Game 120, White Sox at Mariners
DMZ · August 18, 2007 at 6:03 pm · Filed Under Game Threads
BATTLE OF TEH OCCASIONALLY EFFECTIVE STARTERS!111ONEONEONE!!
Danks v Weaver!
What kind of a lineup would you run out against Danks? No no no no. No!
No.
CF-L Ichiro
DH-B Vidro
RF-R Guillen
LF-L Ibanez
3B-R Beltre
1B-R Sexson
C-R Johjima
2B-R Lopez
SS-R Betancourt
Yup! That’s right! You like that bench, Jones, you more-talented option that could improve the defense hugely with a fly-ball pitcher on the mound? You better, because that’s where you get to sit. Yeah!
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The fifth inning of the Angels-Red Sox game is nuts.
Wow, I fall asleep for 30 minutes and Boston’s in the lead!
I’m slowly beginning to think that Jones will find success on another team.
I can’t tell you how much I despise John McLaren the manager. I’m sure he’s a nice guy and all, but damn…
In your face, Adam Jones!
The 6-run sixth and last night’s rally shows us Red Sox is really an elite team…and the Weaver brother just got rocked..
they could’ve taken the series but for Gange’s ineffectiveness.
If only the M’s can get rid of those grand slams and be more stable.
Wow, Micah Ownings (D-Backs PITCHER) has 6 RBI, (including 2 HRs and a Double.)
He would be a better DH than Vidro…
Sure glad that we’re running Rauul out there against the lefty rather than giving him the night off.
Next 6 scheduled opposing SP are all RH.
I predict Weaver pitches another gem tonight. If he can get them in their park he sure as hell can get them at Safeco… that’s my theory anyway
Top notch analysis I know 
Obviously L/R splits are only important when the other team is hitting. Then Mac won’t hesitate to bring in O’Flaherty for one lefty, then Green for a righty or two then Sherrill for one more lefty, then…..
Last Sunday, everybody hit Danks except Ibanez. He faced lefties in every AB and struck out four times. It is sad that Mr. Burns (”it’s called ‘playing the percentages’) would be a more effective manager than Mac.
It’s just astounding that McLaren is a professional manager and still makes the conscious decision to NOT put Adam Jones in the lineup for his ballclub. I mean, the guy literally writes down “Ibanez” instead of “Jones” every night. How do you justify this to yourself on ANY night, let alone when you have a flyball pitcher on the mound?
McLaren is teh Sux0r!!!
Yikes, one Weaver has given up 8 hits and 6 ER in 4.1 innings. Hopefully that’s the entire Weaver Family Quota for tonight, so the other one gets another CG shutout.
Hot hand, veteran leadership, blah blah blah.
We all know he’s wrong. We might as well talk about something else just to avoid turning this into the same thread we’ve had for the last two months.
You’re right, Dave. Let’s talk about Weaver. Will he have another good outing or will the White Sox come with a real game plan?
Danks is probably going to be destroyed though, so it won’t matter.
Dave – I know this is off topic, but [deleted, off-topic]
Let’s hope the Mariners don’t get blown out today… like some other Seattle team.
One last Jones/Ibanez related question. Dave, is the Ibanez bias solely a function of McLaren’s preferences or does it reflect Bavasi’s point of view as well?
I’m open to suggestions. Who wants to coin a compelling storyline for tonight’s game?
the guy literally writes down “Ibanez” instead of “Jones” every night. How do you justify this to yourself on ANY night
“Ibanez is a veteran hitting home runs recently. Jones is a rookie, and rookies get people fired. Jones can be a defensive sub in late innings.”
Yeah, I know Jones isn’t really a rookie, and Ibanez…. well, anyway, I’m betting that’s the thinking. Defense is undervalued. Matching defense to your pitcher’s tendencies is way too subtle. And even understanding your pitchers’ tendencies is too much of a stretch (cue Hargrove: “I brought Mateo in to get a groundball out.”) If it’s more complicated or nuanced than “lefty-righty” you can’t expect this generation of managers (or any kind of “traditional” baseball guy) to grasp it.
Someone’s probably already mentioned this, but I’d like to give a shout out to Asdrubal Cabrera on his first career homerun. Congratulations, buddy. I wish I wish we hadn’t bothered to get Eddie Perez last year. I bet we could get a lot more for you now. Or if we really had faith in you, we could trade Betancourt or Lopez and not lose a step defensively. In fact, we might even improve defensively. Oh well. Good luck, Asdrubal. You’ll always be a Mariner to me.
The White Sox offense this weekend is Triple-A quality, since Konerko’s out. Owens, Podsednik, Erstad, Uribe, Richar – these guys suck.
This is a great matchup for Weaver, just like last week.
While we’re giving shout-outs, how about one for Cameron Maybin who got his first HR today off Clemens. Maybin has braces (really!), Clemens has dentures (well, almost).
Alas, it wasn’t enough to beat the hated Yankees.
The White Sox offense this weekend is Triple-A quality
Unfortunately, the M’s pitching staff lately seems to specialize in giving up HRs (and grand slams) to the weakest of hitters.
The only pitcher for whom the White Sox lineup would not be a good matchup is HoRam. Fortunately, he gets to pitch in the Metrodome on Monday. I can’t believe that they are not skipping his start, but I digress. That can be the theme during Monday’s game thread.
I’m getting this game from WGN up here in Toronto. What do I get to look forward to?
Micah Owings is 4-4 with 2 homeruns and a double.
The most horrible announce team in the history of time.
Think donkey…. “He gone!”…
#28
4-5 now, he lined out to first in his 5th AB to end the 7th.
24-Did you notice how Clemens hit the kid on his next AB after the HR? Classy guy.
Thanks for reminding me the game is on WGN, I was bummed there was no MLB Extra Innings coverage.
On the other hand, damn you for subjecting me to the abortion that is Hawk Harrelson.
29, 30…thanks, I think. I guess it’s better than nothing, although RoboCop is showing on Space right now.
Even Bill Krueger doesn’t like the 4 out saves!
It’s like McLaren is using a broken version of the I-Ching to determine the lineup, since it’s usually the same lineup.
The most horrible announce team in the history of time.
What, Dave? I’m sorry, but I just didn’t understand that.
wow, is the CW feed absolutely TERRIBLE for anybody else?
Even Bill Krueger doesn’t like the 4 out saves!
I’m shocked.
Provided Weaver has the same stuff he had last Sunday, there should be no reason he can’t replicate the results of that gem.
#17, leon12: “Dave – I know this is off topic, but [deleted, off-topic]”
LOL, most USSM readers quickly learn that’s the wrong way to begin a comment.
And JJ tells the coaches that he doesn’t like pitching more than the 9th, but Mac doesn’t listen? Hm…
Bill Krueger is on the list of people whose opinions shouldn’t mean a thing to anyone.
Dave looks like he just got back from Willows Run.
Well Ozzie, may you can bring him in to be your bench coach. We here in Seattle don’t like him.
Arrgh it’s the talking microphone head commercial again. The only one that’s worse than that is Big Bob’s Flooring Store.
And, yes Ozzie, you can have Johnny Mac if you want him.
ChiSox fans in general are pretty knowledgeable about the game. It’s one of life’s ironies that their FO has built a brand upon embracing mindless drivel..
White Sox hitting is up to their old tricks again…
Boy, Jerry Owens does not impress me. I know he’s fast, but there’s more to baseball than fast. In fact, there’s kind of a lot more.
Two strikeouts to start the game. Very nice, Jeff. Now please do that 25 more times.
…and I’ll shut up now.
Well there goes the shutout.
Wow. He threw 4 strikes.
Thome isn’t an AAAA player….
Thanks ump for that “high” non strike
If you’re watching gameday, 2 of those called balls were fully in the zone.
Yuck. Thome had Weaver’s number for that whole at-bat, that was one of the more inevitable shots I’ve seen in a while.
49… you should have said “in a row.”
55
Hopefully the ump will gladly have the same “zone” when Danks is trying to throw strikes
Our hitting should make that call irrelevant anyway
Alright…a little personal information shared with the group…. before blowing out all of the candles on my last birthday cake, I wished I was Ichiro…
I’m cracking the Rally Beer open early.
Hey, Red Sox up 10-5 now!
Go Sox!
59-
Ichiro! would NEVER share that kind of information
Terry: Was your birthday right around the break? Maybe you ARE Ichiro.
…unless, of course, his dog told him to
You should have wished you were Ibanez and then torn a hamstring.
I loved hearing Blowers drooling over Vidro’s numbers. “…on-base percentage, slugging almost .500….”
yeah. Just reeled ‘em off. Quality analysis there, Mike. Keep up the good work.
1st inning = blegh
Yeah DMZ. LOOK AT HOW VIDRO’S BEST 2 MONTHS IS BETTER THAN THE LEAGUE AVERAGE OVER THE WHOLE YEAR!!!
Amazing.
Ah, but the Red Sox are pummeling the Angels…
If I am, out of body experiences are pretty cool as it turns out…..
59
Don’t tell us or it won’t come true!
Is the Safeco Field radar gun off for the same reason the USSM posting clock is off?
I blame the Moose.
“They’re last in on base percentage… one thing they do well is walk and hit homeruns”
What?
Ugly pitch, that one….
Wasn’t last week the week of Weaver Gems? I sure hope this week isn’t the polar opposite.
Some outs here would be most cuddly. Not gonna double up Pods though
They have one player who walks, two hit HRs, the rest suck. Selective memory combined with peripheral realization that their offense sucks.
What’s with the crowd roar every time the Sox get a hit? Is there that many Chi fans present? Or have they started the wave early?
He did that to spite USSM.
“Fly away off the top of the wall” Good recovery Dave
Fly away off the top of the wall…
Dave, Dave, Dave. What are we going to do with you?
Good lord Raul. I didn’t think you were going to get in there.
76… be careful or we’ll end up with a 5 year deal for Weaver.
“I can’t walk yet, and I already hate the Yankees!!!!!”
Thank you, thank you…..I’ll be here all week.
See? That’s why Raul is starting. Nevermind what he could end up costing with the glove…
Raul, pushing the science of the hot streak beyond all limits.
“..And its gonna fly away off the top of the wall!”
Nice.
*wiping tears of laughter and frustration from eyes* Oh, Dave….
Did I just hear the WGN broadcasters yelp “Oh no” when Raul hit that double?
WGN added OPB to their player stats….. cool…
BTW….you statheads are wankers…. en feugo Ibanez La Grande
Woo, productive out!
Is Good Beltre going to return at some point?
Anybody think Sexson should wear stirrups?
Why clap the I-Chi-Ro clap when Sexson is up? I can’t imagine what they’re supposed to say with that.
Raul apparently dosen’t look at his splits and thinks he can hit lefties. Or Danks isn’t very good. You make the call.
Call me uninformed but what the heck is “OPB” as a baseball stat? I guess I’m a wanker.
Wasn’t Danks like the Rangers top pitching prospect?
Uh oh. A DP has been setup.
1st pitch change = 5-4-3 DP
This is one of those situations where Sexson as a baserunner is actually a detriment. I fear the DP
#98
I don’t believe “pitching prospects” and “Rangers” belong in the same sentence.
Sigh, that wasn’t too obvious.
Good God it’s like watching time stand still.
101… jinx.
Spellcheckers aren’t very effective with acronyms….
This year, instead of a first half-bad, second half-good approach, Beltre’s going with the every other month-good approach.
OPSs by month.
April: .678
May: .918
June: .540
July: .996
August: .663
September Projected: 2.337
As expected
The Red Sox need a Rally Lobsta Roll.
I know when I’m old I will remember fondly that season and a half when Kenji could hit.
What’s sad is McLaren is maybe the only one who DIDN’T see it coming.
How do you not send Sexson, knowing Kenji hits into a bucketload of rally crippling dp’s and rarely k’s?
I know, I know…he didn’t want to risk a strike ‘em out/throw ‘em out DOUBLE PLAY…sigh
So what stops someone from putting down a deposit, ordering playoff tickets (hopefully this will be an issue), and then canceling the season tickets in November?
112: non-refundable.
112- The deposit is non-refundable.
Was it a full count when Kenji GIDPed? Cuz if so, I’d say sending Richie would’ve been a good move. Otherwise, you probably just have to hope for the best.
The Rally Fries Wikipedia entry has been officially deleted.
I don’t like this ump’s strike zone.
115- Yeah, it was a full count.
Oh ok. Never mind that plan then
#116
Hooray!
Damn I’m good, err, I mean Ichiro is good…..
I know Joh hates to take time off, and that Mac is a former catcher, but Joh needs to take more time off.
Yikes. Was that a SafeCo fly-out? It looked on GameDay as if Thome almost went yard again.
Is Ichiro’s lunging/charging motion before he catches a flyball relatively new? It seems like it might slightly cut down on the time it takes to throw the ball.
124 Not only that but did he take his eyes off that ball like twice while running it down?
hmm. bribes offered for rally fries.
Yuni could have caught that..
That’s like the hardest hit ball I’ve seen from Lopez in a while.
Doubleplay Duo!!
Lopez is a gamer…..
Probably the most ineffective 10 game hitting streak I’ve seen from Ichiro in a while.
Did the Fangraphs graph shoot toward the White Sox’ side when the Angels lost?
Good grief.
goodbye
And the “AAA offense” continues…
“Fastball nothing on it to go.” nice description.
That was crushed. Nice BP fastball.
Note to Yuni- Richie is tall, but not that tall.
aaaaahhhhhhhhhh….. Dye’s extension was a no brainer because he’s their best 7th,8th and 9th inning hitter and that somehow relates to their bullpen… Why was Hawk only a GM for a year?
Isn’t calling Weaver’s fastball a fastball kind of an oxymoron?
Ahhh .. Podsednik … I still have a soft spot for him. Back in 2001 I was dating my now-wife and took her to a game. In that game, Podsednik hit a bases clearing triple (and should have had an inside the park slam but the 3rd base coach held him unnecessarily) and she declared him to be her favorite player. The next time I heard from him he was in another organization. The wife is still around though.
of course, those runs weren’t so much from ‘Owens, Podsednik, Erstad, Uribe, Richar’
sad thought is what the score vs Weaver might be if the rest of the Sox line-up were really hitting, too….
Weaver has a high strike to ball ratio again tonight but as Reagan proved during the Air Traffic Controller’s strike, not all strikes are equal…
maybe we should start playing the ‘Jose Vidro is a professional hitter’ drinking game…
I don’t want to slag on Blowers all game, but he managed to make like a dozen Vidro-related statements without even accidentally hitting a fact, unless being paid for playing as the designated hitter does bestow “professional hitter” status.
Turbo!
Hot streak!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He kicked in the TURBO-charger!
How the heck did he score.
Run Vidro! Now offense, give him time to cach his breath.
#144
Vidro hits a home run – chug chug chug chug!
Turbo turns on the jets!
and since it isn’t just Blowers, one could get really hammered by the end of a game– especially if you had the radio on, too.
“Great awareness by Vidro!” – Sims
So, that’s why he stopped and didn’t know where the ball was?
DMZ – it’d be perfectly fine with me at least if you ragged on Blowers all game long if he continues spouting such nonsense as he has thus far.
Good ol’ Red!
Vidro, Guillen, Ibanez….all in a row…. wow… if you were playing the pitch-out drinking game, you’d never get drunk….
Red! Haha. Awesome bobblehead.
And Blowers and Sims act like they have never seen the guy before.
That was Red with giant bobblehead! Priceless!
Haha Red’s getting some screen time.
looks like MiniAdrian is using Red’s girl’s seat tonight.
Sims & Blowers are the broadcasting version of Bacardi & Cola. BlowSim’s been good luck this year, though you have to admit. Pennant race and Rally Fries, what more could you want?
#162
pennant race without Rally Fries.
Sexson stayed out of the doubleplay, no wonder the M’s didn’t want him to go to another club.
Rally Fries was fan-invented, so you can’t hate it that much…
Derek:
Flip on WGN……you might learn something…
Does Kenji do anything any more other than hit grounders to the third baseman?
Back in 2001 I was dating my now-wife and took her to a game. In that game, Podsednik hit a bases clearing triple (and should have had an inside the park slam but the 3rd base coach held him unnecessarily) and she declared him to be her favorite player.
Hey, I was at that game.
Did Harrelson just say Bud Selig is the best commissioner the game’s ever had?
Johjima is looking rather Rivera-esque in his rally killing ability.
What kind of prospect is Franklin Morales? He’s making his debut right now for the Rockies.
Burke was catching Weaver’s last start, right?
Criticize Johjima all you want, but what’s the alterative, play Burke? He’s equally awful offensively, and opposing teams go out of their way to run on him. Joh at least keeps them honest.
Hawk calls Lopez “their all-star second baseman” Technically true, but a bit random.
172 – And?
Weaver’s zeroing in on that Quality Start.
how sucsessful do y’all think I would be if I held a sign saying “keep your fries, just send me Kira the fries girl?”
In reference to “Fly away…off the top of the wall”…
A few games ago, whoever was sitting with Dave asked him after a homerun, “Did you think that was gone when it left the bat?”
Punchline not needed.
172 – Didn’t mean anything by it, just curious.
I would play Kenji over Burke.
This rally fries thing … fortunately is only a big deal on tv and not at the game. I was there the other day and there were a few signs but it didn’t affect the game or crowd at all. It’s a totally made-for-tv phenomenon. And let’s pray it stays that way.
175 not 172
I love Neihaus. Just like I did Caray in Chicago. Who cares if he is losing it a bit. He is so much better than the alternatives and he’s earned my respect.
I’m quite certain that the Ms are ecstatic by what their getting from their catching core….especially offensively. AL average OPS for catchers is .710. The Ms are getting .762 from theirs….
Hey Ichiro/Mac. Remember how you bunted last night with two on and no outs? Yeah. Don’t do it right now.
For the love of god don’t sacrifice.
Bunt to get to Turbo!!! He’s a professional hitter! Nice move!
Yarrrgh!
Hearing the WGN guys drool over Lopez is a little bit sad. I hope he improves his hitting, but it’s kind of annoying to hear that he’s “good offensively.” And it’s not IchIRO.
Madness!!!!
At least turbo can’t hit into a double play here, at least not without some effort.
So is he like actively trying not to drive in runs?
I hope to fucking god that wasn’t a sacrifice.
See, the man’s a hero.
Yeah.. that bunt really helped.
That bunt paid off right there!
Bunting Ichiro to set the table for Turbo…. God Bless Mclaren.
He should get the intentional/unintentional walk.
They said that Ichiro is bunting on his own without McLaren telling him to. This is Ichiro being dumb.
Angry Guillen!
Holy CRAP that was a nasty hop.
Tie Game!
I can’t believe we just sacrificed with men on first and second and out best hitter up, down by two runs. Sometimes the manager needs to understand that his job is to get out of the damned way.
That was huge Guillen, nice job making up for Ichiro’s stupid ass bunt.
Thank you physics…And how ingenious was that bunt?
Touche you stathead wankers…. move ‘em over….get ‘em home.
yikes….that was a HOOOOOT corner….wow
Yeah Guillen! Take the 3rd baseman’s head off!
When one Jose fails, another one steps up. You can’t hold down the killer J’s!
Let’s hear it for the infield rake crew.
Yeah, Neihaus has earned his tenure, I don’t dispute that. But do you, as a fan listening to the game, also enjoy a can o’corn to shallow right being called as if it’s headed for the HIH Cafe, right until the second basemen takes ten steps back and makes the catch? I find that annoying, especially if I’m in the car and have to rely on the play by play. I wish I could fail to perform at a consistently high level and not fear losing my job.
#191– well, there are times I wonder if Mac has Tim Donaghy’s cell phone number
If the manager can’t tell his player don’t bunt in that situation then we have an issue.
I actually heart Johjima and want to see him play in this town for seasons to come. His current slump is just a bit frustrating especially considering the timing.
#210
We’ll let Dave finish out his time here. Besides, we’ve got someone waiting to take over his spot. The soon-to-be-unemployed Kevin Collaboro.
205 You can’t be serious?
Ah! How nice of Beltre
RED! How awesome
HOLY SHIT!
YES!
terry, I know you may be joking. Right? You don’t actually believe that the bunt was a good play there.
Spits in the face of USSM!
wow. two things I never would have expected to see, in the space of about 30 seconds.
210 – I agree it can be annoying but while I love to make fun of him with my friends too I don’t think your scenario is actually that common.
New broadcasters cannot help but be homers these days. Their jobs depend on it. The days of Neihaus, Scully , Caray, Miller are now gone.
All kidding aside but several innings ago, Hawk argued that Danks isn’t a ground ball pitcher and Johjima promptly grounded into a doubleplay, Bettie later grounded into another one and this inning the Ms score two on three seeing eye groundball singles….
BTW…PBP defensive metrics suck…… en fuego Raul LA Grande (as confirmed by Hawk-”thats just a heckuva play by a heckuva player”…
The guy that does the Rainiers down in Triple AAA is actually pretty good. Young guy. Does anyone know his name?
for all you drug users out there, we’re going to show Pierzynski’s HR overlapped with THome’s.
Dave, you always say that Ibanez is a crappy defensive player, but he seems to make big plays whenever I watch games. Last year I was at the game where he robbed the Rockies of the leadoff home run, and I just watched him rob Thome…
I don’t understand why he’s such a bad defensive player in your eyes…
USSM common wisdom takes a beating
225 – I was trying to figure out what the point of that was.
Ibanez and Ichiro both made nice running catches in the 6th inning.
Man…how DID Adam Jones do that?!!
(Slip into a Raul jersey & mask and then make that fantastic catch)
After that catch by Ibanez I don’t expect to see Jone starting in LF anytime soon, maybe never.
Ichiro forgot he’s not a right fielder any longer on that last one…. Guillen isn’t really battling Dye and Jr to be the worst defensive right fielder in the game today…Ichiro is just a ball hog….
have I mentioned that Comcast Housemates is a really stupid idea, realized in a stupid fashion?
non-Hawk Sox announcer on Ibanez: “Not a defensive phenom by any means, but he is very solid out there in left field.” Adam Jones should request to go back to Tacoma. Maybe Ibanez will suppliment his minor league salary out of sympathy.
#226
We’ve cited this before. Raul’s problem is that he only converts something like 79 percent of balls hit into his zone into outs. That’s -bad-
I wonder if Adrian has known, or was told, that Red has (shares, I think? Sometimes I dont see him) season tickets and is always showing him love.
Red’s living out a wet dream right now
That is the most awesome bobblehead I have ever seen.
222:
I agree…the sad truth is that an increasingly senile Neihaus is still head and shoulders above most of the other hacks. I enjoyed Buhner and his obvious passion for seeing the team do well, but his staunch refusal to polish the club’s every turd doomed his chances to keep broadcasting. Sims is okay, except he has no history with the team and sometimes mispronounces names that make me wonder how long he’s even followed baseball. Blowers (and I know we have some Blowers lovers here) adds nothing, in my opinion, and to top it off, his hair in an HD broadcast is distractingly hideous from any kind of angled view. Yeah, my priorities as a viewer are odd, I’ll freely admit.
Also, the WGN announcers apparently worship Ibanez.
that guy looks like the guitarist from Mastodon
Hahah, nice shot of Red.
Raul makes good plays when he’s around the ball. The bad part is Manny Ramirez is the only player who gets to less balls.
We’ve been watching Red all season — he’s a visual character even without the bobble-head.
I missed the intro to it, and just innocently looked up at the screen as it happened, and began to wonder just what was in my teacup.
233: They really need more ads like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItWpoUMbqJE
SHIPOOPIE!
233:
Vhat is your pro-blem? Ve moost give dem a chance!
There’s nothing wrong with Raul’s glove. It’s his legs that usually betray him.
225- Luckily I happened to be sucking on a lollipop and running my fingers through my hair when they showed that. For a split second it was like licking God.
Wasserman’s Gameday picture…
239 -
We’ll he’s a spokesperson for a hair transplant “system”
No waffling about it – THAT was a great catch for any LF’er!
It’s all relative. I remember during the 2004 winter meetings when Bavasi was courting Delgado, the Ms were seriously considering signing Sexson to play left…
Argh. I am getting increasingly frustrated with these homers talking abouit how they are “waiting for Sexson to get on track.” Will someone please tell them it is officially late August, and it is just not going to happen?
Okay, and thanks for hitting that double to spite me.
That was nice. Way to wait on it.
Man this is a tough park for right hand batters.
It’s all relative.
What?
Was Garcia gunshy?–or did Beltre just hesitate too much? He should’ve scored easily.
#250– no, that would be Valle, who hasn’t had a hair on top for a good decade or more. Anyone seen what the plugs look like?
Now that was an odd play. But yay, Mariners lead!
That was a fun series of events.
Now that’s a bad throw.
Thanks for the bad throw!
Ground rule throwing error!!! At least that Owens kid can hit…
This feels like 2001.
owens is having a terrible game….
258 – Oh you are right. I forgot about Valle.
And now we see how things fall apart for bad teams.
How did that ball disappear?
Yes Richie and Mr. Garcia…Sexson DOES have to score on that no matter how many times we hold him on that play!
I wonder how many urinals have been shattered by Ozzie this season…..
Yay Kenji, you saved me from looking up “goat” in japanese.
Was that a pick off throw to THIRD?
How did the ball go out of play behind home? Get through the net somehow?
I’m trying to figure out how McLaren can screw this up. Right now I’m praying that I don’t see Parrish warming up in the BP anytime soon.
nice to see us back in this one
273 – there’s a little gap for them to put a camera for behind homeplate shots. It somehow landed in there.
They said it went through a hole where a TV camera lens would poke through.
#7– “Micah Owings went 4-for-5 with two home runs, four runs and six RBIs and got the win on the mound, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out seven over seven innings. He is the first pitcher with four hits, four runs and six RBIs in the same game.”
NOT TO THAT GUY.
terrible job by lopez and yuni……kenji has to score there
Hmm what are the chances of that. Lucky for us.
They don’t want any part of Ichiro.
Isn’t correct name pronunciation in the job description of even the worst announcers?
Isn’t correct name pronunciation in the job description of even the worst announcers?
I wanna see Ichiro run!
I see the wave!
Micah Owings hit 69 home runs in his high school career, second only to Drew Henson’s record of 70, at the time. Later broken by Jeff Clement with 75.
It’s as easy as pressing the Turbo button.
VEEDRO! A single did the trick…
Adam is going to grow roots on the bench.
JMB – not a hole in the screen, I just rewound to doublecheck. There’s a gap in the wall that it fell in.
“Is he swinging a bat, or what?”
Yes, he’s certainly swinging a bat.
call vidro eHarmony because he’s all singles
Vidro’s regression to the mean is delayed yet another game
That’s Mr. Turbo to you!
I can’t believe Ozzie has left Wasserman in this long.
Sox are meeeeeeltiiiing.
Wow, this is a really ugly inning. I can’t remember the last one I’ve seen that’s been this bad.
Seriously, falling apart.
I cannot believe as many fans are booing the walking of Ibanez by a left handed pitcher to get to Beltre with the bases loaded.
The Sox would’ve gotten away with this if it weren’t for that pesky sodo Mojo! (or something.)
293 – Haha!!! That’s funny.
someone really needs to let Sims know the history of Red, who will adore Adrian from the 300 level if he doesn’t have the down-low seats
If Beltre hits a Grand Salami here Red’s life will be complete
Ouch.
If you want to talk about name pronunciation, talk about Betancourt. Have you guys ever heard him or any of his teammates say his name? It’s not “You knee” it’s “Jew knee.”
Hey, Beltre, why not appeal to first on that caught-looking?
Ouch.
I also like how we’ve gone from the bobblehead weighing “20 or 30 pounds” to it now being “almost life-sized.”
Tonight’s Sabermetric Anti-Hero of the Game…
JOSE VIDRO!!!
Non-Parrish relievers are warming up!!! It’s gonna be okay!!!
For those of you following Eddie’s comeback, he’s been a little hit unlucky so far since making it back to the Reds 25-man (BABIP= .500).
‘life-sized’ if you are Verne Troyer.
Yuni was Juni during his first season– dunno when or why it shifted to Yuni
Dream Weaver etc.
80 pitches, 60 for strikes. Who doesn’t love JW right now?
Uh, wow. First-pitch strike throwing machine.
Complete game again? A quick 8th would make it possible.
I am a Weavbrve Believbre!
I still pronounce it “Juni.” If it’s what he calls himself, I think it’s what we should call him.
312: And that 21.00 ERA, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up cutting that in half.
I need this game to go fast. I really want to see Superbad and it’s playing at the theatre by my house in exactly one hour.
The sad thing is that if Weaver had “looked at the tape” sometime *before* he lost is first 8 decisions or whatever, we might actually have the first or second best record in baseball.
What’s that about tape? And do you really miss Ben Davis?
#322
Fair enough but I am still in a state of shock with our record to begin with so at this point I couldn’t be happier even though I still think it is a real long shot the Mariners make the playoffs.
#323
I miss the Ben Davis dugout dance.
speaking of veterans, the Mets now have Moises Alou and Sandy Alomar on their team.
btw, Jason, isn’t it time to update the blogspot page?
323 – one of the reasons Weaver gave for his turnaround was that he went back and reviewed tape of himself when he was still “in winning form”. No, I really don’t miss Ben Davis.
Where was that?
Weaver has every right to argue that one. The ump has been ridiculous with his strike zone tonight.
I thought Ben Davis was gonna be good.
Just don’t start throwing stupid pitches because of that.
That pitch looked high to me.
All the same, Weaver should probably’ve been tossed.
Let’s hope Felix was watching how Weaver handled that non-call. There was no doubt Weaver had that guy struck out. But he let it go and moved on, got the next batter. Professional (mature, really) pitcher.
Ichiro playing all three OF possitions tonight
Man Ichiro would be murder to play 500 with….
That shoulder shrug was pretty hilarious though.
Boo. Leave him in. That’s only 82 pitches.
thome would have had 3 HRs tonight if this were in chicago
Ibanez probably doesn’t mind, but I wonder how Guillen feels about it.
If only Weaver cold pitch to the ChiSox every game …
wow, this is the first time i have seen green pitch…..NASTY!
Kinda eerie how there are no comments after the GS home run. It’s not a pleasant observation …. second game in a row ….
fishiam –
server crashed.
Fields is earning his gold glove tonight
You think George being less effective lately could have anything to do with the way he’s being used? He’s pitched three of the last four days facing either one or two batters everytime. The last time George faced more than two hitters was August 9th.
I think GS52 is fine. He is just proving to be something less than the greastes lefty reliever of all-time.
346 I was thinking along the same lines. Can’t be good for his confidence and definitely not a good time for him to break down mentally.
I think GS52 is fine. He is just proving to be something less than the greatest lefty reliever of all-time.
Question for you guys: I’m driving up from Portland for tomorrow’s game. The news is going on about the I-5 construction, so I’m wondering what’s the best way to get to the Safe. Is the traffic really bad around 4th ave? Or should I get off somewhere before? Thanks.
As much as I root for Jose Vidro to defy all sabermetric limitations and probabilities I still wouldn’t want him on my fantasy team even at 2b.
re: #340– Jason, didn’t you mention way back before the season seeing Ichiro draw a diagram of the area he thought should cover as a centerfielder?
The traffic actually hasn’t been as bad as expected. And tomorrow of course is Sunday so no work traffic. You should be OK.
1 pitch … and 1 deep exhale by JJ.
Yow. That didn’t go as far as I thought it would.
Thanks 353.
The great Raul Ibanez has been replaced in left field by the mere mortal Adam Jones.
ADAM JONES SIGHTING!
Where the hell was that pitch?
Game Over!
Putzed!
Yes! Just two games down on LAA.
In defense of the server, it gets really slow — it’s never fallen over and died, or crashed.
I believe Mac is attempting to fine-tune that rarest of bad managerial talents: knowiing which good relief pitcher is primed to give up the home run. Another month of these lineups (Adam + Ben = Bench) and these either penchant for the wrong move or an unusual amount of bad luck and I will hate this man, as a manager, as much as I did Hargrove. But I won’t give him even the rest of the season to fail us all.
Oh, for even slightly smart management, on the field and in the front office!
Nice win. Is the strategy against Putz to swing at the first pitch? Last week Fields crushed one against Putz on the first pitch. Tonight AJ hit it pretty hard IMO on the first pitch against Putz. I think I’m being paranoid.
Oh, and I’m very happy we won!
I got to where I hated Hargrove but for some reason I just can’t find it in my heart to hate Mac. I guess it is because the M’s are still in the race and I never experienced that with Hargrove as they were always out of the race at this point.
[and that's it for you]
over the wall?
What is up with the hit and run comments on this site? Sometime I think people just wait and lurk for Ibanez to have a good night just so they can post a ridiculous comment like 368. Nobody is saying that Ibanez shouldn’t play. Some of us are just saying that he shouldn’t be playing in LF.
I don’t get that emotional about the Ibanez vs. Jones in LF debate but I gotta admit that when Ibanez is in left I pray the ball isn’t hit to left field very much.
346. George hasn’t faced more than two batters since August ninth mostly because he walked the only guy he faced or gave upa home run.
little tidbit from the postgame– Pitman was introducing the crew coming out of commercial, and misspoke, calling Dave Valle ‘Dave Neihaus’. Drayer, in correcting him, pointed out that he’d just confused Valle with ‘The Bighaus’.
nice nickname
Re Ibanez vs Jones on defense in LF. Has anyone noticed how, when Ibanez is in LF, Ichiro covers so much of LF deep from his CF position and Yuni covers so much of LF short from his SS position? Do you suppose management has told them to cover for Ibanez or are they just being agressive?
That’s part of what got AJ into trouble in LF. Everybody’s so used to covering LF that they there was the three way convergence when he dropped the ball.
Did Red tear up when he got Adrian’s bat? I thought I saw moist eyes.
271 – for future rference – yagi – doesn’t really work in translation though
374. That’s why Raul can be back there against the wall to try for home run balls. Ichiro was probably muttering under his breath, “That was *my* webgem!”
Weaver is only beginning to demonstrate how he can carry a ball club and Ibanez is quite possibly one of the most ammazingly gifted athletes to ever don a Mariner uniform. Hallelujah! Angels take heed
Positivitely!!!
So, I’m wondering how long this whole “Ibanez hitting the crap out of the ball” thing is going to last. I know you guys hate results-based analysis, and God knows I’ve been dead wrong in the past (though the archives of Dave’s Mariners Blog are lost forever). But you have been wrong about Ibanez in the past, too. Is it possible that Ibanez “found his stroke?”
Also, with only one day off the rest of the season I hope that McLaren utilizes his bench a little bit more than he has been. Even if he insists on using Jones as a backup there shouldn’t be any reason why he can’t get consistent playing time down the stretch.
381:
I don’t think that anybody is really advocating that Raul shouldn’t be hitting. People are advocating that he should never play left field and should be the DH against right handed pitchers.
He’s hitting .278/.303/.365(!) off lefties and .278/.348/.495 against righties this year.
Well, USSM really started beating the drums to bring AJ up and play every day after the all star break. The claim was that he was such a big defensive upgrade in LF that it wouldn’t matter that much how he hit. But, frankly, that argument is much less convincing now than it was a month or so ago when you look at Vidro’s and Ibanez’s hitting productivity since then, along with Jones’ drops in the OF. I think a good case can be made that taking either Vidro’s or Ibanez’s bat out of the lineup likely would have cost the M’s some games over the past five weeks even presuming that Jones would have eventually settled down and started making catches.
Are you going to treat us with one then?
When did we make the claim that Jones was such a big defensive upgrade that it wouldn’t matter how he hit?
The closest Dave said, during Ibanez’s slump of horror, was that you could bring him up and he could hit .200 and the net would be positive.
Plus, see elsewhere, there’s a fine argument that Vidro’s success is unlikely to continue, though obviously, one never knows.
Are you going to treat us with one then?
Vidro stats since AS break: .405 Avg, .952 OPS, 22 RBIs
Ibanez stats since AS bread: .286 Avg., .883 OPS, 7 HR, 25 RBIs
One of those two bats comes out of the lineup every day if Jones is out there and he may or may not have come anywhere close to those numbers. And he’s looked shaky in the outfield at times, to say the least.
The USSM conventional wisdom on Vidro has been wrong now for five weeks and counting and Ibanez has been shredding the ball recently. The case for Jones playing every day is just a lot weaker than it was a month ago. Sorry.
OMG
Plus, see elsewhere, there’s a fine argument that Vidro’s success is unlikely to continue, though obviously, one never knows.
You mean the argument where you closed comments? That one?
I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m saying that some of your arguments were weak and you provided no opportunity for a rebuttal.
We’d argued it out in dozens of game threads! Posts on topics even remotely touching Vidro! There’s nothing in there that was new!
You could have emailed this hypothetically awesome rebuttal to us and we could have discussed it! Started your own blog!
brraaarrraaaaararaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Santana slapping around the Rangers…12 up 12 down, 9 Ks.
We’d argued it out in dozens of game threads! Posts on topics even remotely touching Vidro! There’s nothing in there that was new!
If people are continuously arguing it then obviously quite a few people aren’t buying your argument. So how does a one-sided preach-to-the-choir post settle the issue? Even Geoff Baker has been getting snarky lately about the constant beating of the “regression to the mean” drums to advocate benching guys who are swinging the bat well in favor of a talented but unproven rookie.
Anyway, I’m off to the game. Go M’s!
#391
Gotta admit that even though I do think that the Mariners would be a better organization if they followed the advice of Dave and DMZ I can appreciate a polite voice of opposition to the Uss Mariner orthodoxy. Sometimes I find it quite refreshing to be honest.
Pour it on fellas.
I am glad we aren’t playing a good offensive team.
It takes a lot of baseball intelligence to find something to bad mouth about a 2 hole hitter batting .320.
I think rsrobinson should start his own Mariners site.
vidrorox.com is still available!