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Game 27, Mariners at Indians
Silva v Carmona. 4:05 our time.
CF Ichiro
2B Lopez
LF Ibanez
3B Beltre
DH Vidro
1B Sexson
RF Wilkerson
C Johjima
SS Betancourt
Carlos Silva and Fausto Carmona both carry the sinkerballer label, but they are total opposites. Silva isn’t really a groundball guy anymore, but just throws a ton of strikes and hopes the results work out for him. Carmona throws a nasty, diving “turbo sinker”, but has lost his ability to put the ball in the strike zone with regularity.
The Mariners need to let Carmona get himself in trouble. An aggressive mindset against him is just going to lead to a lot of weak groundouts. Take the walk, boys.
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Implosion of ERAs imminent… I expect 10+ runs given up by starters in this game…
Silva:
4.13 FIP
4.51 xFIP
2.83 ERA
2006 FB speed: 91.9
2008 FB speed: 89.3
Carmona:
5.35 FIP
5.61 xFIP
2.89 ERA
2006 FB speed: 94.1
2008 FB speed: 92.2
Neither Cleveland nor Toronto ever seem far enough east to be in the time zone they’re in.
I still love rolling “Fausto Carmona” off my tongue in the mode of Ricard Montalban extolling the virtues of rich, Corinthian leather. It sounds like the name of the rich but evil playboy who seduces all the village women in some Argentinian telenovela.
Meanwhile, back in baseball, it looks like he’s picked up exactly where he left off last year, or maybe even slightly better. And it’s not like Silva is going be bringing any surprises to the Indians.
Where is Norton? Did he lose his spot to Mr. Weak-ground-ball-to-second because he didn’t get any hits on the off-day?
I’m a huge, huge Fausto Carmona fan.
joser–I used to live in Grand Rapids, MI, which is in the eastern time zone, but so far west, there was dark twilight until about 10 in June.
I always think “Fausto” Carmona sold his soul to the devil and doesn’t give a damn who knows it.
Time to bust out the “Where’s Wlad?” sign…
interestingly, Carlos is labeled as being only 15 lbs bigger than Fausto, but …..
Only if you put a picture of Wlad’s head on Waldo’s body. That’d be great.
Seriously, Wlad and Clement tore it up yesterday. I hope to see some call-ups soon.
How about “Free Wlad?”…wait, we tried that and that sold our future to Baltimore.
From Baker:
Whatever. I’ll believe it when I see it.
“Turbo sinker”.
I see what you did there.
I see an 0-for-4 night with three groundouts in the future for illustrious DH.
Our 5-6-7….good grief! I’m trying to think of another team who’s 5-6-7 is any further from heaven than ours. Let’s hope Carmona can’t find the strike zone.
go m’s…sigh.
Let’s hope Carmona can’t find the strike zone.
Like that would make a difference to those guys.
I find the gamecast strikezone even weirder than joe’s tracer.
Is it just me or does FSN HD have a really bad looking HD feed today?
I think we should rename the position every time the Mariners run Turbo out there.
Perhaps “Designated Non-Hitter”? “Designated Sucker”? “High Guardian of the Mendoza Line”?
NateDawg
It’s usually that bad. Dont know why
I would tell vidro he’s fired if he even thinks about swinging the bat today.
It just seems a lot different today compared to other games recently and it’s really only the centerfield camera that looks bad. Everything else looks fine.
I like the “High Guardian of the Mendoza Line” tag.
Nate-
Yea, it seems to happen twice a week for me
Good Lord. I think the team all read Derek’s intro to today’s game thread.
Did richie not get the memo?
He can’t even get the ball out of the infield. He’s a terrible ball player right now.
F***. Where’s the fork graphic?
Richie Rally Killer strikes again… (or grounds out weakly to the infield)
I’m just waiting until we can call him “Designated For Assignment.”
The economy really is in the pits. 14 Million dollars can’t even buy you an RBI anymore…
“Take the walk, boys.”
AH HAHH AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! As if the Mariners have ever ever ever had a game plan which included a strategy to knock out a pitcher based on discipline and taking pitches. That strategy has been put in the closet with the rest of the 2001 M’s memorabilia.
After seeing that, I have to ask this:
What are the odds of turning Clement into a 1st baseman?
I mean, Joh’s already been signed, so he’ll be around to handle behind the plate.
27/28
Thanks… I needed a laugh after that ground out.
Personally, I like “Designated Plate Appearer.”
Not the most promising start for our sinkerballer.
Well, Kenji WAS set up inside…
Carlos is merely guilty of overdelivering on that expectation.
::cough::
Can we petition MLB to let our pitchers hit, and have our DH bat for Sexson until he gets DFA’d?
This is my favorite post of this game thread so far.
Carlos Silva, the luckiest thrower on earth.
35- Maybe we could swap divisions with the D-backs…
Wow, we can’t even run ourselves out of a DP. That is talent.
Even with Wilkerson running… Haha.
Gaaaaaaah.
Has anybody ever looked at Tim Redding’s player card on espn.com? Am I alone in thinking that his beard looks to have been digitally super-imposed or maybe even airbrushed on?
Watching Silva up close you’d think it was 93 degrees in Cleveland.
Does anyone find it striking that Lopez’s average is .314 and his OBP is .315?
Bunting hurts OBP but not average.
Compare that to Jack Cust who’s hitting .169 with a .379 OBP.
Who said Jose Vidro would suck today? Just shows how much predictions count for.
naviomelo - I’d say that’s a function of his 7 sac flies.
Sexson’s already at a -.138 WPA.
Five stranded through three. 8 of 9 pounded to the dirt. Ugh.
Soooo after the first time through the line-up where the M’s showed some patience the second time through they’re back to hacking.
Did McLaren have to beg his line-up to try the patience thing at least once? Because I imagine Raul stepping up in the clubhouse saying “OK Mac, we’ll give it a shot but only for all our first at bats. We’re veterans and we know how to handle our business. Just for you though we’ll give it a try. But if we don’t knock him out by the third with your “strategy”, well Mac, let’s just say you go back to doing what you do best: Managing the ‘Pen.”
David Dellucci, your Raul Ibanez doppleganger.
Interestingly enough, after Vidro’s double we had a 51% chance of winning… but after Big Sexy’s groundout we drop to 44% chance.
I realize that in a tie game the home team would get the higher probability of winning… but 6 whole percentage points?
Who knew.
53 - Home team had three more outs to burn at that point.
With Hafner struggling the pain of Sexson struggling doesn’t feel as bad.
3% for the first out
2% for the second out
1% for the third out
Now at 50 percent.
At the end of an inning the home team doesnt have a slightly higher probability to win.
Am i the only one a little surprised by that?
Is Clement ready to punch himself in the face? I hope so…
Wow two GiDP’s for Johjima. I guess Raul was lonely at the top being the only one with 5 on the year.
I really don’t want to be reactionary… but c’mon, 4 outs in two at bats? May 7th can’t get here fast enough. Time for Clement!
Am I wrong to pronounce Balentien “bah-LEN-tee-en”? It seems like that would be the proper pronunciation based on the Spanish language. “Bal-en-teen” seems like the bastardized, Anglicized way to say it.
Why on earth can’t we just sign Barry Bonds? I know why. Because the Ms are family-friendly. But why is family-friendly such a great thing to be?
The Rays play their home games at Disney World, the most family-friendly place on the planet, and can barely draw 10,000 fans. More people would come out to see Barry Bonds than would stay home to avoid him. There would be bad press, but so what? I’m sure the Oklahoma Sonics will be a rousing success, and they’ve had enough bad press for 10 franchises.
Holy crap. Did Wilkerson just jump and catch a ball?!? I’m listening and can’t see anything!!
WILK! Having a nice lil game so far.
galaxieboi:
if 6″ constitutes a “jump,” then yes.
I refuse to call it a jump, as it required leaping more then an inch off the ground. But still, nice hustle.
And Detroit’s also in that time zone as well…go figure!
Actually, that old NL alignment was very strange: Atlanta & Cincinnati in the NL West, while the Cubbies and Cards (in CDT/CST) were in the NL East…yikes!
Oh, okay. Whomever was calling it made it sound like it was a Cameron-style jump.
Did Carmona just walk Beltre on purpose, to pitch to Turbo?
Patience only pays off if everyone’s playing that game.
TURBO!!
TURBO!!
I finally found a way that sums up this offense for myself.
proved me wrong. hallelujah.
Looks like Turbo just bought himself another month or two of ABs. Damn.
I was just looking at the plate discipline leader board at Fan Graphs sorted by percentage of out-of-zone pitches a batter swings at, and the Ms don’t have a single player in the top 50.
Ichiro (Mr. Plate Discipline Himself) is the best on the team in swinging at 20.35% of non-strikes. This is good for 72nd overall.
The Mariners need to let Carmona get himself in trouble. An aggressive mindset against him is just going to lead to a lot of weak groundouts. Take the walk, boys.
Richie didn’t get the memo.
Sexson: -.201 WPA and counting.
Sexson is vying for most LOB ever.
Designated Plate Clearer?
Good ol’ SeKson
-scott19
speaking of the screwy NL alignments, does anybody remember ‘93 when the Giants won a 103 games second only to the Braves 104. Giants who actually played in the west and had the second best record in all of baseball that year didn’t even get to the playoffs. That always bothered me and geographical injustices aren’t even that high on my list of pet peeves.
Can Dick Sexson’s ultra sensitive ears hear me booing right now?
There’s this sense that I get with Mac…that he sits in the dug-out, scratches his head and says something like:
“You know, I just don’t know what to expect with these guys. I just don’t have any way of knowing what they’re going to do. You think that one of your pitchers is going to do well, because they’ve been doing well…and then they stink up the joint. Then, you’re about ready to pull the trigger on a guy who isn’t producing at the plate…and then they get a couple of hits and I don’t want to pull ‘em in case they’re getting hot. I mean…what am I supposed to do?
And that confusion is the extent of his participation in the process.
That makes me sad.
And probably more people would come out to see him launch a few HR’s than came out to see the ever-so-fan-friendly Carl “No Dinosaurs” Everett choke at plate consistently a couple of years ago.
Not advocating…just saying.
so, Turbo & Wilk heard Mac discussing how those young fellas will play when they come up, but Richie & Joh were out of the room?
-Paul I looked at that board too and wouldn’t you know it but USSM endorsed acquisition Nick Johnson is right at the top of the list.
Oh my god, did anyone see that grimace on Wilk’s face when he looked towards the plate after that last single? Almost as if to say, “oh no, not the DP machine again.”
This just in, in bizzaro world, Turbo and Wilk are a combined 5 for 5 today.
gosh Kenji is good!!!
Evan- No, that was the collective USSM grimace from around the nation.
A real family-friendly team wouldn’t do so many things to make their fans to swear so much.
And if you read the other post about Nick Johnson, Mike, you’ll know that we should snag him now before his stats start matching up with his underlying performance.
Ichiro is really sucking.
The M’s just love handing out $8M/yr contracts to vets who are getting old …
Haha. True that.
Damn, Sizemore kills Silva!
From the Fun With Projected Season Totals Department: Curtis Granderson is on pace to go 20/20/20/20 again. That’s 20 homers, 20 triples, 20 doubles, and 20 caught-stealings.
I whole heartedly agree Paul. Unfortunately I’m not in the position to pull the trigger on that deal at this time. My apologies.
did Ichiro punch himself in the face? because he is hitting like he had little stars & birds floating around his head…
FWIW, Verducci hashed over the ‘nobody wants Barry’ story again today
Some help you are…
He must have said that he liked being in Cleveland earlier today.
When Turbo and Wilk are both hitting on the same day, I’m looking out the window to see if a plague of locusts is descending.
Nice job by yuni keeping that ball from slipping through and scoring the run. He REALLY IS a magician!
hmm. there were all those frogs dropping from the sky on the walk home …
Rizzs just said Grover is at the game. Did they show him on TV? (That’s it for Carmona!)
And it is not worth much. Bonds should be playing.
Verducci’s team du jour dissing Bonds was Toronto. Bonds would improve a number of teams even if he plays only one of every two games - including the Ms.
Wow, this guy can pitch and eat hot dogs like a crazy boar. A-Mazing!
You know, it’s not as if the only reason not to sign Barry Bonds is so as to avoid offending people. The Mariners might *themselves* be repulsed by the idea of having Barry on the team. Frankly, so am I.
Kobayashi! Someone get that guy a hot dog.
Anyone know where I can find in-game, inning-by-inning pitch counts?
RE: Bonds
And, really, is the solution to the M’s woes a really old guy who can’t run, can’t defend…who could be easily pitched around?
(The only thing it would change would be the name of the old slow guy who keeps getting left on base or involved in an inning ending double play.)
Kobayashi’s career NPB stats if anybody was curious.
GULP!!! that was close..
RAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUL!!
Maybe Nathan’s will reschedule their hot dog eating competition this year to when the Tribe are in town to play the Yanks — then he can enter again!
Mike Morse wouldn’t have caught that.
Looks like those Acme rocket skates Derek wanted for Raul finally came in.
I’m going to give Raul a few “U’s” for that. Not that it was particularly impressive but…
What is up with our defense? They are making plays and stuff… It is truly bizarro day.
Adam Jones would have got…oh wait…
Raul, you slapped the AJ monkey off your back for at least 5 minutes. Nice play.
I think if a player is allowed to play by MLB then I don’t want my team being sanctimonious and refusing to sign him. If a player can clearly help your team and you can afford him, you are absolutely remiss in not acquiring that player. No amount of bad mojo outweighs a .500 OBP and a home run every 10 or so at-bats.
How many times does it need to be said that professional athletes are not and should not be role models?
Hmm…defensive gems…offense from guys who haven’t been hitting…can this really be the same M’s we’ve been watching?
Is there a rule in Japan that a pitcher must have something distinctive about his windup?
It’s kinda cool.
That’s absurdly reductive. Bonds is astronomically better than Sexson. If we get better production out of our current lineup or make some acquisitions or even if nothing changes at all, having a player who gets on base half the time could not possibly be anything but helpful.
is there a reason why Wilkerson is running for himself?
Comic relief?
And now, Yuni’s turn to get lucky on a grounder…
paulkersey:
I don’t see why any of the points you mentioned tell.
First, who cares what MLB decides? I can make my own decisions.
Second, no one’s goal in life is to “maximize baseball production.” If that is your own only goal in life, then congratulations, you’re a sociopath.
Third, who cares about role models? I don’t care how Barry influences others. I care about that fact that he polluted all of the most important Major League hitting records. I don’t want a guy like that in baseball. Period.
Ichiro take the gift and use it! Maybe a gift, tough call.
pygmalion- Do you just not want Barry in baseball? Or all steroid users?
I am not being an ass, I am actually writing a paper on this and would love some input.
C’mon, guys. Let’s not rehash the Bonds discussion again.
Please?
HamNasty:
I don’t think that all steroid users need to be out of the game, but I don’t want to commit to “just Barry” because then someone is going to say, “Ah, but what about player X?” It’s not that the guy just used steroids. It’s not just that he cheated. It’s that he cheated and trampled over the record book and, finally, looks like he would jump at the chance to do it again.
Okay I’ll stop.
Any post with Bonds/Griffey should be on an express flight to the mod queue.
1) The Mariners exist to provide entertainment by winning baseball games. You certainly can make your own decisions, but you don’t run a baseball team and the people who do should not let personal hangups prevent them from doing their jobs. Should a Christian GM be forgiven for passing on a Satanist who can rake?
2) Who on earth said that their only goal in life is to maximize baseball production? Why the quotation marks? Are you calling me a sociopath? Uh…okay.
3) Again, this is your deal. I think that we need to limit our judgments of baseball players, as much as possible, to their capacities as baseball players. MLB handles off-field discipline (however imperfectly), and I think we should keep it that way. Obviously the rules need improvement, but you’re advocating the baseball equivalent of vigilante justice.
Pygmalion- Thanks.
You got in Jeff.
I pray McLaren has people up in the pen already in case of emergency.
Just put in Putz. Do it now. Sizemore is on base for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hitters. Putz. Now.
Comment not post.
is silva almost done for tonight?
How ’bout them ponies?
No, it looks like widescreen SD… maybe it’s the cameras in Cleveland?
Uh-oh…hope Carlos isn’t having a hamstring issue again.
This game seems eerily familiar.
Thanks, guys. I don’t like removing posts if I don’t have to.
Also, I should apparently make fun of Turbo more often.
watch out for them diamond earrings!
Rhodes. *roflcoptor* I told you, McLaren, and you didn’t listen….
It’s like Groundhog’s Day…
Rhodes is coming in.
Stay tuned next for Arson Squad: Seattle…
Ugh. What has Rhodes done to deserve being the go-to guy in this situation, again?
Balentien and Clement aren’t in the Tacoma lineup tonight per Ryan Divish at the TNT. Anyone hear anything else on this?
How much pride does Ibanez lose every time Yuni catches on in mid LF?
Bakers says Wlad is out of the lineup to rest his knee. Don’t know about Clement.
Once upon a time Rhodes gave up a critical home run to Bernie Williams. Or did he do that twice?
Yeah, why didn’t we have Sherrill warming up just now…oh, wait.
Giving up home runs under that kind of pressure is what gives you veteran grit (as opposed to earnestness, which earns you Willie-grit).
and the mariners on the cusp of blowing another one!!! deja vu all over again. god this team is frustrating! mentally weak with a losing attitude
Nah, I think the other one was to Dave Justice…
…And, geez, that seemed like it was a million years ago now!
Well, I think we can all agree that there’s basically no chance of us scoring against Rafael Betancourt, right?
Too bad Borowski’s injured…
Rhodes has INTENSITY. That’s all you really need. Well, and GRIT. He’s got that too. Oh, and VETERAN LEADERSHIP. Christ, Rhodes has everything you could possibly want in a pitcher.
Even a tie game into the 9th doesn’t give a slight advantage to the home team?
Well, he could stand to be scrappier, which is to say “whiter.” Or wait? Can a pitcher be scrappy? I don’t know the rules very well.
As much as has been made of the hitting woes, and deservedly so, I still maintain the bullpen has been the biggest problem to date….
With adequate relief, the Mariners could have won at least four more games and be 16-10 right now, and the hitting woes would have been masked a bit….
Certainly I agree the bats are a big problem, but the bullpen has been a bigger one….
The starters have been as advertised, if not better….
How nice in the 8th inning to see Rhodes and Lowe come in and throw strikes. What a difference that makes!!!!
I think whenever the set-up guys come in for the 7th or 8th innings at the Safe, they should serenade them with the theme song to Emergency! as warm-up music — seems a fitting salute for the ole’ “squad”!
femorules:
You could say that it’s the bullpen’s fault that the team’s not 16-10, but then you could just as easily say that with just a smidge more offense, the team could be even better. I think I read they’ve already had 8 1-run games, and have been 1-7 in those contests.
BELTRE’D!!!
Wooooooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooo!!
Oh that felt good.
Yee-ha! Go Beltre!
That barely cleared the fence, but it still counts.
AB straight LOC-in!!
BELTRE!!!!
Paulkersey, a black guy can’t be scrappy.
And now McLaren will go to Putz, when the LI is basically nil and there’s a 3 run lead to ‘protect’.
I think I hear some thunder rumbling in the distance.
Hey, it’s a Cairo sighting!
That’s what I thought, but thanks for the clarification.
Did the scroll on the screen say “3 run home run Vidro”? Or was I just imagining that? (In which case I need some meds)
Now that’s just puuurrre grit there, Willie!
… please…. anything but a DP Kenji… pretty please..
Boy, the Cleveland bullpen looks like ours tonight. Except they’re giving up hits, while ours tends to give up walks, lots and lots and lots of walks…
Steve T: What about Joe Morgan?
The fact that Bloomquist just pinch hit for Wilkerson… ughh……
If that’s the case, stand by…another plague will be coming our way shortly!
johjima has been miserable.
Why the heck did we just sign Kenji to a three-year contract with Clement getting closer and closer to being ready to come up for the main stay? Can someone explain?
praetor-
Not as miserable as Sexson, Wilks, or Vidro….at least he can contribute defensively.
I’m pretty sure Joe was too good to be considered scrappy.
well, no JJ tonight
The Cleveland audience sounds unhappy. Which is worse, do you think: watching a team we expected to be mediocre be mediocre, or the fate of the Indians/Tigers fan of watching a team that was expected to be very good be mediocre? I’m thinking the latter.
Mac’s subs, while obvious, worked out. Unfortunately, it further justifies Cairo in his mind.
Yuni! With a 5-2 lead I was still clutching my beer as if it were a tied ballgame. Thanks for the insurance.
Betancourt looked like he was pitching well. The Ms’ offense looked pretty good this inning.
joser–I ran back the dvr. Yes, it said Vidro.
Cairo didn’t really do anything except steal third. If that’s how Mac wants to use him then that’s fine with me.
The new Cleveland pitcher was born in Borneo? That’s a new one on me (and I’ve been following this game for almost 40 years).
Yep, and if he doesn’t steal third, Willie doesn’t score on Yuni’s hit.
Being on this side of a game like this is so damn refreshing… ZESTFULLY CLEAN!
Haha, nice pitch.
So if Balentien & Clement come up together seems to me they would DFI Cairo & Wilkerson but I suppose other options include sending Norton back down or dropping a bullpen arm.
Seems that Burke is safe if they are committed to playing Clement. I’d keep Norton on the bench & DFI Cairo & Wilkerson if both Balentien & Clement are brought up. Norton & Vidro on the bench isn’t bad for late innings pinch hitters…
I wish Sizemore had chosen to stick with his plan to QB for the Huskies, so he wouldn’t be around to kill Carlos Silva… I’d much rather he be slaying himself some cougar!
a little off topic-does anyone else remember someone on the radio referring to Silva as Vidro? As long as I’m not losing my mind, it was just a little mistake, but a funny one. Oh, by the by: M’s win! May 7=day of salvation
yessssssssssssssssssssss!
Nice comeback, guys!
I asked this earlier but didn’t get any takers:
Am I wrong to pronounce Balentien “bah-LEN-tee-en”? It seems like that would be the proper pronunciation based on the Spanish language. “Bal-en-teen” seems like the bastardized, Anglicized way to say it.
Am I wrong to pronounce Balentien “bah-LEN-tee-en”? It seems like that would be the proper pronunciation based on the Spanish language. “Bal-en-teen” seems like the bastardized, Anglicized way to say it.
That is right, bah-LEN-tee-en is correct in Spanish and “Bal-en-teen seems like the bastardized, Anglicized way to say it.”
AMEN.
But since he is from the Netherlands Antilles, I’m not sure the Anglicized way is wrong.
Nice win. We finally had a nice inning in the 9th that made up for all those wasted opportunities earlier in the game. It would have been terrible to waste another good start like Silva had.
Arbeck–they do speak Spanish also in the Netherlands Antilles. Along with English and a local patois that’s sort of descended from Dutch. Very interesting place.
beckya57,
I know that… but I’m not sure exactly how they pronounce things in their Spanish. So I wouldn’t automatically assume how to pronounce Wlad’s name.
They don’t speak much Spanish, but a lot of Papiamento, which is the patois to which Becky refers. Pretty much everyone speaks English, though.
Just got back from the game (by the way, it was REALLY cold–the ladies in our group packed it in after 5)
I was the only M’s fan at least in my section, if not the stadium–it was REALLY fun getting up and hollering on the Beltre HR in the 9th…in a dead-silent park. In case the camera happened to pan over the upper deck right behind home plate, I was the lone M’s fan wearing a Mariners hat and black jacket. Very fun way to win, but I’ll be honest–after the home run, even I wanted to rack up some quick outs just so I could get out of a very cold ballpark. Good win–the one really funny part was bad mouthing Brad to my Cleveland friends–then having him go 3 for 3.
FWIW, I think J Rollins is scrappy.
F. Vina was, too.
A pretty funny article about scrappy white baseball players
Slow, scrappy, white baseball professionals: the great SWP
Now if only he put “professional hitter” as a category I think we’d be all set.