Game 136, Mariners at Devil Rays
Hernandez vs Stokes, 10:15 am
Because it worked last time, Feliz Dia de Felix!
Brian Stokes makes his major league debut. He’s not a prospect – he turns 27 on Thursday and is your generic Triple-A starter. Of course, Triple-A starters have had boatloads of success against the M’s this year, so who knows.
Game Score is a Bill James gimmick stat created to give an overview of how effective a pitcher was on a particular day, and it actually works pretty well. Felix has pitched four games this year where his game score was over 70. Two of those were against Anaheim, and the other two were against Tampa Bay. Felix’s four best games of the season have come against two of the least patient teams in the American League. That’s not a coincidence. Teams that don’t make Felix work and chase pitches out of the zone neutralize his biggest weakness – command – and play right into his hands. There’s a real good chance we see Good Felix again today simply because we’re playing Tampa Bay.
Game 135, Mariners at Devil Rays
Baek vs Howell, 4:05 pm.
J.P. Howell is a command lefty with average stuff who mixes up his pitches. He’s the kind of guy the M’s just can’t hit. Expect another low scoring performance from the offense, as Howell befuddles them with change-ups early in the count. Also, since this begins a three game stretch against LHP’s, don’t expect to see much in the way of Doyle until Tuesday.
Game 134, Mariners at Devil Rays
Meche vs Shields, 4:05 pm.
Gil Meche was legitimately terrible in August, posting a 6.87 ERA that was completely earned. He couldn’t throw strikes, didn’t miss bats, and averaged just over four innings per start. At this point, the M’s have to hope that Meche finishes the year strong enough to be classified as a Type B free agent, which would enable them to receive a relatively high draft choice (as high as #16) when he signs some ridiculous contract with another ballclub this winter. Personally, I’m just thrilled there’s only a month left in the Gil Meche as Mariner Pitcher era.
Also, Ben Broussard, it’s time for a 4-5, 2 HR evening. Benuardo hasn’t exactly been hitting well since coming over from Cleveland, and we’re tired of having our DH’s hit like pitchers.
Roster move
Emiliano Fruto has joined the team for the trip to Tampa. He takes Rafael Soriano’s spot on the roster, though Soriano has not been placed on the disabled list since we’re in September and the team now has an extra 15 roster spots to play with.
The Rainiers season ends Monday, and the rest of the callups will join the Mariners after their season ends. Expected callups include Francisco Cruceta, Travis Blackley, Greg Dobbs, and Adam Jones.
Ichiro and Johjima
The Seattle Times has a fantastic article written by a freelance writer, Brad Lefton, on the relationship between Ichiro and Johjima. This goes way beyond standard beat writer fare and is probably one of the best baseball articles you’ll ever see published in the Times. Some of the interesting tidbits:
“I only had a bad impression of him,” Ichiro says, laughing heartily as he explains what he now considers a long-standing misperception. “When we played against each other in Japan, as an opponent, I found him brash and cocky. Honestly, I was upset when I heard the Mariners had signed him. I thought, ‘What?’ I didn’t think we could coexist here.”
“My image of him was that he was careless and not detail-oriented,” Ichiro says. “But when you observe his actions on the field, you realize he’s actually very detail-oriented and conscientious. A catcher needs to show sensitivity to his fielders and pay careful attention to details on the field.
There’s also a fantastic explanation of the sempai/kohai relationship that is central to Japanese culture, and predetermined the way these two were going to have to interact. It adds a real depth to this quote:
And Ichiro of Johjima, “Away from the ballpark, he’s always my kohai, that’s simply the way it is in Japanese society. But there are times at the ballpark when he’s more than just my kohai; he’s my teammate.”
Ichiro is disliked by most of the American media who follows the team around on a regular basis. Perhaps they should all spend more time with Brad Lefton and learn about why he does some of the things he does, rather than ascribing arrogance and aloofness to him because he’s not like the kids from Texas.