Squashing a Rumor
Dave · July 30, 2007 at 9:37 am · Filed Under Mariners
Call this preventative maintenance, as it’s not a rumor yet, but I’m sure someone will make one out of it once news gets out that Wladimir Balentien will be missing his second consecutive game for the Rainiers today.
He hasn’t been traded. He’s nursing a sore right hand. Don’t freak out when he’s not in the line-up in a half hour. Yes, the Rainiers are playing a 10:00 am game today, since they’re on the road in Oklahoma. As always, you can catch it live at the Rainiers official site.
I guess I just don’t understand why so many fans are riding Vidro. Granted he doesn’t have power numbers, but who says your DH has to have them? He’s a great number two hitter.
The biggest problem that I see is that Ichiro doesn’t try to steal when Vidro is batting left handed. He sits over there tyring to keep the “hole open”.
Why? Vidro hits to all fields and seldom needs the “hole” to hit through. How many times have you seen Ichiro go 2 for 4 and Vidro go 4 for 4 with NO RBI’s?
Remember the other day when Beltre was hitting second? Ichiro finally stole a base and low and behold scored a run when Beltre singled. What a miracle!
Ichiro and others need to get off the dime and become more aggressive on the base paths. Beltre is just about the only guy who still tries to stretch a single into a double these days.
I LOVE it when these guys challenge the defense with aggressive base running.
We’re not having the Vidro argument again. You can read any of the 8,413 times we’ve had it before. Or, the short version – you’re wrong, Vidro’s lousy, and the M’s would be a better team today if they had never acquired him.
RE: 51
I’m not sure how much more aggressive you are expecting Ichiro to be. He is currently 3rd in the AL with 29 steals, as well as 6th in MLB.
How many times have you seen Ichiro go 2 for 4 and Vidro go 4 for 4 with NO RBI’s?
Zero times. Geez, don’t post made up crap, okay? Really, there’s a saying about blogs that the Internet will fact-check your ass.
Vidro has had 4 hits exactly once as a member of the Mariners. On July 23rd he was 4 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Ichiro was 2 for 5, scoring one of the runs Vidro drove in (after stealing second, oddly enough).
@ 51
So you are saying that singles just aren’t getting it done unless someone gets on base ahead of him *and* steals a base?
BTW, it looks like Vidro has gone 4 for 4 exactly once all year.
52 – In addition to the fact that the phrase “aggressive base running” brought back year-old cold sweats. Oh, bad times, bad times.
As I posted in the previous entry, I’d platoon Ral and Guillen. Guillen has a huge split, too. But Guillen is being Babe Ruth against lefties this year, so his overall totals are covering it up.