Game 150, Mariners at Rangers
Dave · September 18, 2006 at 4:55 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Hernandez vs Millwood, 5:10 pm.
Happy second to last Felix Day. A start in Arlington probably isn’t the best way to give him a great ending to the season, but he’s good enough to throw a shutout in any park if he’s got his command. Let’s hope for Good Felix tonight.
Regular recent Grover line-up, with Snelling hitting 8th. So dumb.
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I really, really hope for Good Felix. Texas at home can punish a pitcher, and I’d rather see him get positive reinforcement than negative. Wwhen things go well it’s easy to know what to do the next time: the same thing you did the last time. But when things go wrong, there’s a milion things you might try to do differently and most of them are wrong. And I don’t want him spending the offseason trying a million bad things. But I swear, if they get on him to “establish his fastball early” I’m going to scream…
Promising start. 2 groundball outs so far. Can’t see what he is throwing though. Only have gameday up.
Quiet in here tonight.
Anyone else hear Jason Stark on KJR this morning with Mitch? Stark relayed that he’d heard this from a scout: Kenji calls for way too many breaking balls, and the Ms’ pitching woes can be partially blamed on that. The Ms throw a lower percentage of fastballs than any other team in the AL. He even mentioned Felix by name, inferring that part of his “problem” could be that he throws too many breaking pitches.
NOW… that is total crap, for a number of reasons. I’ll mention just one for now: Moyer throws 75% changeups… that’s going to tip the scales a lot right there. In any case, I mention this primarily so people know there is a purportedly stats-based argument floating around that is essentially the opposite of what Dave has said (and what I agree with), i.e. that Felix throws too many fast balls, particularly on pitch #1.
Stark is a goon.
3, there was a discussion of the Stark interview in the Cruceta thread earlier today.
People really need to stop listing to sports radio. Every time you do, kittens die.
I prefer to list due to poor ballast
Anyone up for a USSM (unofficial or otherwise) outing at the last homestand next week? Dave, if you’re ever actually in the area, I’d love to buy you a beer to make up for the fact that like five years ago when I was still living in Vegas, I wasn’t able to give you and your buddies a place to crash on your way back to the Northwest from college there in NC (I was moving).
#7 Thats why you must hold a beer bottle in each hand. Evens out the ballast.
Right down the middle of the plate. Anyone remember when Felix only throw fastballs down? Jesus God.
But ok, there is some hope. Hangs on, then comes back with first pitch breaking ball. Unless I’m reading these pitches totally wrong.
Seriously, what pitcher has had worse luck than Felix this season??
First the infield hit, then that “double” to blalock.
Why not walk carlos lee there?
Who is a better 3B, Beltre or DeRosa? DeRosa seems to have a slight edge with the bat, but does Beltre’s defense make up the difference.
3IP, 1BB, 6K, 5H, 3R
Does not compute.
and Millwood sails along, flyball out after flyball out in Arlington.
14- Beltre > DeRosa
Beltre would be having a monster season if he played in that thing they call a stadium in Texas.
16-
If thats Felix, all those flyballs are gone. Felix=bad luck.
14, looks to me like DeRosa’s having a good year that’s quite a bit better than all his previous years, plus he’s 32. This year, he’s having the better season, depending on how much you value defense. But it’s probably pretty unlikely that he’ll do it again.
#14,18– why, haven’t you heard? it’s because he’s been magically fixed by Rudy Jaramillo, having gone & asked to be taught to ‘hit like Michael Young’. It was a much discussed topic during the last Texas series….
#9 – 2 beer ballast, I like it.
#17 MFAN – Oh Yeah, Park effects – silly me.
I think after his exciting year, Jose is officially all worn out.
I know it’s garbage time for the season, but 21 posts for a Felix start?
Excuse me, 22.
I repreat FELIX HAS THE WORST LUCK EVER.
At least that one won’t be earned
It’s all about next year right? except for maybe Ichiro’s stolen base streak…
I don’t think they want Ichiro! to take the hits lead in the AL…
24- according to gameday it was earned.
Herb Score has the worst luck ever
Ichiro will probably take it before the season ends
Well on their way to shutout number 16. Twenty percent of their losses.
Oh God. Not Chick.
Felix: 5IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 9K
No HRs, at least.
Chick strikes me as like Julio Mateo Jr.
I think I like Mateo more
I mean just his overall ability to come in and suck in the future.
Mateo’s had good times that I don’t see right now from Chick, but point taken
And yet, amazingly, Seattle is only 24th in runs. Astros, Padres, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Rays.
Completely off of this miserable game: does it ever strike anyone that the AL-NL imbalance of teams because of Milwaukee’s move is really inexplicable? In no other sport would a difference of two teams be permitted. Added to the unbalanced schedule, which makes sense from a travel perspective, it means an awful lot of games with the Rangers, Angels and Athletics in a four-team division. The Mariners are in last, but that’s only relative because there are several teams in fifth place and one in the NL Central in sixth. Hard to say what last place really means in the AL West. It doesn’t make sense and I’m just tired of games with Texas, LA, and Oakland, and not just because Seattle can’t beat them. By rights, KC should be in the AL West cellar right now.
Is there someone with a better statistical head than I have (not saying much) who can tell me whether MLB’s divisional setups actually produce competitive imbalance inherent in the fact that the divisions are three different sizes? Is it tougher to win a division with six teams, less so with four, all other factors being equal? The imbalance just bugs me.
Chick really isn’t ready for the majors yet. Not saying he’ll ever be great, but he’s arguably equal to Mateo now (or, pre-hand-smashing), while Mateo is washed up and Chick still has some potential. He also costs less. Not that it really matters though, since the Mariners are the ones who deemed Mateo worthy of being paid (more) this year and the next.
First scoring chance! Raul!
I remeber an interesting article a few years back saying to add 2 MLB teams (32) have 16 in each league, 4 divisions in each with 4 teams in each. I love the idea because I’ve never liked there being a division with 4 while there’s a division with 6, it just makes no sense.
I do like the wild card though and that idea would replace the wild card with a divisional champion.
I think the original justification of the NL-AL imbalance was that they needed an even number of teams in each league to make the schedules work out. But now, with interleague play, that argument would seem moot. What they need to do is move the Marlins or one of the NL Central teams out west (Las Vegas or Portland) and into the AL West.
You could just put Houston in the NL West and then move like SD or COL to the AL.
Preferably Colorado, because the M’s just wouldn’t be the same with our fearsome rivals and favorite trading partners in the same division as us.
Las Vegas would probably be the best bet for a MLB team to move. Lots of land to build a stadium and it would be so much easier to get the financing through there than in Portland.
You know Rick Rizzs would run there in a heartbeat to be the commentator. They have the Bunny Ranch after all.
44. Should have been done when Milwaukee moved. There could simply be an interleague matchup happening all season long, which would be fine.
46. I’m missing the Rizzs-Bunny Ranch connection.
Chick
42 pitches
15 strikes
#48 Rizzs is purportedly a ladies man. The Bunny Ranch is a legal brothel in Nevada. Rick could go, get his toupee scrubbed and be back in time for a game.
Plus you would get to hear “Hey, I’ tell you what I did before the game, but what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” about 75 times during the game.
Lauren would have pitched better…
Travis Chick – 5 walks in 1.2 IP. I quote Yoda:
“CONTROL CONTROL! You must learn control!”
O’Flaherty sucks.
And there’s O’Flaherty deliberately making sure Chick doesn’t get away with pitching like shit and having a low ERA anymore.
Sounds like Rizzs and Red don’t understand park effects…
#52 I believe that is “Control, learn you must, or pitcher will never you be.”
In fact, I’m willing to wager John Flaherty could pitch better.
He’d also be a better catcher than Rivera.
58- But so would Eric.
I am amazed the Chick actually got anybody out. His command of the strike zone tonight was like my ex’s command of an SUV with a box of Twinkies on the passenger seat. Not at all.
Ugly.
I love the mind games Grover and Buck are playing.
Seriously its 8-1.
I see you counter my Perez with a Feldman…hah. I throw a Dobbs at you.
Geeze Hargrove, just let it end.
Remember, this is Grover’s 13th to last chance to “manage” a ball club, so let him have his fun.
When is it, exactly, that we can quit calling felix “King Felix”?