Game 82, Mariners at A’s
Dave · July 5, 2007 at 6:53 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Batista vs Gaudin, 7:05 pm.
M’s kick off their final series before the all-star break with a chance to put some distance between themselves and the A’s.
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C’mon M’s, bury the A’s in the standings!
The biggest difference between these to teams is their defense.
Let’s turn this into a 5 game streak before the break. GO M’s!
what? starting pitching…
Woe to the Mariner pitcher who throws Jack Cust anything but breaking junk.
Lead-off home run, come on Ichiro start us off.
so we have three banged up guys and vidro still batting second…ugh…
you knew that was a hit off the bat…lovin it…
Well, I know now what the A’s will be working on during infield drills tomorrow. Geez, that was pathetic.
vidro is such a piece of shit…
Dammit, Vidro! You need to get back on the recordbreaking GIDP pace! 14 just before the All-Star break is NOT going cut it. Jim Rice is counting on you, man.
lol, man that was funny.
although that Vidro gb wasn’t
How did they not get Vidro? A’s commentator just said “Vidro runs well” HUH?
13
By running “well” maybe they were referring to how he always runs the correct direction towards first, rather than third, out of the box.
Whew…thank goodness for a round plate (no corners)
There we go baby.
ah…gotta love guillen against his former teams…
Or possibly he runs “well” as he rarely falls over and has good balance. Unlike Chad Gaudin running to first.
Marco …..
Scuturo’s not being gritty enough today. First he didn’t fall into the dugout for that popup, then he let that ball get through his wee wickets.
17 isn’t that everybody?
Mariner players with a higher OPS than Vidro (in order):
Ichiro, Burke, Broussard, Johjima, Guillen, Beltre, Ibanez, Sexson, Lopez
Mariner players with a lower OPS than Vidro:
Bloomquist, Betancourt, Ellison
Holy cow. Looks like we got bad Gaudin. Nice.
vidro doesn’t hit into double play…two walks in the first…WTF is going on?
Dave, what’s your take on Gaudin this year? More lucky than good? Or is another successful A’s reclamation project?
That’s the best I’ve seen sexson look at the plate in a while.
I SERIOUSLY was getting ready to type “Please no GIDP on the first pitch”
Sigh
oh, wait never mind. that’s more like it.
on the pregame Drayer had the first of three segments with Felix– and the difference in his English from last year is remarkable– and you got some of his personality, which could be a wonderful selling point for the Ms.
just his reaction when she asked if he’d liked school
That sucked.
I’m sure I should come up with something more pithy, but sometimes ’sucked’ covers it all.
And again, why swing at the first pitch when two of the last three had walked?
Plain stupid
you’d think kenji would take a pitch…
I hate when Joh does that with a passion. He needs to stop hanging out with Vidro.
At least Vidro has the decency to not hit it hard half the time, so he at least gets into the picture on the relay to first
may I just say?
I am so not the audience for Transformers.
Man, does it seem weird to see the name “Suzuki” in the opposing team’s lineup ….
You may, lol
So we’ll get the “4ip 11H 6ER” Batista apparently
bad batista?
#34: Yeah, what a geek-dip trashfest. I had to cleanse my cinematic palate with “Waitress,” which is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.
Wow!
Their last pitch and our first one sure changed the complexion of things
They might have gotten bad Batista, though I am not sure he come in anything better then ehhhh Batista.
He did dominate them at the Safe last time I think
With any luck, Gaudin threw everything he had at the Yanks his last time out…and we get to take him apart tonight.
did ellis just swing after the pitch was in the glove? lol…
Batista will get 10 strikeouts this game.
swisher is the modern day “sampson”…
Looks like Batista decided to skip his start and spend a day at the track, so to speak ….
28: That was a pretty good piece – and the school comment was too funny!
Takes him 5 minutes to throw a pitch, what the hell. Ball 3 was a strike.
ball three looked a lot like what they were calling balls on raul…
Rizzs, sounding as though Jack Cust was found by Beane buried in the sands of Mesopotamia …
#38– that was indeed a nice little movie (which is not a pejorative phrase in my book), though I admit I was predisposed to like it for Fillion’s sake …
obviously batista didn’t watch the pre-game to get the “keys to the game”…
this umpire sucks
Rizz just announced that Snelling just had this 8th knee surgery.
Getting Crosby is a wee bit important
51
Just what does Krueger put in that hair?
Great backwards K by Miguel!
*wiping sweat from brow*
crosby used to be money…he’s terrible now…i love it…
Looks like we are getting ehhh Batisita!
Ok, ONE of the managers will be thrown out today with that small zone. Even Beltre might get to a three ball count today.
Crosby: All rookie-season hat and no cattle.
and yuni will fuck this up…
called it…sorry…
Really Yuni?
Granted, a small zone means nothing with Beltre-Betancourt and Lopez.
Absolutely nothing
#50: It’s hard not to watch it and think about how the co-star, writer and director of the movie was murdered shortly after the filming wrapped.
#65: I haven’t been able to bring myself to see the movie, just for that reason.
nice inning…
apparently Chris was rehabbing the Sweeney-inflicted bone bruise, and somehow further injured the knee, tried to go the cortisone & rehab route, and finally gave up & had arthroscopic surgery:
“Typically, arthroscopic knee surgery takes three to six weeks of recovery; it is unclear if Snelling’s extensive history with that knee might complicate matters.”
looks like the strike zone has opened up a bit.
So why does Ichiro get boo’ed in Oakland?
#66: You should. It’s that kind of movie you can’t help but smile about.
Go on an empty stomach, though … you’re REALLY, REALLY, REALLY gonna want some pie afterwards.
Nothing like working the count. Gotta love them free swinging M’s.
I was afraid what might happen if they didn’t take advantage in the 1st…
#66– it opens a bit slow, as she gets all the characters established, but as the movie goes on, she (and the actors) do a nice job of softening & detailing what starts out a bit too broad … I found I could let go into the movie, and only dwelled on might-have-beens afterwards.
70: I often wonder that myself — he gets a harsher reception from 12k or so that typically show up there than from the 50k+ who show up at Yankee Stadium when we go in there.
70. I have no idea. I go to several games a year when I’m down in CA, and it’s disgusting. It’s not freakin’ A-Rod or Barry Bonds, for god’s sakes, with all their baggage. He’s a really good player who happens to do well against the A’s. I believe he’s had stuff thrown at him in the outfield?
Let’s just say, even if they had the money, I’m betting Ichiro! will not be interested in playing for them.
Things could get interesting if he went to the Giants, though, their natural NL rivals.
one of the great mysteries. he was being booed before The Throw….
#71– although, as a pie maker, I had to take issue with some of the crusts and flavor combinations.
I still haven’t figured out why you would bake the already cooked chocolate & berries pie …
Error!
god damn it…
Why throw cust a fastball?
Guillen really needs to work on the whole ‘keep your eye on the ball’ thing.
That was pathetic!
well, you knew he’d give up a run or two…damage control now…
Thats what happens when you have no out pitch.
So do we actually think we can do the ol’ “kill our only rally (which is always in the first) w/ a dp and go scoreless the rest of the way?”
‘Cause it ain’t gonna work tonight
We should bring “we want fries” signs to the Rainiers/Aquasox games.
it’s the socks…
As you can see, Sims and Blowers are already planning for our further rally in this game.
So why does Ichiro get boo’ed in Oakland?
Because they’re Oakland A’s fans, which means they’re basically Raiders fans who had their gear stolen at a Kiss concert and so have to dress like leprechauns instead.
Come on Kenji….no GIDP plz.
75: I agree…besides, he runs too well to fit in with their boring “station-to-station” style of play, anyway.
Why is Kenji bunting in the fourth inning?
What kind of “stuff” does Gaudin have? How close is he to being this good?
Niiiiiice…Beltre!
88:
Wow, Beltre hit that ball *hard*.
Good ol’ First pitch swinging Yuni!
Why does Ichiro get booed in Oakland? I think it’s just Terrence Long and the guys from his nighttime Domino’s Pizza delivery shift.
Its ok to take TWO pitches out of the zone there Jose.
So, msb, what goes in your ideal pie?
How long as Lopez been slumping? For about a week?
Speak of the devil, Rizzy, in a polite manner, was just chirping about how Rai-dahs owner Al Davis jerked the fans over in both Oakland and LA.
Slamming Al Davis in Oakland is like shouting “Yankees Suck” in Boston. Anytime, anywhere.
“Typically, arthroscopic knee surgery takes three to six weeks of recovery; it is unclear if Snelling’s extensive history with that knee might complicate matters.”
Can you imagine the doctor looking through the scope at the inside of that knee? At this point it must look like some kind of horror movie…
Miguel really is doing well. We still need more than two runs though.
A home run every now and then would be nice.
Just as an FYI, merchants would prefer you pay cash, not Visa (since they take about 2% off the top.)
104… well, things are better now that McLaren told the starters that they need to pitch longer into games.
At only 25, Doyle may yet have to opt for that bionic knee…yikes!
Well, Vidro hit the ball out of the infield…
108 Yeah, no one on so he couldn’t get doubled up.
Ah, Al Davis…the only man with a bullet-proof luxury box…
…to protect him from HIS OWN FANS!
4 strikeouts. HE COULD DO IT!
Quien es mas macho, Miguel o los A’s?
Shannon Stewart reminds me, the A’s have to be one of the whitest teams in baseball, and I’m not just talking about their shoes. Do they have any Latin players? I don’t count Eric Chaves; he’s an American citizen. So is their Suzuki. How is this possible, in this day and age?
Searching…ah, one Dominican relief pitcher…and I’ve never seen him in a game.
“Chris Snelling, baseball player … a man barely alive (background rumbling crashing noises). Gentleman, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world’s first bionic outfielder. Chris Snelling will be that man. Better … stronger … faster.”
The only caveat is that the pasimonious A’s will have to pay Oscar Goldman a salary to be his personal trainer.
guillen is on tonight…
Huh, interesting. It’s hard to believe Beane would be motivated by racism (although I suppose it could be unconscious), so could it be that scouts and teams these days are underestimating the Bloomquist type (just the TYPE, mind you) in favor of more exciting foreigners?
One thing I’ll give A’s fans, though, as opposed to Raiders fans: sometimes their costumes can actually achieve intended humor (this was in response to the infamous chair-throwing incident).
Gaudin reminds me Tim Hudson. He’s actually having a better year.
Excellent piece of hitting by Sexson (eyes rolling)
was richie limping?
Also, I don’t recall reading much in Moneyball (I know, a few years old at this point) about the A’s overseas systems. Could it be that they can’t afford the comprehensive academies and scouting systems that other teams use to find their foreign stars?
If Kenji had managed to reach the bag, he might have been safe at first.
Err, you’re supposed to touch the base!
Read ALL of the posts in the thread…
and Kenji will almost have made it to first
113… white players and US citizens are undervalued.
Richie was probably limping since he fouled that ball off his foot earlier in the game?
It is sort of weird, now that you mention it. They’re like the 80s Celtics.
It’s doubly weird if you believe Gary Sheffield, because you’d think anybody as good at finding bargains as Beane would be exploiting the hell out of the Latin players. Perhaps the cheapskate A’s are behind on the whole baseball academies and Latin scouting thing? Doesn’t really seem possible.
Yuni with ANOTHER chance w/ a RISP
It’s not Beane. Remember how one of his great early reclamation projects was Billy McMillon?
holy s…. Yuni took a pitch!
Yuni is evidently fooled by that fastball down the heart of the plate.
BTW, did anyone see this Ichiro! comment in the Tacoma News Tribune today….
“We don’t know what the future holds for manager John McLaren,” Ichiro Suzuki said. “But to be part of his first victory was emotional for all of us. I want to help him win a lot of games in his career.”
Should we take this as a good sign the he’ll re-sign with the M’s, or just smoke up our ass?
white players and US citizens are undervalued.
Or everybody else is more talented, and we know that salaries in baseball tend to go up disproportionately with talent. (Which is another way of saying they’re overvalued, of course).
Did Sims and Blowers just say that, while Oakland’s ballpark might have a large impact on a team’s batting average, that it won’t impact individuals’ batting averages that much?
What the hell? If every individual’s batting average goes down only a few points, then the TEAM’S goes down only a few points. Who taught these guys math?
so huston street just gave away four tickets to the first person to call in and claim them…funny shit…said he doesn’t need them because nobody comes to see him cause he’s hurt…funny dude…
I don’t want one of those Chevy cars that reassembles itself, I’d be afraid it would fold up while I was in it.
What’s that thing on Gaudin’s chin? A caterpillar?
116: I would think that even if Beane were a racist, he’d still care too much about performing his job as well as possible to let it affect the players he acquires. Therefore, the players he does acquire, he does so because he thinks they are the best available at the time. Therefore, any racial pattern is coincidental. Therefore there is no racism. Hopefully.
132- i think ichiro is going to sign with the Ms…with or without grover…so his comment could have been very sincere…
Don’t know how many of you are watching the Oakland broadcast (MLB Extra Innings). Huston Street is in the booth, for two innings now. The regular announcers can’t shut him up. He’s actually pretty funny.
Knew that was gone soon as he swung.
From what I’ve heard, Latin America is now heavily scouted… I mean, the As have to be the only team not down there, right?
I guess that run we crapped away, seems a little more important now.
Too bad we don’t hit hr’s lately
argh…
I wonder if, in the grand tradition of baseball names, Nick Swisher is nicknamed “Swishy” ….
116. I don’t think he’s a conscious racist either. But doesn’t Beane mostly choose college players? So that would select for White Americans. I thought Tejada came out of a Dominican academy, though. Was it run by the A’s?
Since they claim the Latin players are cheaper, you’d think Beane would be looking into that. I don’t know if they are, if you count all the foreign country scouting and moving them up through the minor league system from age 16.
On some level, though, I have to think the teams’ whiteness is part of their problem drawing fans. I lived near Oakland for a while and can say the Raiders are much better at creating a working class, all race-inclusive image. I keep saying it, but the A’s just feel so…white. I looked around at the 15,000 fans at the last game I went to, and most were White. The Oakland area is a very diverse region. It should be reflected in the fans. I sort of wondered if that was partly behind the Milton Bradley signing, but now he’s gone, with Frank Thomas.
But I guess none of this matter, since they’re going to move out to the White Flight suburbs pretty soon.
118: Tim Hudson = the Doug Drabek of the ’00’s? (i.e. local boy goes home and does NOT do good…)
Wow, 5 strikeouts!
Throw Cust the “curving ball”!
yeah…street is pretty funny…blowers gives away fries, street gives away tickets…
We should try and hire Street for our booth. It is hilarious when he tries to peddle off those free elephants.
NICE CATCH!
nice freakin catch…
Is he on the radio?
hmmph
Should we take this as a good sign the he’ll re-sign with the M’s, or just smoke up our ass?
Or C, Ichiro being polite as possible when speaking about a new boss (when somebody says they’re going to give 110%, do we take that literally and expect some violation of physics?). As always, without knowing exactly what he said in Japanese, it’s pointless to try to parse his statement too closely. Forgetting that is to have the mental illness of not being able to remember things.
Good goin’ Miggy… >:(
Huston Street, seems like he is looking for broadcasters job.
Teams draft from U.S. and Canada, so college or H.S., they’re likely to be white. It’s probably just a lack of investment in the Latin countries.
They’re hitting Miggy pretty hard.
Sounds like Street is better than Jay Buhner when he was in the booth.
wow… we think Vidro’s bad – but we could have Jason Kendall in our line-up. That’s a pretty precipitous decline for him. Is there a better Hacking Mass candidate candidate out there this year?
I hope our offense decides its okay to start doing things like moving the runners over, bunting correctly, uh…hitting hr’s
Beane has never, by chance, had any connection to Marge Schott, has he?
blowers gives away fries, street gives away tickets…
Judging from the stands, the A’s have more tickets to give away than fries.
We need to get Ichiro on, so when Vidro gets his coveted GIDP, the inning will still be going.
see swisher give the ghost of milton bradley the home-run celebration? hillarious…
Tickets in KC are 7 dollars and you can sit anywhere, so says my friend. I almost crapped my pants, but then remembered, oh yea, they’re the Royals.
I sincerely hope Mclaren did not just tell Ichiro to bunt!
wow…
Ichiro a dp
Goodness…have we given up?
Okay nevermind, should have bunted.
Oh yay rally fries. And look, the bitch brought a gift. Probably a lock of her hair. BARF.
Rally Fries! Finally, we can win this game!
Ichiro just Vidro’d
i think vidro has now finally become my most hated mariner of all time…and there have been a lot of guys to hate…
How the hell can Gaudin get drafted in the 34th round, be determined not good enough for Tampa bay or Toronto, and then turn into Tim Hudson?
Out of the few wins we’ve had here lately, I wonder if we got away with hitting no hr’s in any of them?
Signs of your kids being a gambler:
- poker chips found in room
- “celebrity poker” tivo’ed
- roulette wheel found in backpack
Nice job by Raul (since its been very few times we can say that this year)
But then again, Kendall shouldn’t be getting any x-base hits against ANYONE
Ibanez with the deceptively strong arm
wow! nice job Rauuuuuul!
180. I’m sure Raul appreciates the back-handed compliment.
Has Gaudin really looked that great to any of you tonight?
Seems like we’ve had plenty of chances and really executed poorly with RISP
Don’t think anyone will ever mistake Curt Suzuki for Ichiro!
Retiring Shannon Stewart isn’t exactly the kind of achievement you brag about.
183
Granted…
But I’m sure decent outfielders should NOT have more errors than assists
Only reason Kendall tried to stretch it is because Raul’s so damned slow in left field.
he’s looked pretty average to me…i’d take him any day though…lol…
Is it just me, or does it feel that, no matter what we do, we have no way of winning this game?
Now if Yuni can make throws like that when he’s standing still and balanced…
190
Not when you can’t hit a dinger or do much with RISP
That was a nice hit by Raul
Is it okay if we get TWO hits in a row w/o a freakin’ dp?
here we go…ellison sighting…
Ellison seen smiling as if to say “I can’t believe I’m on base in a close game!”
Big sexy is going to pound it.
177: Remembering how we went into TB that one year and got shutout on four hits by (of all guys) Doug “Hannibal” Waechter, sometimes the “blind-pig-with-the-ear-of-corn” theory applies.
there was his pitch…
Nice leap!
Good thing we put in pinch runners that never get sent
I do not heart Richie Sexson. At all.
Could Sexson score on a well placed…
TRIPLE?
what was richie looking for on a 2-0 pitch?
Ellison > Ellis
Maybe Sexson needs some Rally Fries.
Bring in the Gimp!
So Willie couldn’t have just ran for Raul to beging with? Maybe stolen second with Richie’s grounder getting him to third?
Sounds sorta “Groveresque”
Ya know, Rally Fries may actually be considered “health food” by Oakland fans!
Well, the Kobayashi ad is a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle out of date.
I wonder if the Expos had Rally Poutine.
Nice rally kill guys…wah!
LETS GO BEL…. never mind.
Crap
This just has “loss” written all over it. The second Kenji screwed us in the first, you almost had to see it coming
I’d sure love to be wrong though. Seems like Batista only wins when he gives up 4-5 runs for whatever reason.
well, they have no closer, so we are still in this…although no raul and sexxy…we’ll need broussard to go yard here kids…
Yuni gets to lead off next inning…having done absolutely NOTHING at the plate today.
Why not put Willie in LF and Ben at 1B?
angels won…i’m actually going to cheer for the yankees this weekend…gonna be sick…
In the bizarro world, Brad Penny entered tonight’s game with an ERA of exactly TWO and yet gives up six earnies so far in just four innings. But somehow is 2 for 2 with 3 rbi’s.
G-Man-
now we can pinch hit broussard…we’d have to wait till his spot in the lin-up if he was at first…
Come on, Batista, if you can’t get Jack Cust out…
ben will hit for lopez and he and willie will swith on defense if we tie it…
Oops, I didn’t ealize Ellison was already in for Raul in the top of the 9th.
The way our offense is sleep walking (after the first again), can you imagine what Haren is going to do to us?
how about just throw this douche off-speed?
Batista might earn himself a Complete Game Loss. Who was the last Mariner to do that? Who would have thought it would be Batista?
Wait, who’s douching? That is bad for your internal flora.
Show him the proper respect!
(Its douche BAG)
Nothing bizarro about Penny tonight – he’s on my fantasy team, so of course he stinks it up when I really need him.
187. Fair enough, but even when he does make a play, you used the opportunity to take a shot at him.
Besides, Vernon Wells, a Gold Glover last year, for example, has one of each. Gary Matthews, Jr., whom people think anecdotaly as a good outfielder, has three of each.
But it’s OK. You’ll never have to face him.
our offense needs to get healthy, stop hacking, and have a breath of fresh air from Tacoma after the break? i wonder who they should bring up?
I recall Moyer getting a CG loss a few years ago – went into the ninth and gave up a run.
I am usually one of the more optimistic folk here but I confess to feeling a sense of doom for this game. Hence forth, I am working on adjusting my attitude so that I can contribute my usual cheer for us in the 9th. You go, M’s! (can you feel it, yet?)
229
Ok, like that’s way over now, but did you bother reading #193?
Do you have an example of a good outfielder with MORE errors than assists (which WAS the original comment)?
229
So we can only make comments about players we’ll “face” in the near future?
Huh?
A shot at Raul’s fielding is not personal.
Nice optimism, Brad Adam.
Did that announcer just say the Ms were on their way to a 3-2 defeat?
not hitting broussard because…?
lefty vs. lefty?
237
I guess these announcers actually DO pay attention to the game
No Ben?
Lopez on base? But that’s unpossible!
If Ichiro can get a hit, then Vidro can…
Ok, one thing at time
embree sucks…we better score here…
never mind…
lol crap.
Brad Adam was right.
That was quick and painless.
Man, I hate it when that happens!
Ichiro hits into TWO dp’s (last one obviously was not his fault)
You may NEVER see that again.
Kenji’s dp in the first clearly cost us the most today
3 double plays, and Turbo wasn’t to blame for any of them?
done after the first inning bullshit…waste of time tonight…ridiculous…later kids…
And all these sucky players have one thing in common… Banner Bank.
Has Ichiro! ever hit into two DPs in the same game?
You can’t go into Oakland, hit into constant dp’s, hit exactly NO homers and expect to win…no matter how bad their batting is supposed to be
Just not gonna happen
218: Seems like Mark Mulder did something like that very early in the season last year before going on the DL — hitting like a two-run single in a game in which he was getting shelled.
253
Best…comment…today
251: Go figure!
With having to face Haren, Hardin and Blanton in the rest of this series, is a split even minutely possible?
#121, 127 — the A’s have a Dominican academy (you can read about it, and specifically Tejada in “Away Games: The Life and Times of a Latin Baseball Player by Marcos Breton, Jose Luis Villegas) and FWIW, Scutaro, Calero, Casilla, Loaiza are also on the team.
oh, and in the recent past … Long, Justice, Durham, McLemore, Rhodes, Gant, McMillon, Singleton, Bynum, Payton, Shannon Stewart
oh, and you can’t go wrong with a plain old apple pie.
although, a chocolate cream pie is not bad, either.
260: Don’t forget Milton Bradley….
I’m sure everyone’s gone…but let me ramble on anyway…
Jeez, I didn’t realize Scutaro was from Venezula! I had him pegged as continuing the fine tradtion of Italian-American players! (That’s my big hmmm…when the African-American community bemoans the loss of significant numbers, why aren’t any Italian-Americans crying?) And how odd, both Calero and Loaiza are on the DL; probably why I didn’t think of them. If I may be all conspiracy theory, may I point out that none the Latins on the team are dark-skinned Latins? I’m not trying to start anything, honest. I’m just wondering how much of the A’s troubles attracting fans have something to do with an Oakland native looking at the team and thinking, they don’t look like me, they look like some Midwest college team? Sure, Beane should get the best players he can, but what’s the point of getting into the play-offs every year if you can’t fill the place for the games?
As for the list of African-Americans on the A’s, I can’t remember there being more than two on the team at any given time. (I’m sure I’m wrong, but what the hell.) It’s like they’re swapped out. Get rid of Long, put in Bradley. Let Payton go, get Thomas.
I’m telling you, I’ve sat in that A’s crowd, and it’s like some bizzaro journey to Boston–a bunch of 19 year old, cursing White Boys with buzz cuts.
263-
The A’s don’t attract fans because the Colliseum sucks, period. Its been completely re-designed as a football stadium that the baseball side suffers. Throw in the fact it’s old and not very appealing and you have low attendance.
As far as the white 19 year old comment, not sure what you’re talking about, the crowds in Oakland are as multi-ethnic as any I’ve ever seen.