Well
Dave · May 12, 2008 at 9:25 pm · Filed Under Mariners
That was a crappy way to lose, but here’s the nice part of knowing the season’s already over – looking past the wins and losses isn’t that hard, and there are other things of interest to look for. And tonight, although he gave up the walk off home run and gets the loss, that was as good as Brandon Morrow has ever looked. Until the Vazquez home run, he was just ridiculously good.
Also, welcome back, Pull Power Kenji.
Not to mention that Wlad and Clement both had good days at the plate.
One question, though:
What was up with Bedard tonight? Do you think his hip is bothering him again?
must… stay… positive…
WLAD!!!
I was thinking the same thing about Morrow. He had three pitches all working. Gives me hope that he might be able to be a starter. And if not, we have our closer after J.J. is done, whenever that may be.
ya, Morrow’s fast ball looked good and straight, so why did we pass on drafting Lincecum?
Positive, izzilla. That’s why I will ask, “Who’s Lincecum?”
Wladdy may not have contact hitting in his toolbox, but when he connects.. BALL GO FAR
4-
He’s 5-1 with a 1.61 era. Not to mention 53 k’s
Clement’s average: up 46 points, which WaMu would kill for…
I mean the only positive is that I cheered for the first time all year when Kenji tied it up.
It feels good to compete. I hope it felt good to comeback. Ramon Vasquez? I mean seriously folks.
So we looked good hitting in yet another loss.
Abridged McLaren from FSN: “We just came up short. … [Bedard] had location problems, looked like he had rhythm problems. … It’s just a shame we couldn’t get a win.
On the hitting: “We’re comin’ around. We just had a rough night pitching.”
Wladdy may not have contact hitting in his toolbox, but when he connects.. BALL GO FAR
He is the real life Pedro Cerrano.
10 – “Is very bad to steal Jobu’s rum. Is very bad.”
Seriously, as Dave said, the season is pretty much over. So, why not send Morrow down and get him ready to start. This way, he will get some starts this year and be ready for next year. Also, we could then trade Washburn to a team in need of starting pitching. Yes, I know Wash has been brutal but many teams in need of starting pitching would take a shot on him for this year and next. Atlanta needs a starter as Smoltz is going to the pen.
Chuck James, Jo-Jo Reyes & Jair Jurrjens say Hi.
For the last hour I have been watching Bedard’s outings last year and specifically his wind-up. Seems he is much more cautious and less deliberate with his hip-turn. It just seems like that hip is a bigger issue than previously thought. Would not be surprised at all to see DL stint coming up. Take a look for yourself.
I see your point, Dave, but … maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. Can we not get beaten by ex-Mariners for a change?
No way, Wily Mo Pena is the real life Cerrano.
McLaren’s statement epitomizes what a losing team is. “The hitting is coming around, but we had a rough night pitching.” Well, yeah, until you pitch well tomorrow and don’t score any runs. That isn’t being inconsisent as much as being consistently bad.
What Dave writes is true, though. Just because this team sucks doesn’t mean that watching their games can’t be somewhat enjoyable. We have some good pitchers and some promising young players. Who can be negative about that?
Well, what happens when they spend years trading useful prospects to try and fill holes with veterans is that the veterans get old and go away, while the prospects circulate around the rest of the league for years. So there’s almost always a way for somebody with an ex-Mariner connection to beat us.
so, does this game become a bad thing for the season (argh. killed again in the final outs) or become a good thing (look at all the runs we scored! Joh went oppo! Clement got hits! goly! we can play this game!)?
I’d have to take my shoes off to count how many ex-Mariners have become quality players for other teams after leaving Seattle. Kind of makes you wonder who we have judging the talent around here.
WLAD!!!
That’s me staying positive.
In his last start at Texas on July 7, pitching for Baltimore, Bedard tied an Orioles franchise record with 15 strikeouts while tossing a two-hitter and facing the minimum 27 batters. But the Rangers scored each inning against him Monday.
“Just wasn’t a good day,†Bedard said.
“The Interview” with another great, um-er-a-well….interview.
Morrow looked as good as he ever has. I was real skeptical of his secondary stuff before the year, but it is coming around. I’m even a little bit hopeful that he can be a better starter than Washburn by July if they send him Tacoma tomorrow.
Of course, there are jobs to save in Seattle, so he isn’t going anywhere.
But the speculation of the demise of Brandon Morrow-SP may have been premature…
So… if we continue losing at this rate, how long (if at all) until things start happening like…
1. Making sure Vidro’s option doesn’t vest.
2. Morrow going down to AA to work on being a starter.
3. Looking to possibly trade some players that might be valuable to a contending team for some younger talent.
I put those in, what I think, is most-to-least likely order. I think #1 should be almost guaranteed, #2 is probably a less than 50% chance, and #3 is not very likely at all. Any opinions from anyone else?
billjamesonline.net just put up defensive Plus/Minus stats for the 2008 season. I think the system does a pretty okay job of rating defense, but there was one rating I saw that absolutely blew my mind:
Ken Griffey Jr, +3, ranked 1st amongst Right Fielders
Ummmmm, whatttttttt?!? I’m going to assume it’s an early season anomaly that will sort itself out.
It also has Ichiro! at -4, which kind of stunned me, but Beltre at +4, Ibanez at -7, and Betancourt at -7, which all seem about right to me.
Actually it’s worth re-watching Morrow, but his curveball command was terrible. His fastball velocity and location was on point but he shouldn’t be run out there for a second inning. His curveball was all over the place so all the Rangers needed to do was recognize that and eventually they dialed in.
Hello USSM, this is my first post. While I could miss sleep (like i am right now) ranting about disturbingly obvious faults in our team and organization that somehow only 1% of fans seem to see, I have decided that I am only going to post about the ONE phenomenon that is above all the most ridiculous thing about being a Mariners fan that knows anything about sports and has any grasp on what is normal… And that phenomenon is called the Dave Sims/Mike Blowers broadcasting combination. WTF is that?
Since this is my inaugural post and we now know what my future efforts will be concerning, I will take this opportunity to point out the five biggest problems concerning this franchise right now (other than pc sims and rally fries).
1. Bavasi. You will not see Mac on my list because it’s Bavasi’s damn fault he’s managing this team right now. Bill, you had me at Weaver and Vidro. He is the laughing stock of all GM’s.
2. Can nobody else see how urgent it is that Raul be immediately pulled from LF and put at DH? I have been saying this for years now, seriously it is embarrassing watching him struggle out there. Raul you run like a 3-legged horse, can’t judge a fly ball and have an average arm, swallow your pride and give it up already. Give me Wlad in left, Ichi in center and JR24 in right. JUST DO IT! Trade Sexon, Vidro and that big Canadian pitching prospect we got and kill 2 birds with 1 stone. The team gets better and the fans have something interesting and exciting to watch. Stop being naysayers, grow a pair and let’s get this done.
3. If the current Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista were pitching for the 2001 Mariners, not even they would have winning records. Yes, they are that much worse than Paul Abbott, get them out of my starting rotation right now. There is no reason Ryan Feierabend should not be starting for this team at this very moment. And the mere suggestion that it would be acceptable to waste Morrow’s talent in the bullpen makes me want to ralph.
4. Felix, Adrian and sometimes JJ are the only players on this team that play with any fire. I don’t think I have ever seen a more boring bunch of guys and it makes me sad. Where is the passion? Answer: sitting in the Cubs’ dugout.
5. Despite what happened tonight, Kenji is the worst catcher in the American league. If ANY other catcher in the league received the pay, respect and playing time that he has gotten here in Seattle, they would be unimaginably better. He is the exact opposite of the fiery, clubhouse leader that a catcher should be like Pudge Rodriguez. Kenji epitomizes the current state of this franchise.
Thank you for listening, from now on it’s all Simsie all the time. Wow, I hate how he says, “KENJI!”. Good night.
I’m staring the “Clement starts to hit just in time for Griffey to arrive and take his job” counter at 31 days. Everyone that wants to see a 38 year old stunt the playing time of a prospect raise your hand. Yes, its Jr, Yes, I was here in 1990 and 1995. And finally, has anyone ever done a James-style study on VORP per year per player, and tracked every one of Bavasi’s trades? Or of the teams since the early 90s? Would be a fascinating read.
And finally, has anyone ever done a James-style study on VORP per year per player, and tracked every one of Bavasi’s trades?
I would certainly be willing to give it a wing-ding using Win Shares or something.
Ugh. I HATE these kind of comments.
As they say, still waters run deep. You’re paying for production, not showing emotions.
To be fair fans of practically every team feel this way. The problem is not that prospects/players that we trade go on to be successful elsewhere. The problem is that the guys we get for them never pan out.
On a more upbeat note: It was fun to actually feel like we could dig out of a hole for the first time this season.
and, thank you, Larry Stone
Sentinel said:
That is the legacy of this organization. Blessed with resources, this team can’t find a way to make good baseball decisions, and talent evaluation is one of them.
Yes, they are that much worse than Paul Abbott, get them out of my starting rotation right now. There is no reason Ryan Feierabend should not be starting for this team at this very moment.
Oh man, they’re not worse than Paul Abbot. And after last season Mr. Feierabend has shown he’s probably not quite ready yet.
Where is the passion? Answer: sitting in the Cubs’ dugout.
Bah, this is silly on so many levels. You don’t need to play ‘hungry’ or ‘with fire’, you need to play well. The Mariner’s aren’t playing well, not because Mac isn’t screaming at them all the time.
Despite what happened tonight, Kenji is the worst catcher in the American league. If ANY other catcher in the league received the pay, respect and playing time that he has gotten here in Seattle, they would be unimaginably better. He is the exact opposite of the fiery, clubhouse leader that a catcher should be like Pudge Rodriguez. Kenji epitomizes the current state of this franchise.
So, every catcher should be like Pudge? That’s an impossible standard. Joh is a fine catcher who isn’t hitting well right now but he’s going to.
“A 20-year-old right-hander who came to the Orioles from Seattle in the Erik Bedard deal, Chris Tillman is dominating Eastern League hitters. A second-round pick in the 2006 draft, the 6’ 5†Tillman is 3-0, 2.87 in 7 starts for the Double-A Bowie Baysox, holding opposing hitters to a .173 average.”
galaxieboy, you don’t understand. Kenji’s a bum. He doesn’t care. I seen it with my own eyes. Dan Wilson, he was a leader/i>.
A challenge:
Do you think we could have one single post that discusses Morrow without hearing the word “Lincecum” in the comments? Especially a post praising Morrow?
I got excited watching the game last night for the first time in a couple weeks. Good times. The season isn’t a total loss for me though. My cousin is playing really well for Delmarva. And starting at shortstop too.
Same for me.
I would rather lose every game like they did last night rather than getting shutout and 2 hit 5 days a week. Scant comfort, but any port in a storm…
You know that losing lots of one run games is a GOOD sign, right? This team is mediocre; it is not unspeakably horrible.
I think the answer to any comment criticizing players for a lack of “passion” or “fire” is two words that really should end that debate:
Edgar Martinez
Imagine how much greater the Spurs would be if Tim Duncan just had a little fire.
There is a big difference between being passionate about baseball and yelling or making a big public display of some sort. I doubt there is one MLB player who isn’t passionate about playing baseball (even if the passion is to make lots and lots of money) – otherwise they wouldn’t have put in all the work to get there. Sure, there are different degrees and styles, but to say that Kenji or Lopez don’t care about the game is silly.
Not to mention that different people focus differently. For every person that performs better when they’re pumped up, there’s a person who performs better when they’re calm, and for that person allowing themself to be upset when they fail would be a distraction, would make it more likely to fail next time.
People who want passion from athletes — which is almost always cited when the athletes are failing — are projecting their own frustration. The fan is upset, and wants to see that upset reflected in the athlete.
This makes me laugh. What kind of argument is that? Wanna back that one up for me? Seriously.
#40 – Well played.
Me too. I was giving my wife high-fives…while she casually looked at me over the top of her book like I was an idiot.
IIRC Bedard’s been having trouble locating his fastball all season… he was just able to make enough pitches and strand enough runners to get away with it to this point. He obviously didn’t get away with it last night.