Game 124, Mariners at Angels
12:35pm start on the mighty KSTW.
LHP Jake Woods, making his first major league start, vs. RHP Ervin Santana. Time to go with a lefty-heavy lineup, as they hit Sanatana much better than righties do.
I’d beg and plead for the losing to stop, but what’s the point? This is what Hargrove does late in the year. In 2002, the Orioles were 63-63 in late August but finished the year 4-32 with losing streaks of 8, 10, and 12. 4-32. That’s not a typo. Shockingly, he didn’t lose his job until the following season.
CF Ichiro!
2B Lopez
3B Beltre
LF Ibanez
1B Sexson
DH Broussard
SS Betancourt
RF Snelling
C Rivera
If this Ichiro! in center thing is for real — and by that I mean long-term, as it’s obviously for real for today — wow. Potentially a very good thing going forward.
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Ichiro starts in CF. Snelling in RF!
Ichiro starts in CF. Snelling in RF!
OMFG!!!
A reason to watch! Doyle!
…I was a little paranoid that Doyle would be placed in the cooler for not being super aggressive in his at bat last night, but it is nice to know that even Hargrove and co. aren’t that dense.
Obviously, they should send Jones down if he’s not going to play.
I have to love the Ichiro start in centerfield. We’re at a phase to see if this will work for next year possibly. Makes Reed tradeable in the offseason for pitching, maybe get a cheap platoon partner for Doyle and we’re set in the outfield next year.
what color of coat will dave where when he’s on tv today ?
I like seeing Ichiro in center, but… I kind of doubt that five(?) time gold glovers like being moved around the outfield.
i think dave will be wearing the light blue coat
I doubt 5 time gold glovers like losing 10 straight either. With Rivera in the lineup, we simply can’t afford to have two automatic outs in the order today.
Ichiro can play catcher as far as I’m concerned, if it means we get to see Doyle out there.
#4. If it were me, I might find a possible righthand hitting platoon for Doyle but I wouldn’t use him much until Doyle proves he can’t hit lefthanded pitching. I’ve only seen him play a few times but Doyle has an immensely quick bat and a good batting eye–that often projects to being able to hit anybody.
Doyle has looked comfortable in his at bats already. I guess the call up snapped him out of his slump in a hurry.
10 – I’m saying this as I don’t think we should rely on Doyle for 162 games. I’d like to see him play everyday and blossom as much as everybody else, but he should be given ample time off, as durability will always been a concern.
ugly crimson coat today
Cabrera, hitting .281/.335/.401, batting third. God it’s humiliating to not be pounding these guys.
I’ve found Dave Valles replacement. Terrel Owen. This morning quote “If you had not heard of me, you don’t know me”
#6 Ichiro wasn’t asked or forced to move. He asked to move to center himself so Doyle could play in right. There’s the leadership quality that some people wanted him to display. Guess he must have lost all respect for Hargrove if he actually didn’t mind being “rude” by asking. Also, he must be pretty confident about his ability to play center if he actually volunteered to do it.
16
Cool. Do you have a source article?
16 – If that’s true, he must also be a much better evaluator of talent than Mr. Hargrove.
Fighting to get Doyle in? I love Ichiro.
WOW…. if it’s true that Ichiro VOLUNTEERED for this, think about how this changes the outlook for ‘07! If Ichiro was willing to play CF full time, think about what that does for the lineup. Particularly if Snelling is finally healthy for a full year.
Maybe the reason he’s never offered before, is because this is the first time we’ve had a player he WANTED to move for. Maybe this is a statement about how strongly Ichiro feels about Doyle.
I’ve read in the Times a few weeks back that Ichiro was willing to move. It’s been said multiple times.
Maybe he dosen’t know Snelling but has had enough of Willie. Again, I think this CF thing is just stuff. Sadahro (Sp?) Oh in the WBC just told him to play CF, Ichiro said OK.
Is the moron who was behind the plate last night at first today?
I like to keep my eyes on the incompetent.
d o e s n ‘ t cripes.
chris guccione is the homeplate ump today
#17 – They were talking about it in the pre-game show. It was also in the Japanese newspapers. Don’t have any English source I can link to though.
bob guccione must of have been thinking about his pets last night
man ibanez is BALD!
Adrian’s got himself one of them GI haircuts today — high and tight. Looking good, or at least better than that first at bat.
I guess we better keep track of BOTH umps who needed seeing eye dogs last night. Those calls on Snelling and on that play at first were nothing short of brutal.
the m’s have more double-digit HR guys in their lineup than the angels
looking or swinging ?
Rizzs re: Andrew Bard, lists off his record, then his ERA and finally his saves total. Any other meaningless stats you want to throw out there, Rick?
swinging, wildly
Richie is going to run himself out of town with all of these strikeouts in crucial situations. Ugh.
And by Bard, I meant Barb
woods has the no-no working
hahaha, their little lineup graphic had “Chris” in RF… interesting
I love how it says, “Chris” in RF on the defensive chart.
new mariners policy, right fielders go by first name only
Too bad it didn’t say “Doyle”… I think if he can stay healthy, and play everyday, eventually, someday it will say “Doyle”
…dreams…
32 – you mean Rizzs didn’t wax about Barb’s Redmond roots for 15 min? That’s the only “stat” that most Mariner fans REALLY care about.
Even the graphics people are phoning it in at this point.
Damn, there goes the perfect game.
Personally, I am pulling for Woods. Every starter we find, is one less that we have to buy.
Im calling Jake Woods with 3 2/3 innings 4 runs 5 walks 3 strikeouts and another loss.Anyone see it diffrent?
How many healthy games is Snelling going to have to play before I stop cringing every time I see him run?
Hey, those graphics people work really really hard
i should know
All this time we’ve been assuming the M’s will spend money on starterting pitching this offseason but not on the lineup. If Ichiro! is willing to move to CF full time, and we deal Sexson, Broussard moves to 1st and Ibanez to DH. Then we can also acquire another corner outfielder, a luxury we haven’t been able to pursue in years.
Whoo, the first time I get to watch Doyle play. Am I the only one that’s a little nervious anytime a ball is hit to left?
What I’ve found ironic about our hitting this season is we have the perfect type of hitter for this line up in uniform already. He walked about 100 times a year, hits left handed, doesn’t swing at bad pitches, REALLY works the count and had extremely long at bats.
The problem?
He’s too busy screwing up the team as the manager and being about 25 years too old.
41- He did mention that as a matter of fact, though not for 15 min.
hendu please shut your mouth
Er.. right that is.
Aaaaand here’s Hendu, being an idiot about Snelling’s pitch selection again. And gee, Hendu, you say “never,” but would the ump have called those strikes on you when *you* were a rookie? At what point would that ‘veteran status’ have kicked in?
Sheesh.
So basically Hendu and Neihaus are saying if a player starts hustling to first base during a delayed BAD strike call, then the call is ok? Even if its botched THREE times in a row to end the game with the winning run at the plate?
Pure stupidity to justify a bad call for an even worse reason.
I was perusing the USSM store, didn’t there used to be Doyle jerseys? Or have I gone blind?
Whoo, the first time I get to watch Doyle play. Am I the only one that’s a little nervious anytime a ball is hit to left?
You’re not the only one–Ibanez is not a great outfielder.
doyle can’t catch up to a 94 MPH fastball apparently…willie atleast puts that ball in play
At least Doyle looked like he was trying to bash the hell out of the ball… Willie couldn’t hit it past the pitcher.
Willie of the 0-3 with 3 Ks last time he was in the lineup? Yeah, he’s a contact-making machine.
They’re running a thing about the Moyer trade on NWCN.
Appearently the people interviewed are really pissed:
One guy:
“Trading Jamie Moyer should be against the law, you might as well trade the Space Needle or… (voice trails off), it’s really just disrespectful.”
Honestly, how does this stuff make it to air?
if Ichiro plays CF next year to bad we didn’t have Choo in RF and Snelling in LF Ibanez DHing’ with Perez and Broussard at first because we moved Sexson for a young decent starting pitcher
is baek starting for tacoma today ?
has he started warming up yet ?
God Hendu is the biggest idiot on television.
I’ve got a new idea for a manager candidate… Ichiro!
Not only is he smart as anyone, he’s already making lineup changes to better the team.
When was the last time MLB had a player-manager?
Well 63, um how would we have Choo and Broussard?
Jones in left, Ichiro in center, and Doyle in right, thats a fantastic outfield defense. Hell, Washburn could almost be decent with that outfield.
Man, Betancourt has been sloppy lately.
If Pineiro was throwing what do you guys think the score would of been already? 5-0 Angels?
I think Pete Rose was the last player/manager.
Cougs129- Those were three excellent fastballs on his hands. Compare Willies wrist and hand speed with Snelling. Not even close. I haven’t watched Snelling much but his hand speed is amazing.
If they pick up a starter and trade Richie for a starter also this team could end up looking pretty good.
guys it was a joke about doyle and willie
how about mister tacoma, TK for manager.
Regarding Willie, I challege ANYONE to find a worse hitter vs righties in the AL
76
Rene Rivera
74
I figured it was
But really guys, can any of you think of ANYONE even close to being as inept vs righties (that isn’t a pitcher)?
so outfielders have an extra 6-8 inches over infielders, good to know
76.- Rivara?
Good call JI
I should’ve known I’d have to look no further than today’s line up for such an answer, lol
8-49 with two walks and one hr.
hendu should be out the door with hargrove both of them make the mariners almost impossible to watch
Don’t forget that infielders bend over a lot more than outfielders too.
Ladies,
I played outfield in high school, which, according to Hendu, makes me six inches longer than everyone else. Thought you might like to know.
Sincerely,
Pablo
Actually, Rivera’s slugging is about 100 points higher though
maybe the m’s can get rex hudler as analyst
Cougs129 – Sorry! Thought for a minute you were actually Grover texting on his Blackberry to USSM…
chris smelling?
Its sure nice to see another team swing at the first pitch and make easy outs.
Antonio Perez is hitting .074/.138/.130 in 54ABS vs righties.
I’ve never been a fan of Henderson’s broadcasting, but lately he just seems to be getting more unbearable. Someone should start a petition or something.
86: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ichi almost had it… my god
#87. I wouldn’t put that past Hargrove to do something like that… Or maybe its Willie…
That would have been an insane catch if he’d have got that.
Darn, now Woods is working on a one-hitter….
hudler makes the angels completely unwatchable, so be glad you got hendu
Hudler is awful, but I’d take him over Henderson.
I’d take Dennis Miller over Hendu
Mmmmmm… Ichiro in center.
Jones-Ichiro-Snelling in the OF next year, with Broubanez as the DH.
.510 HERE WE COME!!!!
Not only is Hudler’s commentary really bad but his voice and his cadence make my ears hurt. It’s like he has trouble putting sentences togeather.
Well, why take anyone?
How about SILENCE… over Hendu?
they should do a broadcast with no “talent” and no graphics or replays
#100… why would you use Broussard and Ibanez as the DH? both lefties wouldn’t make any sense of having a platoon with those 2
I’d take deafness over Hendu.
Woods has a mean curveball.
Hendu is like one of those guys at the bar, that never shut up. They talk about anything and everything, and most of the time, nothing you give a crap about. They are too drunk to realize how idiotic they are, and they need to shut up, and leave you alone.
Woodsie is surpassing my expectations.
# 83 — The entire team has excelled at bending over.
hendu is one of the guys that when he has something meaningful to say nobody hears it because he says so much worthless crap you just tune him out
109
LOL…Far too many times on this road trip alone
110
Hendu said something meaningful once? Really?
Give Ichiro a little more time to get his CF-legs back and maybe he does get that…
I wonder if it’ll screw up / set back Jones to move him to LF. Having Ibanez as a 4th outfielder/DH with the two-headed monster alternating with him at DH and Richie at 1B wouldn’t be a bad setup (assuming Raul starts hitting again and Richie, well, does something). Though it would require more mental agility to juggle than Hargrove shows evidence of having, but I’m just going to assume there’s someone with more of a clue wearing that uniform next year (for that matter, an empty uniform would have more of a clue).
Still, it would be nice to get out from under Sexson’s contract but I don’t see that happening unless he rebounds sharply, which means he’s here next yeat — and at that point he’s earning his contract and the M’s keep him. Well, maybe not earning it — it’s pretty obvious 1B is an easy position to fill with a power bat so that contract is rather hard to justify, but whatever.
why would you use Broussard and Ibanez as the DH?
Because I like “Broubanez?”
Yeah, it should be Perez and Ibanez with Broussard dealt.
114.
I would prefer having Perez and Ibanez as the DH… With Sexson being dealt and Broussard our 1st basement for contract reasons
“if a baseball could take thats what it would say, OUCH”-Dave Henderson
Speaking of “Rings”… If godforbid, the M’s ever did win a Championship, I could see Howard and Co. being too damn cheap to buy and make rings for all the players…
“Give em a bag of onion rings instead”
Whoo!
SEXYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just when you think Sexson’s utterly dead….
ABOUT TIME! BIG SEXXXXXXXXXXAY
Huh, I was smelling a Sexson HR last night. Guess I was just early
a lead!
Sexson has been getting better since the horrible april and even worse may, he might be movable, and hey look a HR for him.
Wait a sec, what’s happening? We have a lead? And we scored first? Wow.
I’d forgotten what a lead felt like.
It shouldn’t really count as a lead until the bottom of the 4th finishes with the M’s still up…
Even with the HR, dealing Sexson still sounds good. Unfortunately a deal takes two parties to work and I can’t imagine who would want him at that price — put Sexson and his performance on some other team in the AL and imagine what the Ms would be willing to pay to *obtain* him at this point. Not $14 million that’s for damned sure. Maybe not $1.4 million.
Does it look like Doyle is right ontop of the plate to anyone else?
Rings — no, they would develop a really good ring in-house but then give it away to some other team in exchange for nothing special, and then go buy a bunch of overpriced rings from NL teams on the open market that look really nice on paper but turn out to be really crappy quality and don’t last even a single season (though they magically get a lot better when given back to those NL teams…)
Oh, my god.
What the hell was that???
They had a lead last night. Didn’t last very long, of course… Which brings something to mind: Look out for Vlad.
That was a strange steal…
That was the ugliest stolen base I have ever seen.
Man, Ichiro in center? Doyle starting in right-field?
THIS is the game, THIS is it. We’re done losing, Doyle is our lucky charm, our rabbit’s foot, our fountain of youth!
*dizzy from hyperbole and the joy that is Yoda*
jeff harris starting for tacoma
Sexy’s OBP is now north of .300!
A walk? A WALK? A WAAAAAALK!!
Snelling: Strike zone, you is mah bitch now!
Is it just me? Or does Doyle look like Mini-Giambi?
I’m in the dark here, what are all these suspensions for?
Dang, Doyle has a good eye. Balls can come inside and miss him by an inch and he doesn’t flinch. Even the second strike called there was inside.
141.- Yeah, but a less puffy face and a lot less hair gel.
Hey, look: an M’s player that knows how to get a walk! Especially after those bogus strikes last night, it’s good to see Snelling stuck to his guns and trusts his eye.
142 – The Angels and Rangers played a hearty game of beanball a couple days ago, punctuated by a bench-clearing brawl.
Suspensions are for the brawl with the Rangers.
[I'm listening to the game.] SEXSON just homered to give the Ms a 2-0 lead, and the Rizzer mused that this might be the day (when the losing streak ends). Last night and the night before he blared about LOWE’smazing performances. (Just then Lowe got lit up.)
Could someone muzzle him at these times? He has an uncanny knack for jinxing people
The last time the Mariners won Rivera was catching…mmmmm
Nice job, Rivera… striking out after going ahead 3-0.
I don’t even know why Rivera was allowed to swing at ANY pitch when he got a 3-0 count. I’m sure the chances are that one of the next three pitches would be a ball, and I wouldn’t blame him for not swinging.
Watching Snelling, I wonder why he was sucking it up so bad in AAA
*chuckles*
Santana was pitching around Rene Rivera, ran the count to 3-0, and then realized, “Hey, I’m pitching to Rene (expletive)in’ Rivera!” and promptly struck him out.
Actually it was a couple of games of beanball that ended with this.
Sexson the last three months= .254/.324/.528 HR19, he has hit a HR every 13 at bats.
Sexson for his career= .266/.347/.521 for his career he has hit a HR every 15.4 at bats.
I would prefer having Perez and Ibanez as the DH… With Sexson being dealt and Broussard our 1st basement for contract reasons
I would too. But I wonder if the M’s really will deal Sexson in the offseason or not, and I wonder if they’ll get anything of value, other than a salary dump.
154-Thanks. I’d heard about it but hadn’t seen a clip. It proves, once again, that baseball players know diddly about fighting; can’t even throw a punch, much less anything effective. Which is probably just as well.
Adam Kennedy fights like a girl.
Its nice to see someone else get dominated by an average pitcher for a change.
Looking at our 2005 signees, what is the obsession with dealing Sexson over Beltre in the offseason. I mean I love Adrian, but his contract obviously suggested that he should produce 2004 numbers (48 home runs. Man that came out of nowhere, and of course it was the year before free agency).
Dave, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it’s mainly that Sexson’s contract is backloaded, and Beltre’s was/is frontloaded. I might have it backwards
It’s a good thing no basebally players know how to punch.
HOLY CRAP, did the little scrolly thing just show stats for DOYLE????
154.- The best part about that is John Lackly trying to push through like 5 rangers to get in the action.
Beltre is 27 and starting to look like his useful 2003 self. Sexson is over 30 and rapidly turning into Rob Deer.
It did, holy crap!
IT DID! HOLY SHIT! When the count was 0-2 on Lopez, the scrolling b ox score showed Snelling’s name as DOYLE!
Fuck yes! I wish I could take a screen cap of this!
I can’t believe the scroll said Doyle.
162: Yes, it did.
161, all I know is that the headlines of the signing were a 4yr/50mil deal for Sexson and a 5yr/64mil deal for Beltre. If that changed since then, or the yearly salaries increase as opposed to just dividing the full number by the # of years.
Man, someone with tivo needs to take a picture of that.
USS Mariner, welcome to the spotlight!
Doyle, get used to your new nickname.
Rizzs and Hendu. I pine for Fairly.
I’m still shocked at the power of USSM. The fact that Doyle made it on the air is amazing. I wonderf if it will get brought up in a broadcast now.
That’s crazy! I just rewound my DVR and confirmed it. Didn’t that nickname originate here?
“Too bad it didn’t say “Doyle”… I think if he can stay healthy, and play everyday, eventually, someday it will say “Doyle”
…dreams… ”
Your wish…Granted.
Someone post a screen cap.
I can take a picture of it, where could I upload it to?
“Sexson is over 30 and rapidly turning into Rob Deer.”
See post 155
Go ahead and look at the USSMariner Contract Sheet.
Click here for Contract sheet
Yearly payouts don’t differ as much as I thought they did, but then again, still not very clear with Beltre’s yearly payouts.
Sexson’s contract is obviously backloaded.
photobucket.com is an easy site
“161, all I know is that the headlines of the signing were a 4yr/50mil deal for Sexson and a 5yr/64mil deal for Beltre. If that changed since then, or the yearly salaries increase as opposed to just dividing the full number by the # of years.”
Sexson’s was backloaded. There happens to be this helpful chart Here You might find useful. Also, This is always a good place to check
Boy, it’s weird to see Ichiro look clumsy…
Yeah WOoDy!
OK, give me a minute
The Angels announcers are comparing Woods to Tom Glavine. This is a good thing, right?
http://www.imagesocket.com/
Nice job woods i stand corrected.Now get him out of there with a good outing you boob hargrove!
When was the last time he had a good start from a pitcher?
I got a picture. Give me a moment to push it to Flickr.
I like this quote…
“You know, Mr. Fitzgerald, if we’re gonna win, the players gotta play better, the coaches gotta coach better, the manager gotta manage better, and the owners gotta own better.”
– 1B George Scott, to the Brewers’ club chairman
I think somebody who posts on here from time to time works in the graphics dept (would that be you, FBJ #48?) Certainly someone who reads this blog obviously does.
“Doyle” isn’t exactly a nickname, since it is the man’s middle name, but using it as a euphemism certainly is a USSM invention — just like “King” Felix. In terms of M’s pop culture (which is a pretty small niche, granted) USSM is clearly the most influential “voice of the fan.”
Wow! As soon as that left Santana’s glove I thought Richie was going to swing at it in the dirt and strikeout.
Needless to say that didn’t happen:)
Okay, this is getting silly. For the third time today, I’ve seen a Mariner get to first without either getting hit by a pitch or hitting a pitch. Is that legal?
191: i’d think the tv guys have more to do than follow a blog during a game
Did Rizzs just suggest naming the RF pole “Dick Schofield’s Pole”?
Wait – a break that goes in the M’s favor? BLASPHEMY!
195
OMG! He SO did!
193.- I think that’s called a ‘walk’ and it happens when you get 4 balls. I didn’t know what it was untill I started watching other teams that don’t employ the stratagy of ’swing at everything’.
OK, here we go. Sorry it’s a little blurry — we don’t have one of those new-fangled 1000 inch TVs.
http://flickr.com/photos/dylanw/220327641/
Doyle is official!
Beltre plays a harder position to fill, and plays it well.
“Contract year”: It seems to me that the influence of contract years on player performance is way overrated. in the first place, it’s one of those things we notice when it confirms our idea, and don’t notice when it doesn’t. It’s an easy “human” explanation for something that is just as easily explained by normal human variation — and yes, even years like Beltre’s fall under normal variation.
in the second place, it assumes that money motivates players better than, say, the desire to win, and that motivation itself will translate to better performance. In the case of Beltre, does this make any sense? Does anyone think that he had a terrible year last year because he cared less? He’d got his big contract, and had nothing more to push for? Didn’t it seem more like he cared too much, that he put enormous pressure on himself to prove he was worth it?
Anyway, move in the left field fences a bit, and Beltre’s contract will start to look less objectionable.
Hahaha, nice job to both of you for the pics.
#194 — this is CW 11, though. Umm. Not so much
Worst thing I’ve heard all day…
“Julio Mateo now warming up in the bullpen”
That aboy hargrove leave him in there to long.He hasnt went more then 4 innings all year good managing you boob.
Ichiro would have had that.
Oh man, with Lowe out and Soriano soon to follow…the lineup better learn to score a lot of runs or it is going to be a long September.
Here it is, sorry it took so long, new Olympus camera wouldn’t put the damn file in the right folder.
Scroll Says Doyle!!!
Hope this works, first time trying a link.
That “Doyle” in the scrolling box score was amazing. I’ve never seen anything on an M’s broadcast before that gave me the impression that they understood their audience.
those pictures look photoshopped
it is mateo
198 – A walk? No, no, doesn’t ring a bell. I’m not sure I believe you, a batter getting four balls. Rivera showed us what happens when a batter makes the poor decision to get three balls – he strikes out. That’s what happens when you allow a pitcher to throw too many pitches.
See post 155
Rob Deer’s year 31 (1992): .247/.337/.547, 1 HR every 12.28 AB
Rob Deer, the man for whom the term “Three True Outcomes” was invented.
If you want, I can do a video of it, but it would take a lot of rewinding on my crappy comcast box.
Oh man, let the kid finish the inning. Fuck YOU Hargrove.
MATEO? WHAT THE FUCK???????
Well watching Woods was MUCH MUCH MUCH more enjoyable then Pineiro… He was a nifty little pickup in the offseason… Ate some innings then had a great start here… Much better innings eater/spot starter then Julio
For once I can’t fault Hargove for using Mateo. Lowe is done for the year and Soriano should be. Who else could he use?
Right on! Keep that streak going, grover!
So Hargrove gets an unexpectedly good performance from his starter. Tying run at 3rd. Hmmm, he thinks, how can I ensure this kid doesn’t get a W? Oh, yeah, that’s right: I have Mateo in the bullpen…
Makes sense to me. Kid has thrown 74 pitches, heavy on the strikes, and given up one run. It’s definitely time to pull him out and put Mateo The Crusher in for the final out. ’cause Mateo sucks. Nice choice, moron.
those pictures look photoshopped
Damn, you caught me. Was it giving the Mariners the lead what tipped you off?
Just once could the broadcast homers call a bad moe a bad move?
212.- Yeah, I’m not 100% sold on it eiather. I mean, look what happened to Doyle last night when he thought he had 4 balls, the umpire said he was cheating and struck him out.
Moving to Ichi to CF is too obvious, isn’t it? It’s got to be more complicated than Hargrove just finally seeing the light. It’d make more sense that Ichiro resisted the move for a while for whatever reason, then had a change of heart, which Hargrove took a while to figure out.
I’d love to know the real story.
Wow I suck, I was WAY late on getting that up lol.
Does this redeem me?
VIDEO of Doyle scroll!!!
Doyle has a great eye.
Falls behind in the count and is still patient enough to draw the walk. That’s our boy Doyle.
God, I love Doyle. He is everything we need on offense.
Here comes the scroller again, camera on standby!
I love watching that guy hit. Even when he doesn’t swing.
Okay — who got busted. The scrolling box score used Doyle’s real name this time
Damnit.
i’d think the tv guys have more to do than follow a blog during a game
You might be surprised. Anyway, they wouldn’t have to follow the blog during the game — they just have to have read it sometime and picked up on the name. Then it’s a little shout-out to the USSM homies during a game on KSTW…
those pictures look photoshopped
Yeah, FBJ, sure… that’s plausible deniability, anyway. The moire pattern on the phosphors when shooting a CRT at an angle is, of course, trivial to simulate in PS…
Yay, Rene – you still suck, but now you PRODUCTIVELY suck!
Okay, how about pinch hitting for Rivera with Johjima rather than make him bunt. You knew they were gonna walk Ichiro.
C’mon Grover, act like you WANT to win a goddamn game.
A home run right here from Adrian would be nice.
You know… watching Doyle is just the tonic I need in these post-Jamie days. I understand that it’s a decent trade, but I’m just a little sentimental about Jamie.
i gotta admit, if that Doyle on the scrolly thing is real, that’s sorta cool
Adrian has a 15 game hitting streak?
sigh
Shoot.
Good thing we gave up an out to get that runner over.
237.- Yeah, it’s fake and they all made fake pictures and all shouted out about it at the same time to fool you.
mateo still pitching
i’m pretty sure those screencaps violate the copyright that was just aired
Good thing we gave up an out to get that runner over.
Grover is a baseball process queen. All this focus on ‘ultimate outcomes’ seems to baffle him.
Yeah, FBJ, sure… that’s plausible deniability, anyway. The moire pattern on the phosphors when shooting a CRT at an angle is, of course, trivial to simulate in PS…
It’s the “Generate TV Image” plugin for CS2. You choose the network and TV set, configure the settings for the top screen, set the angle and drop shadow, then hit the button. You can even insert the background reflection. Remarkable piece of work. It’s what Fox News uses now to broadcast all their shows from outside the Reality-Based Community.
I think I could’ve got a better pic of that Doyle thing. I’m dissapointed in myself now.
Neihaus sounds like he just doesn’t care today.
i’m pretty sure those screencaps violate the copyright that was just aired
Then tell your bosses to call their lawyers.
I’d be more than happy to explain Fair Use to them.
i don’t have any bosses or lawyers, i’m just looking out for you guys
I’m watching the game on MLB.tv. The Angels announcers seem to take it as an article of faith that Ichiro is in center because, as they put it, ‘Hargrove won.’ i.e., Ichiro resisted & resisted, and finally gave in.
I’m not a big fan of Hargrove, but he’s not a moron, and this seems the more likely reason for what we’re seeing.
I like Rex Hudler’s idea of what may have happened between Ichiro! and Hargrove:
Hargrove: play center plz
Ichiro!: but im a five time gold glover in right i dont wanna lolz
Hargrove: but ur soo good we need u out there
Ichiro!: ok lol
Ok, that’s not exactly how he described it, but that’s pretty close.
to whom it may concern:
use doyle again for the scrolly thing next inning
251, beat me to it. Hargrove however is a moron. He doesn’t lose the title because he gave Snelling RF for one day.
#254. Right, Hargrove’s tactically deficient, but Ichiro’s resistance to playing CF, if in fact that’s what it is, if not moronic, at least as culpable and detrimental to the M’s success as some of Hargrove’s decisions.
Ichiro’s a player, and Hargrove’s the manager. It makes no sense that a player has the power to veto a manager’s preference.
i don’t have any bosses or lawyers, i’m just looking out for you guys
I think we’re all big boys and girls now, thanks.
Hargrove obviously wanted Donnely in an inning earlier.
Isn’t Grover allowed to call Perez back so he can send Broussard back out to accomodate this pitching change?
Call me wacko, but I would have let Broussard hit, saved a position player, and kept the crappy pitcher in the game. That’s just me though.
Here comes the scroll thing…
Scroll alert! Doyle AGAIN!!!
Wouldn’t it be a better idea to leave Broussard in and pinch hit Perez for someone like Rivara?
Doyle again indeed!
If the tech guys are reading — you guys rock.
God damnit I missed it again!
There’s “Doyle” in the scroll, again!
Perez craps the bed v. a RHP.
Whodathunkit.
God, Perez is lead-footed.
255 – You have no idea if that is true, and speculating on motivations and facts is not a valid argument.
It is a FOX News tactic… it smears someone, makes them look bad unfairly, because no one pays any attention to caveats.
We got some motherfucking Doyle on the motherfucking scroll!
I thought Soriano was on the 15 Day DL?
At least Mateo’s out of there. But Soriano… man. You have to hold your breath when he pitches. If he and Lowe are both out, the bullpen is ugly from the right side: Mateo and Pineiro.
Should Soriano be pitching right now?
Whoever put the Doyle in the scroll made this game worth watching, even if we choke.
Oops, they did it again…
That’s one sure way to get people to watch the game
Are we sure that FBJ isn’t doing the scroll?
Because its dissappearance, reappearance is suspicious, no?
Out with it, FBJ. You?
This is like that line in “Broadcast News” when Albert Brooks is talking into the phone to feed questions into the earpiece of William Hurt’s lunkhead anchorman “I say something here but it comes out on TV.” USSM has control of a tiny piece of the broadcast! Now, we mus promise to use this only for good. With great power comes great responsibility….
And somewhere out there in Marinerland some fan just turned to the guy next to him and said “There, see, they did it again! Who the fuck is Doyle?”
251 – Hargrove is not a moron?? Anyway, the report is Ichiro volunteered to move to center, and I don’t see why that’d be false. Any spectaculations about how Ichi has resisted and resisted and has been really selfish etc. were never been confirmed by the team or Ichiro himself. This is just getting old. Let’s just enjoy Ichiro in centre, please.
Doyle for 2-hole. Get Lopez outta there.
Did Beltre go bald?
Soriano looks like he’s throwing pretty effortlessly… but then again, it also looks like he’s throwing his warm up pitches as opposed to pitching with full effort. And his velocity is down.
276 – Though it would surely cost someone their job… I would kill to see the scroll say “WFB” next time Willie is up.
I secretely want Putz to come in in the 8th. I need 1.1 innings to quality for fantasy innings this week.
C’mon, babay.
If it’s FBJ, or someone else here, they should totally put IGNITOR for Bloomquist the next time he’s in a game (which hopefully won’t be any time soon).
Tying run aboard, and the Impaler comes to bat. I feel a great disturbance in the force…
280 – One thing about Soriano is that he’s always been silky smooth in the delivery and always throwing effortlessly.
#258. Note that on the point of why Ichiro is finally in center, I clearly indicated I’m speculating, not arguing. A lot of what fans say – even here – involves speculation. Explaining the long senseless delay in moving Ichi to CF as Hargrove’s idiocy is also speculation and equally worth flagging. Only we don’t, becuase we don’t much like Hargrove here.
If I argued anything, it was that a player has little right to resist what a manager asks him to do, particularly when it’s such a no-brainer as moving in Ichiro’s case to center.
Oh hell, Vlad is going to crush every pitch he gets now.
Hargrove’s still a moron, Ichiro in CF or not. The whole thing was brought about because he refuses to play Jones in center, and would rather have him rot on the bench.
283.- That would honestly be the highlight of the season.
It’s so wierd to hear fans actually into a game…remember when it was like that in Seattle?
276 makes a true statement
I think putz needs to come in soon…
Gotta go get Putz right here.
Ugh. At least he only hit a single.
Putz thinks so too… lol
Soriano’s in until they get to Anderson, I’d think, who’ll see Sherrill.
“Doyle” on the screen was worth watching the game even if we lose!
Thank you Mariner tech guru!
As I posted over at LookoutLanding:
Maybe USSM is even bigger than we all think! Derek’s lust for total world domination seems to be gaining some ground.
Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth. What truth? There is no spoon. There is no spoon? Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.
Alright, I have yet to see “Doyle” in lights. Do you think they will run the crawl again?
Sherrill is warming up?
Oh nevermind.
Putz? In the 8th?!? WHAAAAAAAA?!?
i don’t think we’ll see doyle in the in-game boxscore again, too late in the game
In passing, when I worked in Tokyo for two years, the baseball fans among my friends said Ichiro had a strong preference for playing right, even if it seemed at times this wasn’t the best deployment of the Orix fielders. This seemed just to be a commonplace, something everyone knew, one concession to a superstar’s vanity, like Pedro’s inability to show up to spring training on time.
Maybe it’s not true. But I seriously doubt Hargrove failed to see until today that Ichiro in CF was a better idea than Doyle.
Gotta have Putz right here. It’s a good call.
You haven’t won the entire road trip and this is the 11th game. You, need, a, win.
Goddamn it
shit
303
What if this one goes into extras?
Darn.
Uggghhhh
Why am I not surprised?
CRAP!
So lefties are 7 for 61 vs. Sherrill. Is Putz still a better idea here than Sherrill?
Just setting up the game winning Doyle homer.
If Rivera hits here in the 9th, I am going to break something.
Aw goshdarnit.
Wake me up of the crawl comes up again. If have my cable line hoked directly into my computer. I can take a reasonably clear snapshot for archival purposes.
no idea why george didn’t come in to face GA.
Suffer Mariner fans, sufer
315.- Would you rather have WFB?
DOYLE!!!!
DOYLE!!!!
Even RIZZS slid in his “Doyle” remark. Of course it is his middle name and all…
DOYLE!
You can’t bunt ‘em over, Hendu?
That sounds like a wager to me.
Rizzs just called him “Christopher Doyle Snelling.” Obviously a secret shout-out to USSM.
Crap, that was right on the screws.
319. Yes. At least Willie Ballgame has a plural amount of hits in the second half.
Doyle:
.429/.600/.714
Seems like the hype was justified!
If it goes into extra’s maybe we can see “Doyle” again!
Jeez.
Ichi goes deep here
Damn. How many times have we seen Ichiro end the 9th like that?
323
Ha ha
We’re so high on Rizzs here, I mean, how can he resist giving the USSM crew a shout-out?
…Aw crap. I hate sudden-death baseball when were on the road.
Rizzs said Doyle? See 276
I think it’s time for a Doyle-O-Meter on the front page again, this time with major league stats.
Every pitch Niehaus sees is a breaking ball, and every hit Rizzs sees is a line drive. Ug.
This team’s looking to arrive back in Seattle in about as good a shape as Le Grand Armée arriving back in Paris after the road-trip to Moscow.
Crap.
Aw, yes. Bill Plummer.
He was the genius who forgot to write a DH into the lineup back in 1992. It would be on the blooper reels between innings but it takes more than 9/10 of a second to explain…
The sooner scooter is on…look out
What’chu talkin about Willits?
A play worth a double-take on the scoring sheet.
who has the audio file of rizzs saying doyle?
Please, bunt. I beg of you.
Actually, I take that back: Molina, like both of his brothers, really sucks v. RHP.
Since Rick Rizzs slid in the Doyle comment, maybe EVIL Rick Rizzs will make an appearance int he broadcast booth today.
Yet, with that noted, you guys must remember to keep your wife and/or girlfriend(s) at a close distance and your teenage daughters closer when he’s unleashed.
wow… 0-11
Well.
well that was almost worth waking up for.
Fuck Everything.
Hendu you dick
I have had it with this motherfucking road trip.
Well, that totally blew. Why not walk the guy for a chance at the dp?
Aw, fuck. Now I don’t get to see the scroll.
Oh, and, side note: we just got completely swept aside by ALL of our divisional opponents. I’m sure Derek will elaborate.
Joan Figgins does it again. Damn.
…aaaaand on that downer note, what better time, after an 0-11 roadtrip against all in-division opponents (against whom the team is now 0-20 since June 11th), for Bavasi to announce that it’s “just time for a change, and Mike is class guy, a good organization man, and he knows that this is how it works…”
…dreams….
(Let mine be granted the way the “Doyle” dream was granted)
343
I really hope the women we care about have much better taste than that…
Mariners final record for 2006:
56-106
Would we get the first pick?
Go Mariners! We’re only 14 games back, we can do this!
Time for Grover to be fired…preferably across the parking lot….from a cannon…. If Dan Rohn isn’t the manager by Tuesday, there is no justice in this world.
OK.. that sucked. The good news is, we get Seahawks in 90 minutes.
Since Ichiro played centerfield today, does that mean he is no longer the selfish superstar/”team cancer” that certain sports journalists were intimating?
358: Football hey-hey!
Hey, the M’s get a day off. The road trip’s over. No one waiting at home except, uh, Yankees. And the Red Sox. And then the Angels again.
But at least they get to play TB and KC in September. They’re bound to win another game this year. Right?
357. Grover didn’t make a move today that I would have retracted. Maybe the Rivera sac bunt, and not pinch hitting Johjima at that point, but other than that, nothing.
Rizzs and Hendu:
Eleven losses in a row isn’t so bad, is it? :
I’m coming late to the party on this one, but Sherrill should have been in against Anderson. Not only does he destroy lefties, but Anderson can’t hit lefties to save his life. This is no slight on Putz, who has been very, very good (including against lefties), but Sherrill has been incredible.
Sherrill vs. LHB: .115/.214/.131
Anderson vs. LHP: .232/.263/.336
56-104 is a .346 clip… right now, yes, that would be the worst record in the majors, just ahead of Kansas City.
Even snakes couldn’t improve the plane trip home for these guys.
Has any team given up consecutive sweeps to all of its divisional rivals in a single roadtrip? I mean, has that ever been done? Is it possible this is some kind of historical low point not just for the Mariners but for all of baseball? Has KC done that? Did Detroit do it in their 100-and-whatever loss season?
And a fine performance by Snelling was wasted. Still, he gets to keep his stats, hopefully he gets some attention and has earned the right to keep playing, and maybe this outfield alignment is something we’ll see more of.
362: I’m not suggesting that he be fired for anything that specifically happened today… fact of the matter is this team has very obviously rolled over, they just bombed a “critical” road trip, they have an off day to transition to a new manager, and maybe a new homestand with a new manager will turn things around. I don’t have anything personally against Hargrove, I’m sure that he’s a nice guy, but I can’t see a reason to keep him around at this point.
Impressive road trip.
Agree with Jason. George probably gets Garret on that play, the M’s probably get out of the 8th with a 2-1 lead and JJ probably handles the 9th, streak over.
Instead, the game, like the road trip, circles the drain as Hargrove goes to a security blanket in lieu of playing a great matchup, because he let a lack of confidence in Sherrill override Sherrill’s cold hard pwnage of lefthanders, in light of Anderson’s suckage against lefthanders, and put Putz in a dubious situation that even he couldn’t escape this time around.
The M’s have made a series of previously unthinkable moves this weekend. I think it’s time for one more: time to replace Hargrove with Dan Rohn for the duration of the season.
JHC! Can you please just win one game? This is so goddamned frustrating to let Ch-own Fucking Figgins get the game winning RBI. The A’s are counting on you. ARRGGHH!
I don’t know how ownership can rationally let Hargrove kill this team. He’s not coming back next season and every loss only alienates fans more and more.
Disagree with Ichiro for resisting the move to center if you want, but calling it “vanity” seems like a lot of crap to me. I seem to remember that his reasons for resisting the move had been explained before, and that they were sensible: basically, playing right field doesn’t wear him down as much over the course of a season. Sure, it might be better for the team to move him to center anyway, but why insist on saying it’s a “no-brainer”? Seriously, sidroo, you’re so sure you know more about how Ichiro can best serve the team than he does that you have to criticize his character when you disagree?
I really do think it’s too late in the year to make a move, unfortunately. Obviously Rohn is waiting in the wings, but what do you do with him after the year? He was kept around as a mid-season replacement, but after the year they’ll do a full search (and hell, who knows if Bavasi will be back, either, making the whole thing more complicated).
Not saying I wouldn’t make the move now, but I can see why they wouldn’t.
It’s safe to say Ichiro knows his own body and its limitations better than anyone, right? Perhaps he felt, at the end of the shorter Japanese schedule, that he was worn down and unable to play much longer at 100%. The move to RF compensates for the longer MLB schedule.If he really feels like the choice is 160 games in RF at 100% or ~130 games in CF at less than 100%, I think you have to respect that. You can disagree with it, but it’s difficult to argue.
#355. Mariners final record for 2006: 56-106 Would we get the first pick?
I was curious enough yesterday to look at the current standings, just to see where the M’s ranked.
If 4 other teams in the AL and 1 other team in the NL continue to suck at the same rate as the M’s for the rest of the year, the M’s would be tied for 6th pick (which means, of course, they’d get the 7th pick…”Mariner luck”)
No, no. That’s Mariner skill or at least lack of it. We’re just not really good at sucking either.
Pretty rare to fire a manager this late in the season.
In the last 10 years, only 31 managers have been replaced in-season (not including one-game interim managers). Of those, six have been replaced this late in the season: Buddy Bell, Tigers, 1998; Dallas Green, Mets, 1996; Larry Bowa, Phillies, 2004; Lloyd McClendon, Pirates, 2005; Terry Collins, Angles, 1999; and Cito Gaston, Blue Jays, 1999.
History suggests that Grover stays until the end, barring some kind of personal meltdown.
…or untimely death.
Oh, great. Now we are wishing for Hargrove to die? Yikes.
There is some precedent for firing a manager during or following a bad losing streak, though. I know we only have 40 or so days left in the season, but it would be nice to boot Hargrove and give Rohn a chance to show everyone what he can do. If he does well, we keep him. If a better choice comes along, we hire that guy and Rohn goes to Arizona or Chicago or wherever. If he’s putrid, we go get someone else.
If Grover isn’t coming back, then why keep him in the dugout the rest of the way? Give Rohn a chance.
The good news since the break is that Richie (.888 OPS) and Adrian (.899) have looked good since the All-Star break.
The bad news is pretty much everyone else with the exception of Yuni and Kenji is in the toilet. Ichiro’s hitting like Bad Ichiro:. .277 with no power or anything, Jones and Bloomquist are ghastly as the CF, and, arguably, WFB is outhitting our All-Star 2B, and Raul’s gone cold.
That plus Moyer+Meche+Piñeiro putting up Boeing jetliner ERAs since the break…well, that’s how you collapse as a team; half the team doesn’t hit and the rotation implodes.
And the twelve-year-olds get let out to play on the blogs, as long as they’re home by dinner.
thanks for checking in, Sriram.
well, just checking in myself after a 3+ hour wait in the ferry line; we got to turn the car on just in time to hear the bottom of the ninth…
skipping over Kelley in a hurry I was entertained by Larry Stone’s managerial hunt today:
“With the pennant race no longer on the itinerary for the Mariners and their fans, it’s time to move straight to the recrimination portion of our program.”
Wow. Hargrove to Baker. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Hargrove to Baker should serve as a reminder to everyone that “anyone” is not better than Bavasi or Hargrove. Certainly we can do better than them, but you run a risk a getting someone utterly terrible. For every Ozzie Guillen there’s a Buddy Bell; for every Billy Beane a Cam Bonifay.
I would say, though, that Bavasi is an average GM, so the chance of getting someone worse is probably 50/50, where with Hargrove it’s probably 1 in 3 odds Buddy Bell is on the bench in 2007.
#383– well, as Stone immediately says “But the Mariners didn’t interview him then, when Baker was coming off a pennant,
and so it’s hard to envision strong interest now, when he is coming off a horrible season that has damaged his stature” I wouldn’t get to worked up about it…
might be interesting to see where doyle appears in upcoming m’s telecasts
Hargrove to Baker should serve as a reminder to everyone that “anyone” is not better than Bavasi or Hargrove. Certainly we can do better than them, but you run a risk a getting someone utterly terrible.
The counter to that, of course, is you also run the risk of waking up some years after you hired your average GM and noticing your franchise hasn’t won jack, your attendance has deteriorated, and you’re spending above-average salary for below-average return, because the ABOVE-average GMs in your division and league run rings around your C student.
“Settle for an average GM and hope you luck into a World Series some year, it could be worse” isn’t particularly inspiring, when you consider the potential this market has demonstrated. The bloom’s off Safeco’s rose, just like it is for Baltimore, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh- you won’t see 3.4 million butts in the seats again until there are shiny rings and pennants. You might run risks of Cam Bonifay if you make a change, true- at which point you fire him, too, until you get it right- but why should you expect your team to be outstanding if you don’t have a GM capable of being outstanding?
New manager? Two words: Wally Backman.