Comments on: This one is earned

By: pgreyy

pgreyy — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:53:35 +0000

161–So, would you be interested in the way Ozzie Guillen is blazing a trail right out of Chicago?

Just try imagining Ozzie in Mariner blue. You can’t do it. You simply can’t.

The city would explode.

By: thefin190

thefin190 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:16:44 +0000

152 – yea i was at that Game too, sitting in the second row from the right field wall. I saw the marvelous catches Ichiro made that day. I guess you are right, i was thinking of how RF held down Boston to only 1 run, but at the same time, if Safeco wasn’t so pitcher friendly and if Ichiro wasn’t playing center field, RF probably would’ve gotten shelled. RF probably needs a couple more years in the minors if he has any shot at being a major league pitcher

I wonder what was going the Putz’s mind as McLaren called in White over him.

By: WardP

WardP — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:58:39 +0000

159: good to know I’m not an original thinker in this regard.. the can, however, fits in this case..

By: scott19

scott19 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:45:57 +0000

162: Actually, in the case of White, I think the nickname “Garbage Can” might be more appropriate.

By: John D.

John D. — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:39:30 +0000

Either Putz is hurt or McLaren deserves those comments that question his ability to manage.
Most closers can work a maximum of three straight days; and then must have a day of rest.
Also, most closers can rest a maximum of three staight days; then must “get in some work.”
Putz has been idle for six straight days. Hmm!
Hopefully it’’s just managerial incompetence.

By: msb

msb — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:39:14 +0000

oh, there have been so many relief Gas Cans through the years ….

speaking of which, for me, Mesa has a special place after managing to blow the Safeco opener

By: Ralph Malph

Ralph Malph — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:26:00 +0000

I think the nickname “Gas Can” was originally a play on “Oil Can” Boyd.

By: shortbus

shortbus — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:25:25 +0000

The way the M’s keep finding bad managers can no longer be viewed as a coincidence. Failure is endemic to the kind of go-along-to-get-along types the organization seeks out. This is an extremely corporate ownership and they look for yes-men in their managers. Lou Piniella didn’t go along so he was pushed out. We don’t need another manager or GM for that matter that is, to put it succinctly, a pussy. We need guys that the players don’t think of as buddies, but as bosses…guys they need to keep happy or lose their jobs. People keep bringing up Girardi’s name…is he a guy that commands respect and won’t be the players’ and owners’ bestest buddy? A big part of making good decisions on the field is not giving a happy crap whose feelings you’re stomping on when you do it.

By: Dayve

Dayve — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:13:52 +0000

There is nothing on paper that should lead anyone to believe the M’s are a playoff team. It just so happened that all of the elements necessary for them to appear to have a chance alligned briefly several times this season, but rationally, those elements aren’t real enough attributes to sustain themselves. They’re two solid starters from being that team, plus a decent 1st baseman, left fielder and DH. That is pretty much agreed upon here. It’s frustrating to watch, but that is why baseball is such a great game. Can they get themselves out from under this temporary insanity and make another run like ‘95? That’s what keeps us coming back, at least for the next week or two.

By: davepaisley

davepaisley — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:11:00 +0000

121, 125 et al

The use of the term “gas can” to denote a particularly incendiary reliever dates way back to at least the Bobby Ayala era on usenet.

Noter this 1997 post in the Astros newsgroup.

So it’s like when I wrote the song “Mrs. Robinson” last week. Turns out Paul Simon wrote it before me 40 years ago.