Game 146, Devil Rays at Mariners
DMZ · September 14, 2007 at 6:17 pm · Filed Under Game Threads
7:05, FSN. James Shields v Felix.
Another Lopez-less lineup.
The Devil Rays lineup is pretty interesting, though:
3B Iwamura
DH Norton
1B Pena
CF Upton
RF Young
LF Gomes
C Navarro
SS Wilson
2B Velandia
Huh.
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I’m glad they are saving Jones to pinch-run.
I don’t see any reason the lineup shouldn’t be:
CF Ichiro
2B Green
LF Jones
RF Balentien
3B Beltre
1B Clement
DH Morse
SS Betancourt
C Johnson
The team still has a slight chance of making the playoffs (the Yankees are going to lose again today). Until then, the Mariners owe it to their fans (especially in a home game), to make every effort to beat an inferior team and get back in the playoff race.
But, if the Mariners were to lose 2/3 of their next 3 games, I would hope to see that lineup next week once the games are officially meaningless.
Because Jeff Clement’s never played first base in his life, and having him field the position for the first time in a major league game is a terrible idea?
#3: How does tonight’s lineup further this goal?
Okay, Broussard at first, Clement at DH.
Well, Vidro is better than Morse. Ibanez is a solid 290 hitter, who is better than anyone who has never even seen major league action. Green has never played in a major league game, so he is no improvement over 285 Willie. And Guillen is a 90 RBI guy absent from the lineup. Playing rookies is nice, but to play 6 rookies for the first time in the majors is a little overboard.
I just turned on ESPN first. Timlin’s in a tight position here with the damn Yankees. And he looks a little like Putz with that facial hair! Or vice versa.
Annnnd Jeter goes down swinging. Nice.
Good luck tonight.
False hope is worse than no hope.
So if I understand McLaren his philosophy is:
1. If the team wins, we stick with the same lineup because they’re performing well (albeit not on an individual basis, i.e. Sexson);
2. If the team loses, we stick with the same lineup because they’re the ones that got us here and will get us out of the slump.
Look… if we win tonight, we are only 4.5 games back. If we get on a streak, and the Yankees get beat by Boston 2/3 or even swept, we are right back in this thing. We just have to take care of the Devil Rays. Must win all 4 games. No excuses. This is our final “easy” series.
Did anyone read about Hargrove coaching a semi-pro summer team? http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3019987
Sounds like he’s not totally done with baseball afterall…
11
Went to my first game of the year a few nights ago when they beat the Haren/A’s, and I was able to enjoy it for just that reason. Oh, the Jones HR and the YuBet game winner were nice, too.
#13: You’re voting for Ron Paul next year, aren’t you?
Not a good start for Felix.
Let’s not jinx the Red Sox by assuming they’ll win, ok? It’s only the sixth. (Go Sox!)
I have no plans tonight and am looking forward to admiring, I hope, a better Felix than we’ve seen in a while.
lol. The Republican Congressmen?
Nah.. I will vote for Obama or Hillary.
I am a Republican, but I am tired of the Republicans messing up this country.
#18 Don’t lie Lauren, you’re just waiting for Yuni to prove to everyone (again) why he’s your boyfriend.
PLEASE no politics.
So, no references to the “right side of the field” or the umpire’s “conservative strike zone.”
Alright, alright, no politics, but Flowin’s comment brought a tiny tear to my flaming left-wing eyes. Bless you!
Wow, what was Ortiz thinking there? How could he wander that far from 1st? (Yankees game)
Gameday shows the flyball by Pena slightly over the wall. Did Ibanez make a nice play, or was it just a bal to the track?
#25 Ball to the track. Niehaus made it sound like it was going to be something more though (maybe Gameday uses Niehaus for their tracking?).
Anybody see Shields’ awesome K/W rate as sustainable? It’s BBW — Beyond Brandon Webb.
oh. thx
Shields K rate is going to take a dive in the next year or two. I’ve been calling him the next Brad Radke for 15 or 16 months now, and I’m sticking with it. 90-94 fastball, great changeup, great control. Lack of a real good breaking ball means he won’t keep striking out guys at this rate.
27 – BBW describes about every female on internet dating sites.
So if he stays healthier than Radke, he could be a 200-game winner.
I would hope most women are prettier than Brandon Webb, certainly.
Oh, sorry! You meant “NO FAT CHIX!!!” I always mix that up.
#32 You’d be amazed how many are not prettier than Brandon Webb.
32… they’re not fat, they’re big boned.
So, Dave, what do you make of Delmon Young’s less-than-overwhelming power development? Worrisome, or do you expect it’ll come eventually?
Not a fan, huh Dave? Shields’ K rate his first two seasons in the league is far greater than anything Radke ever conjured up. And his curve has shown flashes of potential, but it’s inconsistent. I think his strikeout rates are for real, but then again, what do I kno?
Delmon’s 22. I’m not worried – I never thought he’d be a 40 HR guy, but he’s still a .300/.370/.550 guy in his prime.
As for Shields, I’m definitely a fan – I’ve been talking him up for a long time. I wrote a lot of good stuff about him last year when he was just breaking in. As some people know, I’m obsessed with change-ups, and Shields has a great one. I’m certainly in the James Shields fan club.
But I don’t think its realistic to expect him to sustain these K rates. First off, almost every single pitcher sees their K rates peak at a very early age, then have them decline as they age – it’s totally normal. Shields, I think, will eventually swap out a few less Ks for a few less HRs allowed by adjusting the way he attacks hiters in certain situations, and it will make him a better pitcher. It’s not a criticism – it’s just the natural metamorphasis of a guy who learns how to pitch.
Fair enough, and the Radke comparison isn’t a bad one, but I do think Shields has a higher ceiling than that.
I don’t think the strikeout rate is as different as you might think. Everyone remembers Radke as this 4.5 K/G guy late in his career, but in 1997, he averaged 6.3 K/9 over 240 innings, ranking 32nd in baseball that year. Shields is at 7.7 K/9 this year, ranking 20th in baseball for 2007.
I’m not saying they’re exactly the same, but early career Radke wasn’t that much different than early career Shields.
Anybody who happened to be watching the hated Yankees care to tell me how in the heck Hideki Matsui got a triple in Fenway? Was that a classic Manny play, or something else?
Spiezio is back from rehab. No word on whether he really got the monkey off his back but apparently he got the goatee off his face. Oh, and he appeared on stage with REO Speedwagon. So apparently any hope he might’ve had for a credible career in rock and roll is gone as well. Putting all his eggs in one shaky basket, I guess.
I’d say a 1.4 differential is a pretty decent margin. I’m not saying being compared to Radke is a bad thing, but I think Shields’ ultimate upside is higher than that.
Everyone remembers Radke as this 4.5 K/G guy late in his career…
That’s kind of similar to how Greg Maddux has become a guy who succeeded without striking anyone out.
Does anyone else think Pena looks a lot bigger, muscle wise? I just remember him not being that big.
And if Shields is Radke, only healthy, he could have a hell of a good career. With a skills set that could wear well into his 40s.
Memo to D’Rays: you’re not as fast as you think you are.
Strike em out, throw em out double plays in back to back innings… Nice!
I didn’t see the triple, but isn’t Manny on the DL?
Being compared to Radke is a hell of a compliment, honestly – 150 wins despite retiring after age 33, career ERA 13% better than league average, only one season with an ERA+ below 100. Jim’s right – a healthy Brad Radke is a borderline hall of famer.
As for Shields’ upside, I think this is basically as good as it gets. He’ll change into a different type of pitcher, but this skillset is basically maxed out – there’s not much else he can do to get better with his stuff. He’s good, but very unlikely to be great.
Man, the Rays defense is just disastrously bad. Beltre makes that play in his sleep.
Wow.. just as we get a hit, we hit into a DP and give Shields a 4-pitch inning.
4 pitches!?!?!
How many DPs is that for the game? 5?
Man, the Rays [baseball skill] is just disastrously bad.
Hmmm, Manny’s not in the lineup, you’re right.
OK, so no chance of a hilarious highlight on SportsCenter tonight.
Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeelthy slider, no less so because it came against Jonny “Flyswatter” Gomes.
Yanks tied it up?
Damn
Wow, the Sox just choked.
At the rate we’re going, we might pass their game despite starting 3 hours later.
No sliders in the Gomes at-bat, Jim – he went curve, change, change. The first change-up was actually a meatball that Gomes swung through, but the curve and the strikeout change-up were nasty.
Oh and the triple was nothing special. Hit into the rightfield corner.
Jeff over at LL said this was a matchup of the two worst defenses in the AL and, if not for the Marlins, the two worst in baseball. “At a staggeringly bad 136 plays below average, the D’Rays have cost themselves nigh ten wins or so with bad glovework alone.”
Just keep playing your game Seattle… ignore the Yankees score.
Win, and that is all you can do.
There’s a case where HD really helped see what happened.
… I just looked at the gameday for the Red Sox/Yankees game.
I hate the Yankees so much. So very, very much.
Wow, the Sox just choked.
What!?
…. wow. Damon, Jeter, Abreu — double, single, double. All off Papelbon.
its not over yet… There’s still time for them to lose.
I keep glancing over at the TV screen and thinking the Rays are Mariners. From a distance, their road grays look exactly like ours.
Felix day is always amazing.
66 – agree, and TB has the dark top on white pants at home, too.
So now will the Yankees choke the game back…
#69 That’s a no. Those Yankees have a grittiness about them that only a veteran team like them could.
So much for the Yanks choking. They pulled the same thing on Boston tonight that we pulled in last nights game.
I haven’t really been paying attention…are we seeing Good Felix? The Rays as a team have a 100 OPS +
Man, Beltre.
Why was Ichiro so shallow?
Ok, it appears that Velandia has a .212 slugging % for his career, but I still think Ichiro was too shallow.
A full 8th of shields pitches have come in that last Kenji at bat.
Why are players always due to hit?
“Wow, Ibanez is on a tear… he’s due to hit into a double-play!”
I like Ichiro!, like more then a friend…
I think you mean “than.” I like him as more than a friend too, if “as my baseball hero” counts as more than a friend.
Well, if we can’t win tomorrow, we aren’t going to win a game in this series. HoRom versus Kaz is such a lopsided matchup, it almost seems like a game the Rays will lose.
Isn’t being “due” merely another way of talking about regression to the mean?
I’ll take it! It’s a win! Go M’s!
Nice to see the M’s try so hard to beat a crappy team.
Well, a pretty cool win. Felix was terrific.
When the worst part of a game is Niehaus’ spontaneous recital of the poem ‘Baseball’s Sad Lexicon’, in full eulogy voice, I’ll take that.
Now that Niehaus is slowing down, maybe that’s what they plan for him? “Dave, we see you transitioning into a sort of Rod McKuen meets Harry Caray role…”
As long as Mariners win, after that crappy run, I’ll take it. We gain a game on the angels, not that it matters. But funny to think, if Mariners win the next 2 games and angels lose the next 2, they would be only 5.5 games back, then if they could hold/gain ground in oakland, then they could have a chance at the AL West. Lol, being a little too optimistic. Sorry.
Mac slept on the decision whether or not to start Weaver. Guess what he decided? Yeah, I’m not surprised either.
Totally convinces me.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/331824_mbok15.html?source=rss
86 – that totally ruins my comic translation here :/
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x188/thefin190/Weaverly-1.jpg
Mac the whole world knows, and it is not that he is better.
that was a fun game, and I have two questions …
when did the rally jig begin? not that I am complaining, really– it worked, it stopped the asses down the way who kept trying to start the wave in a 1-1 nailbiter, and it is better than tired film clips.
and when did the ferry appear in the outfield above the out of town scoreboard??
not the out of town scoreboard– the hand-operated scoreboard.
F@&#!
I was so ready for this Mariners season to be over and move on to the already-over ‘Blazers seasons.
Great choice of teams there.
Less than 100 comments on a Felix day thread has to be a record low.
No. 21: the point of the comment about Ron Paul was not to discuss politics, but to point out the absurdity of No. 13’s prior comment that the Mariners still have a chance to win the wild card.
91: And what’s sadder yet is that half the comments were not even about Felix’s decent performance, but rather that Yanks-Sox game.
Guess we’re all pretty much hangin’ out “On The Beach” these days and just waiting for that dreaded radioactive cloud of mathematical elimination to reach us.
Did anyone else see Eric Hinske take out Posada at home plate a couple minutes ago? Posada had just received the throw and Hinske blasted him in the head with his left shoulder and upper arm. It was brutal, but Posada stayed in there.
Sox have now opened up a 5-1 lead.