You’re Not Even Trying
The Mariners can claim that they haven’t given up on this season all they want, but let’s be honest, when you give Miguel Cairo five consecutive starts at first base, you’re not trying to win anymore.
Offensive Production from 1B, 2008 American League. Mariners: .204/.276/.374, last in league
Offensive Production from DH, 2008 American League. Mariners: .216/.284/.322, last in league
Can we just release Sexson, Cairo, and Vidro already? The season’s over and the organization has to be going another direction unless they’re just attempting to drag out the embarrassment.
Game 57, Tigers at Mariners
1:10. Bonderman v Batista.
Both pitchers are playing pretty badly so far — Bonderman’s strikeout rate is way down and his walk rate is way up, and Silva’s in about the same place by having smaller declines. The thing is, Bonderman’s 11 years younger than Silva. Except for injury, it’s hard to explain what may have gone wrong with Bonderman — his 4.34 ERA conceals a year much worse than last year, aided by a higher-than-expected strand rate and a low .279 opposing batting average when they do put the ball in play. His G/F ratio’s about where his career totals are, too. He’s just not pitching as well, which is a big cause for the Tigers’ struggles so far this year.
Speculation continues around Sexson, who hasn’t played in a while — first there were the Hatteberg rumors (which is kind of classic rumor-mongering, as rumors became a note by Baker in the Times that there were rumors, a note then cited as confirming the team was after him) to fan-level speculation he’ll be DFAd or released. There’s been no speculation that he’s injured, and McLaren’s reasoning for starting Cairo grow increasingly unbelievable with each game. But this seems like a fine chance to play Sexson: Bonderman’s giving up walks and he’s always been a little above average in HRs surrendered, and his ability to strike batters out has been off this year.