Game 116, Mariners at Rangers
DMZ · August 12, 2006 at 4:12 pm · Filed Under Game Threads
5:05. LHP Moyer vs RHP Volquez. See Dave’s comment for the scoop.
DH-L Ichiro!
2B-R Lopez
3B-R Beltre
LF-L Ibanez
1B-R Sexson
C-R Johjima
SS-R Betancourt
RF-R Willy “The Ignitor” Bloomquist
CF-R Jones
So the bench is DH/1B-L Broussard, DH/1B-R Perez, C-R Rivera, 1B/3B/LF/PH-L Dobbs
Here’s a question for you, good readers. Imagine you’re the manager of the M’s, and Ichiro’s been dragging lately. You’d like to keep him in the lineup, but not have him run around in the heat, so you’ve decided to DH him for a day. What’s the best lineup you can field given the existing Mariner roster as it exists today (no calling up Tacoma players)?
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He’s an RHP, and one of Texas’ best pitching prospects. He’s the V in their much hyped “DVD” trio of Danks, Volquez, and Diamond. Interestingly, the less heralded Eric Hurley is just as good a prospect in my mind, but HDVD isn’t quite as appealing a moniker, I guess.
He struggles with his command, but has some pretty terrific stuff. If the M’s chase his pitches that aren’t in the strike zone and don’t make him work, it could be an ugly evening.
If they actually take a good approach to the plate, though, he could be gone early.
If they had one more D they could be HD-DVD, and that would work.
Their best pitching prospect whose last name starts with a D (besides Danks and Diamond) would have been Jose Diaz before they sent him to KC for Matt Stairs.
Now, it’s, uhh, J.B. Diaz, a reliever in low-A ball with a 28/34 BB/K in 61 innings.
So, probably not happening.
“Tinker to Evers to Chance” are not the saddest of possible words. Those are “now batting for Seattle, Willie Bloomquist.”
Why, I would have Willie Bloomquist playing shortstop! And Arian Beltre, uh, in rightfield. Because he’s got a cannon. And Sexson at second, because he’s so tall he could stop a lot of line-drives up the middle. And obviously Moyer would have to be the catcher, since he knows so much about pitching. Maybe Ichiro! could pitch… you know, everyone knows he could be an amazing pitcher if he wanted to be. He’s just content to play on offense.
In answer to Derek’s question, isn’t THIS it, perhaps swapping Ibanez and Bloomquist in LF/RF? We don’t have another OF, except in case of emergency, on the roster.
Clearly, yes, the team’s options are limited because the bench is horrible, and that’s one option. I’d argue there’s at least one other, though.
Broussard played 32 games in the OF in 2002. I don’t know how much he played the OF in the minors, but he could certainly take LF in a pinch and Ibanez could be moved to right. If it’s only for one day.
I was going to ask a question but then I realized the answer is just: Hargrove sucks.
There are a lot of questions that could get that response.
Personally, I probably put Perez in right, leave the rest the same. I know it’s a righty, but he is still way better than Willie.
Or you move Raul to right and put Ben in left.
Leave Willy in RF, but DH for him and let Jamie hit.
Or you DFA Dobbs in the next 38 minutes and send a helicopter to pick up Doyle. That’d be my first choice.
#13 agree
Drayer just had the ‘what position player would pitch’ speculation on the pre-game … Perez said he could do it — he features a 68 MPH fastball, and throws slow & slower to baffle the hitters, and that in fact he pitched two innings in an extra-inning game in AAA and got the win both as the pitcher and hitter… Adam Jones remembered his exact line from his last high school pitching outing, but wasn’t sure he could do it now. Willie supposed if he was sent out there he’d do it, but didn’t want to think about how many hits and hit batsmen would result….
Sherril wanted to see Sexson pitch.
Oh, Jones could still pitch.
wasn’t Broussard pegged for the outfield until he took the ball off the knee?
Ok, for ONE game: Who would you rather have in right field- Bloomer or Everett
Hey, I know, put Soriano in right.
I’d love to see Jones and Ichiro pitch.
#18 Boom-Boom
I can’t stand the thought of seeing Everett at bat again.
I don’t think they are taking Dave’s suggestion.
I tried to figure out the line-up and substitutions but I started to get story problem anxiety.
oh, and I am having a hard time seeing Jamie as The Stopper tonight.
WhenI lived in Eastern Oregon as a kid, there weren’t enough guys for two teams so we would throw glove in RF. If you hit it there you were out. Maybe we could throw a glove in RF tonite?
We could always run Dobbs out there.
Perez? He’s played the OF.
Why not try Big Richie in LF? It’s fun to do once every 10 years.
It looks like we really screwed ourselves by 86ing Carl.
Or we could make a trade with Texas, we play with only 2 OFers and in turn we get 4 outs.
ok, it is only the bottom of the 1st, and we have already had the 1996 team invoked and the story of Gary Matthews Sr. If I was playing the Rizzs drinking Game I’d be in big trouble tonight.
Hey, at this point Ron Mahay would be preferable to Willie…
1-0 Rangers.
And that’s the game.
Speaking of our great bench, is Preston Wilson a decent OF bench guy? I think Housotn DFA’d him today.
Aren’t we being a bit negitive?
We scored 7 runs last night. I remember because I had warm fuzzies for half an inning, maybe it had something to do with all the empties littering the living room floor. Honestly, I can’t remember.
Has Cruz Jr. been let go yet?
There is your solution.
Jose Cruz Jr. The answer to one of our many, many, problems.
31, 32
That would never work out, Cruz strikes out way too much. Willie is superb at making contact, putting the ball in play, and making things happen.
#31– Cheito was DFA’d by the Dodgers after they made their deadline deals; he got his unconditional release a week ago
definition of “making things happen” = hits into inning-ending double play…or thrown out on aggressive baserunning error…your choice
He is saying, “This is Willie Freaking Bloomquist for the love of Pete..nothing close. he is the ignitor”
MLB is showing “Coaching Visit to Mound” after two balls to WFB. I think Volquez is afraid of him…
we have ignition
..and the coaches advice is heeded. Pitched around WB to get to Jones.
Well, at least the lineup will be flipped over…
Anyone else think Volquez looks like Willis from “Different Strokes”?
Mr. Volozquez is yet to impress me with his stuff. A Gil Meche fastball (read, “straight”) with average breaking stuff is all I’ve seen so far…
Okay, that last one was a plus curve.
Are the Seahawks on TV tonight?
ok, so any way to figure out just how many times the bags have been full, and the inning ends with absolutely no runs scoring for the Ms this year?
nice
Nothing could possibly be more boring than pre-season football.
Amen.
ok, the rain couldn’t happen LAST night???
as it stand now, they are en route to the 8th 2-0 shut-out of the year.
and Ch.11 has just begun playing the story of 1995, thus creating a trifecta that calls for that drink.
44, yes, they’ll be on KING 5 in Seattle.
I think it’s pregame at 6:30 and game at 7:00.
47, 48 – I generally agree with the boring part, but, unlike the M’s, at least there’s hope for the Hawks this season.
Yeah, I just broke out the beer myself.
Wait wait wait.
There’s a pregame for a preseason game? How?
Didn’t Holmgren announce that basically none of the Seahawks starters would be playing in the preseason “game”?
Flurry of excitement there in the broadcast booth: “Mariners get their 2nd hit of the ballgame….”
And just the 4th inning. Many people in government woud like to make this kind of intense and stimulating excitement illegal.
he’s a walk machine.
You’ve gotta have some pretty crappy control to walk THE IGNITOR after an 0-2 count.
When your nick name is Ignitor, you just don’t pitch to him. Ya gotta respect the name.
If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of Willie’s kitchen.
ok, so however many times they’ve not scored with the bases loaded, here are two more innings.
“It’s tough to win when you don’t score.” – Dave Valle
“It’s tough to win if you don’t score.”
Valle’s Lincolnesque (Abe, not Howard) turns of phrase make me go weak in the knees.
61/62: One of us didn’t get it right.
Valle was waxing eloquent earlier, but the subject was BBQ. Apparently, Val is a noted trencherman.
This is Volquez’s second start?
Previously he was banged up by the A’s to the tune of 4 ER in 5 IP.
April in August for the Ms. Not pretty.
DMZ, you can still catch the last 10 minutes of the Seahawks pregame show. They’re playing a segment where Hasselbeck was wearing a mike as he screwed around during practice. No Valle or Rizzs.
Ugh — we are going through one of those funks.
Here comes a little 6th inning rally. Can you feel it?
Watching high school kids steal lunch money off 3rd graders would be more sporting that this Mariner trip to Texas.
Man if you hate it so much stop watching it.
Just give me your 50 cents.
Man if you hate it so much stop watching it.
Trainwreck value, man. This is some kind of trainwreck.
sweet jeebus
Moyer == firewood
Arlington == gas
Rangers’ offense == lit match
5-0.
Is there a betting line on the combined scores of the MLB and NFL contests?
I’ll make the aggregate of the M’s/Hawks vs. combined Rangers/Cowboys a pick ‘em. Yep, I thionk the Hawks will win that big.
I like the variation the Ranger have provided in ways to stomp the Mariners so far in this series: clumps of come-from-behind runs torture, huge crushing dumps of runs all at once torture, remorseless Chinese-water-torture-one-run-at-a-time torture — I mean, these guys are *good*.
So, are we still in contention?
Hopefully when I move to Tacoma on Tuesday my presence will turn the team’s fortunes around.
The Rainiers don’t need your help.
So, are we still in contention?
Don’t make me turn you upside down and shake the money out of your pockets.
This is when Mateo should be pitching.
I’m sure Julio will be a model of pitching rectitude tonight. Whenever it doesn’t count, he’s an ace.
J.M.^2!!!
That’s how you know we’ve lost a game.
Hasn’t the most they’ve been behind by 2-0, with one hit changing that? Not a lot of come-from-behind if you ask me…
That’s My Mateo!
85 – And the studio audience bursts into cheers and applause at their favorite catchphrase!
The Rangers mascot looks truly lameriffic. Not quite Billy Marlin pathetic, but up there.
what’s the odds on a gb dp right here
I’d be worried if I didn’t know that Mateo was such an amazing groundball pitcher.
the mare and the moose should mate…and the offspring?
‘Model of pitching rectitude’ means different things to different people of course.
oh maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan
If you don’t want to increase the damage, then why would you put Mateo into a game?
Whoo. Raise your hand if you’re surprised at the way this turned out.
Hargrove, damn it, but your hand back down.
And Julio sets their Texas asses *down*. What I’m talkin’ about.
Raise your hands if you’re sick of hearing about “anniversaries,” with the Rangers celebrating the ten year anniversary of their winning the AL West title in 1996? Every time I hear that, I’m reminded that the Ms haven’t won an AL West Title in half that time: five years. FIVE YEARS since we heard crap like, “We don’t need stars to win.”
Yeah.
And here we are, punching bags for the Rangers in yet another meaningless Autumn series on the AL West.
Is there *any* chance that “wait til next year” will actually mean anything with this team?
I’d like to be optimistic, but sheesh, they’re so skitzo that you don’t know whether to root for them to win, or for them to tank it so that Hargrove will get canned and they’ll have a good draft pick for next year.
After all, no matter whether the lineup gets it turned around, there’s no great starting pitching on the horizon, and they’re spending MILLIONS on Moyer, whose community relations-to-effective innings pitched ratio has never been higher.
*sigh*
Speaking of Moyer, what are the odds he just says at the end of the season, “Thanks all, I’m done”.
If not, what are the chances we see Moyer next year?
Johjima is due.
97. The only chance I see of that is if the Ms are smart enough to not offer him a contract.
Personally, I’d love to see them offer him a contract wherein he has to waive his no-trade clause, so they can trade his ancient ass to Tampa Bay as pay-back for him killing that trade they had lined up for him last year.
Probably not gonna happen though. I’d love to see him hang around as Kansas City’s fifth starter for a couple of years though.
Just as long as he isn’t sucking up millions to suck here.
I’d say the chances Moyer retires gracefully after the season are pretty good.
If Yuni gets on then Willie would represent the tying run.
Pay back? Give us all a break, please.
Is Mateo pitching for Texas, too?
#103 we can only hope Mateo is next year.
Here is why you don’t DH Ichiro.
PINCH HIT PINCH HIT PINCH HIT
PREPARE FOR IGNITION
#100 I hope so.
97, if the M’s don’t want him, the chances he retires go up a lot.
But if he maintains the stat rates he has now, I’d say it’s only 25% that he wants to retire. Given he wants to keep on, it’s 2 to 1 that they bring him back. But if they don’t offer him a job, I think he is more than 50% likely to hang them up. But what do I know?
Did Corco say he’s moving to Tacoma? Or just visiting?
Dobbs could play left, Ibanez right. What is Hargrove thinking? Or is the thought of Hargrove thinking not realistic?
Former Treasure Valley CC pitcher, Rick Bauer, will have the honor of being the 100th different right handed pitcher to make Willie look like he doesn’t belong in the majors.
Or one of the few EVER to walk him
You don’t pitch to Bonds or the Willinator
Why isn’t Dobbs PH now! HARGROVE!
I’d give Willie the Red light here
Corco is moving to Tacoma
screw you Willie.
Say hey, Willie. I retract my previous comment.
Nevermind. Willie is clutch! A-rod could learn something from him.
Bloomquist’s fifth extra-base hit of the year.
Ignition
WOW! I was wrong on BOTH accounts!!
I’m glad my fellow “Chukar” didn’t come through (Corcoran knows what I mean)
Well good for Willy. That little double will get him into the line up 10 more times.
Dayam!
Great, Dobbs.
Why you wouldn’t put in a lefty to face Dobbs is beyond me…
So, Dobbs in left, Willie in center, Ibanez in right–the worst outfield in MLB history?
Dobbs sucks. That was offensive.
Way to go, Dobbs.
Good job, Dobbs!
Grover won’t do it but he might consider ditching the DH right now and get Ichiro in there.
Everett in center would do it
As Dobbs “works” the count for a three pitch strikeout…sigh
He can’t walk and can’t hit for power, yet he’s the guy we CHOOSE to put in when the tying run is FINALLY in scoring position.
How sad is that?
Sarcasm is cool.
130: I’d have done that if we got ahead, but not now. I’d stick Perez out there, I think, if I were seeking defense. But we obviously aren’t.
Dobbs in RF? Yikes.
That tiny offensive gain may almost have been worth the defensive downgrade…
Dobbs in right–let’s hope Lowe strikes out the side.
Great. Now Mateo won’t get the win if we comeback! Where’s the justice in that after all he’s done for the team???
I have to say my answer to “best OF alignment with Ichiro out” was LF Dobbs, CF Jones, RF Ibanez. The other answers were good too.
This outfield is not as good.
Bloomie hit a double! Bloomie hit a double!
This is a bigger deal than Jason Kendall hitting a homer.
You think Dobbs is better than Willie in LF?
Mateo shuts them down; Willie gets a key hit. Even when the gods smile upon us, it is just to taunt us into thinking we have a shot at a W.
#86– I dunno, I kind of like “Oh, that Julio!”, said with a playful head shake…
I vote Lowe to get a win.
Ahhhh…the neverending quest to win one on the road in a ninth inning comeback.
I think Dobbs’ LF defense + ability to hit a little makes him better out there than Bloomquist overall. As a pure defensive OF, I’d play Bloomquist in left.
Oh, it’ll end here in a minute
Ichiro! needs more than just a day DH-ing.
Remember the good old days when Ichiro could hit?
Is there a more predictable, repetitive pair of announcers than Rizzs and Valle? Mark Lowe could be pitching in 2020 on Mars, and Rick and Dave will still talk about his “amazing poise” and how he “got out of a bases loaded jam in his debut”.
This is the M’s idea of a ninth inning comeback? Two straight back to the effin’ mound??
has Jose seen more than one pitch per at-bat tonight?
Come on A-B
That was nice of Beltre to pick the ball up. [/sarcasm]
Beltre’d!
did AB pull something there?
Nice hit–is it just me or did he hobble in to 2nd?
Beltre made sure Ichie was the only one to be 0-5…great job giving Raul a shot to tie it with a mere single!!
I really really like Beltre.
Why am I still watching these guys?
Oh, yeah, that’s right.
BELTRE!
looks like Rick Griffin had the same thought
150
Even when he’s hot, does he EVER?
Granted he’s just following the entire offensive philosophy of this team this year…HACK AWAY
Swing Away Ibanez
Only PR available–E. Perez?
all right Richie.
Good eye, Raul.
I just knew Raul wouldn’t fall for that low crapola
Now Richie on the other hand…
UGH!!!
Down the friggin’ middle!
would you really send up Richie in this situation?
Perez can play 3rd, so that’s fine.
I have faith here.
Crap.
Almost. He had the right idea, wrong location.
One more game until the sweep.
I guess yet ANOTHER lesson why its usually best NOT to wait until the 8th to wake up offensively after getting schooled by ANOTHER unproven starting pitcher.
And no TV tomorrow.
I can’t decide what was more frustrating– the loaded bases that stayed loaded, the one-run-down 9th with the instant outs from the first 2 batters… so much to choose from.
I think post #170 summed it up best
It’s rare to see this many adult American males so completely and publically humiliated without ball gags and rubber suits being involved.
#170 was a fine succinct substitute for the Expletively Explicated Lauren Summation (TM)
178
The M’s didn’t even play well enough to be worthy of her descriptive words
so, whats been happening with those other boys in blue?
omigod. I just had a horrifying vision of Rizzs being allowed to to Seahawks play-by-play … with all those folksy stories and familial relationships and heartening happenings yet to be told. Over and over. And over.
If it’s truly going to be as we’ve been told to expect – that a one-year deal is available for Moyer should he choose it – I hope in the name of everything good and right that he realizes he’s simply no longer capable, and he has enough honor to bow out before making a complete disgrace of himself and the team.
He’s been a respectable pitcher for a number of years. I believe he has kept himself in good shape as he’s become older. On the other hand, Safeco has really hidden his flaws and amplified his strengths. He’s never been quite as good as his overall stats would make him seem to be. Even in Safeco he no longer has space to hide his weaknesses as well, and on the road in anything resembling a neutral or good RH hitter’s park, forget about it.
I don’t understand the urge to kick Moyer out the door. Of course he’s not the pitcher he once was. But he’s also far from a “complete disgrace.” He’s still capable of being a decent innnings-eater, and how many other options do the Mariners have?
He ranked second among the starters on the team in pitcher’s VORP this year (21.6). That’s ahead of Felix. Moyer may not be great, but he’s also not one of the team’s problems.
Moyer still has value going into next year, no doubt about it. Only if he never steps foot on the rubber outside of SAFECO again. I think it could work, 5-man rotation on home stands and 4-man rotations on road trips or at the very least some juggling of the rotation. Of course it would take a team a lot more creative than the M’s to try it but that’s the only way I would bring him back him.
are we basing this call to dump Moyer on an outing at Arlington? He has a career ERA of 5.55 there. I don’t know what that would be when park-adjusted, but it’s a rare pitcher who does well if not throwing groundballs when that team is hitting in that park.
Whether Moyer should be on the 2007 roster has to depend a lot on the alteratives. Surely Bavasi will go after at least one FA starter, but there are a couple guys named Gil and Joel that could stay or go. For 2007, do you want either of those two back? Who’s your first choice from among the three of them? Second?
As Roger Clemens does his on-again off-again retirement waltz, I’ve thought about the idea of a starting pitcher cutting a deal to spend more time with family. But Moyer has been the comsumate team player, so, the debate about his ability aside, I don’t look for him to try for some sort of home-only contract. Jaime recently was given the opprtunity to fly back a day early from a road trip because he was the first starter at home, but he stayed with the team and got back to Seattle in the wee hours before pitching that night.
If Moyer comes back next year, than the fans, front office, and manager (whoever it may be) needs to realize that Jamie is no longer a #1 or #2 starter. Now he’s best suited for the fourth or fifth slot in the rotation.
If GilgaMeche can rebound from his performance the other night and pitch well the rest of the year than the M’s should *consider* bringing him back on a 2 yr deal (3rd year option) and slot him in as the #3 starter.
El Rey and the Washboard will be back. That leaves an internal option or FA signing for the other spot. (Schmidt scares me, but he’s likely to be the best available.) If Moyer retires that’s 2 spots. If Gil goes elsewhere that’s 3 spots.
Under NO, repeat NO, circumstances should Jor-El be wearing the compass next season. He’s done. D-U-N. Done.