Game 66, Mariners at Blue Jays
DMZ · June 11, 2008 at 8:37 am · Filed Under Mariners
0937h. Felix Hernandez v Shaun Marcum.
Wow. Scheduled to run on FSN. I mean, yay Felix and all, but that’s right at the start of the work day. How are we supposed to pull this off?
Bloomquist at third! Vidro batting third! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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My DVR is set…watching The King when I get home…
Happy Felix Day all!
Hope we can give the kid some runs today…
Luckily, I telecommute on Wednesdays and having the game on in the background will make the day go by that much quicker.
We also have Kazmir vs Lackey to look forward to at 12:35.
God I’m getting sick of these early day games.
considering the Mariners & Jays offenses and the way Marcum & Felix can pitch, this may be another fast and scoreless game.
Well, scoreless for the Ms.
Thanks for the line-up update…I don’t think Willie shoud be a starter, but if they are going to plug him in, unless Beltre is hurt, Willie should be in for Yuni…his D has been sloppier than usual the last two nights…Mac should pull him, like he did with Reed…maybe it would teach “The Magician” a lesson and he’d sharpen up his defense…
Vidro? Ugh…
Anyway they bring Clement back up to DH when they get home on Friday…got to get TURBO out of the line-up…that option CANNOT be picked up…
With Bloomquist batting 2nd today and Vidro 3rd, Ichiro will have to hit a HR to score. Or maybe we can hope for Ichiro singling, stealing 2nd, stealing 3rd after Willie can’t bunt him over, and a wild pitch.
Here is Wilkerson’s comment after yesterday’s game:
Too bad our own players can’t seem to find the motivation to do well.
Wait…that’s it! A “win-win” situation! We DFA most of the squad, which will drive them to get better because they seek revenge, and the Mariners get to call up the young guys. The young guys are motivated, the washed-outs are motivated, everybody wins.
It’s stuff like this that keeps Marcum’s BABIP around .200.
Does Seattle have two Magicians? Cairo is known as “The Egyptian Magician.”
Vidro hitting third is like a bad joke.
Today’s lineup is a classic reason why McLaren doesn’t deserve to be the manager of a team.
1. Suzuki (.358 OBP vs. RHP)
2. Bloomquist (.242)
3. Vidro (.261)
4. Ibanez (.330)
5. Lopez (.313)
6. Reed (.313)
7. Sexson (.265)
8. Johjima (.285)
9. Betancourt (.284)
So, McLaren has Bloomquist and Vidro, his 2 hitters least likely to get on base against RHP, batting 2nd and 3rd. Batting Willie 2nd is really mystifying, as Marcum has allowed a .156 BA against RH hitters this year.
McLaren is obviously putting Vidro 3rd because he is second on the team in RBI’s, which provides further demonstration why RBI’s is not a good statistic to measure offensive effectiveness. Why he is batting Willie second is unfathomable.
I think that Yuni should spend less time pulling rabbits out of hats and more time making accurate throws to first…
Agree 100%, Jeff. McLaren has gone cynical on us.
Wilkerson’s quote should have read, “Four or more of their starters suck worse than I do.” or “Spiezio was right, they will infect you with Suck up there in Seattle.”
I’ve got my six-year-old watching the game for me. Then, we’ll review it on DVR later. He’s got a gift for zapping through to the cool parts.
Yeah, that’s the problem with this team, lack of motivation. So when you have an unmotivated team full of bad players, and a motivated team full of bad players, how do you tell them apart?
Cairo is known as “The Egyptian Magician.”
I thought he was the Sphinx. Rhymes with stinks.
Bloomquist, eh? He’s not a bad defender but on this SkydomeRogersWhatever carpet I hope he doesn’t have anything hit to him just the same. Marcum’s been turning into more of a GB pitcher over the past couple of years, so it could get ugly.
Hah, he’s batting Princess Willie second, too?
Yep, he’s purposely messing with us now.
Ah, the joys of working from home =)
Go Felix! Surely he can pull off a W. Hopefully the M’s can muster some damn runs.
I had a nightmare some guy name “Steinwitz” or something was starting today instead of Felix. I think I’m too invested in a team that bats Willie second and Turbo third.
oh, well, Perlozzo has had a chat with him. That should make it all better.
Why he is batting Willie second is unfathomable.
Beltre has batted second this year and gone .238 \ .273 \ .524 (21 ABs). That’s much better than Willie’s .171 \ .320 \ .171 line this year. Since Willie is fielding Beltre’s position…. oh, I give up, I have no idea either. The corns on my grandma’s feet used to tell her what the weather was going to do, and they weren’t any more accurate than flipping a coin. McLaren looks about the right age, and he makes faces like his feet hurt. Maybe his corns are helping him fill out the lineup card.
I’m beginning to believe that he is using Lou’s wacky “last day of the season slips in a hat” method of filling out a line-up card.
He’s certainly pulling these lineups out of some part of his anatomy.
So I’m surfing around and see the headline “Kansas City Man Feels Fine After Being Shot in Head by Nailgun”
And I think — there are Mariners fans in Kansas City? Then I think — hey, maybe that’s how Royals fans have coped all these years. Anybody got a nailgun?
Fire McLaren before he bats Cairo cleanup.
Fire the lineup coach!
Watch this wonky lineup blast 12 runs or something…
Gameday is having a hard time identifying Marcum’s pitches. So are the Mariners, apparently.
What does he throw?
12 runs? I don’t see it. Marcum will eat them alive and Felix will lose 2-0.
No matter how many times I look at the inverted lineup card, I can’t believe it’s real.
There . . . I just looked at it for the 17th time and I still can’t believe it’s real. I mean, this is Major League Baseball, right?
So they sit Beltre with a fast surface and your best groundball pitcher?
I hope Willie doesn’t look as bad as Morse did.
So if Thigpen is behind the plate, is Lucy in the outfield? How many jokes like that do you think he’s heard over the years?
Would be nice if the M’s hitters could slam some balls that undress Marcum like Charlie Brown. But I think all the Charlie Browns are in visitors’ uniforms.
Nice to see Felix come out and establish the fastball. /sarcasm
this is Major League Baseball, right?
Well, in the same way that “Krab Salad” at the buffet contains actual shellfish.
Of course, after I say that, he sets down the Jays 1-2-3 on 9 straight fastballs.
First nine pitches. All fastballs. Wow.
Yes, this could be a quick game.
Marcum throws, I kid you not, 4-seamer/2-seamer/cutter/slider/curve/change, as per The Mockingbird.
I’m in the eastern time zone, and I think this game is early. Don’t know how you west coasties are handling it.
Perfect analogy. In fact, if the “K” in Krab were backwards, I can’t think of a better name to replace Mariners on everyone’s jerseys.
Who would have guessed? 10 fastballs and then something else? That approach hasn’t been published anywhere has it?
You know, the other day I was listening on the radio and Dave N was talking about going through customs going into Canada and how this time, unusually, the players had to carry their own bags, and he saw “lots of golfclubs.” Now, I don’t care what they do in their downtime (though taking extra batting practice might have more effect than shooting 18, but that’s just a theory, what do I know). But it’s an early game today, and an off day tomorrow… maybe they’re just eager to get out on the course?
Meanwhile — Felix walked Stairs? WTF? Oh, I get it, he’s their Vidro — use him to clog the basepaths, then get the double play. Brilliant.
Re: 38.
Thanks! Very interesting. No wonder Gameday can’t figure him out.
Don’t know how you west coasties are handling it.
Not being entirely awake is a mercy.
They lined it up to strike out Wilkerson.
Rizzs actually made the Marco Scutaro/Marco Polo joke the other day as the game started. He didn’t even get the polite laugh from Sims.
OH… Sexson and his new stance is coming up.
We are saved.
Can anyone explain how Marcum K’s so many batters with a high 80’s FB? Great movement/location is my guess…..perhaps someone here follows the Jays?
this looks like a lot more fun.
Kenji is on. Now he is a real speedster. / sarcasm
Wow. This line up…. did he just throw darts at a board after penciling Ichiro into lead off? It’s like he’s actively trying to come up with wackier line ups.
I hope Felix is bringing his A game today, because it doesn’t look like he’s going to get any help.
There was a fascinating bit (not written by Dave, surprisingly) at Fangraphs
In the comments they noted ee throws five different pitches each more than 10% of the time. Litsch does too. There’s only a couple of other pitchers in baseball that do that.
From a pitching perspective, the BJs are one weird team.
For those of us following along at work, is Marcum pitching as well as it would appear, or is our lineup giving him of professional hitters and gritty veterans giving him a lot of help?
Good eye Ichiro.
I’m rooting for a one-hitter from Felix… and a perfect game for Marcum.
The Jays win on a bottom of the ninth error by Raul… his sixth of the game.
“…lineup giving him…” sorry – can’t type today
This is the “Twilight Zone” game. Kenji walks. Ichiro strikes out. What’s going on?
never mind – you know what I meant
Wow, the Barney Aldridge mortgage is down to 5.2%!
I’m rooting for a one-hitter from Felix… and a perfect game for Marcum.
It would have been interesting. For a minute there, I was beginning to wonder if any two pitchers have ever faced the true minimum of batters for a full nine-inning game, 52.
Base hit for Turbo!!
umm.. Mike. 27 x 2 = 54
27 for the visitors, walk off 4-base error leading off the bottom of the ninth. Perfect game beats no-hitter.
Stellar defense…
And I should have said walk off 4-base error by Raul leading off the bottom of the ninth.
And the eventual winning run will score shortly.
you, that Joe Inglett is a scrappy player.
Not being a fan of Jeremy Reed these days, after his base-running blunder and now this.
Reed sporting his best “Blues Brothers” shades…
Thanks Ralph. (Even if you required the visiting team to win, so that the bottom of the ninth is played as well, the minimum would have to be 55, because somebody has to score.)
69 – The minimum would be 52 if the home team scored before the 9th.
No, the minimum is 52. 27 outs for the visiting team, 24 for the home team, and the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the ninth scores.
Looking at the box score… love our plate discipline today.
I have a Felix-related question that I’ve been meaning to ask, and waiting for the appropriate thread. Maybe this is it.
Felix’s GB% is down to 48.8% this year according to Fan Graphs while his LD% is up to
20.9% and FB% up to 30.3%. That’s a pretty dramatic shift from his career and prior year numbers. In addition, K/9 is down to a career low 7.57 while BB/9 are up to a career high 3.68.
Is this a sample size anomaly? Or, is he doing something differently this year as opposed to prior years that is changing his batted ball outcomes? Should we be concerned at all?
On June 13, 1905, Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants shut down the Cubs, falling short of a perfect game only because of errors by shortstop Bill Dahlen and second baseman Billy Gilbert. In a classic pitching duel, the Cubs’ Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown also carried a no-hitter into the ninth, losing it and the game, 1-0.
On May 2, 1917, Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs pitched a hitless, scoreless tie after nine innings – the only time in baseball history that neither team has had a hit in regulation.
(Retrosheet doesn’t go back that far, so I have no idea how many batters they faced)
On April 23, 1964, Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt 45’s became the only pitcher to lose a complete game no-hitter in nine innings when he was beaten 1-0 by Cincinnati. The winning run was scored by Pete Rose in the top of the ninth inning via an error, groundout, and another error.
(Johnson and Nuxhall, the opposing pitcher, faced a combined 62 batters; Johnson walked 2, Nuxhall walked one)
That’s all from Wikipedia (”no hitter” and “perfect game”), but I assume it’s correct.
I really want a player named Hippo now.
sigh.
a play just appeared on my desk called “The secret lives of losers.”
A base-running blunder isn’t so bad . . . at least he was on base. Reed has actually been the mothergrabbing Babe Ruth of this sinking ship the past 7 days:
.313/.421/.563
We should be begging McLaren to bat him 3rd.
my first post and its perfect that its right after a yuni dp! go Ms!
I could make a remark about Vidro or Silva ….
Despite getting a hit in his first at bat, Mench should not be in the lineup vs Felix.
Why do i get the feeling we are going to lose another 1-0 game?
The P-I has a little blurb on the front page about an article inside that says “Hope for slowing MS”. For a second I thought it said “Hope for slowing Ms”. But of course it wasn’t. There is no hope.
It doesn’t have to involve a perfect game or no-hitter of course, you can erase baserunners with double plays or pickoffs. And yes, if the home team wins you can theoretically have 52 whether they do it on a walk-off or not.
Felix will throw a complete game, 3 hitter.
The Mariners will still lose.
Oops. Bye bye, Brad!
tough strikeout there of Wilkerson
I hope the BJs cut Wilkerson.
I hate him.. even when he is on the opposing team.
Great form, that is hilarious.
Looks like McLaren guessed right by saving Johjima because he does well against Marcum. Too bad nobody else in the lineup can.
K K
Go Felix! It is a shame that Felix cant hit.. because then maybe he really could do it all.
Why do i get the feeling we are going to lose another 1-0 game?
Because we have a manager that puts lineups together where Jose Vidro bats third, we have no plate-discipline to get runners aboard, no power threat, the list could go on and on.
PAUSE POSTING
ichiro is up! lets see if he can that HR since willie wants to watch marcum K him all day.
Boy, MSB, you sure called it. These guys just want to get the hell out of Dodge.
[edited to fix tag]
so are these complaints being made about the called third strikes real or just whining?
Here is our chance… all riding on the good Jose.
To me a couple have looked like borderline cases, but with two strikes way too close to be taking that pitch.
Just whining.
awww… good game guys.
That was the biggest scoring threat we are going to have for the rest of the game.
Is “win the footrace against Vidro” sort of like “outlive the Mayfly”?
aaaaand everybody races to the plane, to see who pulls which name in the “Next Sacrificial Lamb” pool.
oooh, is it too soon for Elia?
Who’d have guessed our 3rd baseman/#2 hitter would go 0 for 3 with 3 K’s today.
Willie….3 at bats, 3 strikeouts. Good thing he’s batting second.
Watching the Jays broadcast and they just compared Marcum to a young Roy Halladay in terms of his calm/controlled demeanor. Living just outside Toronto I would have to agree that today Marcum seems to have that presence.
How long can this go on before they have to fire McLaren? Because this team is a joke. I know it’s more Bavasi’s fault than McLaren, but my money is on McLaren being let go. The guy is in over his head.
Remember when we could have hired Dusty Baker? That seems like a lifetime ago.
On KJR this am Geoff Baker said they need to deal Bedard soon, because it seems like neither Bedard nor the club wants him here next year.
oh boy. This could get ugly fast.
Where is Morrow? What about Dickey?
You’d be calm and controlled too if you had Marcum’s stuff and you were facing our lineup.
Jays broadcasters are now questioning McLaren’s decision to play the infield back on the Jays only run so far.
boy, turn your head away for a second ….
Muahah, big strikeout!
I just noticed the “Hit Zones” option on MLB Gamecast. Mouse-over the zones and see the hitter’s average for pitches in those areas.
Pretty neat with Felix’s K of Wells.
inning over.
But we still trail. And with our offense, 1 run is like 10 for any other team.
Yeah, dont get me wrong..I am a Mariner’s fan first and foremost, but this lineup today (as discussed earlier) is brutal. Marcum should be able to go through this with ease.
REEEEEDD!!
SEEEEEXSON! Whoa! Now it is up to our .220 hitting catcher.
Jeremy is really not helping his case today.
Come on…BRUTAL
bunt double play.
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
you know how Willie “always makes something happen” when he plays? Now would be a good time.
I can’t believe they are actually letting Bloomquist hit here.
Bunt double play. The epitome of futility.
Who would you have pinch hit for Bloomquist, Cairo?
Nice to have Bloomquist in there “protecting” Ichiro in the lineup.
121 – Beltre?
The Yankees have released Ben Broussard just two weeks after signing him. Broussard didn’t appear in a game for the Yanks.
Why did they think Kenji could pull it off in the first place? He just barely got the first sacrifice bunt of his career, it’s not like he’s going to get lucky twice in one week.
I would have pinch hit Beltre
C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-COMBO BREAKER Willie!
I would have hit Washburn for Bloomquist.
You know the M’s are down when a daytime USSM thread is at 122 posts two-thirds the way through a game. Last year this would be pushing 300 posts.
So you can go to the M’s game next week and get a $5 haircut. Considering the quality of everything else associated with the M’s, I’m sure the results will look lovely…. For some reason I’m reminded of how the French Resistance shaved the heads of collaborators. Which is about what I’d feel like if I spent money at the ballpark to see this team.
Bloomquist has a Killer Instinct.
Only the M’s could get 3 hits in an inning, one of them a triple and score only 1 run.
So wait, is GameCast lying about Yuni’s triple or are you all just ignoring it?
A WALK??? From Turbo?
Maybe they will win this game. haha
Oh yeah, Beltre would have been a good choice.
This is dumb, having Raul bunt here.
Speaking of bunts, how many does Ibanez have in teh last 2 years?
man.. this is pathetic.
we were just letting you savour it.
The replay of Betancourt’s triple is a treat. It starts with the camera on Reed, furious at being doubled up on the botched sacrifice, and cuts to Betancourt’s swing. Then you get the sight of Sexson, clearly gassed as he runs the bases, but manages to plod in standing up. You almost think, if there was a fifth base involved, Betancourt might have passed him by then.
so, Jeremy is going to make up for all his lapses now, right? right?
Yeah, Yuni had a triple. We were all leaving it to you to, uh, lavish attention on him.
ok, who want to bet that Downs throws it in the dirt, and AB chases it?
Pinch hit for Reed with Beltre?
now beltre gets to hit! haha what a joke to not get him in last inning
Beltre, where the hell were you earlier?
dsrfhiso;fh;oadsbd;lf
So you hit Beltre for Reed but not for Bloomquist? And take out a good defender for the 8th and 9th innings?
this is ugly
So, has the second-half fade started for Lopez?
Hmmm will they keep Willie in the game, moving to right field, or do something stupid.
142. You just won the bet.
im not sure downs has even thrown a strike at this point…
I wasn’t going to lavish OR “lavish.” I just thought it was odd that no one mentioned the game being tied up!
heh. Guess Reed has been benched! An error and doubled off! That will learn him to trust in Kenji!
what, you don’t want Balentien out there late?
now beltre gets to hit! haha what a joke to not get him in last inning
Hey, I’m sure there was a really good reason that McLaren waited until now. He’s always got a plan. Although it usually is a pretty shitty one.
Beltre was sit down for a day because of his “struggles” at the plate lately.
takes a ball with two strikes in the dirt. didn’t expect that.
Man, Dave N on the radio. Today he was talking about the Skydome Motel, before he caught himself and said “hotel” (I wonder if it has the coin-operated magic fingers beds?) Yesterday he was talking about the Jays’ “Twoonie Tuesday” promotion, and explained that Canadians call their two-dollar coin “The Toon”
Sure, but who would you cut to make room for him: Harpo, Gummo, Zeppo or Chico?
Oh, yeah, pinch hit for Reed. Sheesh.
What is going on here..Cairo with a SB?
Oops, wrong button. Sorry all.
Bring in the closer – Sexson, with a .133 avg with runners in scoring position – guaranteed to close out the inning.
Richie is gonna hit here I guess. I mean, our power bench players (Cairo and WFB) are already “making things happen”
umm, its a twoonie. No ones says its a “toon”
Lauren, the server seemed to be acting overloaded right then, at least I was trying to post and it wouldn’t take. So we had to skip from the bunt double play to the insanity of not pinch-hitting for Bloomquist.
Another walk where I’m feeling like the upcoming batter will make the walk pointless.
Gotta love that bunt strategy. Now -that’s- compelling baseball. Yeesh.
That was odd. TV graphic showed Beltre’s numbers against some pitcher named Camp which was an 0-fer. Too bad Downs then threw him a ball to walk him.
Sexbomb time.
Funk blast here, or Richie is dead to me…
they think richie is any good and want to go with jo?
ok, now do we see Richie with another called third strike, where he turns and glares at the ump?
Shawn Camp..played for Tampa last year.
Joh gets a chance to redeem himself for that bunt.
I don’t believe it.
I haven’t looked up the splits but it seems like Richie is being far more patient at the plates this last week. If so, that is a good sign.
Another runner left on 3rd.
awww…
FUCK! Make him throw strikes!!!!
I am reading an article on mlb.com titled “Cairo’s value lies far beyond the numbers”.
What a joke.
being far more patient at the *plate*
so, did Felix hit anyone when they all came back to the dugout?
I predict this ends in a walk off homer, not hit by the M’s. And another loss for Felix, who pitched well.
[long link]
So, pitcher walks three of the last five batters and Joh swings at the 1-0 pitch. Maybe Elia should stick one of those anti-barking dog collars on the M’s hitters, only it’s rigged to shock them when they swing the bat.
well, it does. ‘Cause it sure doesn’t lie in the numbers.
#181: I’ll bite, what is one “value” that he brings?
read the article. lol
Sorry, delay in the time i typed to the time it posted.
Well, “regardless of where he’s slotted into the lineup, McLaren knows what type of performance he’s going to get.” (no punchline needed)
That article made me throw up a little. Utterly insulting and disgusting. I can’t even find this kind of crap funny anymore. It’s just sad.
“Stats are not what he’s all about,” McLaren said. “He has made plays defensively your best first baseman in the league would be hard to duplicate. He does the little things. Moves runners, he can squeeze, hit-and-run. I’ve always admired him.”
You cant make this stuff up. Incredible.
Love the opening line though:
*punches self in face*
Jerbear, I feel the same way. This is the man running this team and he is singing high praises of a crap player.
So which M’s reliever will get tagged for the loss today?
With Willy up 3rd in the inning and already playing RF, do we PH Wlad regardless (unless a bunt is required)?
#193, you just can’t expect the “best” 1Bs to charge a bunt or start a DP. You need veteragrittynessitivity for that.
What’s Felix’s pitch count? Do we bring in J.J. to (c)lose it?
So is he saying that Cairo is better than Sexson defensively or is the term “your” talking about the rest of the leagues 1B? Will Cairo be starting at 1st now?
Bloomquist gives new meaning to the word flailing.
In order to close a game, you have to actually have a lead. And I dont know how that is going to happen with WFB at the plate.
Gold sombrero! Yeah!
SERIOUSLY. FU** MAN, hit the ball.
This is beyond ridiculous. Twice he doesn’t pinch hit for Bloomquist with men on.
199. God, no. Please let it be Morrow. Putz is channeling the ghosts of Bobby Ayala and Jose Mesa.
4 K’s for Willie. Ugh. Wlad could have done that, but he also might have, you know, hit a HR.
97 pitches for Felix. He comes back out, I predict.
Think Felix has another 100 pitches in him? Otherwise we probably wont win this game.
In 39 games this season, Seattle’s utilityman has managed to hit just .218 (12-for-55) with seven RBIs. What little power the 13-year-veteran possessed earlier in his career has all but vanished as Cairo hasn’t homered since July 28, 2005.
And yet he is our best option at first base. How pathetic is that?
Who was it that kept insisting Ichiro doesn’t steal when it matters?
“We need a passed ball, an error, something!”
“Here, here!” from Sims.
Because we can’t possibly hope for a hit.
A guy who had “good numbers” might actually get a hit here, but Cairo isn’t about numbers.
someone please make all of Ichiro!s work worthwhile.
That looked like a strike to me.
Wow, Cairo really can do it all. Did that article mention him taking a walk?
And there goes the guy McLaren “has always admired”.
We’re not doing much this summer… maybe we should go ahead and let Ichiro go to Beijing with the US Track & Field team.
Poor Ichiro. He’s thinking “Do I always have to get this sh** done myself?!?”
aren’t the last two innings the sort of pitching performances your team is supposed to capitalize on?
Steal Home Ichiro!
Come on Ral. Earn your u’s here.
This is it….
222. He did.
This is a waste of Morrow warming up.
Really, Felix at 97 pitches cant close it out?
Boy, I hope JJ is JJ.
JMHawkins stole my post…there’s no way I bring JJ in here unless Felix begs out of the game. Felix has tossed 21 innings without an earned run and JJ has not looked good.
Jeez, all he has tod o is to throw a STRIKE!!!
White-knuckle Putz……
I disagree with Mac here.. I would have put in Morrow or even left Felix in. I dont trust JJ after his last few performances.
Unless Felix asked himself out of another game, putting Putz in here seems like a really bad idea.
Something wrong with Putz?
We want Morrow!
What happened with the ejections? Not much explanation on gameday.
Whew. I guess Morrow will close from now on.
Yes, please! What happened that got coach and pitcher ejected? I was following the game on a Treo in the middle of a (boring) meeting. No explanation at all.
The Ms are 5-1 when tied after 8 innings? Really? I find that stat almost impossible to believe, given how our closer and late-inning offense have struggled.
Nice Win. We only need about 70 more of these and we’re in business. Can Felix pitch every day? Every other day? We have to win now, right???
So, we’re 24-42 now.
I like the fact that our record is a palindrome. Read left-to-right or right-to-left, we still suck.
Well, I guess freezing the server is a good sign for our floundering team.
Best win of the year.
Now that Morrow picked up a save I hope that McLaren doesn’t make this his permanent “role”.
According to Blow, Ryan was not happy with the ball call, but didn’t say anything, then when covering behind homeplate on the hit, he walked past the ump and must have said the magic words as he got tossed. Gibbons went when he complained about Ryan.
just a thought– the team isn’t going anywhere– if JJ is ok, wouldn’t it make more sense for him to go to Tacoma on rehab to get some regular throwing in to workk on his control rather than bringing him into games where he is likely to fail?
On the postgame show Blowers said that somebody got tossed for yelling at the umpire even though his back was turned to the ump, then the coach came out and got tossed as well.
Now that Morrow picked up a save I hope that McLaren doesn’t make this his permanent “role”.
Oh, he will. This victory was only to spite those of us hoping that drafting a college reliever in the 1st round meant Morrow was headed for the rotation.
Yes, he will. This was the worst possible outcome – good for the team but lousy for the organization long term that is – Vidro gets on base 3 times and Morrow replaces a dinged up Putz to close the game.
Add to that the M’s won a series with the Nats coming into town, so there’s a decent chance for the M’s to win that one as well, creating the appearance of momentum. This will give the FO all the ammo they need to hold off on making any big changes any time soon (except for making Morrow the closer that is).
Damn you Morrow for being able to pitch well. Now we will only get to see you for about what, 70 innings a year?
on a happier note:
“Felix Hernandez allowed just an unearned run in eight innings and struck out eight Wednesday in a win over the Blue Jays. This makes three straight starts in which King Felix hasn’t allowed an earned run. His final strikeout today was the 500th of his career.”
I want someone to ask McLaren why Bloomquist batted 2nd, why he wasn’t pinch hit for in the 9th, and why he is even on the team. Willie now has 55 plate appearances. Here are the results:
9 walks
7 hits (all singles, one infield single)
1 reached on error
19 ground outs
6 pop outs
1 fly out
4 strikeouts swinging
8 strikeouts looking
He has hit the ball out of the infield 7 times this season. Why on earth is this guy batting 2nd?
Kudos to Felix for making lemonade out of lemons.
Prediction: Mac gets to field a bunch of “What’s with JJ?” questions, to which he responds, “JJ is our closer.” Two weeks later, JJ is traded and Morrow is the closer. Sound familiar?
Valle just said that Felix needed pitch a shutout to get the win today. 2-1 was the final right? This is why I can’t stand Valle, dumbass comments like that.
#246: ask McLaren why Boom Boom wasnt pinch hit for in the 8th!
hey, the run was unearned, so according to his ERA, it was a shut-out.
Even better, I am listening to the Jays post game and there is some major anger coming in from fans. Glad to see we arent the only ones that are bitter about their team and management.
but he brings energy and intangibles to the table!
Drayer said Felix felt tired and asked to not come out in the 9th. Fine with me. The more Felix takes charge the better.
He can’t go to Tacoma on “rehab” unless he goes on the DL first. If he is “ok”, why would he go on the DL? He can’t be optioned to AAA.
The answer is I don’t think he’s OK. He’s got to be hurt in some way. I think he has guardaditis.
msb
I didn’t realize that the run was unearned. I guess Valle’s comment makes more sense. Thanks for the correction, although I still don’t like him.
254…
If you pull him from a game you can certainly put him on the DL-15, perhaps retro-active.
Its interesting that this same scenario is how JJ got to be the closer in the first place, and now it seems we might waste Morrow in this role.
I note that Dontrel was sent to Single A, so there are ways to do this stuff.
He has to be injured, though the M’s aren’t shy about making that stuff up when they have to.
And you can only retroactively DL someone to the last time they made an appearance.
So it ends up being the 14 day or 13 day DL.
I’ll take it.
Since any saves he doesn’t blow are nail biters at best, he is no better than Joe Average Reliever right now.
Either something is physically wrong, or he has lost his stuff, or he has given up.
Make stuff up if they have to, (they just made their typical in game “for show” move), but seems like a rehab would be wise right now, he’s not the JJ we knew last year.
How did Willis end up in Single A?
I’m really late to the show here, but I wanted to say a few things.
First, I’m not sure how many walks the team has been averaging, but seven seems like a lot. Especially the two we got from Ichiro.
2. Vidro went 2-3 from the three hole today. You have to figure that that is going to buy him another game there.
#3: What a pitching gem of a game. Eight innings from The King (plus an 8:1 K/BB ratio), and a great game from Marcum. I wish I could have watched it.
I actually like Morrow in the closer role. I think his steady diet of fastballs would get him shelled after about three innings of work. And his mechanics aren’t very good, so he would likely get injured as a starter.
it was last March when he had the elbow strain, right?
today it was ‘discomfort’ (hence the arm shaking after pitches) and hopefully not serious, though I assume they’ll run him through the MRI machine. It would be a nice convenient way to get him more work, once the elbow was cleared.
do you mean how was he assigned, or, why Single A?
they asked him, and he agreed to be sent down.
“He was for trying to do anything necessary to getting him back to being the guy he can be,” Dombrowski said. “He also knew he wasn’t doing well and didn’t want to hurt his team.”
why Single A?
“We think it gives us the best support system,” Dombrowski said. “We have people there who can work with him … we think our best support system is there (Lakeland). It’s our headquarters. We have two (farm) clubs there and all our facilities. We really control the environment, so we think it is the best spot.”
263:
>they asked him, and he agreed to be sent down.
Why does this never seem to be an option in Seattle?
Even when people pose the question around here someone points out that you can’t send the high salary guys to the minors.
But clearly you can ASK them to go down, and that never seems to happen here either without an appearance on the disabled list.
Queue a few bars of “Feelings”…
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And 261:
I agree MLB hitters will figure out Morrow’s heat in a few innings if he were a regular starter.
But I think the consensus around here is not to keep him riding pine for one inning every few days, but to send him to Tacoma where he can start every 5 days and master some additional pitches and control issues so that he would be somewhat less one-dimensional. (Which is not to say he’s totally a one pitch guy now).