News and Notes
Larry Stone has the story of the Mariners getting a beatdown yesterday, as well as a notebook where Johjima compared the gyroball to a cut fastball or a slider. Also in the Times, Jay Buhner and Dino Rossi are now minority owners of the Everett Aquasox.
Over in the P-I, Art Thiel asks why the M’s didn’t go after Daisuke Matsuzaka, but he never really answers the question. In fairness to the M’s, no one expected a $52 million posting fee, so even if they had attempted to get in the running, it’s unlikely they would have won. Also, John Hickey talks about tonight’s Game Of The Year candidate. Felix vs Matsuzaka – it doesn’t get much better than this.
Which reminds me: Happy Felix Day. Every day should be Felix day.
In other random tidbits from around the majors, USSM-endorsed offseason pitching acquisition #1 Rodrigo Lopez made his second start of the year last night, going 7 innings and allowing 1 run, bringing his ERA all the way up to 1.38. He’s given up 11 hits, walked 2, and struck out 7 in 13 innings. The Rockies are paying him $4 million this season, or half what the Mariners are paying Jeff Weaver.
USSM-endorsed offseason pitching acquisition #2 Claudio Vargas made his first start of the year last night, going 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 ER, 0 BB, and 9 K.
Alex Rodriguez has had 28 at-bats through the first 7 games. The Mariners have 120 at-bats through their first four games. Alex Rodriguez has twice as many homers (6 to 3), more extra base hits (9 to 8), the same amount of walks (5), and the same amount of RBIs (15) as the M’s entire team. By himself.
But that’s okay, because we still have Felix.
Late Edit: Michael Garciaparra claimed by Phillies off waivers. Now he can hang out with Greg Dobbs. When Gillick gets a mancrush on a bad player, he doesn’t let go.
Comments
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So how much does it take to own the Aquasox anyway? Did Buhner and Rossi kick in a few thousand bucks or a few million? Personally I think it would be nice to be able to claim to be a part owner of a baseball club (even a minor league club) – so long as it doesn’t cost too much.
too good not to link, espescially considering the game this afternoon…
http://spotlight.encarta.msn.com/Features/encnet_Features_Columns_default_article_BNGyroball.html?GT1=9246
it’s writting by Bill Nye!
If you want to be a part owner of a sports team, most English/Scottish football (soccer) teams sell shares of stock. I’ve got a friend who owns stock in Stockport County, he just took a trip over there and was allowed to watch a game from the owners box, meet the staff, etc. Of course, this was mainly because a 3rd division team (Think AA baseball team) was surprised to even have an American who wanted to own stock and take a trip over to see the team.
USSM-endorsed Vargas had a nice line last night. I doubt we will see stats like that out of anyone on the M’s roster not named Felix.
So how much is Vargas making?
I’m putting it out there right now. Over/under on Hargrove firing is set at June 24th.
Nah, the FO won’t do that. He’s here all year.
5, I think im gonna have to take the over.
i received my first tivo machine in the mail yesterday and to celebrate i’m tivoing both the espn2 and foxsportsnw broadcasts… that said, it’s sad that the most exciting game of the year is coming in april.
i’m wondering if dave (or derek) would’ve pitched felix today, or if he would’ve put in one of our 4 bellyitchers since we might not score a run for felix…
it’s going to be a painful year if all we have to look forward to is every 5th day…
Of course, the ESPN game storywriter on A-Rod’s start felt compelled to note that skeptics would point out A-Rod still sucks in the playoffs. If he hit four home runs in a game, skeptics would point out that he didn’t hit any of them with runners in scoring position and the last three were hit when the game was out of reach anyway.
By the way, send some good wishes DMZ’s way.
He came out to speak to the East Bremerton Rotary Club this morning, but was felled by dehydration and was unable to finish. Apparently he’s had some nasty intestinal bug and has lost 14 pounds in the last week. He’s over at our local ER, getting an IV drip as I speak.
And kudos to Marbledog for looking after him.
Sorry to hear that about DMZ.
I take it tonite’s gig at Third Place Books is off??
Yuck. Hope you’re in shape in time to throw a bedpan at the TV when Joe Morgan whines about you tonight, Derek.
I wouldn’t doubt DMZ’s ability to make a quick comeback … quick enough for tonight, possibly. But he’ll have to let you folks know himself.
Ouch!
Best wishes, Derek. I admire you commitment to marketing…hospital patients are a great market for reading material!
So, if A-Rod and eight random fans from the stands played the field, and A-Rod batted all nine times in the lineup, could the Mariners win if Felix wasn’t pitching?
Will the ESPN broadcast be blacked out locally due to FSN covering the game? I hope not, because I would prefer to see it in HD, but suspect we won’t get both . . . .
107 games are HD this year (on Comcast), including many of the FSN broadcasts
I have a friend who is also suffering from a terrible, persistent stomach bug. Best wishes to Derek, and you’re not the only one stuck with whatever it is.
If A-Rod was batting all 9 times against any team, I wouldn’t think their chances were very good….
DMZ interview posted today on King Kaufman’s sports blog over at salon.com:
Stupid link:
http://www.salon.com/sports/col/kaufman/2007/04/11/wednesday/index.html?source=rss
Get well soon, DMZ. Here’s hoping your hospital room has a TV where you can watch the Felix/Dice-K matchup.
Couple of problems with this scenario:
1. Felix is a profound groundball pitcher, so the defensive abilities of the fielders have a significant impact on making outs. It’s not just catching pop flies, and “random fans” are going to make errors and have balls get by, even with an extra infielder (that’s why you said 8, right? Because with ARod out there and Felix on the mound, there’s only 7 official fielding positions to fill). Even Felix is not going to get 27 Ks.
2. Somebody has to catch Felix. He (or she) doesn’t have to call the game, but does have to get a glove on the ball. I’ve never been on the receiving end of a professional fastball, but the prospect of having Felix throw 97mph right at me sounds rather terrifying. I’m sure you could find somebody who could do it, but whether such a person was likely to be found among 8 random fans is another question. And we won’t even speculate on a random fan’s abilty to throw out a baserunner on a steal attempt (or a random fan’s ability to catch the throw and apply the tag). ARod would probably be back in the middle infield for this game, to maximize his defensive advantage, but even so I think we can safely assume anyone who gets to first will be standing at 3rd one or two pitches later. Heck, they’ll likely try to steal home, too.
3. Can Felix pitch 9 innings with the world’s worst defense behind him? Because if he can’t, which one of those fans is going to relieve?
So, yeah, a lineup of ARods would smack in a ton of runs. But so would the other team.
Since this is a thread about articles, there’s one in the Everett Herald about Jay Buhner’s minority ownership/involvement in the Everett Aquasox.
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/04/11/100spo_c1sleeper001.cfm
After Batista’s debacle, I took comfort in Dave’s take on his performance:
Any thoughts on Weaver’s performance? Was this a worst case scenario of too much time off + not that great = BoSox drubbing? Or are we in for a really, really long summer of Weaver suckiness?
Send my regards and good wishes to DMZ.
If Weaver doesn’t rediscover some velocity, he’ll be off the team in less than two months. He was legitimately throwing meatballs yesterday, sitting between 86-88 MPH and pitching up in the zone. That wasn’t lucky hits falling in – that was a guy throwing pitches that a Triple-A line-up would have feasted on.
He needs to get back to the 90-92 range and show some sink on his two seam fastball, or the Weaver experiment is going to have the plug pulled very quickly.
I’d like to know more about how guys like Weaver are managed from the GM perspective. Performance-wise, we know where Weav has to be; roster management-wise, I’d like to know how comfortable this team is in cutting loose a big salary, how they would time the roster move, who they would rely on for the final assessment of Weaver’s potential, etc.
Get well soon, DMZ. Here’s hoping your hospital room has a TV where you can watch the Felix/Dice-K matchup.
If we were real fans, we’d sneak an HD plasma set into his room. And a dish. OK, maybe that’s not feasible. How about this: we’d sneak DMZ — IV drip and all — out of the hospital to the nearest bar with HD.
Also, do we know for sure that FSN and/or ESPN will be broadcasting the game here in HD?
Because I’m in kind of a quandry: on the one hand, I know exactly where I want to be for Matsusaka’s first pitch to Ichiro: in the bar at Maneki. But on the other hand, they don’t have an HD set, so if the game is in HD I think I may go elsewhere for the rest.
Get well Derek (I pity the nurse who pulls the curtain to do something at the opening pitch tonite!) Question for someone who would know. It’s been bothering me that the M’s did next to nothing in Cleveland. I know they went to the stadium and used some facilties but are there not batting cages, gyms & such that could have been rented to do some baseball work outs?
Dave-
You were pretty spot on with Felix’s last start. What do you have down for tonight?
If Felix was pitching and A-Rod was playing SS and random fans were at all the other defensive positions, I would think most major league hitters would bunt the ball away from A-Rod.
Felix fields his position like a cat, so that wouldn’t guarantee anything.
Has there been any word from Weaver or the M’s as to where 4-5 MPH of his velocity went? I would think after a performance like that someone would need to do a little $8 million damage control. Come up with something about the layoff, the cold, or a mystery illness/ injury!
Jim Caple calls out Ichiro
I have to agree with Caple. No more excuses for Ichiro for leadership on this team. He’s the star. He’s the one that has been fed up with the work habits of some. He’s the one in the walk year of the contract.
I love Ichiro…but he’s got to put his play where his mouth is and step up the intensity in the club house and on the field!
Ryan Franklin is now in the game to close for the Cardinals. 3-2 lead. Wow.
Even the worst major-league hitter could easily beat out that bunt, and keep on going to second, third, and home, on pretty much every pitch. In the pressure of a real game, with real hitters, your average fan couldn’t make even a “soft” ground ball stop, or throw accurately and in time to any base. The other team would score 600 runs, no matter what Alex and Felix did defensively. As for the catcher, the best thing would be to bring a bucket out there to catch it in. Your average fan would flinch and run away from a Jamie Moyer fastball, let alone a Felix one — and every single breaking pitch would go to the backstop.
The other team would score 600 runs.
Intensity. Yeah, that’s what we need. Intensity. Maybe Ichiro should break his hand on the bathroom door or something.
They don’t need to get fired up. They need to get on frigging base.
Correction — Franklin was the winning pitcher in relief (he stayed in for the ninth).
From Caple’s article:
Yeah, Ichiro, you need to hurt yourself more!
Caple also seems to think it’s Ichiro’s fault the rest of the team sucks, because he doesn’t inspire them to play hard. Hear that, Ichiro? Get out there and teach Vidro to stop hitting weak grounders! And why weren’t you making trips to the mound to help Weaver sort out his problems yesterday? Selfish jerk.
Caple is right about Ichiro!
He can’t make Vidro any better but he can be more of a leader. Truthfully, I think Ichiro! has a grudge he is holding against management or Grover or both. I think he plays selfishly and it is no accident.
I love to watch Ichrio! play. He is fun and exciting and regularly makes plays that no one else could. However he has played for himself under the guise that because the team is losing so much the only motivation he has is to play for records, etc. That is total BS and if he was a workmate, you’d never tolerate it.
I think it’s cool that telepathy even crosses the language barrier.
Just a reminder about the MLBTV 5 day free trial for those who cannot otherwise see the game!
I’m not really sure the M’s will dump Weaver so fast if he doesn’t work out. That would be a much more expensive embarrassment than even C-Rex was, and Bavasi will have all the egg on his face. Especially considering that Vidro is turning into another expensive, yet easily forseeable disaster at the same time (batting third!). It’s a catch-22 for Bavasi: leave Vidro (or Weaver if he keeps throwing meatballs) in there too long and you hurt the team’s chances to compete, thus making it more likely you’re fired. Dump them early and you look like an idiot for signing them, making it more likely you’re fired. I bet Bavasi went through a lot of antacid pills over the last 24 hours.
I love how people will make drastic character judgments about Ichiro because he doesn’t act like they want him to act.
He’s. not. you.
These columns are so irritating. Anyone who writes one should be banned from Safeco for a month.
He can’t make Vidro any better but he can be more of a leader.
The Mariners suck becuase they’re full of players like Vidro who suck. Ichiro can’t make Vidro not suck, but he can be more of a leader. And a leader does what, exactly? Make players not suck? Wait, he can’t do that, and that’s why the Mariners lose. So whatever it is a leader does, it’s not going to make the Mariners win.
These kinds of articles, and that kind of thinking, is exactly like the students who go out and get drunk when they should be studying for a test. It may make you feel better, but it doesn’t actually accomplish anything.
Get well soon Derek. That said, I want that bug. For about 6 weeks. heheh
Actually, I think Bavasi has an easier excuse with Weaver than with C-Rex: “Arms were insanely expensive this past winter. We took a chance on what we thought was a bargain by those standards. It didn’t work out.”
Now, that’s the PR spin, which overlooks certain facts: Beane could see the pitching market was going to be nuts but Bavasi was completely taken by surprise, and that going by his talent — and not his anomalous postseason — Weaver couldn’t be considered the best use of that money. But that’s the spin they can use, pitching is such a “fluky” thing they can make a better case for being caught by surprise by Weaver’s meltdown than they could be C-Rex’s.
It’s not Ichiro’s job to motivate the 24 other highly paid professional athletes on the team. They’re highly paid professional athletes – they can motivate themselves.
Ichiro’s a slight dude. Crashing into walls is most certainly not something he should do.
Actually, if DMZ’s just getting IV rehydration, he’ll probably check out of the hospital within a couple hours. He’s probably headed straight home for rest and recovery, but he’ll likely be out of the hospital in short order.
I’m sure, given his current struggles to make ends meet, he doesn’t need a hospital bill for an impatient stay on top of the bill for IV rehydration anyway.
Shouldn’t Caple notice that Ichiro’s approach to baseball has kept him in the lineup every single day. Playing recklessly increases chances of injury and thereby decreases a player’s effectiveness and value. Is Aarron Rowand (sp?) a better player because he plays in a manner that constantly lands himself on the DL?
Weaver would have done as well as Lopez and Vargas had his World Series ring not gotten in the way.
FYI, because Jim brought it up and you might be wondering, DMZ is alive and well and should be back home any time now. Hopefully he will rest for a few days. Severe dehydration is majorly sucky. However, he didn’t miss a beat in his marketing efforts. By the time he was done at the hospital, his nurse had gone online and read all of the Amazon reviews to his book, and I assume had ordered a dozen or so.
I want to see four more starts apiece like that from Vargas and Lopez before I go saying ‘Yeah, shoulda got them instead.’ Lopez may turn out alright but I’m not sold on Vargas.
Weaver was not a smart pickup, however, either way you slice it.
Ughg. Not another “Ichiro isn’t a leader” column.
Ichiro’s job is to hit the baseball and to catch the baseball. Motivating the other players on the team is Hargrove’s job, not Ichiro’s.
It’s just a cheap way for members of the media, who don’t like Ichiro being aloof with THEM and not recognizing their journalistic magnificence, to get back at him. And it’s disturbing to see people lap it up so eagerly.
Another thing that is not Ichiro’s job is to coddle the egos of sportswriters.
re: Caple.
In 2006, Ichiro got on base 264 times (excluding Home Runs). He scored 110 runs overall, but hit 9 HRs so basically he was driven in by his teammates 101 times out of the 264 times he got on base (38% of the time). To reach Caple’s recommended “personal goal” of 120 runs, he would have to either hit more HRs (not his game), or his team would have to have driven him in over 45% of the times he got on base last year. Just as a comparison, the Yankees couldn’t even do that for Johnny Damon with Jeter, A-Rod, Sheffield, Giambi et al. hitting behind him (they drove him in 43% of the time). Ichiro would have had to get on base over 313 times to reach this goal last year. I think that’s putting a bit too much responsibility on Ichiro. His game is what it is, and it’s pretty awesome. Maybe if he hit more doubles he’d be that much easier to drive in (again by comparison, Damon hit 35 doubles last year to Ichiro’s 20), and maybe that’s something he could work on. But calling him out like this is ridiculous. Ichiro will give us 120 runs a year easily if the people behind him don’t hit like a steaming pile of crap. Unfortunately our #3 hitter this year is Jose Vidro.
Jose Vidro = steaming pile of crap
Jose Vidro
off topic: I am [deleted,off-topic]
Any chance that Vidro is as bad as Everett at the plate? I did not think that Vidro could sink to Everett depths, but after watching the first four games, it is possible.
As for Garciaparra, I don’t think that the Braves and Mets should worry about the Phils.
Continuation from #64: = $16 Million steaming pile of washed up ground ball crap
W/r/t Caple, ESPNs is the last place I tend to look for intelligent analysis, especially for West Coast teams … Caple’s a tool. If Ichiro actually did what Caple wants him to do and started calling out teammates and Hargrove in the press Caple would write an article about what a cancer Ichiro turned out to be.
This leads to a question I’ve had a long time. What does it take to start a minor league team somewhere. I’ve always dreamed of having a AA team in, say, Olympia area. AA’s my favorite level. Why are there no AA teams out here? Only A and AAA. And it’s only short season A. Is it just the weather?
So it’s Ichiro’s responsibility to become more American to be a leader? And not the team’s responsibility to become more Japanese to follow Ichiro?
Um, who’s puting up the better numbers? And isn’t it a truism that a bad team blames its stars for not doing more and not themselves for getting better people?
As for Ichiro…I’m not complaining about his playing style. I think he plays hard and does things the right way. He might even take a few more chances in the right (playoff) situation.
But what I’m saying is to take some vocal leadership on the team now rather than sitting back silently. Maybe he does and we just don’t hear about it. But for all his talk about passion for wanting to play on a winner…I’d sure like him to call out a few players of his own! For example:
Leader: Derek Jeter and Jason Giambi (everyone knows this and sees it). I’ve seen these guys be vocal and call people out.
Careful to say things the right way to protect his image: ARod
Which does Ichiro more resemble?
I understand I don’t know jack about what happens in the clubhouse and you’re right…I can only go off what I read. You can also say I don’t understand his culture and that’s not the way they do things. But, it just seemed to be a different Ichiro for the World Classic than we see day to day with the M’s.
Why are there no AA teams out here? Only A and AAA.
Well, let’s look at the names of the AA leagues:
Southern League
Eastern League
Texas League
And let’s look at the name of the short-season league out here:
Northwest League
I think you’ll find your answer in the names of these leagues.
Bidding for the Negotiating Rights to MATSUZAKA
Art Thiel is right; not just for the reasons he states, but for another reason too.
Even if we’d lost, had we submitted a reasonable bid–one of about the $30 million that many had thought would win–ICHIRO would have realized that the Mariners were serious about winning, and probably would have re-signed with them.
Now, there is little chance of his re-signing with the Mariners.
Spanked! Nice going, Guillen.
Ichiro’s teammates appear to respect him immensely. The comparison to A-Rod doesn’t hold up.
People say this kind of crap about every quiet great performer. They said it about Tim Duncan before he won championships. They’re saying it about Greg Oden now. It’s yet more of the human desire to reduce complicated human interactions to simple storylines and morals. The world doesn’t work that way. The Mariners don’t need Ichiro to be in anyone’s face; they need to be better.
Remember when Jack Clark got in Tony Gwynn’s face and called him out for being selfish? That did a lot of good, didn’t it? Was Clark being a leader? I don’t think so.
Okay. I’ll rephrase my question: Why is there not an AA league out West?