More moves
Just when you thought they were done, nope, the moves keep coming.
Probably announced tomorrow (Edit: Just announced, now official), though might happen before gametime: Adam Jones back to Tacoma, T.J. Bohn up. Since Tacoma already played today (Bohn didn’t, by the way), they might wait to send Jones back until after the game tonight.
With Ichiro to center becoming pretty much official for the rest of the year (WOOOOO!), Jones is going back to Triple-A to get some playing time for the next few weeks. He’ll be recalled when rosters expand before the 20 day loophole closes, so this won’t cost him an option year.
Rotation shuffle:
Meche is having his start skipped. Felix and Washburn move up to start tomorrow and Thursday, respectively. It’s assumed, but not known for sure, that Woods goes Friday. No Saturday starter has been named. I don’t have an explanation for why Meche’s start is being skipped. It could be because he’s been terrible lately, or, more interestingly, he might have cleared waivers and they could have something brewing. We’ll find out in the next few days.
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Trading Meche would be a brilliant move. As our best pitcher, he looks good, but we all know that good Meche is never here for long. Getting something for him would be wonderful.
Who needs pitching? Aside from everyone.
Yes, I, too, wonder which teams he would Meche well with.
See what I did there? I used Meche to mean ‘integrate’. Tee-hee.
So…Washburn against RJ Thursday night instead of Felix? yeccccccccchhhh.
Yes, but Felix vs Wang tomorrow, in a no-outfielders-needed challenge game. Both teams will be lining up 7 infielders in anticipation of all the groundballs.
The Mets were a possible destination for Meche before Glavine got good news about his shoulder. Perhaps Boston is desparate. Maybe one of the AL West teams. St. Louis? Cincy?
Most likely, he’s just getting rested…
So Ichiro to center is official despite this move, Dave? This just gives Grover a toy to rip up/ignore that ISN’T a highly regarded prospect? Makes sense in a way, but I can see Bohn getting a number of starts if Ichiro objects to playing a lot of CF. Which only hurts Doyle, of course.
The right move, obviously, but only because the context of the GM/MGR relationship is so fucked up.
For right now, the plan is for the outfield against RHP’s the rest of the year to be Ibanez-Ichiro-Snelling. If Ichiro decides after a few games that this isn’t for him, they might scrap it, but they’ve talked to him, and they don’t think that’s going to happen.
Don’t be surprised if Hargrove sits Snelling against LHP’s in order to get Willie in the line-up. The odd thing, though, is that Willie will probably play RF, since they don’t want Ichiro bouncing around from CF to RF on a day to day basis.
Ugggh. I wish I would’ve known about this BEFORE I bought tickets to Thursday’s game!
I like it, though. Ichiro! agreeing to play CF is /huge/.
Now just fire Hargrove and we’ll be all set.
I gather Baek is also up to take Moyer’s roster spot? Sorry if I missed a post on that. I’m glad Jones is going somewhere that he can play.
Is anybody here high on Bohn’s chance to stick in the majors down the road? I know Dave doesn’t see him as top 40 material, but does anybody like him? I haven’t seen him play myself…..
Yea, Baek starts tonight. I mentioned that was going to happen on Sunday.
Willie’s arm in RF? The indignity continues.
If they are going to force Willie into the lineup, I would rather they put him in left and move Ibanez to right, though I suppose that compromises two positions instead of one, if you assume Ibanez has some adjustment time.
If Hargrove wants WFB in the lineup against LHP, wouldn’t it make more sense to put him in LF, and put Ibanez in RF?
WFB doesn’t exactly carry around a cannon attached to his right shoulder.
Beat me to it jtopps!
Sorry, I meant the NL West teams might be interested in Meche.
If we could get something—anything—for Meche, that would be great. If they dealt him, we also could probably stop worrying that the FO will make another stupid move and resign him.
I wonder how Bohn will be used until his tour up here finishes on Sept 1st. Will he merely play as a backup outfielder/pinch runner? Or could Bohn (however unlikely) take over Willie Ballgame’s spot as the 4th outfielder? Although I know little of how Bohn could perform in the majors for the next few weeks, I can’t imagine any suckitude out-sucking what WFB usually sucks.
My uninformed prediction: Bohn gets the honorary Roberto Petagine Bench Spot. He will come in late as a defensive replacement. If Hargrove isn’t going to try and give Jones at bats, would he be any different with Bohn?
#15 – I don’t agree that we should trade Meche for just anything. Offering him arbitration could yield a decent draft pick when he signs elsewhere.
Great news re: Jones. He needs to play every day. It’s a crime what Hargrove did to him the last couple of weeks. It’s also too bad he had to come up in the first place.
18 – what if accepts arby?? He’s going to get a raise; do you want to run the risk of paying him 6-8 million?
given the demand for starting pitchers and Meche having a relatively low contract that expires after the season is it really likley he cleared waivers?
20 – I think it is worth the risk. Some GM will be foolish enough to offer Gil a multi-year deal. I’m just saying, I wouldn’t trade him for roster filler.
Ichiro isn’t playing for any records this year, and CF is a bit more taxing; perhaps they’ll give him some more rest days or have him DH from time to time, which would open up a spot for the 4th outfielder (be that a real one up from Tacoma or the ersatz one played by Bloomie). After all, as Dave says, on Felix starts you don’t need a full slate of real outfielders anyway.
I wonder if Bavasi feels a certain grim freedom at this point? There’s nothing left to play for, and you can’t really piss off the fans and management more than they already are, and you no longer have to give any consideration to the inchorent prejudices of your manager, so you can pretty much do whatever you think is worth doing…
Remember that if he signs before the deadline to offer arbitration, the M’s still get the pick. I don’t know how likely that is to happen or not, but sometimes teams do weird things (like when the M’s signed Ibanez unnecessarily before the deadline).
NL West teams might be interested in Meche.
Well, if he wound up in Colorado, it might have the potential to be entertaining . . . unless you’re a Rox fan, of course . . .
25, You’re forgetting the humidor. Coors is a pitchers park now.
I live in Colorado, and trust me, I’m not forgetting anything.
23 – If that’s the case then Bavasi should feel comfy telling Grover that WFB’s ass should be permanently stapled to the dugout bench instead of in the game vs lefties or God forbid, righties.
What type of pick would the Mariners get if they offer Meche arbitration and he signs with someone else? Is it likely to be better to trade him now, or play for the draft choice?
21 – Moyer may have gotten through. Or he lasted long enough to get to the Phils. Meche very well could have gone farther than Moyer.
Who knows?
Willie’s inadequate enough when he plays up the middle. Sure, he’s a lousy bat at 2B, SS, and CF, but those often are.
But RF? Willie in RF?
BTW, don’t OD on the hype. Yes, the humidor has tamed things considerably, but the bigger story on Colorado pitching is simply that they have better pitching than they have in a while; the park still favors hitters. Rox opponents are pretty much even (.266/.331/.417 at Coors, .268/.339/.411 on the road), but the hitters have a home edge of nearly 40 points of OPS (.277/.347/.432 in Denver, .256/.322/.418 on the road).
Part of the effect of the humidor is that balls don’t fly as far, but they put the fences a long way back, too, to try to keep HR down, so there’s plenty of room for doubles and triples to fall in; and as for the humidor’s other effect (making pitches behave more like they do elsewhere), I don’t think that would really help Gilgameche all that much.
“Trading Meche would be a brilliant move”
I disagree. Not that I like Meche (I don’t), but remember…the guys we get back also have to clear waivers, and I’d be willing to bet that:
The players we could draft as compensation picks > Guys we’d get in return for trading Gil Meche now.
The one move I want to see still eludes us. Why is Grover still at the helm?
Don’t worry, Grover will be gone soon. Right now he’s just ensuring us a higher pick in what will be a very improved 2007 draft.
Does anyone who is, um, at least slightly credible know the system for supplemental picks and free agents? I don’t think it’s an exact science, but it would be nice if someone understood what we would gain (other than competitive advantage) by letting Meche walk in free agency.
Bohn left Tacoma before the game; he came to Cheney, then packed up his stuff and was outta there. Leaving us with Jose Morban in CF, who committed 3 errors and added to the horrible outing by Clint Nageotte (and the inexplicable decision to leave him in there WAY too long, despite the fact that Tacoma is still in a race….). It was ugly. I’ll be glad to see a real CF in Tacoma again.
Blackley was at the game charting pitches, so he’ll probably pitch tomorrow. Would have preferred he pitched today, but glad to have him back on the team either way.
Bohn has a very good arm and plays a decent if not spectacular outfield. He’s got some power and is pretty quick on the basepaths, and the ladies are gonna love that long shaggy blonde mane. For all they’ll see it as he will probably be riding the bench. From that viewpoint, and since Hargrove never USES his bench, I’m not quite sure I understand the reasoning behind putting people ON the bench at all. (Remember, I have a bias, I’m a Rainiers fan who’s hoping Salt Lake collapses this week…)
9 – no, Bohn’s not an MLB regular. He was moderately interesting as a high-OBP guy in the low minors, but he was old relative to the league, and anyway, all those walks didn’t follow him up the ladder. He can be overmatched at times in AAA, strikes out a lot, and doesn’t have much power at all.
All that said, I think he’s a solid outfielder with a good arm, and he’s been a good organizational soldier for a few years. This is a nice reward for him.
If they’re not on the 40-man they don’t have to clear waivers. So we could get back better prospects than we could draft, but, like via the draft, none of them are going to be near major league ready.
But honestly, anyone really think Bavasi opens up another hole in the rotation this year? I would love it, but, I’m ready to be surprised.
Meche, at this point, is likely to be a class B FA which means we will likely recieve a sandwich pick (the round after the first, before the second) and with our sure to be crappy record, that would probably be about the 33rd overall pick.
Would not be surprised to see Meche go to a team in need of middle relief (e.g. the Red Sox). He has a power arm and could make a serious contribution to a contender.
Remember, he’s Jeffs98119 and I am JeffS.
#40: Don’t you think Theo Epstein knows that the Sox’ season is over? Why would he give up anything of value for 38 games of Gil Meche?
Meche, at this point, is likely to be a class B FA which means we will likely recieve a sandwich pick (the round after the first, before the second) and with our sure to be crappy record, that would probably be about the 33rd overall pick.
Type B FAs require the signing team to surrender the first round pick unless it is in the first half of the round. Type A is the same, plus you get the sandwich pick.
Hey JeffS, didn’t mean to step on your toes. I’ll be sure to keep my distance. Jeffs98119
42: The Red Sox season is no more “over” than the Phillies, and the Sox have the resources to acquire Meche. Someone will want him, that’s for sure. Jeffs98119 (not JeffS)
lol
Speaking of Moyer (well, someone did), he’s into the fourth inning. One walk, two strikeouts, no hits. 4 groundouts and 4 flyouts. I hope he’s having fun.
We Dave’s still have you Jeff’s outnumbered!
*shakes fist*
47: but he’s gone 0-2 so far at the plate
Re: Meche. Trading him may or may not be a brilliant move, completely dependent upon the circumstances of the trade.
Re: Bohn, c’mon, his slugging percentage is only like 10 points lower than Mike Morse’s – okay, so it’s not up in Snelling or Jones territory but it’s better than Jeff Clement’s (yes, Clement probably would overtake him given as many ABs, or at least, I sure hope so).
#45: The Sox will not win the AL East. As they are playing some tough teams for the rest of the stream, it is extremely unlikely that they will win the wildcard (BP gives them a 7% chance).
When you say that the Sox have the resources to acquire Meche, well, yes, I don’t dispute that. They had the resources to acquire a lot of players before the July 31 non-waiver deadline, but Theo did not want to give up the young pitching every other GM seems to want in exchange. You think that’s changed now that they’ve become less likely to make the playoffs over the last weekend?
I am starting to get excited over these long overdue moves the USS Mariner has been after for a long time….Ichiro in Center, Doyle up and actually playing in the field instead of riding the bench, and Jones back down to Tacoma so he can actually play everyday. Now if only Hargrove gets fired sooner rather than later!
Doyle in the 2-hole tonight with a Willy free lineup. Although Rivera is in there.
In a perfect world, Ichiro singles, Doyle walks and Beltre hits them in.
Lopez dropped down. Probably a needed move since he hasn’t exactly been tearing the cover off the ball since the All-Star break.
2 hole!
In a perfect world, Ichiro singles, Doyle walks and Beltre hits them in.
Well, I guess that’s perfect because it minimizes stress on Doyle’s legs. But Doyle knocking in Ichiro with an easy stand-up double, and Beltre knocking him in with a double or HR wouldn’t be bad either, yes?
The best thing about this lineup is that it shows that Hargrove isn’t completely wedded to the whole lefty-righty-lefty thing — either he’s actually aware that Ichiro and Doyle aren’t troubled by lefties, or he just hasn’t paid enough attention to notice Doyle’s not a righty.
Dave (re: 7), the funny but awful thing about that, is that if he sat Ibañez against lefties in favor of Bloomqust, it probably wouldn’t hurt us as much as all that. I mean, it would still be ridiculous, but Ibañez has been pretty horrible, and Bloomquist is probably a better defender than Ibañez. Plus his arm wouldn’t hurt us so much in left. Snelling, though, has never shown any platoon splits, right? I guess Snelling needs time off anyway, but still…
Is anyone actually in Hargrove’s head at all about the Bloomquist thing? He doesn’t actually think he can hit, right? He just thinks he’s such a great, hardworking guy who’s given a lot to the organization or something? Or, kind of a good ol’ boy, reward the guys who “play the game right” (ie, bunt) sort of deal? I’ve never bothered to try to understand it before, but it’s been going on long enough that I’m actually getting curious instead of just angry. And having more and more trouble figuring it out. Is he just doing Bloomquist a favor?
Game thread please.
So, Angie tells us why Meche’s start was skipped. Tendonitis in his hand and forearm, because of the problems he had with the mound the other day combined with a certain type of grip he uses. She said he told her he could actually hear his arm/wrist ’squeaking’. Which, given his history, isn’t surprising I suppose. Only a man with as mysterious an arm as Gil would ’squeak’.
54, I don’t care what Hargrove is wedded to, honestly. I hope the next guy can construct a good lineup.
But good for Chris, getting in there so high in the order. Here’s hoping he makes it impossible for them to freeze him out next year.
You gotta love those photos on Gameday. Jamie was batting, still wearing his Mariners cap, and the Cubs pitcher looks like someone just shoved a lit sparkler up his ass.
Oh, and Jamie struck out but got himself up to a full count.
Meche has a sore arm, no trade, via rotoworld.
Another one that should have been sold high on.
Didja hear Doyle’s little interview? The accent is almost completely gone. So sad.
no mariano rivera tonight, or scott proctor
The other thing I keep wondering about is what happens if trade Sexson? Or Broussard? Then Snelling is in the lineup no matter where Ichiro plays, probably as either LFer or DH. So is Ichiro likely to just move back to make space for Jones again? Is that the best solution?
Sorry if that’s asking us to get too far ahead of ourselves…
That Cubs pitcher is the kid they pulled up from Iowa to pitch after that 18-inning thing in Houston where Dusty Baker used every single pitcher he had. And then he gave up five hits and six walks in his first start and still somehow managed to win 1-0 (methinks the Astros were a tad exhausted). So I’m not surprised he looks like he has a sparkler up his ass — it’s actually an Astro’s rocket (uh, not The Rocket).
Meanwhile, Jamie’s doing alright for himself. 5IP, 2ER, 3H, 1BB, and 3K (3K! And only one of them was the pitcher! Phil Nevin and Jacque Jones must be hanging their heads in shame)
Anyone call for another Jeff S?
“Type B FAs require the signing team to surrender the first round pick unless it is in the first half of the round.”
Link please?
FA COMPENSATION – Much of the talk about Free Agent Compensation reveals that many people–# 43 excepted–are not clear on the subject.
Perhaps someone on the staff can explain the situation. (BA did some years ago, and I have it, but it won’t tranfer–and I type too slowly.)
BTW, does anyone know what criteria Elias uss to rate pitchers? (What determines whether MECHE is a Type A or Type B FA?)
Here, Matt.
Just got in and…that’s odd, we’re winning.
Is it just me or does Neihaus not sound too excited on the two hr calls today? He sounded especially casual with Beltre’s for some reason.
#60 – I don’t get Snelling’s accent. Listen to his interview from early 2005 at Lookout Landing (in the sidebar) – that sounds like a guy from Seattle. Now, sure, it’s not exactly overwhelming, but he’s clearly Australian. Either he’s spent a lot of time at home and his accent’s come back, or someone was impersonating Snelling in that LL interview…