Game 80, Mariners at Royals
Feierabend vs De La Rosa, 5:10 pm.
With Sexson out for the evening and the team facing a lefty, John McLaren got a little creative with tonight’s line-up.
1. Ichiro, CF
2. Vidro, 1B
3. Ibanez, DH
4. Guillen, RF
5. Johjima, C
6. Beltre, 3B
7. Betancourt, SS
8. Lopez, 2B
9. Bloomquist, LF
I may surprise some people here, but I actually like the fact that he’s sticking Turbo at first base. Sexson’s a lousy defensive player, so sticking Vidro at first isn’t much of a downgrade, while Bloomquist can run circles around Ibanez in left field. Which is important, considering that Feierabend is a pretty extreme flyball/contact pitcher, so outfield defense is vital. This line-up acknowledges that Ibanez is a problem in left field, and that’s a huge concession that we all should be rooting for the Mariners to make. The more people running the club realize that Ibanez wearing an outfielder’s glove is killing them, the more likely it is we see Adam Jones in Seattle in the not too distant future.
Beyond that, though, figuring out if Vidro can play a passable first base is a worthy endeavor, especially with 2008 in mind. The team has to figure out a way to clear the glut at DH to get Ibanez off the field and Jones in the line-up, and if Vidro’s even relatively competent at first base, it increases the odds that the M’s would be willing to go with a Broussard/Vidro platoon at first base next year.
How they get rid of Sexson and how willing Ibanez would be to move to DH are questions for another day, but this is a start, at least, towards moving to the most sensible line-up the Mariners can run out there, given all the bad players they’re paying too much to.
If today’s line-up is even one small step towards Adam Jones in left field and Ibanez at DH, then Richie Sexson’s bruised thumb might be the team MVP.
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Wilkerson!!!! MVP of tonight’s Mariners game.
Thank God the Angels are losing. This score and some allergies make for a lousy evening.
So, does this change the minds of anybody on trading for Buehrle?
200 – I agree, Mike Blowers should buy a Kansas City fan some fries.. with a big old dookie in there.
Cause I know I would trade Ryan, Wlad, and scrap for him
So what’s the Mariner club record for runs allowed?
Guillen has been saving our ass tonight.
Ah, so sad… the Feirabend era comes to an end in Seattle.
Four grand slams… please please please..
Ok, I answered my own question – it’s 20, by Detroit on April 17, 1993. I went to at least one M’s/Tigers game that season, but that one wasn’t one of them.
Quit being so pessimistic. Only 14 more runs and we’ll have it tied up!
208… is that official?
211 – yeah. It ain’t over till the fat lady si… nevermind.
When it rains, it pours. Except when the M’s win; when it rains, it lightly drizzles.
well, that sucked.
glad I don’t have to go to work tomorrow and hear about this one.
I don’t know how folks around here feel about ESPN’s “game score” stat for pitchers, but I do know that I’ve never seen one of -4 before. Even Weaver at his worst never go below a 10 or so. Eeeeccccchhh…
This morning I was groaning at ESPN’s resident ex-GM “expert” Steve Phillips loudly proclaiming that the Mariners would be derailed by Hargrove’s departure, and everyone else disagreed with him.
After tonight’s game, it’s going to be awful hard to listen to him smugly telling us “I told you so”. Put a cork in it, Steve.
Steve Phillips is great. Sure, he’s kind of an arrogant prick, but I like him. Though as a Mets fan I’ll never forgive him for the Mo Vaughn trade.
#209 – Substitute “Weaver” for “Feierabend” in your post and we’ve seen it before.
ah, I see I didn’t miss much, other than more pain.
and funny, no manager can survive crappy pitching and non-existent offense.
At least the Angels lost.
I TRIED to be in Tacoma watching Mark Lowe, but despite my season ticket holder parking pass, I got to sit in line for 45 minutes trying to enter the parking lot before a Rainiers staffer came and told us all that the lot was full. I decided to go back home. Very irritated.
But I was listening, and Lowe lasted all of 4 batters in the top of the 1st. Threw 14 pitches. Gave up 2 hits and a walk. Got one out.
I guess this is the end of Ryan’s audition….get ready for the new and improved HoRam. You have to think Jones should be making his debut any time now.
I think we’ll see Baek back.
Is it okay to call Feierabend a poor man’s Nageotte?
Feierabend is the kind of cheap talent you can pick up instead of a multi-million pitcher.
Hopefully, Cha Seung will recover from his “mystery ailment” soon.
RF as a “poor man’s Nageotte” may be a bit generous — though I suppose both are a wash.
Does Bill Bavasi have Ken Williams phone number? I hope he does, because we could use some reinforcements.
You people are amazing. A 21 rookie pitcher has a couple bad outing’s so you give up on him? Get some perspective.
228. Not to give up on him, but when a rookie’s made 5 starts, looked horrible in two of them and has looked no better than passable, it’s probably a good idea to either take him out of the rotation or send him down to continue his development.
Dayn Perry gives USSM a shoutout:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6988424
#229 is right. The minor leagues is the place for Not-
Ready-for-Prime-Time talent like Ryan. One scary thing to consider is that RF is considered to be a bright propsect in the Mariners’ farm system, just like another soft-tossing, lefty washout named Travis Blackley. Is the curse of Jamie Moyer: that the Mariners are enthralled with “crafty, control, change-of-speed” slow ball lefthanders? I hope that the M’s management understands that it took Jamie a long time to figure out how to flourish with his less-than-overwhelming stuff. That kind of lightning only strikes once in a very great while.
#224–One last thing: RF is not a poor man’s Clint “The Man of Sweat” Nageotte, but an impoverished man’s Rich Bordi, who had two starts in the 1980’s, lasted one-third of an inning in both of his starts, and finished with close to an infinity ERA.