10/6 playoff game thread
Sorry this is up late—I just got home from work. Rays already have a nice lead (woo!)
Rays vs. White Sox:Â Sonnanstine vs. Floyd Richard
Angels vs. Red Sox: Lackey vs. Lester @ 5:37
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Dave and I will be putting together a Future Forty update when he gets back from his honeymoon but, in the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the highlights and lowlights for the M’s minor-league system this season..
The Good…
"Greg Halman 03" by t.halterman, cc-licensed
Greg HalmanÂ
Halman had the best season of any of the team’s top prospects. After struggling with a promotion to Wisconsin last year, Halman was demoted to Everett. He hit there, but it was a repeat year for the 19-year-old. This year, the Mariners had him start the season in the High-A California League, which can do wonders for a hitter’s confidence. Halman didn’t go nuts, but hit a respectable .268/.320/.572 before a mid-season promotion to Double-A West Tenn., where he continued to hit and posted a .277/.332/.481 line. Halman is a great athlete that has a nice combination of power and speed, as evidenced by his 29 home runs and 31 stolen bases this season. However, he’s still very raw and needs to learn to be more selective at the plate. The regime change could slow the M’s aggressive promotion schedule, which I think would be a good thing for Halman. That being said, it was a great year for the Dutch native and he was one of the M’s assigned to the Arizona Fall League.
10/5 playoff discussion thread
Something nutty going on over at ESPN…
Open 10/4 playoff discussion thread
Random questions I’ve had while watching the playoffs…
• How many people at the Rays’ game could name five Rays players before this season?
• Do the Brewers weigh more than any other team?
• How many pieces of gum does Francona go through per game?
• Is that Scott Boras right behind home plate at the Angels’ games?
• Why does Brett Myers have better plate discipline than most of our hitters?
• How much would you pay to show Frank Caliendo your impression of Chuck Liddell?
• Does Craig Sager own a mirror?
• What are the Cubs going to blame it on this time?
Â
Games today:
Phillies @ Brewers (Moyer vs. Bush) 3:30 p.m.
Cubs @ Dodgers (Harden vs. Kuroda) 7:00 p.m.
Go to town…
M’s say they won’t raise ticket prices next year … sort of
From Hickey in today’s PI. Kind of a no-brainer considering the team’s performance and the state of the economy. However…
One area where the Mariners thought their 2008 ticket plans did well were the seven games (against the Red Sox and Yankees) designated as “premium games.” The tickets for those games cost more and still sold well despite the premium price tag.
“The seven premium games worked well,” Armstrong said. “We’re thinking of expanding that.”
Any bets on what other teams will be considered premium competition next year? Angels? The arch-nemesis Padres? Rays?!?!
FWIW, here’s how the M’s stacked up against all other teams in terms of ticket prices in 2008.
Mariner GM Handicapping for Saturday, 10/4
A semi-random gauge of who’s likely to get the job. Based on current press coverage, rumors, substantiated and un, educated guesses, and so on. We claim no insight into front office machinations. Please, no wagering.
For names and brief resumes, check our potential GM candidates post.
| Who (links) | Percent |
| Hahn (1) | 29% |
| LaCava (1, 2) | 29% |
| Ng (1, 2) | 15% |
| Woodfork | 11% |
| Antonetti (1) | 4% |
| Pelekoudas | 2% |
| Bulk candidates | |
| Sitting GM | 1% |
| Field | 10% |
“Sitting GM” is someone who currently has a GM job: Kevin Towers, for instance. “Field” is everyone not listed.
Field includes: Avila, DiPoto, Evans, Hinch, Hoyer, Evans, Forst, Jennings, White.
Stepping Away
Hey all,
Just wanted to let you know that I’m not going to be around the blog for the next little while – I’m getting married tomorrow, so I’ll be spending next week with my beautiful new bride on our honeymoon. Needless to say, her idea of a romantic week away does not involve me writing about baseball.
Be nice to Conor in my absence.
Go Rays.
The dream pre-game
During the season I do a lot of complaining about the broadcasts, so in the spirit of constructive criticism I wanted to offer what they could do to make it interesting and useful. Instead of lame “keys to the game” that feature amazingly obvious points (“score early!” “prevent the Angels from scoring!”) how can they offer genuine insight?
Make the game-specific episodes include game-specific previews. The pre-game offers a perfect opportunity to talk about things in a longer form than can be done in a game and make the game itself more interesting.
Preview both pitchers, focusing on the opposing starter we’re less familiar with. What do they like to throw to left and right handed hitters? What do those pitches look like? Show video — FSN has access to a massive video library they can slice and dice as they want. One of the things I hear a lot is “how do I recognize different pitches?” and the pre-game offers a chance to educate people on what different pitches thrown by different pitchers look like.
And what does the pitcher do well? When they struggle, what are they doing wrong? And show video!
An hour before the game, when lineups are known, if there’s anything interesting going on, talk about that. Who’s out, and who’s in that we haven’t seen (show video!)? Who’s being rested, who’s injured, and who might we see in relief or pinch-hitting duties — and who’s not available because they’ve pitched two days in a row, or are nursing a sore hamstring?
There’s also a whole level of series-level analysis that can be done and isn’t. What does the opposing team do well, and what do they stink at? Compared to every other team, and the Mariners, what do they do differently? Who’s stealing on the roster, and how fast are they? How do you try and get their best hitter out (video!) and what defensive positioning changes are used against which hitters (video!)?
There could be two major blocks to doing this kind of a program:
– It’s harder and more expensive. It requires someone to work out all of that stuff, pull video, and edit together profiles. It is comparitively easy to do the current version: one camera, a desk, and Bill blathering. Cut to a pre-recorded segment of Sims on-field. Cut to an interview with someone.
– It may well be that as long as the current pre-game’s drawing a lot of fans, especially compared to other teams, they’ll be convinced that it’s doing something right, and be reluctant to make any change. Maybe fans don’t want to be educated, and they don’t care about in the matchups!
Still — I end up watching every M’s broadcast for road games, and every time I tune in early and watch the pre-game, I feel disappointed and frustrated at the wasted opportunity.
Mariner GM Handicapping for Friday, 10/3
A semi-random gauge of who’s likely to get the job. Based on current press coverage, rumors, substantiated and un, educated guesses, and so on. We claim no insight into front office machinations. Please, no wagering.
For names and brief resumes, check our potential GM candidates post.
| Who (links) | Percent |
| Hahn (1) | 29% |
| LaCava (1, 2) | 29% |
| Ng (1, 2) | 15% |
| Woodfork | 10% |
| DiPoto/Hinch/Hoyer | 2% |
| Antonetti (1) | 1% |
| Avila | 1% |
| Evans | 1% |
| Forst | 1% |
| Dan Jennings | 1% |
| Pelekoudas | 1% |
| White | 1% |
| Bulk candidates | |
| Sitting GM | 3% |
| Field | 5% |
“Sitting GM” is someone who currently has a GM job: Kevin Towers, for instance. “Field” is everyone not listed.
Winning at Losing
Most seasons with 100+ losses since 1977
4:Â Mariners, Royals & Tigers
3:Â Rays, Indians & Blue Jays
2:Â Pirates & Braves
1:Â Mets, Nationals/Expos, Twins, Brewers, Orioles, Giants, Padres, Athletics, Reds, Marlins & Diamondbacks
0:Â Cubs, Rangers, Angels, Phillies, White Sox, Rockies, Cardinals, Astros, Dodgers, Yankees & Red Sox
Most seasons with 90+ losses since 1977
11:Â Mariners & Mets
10:Â Rays
9:Â Pirates, Royals, Braves, Orioles & Tigers
8:Â Nationals/Expos, Cubs, Twins & Brewers
7:Â Indians, Padres, Giants & Rangers
6:Â Athletics, Angels, Phillies & White Sox
5:Â Reds & Blue Jays
4:Â Marlins & Rockies
2:Â Cardinals, Yankees, Dodgers, Astros & Diamondbacks
0:Â Red Sox