Game 85, Mariners at A’s
Dave · July 8, 2007 at 12:30 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Feierabend vs Blanton, 1:05 pm.
No matter what happens today, it won’t be as cool as yesterday. But I’d still like to head into the all-star break with a win. Putting more distance between the M’s and A’s is a nice bonus as well.
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Wow nice lineup:
Ichiro DH, Betancourt benched for WFB (not the worst thing in the world right now), Lopez batting second, Vidro on the pine. Ellison in center? Oh well, batting ninth.
Angels are getting pummeled. We could go into the break 2.5 back
I never saw the reason to give guys days off going into the All-Star break. Other than Ichiro and Putz, they’re all getting 3 days. You gotta give ‘em hell today.
Woulda been nice to see Broussard in today’s lineup. That’s all I’m saying.
Ah, but no Vidro…
Swings and roundabouts…
1.5 Back in the WC and 2.5 back in the division with a Firebrand win sounds beautiful to me.
That’s like asking why People want Friday off when there is a Monday holiday. Baseball players are people too! They don’t even get weekends or any summer holidays except for the All-Star weekend.
I realized that statement I just said is pretty lacking. Ichiro could use a day off in the field, and Ellison is the right call in CF. However, I would have played Broussard over Sexson vs. historically Mariner Killer Joe Blanton.
This is the first time that I am happy to see WFB in the lineup. Yubet needs a break. He has simply looked awful at the plate on this roadtrip. He takes defensive swings on 2-0 counts. Hopefully he can regroup after the ASB.
Ellison may be in CF to showcase him.
Angels are sucking big-time today…we have to step on the As throats and accelerate into the ASB. Go Ms!
9- You mean his .147BA with .318OPS isn’t enough showcasing?
“Seattle infielder Yuniesky Betancourt was scratched from Sunday’s starting lineup against the Athletics because of a stiff back. “He’s having trouble bending over,” Mariners manager John McLaren said. Willie Bloomquist, originally penciled in as the center fielder, moved to shortstop while Jason Ellison took over in center, as McLaren followed through with his plan to give All-Star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki some time off by using him as the DH. “He’s not going to have much time off the next few days,” McLaren said. “It’s like a day off for Ichiro.”"
oh, and Kirby Arnold writes about George Sherrill today
Yeah, Yuni needs a rest now and then, especially when he’s not doing anything at the plate. I don’t them giving Ellison a start either, especially since it gives Ichiro a break without taking his bat out the lineup (since he won’t have quite the rest everybody else will get over the ASB). I’d like to see Ellison start for Ibanez too… especially behind a flyball pitcher.
I don’t think there is such a thing as showcasing (who’s watching?) But this might be a kind act before he gets released in favor of Jones…
Angels may be down, but the Red Sox are rolling over for the Tigers yet again. The M’s knocked the Sox on a skid and they’ve never recovered, which sucks because we need them to keep the Yankees down and take some games from the Central leaders too.
But holy crap, the Jays just beat the Indians with a walkoff single by Rios, which means the M’s have a chance to make up a full game in the WC.
On the other hand, that pitching matchup scares me — a guy who historically does so much better against the M’s than he has any business doing, and a guy for the M’s who frequently does even worse.
There is no GM stupid enough to think 1 good game makes a guy more attractive to trade for. Ellison has been around a few years, people know what he can do. They’re not “showcasing” him.
Betancourt has a sore back so Bloomquist has to play SS for him. Ichiro isn’t getting the all star break off and you don’t lose much defense with Ellison in CF for him. And having Ellison in the lineup instead of Vidro is no loss.
Johjima is playing rather than Burke even though it’s a day game because 2 other regulars are out of the lineup.
I’ve got no real problem with this lineup. No Vidro is good.
Actually I’d like this lineup better if Broussard was in it.
What a nightmare! Who’s singing the National Anthem??
The last A’s game I went to, it was recorded; they had no one to sing.
So the game’s not secretly on FSN? I see nothing but Nascar Bubbas on mine.
its on KSTW locally, with the Futures game on ESPN Dos.
Oop! Suddenly game appeared on FSN! Just no pregame, I guess.
This is AK, don’t know if it applies elsewhere.
Go! Ichiro!
Ichi not going for patience in this AB
McClaren said he would be using the bench more, and he’s keeping true to his word. I’m glad to see Ichiro getting a day off in the field.
We better be able to get him in.
If this isn’t at least 1-0 at the end of the first we are in trouble.
Good AB by Jose to run the count and get him in.
Downside of game on TV: I have to look at Blanton’s jiggling girlie ass. At least he seems to have gotten a new hat; no grease stain…yet.
Thank god, one run. Now, a shut-out by Feierabend…..What???
and Michael Saunders from High Desert leads off the Futures game, for Canada and the Ms.
and … grounder booted by the 2nd baseman, so Saunders on 1st base.
just tuned in…how did we score?
Ichiro lead off triple and JLo groundout to SS.
Saunders steals 2nd, and comes in to score on a double by Hu.
Balentien up to bat third, the runner on 2nd steals third. Wladimer sac fly to center & Hu score.
Juan Marichal is managing very aggresivly
Ichiro lead-off triple (1st pitch), Lopez RBI groundout (9 pitch at-bat).
3 hard hit balls off Blanton in the 1st is promising.
Red Sox have runners at first and third with two outs.
But then JD Drew fouled out to third. Game over.
looking at the list, I guess that takes care of the Ms reps at the Futures game, as Adam Jones wasn’t selected.
and man, my typing is poor today.
32. Hmmm….won’t call my Sox fan friend for a few hours then, once the smoke clears.
thanks for the update…
Huh? Wlad and Saunders were picked but not Jones? How crazy is that?
Good first for Ryan, even the A’s announcers thought the strike zone is getting squeezed which seems to be a pattern when he pitches.
It’s US vs World, and since there are more good American prospects than international prospects, they have to stretch to find guys to fill out the world team. Saunders, as a Canadian, made the team thanks to his nationalitiy, and Wlad was a pretty obvious candidate. Since a team can only have two reps, Jones lost out in the numbers game.
Not to mention that the US outfield is ridiculously loaded anyways.
from Daren Brown:
“I was a little surprised that Adam wasn’t selected,” Brown said. “But I really don’t know what the criteria for being selected was.”
Speaking of the Mariners listening to the media/blogosphere, I know this is a dead horse, but when are they gonna wake up about bringing up Jones? Article in the PI earlier this week by Churchill quoted anonymous scouts that basically said, There is no freaking reason why Jones should still be in AAA. Are they waiting for the AS break? We can only hope….
Niehaus jinxed willie!
It’s all bleeders, floaters and bloopers. This has to be driving the A’s nuts.
Dave, do you think AJ’s recent 1-17 stretch will have any impact, one way or the other, as to whether he’s promoted?
Nope.
Is that Adam Jones? He doesn’t look familiar…
It was just announced that Mark Buehrle has re-signed with the White Sox. Nuts.
46-
SONOFABITCH!!!!!!!!!
In light of the Buehrle news I would then assume it is even more important to bring up Adam Jones at the start of the second half.
The M’s only ever had an outside chance at Buerhle. Oh, well, that’s the way the ball bounces.
Where is Marco Scutaro when you need him?
Re Buehrle:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
i HATE chavez…
He does so much for the team, I’m not going to put everything on his shoulders, but I really wish Ichiro had pushed a couple of those runners home last inning.
I saw the pre-game show on CW11 and they had a feature on AJ. I believe the FSN pre-game show did as well. I think it should tell us something that the marketing machine is prepping the fans for him to come up, and stay up, very soon.
So, who’s a better pitcher right now? Ho-Ram or Feierabend?
That All-Star Game ad with the cable cars is so odd. How long ago did they shoot it, because they really should have cut Andruw Jones out now.
I do like how Barry Bonds seems to be chasing the car though. Yeah, a last minute hop on, not gonna pay the fare, guy!
A thousand pardons if this has been linked before but, I think Dave is gonna sue somebody:
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2928838&name=olney_buster&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d2928838%26name%3dolney_buster
I don’t know the content because I am not an ESPN insider and therefore not a retard.
#56– let alone having Nomar in it in the first place …
I am torn between Buehrle re-signing with the Sox, and the notion of him going for 4-5 years to someone else
did ichiro get a tan while in cali?
ryan looks alright today…we need to get him a run or two…gonna be tough against blanton though…
57. It’s just Olney’s blog. Nothing interesting in there.
Ooooo…Joe Jiggly’s pissed! Surprised that ball didn’t bounce into the outfield.
Gritty speed getting down the line!
I went on a trip to Chicago and saw Buerhle’s last start. The fans there strongly supported Buerhle and chants of “resign Buerhle” echoed throughout the game. I knew then that there was no way in hell we were gonna get him. Imagine if Ichiro wanted to resign right now for below market value. It wouldn’t matter if we lost every game from here to the trade deadline there would be no way we would trade him. Same thing with Buerhle.
THE IGNITOR!!!
Ellison’s making this game his showcase!
Come. On. Ichiro.
Er no.
Was that something greasy I saw on Blanton’s hat bill? I always assumed his hat stain was his flop sweat, but now I’ve got to wonder.
too many wasted ABs here…we should have at least three run…this reminds me of friday…
68 – Thank god we can pinch hit TURBO later.
Dave,
Do you have a list of names of other starters you have your eye on?
That helped, but my guess is we need 4-5 runs at least to win this.
The list of other starters that interest me in trade:
That’s the list.
70:
Dave mentioned earlier that he wasn’t interested in any other pitcher available on the market. Perhaps he’ll go into greater detail on why/why not.
Heh, beat me to it.
Woo!
Dave, have the M’s expressed interest in any SP that are not on your list?
Yeah!!!
JLO! Fighting to stay in that 2 spot!
Middle relievers? Stand pat?
71 – I vote to bring in JJ in the 8th if the game is still close.
Jose!!!!!
72: Really no one? There must be some dumb team we could bilk out their #3 quality starter…Is your list limited to impending FA’s, or just anyone at all?
Really, no one. The available pitchers just aren’t impressive. Jose Contreras? Dontrelle Willis? Matt Morris?
No thanks.
I think their might be some sort of rookie hazing conspiracy working against Feierabend– go look at last at bat against Dan Johnson. I think the umpire was mainly just going off where Joh was setting up, but there were at least two clear strikes that were called balls. Same thing with the first inning.
Dave, would you not want Willis or Morris because of their contracts? they may be a little over-hyped, especially the D-Train, but they’d sure be an upgrade to our staff…
mutherfucker….
Auuugghh.
Not really, no. They’re not very good.
Is Javier Vasquez available?
82. I’ve said it before; I’m really scared they’ll go after Matt Morris. He’s a proven veteran after all and the Giants are each other’s usual ‘we need to do something’ trade partners.
Well, shit.
Now you’re gonna need to hit a HR, Beltre.
well didn’t that just really suck?
Beltre probably should have held on to that.
He took his hand off the bat and put it over the plate. That can’t be legal!
Why are players aloud to just stick their hand in there and get 1st base?
It’s not.
Wow. What a great turn of events. Guess if you stick your hand over the plate you can take first.
87- but they are better than Ho-ram, weaver, feierabend, and baek, i would think…
I don’t think Derek covered that one in his book!
The amazing part was that the crowd was booing as if he was throwing at him.
This inning has really biten us in the butt hasn’t it?
You are not allowed to do that. But if you do, you are allowed to yell aloud.
Matt Morris and Cha Seung Baek are the same type of pitcher. It’s not any real upgrade, and it’s certainly not worth the cost.
YA!! McLaren strips off the sling! DUN DUN DUN!
Well, given all the fantastic throws from 3rd (and beyond) Beltre manages every season, I can’t really begrudge him the occasional error. Painful for it to be a two run error, rather than just a guy-gets-on or guy-gets-an-extra-base error. There’s still time for him to redeem himself at the plate.
As far as pitching goes — the only players that are going to be available are from teams that suck, and most of the teams that suck do so because of their pitching. When you’re looking at impending free agents from sucking teams, your pool is pretty limited. If you’re hoping to “bilk” some team out of a #3 starter you’re dancing on moonbeams with unicorns. Bavasi is as likely to be the bilk-ee as the bilk-er in any trade.
Double play!
fantastic DP…
About time he called that pitch a strike for us.
96. From listening to a lot of Giants games, I know Morris is just about done, in the NL. What the hell would happen to him in the AL?
But he’s also supposed to be a great club house guy! (Just gets worse and worse.)
God, I love our bullpen.
Kudos to my favorite vulture! (He hates that nickname, according to a story in the morning paper).
That could have been a lot worse. Even if Beltre doesn’t make that error it is bases loaded and RF probably gives up 2 anyways.
It’s not a vulture win if the pitcher comes in with the score tied, or behind.
way to run that out…jesus…
Hm, Kenji might have been safe if he wasn’t jogging…
Even Vidro could have gotten to first on that. Christ.
don’t get crazy pumpkin…
fiererbrand looks lost coming off of the mound
111
Since my pregnant wife could beat Kenji in a race, how can you tell if he’s jogging?
Morris >>> Ho
He’s a tad bit better than Baek, that’s about all I can say about him.
Did Sims just say there was “a really strong wind blowing through the box”? No more more free fries Blowers!
Eliison is much faster than Joh.
rally time
Is it just me or does nearly every player on both team just look extremely tired? There’s no hustle out there. Time for 3 days off.
117. He did. It was disturbing, particularly if garlic had been involved.
Quick, get those fries to someone! We’ve got baserunners!
worst ballpark in the AL — Oakland Coliseum
wish ichiro could have done that with RISP earlier…sigh…
so, how many LOB thus far? 6? 8?
Good news guys!
Its empirically impossible to lose a low scoring game when even Ellison goes 3-3…uh, isn’t it?
metrodome
We are being ignited!
120 –
it’s like going to work on a Friday after a Thursdya holiday. The players have already checked out for the break
Wow…we really need to bunt to get them over? Isn’t Ellison really fast too?
Is it just me or is having lopez bunt here incredibly stupid?
No hit and run even?
125- not when lopez can’t lay down a freaking bunt like a little leaguer can do…
130
Thank you
Of course we’re going to bunt! Lopez is up!
What the hell is going on? 0-2?
#122 I agree. It sounds like a spring training game when the A’s get out of an inning (polite applause). How soon before they move south to their new park?
I love that Oakland is such a crap town that KSTW has to use San Fran sites (cable cars & GG Bridge) when they break for commercial. Too funny.
I guess Hargrove wasn’t the only member of the team that had horrible judgment about when to bunt
he wasn’t really looking to bunt – he just wanted to see the 1st pitch to see how the infield was going to play it.
Come on Raul. Do it for the people!
lol…who needs to bunt?
That’s more like it. The ignition continues.
“Bases loaded! Nobody out!”
Not what you want to hear next: “Ibanez up!”
Good job by Lopez overcoming pathetic strategy. (Nope, you don’t need to bunt with your ONLY guy with an RBI today and with two of your fastest guys on base).
Let us be going Raul!
Glad JLo can’t bunt
fuck yeah…
And I happily eat my words!!!
SWEET!
ellison and blanton?
Scrum time!
blanton’s fat ass started that shit…toss him!
Is this awesome or what?
that’ll wake everyone up
I went to a fight, and a baseball game broke out!
don’t f— w/felix
LOL
The ONE game you don’t want Ellison booted from…
YES!!!!! That couldn’t have been better!!! Ibanez inside the park! McLaren needs to stay out of there though.
ellison steps up for ICHIRO!!!! that’s fucking AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I saw the problem develop as the two guys who scored were almost blocking Blanton.
Ellison the enforcer for Ichiro! Now that’s a bench role!
WTF happened? Damn you Gamecast.
blanton – what a pussy….pushes ichiro when he isn’t even looking
the oakland guys are saying that “blanton didn’t do anything wrong.” so shoving ichiro is okay? bullshit…
Blanton HAS to be ran
On the replay, the ump CLEARLY saw Blanton’s cheap shot on Ichie. Right in front of his effin’ face.
Granted, this is the same blind ump who is incapable of calling a decent strike when Feierbend was in and the same idiot who couldn’t see Swisher just sticking his hand in front of the plate.
Nice. I generally don’t like retaliation, like intentional HBP or whatever, but good to see Ellison getting Ichiro’s back.
Nobody pushes Ichiro and gets away with it!! THey should toss Blanton…
Awesome.
158, yes, that’s what a bench player should do when his star is gone after.
Did Ibanez score?
Where’s Jose Gullen?
felix laughs at him…..classic
Ibanez is still on third.
Granted, Blanton was likely to be taken out anyway…due to sucking this inning.
C’mon, someone, play by play for us! From the top, what happened?
all the oakland white boys would get shanked by our vatos loco…it would get really ugly, really fast…
These are the kinds of events that cement a team. Just an awesome sequence of events. I heart these Mariners.
Would somebody explain what happened?
Hightlight: Felix doing a big ol’ HAH!HAH! at Blayton as he waddled off the field.
170
In the dugout getting his shank
LOL Gamecast: “Delayed, About to resume”
Ibanez was already at third. Blanton could’ve probably assured he wouldn’t scored, without shoving Ichiro from behind -without warning. That could’ve actually injured him. Fuck Blanton. Or Cupcakes, as LL calls him.
172: You’re right.
Why didn’t Ibanez run home??? The ball was still in play wasn’t it?
Haha… Sims was calling for them to hold back “the golden child” being Felix.
If no one else describes the play, I’ll do a recap in a couple of minutes.
jordon – hold on and I’ll give a play-by-play for you
raul should have ran to the plate during the confusion, then got involved in the scrum…lol…
WHAT HAPPENED?
someone explain this with all the details
i was watching the futures game for a minute then went back and blanton was pissed?
HELP TELL ME!
Ball rolls by the catcher (attempting to throw out Lopez), where Ellison and Ichiro have already scored standing by the on-deck circle. Ball rolls under Ichiro without him knowing, Blanton, backing up the play, shoves Ichiro outta nowhere. Ellison shoves Blanton and puts up fisticuffs. Benches clear. Nobody hurt. Blanton either gets tossed or replaced, probably tossed.
Man, they’re starting again!
Why hasn’t Blayton been sent to the showers??
think they just threw miguel out
told you…VATOS LOCO! batista is gonna kill someone!
What the hell is Batista so fired up about???? Is there some history here I don’t know about??
177: Throw to the plate gets away from catcher, rolls under Ichiro’s feet (he is standing there, having scored), Blanton runs up and shoves Ichiro hard (several feet, to the ground). He just shoved and stood there; would maybe have been OK if he reached for the ball or something, trying to make a play… but he just shoved Ichiro and stood there, and Ellison got in Blanton’s face (fists raised, but no punches thrown), benches cleared.
It looked like Raul did try to run to the plate… either that or join in the fun.
Well, one thing I’ll say in Blanton’s defense, you’d all be a little chippy too if you looked like you had Down’s Syndrome.
Ellison better not be tossed. Thats bullshit.
You weren’t kidding when you said in the opening blog comment, “No matter what happens today, it won’t be as cool as yesterday.”
If Ellison was tossed, I say put Ichiro in CF, lose the DH – but it is so late in the game, it isn’t a big deal. We’re down to usingshort relievers who could be PH for.
Ichiro is yucking it up with Ellison – you can tell he really appreciated the gesture.
Let’s showcase Broussard in CF!
I wondered if Batista watched the replay and then got pissed all over again. He does seem to be a guy who defends him players …
Miguel who?
Ellison has been tosssed (I believe) so we need a centerfielder, as Ichiro is DHing. We might lose the DH spot, unless Betancourt and his bad back come in to play short with Willie out to center.
Whatever you want to say about this team, they sure seem to care about each other. What a beautiful thing to watch.
ichiro didn’t go to the ground, but he was shoved freaking hard…
odds on casilla hitting one of the M’s in retaliation?
If Batista is tossed off the bench, I guess that’s a fair trade: bench pitcher for starting pitcher.
Of all the teams in the league, I don’t think I’d wanna scrap with Oakland. Blanton and Swisher are insane.
lol Malph
Apparently Blanton has not been tossed, since he’s still in the freakin’ dugout.
Yet, somehow, Batista gets tossed?
Uh oh, the guy who wrote about child serial killers got ejected.
I don’t care if Ellison gets 5 games (he won’t), but you had to make that call and protect Ichiro.
210: Blanton was tossed.
Ok, well that was fun.
How about a sac fly here to add a little insult to injury?
Batista and Felix probably started jawing with Balnton or others over on the OAK bench.
Gamecast says Batista got tossed. No mention of Ellison. What’s up with that?
absolutely Egaas
Wow, Ichiro’s all fired up! I think he just spit in the dugout! Have I ever seen him spit before? Can’t see that I have.
214, I’ll take the single.
this is the final moment in ichiro’s decision making process…how could he leave the team now where there is this much love? ellison could have let blanton kick his ass and gotten some playing time…unconditional man-love for ichiro from ellison…GOD I LOVE THIS TEAM RIGHT NOW!!! GO Ms!!!!!!!!!!!
Good to see Ellison stick up for Ichiro!
Shabooyah. 6-3 just like that.
And the fun just keeps on coming! Nice hit Jose!
Beautiful sac fly!
Nice, Jose! I swear someone should key Guillen’s car every game day. He seems to do so well when he’s angry.
216: Ellsion didn’t really do much. Batista was was doing a little bit of instigating after the benches cleared.
wait, so who got thrown out there?
Ichiro sitting in the dugout, laughing, having fun with his teammates. This is a very good thing for both the immediate and the long term future. Talk about a team building experience.
And Felix…stay the heck in the dugout!
Blanton shouldn’t be in the dugout.
WHY THE HELL IS BLANTON STILL IN THE DUGOUT?????
211- batista’s book is actually pretty good…read it if you like murder-mystery…
213. There was just a shot of Blanton on the bench, looking like sweaty bantam rooster.
Not to be a downer, but MAN, Sexson looked bad there…and for all his at bats today it seems.
If Blanton is still in the dugout doesn’t that mean he wasn’t tossed? How can he NOT be tossed? That doesn’t make sense.
doesn’t really sum it up, does it?
- R. Ibanez doubled to deep center, I. Suzuki, J. Ellison and J. Lopez scored, R. Ibanez to third on shortstop B. Crosby’s throwing error
- S. Casilla relieved J. Blanton
The Oakland announcers were criticizing Felix for coming out of the clubhouse to join the fray. Like he’s supposed to stay in the dugout when every single other player and coach from each team is on the field? Uh, yeah.
Well, for all the shit I’ve given Ellison this season… that boy just made me proud. Ichiro getting tossed hurts the team (plus can you imagine Ichiro! getting in a fight?) and Ellison does his job and protects. LOVE THESE GUYS!!!
And for the record I’ll be back on the DFA Ellison bandwagon after this game
231, I like it that Blanton is in the dugout. If he wasn’t thrown out, then Ellison probably wasn’t. We need Jason, but Blanton is of no further use to Oakland today, anyway.
I still don’t understand how/why Ibanez didn’t take home plate during all that nonsense.
I guess they didn’t eject Blanton because he was being removed anyway. I don’t know. It’s stupid. I have extreme hated for Cupcake Blanton. That muffin’ toppin’ son of a bitch.
I think the REAL scrum began when O’Flaherty realized someone else would get the win. Maybe we better make sure Green is okay.
#236– and for all his excitedness when he first ran out, when Batista started things up again, he was part of the hold him back, calm him down contingent.
That was an awesome inning.
237 – Not to mention the fact that he’s 3 for 3 today too!
237- not to be stereotypical, but ichiro would probably put a ninja-ass clinic on blanton’s tub-of-lard ass…
239 – if you watch the replay, the home plate ump immediately puts his hands up for ‘time out’ as soon as Blanton shoved Ichirio
apparently he did cross home, but they sent him back.
So which A gets hit in retaliation?
according to gameday, both Blanton and Batista were ejected
Blanton is a pussy for reacting that way after giving up three runs anyway…. Fuck cupcake… I’ll have a brownie instead
248: None of ‘em. That’s a bad idea, because then they’re going to take a shot at Ichiro.
So which A gets hit in retaliation?
If you go for Swisher, you’ll get another brawl, so you gotta gun for a wuss.
All signs point to Mark Ellis.
None of them. The M’s have too much to lose right now. They did their thing, stuck up for one another. Hitting someone at this point would just be stupid and cause suspensions.
The good news is, Ellison wasn’t tossed.
Perhaps wily Batista tossed himself on the sword to keep Ellison in the game, knowing we needed him in the field more than a starter on the bench.
A tastefully nasty slider to Ellis! Take a seat, boy.
It would be crazy to hit an Oakland player here and put him on base with a 3 run lead. Let’s concentrate on winning the game.
No one gets hit, but I’m calling an Ichiro! homer on his next at bat
246 & 247:
Thanks – I didn’t see that at first.
Okay, lets recap the “bizaro-ness” today:
-We will likely win THREE in a row IN Oakland
-Ellison is PERFECT at the plate
-Beltre made an error
-There was a fight involving Ichiro “the DH”
-Blanton had a bad game vs us
-Guillen stole a base
-Kendall got a hit and even scored!
254: Great point!
Is Blanton still in the dugout?
where the hell was that pitch?
Eric O’F has been a box of lucky charms this year. The luck of the irish vulture wins master.
Yes, they need to keep Felix away from stuff like this. They had the cameras on him alot, so I didn’t see what Batista did, but not sure Batista did anything worse than Felix.
EOF doesn’t get the win; Green does.
Hey, uh, guys: Still two innings of baseball to go. Let’s not count our chickens.
Interesting at-bat: If the A’s are pissed, Ellison’s going to take one in the ear.
Say what you will about Ellison and WFB – but they fill two important roles every successful team needs.
WFB can play EVERYWHERE in a pinch (giving players a rest when needed) and he’s actually hitting better than one could ever hope. Ellison is a late inning pinch runner or defensive replacement. Add to that Ichiro’s bodyguard and he’s golden for the year.
Ellison is more valuable in that role than Vidro would be if they called up Jones and DFA’d Ellison.
Will a riot break out if Ellsion get’s hit here?
Ellison up…
This should be interesting
not just EOF, the entire bullpen has been strong this year. VERY few games have been lost when they’ve been given a lead/tie
Yeah, Ellison looks a bit nervous here.
4 for 4!
Ha. 4-4. That’s raised his average like 80 points.
Four-for-four. Oh, my. What did they put in Ellison’s cheerios today, and can we put it in the other guys’?
boos for ichiro…..LMFAO
Looks like ELLISON is the fresh bat we need to put in the outfield!
Well, probably not, but he deserves some love today.
Eric O’F has been a box of lucky charms this year. The luck of the irish vulture wins master.
He’s not a vulture. He didn’t give up a hit, a walk, or a run.
That’s doing a job.
4-4…must be the best day in ellison’s career…
Question for Dave,
Has any player (non pitcher) on the active roster most, if not all of year, ever DOUBLED their hit total at the all star break, in ONE game?
Wlad with a little RBI double.
Y’know, I remember back in ‘96 or something, against the F’in’ Yankees. They drilled Rich Amaral on purpose, and Amaral was so pissed off that he stole second and third bases, and then scored on a sac fly (or something), and threw it back in the pitcher’s face when he crossed home.
Keep slapping the crying stepchild, Ellison.
Ellison rubs it in!
Wlad looked good smacking a double for the World team.
Mariners, present and future, wore their hitting shoes today. Except Sexson of course.
EOF doesn’t get the win; Green does.
EOF? End of file? Oh, Eric O’Flaherty.
280 – I totally remember that now that you mention it. Good ol’ Rich Amaral….haven’t heard that name in a while.
Dave, so as we are not in the Buerhle race anymore, and because he has no more options, are we going to lose WLAD next year? or will our outfield be JONES, ICHI, and WLAD in 2008?
280 Yeah I remember that day now. I had forgotten about him throwing the ball back at the pitcher. That was so cool to see though.
Let’s recap:
* Ellison 4-4
* Ellison sticks up for our biggest superstar
* The team shows great camaraderie
* The team is about to take 3 of 4 from the A’s in Oakland – where they NEVER win – and bury them before the ASB
* They are about to be 2.5 back in the division and 1.5 in the wild card
* The break allows everyone to heal
* Weaver has turned it around
* Felix has turned it on again
* Beltre and Sexson are second half players
Not to say there aren’t some issues that need to be addressed. But this team looks like it’s going to be in it for the long haul and the region is about to go Mariner Crazy again.
We’re relevant again!!!!!!
Come on Jorge.
Bizzaro day continues: Sherrill walks a LHB on 4 pitches.
It is the bizzaro game:
Sherrill gives a 4 pitch walk.
We don’t need walks with Chavez on deck!
287: He didn’t throw the ball back at the pitcher. He just jawed at him. At least IIRC.
280, I rememeber that one. They interviewed Rich afterward, and he claimed that he wasn’t getting back at them. “That’s just my game.”
Hope that Ichiro is only “day-to-day” with that foul off his foot…. I know a catcher who broke a bone in his foot doing exactly the same thing.
That’d be interesting, Ichiro perhaps SHOULD just appear at the All-Star Game and not play, and let his sore foot and all the other aches and pains get a rest. You know he won’t, though. He’ll play, even if it’s just 3 innings.
Yet another way the Coliseum sucks: Really bright outfield on the sunny days. Also the fans fry like a fish in a pan, but that’s beside the point.
Adam Jones with two more jacks today. good gravy.
there has been a lot of talk about Cust, but he’s looked sorry this series…
and guillen grabbing shades from the pen is awesome…reistma thought he wanted bumps as he was reaching to steal his glasses…classic…
no rally fries needed today, boys
Jones hit two more out today? Holy smokes. Give the guy a major league job. How many homers has he hit in AAA now?
I would love to see Jones called up sometime in the next 3 days. Good riddance.
286, if they follow the Sonics model, they let Ichiro go, let those kids play, and suck for two years.
But I jest.
I could cry I love this bullpen so much.
300-
He has 21 so far this year.
Oh man I can’t wait to show them our Putz for a series finale!
302 – if the follow the Sonics model, after letting Ichiro go and sucking for 2 yrs, they will decide to press Seattle for a new stadium, and in an unprecedented move the City of Puyallup makes the M’s an offer they can’t refuse…..2 years later, we have the Puyallup Mariners
306: That’d be awesome. I live in North Tacoma. The only problem: Where do you put the stadium?
The Fairgrounds
“Let’s do the Puyallup!”
instead of garlic fries, you have chicken-n-dumplin’s and biscuits & gravy
Hey, Oakland fans: You can’t do the wave when there’s no one sitting in the outfield seats.
Seattle Mariners of Puyallup
Anyone know who the A’s will have up in the bottom of the 9th?
Crosby-Kendall-Stewart for the A’s
Kendall has a slow release and weak arm.
Seattle Bullpen so far this series:
8 1/3 innings (25 outs)
1 Hit
1 Walk
Dare I say best in the majors?
So interesting how they were quick to call up Jones last year when we desperately needed a CF and nowadays when there’s a black hole manning the DH most days that they’re leaving him down on the farm. With each day it gets more ridiculous.
After being in San Diego and seeing Hoffman save a game in what they call Trevor-time, I’m ready for Putz-time!
The new stadium will be next to Emerald Downs and the new Sonics Arena.
The Muckleshoot Mariners of Seattle.
Jones with another double. Call up.
319 –
Hilarious
shit…no save for JJ…
Nice to get insurance, but that damaged my fantasy team’s week.
So, the save situation is gone – do you pitch Putz?
With the stadium next to the Downs, maybe Pete Rose will stroll over when he’s in town…
I’d still bring him in though. He’s warm. We won’t need him tomorrow for sure.
Yes, you throw Putz – going into the break, there’s no need to rest him
He’ll pitch the ASG – is an inning saved here an inning gained later oh his arm or is that too much disconnect?
You throw Putz to remind the A’s that if we have a one run lead with 5 outs left they might as well wave the white towel the rest of the year.
think kenji got a talking to? he had no chance there, but was hustling…
um…….why is Yuni playing?
he’s an error waiting to happen
331. For the defensive upgrade. *blink, blink*
I do not have Putz. I have Blanton and Embree. My H2H opponent has Beltre.
NEW PITCHER!!! CAREER 1 FOR 2 AGAINST JJ!!! THATS .500!!!
Eh, it shows YB that the manager still thinks he has it. Some support. And going into the ASB, it’s not the worst idea in the world.
Kenall TWO hits…one off of JJ?
Heck, ANYONE getting a hit off of him would be “bizarro” I suppose.
Has anyone talked about this?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-interactivefans&prov=ap&type=lgns
336, but his back is sore. See comment 12.
339: Yea, I saw that. Just not sure I totally believed it
3 of 4 from Oakland heading into the break wooooooooo
Putz wooooo!
Who among us predicted – before the season began – ANYTHING close to this record at the all star break? What a fun ride – all the more so because it is so unexpected.
should have been a sweep, but we’ll take it…bring up JONES, DFA Turbo, and we’ll catch the angels by august…
WOOO! 1.5 Back in the WC!! Love these M’s!
I like that last admonishment from the announcer: Going into the All-Star break, let’s stay safe, players!
Yes. Don’t carry luggage. Don’t BBQ. Don’t bring in the groceries. Don’t ‘wash the truck bed out’. Don’t get all sloshed and break your booze glass. Any more?
M’s win!!!
i predicted: OAK, SEA, ANA, and TX to finish the season…i never thought we’d be this close…i’m loving this year…
346:
Add – no dog fighting
Who would have thought that double-header vs. Cleveland at home at the end of the year might end up being so crucial?
If we win the first three games of the four game series against the Tigers, we’ll be on top of the Wild Card at the least.
Just looked at the schedule after the ASB. Ugh, M’s play the Tigers, Angels play the Rangers, then the Rays.
351- i’ll be happy with a split with the tigers…they are on a roll right now…
remember the game Hargrove saved in Cleveland in the snow?
Not to look too far ahead, but I’ve got to wonder if it’ll come down to the last weekend.
M’s get Texas, while Angels get the A’s, who will be out of it unless there’s a miracle, but love to play spoilers.
I have a question about the “no comments” post above by Dave – he scales those 15 runs saved by a superior defensive left fielder over 90 innings. Where does that number come from? The team has 73 games left, and approximately 657 Innings left to pitch. Those 15 runs equal just a .21 reduction in ERA per pitcher not the 1.67 runs/9 Dave gets. I’m sure that 90 innings number comes from somewhere, so that info would be appreciated.
Yes. Don’t carry luggage. Don’t BBQ. Don’t bring in the groceries. Don’t ‘wash the truck bed out’. Don’t get all sloshed and break your booze glass. Any more?
Don’t fall off your bar stool. Don’t fall asleep in a tanning bed. Don’t carry deer meat up stairs (or, more truthfully, do idiotic things on your ATV). Don’t sneeze while, uh, enhanced. Don’t try to tear up phone books. Don’t open DVDs with knives. Don’t stick your hand in a working air conditioner to see why it isn’t working. Don’t iron your shirt while wearing it. Don’t dream about spiders.
Guillen grabbing and donning Reitsma’s sunglasses was hilarious. To me that shows good camaraderie between teammates, though with Guillen’s history it’s hard to tell for sure. Funny nonetheless.
#274 They always boo Ichiro in Oakland. The only time they cheer him is when he gets beaned. I actually hate the damn A’s more than the Yankees.
Just watched the replay of the scuffle on MLB.com and I’m wondering how anyone including the announcers can defend Blanton’s actions. If he would have made an attempt to retrieve the ball after pushing Ichiro then maybe it would be justified. It’s obvious he pushed him out of frustration and Ellison had every right to defend his teammate. I know much of what Ichiro’s says gets lost in translation, but IMO Ichiro should have defended Ellison actions instead of trying to play Mr. Neutral. Blanton was wrong, plain and simple.
Well I just got back from the game and what an exciting day it was. I got to the stadium early enough today to see Ichiro in batting practice. The rumors were true, he really hits a lot of homers during batting practice.
Realizing that baseball is a game of superstitions, I decided to go down to the bullpen again. I was down in the bullpen before the games Friday, and Saturday and the M’s won, and I didn’t make it on Thursday and they lost that game. I didn’t want anyone blaming me for a bad game today.
.
Bautista was the only one working in the bullpen. It looked like he was using a 1st baseman’s mitt for some reason (what’s up with that, some secret training device??)
Raphael Chaves may not know who I am, he still remembers who gave him that letter. I waved at him and he smiled and waved back and asked me if I saw the news with a big smile on his face. Later he tossed me a baseball. Wow. I’ve been going to games for quite a while an haven’t gotten close to getting a baseball until now. Mr. Chaves you made my day twice in one week!!
Here’s what I saw during the 7th. Based loaded on 3 consecutive singles (Ellison on 3rd, Ichiro on 2nd, and Lopez on 1st). Rauuuul at the plate, he hits a double to the left center gap; Ellison scores, Ichiro scores and runs past Ellison, the relay goes to Crosby who throws it to Kendall for a play on Lopez at the plate. From my vantage point it looked like the ball may have hit Lopez and bounces away toward the Mariners dugout (in any case Kendall didn’t get the handle on the ball). Rauuuul advances toward 3rd as the ball bounces away. The ball ends up about 2 feet past Ichiro, and Ichiro appears oblivious to what is about to happen. Blanton backing up the play charges in and pushes Ichiro who takes a couple of steps and doesn’t make any aggressive moves. Ellison then charges Blanton. Immediately, someone from the Mariner’s bench comes charging out of the dugout, right where the batter “in the hole” should be standing, and the dance is on. Both benches clear and I could clearly see Mariners racing down the clubhouse tunnel to get to the field. The whole scrum was broken up after a lot of posturing. It took a while to sort everything out as the umpires huddled for quite some time. Blanton gets tossed and so does Bautista. Nobody appears injured and Ichiro can be seen laughing quite a bit in the dugout as the umpires huddle.
Some people thought that Blanton was within his rights to move Ichiro, but from my vantage point it didn’t look like he was playing the ball and just took the opportunity to take a shot at Ichiro.
The Bautista ejection was puzzling, I thought for sure that Ellison would be ejected. I think that the umpires were trying to finger one of the M’s charging into the fray from the dugout or clubhouse but were confused who it might have been. I could speculate who that person was but with the recent impact of blogs lately, I wouldn’t want to be irresponsible and get one of the ball boys in trouble
.
I thought that the whole incident was very telling. I was looking at a team coming together. Kudos to you Mr. Ellison, it was a gold star day for you with a 4 for 4 and having your teammate’s back. And all those players running down the tunnel from the clubhouse. That’s a lot of support for Ichiro on this team. Maybe, its something that will make him want to stay for a few more seasons.
All in all, a very exciting day at the ball park.
Joe Blanton looks a little like a bleached blonde version of “Big Boy” from Bob’s Big Boy restaurant chain.
I just read Blanton’s comments after the game, with my commentary:
“I was just going after the ball.”
I thought that guy standing there with the name ‘Ichiro’ on the back was the ball…my bad.
“They had a lot of guys standing around who had scored and were on deck.”
And I was peeved because I’m a tubby, mediocre pitcher who just got lit up for a three run double, and these guys are way, way faster than me!
“I hit somebody and I’m not even sure what happened after that.”
From my many years of martial arts training, I go into a trance like state when threatened…and by threatened I mean by having the bases loaded, then unloaded by a bases-clearing triple. I went for the smallest guy and gave him a shove because, in the end, I’m a sissy.
“I didn’t think I did anything wrong.”
Really, I don’t. Pushing a guy who’s just standing there is what we call ‘Oakland Justice’.
“[Ellison] was trying to get his teammate’s back and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Not that any of these scrubs in Oakland would have mine…I’m a self-absorbed SOB who hates everyone. I’d be a perfect fit in NY. Giambi got a big deal from them, why can’t I be a yankee too?
“There’s other stuff he did that bothers me, but I’m not going to say.”
Namely, lighting me up for 3 hits and effectively doubling his hit total for the YEAR in one day against me. Many I *hate* that guy.
I haven’t seen this Ichiro quote yet on here, so I thought I would provide:
“The fact that the person who got pushed was not as excited as everybody else was funny to me,” he said through an interpreter. “I didn’t feel like I was pushed; it was more like getting out of the way. I understood why he did what he did and at the same time I was happy to see Ellison do what he did. The way we’re playing it feels like this team is bonding.”
Yay, maybe he is starting to like the Mariners!
ah, the explanation for Batista, from Baker’s blog:
“Miguel Batista was so irate because he didn’t know why he got thrown out. He was trying to go after the umpires, not Blanton, when restrained. It turns out the umpires had seen somebody jump a barrier between the visiting clubhouse tunnel and the field to enter the fray. They didn’t know who it was and told manager John McLaren they were going to throw Ichiro out of the game unless he gave them a name of another player.
McLaren gave them Batista’s name, knowing he wasn’t going to be used in any event during the game. Didn’t have time to fill Batista in on his little plan. “
I really enjoyed Rotoworld’s spin on the whole Blanton incident… especially the “shoved Ichiro rather harmlessly to get to the ball” part. Obviously the writer was watching a different camera angle than everyone else.
“Joe Blanton was ejected from Sunday’s game in the seventh inning for his role in a bench-clearing incident against the Mariners.
He was going to be taken out anyway. Raul Ibanez had a three-run double in the seventh to give the Mariners a 5-3 lead. On the play, the ball got past the catcher, and Ichiro Suzuki, who had scored, happened to be standing near where it landed. Blanton, backing up the play, shoved Ichiro rather harmlessly to get to the ball, and that’s where it should have ended. However, Jason Ellison, who had also scored, decided to push Blanton, setting off the incident that led to both benches clearing. We understand Ellison getting feisty when he’s only in the lineup once a month, but he should have minded his own business this time.” Jul. 8 – 6:07 pm et
as Ichiro was moved about 6 feet by that “rather harmless” shove ….
366-
haha that’s funny stuff. Perhaps they should have seen the video where Blanton wasn’t even looking at the ball, as it was a couple feet away from Ichiro at that point.
As far as Ellison goes, he set off the incident? A guy defending his teammate? Yeah, that’s right.
Morons.
Rotoworld = fantasy baseball. That’s all you need to know about their opinions about “brawls” or who’s “decided” to push who.
That same video Axtell refers to shows the guy on deck, Richie Sexson, being — as Geoff Baker refers to in his blog — stunned at the goings-on and not reacting as instantly or as vociferously as Ellison.
Baker asks “can we just please get off Richie Sexson’s back” about all that. I suppose there’s been some blather on KJR criticizing Sexson.
For those who might still complain, hey, the video shows Richie with the bat still in his hand. I think it was probably a wise thing for him to stay out of the Ellison/Blanton mix-it-up the way he did. It wouldn’t have been good if someone perceived him as a greater threat.
testing on an old game thread
(: