Game 23, Mariners at Orioles
DMZ · April 24, 2008 at 5:00 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Loewen v Washburn. 7:10.
Adam Loewen’s a lefty from Surrey, BC, which as I understand it is on the way to Vancouver from here (just kidding! I know you have to turn off at some point).
The M’s are 9-8 against RHP and 2-3 against LHP this year.
Last year, it was 60-61 and 28-13, and interestingly, though you’d think they were vulnerable to lefties, they actually hit better against them – .295/.348/.446 to .284/.333/.419.
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Of course, the league as a whole also hit better against left-handed pitchers than right-handed pitchers last year:
.276/.346/.432 — vs. LHP
.269/.335/.419 — vs. RHP
And that difference matches up reasonably well with the M’s splits against LHP and RHP last year.
It doesn’t really surprise me that the league hits better against lefties. When prospects come up, it is clear that scouts value their left-handedness as if it was a skill that will make the more effective, when for the life of me, I can’t figure out why being a right-handed starting pitcher is any worse than being a left-handed starting pitcher (as long as we’re not putting them in a specific park.) There are also probably more right-handed batters than left-handed batters.
I mean, I guess it’s kind of nice to have one or two lefties in the rotation, but it’s not strictly necessary, and if they are going to be less effective than a more boring right-handed pitcher, I don’t see the point in giving extra value to a guy for being a lefty.
Platoon split speaking, doesn’t a line-up that is RH heavy like the M’s going to do better against lefties?
…and another game with Vidro at DH and Ibanez in left. sigh
I wonder if Loewen listened to NoMeansNo or Skinny Puppy growing up. Then I might have to secretly root for him.
And I’m sure Bedard loves the Unicorns and the Arcade Fire.
Scott Radinsky is the only major leaguer I know who was ever into REALLY cool bands. Of course, he’s in his own cool band to.
Black Jack’s band was…eh.
Happy Jarrod Day!
I had to pour The Glenlivet early, because Blowers was on KJR to talk about Marzy, and no question about it, he’s gonna miss him.
Dude, when I was a teenager NoMeansNo played my basement. (I still have an original lp of their “Mama” album, which apparently is an extreme rarity).
Also, Surrey definitely is “on the way to Vancouver from here” for certain values of here.
Joser, you have my extreme envy. (And I have an original cassette of Mama, which I suppose is not so rare.
I wrote a bit about my love for NoMeansNo just about a year ago, if I may be forgiven the link.
Wait, the M’s are on a one-day east coast roadtrip? I knew the schedule this year was borked, and the M’s always get screwed, but that’s just ridiculous….
Perhaps I would be more readily forgiven the link if I didn’t botch it. [fixed, I hope?]
Joser-Maybe you can get The Hanson Brothers to play a USSM kegger.
Thank you, fixer!
hmm.
Washburn vs. lefties .087.
Washburn vs. righties .377
so, what lineup are the Os running out there?
I listened to Skinny Puppy growing up. Does that mean you’ll root for me?
Well, if price on ebay is a measure of rarity, <a href=”http://cgi.ebay.com/Nomeansno-Mama-Canada-Cassette-no-means-no-Wrong-1-C_W0QQitemZ110223215516QQihZ001QQcategoryZ1600QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247″it is still pretty rare. But there were only a couple of hundred lps pressed, and then they lost the master tapes, so when it came time to put their back catalog on CD they had to track down someone who had one of the lps to remaster from. Though I heard they eventually found the tapes.
They played a bunch of house parties back in the day, along with the DayGlow Abortions, Red Tide, the Neos… we even had DOA a couple of times. Jello Biafra slept on my friend’s couch after a show. Speaking of which, that friend’s sister dated (or at least hung out with) Kevin Compton when he was in “Images in Vogue” before he dropped out of New Wave, changed his name, and got all Skinny Puppy. But that was later; we didn’t have any time for with haircut bands.
I was always kind of amazed that NoMeansNo had an international following, because they were just another local band when I was growing up. It wasn’t quite as weird as having guys I drank with in college turn up on t-shirts when Soundgarden and Mudhoney got famous, but it still freaked me out when I went to a NoMeansNo show down here and there were all these kids who could sing along to every song. Who are you people?
Joser-Maybe you can get The Hanson Brothers to play a USSM kegger.
Oh, that’s an awesome idea. Though I think they only play hockey-related sports events. Though maybe if enough people with missing teeth show up, they won’t notice
(All of you just tuning in wondering where the heck the game thread went… well, when Derek opens it up more than an hour early… ya gotta talk about something, yeah?)
Considering Derek went drinking early for tonight’s contest… hello bizarro game thread.
Loewen has given up 12 walks in 15.2 innings. Good chance the M’s offense gets going tonight.
Then again… Vidro/Sexson/Johjima/Bloomquist/Betancourt
actually it’s just Vidro (.200) /Sexson (.205)/Johjima (.197)/Bloomquist(.196)…the 5-8 Rally killers. Uggh..will there line be as bad as it was last night? Is McClaren that stubborn?..or is he just stupid?
Wow, it’s warmer here in Anchorage than down in Seattle. I’d hate to get pitched inside on a day like this.
Considering Derek went drinking early for tonight’s contest… hello bizarro game thread.
I can see it now. A whole series of entries that say things like.
[Bad puncuation]
[Bloomquist]
[Stupid]
[That is not a verb.]
[No capital letters]
Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols both reached base every they came to the plate today. Albert’s line is now .377/.520/.610 and Chipper’s is .442/.485/.733. Granted we’re less than a month into the season, but why can’t we have a player who can hit like that? Just one.
NoMeansNo = YAY
Skinny Puppy = BOO
I saw the U-Men, NoMeansNo and Husker Du in ‘86 at the HUB. I’m sorry, but the U-Men blew. I know they’re supposedly this influential proto-Grunge band, but please. NoMeansNo kicked ass, as did Husker Du of course.
Oh yeah… Go M’s
Jimmie
Loewen has given up 12 walks in 15.2 innings. Good chance the M’s offense gets going tonight.
Then again… Vidro/Sexson/Johjima/Bloomquist/Betancourt
Since I just got done ragging on Baker, I’ll point out he made a pretty good observation on his blog. He mentioned that the M’s started off getting lots of walks, but the walks dissapeared, even with a guy like Cabrerra who has control problems. Why? Baker notes that pitchers don’t have a whole lot to fear from the M’s lineup. Get too much of the plate, and most of these guys aren’t going to put it over the fence. Throw it down the middle and let the M’s batter ground themselves out. I think he’s right. Advance scouting says “Challenge the M’s hitters.” I suspect the walks will stay away for a while.
Oh, those IBBs? Another problem. Seems like whoever is at bat for the M’s, an easy out or easy DP is due up soon, so hand out a free pass to anyone remotely dangerous.
Sorry about the busted link.
So, maybe this was discussed in the offseason and I missed it, but why was Washburn a better pitcher on the road (.256 BABip) than he was in Safeco (.313 BABip) last year? That wasn’t the case in 2006 (.291 away / .264 home)
Joser, I don’t think a pitcher has control over BABIP.
Man, SafeCo looks like Tampa tonight. A ghost town…
Yeah, I think the word to describe Washburn’s road performance is “luckier” not better.
Walksville, population Ichiro!
Jose Lopez takes the first pitch for the 97,546th time in a row.
25 – the strike zone was pretty big last night too. Paraphrasing LookoutLanding’s writeup, Silva was getting some pretty generous K’s and the O’s looked like they were about to raise a stink until they realized who they had pitching.
That was slick stuff by Loewen…or maybe just lucky.
Lopez’ approach this year seems to be: take four pitches, ground the fifth to short. Like his old approach, but more patient.
Re: # 7
Blowers was on KJR to talk about Marzy
Didn’t hear it. Did he talk about Marzy’s finest hour, telling Paul O’Neill to stop his @#$^& whining, and get back in the @#$%^ box ?
well, Larry Wayne went 1st in the ‘90 draft, so he was gone by pick no. 6, but as we all know, almost anyone could have taken Pujols several times by the 13th round of the 1999 draft…
Looks like Ichiro got a bad break there…the tag misses.
With a lefty on the mound Raul could be wearing a golden sombrero by nights end.
he mentioned that the Ms had that photo up, and how seeing it made him laugh thinking about that day, but that it was also so not Marzano, the nicest fella you’d ever want to meet.
But then we would have had to pass up Ryan Christianson.
34 – Don’t forget the sac bunts!
Beltre blast!
that sounded very nice.
Is Red in the crowd tonight?
Yay Long Ball!
Beltred!!!!
Jeez, Beltre, way to be a rally killer!
Just be thankful he’s not a base-clogger.
27. A pitcher definitely affects, if not controls BABIP. In batting practice, a major league hitter can hit the ball pretty much anywhere he wants. Against a major league pitcher, he has a much harder time doing so. The closer a pitcher’s skill resembles a batting practice pitcher (Horacio Ramirez, for example) the more a batter can ‘hit ‘em where they ain’t.” The better the pitcher, the lower the BABIP.
I don’t believe you.
That’s sure not my understanding. The issue isn’t totally settled, but Voros McCracken kind of figured out that BABIP is not something pitchers can control. There’s a possibility that someone like Greg Maddux may allow fewer hits on balls in play, but such pitchers are few and far between.
Atta boy AJ. Wait.
*sigh*
Yeah — if you’ve got something to add the fairly large amount of established thought on this by Voros/Tippett/Woolner/a host of others, I’d love to hear it, but pitchers don’t affect BABIP all that much at all.
And if you haven’t read those guys on the subject, I recommend it.
Nope, pitchers have very little control over BABIP. It’s mostly influenced by defense, batter speed, and a little bit of luck.
Hey! Balls off the Box!
The only sure way to success as a pitcher is generating lots of ground balls, having a high strikeout rate and a low walk rate.
Niiiice, Raul.
Does anyone else hear calliope music?
I believe I banned you yesterday, Terminator, for that fine series of penis-related comments. I’ll go tighten that up.
49. When a batter hits a ball, the direction it goes is not random. The batter is trying to hit the ball to a certain place. If you ever watched John Olerud in batting practice, you would have seen him hit line drives clockwise around the infield, on the third, one between third and short, one to short, etc. A good pitcher makes that difficult.
DMZ: am I still good to talk about them, you know, if I feel the need?
Okay, I will read the research. It just doesn’t seem logical to me.
Rick L,
The data disagrees with you on this one.
It’s counter-intuitive, certainly, as Voros discusses at length.
But it’s true.
Rick: Big difference between game pitching and batting practice. Pitchers basically can control whether the ball is hit into the air or on the ground, and knuckleballers tend to post lower BABIPs, but beyond that, it’s essentially about the hitters.
I’m having the same issue with my 4 year old today.
Good hitters can consistently post high BABIPs, but good pitchers cannot consistently post low ones. To simplify something that is not perfectly understood, for every bullet Olerud hit down the line that was caught by the third baseman, Al Martin hit a weak fly ball that fell in for a hit.
watching on masn2 seattle ex-pat out here in bawlmur…
the o’s announcers think ichiro should have caught that ball jones hit. Palmer also described his attempt last night as apathetic. besides the obvious counter (bloomquist is not as rangy out in right as, oh i don’t know…adam jones would have been), do they have a point?
Way to get on your pony and go, Willie!
Ignition.
Betancourt is having a great offensive year.
Which Betancourt?
I hate to keep disagreeing with you, Rick, but Yuni’s OPS+ is 83. He’s only walked twice, which leads to an OBP of .284.
Vidro looks really lost at the plate from the right side.
Raul would’ve had that…
Raul would’ve had that.
maybe not…
Vidro=Professional Hitter(TM)
Lost nothing!
Maybe it just seems that way because of the three batters in front of him.
For Vidro – that’s a homerun
Loewen looked like he was in a hurry to get back to the locker room to listen to some B.C. punk.
Randor Bierd sounds like the name of a Martian.
FYI, Chad Billingsley has 9 Ks in 4 innings against the D-Backs.
Everything’s relative and nowhere is that more true than in baseball.
Also, Rick, you should read about Brian Bannister, who is threatening to become an exception to that BABIP rule.
well, that was unexpected. I had to wander away with the bases loaded and Wash facing Millar, and came back in time to see Richie ground out to short, with 4 runs somehow on the board.
I still don’t see how Adam Jones supposedly has great defense. The times that I have seen him play, he hasn’t. As a Mariner last year I remember him dropping a couple of balls that 80% of major leaguers would have caught. Today, he was playing incredibly shallow.. then he misjudged the ball that was over his head. He was only running at half speed to try to get to it.. and it just flew over him. I bought into the hype last year, and I was disappointed when we traded him .. but I really think the writers on this site put WAY too much stock in his ability.
Also.. he should have been picked off at 2nd .. as he has extremely low awareness.
There’s that calliope again.
Yuni!
Also.. he should have been picked off at 2nd .. as he has extremely low awareness.
And he stole walkie83’s girlfriend too, apparently.
three times Brian Roberts has been up with runners on, he will get one through sooner then later.
He hasn’t supposedly had great defense the times you saw him play?
And he stole walkie83’s girlfriend too, apparently.
yeah.. I do sound a little irritated, don’t I? I am honestly just disappointed in all the hype he gets .. when he honestly doesn’t deserve it at all, yet.
McLaren had better get someone warming up in the pen.
Usually if an outfielder is playing shallow it’s because somebody made a series of gestures and body grabs that dictates he better move closer to the infield.
Can you surrey, can you picnic
Can you surrey, can you picnic
c’mon c’mon and
Surrey down to a stoned soul picnic
Surrey down to a stoned soul picnic
There’ll be lots of time and wine
DMZ, what I meant to say is I haven’t really seen him do anything better that any other middle of the road (defensively) major league outfielder. I saw him play a number of games last year .. and while I’ll admit I haven’t seen him play much this year (It’s a bit hard to see Baltimore games here).. I just don’t know what the hype is. Yes, he has a good arm. Yes, he is fast.. but his awareness isn’t nearly what it should be in order to be considered a great center fielder.
There might be a future in scouting for walkie83 – as he apparently sees some truth that absolutely nobody else sees. Every scouting impression I’ve ever read (and granted, this includes Mariners blogs, ESPN, and SI employees – but you’d figure some of them actually have scout contacts and don’t just make up all of their quotes) of Jones’ defense has been positively glowing.
Ah.
Well, I guess you can wait for the end of the year and look at the stats and see if that matches up with your perception, or you could look at all the scouting reports from places like Baseball America.
Jones rocks.
Jones will be fine in time. Justin Upton has been awful in the outfield this year but I doubt anyone thinks he won’t be a plus defensively.
Mike G. Says:
Usually if an outfielder is playing shallow it’s because somebody made a series of gestures and body grabs that dictates he better move closer to the infield.
That MIGHT explain it .. and I don’t even have too big of a problem with that. The problem was he misjudged it and wasn’t running back at full speed. Believe me, I’m very happy about it.. as the M’s scored a couple of runs because of it. I’m just a little annoyed with the hype he gets from the people who run this site when he really doesn’t deserve it yet.
(btw, I really love this site.. and just because I’m a little annoyed doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate EVERYTHING that they do. It is wonderful to have guys like them taking time out of their lives to have a website where we can come and cheer or complain about our team – not to mention the incredible amount of thoughtful posts)
msb- That was way out there. But I see you and I raise you:
Red yellow honey sassafrass and moonshines.
Who was the Baltimore player with the big flappy ears? I missed his name.
Then again.. I also thought Ichiro could have made a better effort to get that ball that was in the gap. Since I grew up with Griffey, he has given me unreasonable expectations. Maybe I’m just in a critical mood today. haha
Walkie- And he may have taken a bad route, msb is distracting me With Swing Out Sisters. Just don’t bag on him for playing shallow it’s usually not his call.
Someone tell me there is someone warming up in the M’s bullpen. Damn it McLaren.
And the flood gates begin to bulg
And the flood gates begin to bulg
[this is not a board]
Brandon Fahey, rockin’ the Carlos Guillen open-cab-door ears.
Wow lucky, or skilled?
dang, that is one weird song.
it did finally knock Rick Astley out of my brain, however.
I am not challenging anyone.. but this is a platform for my opinions as well.
Good job by Wash getting out of a mess
don’t the Diamond Jaxx have two XXs?
Fun fact: I believe that that is the twenty-fifth comment to be deleted with [this is not a board]
with all the discussions lately about how sick every one is, I find myself looking at the Mariner batters, trying to decide if they too look as grey and crummy as Felix did last night, and if that might explain the recent offensive woes (excepting the 5 runs thus far)
Do we get a prize?
Fun fact: I believe that that is the twenty-fifth comment to be deleted with [this is not a board]
That seems low to me. Maybe it’s because for every comment that is deleted with [this is not a board] there are three or four others that could be.
No prizes.
Extra fun fact: I believe we’re over 400 for “[deleted, off-topic]“
Can I post my opinion without my post being deleted.
What would you like me to add to my posts that you won’t delete?
Beltre has 7 RBI’s, all in one season. Great job Adrian. ugh
Has anyone else noticed that since Fangraphs had the Nasty Nate post, Nate has had 3 straight games with 0 for (x)?
Dave, you should ask Eric to write a bunch of columns about all the A’s and Angels players…
23days: I think the only objection was that you’re calling this a “board,” which implies everyone has equal rights to say pretty much anything they want. What it really is, however, is a blog by four guys that we’re allowed to comment on. We’re lesser figures in this firmament, which is ok with most of us, I think.
To which?
Btw- where is the link that shows how to use all those nifty posting tools?
I’ve tried, but can’t find them.
You’ve had three comments deleted. Come on. That’s not so bad.
I mentioned David Ortiz in re RBIs-are-stupid yesterday, but you’ve broached the subject, 23 Days, so I’ll do it again.
Papi’s Line: .189/.305/.344
Beltre’s Line: .296/.367/.531
One’s on pace for 140 RBI, the other’s on pace for 51. Which one has been the better hitter this year?
Great play by Lopez!!!
Oh it is Slaughter time!
I really hope Roy got that tractor. And I really hope he can get 4 outs now.
Huh, usually the tie goes to the fielder making a jump-throw. Those a the Jeter rules, anyway.
Papi also has people that actually get on base in front of him… and once Ichiro starts doing that for Beltre, he’ll get his RBIs
Wow. Can’t win for losing.
Nice play by the pitcher! You can’t take those for granted…
I just have a different opinion every now and then.
I just would like to see Jones make a mistake and have people actually say he made a mistake. He may be great one day, but he made some bad decisions , on the base path yesterday and his route to the ball tonight.
That was one of the unluckiest earned runs I have ever seen.
demigods?
that was an odd inning for skin of the teeth defensive plays
The “rally fries” sign actually said “Freeze Rally” (“rally” as in a tennis rally) – in case anyone was wondering.
Also, it looked to me like Lopez got the out.
3 error today already? How many errors did we have in 2001? We’ve probably already passed that mark this year.
some more offense by the Ms would be nice.
tonight, I mean.
I think it’s only because Jones is so talented that he even had a chance to look bad on that play. If that makes sense…
hmm. think trying to get #300 is pressing on Richie?
Nice K Richie.
You are now officially colder then my X!
He needs to relax, even he can’t get 300 K’s on a season.
How about Johjima? Should he be playing 80% of the games?
Wouldn’t a little more rest help him?
Fun note: USSM served over 1m pages this month already.
Mike G. Says:
I think it’s only because Jones is so talented that he even had a chance to look bad on that play. If that makes sense…
I don’t buy it for Jones, yet. I’ll buy that argument for Ichiro.. as sometimes he does look horrible.. but only because he has the ability to get so close to the ball. I think people are just so in love with Jones (especially on this site), that they will ignore anything stupid that he does.. and come up with excuses for him.
I actually sent Directv a nice note asking them to please turn down the volume on their ear-shattering commercial inserts. I would put the chances they do anything about it at 0%.
Who’s coming up with excuses for him? Come on now.
Mike G sort of was..
But I guess you are right, DMZ, most people are just silent when he does something stupid.
(shaking head)
Okay. I’m giving up.
Trains of trust, trains of golden dust. And Beltre.
woo hoo! I won!
What I want to know.. is where are Authur Rhodes’ earrings?
Yea I think this thread went bizarro somewhere.
Speaking of bizarro, now pitching for the Mariners: Arthur Rhodes.
Walkie83-
I’ve never met Adam and I have enough issues with intimacy to fall in love with people I’ve met let alone Adam Jones.
You have every right to disagree, I think the issue I’m taking with the argument is your basing it on some games you’ve seen him play. I went to a game and watched Felix get torched and I didn’t think any less of his talent. There’s a lot of scouting done and there’s information out there based on thousands of balls he’s fielded. I’m not going to change your mind, that’s fine. With all due respect your not going to change mine from the dozens of games you’ve seen.
Please stick around though, there’s a lot to be learned here.
wow, the ump is really squeezing the strike zone
Hmmm…Arthur Rhodes seems to have contracted a nasty case of Rick Whititus.
Sorry, I’m late to the game, but Is this ump known for having a small strike zone? I came in and saw two balls in the tracer that looked like strikes but the man just walked on 4 pitches.
“HE HAS BEEN THROUGH WARS! THOSE ARE GRITTY VETRANY STRIKES!” Sure thing Mac, he will change that zone for you.
Yea GameCast says a lot of these balls are down the pipe.
Judging by Gameday, the HP ump missed two of the pitches in the Markakis at-bat, but the balls/strikes on the first two batters that inning seemed fine.
Another one of those games where the Mariner offense just takes the rest of the game off after scoring a nice passel of runs.
Um, was that just me, or was someone screaming curse words during the bullpen feed?
My favorite last name for a pitcher: Walker.
Derek, you just got 50$ worth of beer or beverage of your choice for putting up with that crap.
No worries, our offence will pick us up! LOL
The Padres just used Greg Maddux as a pinch runner. Can someone explain?
Wait you don’t know if you were screaming curse words or not?
DMZ- I caught that. I am a little afraid of whoever that was.
True, I am basing my argument only on games I have seen. The reason why is because I used to buy into the hype that everyone said about him… so I watched. I know this is baseball, and seasons are long, and everyone struggles from time to time. But it seems like every game I see him play, he makes a mistake.
It isn’t because of his talent.. but he just doesn’t seem to be as aware as a major leaguer should be. It doesn’t take a genius to see he has potential.. but until he gets his head in the game 100%, he will never be great.
You are right, I am not a scout.. and I have only seen a limited amount of his play. Maybe I’m a little too harsh on him based on his age. I had similar feelings about Felix.. not playing to his potential. I’m very happy to see him not lose his composure so far this year, and it is a sign of maturity. Maybe that is all Jones will need… a few years in the bigs to realize he has to pay attention, EVERY single play.
I’ll definitely stick around, though, because these guys do a great job running the site, and post things with research that they have done that I am too lazy or unable to do. That doesn’t mean I should buy into everything they say or believe, though.
Yeah. It’s a common issue at Haus Zumsteg.
hee hee hee
Greg wanted to stretch his legs? I know Lou used to keep Moyer as an emergency runner, back in the day when he was a young pup (relatively). That still would not explain Greg, unless there was some tricky double-switching going on.
by the way, Jim Callis & Keith Law like AJ, too.
The bullpen has gone from suck, to blow.
They used Peavy to pinch run in a game last week. I saw him try to race the third baseman to the bag and slide into third. Even though I like the idea of using pitchers to pinch run, the horror of losing somebody like Peavy to an injury while pinch running would make me not do it.
Bases loaded. Two outs. Tie game. Jones to bat. Of course.
Good thing the Mariners have that fan friendly atmosphere so we can’t sign Bonds, we wouldn’t want kids hearing the repeated F bombs so loud you can hear them on TV. Wait, what does Bonds have to do with that? Nothing. Exactly.
Norm?
First granny?
The M’s have burned half the pen…in the 7th
As a side note, I believe I will finish writing thank you notes to everyone who donated before the end of the game at this rate.
and look! here come the A’s!
I think one of the Orioles’ techs put a printout of this thread up on the dugout board with walkie’s posts highlited in dayglo orange.
It’s a crying shame when your starter goes out there and pitches a 5 inning, 2 strike-out gem and he’s not in line for the win. A travesty I tell you!
There is no such thing as justice, in or out of court.
-Clarence Darrow
figures right when Jones hits a 2-run double, the website freezes for me. The baseball gods probably aren’t too happy with what I’ve been saying. What is with former Mariners kicking our butts!?! You’d think they could do something right against Sherrill and Jones.. but I guess when you have a bullpen like ours…
which reminds me, I need to sign up with PayPal. I liked it when there was the Amazon option, too.
now would be a good time for some of that Ichiro Power.
come on, ichiro. I hear you can hit one out whenever you want.
HA that was all me!!!
“Son, show me you can hit one out of the park.”
All bow before Lauren.
nice of Walker to put that pitch pretty much where Markakis got that one from RSS last night
msb: the Amazon link here still works
You’ve got to be kidding me
DMZ: You can include that in my thank-you note.
Ibanez can hit great against righties. Why does this team keep pretending he can do anything else?
I would have a uterus surgically put in me just to have an Ichi-offspring.
Look out server…
Ichiro smiled rounding second.
Sadly some people will believe that. Washburn was trash tonight. Unfortunately Rhodes was trash too but his got lit up.
OMG! Ichiro!
If you look at the ESPN gameday pictures of the Oriole relievers, you can see why M’s have made a comeback on them.
Chad Bradford looks like a dude from Reno 911, and Jamie Walker looks like G.W. Bush.
That helped some.
<—- bowing
Thank you, token chick! (and msb)
Rick Rizzs is at his worst when he uses the “Bugs Bunny change up” line.
I’m down for 22 innings if it comes to that.
Whoops, sorry, missed msb’s contribution. I’m more than willing to share the credit.
I’m down for 22 innings especially if it comes to that.
Is Sims trying to get those women to… you know what, I’m not going to finish that.
Give it up Greene
oh for petesake.
DougP- He did…
The bullpen is killing me…
Top of the 7th M’s Win expectancy:75%
Middle of the 7th: 22%
End of the 7th: 50%
I didn’t think to order him to hit it, though.
I may join Mac back in the clubhouse.
geez… I feel like I’m reliving horrible memories about the mid-90s bullpen. I hope Bavasi doesn’t do something stupid like trade Clement for another Heathcliff Slocumb.
I’m going to throw up if Sherrill gets another save against us.
Does Sherrill already have 4 saves against us?
Directv wrote me back. It was a form letter. Sigh.
I don’t have that problem with DTV.
I’ve lost count of his saves against us but my wife just gave me a peanut butter Mountain bar and it ain’t going to be pretty if gets another one.
oh, c’mon. if he had a ‘little more oomph’ he wouldn’t be Jose Vidro.
Dave Sims: “A little more oomph and he gets it out of here.”
Breadbaker: “A little more oomph and he might be worth a quarter of his salary.”
so, can Batista, Bedard & Felix pitch 27 innings between them this weekend?
Are there any indications that the organization is willing to give up on Vidro either by finding another DH or acquiring an outfielder (or bringing one up) and moving Ibanez to DH?
Oh you know Aumont/Clement is going to Toronto for B.J. Ryan before the trade deadline.
We can’t pinch hit for Willie? What is Greg Norton doing on the team?
well, I was about to type that I would find Willie his very own pink pony if he managed to get a run to score here, but before I had a chance to finish, he’d grounded out.
What is Greg Norton doing on the team?
Riding the pine.
This game is a perfect outline of why and how Bavasi knows nothing about roster construction. all of the weaknesses that were made by trading for Bedard are glaring. And we are being beat about the head with the talent that left. Bavasi bashing is not alowed, But I fear at this point Bashing just won’t do us justice! Linching sounds more equivalent.
oh, this is NOT a hot offense.
well.. M’s have little hope, and Lost is on.. hmm, tough choice..
McLaren is obviously saving Norton in case this game goes 22 innings. Like the time he saved Putz for the save situation and brought in Rick White to face Vlad…
Lincecum won again (a 1-0 score), although he seemed a bit shaky, giving up 4 hits and 5 walks. He did, however, strike out 9 and didn’t allow any runs in 6 1/3 innings. His ERA is now 1.23.
I am going to cry myself to sleep, Gnight. Sherril is going to own us yet again.
Jake N.- The Bedard trade made Ibanez not hit lefties, made Vidro and Sexson old at power positions, and made the whole bullpen weak? This game goes way beyond the Bedard trade.
Morrow has looked really good this year.
Morrow had a nice outing.
Dare I ask Ichiro for another?
Major props for both a Neil Young AND Marvin Gaye reference during the game.
If Morrow ever decides to let himself go, he’ll be a good Grizzly Adams look-a-like candidate.
Salt in the wound. Lincecum who the M’s passed on, wins 1-0. 6.1 4H 9K 1.23 and is 4-0. He and Felix would have been a nice combo.
Please do Lauren. The M’s need to ride your karma tonight.
I love the fact that Adam Jones’ GameCast picture has his eyes closed.
240: The David Archuleta of outfielders.
What just happened? A streaker?
Whoops! I totally forgot I’m wearing my Orioles t-shirt tonight. So I’ll take the blame for tonight.
241 – Who does David Archuleta play for?
One quail was injured in the making of this game.
Woah! Well, I guess it is after ten…
Bunt? Are you out of your mind?
Norton seems to hit RHP very well over the past 3 years. In addition, he has hit well at Safeco field, though small sample size applies. God forbid we ever use the guy. I mean, Vidro is struggling, and while Sexson is providing good power he could use a day off here and there. Can Norton play in the outfield at all?
Please, Ichiro, then, if you would be so kind. We’d appreciate it ever so much. Amen.
Did Blowers really just wonder if they would bunt?
Crap. Clearly a demanding tone is better.
(deep sigh)
Man.
46% of the Orioles wins are against us.
USSM After Dark
Cue the sleazy saxophone music.
The Amen did it. You angered the baseball gods Lauren.
We are for sure going to set a record this year for one run games. Yuck!
God has now made clear his opinion on the Erik Bedard trade.
My own personal highlight of this one: A knee buckling breaking ball called for a strike from Morrow. Pathetic? Perhaps. But there it is.
Superb bullpen and bench management. I enjoyed seeing Sean green pitching to their two best lefties, and seeing Willie hit against Bradford.
Bleh… how depressing.
One of the worst played games I have ever witnessed. I was at the game and kept wondering how we were up 5-1 — with Washburn somehow finagling his way out of jam after jam. We had 5 runs off of 5 hits, and couldn’t bust the game open with bases loaded and no outs (2,3,4 hitters coming to the plate). We look completely terrible, and although I think that trade wasn’t a bad move, I hope Bavasi is feeling the heat after Sherrill picked up his 5th or 6th save and Jones had a clutch 2 out double. Makes me sick watching the hometown 9.
It’s becoming very apparent that the Bedard trade is an utter bust. Jones gets two RBIs late in the game and Sherril gets his fifth save against the lowly Ms. Meanwhile Bedard has done pretty much nothing to this point except collect a paycheck. Another masterpeice by Bevasi!!
I’m not going to call Bedard a bust. There’s still a long way to go for him to make his mark. The big concern is the bullpen with the loss of Sherrill. Our strong point for most of last year is our weakness early on. The bridge from the 7th to the 9th is shaky at best.
Once again,the Mariners waste a good, or winable outing bythier starter. Also it seems to me that they lack the “killer” instinct. It seems that often they get a few runs then seem to want to coast. I guess that I would equate it with the feeling that I know get from NASCAR. They are justout there driving in circles to collect a check.
C’mon, now. I wasn’t a fan of the trade either, but Bedard being hurt shouldn’t change your opinion one bit, especially this early in the season.
is it possible to see how many games we’ve blown already?
this is going to be a long season if this crap continues.
C’mon, now. I wasn’t a fan of the trade either, but Bedard being hurt shouldn’t change your opinion one bit, especially this early in the season.
But weren’t some of the NO votes on the trade specifically saying Bedard was an injury risk? That he’d never thrown more than 180 innings?
Once again,the Mariners waste a good, or winable outing bythier starter. Also it seems to me that they lack the “killer” instinct. It seems that often they get a few runs then seem to want to coast. I guess that I would equate it with the feeling that I know get from NASCAR. They are justout there driving in circles to collect a check.
They’re not coasting. All of them (not just Vidro) are professional hitters. They want every AB to count. The problem is, they just hit too damned many ground balls and don’t have enough speed. We get guys on base and then hit into DPs, or get an RBI on a groundout to second instead of clearing the bases with a double into the gap. Half the regulars are station-to-station on the basepaths, and the other half don’t get enough XBH to make up for it. At the risk of sounding like one of the broadcasters, how many times do you see the opposing team go first to thrid vs how many times do the M’s do it? And this isn’t accidental. This is how the team was constructed. They want hitters who put the ball on the ground because that will “make things happen.” Mostly what it makes happen are outs.
And, yeah, how did we just know that was gonna happen…sigh.
I think a better slogan for ‘08 would have been “Mariner Baseball: One step forward, two steps back.” >:(
I like how people think keeping two guys would have kept our bullpen from imploding nearly every game.
I have to agree with JMhawkins. I for one was part of the ‘I’d put money on Bedard getting put on the DL’ group. If their is one thing that you can count on across all sports that goes beyond statistics is that players that get banged up a lot rarely change.
Re: # 238
Salt in the wound. Lincecum who the M’s passed on, wins 1-0. 6.1 4H 9K 1.23 and is 4-0. He and Felix would have been a nice combo
Some other teams passed on him too.
At UW he became the poster boy for pitcher abuse. (He may have amassed more pitcher abuse points in one season there than most MLB starting pitchers do in their entire career.)
The thinking may have been that he was an injury waiting to happen; and that’s why he was still around after eight players had already been drafted.
There aren’t that many people in the bullpen. If they’d had GS, it’s hard for me to imagine how they wouldn’t have performed a lot better over the Putz-DL stretch.
In one sense Jeff Nye’s right…the sample size of one month is too small to evaluate any trade. But the time-frame to evaluate this trade was by definition compressed to twelve baseball months. That’s how long we’re guaranteed to have Bedard. One month of games is a pretty significant portion of the M’s stake in this deal.
So far the Orioles’ benefit from the deal…just this month…is something like five games. Ok maybe not five games…except that they’ve mostly come against the M’s, so it might as well be. In fact, it will be surprising if Bedard makes up for the damage OUR OWN DAMN PLAYERS have done to the M’s this season if he pitches the rest of the year.
I feel pretty generous at this point in saying that Bedard could still make us all feel good about this deal. Because at this point it seems like he’s starting out in a pretty big hole. (And yes I know it’s not Bedard’s fault..we all know who to blame when Jones is ROY, Sherrill is Cy Young and the M’s are in third place.)
Just got back from the game. I only get to a couple of games a year, so I was jazzed until I found out Washburn was pitching. I tried to be confident with the 5 runs we had, but 3 errors and double digit hits is bad for confidence. Fun to see AJ and Sherrill, in a Twilight Zone kind of way. And, OMG, it was cold.
I think the only thing I’ll choose to remember is the double steal. Yeah, that’s the ticket. There was this amazing double steal that was just like the way the pros do it.
After attending this game and then listening to the drivel that passes for the post-game shows on the local radio stations, I am just totally pissed off! All I heard on the way home is the lack of options the M’s have in the bullpen, and how they couldn’t pinch hit for Willie in the 8th because they have no one else to play RF. It’s a total crock, because the bench is the way it is because they constructed it that way, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. All I heard when JJ was hurt was how we so badly needed him back so everyone could go back to the roles they were comfortable with, and now I’m hearing that because JJ is back, we haven’t figured out which roles to put everyone in! First of all, we’re playing with a 23-man roster at best. Cairo has absolutely no role on this team. Baek has pitched what, 3 times in 23 games. The bench has no left-handed hitters and no one to play the outfield. Half the starting lineup is batting below .210, but we keep trotting the same anemic lineup out there. Where in the heck is Clement, Balentien, or for crying out loud, Reed? Is Jeremy Reed really so bad that we think Willie is a better option in RF?
We’ve about finished April, and have played the AL West, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore. It is by far the easiest month of the year, and we’re sitting at 11-12. May ought to be fun, with Cleveland, Detroit, and two series at New York.
And the worst freaking thing about this situation is that we threw the kitchen sink into the off season, and if the Bedard trade doesn’t work out, we’re screwed and rebuilding for years.
I had to laugh when I heard the “we could trade for Griffey” talk tonight. Do these people think the Reds will give him to us for free?
Off to cool down….have a good night all.
PS…I’m really sick and tired of freezing my tail off at Safeco. Can winter go away already?
Got home from the game. My thoughts:
–The cold. Good lord, was it cold.
–Our offense was its usual anemic self and our bullpen imploded again, which should surprise no one.
–Nobody did the wave, which was a refreshing change of pace.
The only real highlight was the kids running onto the field, with one of the security guards doing his best Lofa Tatupu impression and laying him out.
After another bullpen meltdown, there is one option for Bavasi: BRING BACK RICK WHITE AND HIS DAYGLO GOATEE!
No, Reed is really so bad that Willie is a better option on the bench, because Willie can play multiple positions and Reed can’t, and Reed is only a marginally better hitter. (You don’t need both Willie and Cairo, but that’s another issue.)
I don’t understand where the fascination with Reed comes from at this point. When he was here, everyone wished he wasn’t. Now I guess we’ve forgotten how bad he was. 840-odd plate appearances, .314 onbase, .366 slugging, 17 for 32 as a base stealer, not making anyone forget Mike Cameron in the outfield. He’s a AAA player. Sure, he’s 27, so maybe it’s time for him to have one decent year, convince management that he’s finally reached his potential, get an overpriced contract, and go back to sucking. I figure that’s the best-case scenario.
back-up quarterback syndrome?
from Raul this morning on the Mariner offense:
“I think the key is patience through aggression”
Maybe Willie can play multiple positions, but who the heck cares? He can’t hit. Period. I’m not saying Reed is a panacea for anything, but right now what we need is outfield help. Reed has a lifetime line against RHP of .271/.329/.396. That’s not great; in fact, it’s below average for a corner outfielder, but it’s more than marginally better than Willie’s .255/.307/.305 line against RHP’s. Plus, he’s a better outfielder than Willie (in my opinion), he can play all three outfield positions, he hits left-handed, and he’s a decent baserunner. He is not a long-term solution, but he would make the bench more usable and effective. Of course, that’s not setting the bar very high.
Also, Surrey definitely is “on the way to Vancouver from here” for certain values of here.
Surrey’s is on the way to Vancouver from Seattle, which is probably what Derek meant. And no, you don’t need to turn off at some point – you will pass through Surrey without leaving the highway.
I don’t recommend leaving the highway. Surrey isn’t the nicest place.
When will the cut Wilkerson loose and admit their mistake? Never? As soon as they pick up a new right fielder. What about Reed as a replacement level player? Balentien? Or is it heavy drinking all year?
Ha. I had a friend who told me a joke once about Surrey. ‘What’s the difference between garbage and boys from Surrey?’ she asks. ‘At least the trash gets picked up once a week’. *rim shot*