Game 73, Mariners at Braves
DMZ · June 20, 2008 at 3:30 pm · Filed Under Mariners
The Interview against Jorge Campillo, junkballer and former Mariner discard!! 4:30pm our time!
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It is going to be really depressing to see Campillo shut this horrible team down. I am really curious to see Riggleman’s first lineup. Hopefully Vidro is playing Left Out.
The highly anticipated debut of Riggleman…
I’m calling it…Ichiro leadoff homer. I figure his RF move has made the difference, and now he’ll head for 30HRs this year.
From ESPN.com
Gameday Lineups
NO. SEATTLE ATLANTA
1. I. Suzuki, RF G. Blanco, CF
2. J. Lopez, 2B Y. Escobar, SS
3. R. Ibanez, LF C. Jones, 3B
4. A. Beltre, 3B M. Teixeira, 1B
5. R. Sexson, 1B O. Infante, LF
6. J. Clement, C B. McCann, C
7. Y. Betancourt, SS J. Francoeur, RF
8. W. Bloomquist, CF R. Gotay, 2B
9. E. Bedard, P J. Campillo, P
I was going to ask if anybody could remember a time that an organization publicly bashed a player and said that it was considering releasing him but nonetheless batted him fifth in the order. But I didn’t have to think back too far — Toronto, Frank Thomas, this year.
Kinda jumbled but you get the Idea
Bloomquist in, Reed out? Wtf?
Righty or Lefty, I’d still have Reeder in the lineup over WFB…
Strike one vs. Riggleman. He’s Willie Ballgame in vs. a righty and playing center. Crrraaaappp.
In the 80’s I lived in Boston, and the manager – also called “Mac” – was canned. Joe Morgan took over, the team peeled off a 16-win streak right then. “Morgan Magic” was thus born.
So let me be the first to predict… “Rigglemania”!
Shouldn’t Sexson be batting, like, ninth?
Boom Boom in center? Riggleman’s first lineup gets an “F” for content, but an “A+” for scrappiness and hustle.
Jeezus. Against a righty no less. It never ends . . .
I would have liked to see Reed instead of WFB as well… *sigh*
Just as long as Reed gets the call over Cairo if we need a sub for Sexson.
Reed in ‘08 (I know, small sample size):
.296/.367/.407
WFB in ‘08:
.224/.328/.224
Sexson batting fifth is pretty disappointing.
Overall though, this:
Ichiro-L
Lopez-R
Ibanez-L
Beltre-R
Sexson-R
Clement-L
Betancourt-R
Bloomquist-0
Pitcher-0
isn’t too different from this:
Ichiro-L
Lopez-R
Ibanez-L
Beltre-R
Clement-L
Betancourt-R
Reed-L
Sexson-R
Vidro-B
Tom Glasgow on the pre-game show to Braves announcer Joe Simpson, “I’m not so sure the Jorge Campillo pitching for the Braves tonight is the same Jorge Campillo we had here in Seattle…”
I had such high hopes for Riggleman’s first lineup… Richie 5th? Bloomquist in center? Really?
“Keep the blinders on.”– Raul Ibanez
When was Raul brought on as spokesperson for the front office?
So the real question is whether Bedard is a drop off from Vidro.
All I know is McLaren would have batted Bedard third because he posted a .400/.400/.400 line last year.
Sexson
vs righties…180/.257/.323/.580
vs lefties…364/.429/.591/1.019
I know sample sizes, but…these numbers are nuts.
Sexson should not bay versus another right handed pitcher this year.
PLATOON!!!
Someone please tell Riggleman that Platoon is not just the name of a movie…
Ah, but what a great movie it was.
If McLaren was managing, Vidro would be playing 2B and batting 3rd. That alone makes this lineup a huge improvement.
Why not put Willie at first, and put Reed in center…heck vice versa if they want to feel good about getting Reed a first baseman’s mitt.
Unbelievable…
Bedard career hitting: .182/250/.182
Vidro last 7 days: .192/.222/.308
Vidro’s only XBH? A homer.
Where can I start my pitch for Dave as skipper of the M’s? Maybe I’ll go purchase http://www.daveforskipper.com right now.
A Pepe-less lineup is a nice breath of fresh air.
While I understand Reed played 1B at LBS as a Dirtbag his first two years… The idea of our best outfielder outside of Ichiro A) Not Playing B) Playing First?! Is ridiculous to even think about. Joh-San can play first, I don’t care if he doesn’t like it. We know he can at least block those throws, they’re coming from further away in most cases than he’s used to.
At least we don’t have Omar Infante batting 5th.
WTF???
This lineup should be taken with a grain of salt due to the game being played in an NL park.
Once we get away from interleague baseball we’ll have a clearer sense of whether we’ll be getting better lineup construction for the rest of the season.
Any reason to believe the M’s are trying to “showcase” WFB? Since we’re playing NL ball in an NL park, with the hopes of moving him in exchange for something?
Note to self: calling the M’s recent play “NL ball” is probably an insult to NL teams.
According to Bill Krueger, to hit .400, you have to hit the ball out of the ballpark, because “that’s what Ted Williams did.”
Ted Williams: .407, 13 HR
You’d think they’d bat McCann over Infante. Probably Francouer, also.
Looking at Campillo’s splits, a RHP, lefties fare worse than righties.
Left: .174, .216, .261, .477
Right: .274, .295, .406, .700
I wonder if Riggleman will know this, or pinch hit for righties?
Ther 5/1 k/bb ratio isn’t bad….for a mariner cast-off.
Every other team in the league already knows exactly what Willie Bloomquist is, and they aren’t giving you anything for him. They’re laughing at you for giving him playing time.
The organization seems to have this weird objection to giving Reed a chance to demonstrate that he can unsuck. Of course, even the “suck” version of Reed has more upside than Willie, but whatever.
“Rigglemania”!
so, listening to the pregame … after 4 name changes in 3 years, I think they should just call the segment where Dave talks to the skipper something like … “The Skipper Show”.
The Sox won 12 in a row and 19 out of 20 during that time.
Agreed. I’m just happy that Vidro is sitting and Sexson isn’t hitting cleanup. But beware the double switch that inserts Turbo at SS.
I can’t wait to see if Bedard will pick up a bat, or if he feels the way he does about throwing over 100 pitches and pulls himself before his first AB.
> The Sox won 12 in a row and 19 out of 20 during that time.
Still, you see my point. I’m working on the t-shirt now; will need plenty of product for the next homestand/victorious homecoming. I’ll show you all!
Rigglemania is on!
ok, Bedard already looks hot and sweaty, and he’s just warming up.
who’s taking odds on what inning he gets tired?
#39
After 100 pitches of course!
if any one has the Braves feed with Simpson & Caray, let us know what they have to say about the Ms and Dave …
I’ve got it.
Willie is in the line-up, based on his BP numbers against Campillo.
How did he catch that! He cheated!!!
Lets see if we can win a game that Felix isn’t pitching in.
Here, I’ll fix that for you:
Sexson
batting fifthstill on the team is pretty disappointing.one thing they said was “new manager might be new signs, i dont think the old ones were working” something along those lines.
Top of the first looked suspiciously familiar. I wonder if they snuck Mac in with the bags.
speaking of line-ups, from Drayar this afternoon:
“I am told that Riggleman addressed the team in the clubhouse and told them that he was to be a different voice. He talked briefly of his personality (quiet) and what the team could expect. He also said that he planned on playing more people.”
CBS Sportsline’s Gamecenter shows the Braves with 13 pitchers. Any comments on that?
um, Drayer.
Did anyone read that Morrow didnt make the trip because of back spasms?
ok, this is scary.
Riggleman on Sexson:
“”There should be a lot of baseball left. He’s still a young man,” Riggleman said. “He’s not done at 33. He’s going to go out there and hopefully get it turned on. It may be something he does, something that he says, ‘There it is! Now I feel it.”"
Beltre is the unluckiest player in the whole league this year.
Pelekoudas mentioned it this morning in his radio interview; nothing worse for back spasms than a plane ride.
But what can he say? “Dude’s off the cliff like Wiley Coyote, but maybe he’ll get lucky.”?
“There it is! Now I feel it.”
Richie, that’s the clubhouse door hitting your ass as you leave for good.
Bobby Cox was very complimentary re: his team’s defense in the pre-game interview
I am enjoying watching Richie’s time wind down as a Mariner … oh yeah – he’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.
sigh
WHY is Infante hitting 5th??? Did Bobby Cox accidentally write him in with pen and didn’t have another lineup card?
Can anyone enlighten me as to the significance of the giant and apparently illiterate cow towering over the Atlanta stadium?
Stone’s doing Baker’s blog:
Does Washington have an electric chair, or would someone have to pick him up to even do that?
Chick Fil-A ad, I’ll bet.
The Atlanta broadcaster referred to the bottom of our line up as the Mariner version of the killer B’s.
Well, I thought it was funny.
…. BEDARD FOR STARTING DH.
Bedard!!!
Uh, guys — a .250 average is good for a Mariner much less a pitcher.
What he said.
I lost interest in the story as Dave N. was telling it, but it’s a tie in to an eatery. I think it was made in Europe and was ridiculously expensive to get to the stadium.
It also does the tomahawk chop.
And now they’re showing the giant Coke bottle. Tasteful stadium. They must have a stock car or two stashed in there somewhere.
“if sexson was traded to the mets it would be sexson in the city” wow….the braves announcer just said that lol.
Putting BoomBoom in Center, with Raul in Left and Sexson at First, is most like which of the following:
a) Playing tennis while wearing handcuffs
b) Giving your opponent a huge head start in a footrace
c) Playing poker blindfolded
d) Deciding to go ahead and drink the beer from Papua NG even though it probably stinks
Holy frick, that cow is scary. I’m going to have troubles sleeping tonight!!!
How can Riggleman not see what any idiot can see?
Richie Sexson’s reflexes have fatally slowed. He cannot get around on a good fastball anymore. Hasn’t he see what we’ve seen — Richie taking a swinging strike three on a 91-95 MPH fastball? Or, when he isn’t whiffing on them, popping them up or hitting shallow fly balls because his bat is dragging through the zone when the pitch arrives?
No amount of coaching or positive back-slapping reinforcement can change that, Riggleman.
Sexson may be “just” 33. But he’s done.
And this is no freakish anomaly. The world is littered with good hitters who lost bat speed in their early 30s. Von Hayes, Kevin McReynolds. Garry Templeton. Pete Incaviglia. Edgardo Alfonzo. Corey Koskie. Ray Lankford. Bobby Higginson.
So now were gonna lose bedard…and he was looking pretty good tonight.
Bedard hurt his hip – outstanding.
And you’re not even a chicken.
Fragile Interview out of the game after 3 innings?
Hip again.
This sucks. Who knew he would be so fragile?
You’re asking in a Mariners forum? Where the impotent DH bats 3rd?
I was sort of hoping that Wlad would be in left, Raul at First, and Richie on the bench.
But that was wayyy too much to hope for, and I knew it.
um, everyone?
Which option do we like better than Big Sexy at first base right now?
Princess Willie?
Cairo?
JReed?
J reed seems to make a little sense, but not now that we moved Ichiro! to RF, because if we put Reed at 1st then we lose the platoon, and Princess Willie is our everyday CF.
Is it outrageous to think that maybe Clement should be playing 1B?
We don’t need 3 catchers on our team, do we? Wouldn’t he be more effective for us as a first baseman?
Raul should be platooning with Sexson at First.
Raul can’t hit lefties, and Richie can’t hit righties. Neither is a good fielder, but if the only bad fielder is at first then things wouldn’t be too bad on defense.
I know I suggested this several months ago…
Meanwhile, old “5 for 1″ is out again. Sigh.
How is it that our good players (Putz, Bedard) always get injured, but none of the crappy players (Sexson, Washburn, Vidro, Bloomquist, Cairo) ever spend time on the DL?
81 – I was being facetious.
Bedard had to wash his hair.
Add Morrow to the list of “good” players who get hurt.
I was on the right track, but I was wrong about his exit strategy.
As Dave correctly suggested, the M’s should liberate a slugger outside the organization when Sexson is released.
It’s too bad Bavasi isn’t still here, so we could see him blame Bedard for getting hurt.
“He’ll probably give you some dumbass answer, like ‘It hurts and I can’t help it.’”– BB
another line from Stone:
“Lots of reaction to McLaren’s firing in the clubhouse, a lot of puzzlement over John McLaren’s comments about jealousy and friction. The players I talked to said, at least on the record, that they didn’t think there was a major clubhouse problem.”
Clement has never played 1b. Neither has Joh. Ibanez has. There’s the answer for 1b for THIS year (at least until Raul gets traded).
Just moved to Nashville a few weeks ago so this is my first m’s game since may. I turn away and come back and Bedard’s hurt? Must’ve hurt that hip running. NOBODY will want him now. Damn.
MSB, if only we had 5,423,324 comments before the trade about how on top of every other reason we don’t like the idea, injury prone pitchers are a bad risk. Instead of the mere 4,765,634 that we managed to muster.
interesting that there appears to be no communication between the radio and tv side here– Dave & Rizzs are still baffled as to why Bedard came out.
84, they do get hurt; Vidro had a back problem or something. However, they don’t bother to put them on the DL, because there is no loss to the team when they can’t play.
Don’t forget Sexy was suspended for 4 games, which allowed Mac to downgrade the lineup by playing Cairo at first base.
Oops sorry JerBear, didn’t see your facetious comment till after the post.
Okay, I’m on the radio: why did Bedard come out?
Ichiro would’ve gunnned Jones down at the plate right there.
I guess he not only is good for 100 pitches but he is only good for 1 hit as well. His day is done. He is tired.
cody:
Except Richie, after lining up the cutoff horribly, dropped the ball.
hip, we assume. the tv side had shots of him talking to Griffin, grimacing, and walking very gingerly into the clubhouse.
between those images on top of the description of Morrow’s back spasms, my back is feeling empathetic twinges.
Ichiro! hurts this team by not having any kids, that would be the beloved local kids that could populate the next generation of Mariners.
So suddenly we’re going to make common cause with Hal Steinbrenner?
I’ve been arguing for years, btw, that they should switch the rules for Interleague games, give the NL fans a look at the DH and the AL fans a look at their pitchers batting.
If the story is that Bedard was simply “tired” (that darned Atlanta weather, it’s a wet heat); either the M’s are trying to run him out of town, or Bedard is trying to run himself out of town.
Either way, he’s on his way out of town; the M’s are guarding against any type of injury that might depress his trade value.
#97
Bedard seen grimacing and gripping his hip in the dugout after running to second from first.
Trainer took him to the clubhouse.
Willie is now 1 AB behind John Moses to tie the team record for most AB’s in Mariner history without getting an extra base hit (non-pitchers).
I cannot describe how discouraging is was to get home from work, turn on the game, and see that Willie Bloomquist is starting in CF against a RHP.
And now, despite the single, he’s tied for the all-time Mariner record.
seeing Corcoran up to bat reminds me, according to the pitchers taking BP the other day, Sean Green is hands-down the worst batter.
105, do you mean most consecutive hits?
how ’bout that great throw from CF by Bloomquist? No chance to get the runner, off line, misses the cutoff man. If a guy can’t hit for power (HRs or doubles) or average, isn’t he supposed to be able to the little things?
Back spasms in his right side for Bedard
Really? We can’t even let him try to swing at it?
Did I just hear, “…back spasms in his right side”? Ugh.
Heck, Corcoran isn’t going to pitch many innings. I would have PH for him. Show some cajones, Rig.
ow. back spasms in his lower right back.
that would likely be the QL, and I can speak from experience that you pretty much are done when that happens.
Was watching the Braves telecast and they showed Bedard grabbing and pointing to hip. Looked like he was in some pretty good pain. They say back spasms in his right back side? Sure, we all know it’s the hip. Being a college pitcher myself, I can tell you a hip injury takes months to heal. Like I said back in early-May, Bedard will not be close to 100% this entire year. Wouldn’t surprise me if he gets shut-down.
Another oblique problem upcoming for Bedard. Seriously, does this guy prepare for a game or just role out of his recliner and start throwing?
15 day DL upcoming. He’ll miss at least 2 starts guaranteed. We need to deal this wuss and move on.
Is Mike Hargrove back?
With the torque Bedard puts on his right side, he is done for quite a while. Guess you can take him off the trading block. And the hits just keep on coming……..
Is there a worse announcer than Dave Sims?
ON the rundown play he was excited that “Bloomquist got all the way to third”. Unfortunately for the Mariners the tag on Yuni ended the inning. And no Dave the M’s don’t start the next inning with Willie on third!
being injury prone and being a wuss are two separate things.
man, they just keep finding new ways to not score.
That was a terrible rundown. Is “FireJimRiggleman.com” avaiable?
… and in other news, Safeco field collapsed.
Did he come with a warranty? Atleast we should get our 2 prospects back for failed goods.
Did he come with a warranty? Atleast we should get our 2 prospects back for failed goods.
This, from the Baseball Reference stat-of-the-day page: “In his article on ESPN.com today about the pathetic Seattle Mariners, Jim Caple pointed out that Willie Bloomquist has no extra base hits yet so far this year. Here are the leaders among non-pitchers since 1958, in terms of most ABs in a season with zero XHB. Bloomquist already ranks pretty high, although he of course could come off at any time if he hits one down the line.”
I was wrong about Willie being tied with John Moses. With his 2 AB’s so far today, Willie moves into a tie for 37th, and is 2 AB’s behind Moses, who is the all-time Mariner leader with 62 AB’s. If you want to see a list of the some of the worst hitters in major league history, just take a gander of the players that Willie is “chasing” in pursuit of this hallowed honor.
There is no reason that Corcoran should have batted in that situation.
Gawd, that trade just continues to bite us in the ass.
If he misses only two starts I would be shocked. You can tell he has been having the same problem since day one.
Willie in center. Richie at first batting fifth. Raul in left. Reed on the bench.
Meet the new boss same as the old boss.
Just turned the game on to see Betancourt volunteer for a rundown.
Breaking news!!! The Tacoma Rainiers have been called up to Atlanta.
“Nice job by Richie Sexson to get out of the way– he almost got his head torn off.”–Dave Sims
If Richie did get his head torn off, would we have to pay him?
If he doesn’t run, Teixiera throws out Bloomquist at second, not a big deal.
Are you f’ing kidding me. They only have him face 2 batters yet they couldn’t pinch hit for him in the top of the inning? Riggleman was a NL manager for all his time managing right?
The Braves announcers (Skip Carey and Joe Simpson) have been dumbfounded by Yuni’s ’slow out of the blocks’ defensively and offensively. They also said it was back spasms for Bedard.
Still, it’s a tag play at second. Tough to see the logic of running halfway home.
I suppose if he had hit for Corcoran, it would have been Cairo.
In a 0-0 game, the Blue Jays just inserted Wilkerson as a pinch runner. Did we miss something?
re: 126
ESPN’s SportsCenter needs to start doing one of those of “Chasing History” things for Willie. I’m talking continual in-game updates and cutaways until Willie breaks this hallowed record.
I think it’s typical strategy in that situation (1st and 3rd, 1 out) for the runner on 3rd to break on a grounder to try to draw a throw and thereby prevent a standard double play.
I didn’t think first basemen were allowed to do that.
Toldja.
The rot goes a lot hgher, a lot deeper and a lot more widely than just the GM’s slot.
137 – There isn’t logic. Ichiro! hit the ball hard. It was a nice play by the first basemen. It’s a snap decision that is a lot of bad luck.
Finally some luck for Beltre…
Rig could have pulled a double switch when he PH. I suppose the old school strategy says it was too early in the game to be burning pinchhitters.
That won’t be scored an error.
But Francouer played the ball terribly. Bad route on a catchable ball.
143. Are you trying to tell me that Chuck Armstrong, Howard Lincoln, and/or someone higher called Jim Riggleman this evening and told him to start Willie Bloomquist in CF tonight?
Every time Clement gets out is one step closer to AAA…
There it is! Now I feel it!
Folks you know the first pinch hitter we will see will Pepe/Jose.
Joh might come in on a double switch, I suppose.
Mmmmmmmm . . . which bad hitter to choose?
“the Changeup doesn’t work quite as well when it’s left up in the zone.”
From our “professional” broadcasters.
Really? Hm.
Whoa. Glad to be wrong. Reed to ph for RRS.
Darnnit, Willie, walks don’t count as ABs! Now you’ll never break that record!
Doesn’t Willie realize that by not swinging he isn’t getting any closer to the record?
Speaking of using another reliever – who’s the closer tonight if Morrow isn’t there?
I know, I know, what makes me think we’ll need a closer…
Riggleman: Hey! That kid can hit! What position does he play?
Reed! On a hit and run!
Shoulda gone for a triple.
Well, I can certainly see why we want that bat resting on the bench so we can use it in the most critical pinch hitting role.
so, why wasn’t Reed starting, again?
someone needs to let the boy know he isn’t going back, no matter what. Maybe he’d relax.
Have they done a double steal all year long? My stat geek pals, what is the book on the double steal?
With some of the lineups we’ve used this year, I’m surprised Ichiro doesn’t have 75 intentional walks this year.
msb: I wouldn’t count on it. Maybe not AAA, but he very well could be benched…
Sorry for the late reply- long time lurker, first time poster.
I’m not disagreeing that Krueger’s comment was complete bunk- seeing as the last person to come close to .400 was the no-power Tony Gwynn in the strike-shortened ‘94 season- but to be fair, that .407 was from William’s 1953 season, where he spent much of the year flying combat missions in the Korean war. His .407/13HR line was in just 37 games, which projects to 54HR in a full season. The last real .400 season was of course Williams’ 1941 year, where he hit .406 and had 37HR.
Batista, so they say.
How did that grass get on Richie’s uniform? Or is that vomit?
There’s no way Clement’s going down or getting benched. He’s there to play the rest of the year.
Just got here…Bloomquist over Reed is wierd. Bedard Injured and Clement ofer. But we are winning.
But who’s vomit would it be?
I mean, you can’t really dust for vomit…
My plan was to repeat this comment every time Richie strikes out, but the magic software won’t let me.
“There it is! Now I feel it!”
boy, that chop is stupid.
so is hitting the lead-off hitter.
You know what. I like Sims.
“Let’s see what the kid does right here…”
(Green drills the batter with the first pitch.)
“Interesting.”
The thing I hate most about the NL is the double switch, and the unbearable smugness that comes with it — “look at me, I’m strategerizing! National League, Real Baseball ™”. So effing tiresome.
Tell Dave whatshisname that he shouldn’t say “rack ‘em” after a DP when the inning is still alive, not to mention that there’s a guy on third.
I could have sworn Sims said Randy Jones was up. For a brief moment my brain accepted that, thinking, oh– out in the bullpen…
oh, wait. Brandon Jones.
My earliest MLB memories are from watching the Red Sox in the 60’s (pre-DH, remember), and I swear that the double switch was rarely used in those games. I really need to look at some old box scores to see if I am full of it.
I’m already nervous about a Batista 9th
scrappy wfb now we will see him batting cleanup
+1 AB for Willie!
He’s tied for 37th with Tom Nieto, I believe.
o yea scrappy slide
I’m sure you’re right, G-Man, for the simple reason that relievers were (relatively) rare then. I’m not sure, but I seem to recall that Tommy Lasorda with the Dodgers was the guy who really started to make a big fuss about how genius he was for pulling off the mind-boggling complexities of double-switching.
Actually, I believe Willie is now ahead of Nieto and one AB behind Moses.
This Ohman guy must really be bad, to be facing 2-out, nobody on, and Bloomquist & Cairo coming up, and end up with the bases loaded.
By the way, is the reason they call it a double-switch because after you put Cairo in after Bloomquist it’s like having 2 pitchers hitting in a row?
a few walks “clutch” hitting who is this new batting coach and where has he been all year
J-Lo!
That was a GREAT slide by Ichiro. Who are these guys, and what have they done with the Mariners?
183 –
Oh yeah. I was so excited about the record, I didn’t let the espn boxscore update in time.
Sims is going to bust a vessel!
Ichiro! Beautiful slide.
I know. Did all the players have something against McLaren or something?
“Ok, Mac’s gone now. We can all start hitting again.”
So will Green stay in?
Wow…. Take Vidro out of the line-up and look what happens-the Mariners should definitley consider a move to the N.L
5 team walks are the Braves pitchers that wild or are the batters listening to the new voice
I can’t remember the last time we had a 7-run lead. Is this the first time all year?
you know, I’d rather see pitchers (starters, LOOGY’s) taking fly balls rather than practice hitting. I think the advantage of being able to put a pitcher in left for a better (or two) would be huge.
Man,
the M’s just cant quit hitting.
LOL I just checked out the score on gameday…..what the??
Who is this Willie Bloomquist fellow?
Go M’s….
Yipe. They’re using up all the July runs! Stop!
Shoulda let Green hit there….couldn’t have been much worse…
I miss the old Kenji…
quite a 2-out rally i would say
I am pretty sure a 8 run lead is big enough even Batista can’t blow that as a closer right?
At least we have a calm normalcy in kenji. I was starting to get frightened…
NJ Ms: You knock on wood RIGHT NOW
does knocking on Mac’s head count?
Mariners have 7 doubles today.
Why is was that guy sent with an 8-run deficit?
Being up by six helps… but I was glad we just got to see Ichiro! run on that play.
That’s as many hits as Atlanta has today.
Nice work Willie!
While I’m happy the M’s will *probably* win this (knock on wood, as previously suggested), I’m not as happy as I normally would be because A) my dad has been a huge Braves fan since 1953 when they were the Milwaukee Braves and it was the closest city to Washington State, so that’s what games came on the radio and B) You know that Armstrong and Lincoln are patting each other on the back right now. “See? It wasn’t our fault! It was McLaren all along!”
Oh, WFB. Continuing to make the front office think you’re super.
ok so with Bedard hurt and wanting to keep Batista in the pen for his “veteran grit” who is brought in to start for Bedard?
Baek is gone, Feierabend is hurt I think since he has not pitched since May so would it be Jakubauskas? He has pitched well since getting to AAA.
Give Willie his props in this case. Nice catch.
Personally…I think Willie’s played well lately…
nic Bobby Cox rubbing it in putting Norton in the game. but at least we have Turbo on the bench
8 doubles!
Double digits!!!
That’s it…who’s having a jagerbomb with me??
Too bad Willie doen’t try…
I think Reed should start over Wille Bloomquist. He actually looks like he has found his touch in the majors.
nice camera shot of rig explaining to Yuni “If you are on 2nd and no one is on 1st with less then 2 outs and the ball is hit in front of you, hold up. Now if you go by accident don’t stop.”
Love Yuni but sometimes he is lost out there this is little league stuff. If there was not an error he would have been meat at third
Sorry, I should have clarified. I don’t disagree that it was an awesome catch…but I know that the front office has a tendency to get amnesia from catches/games like that, forgetting all the other games where Willie didn’t do so hot.
Good call Billy Jive
jagerbombs for everyone!!!
Hey look..the new BA leader from the M’s:
Erik Bedard…
Too bad about those ‘back spasms’
Cheers everyone!!
Batista is in I think I will have a few more jagerbombs just in case
best defensive first baseman in the league jesh
Now Cairo on the other hand…
*sigh*
Can’t we find a competant first baseman off the scrap heap that can hit once in awhile?
How about Willie on 1st & Cairo DFA’d.
WOO HOO!!!
Anoher Jagerbomb..CHEERS!!!
Should be nice to see a post game interview where your manager isn’t about to break into tears.
224 Right on!
So this is what winning feels like.
I know!! I’m doing a happy dance!
Pathetic…
THE MARINERS WIN A GAME!
FREE PONY RIDES FOR EVERYBODY!
McLaren must be jealous.
#188
I love it.
I can’t decide which was sadder, the first caller who is glad that “the young players like Jeremy Reed and Willie Bloomquist” are getting a chance to play or the next caller who can’t understand the fans in Seattle who boo Sexson, ’cause any time he drives up to the game from Centralia, even if Richie strikes out he loves to watch him, because he doesn’t make errors– heck, none of those guys make errors.
In defense of WFB (bracing myself), he’s got two hits in three of the last four games. With the M’s current luck this year, we can’t afford to bench someone who’s hitting well, even if he’s never had more than 64 hits in a year. I’d like to see him AND Reed in the lineup tomorrow as crazy as that is. Heck of a lot more potential at this juncture than Vidro, Burke, Sexson, or Cairo.
So suddenly we’re going to make common cause with Hal Steinbrenner?
Pitchers get hurt. Sometimes they get hurt running to first when they get a hit. Sometimes they get hurt running first to field. What’s the difference? Bedard is fragile. We knew that. If he didn’t get hurt legging out a hit this week he was probably going to get hurt doing something else, like pitching, next week.
I’ve been arguing for years, btw, that they should switch the rules for Interleague games, give the NL fans a look at the DH and the AL fans a look at their pitchers batting.
Riiiiiight. Because NL fans have never seen a DH. They don’t watch their own team when it plays in AL parks. They’ve never watched the World Series or an AL-park AllStar game. Maybe they don’t have a TV at all?
Or is it just that there is something magical, mystical, life-changing about seeing it in your own stadium?
Seriously, I don’t know how this insipid meme got started but I’ve heard it several times from otherwise intelligent people and I always wonder if they actually listen to themselves or think about what they’re saying/writing.
237 I’ll take the heat with you!
What’s wrong with going with the winners?
Saaaaaaaaammmmmmmmpllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeee sssssssssiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeee
Yup 239/237 I’ll drink to that too…
Willie has been playing well lately…
What have Sexson, Vidro or Joh done for us lately?
Willie for President!!
Oops..okay..that was too much…
238 –
I have to admit, I thought this when I went to the game on Wednesday. I thought, hey, the Marlins, Oh yeah interleague play! There was a split second while my mind processed the idea that we were playing a NL team in our park so we would be playing by our rules.
But after I finished processing it, I did wish that they would switch the rules so that I could see the pitchers bat at my park. It’s not that it makes a huge deal, or that I didn’t enjoy the game while I was there, I just thought that it would be cool to see while I was at the game.
I don’t think that is an insipid thought.
240-Yes, I’m aware that Willie’s done well for a few days, and mediocre for a good six years now. Still, wouldn’t you agree that if there’s ever been a time to put Boom-Boom in the lineup, it would be now? I’m no Bill James but surely the fundamentals of sabermetrics don’t say that a career so-so player should never start no matter how well he’s been hitting as of late or how crappy his teammates are.
Boom Boom sucks.
That is all. Carry on.
Man, I can’t believe I’m defending the mighty Bloomquist on this website. While I’m at it, I might as well defend McLaren’s underappreciated genius behind the scenes or HoRam’s tough luck year. Does anyone else miss John Halama?
I know I do.
I miss John Halama all the time…but I’m working on my aim.
*ba-dum-chish!*
I’ll be here all week. Be sure to tip your waitress!
hincandenza, 164: I actually agree with Krueger, not in the sense that home run power is necessary to hit .400, but that the most likely player to do it is a power hitter.
To me, it all comes down to BABIP. To hit .400, a player needs a BABIP of at least .400, and higher than that for every strikeout (as they count against AVG but not BABIP). In that way, home runs are the opposite in that they help AVG without giving the defense a chance to turn the batted ball into an out. The more a batter puts the ball into play, the more likely his BABIP is to regress towards something less than .400, since even great hitters don’t usually sustain a BABIP above .350 or so (Ichiro’s career BABIP: .357; Tony Gwynn’s: .345).
Sure, I definitely think it’s possible for a hitter without much power to hit .400, especially if he has a lot of speed, but I think it would take a greater degree of luck/defying the odds than it would for a power hitter. Either way, striking out as little as possible is absolutely essential, though.
We have too many other good hitters on the team to play Willie.
Really!
I miss Lou and his post-game press interviews. He always reminded me of a guy in a bar at final call, rambling on in a semi-coherent slurry monologue.
well, heck, when the Ms play the Indians in a month, maybe Halama will be on the mound …
Drayer addresses the comments about the clubhouse by Bavasi & McLaren
This story is a must-read! Coaches blast the player’s work ethics..
#252: Quoting Drayer
My season tickets are down the first base line. Some time after Memorial day I noticed pitchers on their way to the pen before the game stopping to shake hands with the infielders who do their warm-ups just past first base.
We knew something was up, because we had been there all year, every game, and never saw anything like that previously. The pitchers were the younger relievers, (I’m not mentioning any names).
It has happened a few times since as well.
Here, here…at least Halama could give you five or six innings on a semi-consistant basis.
Unlike Bedard.
238:
My, we’re bitter.
Yes, there are a few of us who actually think going to see baseball games in person is worthwhile. Last year, over 76 million “otherwise intelligent people” did so. And those who attended interleague games in National League parks either didn’t get to see some good designated hitters play at all, or just pinch hit, or attempt to play the field. And, yes, I think that’s a shame.
I would also like to see Mariners pitchers hit in person once in awhile, just for the novelty. If this makes me less than intelligent in your book, I think I’ll live with the tragedy.
From the Dreyer piece, I love this quote from Batista: “Jealousy? That we are jealous that Ichiro’s the best dresser?”
Heehee. Made me laugh.
Oops… I can’t believe I typed Drayer’s name wrong. Must be hungry for some ice cream or something.
If Bedard were to pitch in front of the same defence that was backing up John Halama in 2001/2002 he could well put up numbers like vintage Randy Johnson.
At his absolute best Halama was a fifth starter who got lucky for a while.
My Ethiopian neighbours seem very happy this morning. They are singing, clapping and ululating in fashion not commonly heard in Greenwood. They must approve of Jim Riggleman as a manager.
I don’t know the exact quote, but didn’t Ichiro claim he could hit 45 HR in a season if that’s what his goal was? Just change his approach, probably hit .240, but still, 40+ HR?
Man, I really wish he would try that from here on out. Season’s done, so why not try something cool? I mean, I guess 8 200+ hit seasons in a row is cool too, but still. Swing away Ichiro!
[see comment guidelines]
261:
But the next lines quote McLaren as saying that Richie “works so hard,” so was McLaren simply seeing a different bunch of players from the anonymous quoted coaches?
True — though at least from a reliability standpoint, he wasn’t missing/early exiting every fourth or fifth start with some ailment or other.
Or, as Steven Seagal once said, “I’m looking for Richie…I’m ain’t leavin’ here ’til I get a hold of Richie!”
*That should be I, not “I’m”, though that was a fine piece of dialog from Out For Justice I was referring to.
Oh, nice, my post(261) gets pulled referring to some vague comment guidelines just so Dave can feature it with its own thread.
I pulled that comment. Read the guidelines: you can’t use huge excerpts from other sources, especially without attribution or linking. We don’t want to get toasted on a copyright violation.
Also, if you’re assuming the worst about everything that happens here, I’m sorry that USSM’s making you unhappy, and I’d suggest maybe taking a break or something. It’s not that big a deal.
Vague comment guidelines indeed.