he used to be, too.
I’d like Everett to catch fire too, though probably in a different way than Thiel was thinking.
So Sherrill is available NOW, but not with RISP in an even more crucial spot when Woods was inexplicably summoned in earlier?
sherrill, fruto, and felix must really do a number on the postgame spread.
I can’t wait for the headline, “Carl Everett Spontaneously Combusts; M’s recall Aussie”.
Wow, sweet Jesus. The Blue Jays really DO have an 8 man bullpen. And we think Hargrove is bad.
260: You mean more in the literal sense of “catching fire”?
Pitchers left are Putz, Soriano, Lowe… and Mateo. If Julio pitches at any point today, I’m going to throw something.
I dunno where Catalanoto thought he was going. That pitch was better than the one WFB struck out on.
With Eddie gone, the buffet is even better for Gorgeous George!
Sherrill vs Wells, in a tie game in extra innings?
Ack.
I can’t wait for the headline, “Carl Everett Spontaneously Combusts; M’s recall Aussieâ€.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
3-0, lefty on deck. Just walk him.
Avoid the issue. Walk him and go after the left hander.
Oh, and there you go Dave. Grab a paper airplane ‘cuz you’re about to throw it.
Grover, when I mentioned Mateo, I was joking!
Mateo?!?
Aw f*ck.
271
Or we could’ve pitched to him like Fruto did to Molina last night as the game winning hit was given up
Should be able to get a pair of innings out of Putz, right? Lowe pitched a couple last night, Soriano just one inning. Let JJ pitch the 11th (and 12th).
Dave, get ready to throw something — Mateo’s up in the pen.
Putz better be bleeding internally or something…
The M’s have to score in the top of the 11th. There’s just no way Julio Mateo keeps this game tied.
It’s important to save your closer. Remember that.
Ugh. Terrible throw.
Mateo is about as useful as Crazy Carl imho
Why can’t Grover put Mateo on his “Shawn Green/Jake Woods plan” (pitching twice a month)?
Hey, Todd Jones nailed down a save last Saturday. All you need is a giant ballpark, fast outfielders, favorable weather conditions…
At least Sherrill kills lefties.
I can live with this. Lefty, Righty, Lefty, Lefty. Strikeout, walk, flyout, strikeout.
George? Walk all the damn righties you want. Go after every lefty in the lineup.
Fairly on the radio just said something about “Yankees up next” — he meant in terms of series, of course, but I had a sudden heart-clutching vision of Jeter, ARod, etc stepping in to pinch hit for the Jays…
Putz isn’t a veteran. What the bullpen needs is the pitching equivalent of Carl Everett.
If anyone other than Putz comes out for the 11th inning Hargrove (and, how many times a game do we say this) deserves to be fired on the spot.
In 2004, Shawn Chacon saved 35 games for the Rockies despite a 7.11 ERA and a 52:52 K:BB ratio in 63.1 innings. Yes, he walked nearly a hitter an inning!
We just traded him to Cincinatti
This club is just painful to watch in extras (even more so than in the first nine usually, lol)
Back-to-Back-Betancourt.
Hell, you can have an ERA of 18.00 and still save 30 games.
The Rays just did something we couldn’t do off of Colon:
SCORE
Help us, Ichiro. You are our only hope.
Todd Jones has 24 saves. How you pull that off while also maintaining a 5.5 ERA I have no idea, but he certainly deserved to bump Eddie off the closer’s spot on that “worst of” list.
Woo.
Great job by Ichiro…uh…but…
Didn’t Beltre already have his hit w/ RISP for the series already?
Finally, a ball that Wells doesn’t catch.
Only 10 doubles for Ichiro. That’s pretty astounding.
amazing, wells didn’t catch something hit his way.
Respect for Adrian?! I hope this pisses Lopez off.
Why would they rather face Lopez with a RISP? Did someone tell the manager Everett was up next or something?
Not to worry, Idaho, they’re walking him.
This must be Beltre’s first intentional walk all year.
The way Beltre has been smacking the Jays around he deserves that respect.
That’s gotta feel good to Beltre. Good for him.
He does have 7(?) triples, but still his XBH totals defy standard convention.
Get ready for another low strike on 3-1
Jose…
Swung at ball four.
Now we’re screwed…
It was 0-3, and he struck out?
Geez Lopez, nothing wrong with a walk there…ugh
Wasn’t Lopez the one who made an out with the bases loaded yesterday too?
Oh well…is ANYONE clutch in extra innings for us this year?
aaaauuuuggghhh! somebody teach this team some plate discipline!
Interesting contrast between a professional hitter and talented young hitter who is still learning: in the 5th, Catalanatto clearly had no intention of swinging at anything that wasn’t down the middle against Woods, content to take the walk and keep the inning alive. Lopez just now — no intention whatsoever of taking a walk and extending the inning for our best run producer. I love Jose, but he has to be smarter than that.
Whoah, Sherrill’s still in?
I guess there’s a reason Lopez walked about 10 times the last two years going into this year. That was not the all star we’ve come to know and love.
Mateo pitched two innings yesterday. Soriano only pitched one. Why isn’t he getting loose?
315
Well said. He’s VERY talented, but VERY far from being that “professional hitter” type…and it cost us BIG TIME there.
Well, to be fair to Lopez he did take a few balls there. Betancourt would probably have swung at one of those, for example.
As we approach what seems like another heartbreaker, there is still a lot of positive to be taken from this series:
The continued resurgence of Adrian Beltre
The kick-assiness of the bullpen, with the potential emergence of Mr. Lowe as a missing piece of the puzzle.
A general ability to battle some pretty good starting pitching and never-say-die against a team 10 games over .500.
Mateo in with one on and NO OUTS
Get the bus warmed up…sigh
Mateo is in…Hargrove is a complete moron.
The biggest difference between these two teams seemed to me to be at Manager. Gibbons made his shared of mistakes, but Hargrove was brutal.
I hope someone keys Hargrove’s car after today’s game.
Just an inexcusable decision.
Game over.
321-beltre’s resurgence is strictly limited to hitting away from safeco.
Julio Mateo “fun” fact: 27.0% GB% lowest on the staff. Not that the M’s could use a DP here or anything.
Grover is clearly saving Putz here for next inning, when the Jays go ahead here but then we catch them and pass them next inning and….oh, wait…
Soriano pitched 1.2 innings Friday and an inning yesterday. Didn’t he seem pretty gased at the end of his stint yesterday? That being said…Mateo? Someone take away Grover’s crack pipe.
I already don’t like this outing
why are we doing this? so putz can win? shit.
I still would have gone with Putz.
putz can get a save i mean. godddamnit
Doesn’t look like this one’s going to 14 innings.
Hanging right over the plate. What a meatball. Mateo is the new Shiggy.
Well, Hargrove’s management of the bullpen is going to cost us yet another extra inning game.
Shocking.
Loading the bases for the triple play!
I’m starting to get mad. You waste my time with extra inning games and make idiotic decisions and we lose. I hate this.
He’s going to freaking walk him in.
And yet Mateo is still out there. Goddamn Hargrove, at least make it LOOK like you want to win this game.
That was the worst move of the night…
If Mateo gets out of this jam, feel free to call me an idiot.
Stick a fork in it.
Come on, it’s not like Mateo’s 4.1 BB/G rate suggests that he has control issues or anything.
can you fire a manager in the middle of a road trip?
Bases loaded, nobody out, Mateo on the mound … NO PROBLEM!!
Does he not realize he needs a ground ball?
Is Grover “saving” Putz/Soriano for his personal softball team after the game or something?
Grover’s use of Mateo is like the dog locked indoors everyday when the mailman comes. The dog barks, the mailman goes away, and the dog thinks he’s accomplished something. And the next day, he does it again.
Even if Mateo gets out of the jam, it’s still a stupid move.
It’s every game! Inexcusable decisions every goddamned game!
Bring back Maury Wills.
oh my god. A ground ball. foul.
can you fire a manager in the middle of a road trip?
Can you fire a manager in the middle of an inning?
my dog could manage better than this.
can you fire a manager in the middle of an inning?
Fixed
So I just registered them today so there is nothing there but… firehargrove.com, firemikehargrove.com, and dinorally.com
We’ve got ‘em right where we want ‘em. Fly ball to center and a gritty throw from WFB to nail the runner at the plate for the DP.
HOLY SHIT MATEO!
Amazing.
Julio!
This makes me ask why we are carrying more in the bullpen, at the expense of bench players. But then I know they’d all rot on the bench anyway.
This managing is going to make me an alcoholic.
#356 If Bavasi was smart he would. Guy is trying to ruin his GM career by keeping an idiot as the manager.
One down. I’m torn as to whether I want to see Hargrove get away with this.
Come on Julio…
holy crap. I am unable to fathom this.
Could there be a more edge of your seat situation?
Wow, how often do you see that?
Good job by Mottola there.
Damned IF fly rule!
Adrian should have decked him for some comedic relief.
I wonder if Fairly wanted Beltre to play that one off the back of his glove.
One more…
shit. fuck you mateo. fuck you.
Mike Hargrove sucks.
Brutal beyond words.
You mean its a bad effin’ idea to GROOOOOVE the 0-1 pitch with the game on the line and a mediocre fastball to a good hitter?
Yea, that was hard to see coming.
Aw crap.
Stupid Hargrove. Stupid Mateo.
Ugh. So what’s the best we could do at estimating what our record would be with smart in-game management?
actually, it’s not Mateo’s fault that he can’t pitch and he’s still on the freaking roster.
Arrgh. So close to squirming out of it, though I hardly expected to escape when there were 0 out.
If that popup hadn’t been subject to the Infield Fly Rule, would that have been interference on the runner or not? I would think not, because he should have the right to stay on the base. Anyone?
Mateo=Thorton
Or
Mateo=?
Well at least Grover thinks he did the right thing by “resting” Putz for all of those 9th inning leads we’ll have against the hot Yankees, right?
Completely pathetic
Well, I’ve had fun.
This wasn’t it.
Wow, how often do you see that?
Poor managerial decisions lose a winnable game for the Ms? Uh, pretty much every game…
This team is a mediocre manager away from being over .500.
The good news is that we’ll be too far out of it by the 31st so we can trade Meche and not lose any prospects.
I think we could handle having either Mateo OR Piñeiro, if they were regulated exclusively to long relief situations that weren’t very important. Other than that…
no interference on the runner….he is entitled to the base
Didn’t Baltimore fans organize a petition against Hargrove? Anyone want to start one here?
So what’s the best we could do at estimating what our record would be with smart in-game management?
Everyone thinks they’d be 162-0.
But, honestly, I think Corcoran could manage this team to .500.
Stupid Bavasi for keeping Mateo on the roster.
Garces is talking about taking a large ad out in the P-I over at LL, 391, but no word on petitions.
390
Nah, then he’d just do with them, what he did with Woods:
Wait two weeks before you use him again, and put him in with RISP late in a close game…sigh
And then use the guy who SHOULD’VE BEEN IN (Sherrill) later
385: Mateo = Paniagua.
Of course Corcoran could manage this damn team to 500. It’s just a matter of freaking common freaking sense.
383, exactly! As a manager, you put your players in a postion where they can succeed and get out of their way. Hargrove picked the wrong guy at the wrong time, then stuck with his decision, losing the game with his best pitcher in the bullpen. That is How To Not Manage 101.
This season is still salvageable. Bavasi has to pull the trigger. I don’t know how a GM could have watched this debacle (but I reiterate, we still saw some positives from the series) and NOT pull the trigger.
Funny thing
As we “save” Putz for the NYY series, Rivera gets used TWO innings today in a two run game.
Give Torre credit. At least he knows Rivera won’t be needed next series by the time Fruto, Mateo, Everett, Willie, etc blow the game for us.
Think Hargrove was even tempted to bring Putz in the 14th last night? Or tonight at any point? I mean was it something he was weighing, or is it just 100% unacceptable? Eh, never mind, I think I know the answer to that question.
Putz can pitch two innings, right?
So that’s two extra inning losses in a row for the Mariners, and both ended with the Mariners’ best reliever in the bullpen, having never been used . Mike Hargrove needs to get lost.
No, Putz cannot pitch unless we are winning and have a 1-3 run lead, so he can get a save, because getting saves is the number one priority for closers, and Putz is the closer.
man this has been a rough weekend….the M’s were so close to a sweep…
I continue to be underwhelmed by the Gillick/Bavasi conservatism. I wish they’d make timely moves instead of sitting on their hands for months while Hargrove/Everett/Mateo drag this club down.
I appreciate Bavasi’s ability to build a minor league system, but he needs to be a GM, too, and damn the KJR blowhards and Bloomquist knobslobberers.
Looking over the game logs from April and May, apart from all of the L-Guardado and BS-Guardado notations, which is really an organizational issue not a Hargrove issue, I don’t see a lot of obvious opportunities to win with smarter management.
Onto June, I know the Colorado series presents some and now this weekend. But I think it might only be in the neighborhood of a 2 game difference (considering there’s no guarantees we would have won with a different, even better, strategy). I’m going to keep looking though.
#405 You must not be watching the games. There are lots of times when everyone on this board can come up with the right move yet Hargrove defies us. And these aren’t even stats moves. They are by the book moves.
405 – look at the Minnesota series at the end of May.
The manager’s job is to put the team in position to win. There have clearly been many situations where Hargrove’s failure to put the team in the proper position to win has cost the Mariners crucial runs. To say that getting rid of Hargrove would lead to a 2 game difference is, I think, a huge understatement.
This is one of those “if you don’t already know or haven’t figured it out then you’ll probably never get it” sorta things imho.
Hargrove has been behind the learning curve ALL YEAR. It merely rears its ugly head in a more obvious way late in close games.
Watching Mike Hargrove manage this team is more frustrating than watching those terrible M’s bullpens of the 90’s blow saves.
after the game, Drayer says that JJ was up 3-5 times yesterday (depending on who you talk to) and twice today, both times without getting in…
Yeah, I’m just trying to quantify as best I can, be able say, probably between 4-6 games, something like that, you know?
I remember feeling that way in the past, sure, it’s just hard for me to pin down.
5/30 vs. Texas
Beltre and Lopez on, no outs, failure to pinch hit for Bloomquist down by 2 in the 7th (against RHP Feldman) and next for Everett against LHP Mahay–that’s right, Texas brought in a lefty specialist to face Everett. We do not score in the inning. I guess Ibanez had already left the game and Bloomquist was playing left, but I’m sure we could have worked something out.
Final two outs recorded in the 9th by Bloomquist and Everett with Ichiro on second, against RHP (Otsuka).
Of course the aggression on the basepaths has been ridiculous as well, but some of the most egregious errors were mental mistakes by the players, I think.
Another candidate, 6/23 @ San Diego
Mateo gives up winning run in the 10th, Putz does not pitch.
But it’s hard to be sure which of those we would have ended up winning. Boy, though, bringing Guardado back was an even bigger disaster than I realized.
And my personal favorite: 7/2 vs. Rockies…
You know, the time when Hargrove actually brought in Putz in a high-leverage situation in the 8th and then proceeded to follow him with Mateo and Guardado who lost the game, without seeing Sherrill or Soriano? I’m sure they were tired or whatever, but laughable bench management as well.
That awful Rockies game was the one where Fuentes came in and blew away Ibanez when a simple fly ball would’ve won it. Ibanez never had a clue, as Fuentes is MURDER on lefties. Then Perez was STILL benched in favor Bloomquist…and you know what always happens when Willie is left with RISP…sigh
Oh, yeah, and another thing… (I was away running errands during the last couple of innings of this game, so I missed logging on here)
So, Putz was up a couple of times today, and 3-5 times yesterday (depending on who you talk to)? I’ll bet the only thing missing was the adrenaline rush. He probably pitched a lot more than the 16-24 in-game pitches the other guys in the BP did today.
If anyone’s interested, I watched Doyle’s knee survive a game of tag (and subsequent wrestling match) with a teammate in the outfield at PGE Park today. He was gamboling about like a hyperactive puppy. If body language is anything to go by, he is enjoying playing baseball (or perhaps just life? being healthy?) right now.