Game 18, Mariners at Angels
Seeing a knuckleballer pitch is a whole different kind of entertainment. They’re a weird breed of pitcher, where the results can be determined as much by the environment as the person throwing. I’m always interested in watching games like this, or the Moyers, pitchers making their living through some other way besides the standard low-90s fastball and one or two plus pitches. It’s like watching a high-wire act, where I know they’re not really supposed to be able to get all the way across, and I’m pulling for them to do it anyway.
It’s like the extremely boring Mariner singles-only offenses of the horrible first couple years of the Bavasi era: even if they won, the only player on offense who was consistently interesting to watch was Ichiro. If you’re going to lose, at least make it good viewing.
So maybe Dickey gets shelled tonight. It’s happened before. But it’ll be worth watching.
I’m betting that Dickey’s fastball is praised repeatedly during the broadcast. Just a hunch.
Tonight’s Mariner OMFG lineup:
CF-L Ichiro!
2B-R Lopez
LF-L Ibanez
3B-R Beltre
DH-B Jose Vidro, Professional Hitter ®
1B-R Sexson
C-R Johjima
RF-R Bloomquist
SS-R Betancourt
Ugh. The Angels respond with this wreck:
3B-B Figgins
RF-B Matthews
DH-R Guerrero
LF-L Anderson
CF-R Hunter
1B-R Kotchman
2B-B Izturis
C-R Napoli
SS-B Aybar
Heh. Time to play Would You Swap ‘Em?
C: Ennhhhhhhh… maybe. Kenji’s contract is up after this year, Napoli’s a good bat. Nah, I like Kenji. Maybe.
1B: Yes.
2B: Ennhhhh maybe. I’ve always liked Lopez, though, as readers are well aware. So probably not.
SS: No.
3B: No.
RF: No.
CF: No way
LF: No
DH: Abso-freaking-lutely.
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so Derek,
is it time to do one of the “would you trade players per position” discussions with the Angels lineup?
you need a little “TM” mark next to “professional hitter”.
Surprised a little to see Richie in the lineup tonight. Geoff Baker seemed to think he’d be sitting for a few days. He’s gotta be due for a homer (or at least a walk…).
The pony brigade is out in full force again tonight. Oh yeah, and Dickey. Should be fun to watch tonight.
Done.
Check out this R.A. Dickey piece by Caple.
Video is great!
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/080318&sportCat=mlb
Funny, you call their lineup a wreck, but its so much better than what we run out there day to day. Well, when Kendrick’s back in it it will be anyway.
On the pregame show, Dave Niehaus said he likes to see the Rally Monkey.
…
Because that means the Angels are trailing.
So, show me the monkey!
I agree with you on all the position swaps, less the hesitation on Kenji. However, Riddle me this Batman, what if Vlad were playing RF and you had to swap him for WFB. Willie’s got the better nickname so at least give him that.
Come to think of it. I might buy a WFB Tee.
There was always something perverse about that monkey, and when it’s said like that, it’s downright dirty.
RA Dickey’s mlb picture is the stoner mug shot type. Does anyone look normal/sane/sober in their picture?
straight-up swap Vidro for Guerrero? I don’t even see one of those nifty “Professional Hitter” trademarks next to Guerrero’s name. I don’t even think he wears batting gloves. sheesh.
we really do have an unimpressive DH. is there another starting DH you *wouldn’t* trade him for? maybe sweeney?
I’m assuming the refusal to trade WFB for HGH is based entirely on contracts because it would otherwise be a no-brainer in my opinion. I also might be inclined to go with Napoli over Johjima just because then I wouldn’t have to worry about making a decision between Clement and Johjima in the off-season.
To sum up: Turbo doesn’t earn his spot, Sexy should go. Johjima seems to be getting back on track. Dickey should be fun. Oh well. My night will consist of Mariners, installing Fedora 8 on my server, and Gunness. Could be worse. Go Trib(er. Mariners!) Sorry. My friends took me out to see the Tribe this week, and I need to kick myself back into gear with the Mariners.
I saw the maybe for second base and was wondering what you were thinking, then I remembered Kendrick’s injured.
Gerald said:
Wasn’t the trade for Gary Matthews? And contract or not, won’t it be awesome to simply cite this game thread to show everyone who thinks that USSM hates Sir Willie that they prefer him to, gasp, Gary Matthews?
Comment on myself: Sorry, I get it. Gary Matthews. HGH.
Of course.
I assume the mind crunching on Lopez vs. their second baseman is Howie Kendrick, not Macir Izturis.
Oh my, I get the Angels feed on Extra Innings tonight. Very few announcers worse than Physioc and Hudler. Ugh!
Is anyone listening to Krueger on the pregame?
My god – how many cliches can he use in the span of three minutes?
RAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUL!! Dang, can he be any hotter?
good thing the game is down south tonight … as I gaze out at the snow falling here at sea level.
ok, maybe 400 feet above sea level.
speaking of southern climes, Slaughter Roy Corcoran was on the pregame show. That should happen every game.
Can’t wait to see Dickey in action.
Also, Chipper is on a freaking tear this season.
Yes: He could be working on a 8 game home run streak. Lousy slacker!
Oh yeah, it’s Dickey Time! …erm wait a sec.
so, what does excess adreneline do to a knuckleballer?
Is it just me or has Betancourt’s range gone to hell?
ROFL, Chone Figgins looks like a freaking dwarf standing next to Richie.
This hasn’t begun how I envisioned it.
Turns out I COULD have waited to see how Dickey turns out.
msb, makes it spin according to Bouton
Is it freakin’ snowing like hell where you are? It is here, up by the zoo. This ain’t right. I kinda wish I was in California right now.
I had two visions to how this game would start. Unfortunately this was one of them. Live by the Knuckler…
It takes patience, that’s for sure.
Isn’t 75 kind of fast for a knuckler?
Strike outs are good.
CAn’t a hoitter just sit on a fastball and adjust to a knuckler?
It’s like Hunter’s trying to swat a fly…and missing.
35, Steve, he has a fast knuckler and a slow one.
It’s 41 and sunny in Anchorage, AK as long as we’re doing weather reports.
that dang Tori-ii
Who does he think he is, Luis Sojo?
Alllllllllllll righty then. Not a great start.
Did Kenji even tag him? Haha.
42 – Yep, they almost finally got their revenge.
75 and a dustbowl in Qatar.
I’m just south of you, and it has settled into a gentle, yet steady, snowfall. My plants are just thrilled.
Re: Weather. It is 10:25 and still over 60 in Indiana. But we are experiencing mild earthquakes, so there’s that.
Well at least we’re not discussing the traffic in Idaho.
Steve T – give it a minute, here in queen anne it just stopped.
This weather is nuts tho – at least it’ll be cleared up by the time our M’s get back home to take revenge on Baltimore
ugh. Dickey making me sickey (sorry)
The end of times is quickly approaching!
Hopefully his nerves are under control now, but a lot of his success, or lack of, depends on the ump.
No rain/snow up here in Bellingham. Not yet, at least.
Big Sexy
so, let’s see.
hail, then sunshine with rain, then a mini-thunderstorm, then snow, and now what looks like it could be a trace of blue sky to the south before the sun sets.
and a Sexson homerun.
is it the apocalypse?
It feels so weird typing, “BIG SEXY!” I’d love to type it another 40 times this year though.
Wouldn’t it be sweet though if a game were snowed out in Seattle of all places? Hey, force some other team to fly inconvenient distances to make up games. If it has to happen though I wish it could be the Yanks.
Ahh, the Funk Blast!
Here cometh the four horsemen
Hey – has anyone kept a fangraph up for an M’s game yet?
I’m going to watch it for the first game with the game tonight and I was wondering if whether or not anyone else thought it was interesting to see what it depicts as ‘key’ moments in the game…
Anyone?
Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. I’ll take it.
For you earthquake newbies, that’s called Earthquake Weather.
Who called Richie’s homerun upthread?
56 – why would the roof ever be open if it were that cold?
do the guys remember all the at-bats over the last week? the patience? the walks? the causing of high pitch counts in opposing pitchers?
zzyzx
Well as long as wishes are fishes, it’s cause it grew so cold that the roof wouldn’t shut.
Willie really hustled in to that ground-out.
Here’s where we find out how the game’s going to go. Has Dickey settled down?
I was at the Monday evening freezing Safeco game. Your complaints are wimpy, if not meaningless.
Steve Physioc makes me want to puke – if his head was any farther up Mike Scioscia’s ass, I would think they were a single entity…..
These guys suck.
God I love it when I can’t figure out why you guys are commenting on the game when it hasn’t even started yet…
Then I look at the clock, see it’s 7:33, and realize I paused the TV for thirty minutes two hours ago…
Yup – I’m a tard.
Nice grab Willie.
Better grab Ichiro!
Ichiro!
No, I don’t think so egreen. I’ve been doing it from Korea, Cyprus and now Qatar. I’ve been surprised a lot of times.
Well Dickey part deux went better but those fly balls are getting scary.
68 – It is painful to have to listen to the Angel’s commentators especially because the rest of the west’s color guys are actually pretty good.
Has Ichi ever legged out a ball dropped by the catcher?
I can’t seem to remember one
I have some nice pictures of the snow falling during opening day
Schnikies! Are we really in all that big of a hurry to get back out on D?
They are hungry for more web-gems.
well, I think it is time to turn on the christmas lights, make some hot milk, gaze at the snow-covered roofs, as I hope for some improved offense vs. Mr .127-at-Home.
I’m glad I don’t have to listen to Rex Hudler on a regular basis.
No doubt about it.
Ok, I’ve tried to be patient with them but these Angels announcers are really getting under my skin now.
Looks like R.A. has settled down a bit. He makes batters look funny on the pitches that they don’t put in play. Now we just need to get our bats going.
Did I mention these guys really suck? I think I heard one comment about the game in the bottom half of the third. Makes me appreciate our broadcast team and take back all of the horrible things I have said about them in the past.
Now I can see how the rally monkey was conceived…
I’m just happy for game day audio so I can listen to the M’s announcers instead of those guys. Man, not to beat a dead horse, but they really suck.
Remember the days when we regularly saw back-to-back home runs hit by Griffey and Edgar, or Edgar and Buhner?* Funny how rarely that seems to occur now. Man, I miss offense.
*Not to overlook all the other power combos in our lineup back then.
Nevermind, I remember. Jim Abbott.
Nice back up of the play WFB
That was the Kingdome, and we lost more of those games than we won.
Adam Jones would have caught that! come on ichi
I was actually just watching old griffey commercials earlier…
I know it makes no long term sense for the M’s, but damn I miss Junior
Awesome early Nike commercial
http://www.kgjonline.com/video/2.avi
M’s cloning ad
http://www.kgjonline.com/video/1.avi
so i guess that whole taking pitches thing and running up the starting pitchers pitch count was just a tease for the first 2 weeks
My eyes, my eyes.
Watch Dickey’s glove when he throws a knuckler compared to when he throws a fastball. He twists his glove when he grips the ball when hes about to throw the knuckleball.
If the Angels figure that out, Dickey will be dead.
Good job on Ichiro to run that one out. Not sure if he was safe or not but he was able to make it close enough to get a hit out of it.
Tie goes to the runner?
My god, a base runner! At last!
and there goes that
Wow, that blows.
a complete game for saunders anyone?
I’ve seen people run for a bus faster than Raul was scampering after that one.
61-i did, but I didn’t actually think it would happen. Richie the only M’s offense…and we’re in the 6th??? Msb, i think it is the apocalypse…
Memo to RAD: Walk Torii Hunter. You may pitch to all the other Angels.
Let’s just walk Hunter next time. At least he’ll only be at 1st then.
Good lord, our defense is awful.
Something in Dickey’s total pissed off reaction to Izturis’ hit tells me he didn’t agree with the decision to intentionally walk the wee infielder. And he was right. And he’s still pissed off. Good. Time to kick over the Gatorade tub.
Come on guys, let’s string some hits together.
That was profesionally placed.
BWAH! Okay, now that’s some bad defense. Could a break actually go our way in this game?
I would be fine with another Sexy Funk Blast here.
BIG SEXXXXYYYYYY!!!!
110: Well, there you go!
Big Sexy! Absolutely -crushed-
Benne Says:
I would be fine with another Sexy Funk Blast here.
Nice call!
WOOOOOOOOOOOO I freakin’ called it.
Wait to go Richie!
Memo to J. Saunders: Walk Richie Sexson. You may pitch to all other Mariners.
uh, wow!
“Maybe Willie can start something here.”
Er, I’m calling a ground ball…well, there we go.
Aghh!!!
I forgot I paused it again at the Ichi ‘almost awesome’ catch!
You guys spoiled it for me
I feel as though I should be hiding under my couch cushions for the AB.
Vlad’s head is going to be ringing in the morning.
maybe they shouldn’t throw at Ichiro then…
For the very first time, I am actually believing (and dreading) that Arthur Rhodes is really pitching once again for the Mariners. Has everyone forgotten how bad he had gotten? If I’m wrong, fine but …. wow, is this the best we can do?
FSN is really in love with this slow-motion pitch delivery thing.
The only specific thing I can remember about Rhodes is when they made him take out his 10 caret diamond earring like 8 years ago, because it was distracting the hitter. Heh.
Beltre’d!
Thank you, Beltre!
this is baffling
Beltre saves a franchise record.
That had ‘4th double’ written all over it.
Too early to give Beltre a gold glove?
Is it possible to go a single game without mentioning the damn gold glove.
OFE or RHODES its a toss up
Right. Dickey’s “Failures” display a failure of McClaren’s ability to understand what it is he does. I think he told him, “throw the fb…, slow down the….”. He’s cheap and capable of eating innings
Arthur Rhodes: Buy Adrian Beltre a really nice steak dinner tonight – it’s the right thing to do after that Hunter base clearing double was nabbed out of mid flight by your GG 3rd baseman. Awesome glove work by King Awesome.
126: Arthur on the Mound with Diamonds. I was at that game, funniest thing I ever saw. Bright and sunny, and they really did shine.
129-
I don’t know if the numbers back it up, but for a veteran who’s been through the wars coming out of the pen, I’ll take Rhodes over Reitsma, Parrish, White, et al. (As long as Beltre’s got his back.)
And by 129, I meant 124.
if we lose i still put the blame on richie, he should have had that ground ball by izturas in the 6th
140: Yeah, to heck with those two homers.
God…FSN is loving the “x-mo” tonight.
You see me now a veteran, of a thousand psychic wars…now I know how the mods feel.
WTF Kenji?
Hey guys. I’m in BFE. How does Lowe look velocity wise? I know he struggled in his first few appearances. . . also do any of you super-geeks know a site which shows a “gamecast” with velocity/type of pitch?
I love the Kenji dropping the ball on X-Mo.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_04_18_seamlb_anamlb_1&mode=gameday
I guess this isn’t ending before Battlestar Galactica. Oh well.
147~ Thanks.
143-
Sorry — I’d already resigned myself to the fact that “war veteran” is a bullpen role that the M’s feel (incorrectly) that they need. Given that, they could do worse.
If there was ever the time for a Professional Hit, this is it.
This is the first week I’ve been able to see games on TV. Glad to see Beltre’s still got his happy feet thing going…but is he still asking the first base ump if he swung or not? He did it in Spring Training, but has he stopped?
The crystal ball says GIDP.
Here comes Vidro? Man, is that supposed to instill some sort of confidence?
Yeah, with other teams, down a run, a man on, 9th inning, their DH coming up, could mean taking the lead.
With Vidro, not so much.
I wa wondering why we don’t have a pinch runner, but then I remembered. WFB in the game, Jimerson gone.
Wow, that close.
Torii Hunter doing what he does best. Not much you can say but… wow.
Raul or Morse woulda had that. Fer shurrrr. Naw, defense isn’t important
ah crap.
There is not a curse word that can truly express my emotions at this time. Good night.
GM BILL BAVASI–
THIS IS WHY OUTFIELD DEFENSE MATTERS
Well said 161. That was the highest to the lowest in like 3 seconds. Friggin Torii Hunter.
How exactly did our outfield defense screw up today?
Well, nobody can be mad at Richie for this one. Words can’t describe how sweet a three jack game would’ve tasted to Richie Sexson.
164-
I think he might have been implying Hunter’s catch in the 9th.
That was a fun game despite the result. I really enjoyed Sexson’s first AB. He looked lost the first two pitches, laid of the next two and then you know what happened next. And how about Beltre laying of all that down and away garbage from K-Rod? Alright I’m putting my pony in the stable now…
I know but that’s my point. The Angels are a different team. We had our chances today and absolutely none of it had to do with our outfield defense so it’s a meaningless comment.
RE 164: The point is that maybe today there’s obvious about our substandard outfield defense. But the Angels just showed why GOOD outfield defense DOES matter.
My keyboard is broken, it won’t type two F’s in a row. I swear!
That was almost really cool…….
Hey Wash, if you read this, do us all a favor tomorrow. Your first pitch to Hunter needs to be between his eyes.
Seriously? We’re advocating throwing at other teams’ players now because they make a nice play?
Sorry, I’m tired and that made me extra cranky. Maybe just aim for the knees…
Haven’t we already hit Hunter? I thought that’s who Ichiro said he thought he was being thrown at by Speier in retaliation for? (OK, I think that’s spelled right, but I’m not sure it’s comprehensible…)
what are the odds that the Ms luck out and get the erratic E. Santana tomorrow?
Billy Hassleman just pointed out that if Vlad had just turned from the ball, it would have hit his back– but by ducking, he put his helmet right where the ball went.
He had no chance to turn on that one. It was on him too quick with some drift on it.
Hunter got hit in the hand by Silva, one of his best friends, and not really likely to be trying to hit him.
Ichiro got buzzed by Justin Speier, who couldn’t seem to hit a barn, and wondered if it was intentional because of the Hunter hit.
wouldn’t it take as much time to turn as to duck?
Maybe, but the super slo-mo shows while the ball was in flight Vlad read the sports section while drinking coffee before he relized the ball was going to hit him.
168,
There were two outstanding plays in the outfield today that were the difference in this game.
I’m not saying that it’s going to be the case every night (certainly, there were other factors in play), but an outstanding outfield defense is often the difference between a game-ending home run and a heartbreaking, tail-between-the-legs loss.
Let’s all hope this means Sexson is on one of his hot streaks. If we’re going to win either of the next two games with Washburn and Bautista pitching…we’ll need it.
My take on Dickey is that he gives up way too much contact for a knuckleballer. The Angels’ hitters swung at a ton of his offerings, which is good for a knuckleballer since it means you’re around the plate. The problem was that they kept making contact and putting balls in play. I’m not sold that he should be in there over Baek.
56 – why would the roof ever be open if it were that cold?
Wasn’t there a game a few years ago rained out because the roof broke and got stuck open?
My take on Dickey is that he gives up way too much contact for a knuckleballer. The Angels’ hitters swung at a ton of his offerings, which is good for a knuckleballer since it means you’re around the plate. The problem was that they kept making contact and putting balls in play. I’m not sold that he should be in there over Baek.
There were a few at bats where the hitter made really pathetic contact on really ugly looking swings. The kind where the batter stands there in the box for a moment with a disgusted look on his face before starting off down the line.
But, yeah, there were lots of other hits where they made great contact. I wonder how Dickey felt about his knuckler tonight – did he think it was moving as much as usual, or was it flat?
The game recap post on LL had me in stitches. A good laugh was just what I needed after tonight.
#186 I just went there and had to spend the next five minutes explaining to the Mrs. why I was giggling uncontrollably.
For his first start in 2 years it was not to bad. Im not saying it was awesome but it was not bad. I think with a bit more time he will take over Miguels spot in rotation and be a decent starter for the year.
Is there any reason to expect Dickey’s stuff to improve game over game at this point? Is there any reason not to believe that we’ve seen what he can do, for the most part.
First inning wildness aside, it didn’t seem like Dickey pitched too horribly tonight…especially for a guy who hadn’t started a game in a while. Sort of baptism by fire against that lineup.
Strangely enough, on a day where there’s a Mag-5 earthquake in Illinois and snow in Seattle (in late April!), Richie Sexson almost winds up being the hero for once. Go figure!
Boy that was a ballgame … it was interesting to see us fight back on the road. Good to see Richie do something … I was looking around saying … ‘there’s no way Richie can hit 3 today’ – boy he was close.
ABSOLUTELY
Well, according to DMZ:
So…you can expect more craziness and unpredictability.
Check this out:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL197308050.shtml
Not to say that RAD is necessarily on the road to the HOF just yet like Niekro, but still.
Yeah, there’s a high randomness factor in any knuckleball outing. Sometimes it works in your favor, sometimes it works against you. We have no idea which this was (or how close this is to the average we’ll see from him over a series of outings).
So, on the “Would you swap em”, we have 2 yes, 2 ties, and 5 nos. Should I be more optimistic about the M’s chances at a division title?
JM – Only if you assume none of the currently injured Angels come back, and you completely ignore pitching…
Who’s Pitching?
Apropos nothing, but the he fangraph for that epic 22 inning SD/COL game is hilarious.
What kind of numbers would guys like Sexson, Wilkerson and Beltre put up in Tacoma? Not saying that any of them should be in the minors, I am just wondering how there big league numbers would translate at tacoma
What kind of numbers would guys like Sexson, Wilkerson and Beltre put up in Tacoma? Not saying that any of them should be in the minors, I am just wondering how there big league numbers would translate at tacoma
147 total AB w/ 25 hits. unreal.
in surprising news John Marzano has died. Nice choice by the AP on a photo to go with the brief news report.
he was his usual loud and bumptious self yesterday, all ready to spend the weekend spoiling his grandson.
Lincecum watch:
vs St. Louis: 7 IP, 6 H, 5 K, 3 B.B. with the Win
2008: 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA …
in surprising news John Marzano has died. Nice choice by the AP on a photo to go with the brief news report.
Wow, that is strange, and sad. But it’s a great photo, and not one I recall seeing before. I don’t like players getting into it, but if somebody’s going to suffer a beatdown it should be a Yankee. Rather reminiscent of that legendary altercation when Nolan Ryan made Robin Ventura his, uh, prison wife.
DMZ you would really trade Sexson for Crotchman? You have got to be kidding me.
Nope. The why would be a pretty long post, though.