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Game 78, Mariners at Mets
DMZ · June 25, 2008 at 3:10 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Batista v Maine, 4:10.
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Twittah
Maine has only pitched into the 8th in one of his 15 starts this year, but hasn’t really been chased early either.
Batista not so much. He only has two starts where he’s given up fewer than 3 runs. $9,500,000 for this turd?!
Are we paying him that because he’s 2nd in the AL in losses and walks, or because he’s last in WHIP?
We’re paying Batista so we can be the first to get his books! Pitching is secondary.
Um,no. We’re paying him that because (until last week) Bill Bavasi was our GM. End of story.
I was looking for the line-ups, and saw this important news.
“The moneyline for tonight’s Mariners-Mets game in New York has moved about 10 cents toward the heavily-favored Mets since it opened.”
C’mon, Batista, pitch like you are worth your salary!
Reed & Clement both in the lineup
Is it just me, or is Ichiro hitting WAY more fly balls than he typically does?
What a way to start the game…walk reyes. Gees I know we can’t field but gees and now he stole 2nd awful just awul…not a bad throw by Clement.
Fangraphs says he’s hitting fewer than usual. I glanced at those figures when I was looking at his BABIP the other day.
http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1101&position=OF
Let me state the obvious: Tonight will not be nearly as fun as last night.
Actually jephdood is it just you. If you refer to this link you can see that his fly ball % on the year has gone down compared to previous years. His infield fly ball has actually gone up, by 3% over his carrer avg, which is a bad sign because those are obviously guaranteed outs.
Ichiro’s biggest problem is that his line drive % is almost 3% points below his career average, which really isn’t a problem at all. So actually, his biggest problem is that everyone sucks behind him so they can’t drive him in.
Also, from that link, Ichiro’s eye is better this year, or he’s being more patient…your call.
At least they’re playing upbeat surf shop music while replaying Felix’s injury.
Okay. My bad. Here’s another:
Is it just me, or does Batista suck more than he typically does?
DFA MB
Did Batista work out with HoRam in the off season or something. I know he has never been anything special, but geez.
Well, that didn’t take long. Thanks a ton Miguel.
Pheewwww. Y’all need to take back just a wee bit of the Batista bile, now.
And you know what I like? Ponies. They’re just so cute. Did you know that ponies are not baby horses? It’s true. For more information on ponies, consult your local library, or Wikipedia.
Phew is right. Really Lauren? You don’t have a bit of that familiar “uh oh” cringe when Miggy takes the mound this year?
Oh, no, I do (at least when I think about it), it’s just that hey, at least he got out of that inning.
Lauren,
We wasted our offense last night, this is an insurmountable lead. Ok, ok, maybe it’s not that bad, but it sure feels like it.
It’s sort of like giving Ral back a “u.”
Or like rain on your wedding day: a little too ironic.
Hey, it’s pretty impressive he only gave up two runs on that disaster of an inning, right? Right?
Besides, not that it matters. Even Batista is just his normal self, we should win. M’s score 10 a game against the Mets!
good god, I’d rather have dickey pitch again today, batista is always more unpredictable than a knuckleball
Holy cow is Dan Wilson horrible in the booth. Has someone told him yet that he’s supposed to provide INTERESTING insight and commentary? Instead of just spitting out old ballplayer clichés and/or repeating to me what just happened on the screen?
“Adrian just swung at a pitch outside the zone there..”
Wow. Thanks.
Aren’t baseball announcers supposed to explain what’s going on on the screen?
I read a good thing on espn, what the hell is bloomquist doing in the big leagues with 0 extra base hits
HEY. Jeff Nye is adding stuff to my comments! And they weren’t even fake deletions!
Also, seeing those Keystone Light ads makes me really thirsty. I’d forgotten how delicious that stuff was, but now that I’m prompted to remember, I’m thinking about giving up on the game and buying some right now. Unfortunately, unlike the ads, the whole store is likely not going to be stocked only with Keystone and Keystone Light.
When was the last time any of the Ms color men provided this? Lets not hold Danny Boy to a different standard.
Larry Dierker’s book has a great anecdote about that, where he’s doing television and he ends up asking the producers something like “So when you show a highlight of the second baseman going back to catch a ground ball, you want me to say ‘There’s Biggio going back and catching that ground ball’?”
And the TV guys respond “exactly!”
!!!
Though I did quote Alanis Morissette in my post. Ugh.
Beltre is amazing the way he thros across his body with speed and accuracy, but I keep expecting his arm to come flying out of the socket.
Well, looks like it’s time to turn on the Dbacks-Red Sox game…
The Dierker Biggio commentary reminded me of Bret Boone’s turn in the booth during the ALCS playoffs several years ago. He was nearly mute, which, given his personality, caught me totally by surprise.
Hey, Wright will only come up another 3-4 times max this game. We ain’t out of it yet.
At this rate, David Wright will hit 9 HRs tonight. Wish he was on our team.
well poop
at least he struck out their pitcher HA
I think Lauren’s sulking. You knew this was going to happen after yesterday’s fake moderation brou-ha-ha… did you think it would happen right away?
Of course not. But I think we’re done now.
Willie bunting for a double to break his streak on no extra base hits…
Oh well, at least he’s on base.
BATISTA=FAIL
BATISTA=MEGA FAIL
Did Beltre’s arm come off?
Can Lopez jump?
Can we replace Batista?
Funny thing is Batista’s actually going to improve his numbers this inning.
Nah, I was talking to my boss. NOW I’m sulking. Alanis Morissette and Keystone Light. You got me good.
P.S., I only had ONE fake deletion post and I stopped as soon as requested, so I hardly think I deserved THREE altered posts as vengeance. sulksulksulk.
I’m pretty slow on a calculator. Are you sure?
BATISTA=MEGA MEGA MEGA Fail
Oy. This might get even uglier than what we did to them last night.
Mudder of Mercy, is dis de end of Rico?
(Babelfish translates Edward G. Robinson to English: Is this the last time we see Batista in an M’s uniform?)
Batista has been an average-below average pitcher for his whole career, he is getting older and he just can’t provide quality starts, I’m sorry, but Miguel, it’s time to SIT DOWN
Pitching-wise the Mariners are definitely at the “shoot the wounded and leave the dead” part of this year’s campaign.
is corcoran even any good? or does the organization have one of their inexplicable attachments to him?
The most depressing part about today is Reyes is on my fantasy team–and I didn’t play him. EPIC FAIL.
you know, it’s sad that I don’t consider the 8-0 score as very bad
Eight runs on 5 hits is pretty funny though.
What’s funny is three outs on six pitches. Funny, or depressing, one of those.
This reminds me so much of Washburn against the Tigers at Safeco a couple of weeks ago, where Mac left him in just long enough to dig the offense into a hole it couldn’t escape. So far, Riggleman has seen Batista essentially pitch batting practice for his last 2-2/3 innings (including Saturday when he couldn’t get an out). DFA is too kind for him.
Yes, let’s not interrupt JJ talking about Pearl Jam to witness the first hit of the game or anything.
Bad television, bad!
well, yesterday’s walk home was a lot more fun.
so, not much of an audition for the NL for Batista, here.
Yeah, tune in to discover the Mets have a 99% win expectancy and the game isn’t half over. Sigh. The M’s doing their best to undo the bias the last couple of nights put into their Pythag.
and no beer in the house, either.
hmm. there is the little split of cheap chanpagne from the Clipper…
I spent the game doing password resets and site work.
Why? Because I love each and every one of you. Okay, not each and every one of you. Most of you. Most of the time.
As a closer, Batista has been this year’s Mateo. But even at the height of the Rick White-Parrish-Mateo insanity nobody asked those guys to start.
CAIRO FTW
In Bizzaro World, the Mariners offense tonight consists of WFB, Reed and Sexson.
If his ankle weren’t hurt, we’d be calling for Felix right here.
Is there like a college wold series game on, or something? Wait, I think the Euro cup match gets rebroadcast at 6. I don’t even remember who is playing but it’s got to be better than this…
More Bizzaro World, as Cairo comes through.
and we love you too. in fact, you should have a beer, too.
And the WE is up to 5%. Cairo and Bloomie combined to quadruple the M’s win expectancy.
An Ichiro salami would have made tonight a lot more fun…
Agreed?
Wait. What did I just say?
Felix with a bad ankle is still a better hitter than half this team.
wonder if the Euro Cup replay will have the missing finale from this afternoon’s broadcast….
If that were the sole issue, I’d let him hit. It’s just that healing his ankle is far more important than winning any game this season.
if Georgia doesn’t pick it up, Josh Fields will be well rested and ready to join the M’s bullpen by tomorrow.
well, once they get that peky contract signed.
I am having a beer! However did you know.
ooh, RJ vs Wake on ESPN2
someone else we love is Larry Stone.
summit meeting at 1st base there. I love how they keep talking about how Delgado has lost range, lost bat speed, has aged so rapidly– and don’t think to apply the same thoughts to Sexson.
Talking to myself and feeling old …. hmm hmm hmmmmmm hm hm ….
I hate it when I come to a baseball site and my taped enjoyment of Euro 2008 gets spoiled.
Reed now leads the club in batting.
without a starting pitcher, they’d be winning this game.
The ponies worked better when I thought they were baby horses.
well, it isn’t the whole of the 2nd half … “the signal initially went down for six minutes in the 76th minute of the match, then “there were a couple of more interruptions”
A double-switch. Woohoo. “Stategery.”
ponies are scrappier than baby horses.
I didn’t know that Lauren was such an Alanis Morrisette fan.
At least we’re outhitting them!
I just realized that the bullpen didn’t give up any hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Whohoo Vidro and his bad knee.
We must have some bullpen people ready to start by now — we’ve been stretching them out since April.
Angie: What in the world happen to Miguel Batista today Bill?
Me: Uhhh than same thing that happens every time he goes out there.
Angie: Where is Bloomquist at in his development? Is he ready to be a everyday player?
Dear lord…
“On this team, or in the major leagues?”
[rimshot]
Here’s a doozy of a headline from the team site: Sottlemyre offers hitting expertise
Crap
there was an ernest discussion on the radio side during the game about Willie getting a chance to play and show what he could do, as if he’d never had such a chance before.
Not quite yet, Lopez is still technically ahead because of that weird qualification thingy. I think if he can keep up this pace for another week or so he will be tho.
2005 and 2006. I saw WAY too much of Bloomquist those years. I really hope he does leave the team after this year. I am really getting tired of the man crush on Bloomquist around here.
Who is our next Bloomquist? Cairo? Morse? Is Cairo going to get a 3 year extension.
I can’t believe people are talking about this like someone’s been keeping Willie from having a fair chance at a job. He’s a .260/.316/.325 hitter in 1,164 career at-bats.
Clamoring for more playing time for Willie definitely falls under the “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it” category.
If Morse can come back healthy, I’d fully support him as the Next Willie (But Better).
Not that I think Willie is THAT bad… sure, he doesn’t get many (OK, few to none) extra base hits, but his definition is that of a *singles* hitter who can play anywhere and not hurt your defense, plus provide speed and energy. Looked at that way, and he’s a fairly decent ballplayer.
*prepares to get ripped by the WFB haters here*
Morse has no defensive value at all and can’t steal any bases. I don’t see how he could be the “next Willie”.
Plus, he might hit a homerun or at least get an extra base hit more than once a decade.
I wouldn’t say that he has no defensive value. He’s at least an average defender at the corner outfield spots, ditto for the corner infield spots (for cryin’ out loud, he hurt himself making a play that Raul wouldn’t have been close to trying to make), and at least should be able to not embarrass himself in the middle infield (was drafted as a shortstop, remember).
I’d say the only places he can’t play are CF, C, and P. His lack of speed is made up for by his bat, which would be an asset off the bench.
As authors, I think we’ve been pretty consistent in a couple of things:
- Willie’s a fine back-of-the-roster pick. As a 25th man, he’s great.
- The positive attention he gets is far out of proportion to his value and sometimes is really annoying.
I don’t know why that ever gets a “hater” label. I don’t know Willie. He seems like a nice enough guy. I don’t bear him any ill will.
That my buff. I don’t know Bloomquist as a person (I know his sister though she is my dentist) But I know Bloomquist as a player and I am just sick and tired of having to here the announcers, and fans push for Bloomquist to be a everyday player.
I’m also tired of seeing his face in the line-up everyday. Like I said, to personal buff with the guy, but he is a bad player and shouldn’t playing everyday.
No personal buff*
buff?
Well, he poaches clams, and thats pretty cool. Not as cool as clubbing seals though…
Yeah buff = problem. I guess it slang.
You mean “beef” I think, not “buff“?
I didn’t know that Lauren was such an Alanis Morrisette fan.
Isn’t it ironic?
Didn’t say that you were a hater, Derek. However, I don’t think it can be denied that there are more than a few folks that post here that seem to with the anti-Willie venom that starts dripping out of my screen whenever I read a post they make about him.
As for why he gets do much more positive attention than he deserves (a fact that I heartily agree with), it probably has to do with the fact that he’s one of those likeable, high energy scrappers that our announcing team loves so much. That he’s local probably helps, too.
Also, back of the rooster # 25 buff hunk of beef is all we have to field at this pathetic point in Mariner time. That is why he is playing and filling in quite nicely of late. Hopefully we can make a decent trade with him soon.
Hahaha. I could pitcture the day Willie Bloomquist gets trade. I will be watching a re-run on FSN and scrolling across the bottom will be this…
Breaking News! Super utility player William Paul Bloomquist has been traded to the (insert dumb team here) for (insert omg we actually got something back here). Press conference at 2pm. Friday the 24th against the Oakland Athletics at SafeCo field has been designated “Remember Willie Night”. The first 25 Thousand fans get a Willie Bloomquist bobble head. Tickets are limited. Breaking News! Super…
Yeah that would be funny
If you’re going to play Mike Morse in the outfield, he is a below average hitter. Career .300/.365/.397 hitter in 300 AB. The average 2008 LF is hitting .264/.341/.432 and RF is hitting .272/.343/.446. We don’t have nearly enough of a sample size to get any defensive metrics, but just from observing, he definitely looks below average to me. Comparisons to Raul Ibañez are not the same thing as comparisons to league average. Dave has said before that Morse is a below average offensive player. There are a lot of players with the a similar skillset to Morse hanging around in AAA waiting to get a job.
I am a big fan of Morse and I know he is horrid in the OF.
115- I would much rather see this…
Breaking News! Sexson and Vidro designated for assignment. In other news…Miguel Batista is retiring from professional baseball to write his memoirs…
I see things are back to normal…
*sigh* oh well…we won a series…
Go M’s!
Batista says he’s been throwing (but not pitching) through back spasms all year. Note to Miguel: it’s called the DL, get on it so someone who can actually throw strikes, other than those that end up in the stands in fair territory, can be called up to take your place.
Willie is now in FOURTEENTH PLACE on the “most AB to start a season without an XBH” list.
That’s not venom, it’s just reality. He can’t hit at the major league level.
I’m probably the closest that this place gets to “anti-Willie venom” and even I make a point of pointing out that he adds value as long as he understands his role and doesn’t go mouthing off to the press about what a great injustice it is that he isn’t a starter (which he has to his credit backed off on the last season and a half or so).