Comments on: Game 96, Mariners at Royals

By: bratman

bratman — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:42:23 +0000

Anyone see Hargrove is managing again? Also this is interesting:

It was great for the Seattle Mariners on July 1 last year. They were about to win their eighth in a row. Then, in a shocker, Hargrove resigned. No big league manager since at least 1900, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, had walked away from a team on an eight-game winning streak.

By: Ralph_Malph

Ralph_Malph — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:45:56 +0000

But if he’s going to be a starter, yeah, he needs more pitches.

I’ve seen him throw a pretty wicked breaking ball for strikes (this year anyway). The fact that he chooses not to use it in a closing situation doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it.

Of course he is young and has a lot to learn about pitching. But I assume if he was a starter, and seeing batters more than once, he’d mix it up more.

By: joser

joser — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:32:58 +0000

Hey, speak of the devil

The market is mounting for the Pirates’ most likely trade pieces, outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte.

Add the New York Yankees to the list of potential suitors for Nady, as they have become desperate enough to bolster their offense against left-handed pitching to be considering recently released Richie Sexson, who batted .218 before the Seattle Mariners swallowed $7 million of his salary last week. Nady has a career .320 average against left-handers.
…
Meanwhile, as many as a dozen teams now have inquired about Marte, and he might be the most-sought left-handed reliever in a market hungry for that commodity. The others being shopped are the Colorado Rockies’ Brian Fuentes and the Kansas City Royals’ Ron Mahay.

The Cardinals are in on Marte, as are the Yankees, Mets, Rays and Boston Red Sox.

By: smb

smb — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:18:47 +0000

If taking solace in at least not getting swept by KC isn’t a sign of being in the vicinity of rock bottom, then I don’t know what is.

By: msb

msb — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:27:27 +0000

Clear Eyed Managerial Quote of the Weekend; Riggleman in saturday’s Times:

“I just reminded them that we do not have an offensive club out there right now that’s going to overcome a lot of mistakes”

By: mln

mln — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:37:43 +0000

I think this would make a great cage fight: Jeffrey “The Evil Genius” Loria vs. Willie “Pure Evil in Spikes” Bloomquist.

By: nvn8vbryce

nvn8vbryce — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:12:43 +0000

I wonder what kind of butt chewing the Royals are getting right now…
We’ll take the win, ugly ball and all…
At least the brooms were put away for another series.

By: scott19

scott19 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:02:00 +0000

Seriously, as a businessman he’s an evil genius; as a team owner, he’s simply evil. As much as we complain about the way the M’s are run, things could be much, much worse.

So true. As far as “evil genius” types go, I have a lot more respect for the Steinbrenners…since, whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, they always (or usually always) seem committed to at least putting a quality product on the field for the fans as well as adding to equity of the franchise. If Loria ever tried to pull his crap in NY, he’d have a freakin’ lynch mob after him!

By: jefffrane

jefffrane — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:58:23 +0000

That win required one Royal dropping a pop-up and another airmailing a ball during a rundown. . . but, what the hell. Let’s take it.

By: joser

joser — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:57:01 +0000

Brandon Morrow
Strike,Strike,Ball,Strike (out), Ball,Strike,Foul,Ball,Foul,Ball,Foul,InPlay (fly out)

Granted, that was against Buck and DeJesus (though they would qualify as two of the better hitters on the M’s) rather than, say, Manny and Ortiz. But in a closer, I’ll take it. It’s not like Mariano Rivera surprises people with his pitch selection.

But if he’s going to be a starter, yeah, he needs more pitches.