Game 13, Angels at Mariners
DMZ · April 13, 2008 at 11:20 am · Filed Under Mariners
I sure would like to see three in a row against the Angels. Oh, that would be sweet.
1:10 our time, Bedard Baek v Saunders. (Dave adds: Bedard is scratched again. There are rumblings that his hip problem is a serious issue, and this just adds fuel to that fire. Commence panic… now)
Also, the line-up today is hilarious. And by hilarious, I mean depressing.
CF Ichiro
2B Lopez
LF Ibanez
1B Sexson
DH Vidro
RF Morse
3B Cairo
C Burke
SS Betancourt
Cha Seung Baek on the mound, Miguel Cairo at third base, Mike Morse in right field, Jamie Burke behind the plate… and you thought spring training was over.
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and here is today’s John McLaren Moment of Delusion:
“Defense is a big part of our game, and we have been really sloppy,” McLaren said. “It is something we take pride in. We have to do a better job. When it is your strength and it works as your weakness, that’s not good.”
I don’t know what feels better, a Mariners win or an Angels loss. Luckily today I can have both. I LOATHE the Angels.
Bedard out, Baek in
I’m thrilled already with winning the first two. A sweep certainly would but nothing short of huge right now. This is exactly what the Mariners needed to do while the Angels are short handed.
Where did you see this?
Go Monsieur Bédard, king of Canadian pitchers (sorry ’bout that arm Rich Harden)! Lancez beaucoup K’s aujourd’hui s’il vous plaît!
Might strike through that chance of sweeping the Angels too.
So trading an awesome everyday player for a pitcher who’s just waiting for a roadblock injury isn’t a good idea still? And we’re only to April? At least we haven’t given him a 5 year deal…
KOMO Radio, sorry no link for confirmation…
How odd that the rumor about AJ was about his hip and Bedard is the one having trouble.
a1.
Safe to say that’s irony for you.
in better news, JJ threw 40 pitches off the mound with no problems.
Miguel Cairo will be your starting third baseman today, just to compound the bad news… This is happening because I have tickets… I’ll take full responsibility… I’m sorry.
Maybe he can start for us.
10: You took the letter and number right out of my mouth.
well, if nothing else, Bedard does like to vary his injuries …
Sept. 2002 Tommy John; rehabbed in ‘03, made it back to pitch in 6 minor league games.
Sept. 2004 shut down after 130+ innings ‘as he was a rookie coming off TJ surgery’
June-July 2005 DL’d with sprained MCL in left knee
Sept 2007 shut down with oblique injury
This is why you don’t build a team around a pitching staff.
This is also why you don’t trade half the farm for one player.
oooh, and tuesday Wash takes on Grienke.
monday.
sigh. there is a downside to giving up coffee.
Well, just think of how much better a sweep would be now, with this recent turn of events.
Oh my god.
Seriously, oh my god.
#20, “I picked the wrong week to give up amphetamines”
Morse in RF, Burke behind the dish. And yeah, Beltre has a bad leg or something so Cairo takes the hot corner. This is going to be… interesting.
My 180IP guess for Bedard is looking high now. How many starts will he get? 20? 16?
Hey, look:
Bedard vs ANA: (1-3) in 5 starts, 27.2 IP, 6.18 ERA, 20 K, 14 BB, 2 HR, .376 BAbip
Baek vs ANA: (0-2) in 2 starts (4 games), 16 IP, 4.41 ERA, 9 K, 6 BB, 1 HR, .283 BAbip
It’s an upgrade!
vs Bedard — Vladimir Guerrero 1.302 OPS (15AB), Garret Anderson .875 (16ABs), Torii Hunter 1.307 (19AB)
vs Baek — Vlad 1.000 OPS (10 PA), Garret Anderson 1.850 (5 PA), Casey Kotchman .858 (7 PA)
Yay for small sample sizes
over on TBS Moyer is having one of those games where his defense & offense have let him down– topped off with just being charged for a homerun on a ball hit foul by Mark de Rosa …
Beltre tweaked his hamstring, per Mac
17 – Dave: Try telling that to my coworkers when I argued that very same point a few months ago.
They sounded like they should be on the air with Blowers with their “Pitching wins ballgames” and “They’re only prospects” speeches.
I’m going to go (try to) enjoy the game.
Go M’s!
Gee, it’s almost like his ERA and his W-L for the game won’t tell the whole story.
Sacre bleu!
Bedard out again. Excuse me while I throw up.
Let’s hope Baek can at least give our offense a chance.
Speaking of throwing up, I turned on FSN’s pregame show for about the second time in two years to get an update on Bedard. Coming up is a debate on the merits of the rally monkey v. rally fries.
That’s why they
play the games@31,
If I ever see that rally monkey alone in a dark alley…
@33
…you’ll choke him full of rally fries???
Must. Not. Panic.
Sacre bleu!
Well, the Quebecois I used to know would’ve probably said tabarnak! or just chit! chit! chit!. Though they tended to use slang that amounted to “the priest is doing the village mule” and other complicated expressions (or random Catholic jargon) I couldn’t unpack.
But yes, the news is mauvaises and the merde has really hit the bidet.
Wait, with Willie and Cairo in the lineup, who’s supposed to pinch-run? Doesn’t this concenrn McLaren?
This is what instant depression feels like. I was having a great day, made my own pizza to watch the Mariners and Bedard sweep the Angels. Instead I get a split squad team and bad news.
37 – Willie?
37 – I don’t see WFB in the lineup.
Meanwhile, George just saved his fifth game last night. Heads will roll if this trade tanks.
Is it worth rooting for this team to win if it only increases the likelihood that Bavasi/Mac retain their jobs? Can I be a fan and root for a full on implosion to expedite the process of getting a new GM?
Jway,
True, we didn’t give Bedard a five year deal…but we did give up five (5) players for him.
42- Who says a new GM would be any better? Most people wanted Grover gone, now everyday we bitch twice as much about McLaren. I do want Bavasi gone but it doesn’t mean things will be any different.
@42,
Sure. Why not. I personally believe that being rid of Bavasi and McLaren will be better for the team. Why not root for something that makes your team better?
If we ever needed the power of the ponies, it’s NOW! C’MON PONIES! WORK YOUR MAGIC!
44- True, we may not know if it would be any better, but I have a hard time seeing how it could be any worse…
If guys need rest, due to minor injuries or whatever, I can understand. Otherwise, why not play Cairo in a game that doesn’t involve a main competitor for the division title? I’m thinking the Sky Sox game would be a good chance for him to get some at bats.
Well said, 48. I think that would really shake things up around here.
So I spend the morning cleaning my pool…come inside to make lunch and watch Bedard sweep the Angels to see him hurt, the worst line-up in recent memory backing up Baek, and to clinch it all both Seattle options are blacked out on my Direct TV, so I have to listen to Hudler suck off “Big Daddy Vlady” from his annonce booth…what did I do to deserve this?
But there is always good news, we are not the Tigers.
#44 Don’t forget all the love Melvin got.
Hudler reminds me of a surfer friend that I have. The only difference I notice between the two is my friend isn’t a complete tool.
39, 40: Oh, haha, yeah…how about that. My mistake.
Good start.
*crosses fingers*
I’m sure that there is something we don’t know, but I would think that subbing guys in slowly, one at a time, might make more sense than subbing out half of the starting roster. The same lineup that just beat the Angels twice. Putting the worst 9 this side of Frisco against the best Angel starter in the series makes no sense to me. But, as always, they know better than us. *sarcasatic snort*
Good hustle, Gary. Way to channel Bonds there running that one out.
Yeah Baek!
Then root for a change in the president’s and owner’s chair. Will do a LOT more good. Changing out Bavasi just means more of the same.
Dave, do you have any info on the possible severity of Bedard’s hip condition?
Well, Burke works most Sunday games (or day games after night games). Beltre has a sore hammie, so Cairo is in for him. The only puzzle is Morse; it’s unclear if his start is because Wilk needs a rest for some reason, or because McLaren thinks Morse “deserves” a start now and then.
#50
Hey man it could aways be worse ……
If you really need to find out whats going on get one of the MLB online packages
OBTW
komo just did a mojo commercial with Bedard
Hey, where are the people who alleged that Bedard missed his start in Baltimore because he didn’t want to face his old team? I’d love to hear them extend their theory to cover today’s events.
53- Last night Hudler said one of the worst things I’ve EVER heard an announcer say. He said that, “Bavasi made every move he could have made in the off-season to improve the Ms and beat the Angels.”
I was torn between laughing and crying…after Bedard’s newest scratch, I’m heavily leaning towards crying…
Someone let Dave know, there is no “routine” fly ball for Morse. It is always an adventure.
Showing the fabled Jose Lopez “range”
62:
That was me. My theory today is that he doesn’t want to pitch because he doesn’t like the name change from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels on Anaheim. He’s on strike.
joser – there’s a guy on Baker’s blog who thinks Bedard’s been pulled because he has a bad record against the Angles and now the M’s can showcase Baek for trade.
And you thought it couldn’t be done.
dammit. I just turned on my TV, excited to get to watch Bedard again. Now this. I hate you Bavasi . . .
Hey, he’s said it before guys, Bedard just wants to help his team win. If that means sitting out so Baek can audition for the Angels, then he’s going to sit his ass off.
Cy Seung Baek!
If a bench consisting of WFB, Cairo, and Norton is the best he can come up with then this team will never truely compete with the Angels (we all know the reality of last season, this team was not that close).
Saunders is a lefty, the first one in about 5 games.
Hmm, Baek starting, could be a staff game of sorts. Good thing Mac didn’t burn our best righty reliever last night when he didn’t need to.
With or without Bedard, how bad is this team without Beltre playing every day?
Very professional hit.
73- +10 wins over the Giants would be my guess.
I heard from one of the M’s medical staff yesterday that J.J. is chomping at the bit and that they might have to chain him to keep him out of the bullpen.
Unfortunately, he also said that they were a bit concerned about Bedard’s hip.
Me: Oh, OK.
Me (at 12:30 a.m.): I should get a starter for my fantasy team today… How about Bedard? He said “concerned” but not “he won’t start.”
Yep. And I started Tom Glavine and Moyer. Good times.
Morse struck out??? That is not how this platoon was supposed to work!!!
You heard it here first: this is the beginning of the Richie Sexson renaissance… And yes, I’ve been drinking.
Professional hitter Miguel Cairo
78- That just means he has to get a hit next AB, he had a .500 avg in spring training!
Saunders seems to be worried about that base-running threat on second!
Professional walk?
Ridiculous.
Well darn…
Right now Bedard for Sherrill isn’t even looking like a good trade.
He’s too sexy for a clean field.
Dammit. Sexson’s bat starts waking up, yet his defense stays crappy.
as Ron Fairly might say, isn’t it always the way, you leave men on base in scoring position, and the next inning, your pitcher can’t get an out to save his life….
I’m surprised Mike Morse could take a break from walking on water to make that catch.
#90 — Why did I only get one Ron Fairly-free season before I moved to California?
Oh, Steve Physioc just said Morse had a “great arm.” I like that we try to pull the wool over the Angels’ announcers’ eyes.
91- I would hope next time he walks on water into that catch to make a better throw. Maybe act like an outfielder since he is out there.
Tall my ass…
a Vlady pop-up. this does not bode well.
sigh. wonder what it is like to have a team with actual corner outfielders.
Boo Vlad.
tell me if I am wrong, but was 1st base open. Not that I would have advocated a walk, but still.
They’ll never show a replay here at the park… Did Morse catch that or trap it?
He trapped it.
clear trap.
Ichiro must feel like he is on an island out there.
98- I would have walked him to face Anderson. I was thinking that the whole at bat.
The pitch Vlad hit was a pretty good one. Low and outside just not enough for Vlad’s long arms. The pitch he popped up was a mistake. We are lucky it didn’t land outside of the park.
Maybe an inside pitch to Vlad. He got 5 or 6 straight outside off the plate, knew exactly what he was going to get. I know Baek doesn’t exactly have inside stuff, but throw something tight in off the plate. Vlad pulls it foul, gets jammed, or looks at a ball in.
AJWHCT
105 – Maybe. Sometimes they beat you. My point is that it was a decent pitch. As the old cliche says you just have to tip your cap.
The real tragedy is that Ritchie should have caught that ball cleanly and gotten at least the lead runner if not a double play.
Here comes another Jose Sac.
Pardon me, Richie.
Oooooh close.
107- I wasn’t disagreeing with you that it was a good pitch. But it was way to predictable to beat Vlad no matter how good a pitch Baek was going to throw.
If the throw is a couple inches lower and he would have been nailed.
The spelling police is going to get me. I’m all thumbs today.
Obviously Sexson’s speed is putting pressure on the defense.
Right now Bedard for Sherrill isn’t even looking like a good trade.
And watch Baltimore trade Sherrill by himself for a nice haul. Supposedly almost everyone on their roster is up for grabs unless they somehow remain atop the AL East.
Ha ha. Is Sexson, Ibanez and Vidro the slowest threesome in baseball?
Are Blow and Sims going to comment on the fact that the ball was caught because of the outfield alignment?
One of the many reasons I didn’t like the trade was Bedard’s injury history. Doesn’t matter how good a guy is if he can’t start half the time; top starters are supposed to be innings-eaters, among other things. The bullpen is definitely missing Sherrill (as well as JJ, of course), and we sure could use Jones’ speed in the outfield. However, unfortunately, I agree with several previous commenters that canning Bavasi and McLaren (which I expect to see after this season) won’t be enough; the rot starts in the owners’ offices.
#116 Please don’t ever say Sexson, Ibanez, and Vidro in the same sentence as threesome.
now they walk him
115-
oh man. If that happens, that will be the ultimate kick in the junk, especially if they trade him for more young prospects. I have been in a really cranky mood ever since finding out that Bedard was scratched. What a horrid trade . . .
Wow, Baek looked pretty good. I don’t understand the moderator lumping Jamie Burke in with the ‘depressing’ line-up. The rest of ‘em, sure… Eric Oh-no is in now, here’s hoping…
Good job Morse . . . sigh . . .
Boy…that was brutal….
I think we need no further proof that Mike Morse sucks.
Mr. O’ Needs a little vacation to Tacoma
Did everyone’s head just implode watching that?
Yeah?
I thought so.
At least I feel better about Bedard not starting. With this defense/offense, we’d just be wasting it anyway.
Yeah, gotta think Morse should’ve had that.
LOL, don’t blame ridiculous physics on poor fielding.
All this on two outs… Brother!
Where is Jeremy Reed.
Question – Why is Morse not charged with an error on that missed fly?
So, is O’Flaherty our “Eff it, we’re losing anyway” pitcher?
134:
I was thinking the same.
134:
I was thinking the same.
The O’s remain on top of the AL East?Better buy Satan that Ski-Doo!
#133. Because Mike Morse makes no mistakes. He is infallible.
Gamecast shows Tim Lincecum with 5 innings pitched and 10 K’s. Brandon Morrow in today’s game??? Oh, right…….
Need to make Saunders work and get into that struggling bullpen.
Do you bring him back out? I hope not
139- I know that Dave hasn’t been as high on Lincecum as many here, but man, I would much rather have Lincecum than Morrow right now.
This season, Mike Morse joins the cast of the award-winning hit series Arson Squad: Seattle.
Just wait for Lincecum to destroy his arm.
142:
I never understood that either. Even if the M’s put Lincecum in the same set up role as they had Morrow in I think we would be better off. Also, think of having him on our team instead of the cluster F*#@ trade we just went through in order to get another starting pitcher.
144: As opposed to his hip?
144:
You can say that about any pitcher.
Reed would’ve gotten that but he’d also be hitting .200… Oh, wait.
Can Rick Griffin take Mike Morse out behind the barn and shoot him?
Ichiro needs to have a talk with Morse about diving for balls he’s not even close to.
You can say that about any pitcher who has mechanics that looks like he’s going to have his arm fly with the baseball.
Why do I feel like we’d be better off having Ichiro play both Center and Right field?
As much as I disdain the Angels, and as much as I love watching the M’s beat them, I am almost afraid to see the Mariners do too well against them. I’m afraid it will serve as justification for Bavasi’s off-season stupidity, and only perpetuate the cycle (of off-season stupidity.) I can see this winter’s headlines now…
“The Mariners finished a distant second in their division again, but they did however win the season series against the Angels, thanks to the off-season acquisitions of go-get-em GM Bill Bavasi. ‘We have a great veteran, defensive club, and we’ve proven we can beat the Angels.’ Bavasi said, ‘Now we just have to focus on beating some of the other clubs out there. We feel that the key to that is improving our young bullpen – that’s why we’re happy to announce the trade of minor league prospects Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien to Milwaukee for the proven arm of Eric Gagne.’
In other Mariners news, Eric Bedard is expected to recover well from his season-ending hip surgery and is hoping for a great comeback year…”
Eric O’ “Godnotthisshitagain” Flaherty
EOF needs to be sent down. Way down. Make him do penance for this in High Desert.
Bobby Ayala is sitting somewhere thinking “Damn, this guy sucks.”
O’Flaherty is there to add to our list of underused punctuation… We got a hyphen (maybe a couple if you count surnames), two periods, an apostrophe. What do we got left?
145-
This is what has been the most maddening to me: how the bad previous move dictates the next one. We throw away Soriano, thus we have to have Morrow in the pen last year rather than actually developing into a starter. Because of that, we need another SP, so we trade away the farm and a key piece of the future for a SP who is injury prone . . . and now with EOF imploding again, the countdown to trading away more talent for a veteranny LHP grows more strident . . .
157:
All we need to do is get a Bartolo Semi Colon
Ah, nothing like another quality outing by EOF. >:(
Is EOF trying to get a triple digit ERA?
To hell with Jones, I’d be happy just to have Sherrill back at this point.
EOF is doing ok, Mike Morse and pals have surrendered sabotaged the pitching with horrible glove work.
159: Ha! That was great.
I’ll be amazed if EOF doesn’t have a bus ticket to Tacoma hanging in his locker after this outing.
How long until The IGNITOR gets subbed in?
Actually, Joe Flaherty would be better pitcher at this point…can we sign him?!
165:
I’ll drive him there myself. Even with high gas prices that’s a trip I wouldn’t mind making.
Re: # 98 (and # 103)
98- I would have walked him to face Anderson. I was thinking that the whole at bat.
SEEMS like Monday-morning quarterbacking. (IMO it was more of a case of pick your poison.) In that situation, most managers would rather face the right-handed batter. [As DMZ once said, “Let’s not confuse decisions with results.”
BTW, if it’s any consolation, today Adam Jones took the golden sombrero.
169- AJ struggling is no consolation…
What’s Shane Monahan doing lately?
Captain Caveman gets walked.
Turbo showing that infield power.
Come on Greg!
PROFESSIONAL HITS!
I’m confused by this move… Is there an appreciable difference between Morse and Norton that I’m not aware of?
Morse hurt his shoulder I thought. So they probably don’t want him batting.
Guy should start over Morse from now on.
176 – Sims/Blowers said Morse might have been hurt on a diving catch attempt.
By the way, I might have missed the memo. But, why does Neihaus only do like half a game, and then Dave Simms come in to close it?
You think “professional hitter” is bad (and I would agree it’s terrible) try listening to Hudler say “nice piece of hitting” after almost EVERY base hit by either team…
By the way, I might have missed the memo. But, why does Niehaus only do like half a game, and then Dave Simms come in to close it?
I always thought it would be cool to be a pinch hitter and be batting 1.000 for a day
But, why does Niehaus only do like half a game, and then Dave Sims come in to close it?
They each do half the game on TV and half on the radio.
WFB runs that out.
it’s funny that cairo’s ground out + RBI actually lowered the M’s win probability by 2%
We have an amazing bench…
What kind of wood is the bench made out of? I never knew it was so great.
So, EOF’s strategy consist of giving up extra base hits in the hopes that the starters all pull up lame?
Hey did Baek look as bad as what his line says? Just now getting the chance to watch the game. I’m assuming the defense didn’t help him out with what McLaren ran out there.
So assuming EOF gets demoted, who are the Ms gonna call up? Jake Woods? I can’t think of any other healthy lefties at the moment.
Yes, I believe so.
188: It’s not made of wood at all. It’s 100% compacted grit.
O’Flaherty reminds me of Nageotte
Roy Corcoran is warming up, or as I like to call him: “who?”
EOF 2008 stats:
Mar 31 – 1IP/2ER
Apr 1 – 2IP/2ER
Apr 5 – 1IP/0ER (shocking!)
Apr 6 – .2IP/2ER
Apr 7 – .1IP/1ER
Apr 10 – .1IP/3ER
Apr 13 – 2.2IP/6ER
There is no way there isn’t someone better somewhere, he only came in once and didn’t give up at least one run
2.2 innings 61 pitches, 6 earned runs 8 hits…
How do you miss that bad twice in a row?
Somewhere Horacio Ramirez is cackling.
By spelling your name s-p-e-i-e-r.
You don’t. Not that bad, no way.
Any particular reason for Speier to be pulling that crap with an eight-run lead?
One very disturbing trend….
The Mariners win the first two games of a series and mail in the finale….
We saw it in Tampa and now we see it vs. the Angels….
And for the life of me, I don’t understand why McLaren is treating the lineup likes it’s Aug. 13….
Most of all, though, it’s disappointing that this team seems scared to stare success in the face. If they had come out today and pounded Saunders and finished off a sweep, the city would have been pumped.
Instead, they looked lifeless from the first pitch.
This team is short on talent and toughness.
Long way to go, let’s keep it up!
The only thing I can think is that he got angry at Ichiro’s indifference at his first pitch. Ichiro had his bat on his shoulder and watched it… Maybe this guy got a little angry and wanted to prove his mettle… That he was/is ‘dangerous’
Captain Caveman Pop Fly
You know, “‘I’ll make him pay attention let’s buzz his…uh, ‘thigh’”
190 Baek got screwed. He left with two outs and runners on first and second. EOF let in his third and fourth runs.
Baek left with one out in the 5th.
So, I went away to get dinner with the M’s behind 7-2, thinking that the game would likely be over when I got back.
I certainly never dreamed that this would happen. UGH.
Uhm…Nevermind. I was fooled by Yahoo, which claimed that it was 19-4 in the 7th.
Sims seems to be quite a fan of the Angels.
And K-Rod gets to shut the door. Great.
62 – OBTW — komo just did a mojo commercial with Bedard
Random suspicion/thought – for the sake of ticket sales, does the FO wait as long as possible to announce Bedard is out, keeping up the hype of our new ace left hander completing the sweep?
I only thought it interesting because of how the Mariners PR machine tends to dumb down fan expectations. They spend the money on commercials, as if he’ll have an impact on every game, well, because we’re told he’s our new ace, and we won’t question that.
9-1-2 has never failed yet. Everytime we start an inning with Bettancourt Ichiro! Lopez the team has scored at least one run!
At least Sexson managed to get theMariners ‘left on base’ number up to 20 with his final out. You take pride in what you can in this game.
215 – It failed in the 3rd inning of this game.
AHHHHHH. Maybe O-flaherty could use some time in the minors… maybe bring in Dickey? a knuckleballer would be neat
203–I don’t think “toughness” is the issue here, it’s a simple lack of talent. This team wasn’t all that good last year, and it’s a year older this year.
I hope nobody is freaking out about this. Sometimes, I think that some people forget that this is BASEBALL, not football. One loss is not the end of the world. There is a bright side to this game, a really good one: with Morse hurt, probably on the DL, the M’s can bring someone up…Who could this be? *ahem Balentien* If they take Reed…..ugh. Shudder.
Just got back from the game. I want my money and the last three hours of my life back. How long after you realize that EOF is still pitching the way he has all year do you pull him? If you’re John McLaren that would be eight runs later. Morse and Ibanez were running a clinic on why OF defense matters. The offense the team put out there today was a joke.
And I got to watch Baek instead of Bedard. If his hip’s fine we’ll still need an explanation for the way he’s pitched so far. He hasn’t been worth Sherrill and Butler, let alone all five guys we traded.
220 Based on the analysis over at Lookout Landing it looks like EOF is having control problems with his fastball. He basically has two pitches, a fastball and a slider, and his slider is as successful as it was last year, but his fastball is all over the place. Hopefully he can fix this. If he does, there is no reason to think that he won’t be effective again.
But maybe they should relegate him to mop-up duty until he gets that fixed.
219
I’d rather bring up Wlad if he would play everyday, but if it’s just to fill Morse’s role, than Reed makes more sense imo. Ichiro would have help in the OF.
I paid $44.00 to see this game. No one said word one about Bedard being scratched. What a joke.
They’ll probably call Wlad, seeing as right handers that can play the outfield are in short supply on this team.
I’d rather see Reed over Wlad also. He’d instantly and easily be the 2nd best outfielder on the team, and would (if Mac understood the value of defense) add value in the late innings of a lot of games. Unfortunately, he’s a lefty so he doesn’t fit into the “platoon Wilkerson” role, and until McLaren can get his head around another “role” that pretty much is the end of that, I’m afraid. Safeco will make Wlad suffer the same way it punishes Johjima.
As for the bullpen, assuming EOF gets a little minor league action to get his, uh, head together, my bet is they pull up Morrow again. Not because it makes sense, but because that seems to be what they do. Personally, I’m hoping for Dickey.
BTW, Lincecum’s line today:
6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 11 K
Just wait for Lincecum to destroy his arm
Yeah, he’s the whitebread Pedro Martinez. Small guy, throws hard, looks like he’ll blow up eventually. And like Pedro, he probably will. But what would you have given for those prime years of Pedro?
Has anyone ever done a study on what mechanics are coupled with what injury risks? I ask because it seems like so many people talk about avoiding a pitcher because his mechanics aren’t good, but it seems to me as though it’s almost random as to what pitchers get hurt. Prior, with his supposed perfect mechanics can’t stay healthy, etc. Anyway, I just wonder if the whole “his arm is going to fall off because of his mechanics” thing it overblown.
And yes, I would give anything to have taken Lincecum over Morrow considering it probably would have kept us from doing the Bedard trade . . .
What makes me mad about today is the fact that we are playing a game that DOES matter. It’s against our division rival and we didn’t put a team on the field that could compete. Instead of doing some damage to the Angles, we gave up before it started. I understand resting guys, but why not on Tuesday when you are playing a team you still might beat? Way to go Mac.
Lincecum is already showing signs of fatigue and strain. He only lasted six innings today, and his ERA has shot up to 2.25. By the end of the season, his ERA is going to approach, or exceed 3.00. I bet he’ll barely exceed 200 innings pitched, and his xFIP will exceed 3.25. I think it’s clear that Morrow was the right choice.
The thing that bugged me the most about this game was using O’Flaherty with 2 on in a 2-run game. That’s not a “soft landing”, or a chance to get some easy innings for a guy who’s struggling. Instead, it was probably the highest leverage situation in the game today.
But Mac, in his wisdom, has decided that RRS is his late-innings lefty, making EOF his early-innings lefty. Who cares what the situation is, the ROLE called for the early-innings lefty!
Mac’s slavish use of roles, rather than context, to define usage once again cost the team.
managing the Home Depot in Vail, Colo.
so, what, they should have called you on the way to the stadium? he was pulled about 30 minutes before the game. It was on the radio, and everything.
hey, no dissing Roy, the King of Slaughter, La.
225/228: Given Lincecum’s size and how hard he throws, I have a feeling that if his career’s to have any longevity, he may eventually wind up being used as a closer. After all, could anybody imagine Billy Wagner trying to start games all these years?
One thing that does seem to correlate to breakdowns in pitchers is overuse. I don’t know that anybody’s been able to make a case for small stature, though it seems reasonable; but over the last few years Verducci at SI has presented a case (the “Year After Effect”) for not giving a pitcher more than 25-30 innings over and above what he pitched the previous year. Lincecum had 146 last year, plus 31 in the minors; I don’t know what he had in 2006 (64 in the minors but he also pitched at the UW that year). So I’d hope he doesn’t get pushed past 200 this year, and also hope 2007 wasn’t such a big increase over ‘06 that it bites him this season. (Yeah, I want the guy to succeed — like Ichiro, he’s about my size, and I enjoy seeing guys like that out there, plus I want all the “bad mechanics” folks to have to come back, year after year, saying “Ok, but this year he’s going to break down…”)
We attended the game yesterday, and I could see the game was going to go into the toilet as soon EOF got called in from the bullpen. This guy needs a short trip back to Tacoma. Given the final score, I suspect if Mclarren had called in almost anyone else, the final score might have been a bit closer. The Mariners should give Arthur Rhodes a shot at replacing him. After all he’s a lefty and looked to be pretty well back to throwning decent stuff during spring training.
From our season ticket seats on the aisle in Section 115, I have probably seen at least 100+ games with a great view of whoever is playing in right field. Morse looked weak at that position. Not enough speed to cover the territory and possibly not the skill set to track fly balls well at that position. Time for Jeremy Reed to get a call.
231-
It’s totally valid that I’d feel ripped off by going to that game, but seriously, thanks for the snide remark. You’re sarcastic wit is enthralling.