New Season, Same Rules
As we go into a new season, it’s apparently time to remind people of the rules. All new commenters are expected to read, understand, and abide by the rules set out in the comment guidelines and USSM Orientation, as well as utilize common sense.
Your first few comments are viewed as an audition; try to contribute something positive.
In particular, sexist comments aren’t welcome here. This isn’t a sports bar.
Questions can be directed to the email address linked under Contact Us.
In Case You Weren’t Sure
Defense matters.
Seriously, welcome to Seattle, Messers Gutierrez and Cedeno. Please stay a while.
Game Four: Mariners at Twins
Washburn starts – weee.
Cedeno starts at third, Beltre DH’ing, Sweeney at first, Johnson behind the plate – Branyan and Griffey get the day off against the LHP.
Four days, four line-ups. Wak isn’t kidding about using 120 to 130 different batting orders this year.
Nick Adenhart, 1986-2009
Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car crash last night after the game. He had just finished making the best start of his career.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the Angels organization.
Silva
I can’t recommend Baker’s blog post on Silva enough.
I guess, what I’m saying here is, for your own sanity, try to judge Silva within the context of what’s happening right now. He did not pitch well enough to win tonight — two bad change-ups or not. You give up a pair of two-run homers the first two innings, you usually lose. Silva has to change that. Has to reduce those big mistake pitches and close the gap between being a pitch or two away from winning and actually winning for a change.
But he also isn’t 0-10 to start the season. He’s 0-1. Look to see whether he can make some corrections between now and his next start and judge accordingly. It’s like I told you with 10-game increments and trying to judge a team that way, instead of changing your mind every day in a 162-game season. Look for trends. And look for them this year.
Yea, last year sucked. Yea, last night sucked. But one of the repeated themes over the last few years is that good decisions are made based on process, not results. Silva’s true talent level is better than what we’ve seen in Seattle. Regression to the mean is coming. I know, it’s frustrating to watch, but patience is a virtue.
Game Three Thoughts
I only have one thought, actually – of the 98 pitches Silva threw tonight, 84 of them were “fastballs”. Nothing like predictability to go along with below average velocity. That’s a fantastic game plan.
Three more years…
Game 3, M’s at Twins
5:10. Newer, Slimmer Carlos Silva takes the mound for his first regular season start.
Cedeno in left! What?
Dave On KIRO
I’ll be on the air with Mike Salk at 11:40 am. You can listen at 710 AM or online at mynorthwest.com.
Annoyance threshold reached
I’m tossing the next person to mention Lincecum. I’m not kidding.
Previewing the Minor Leagues
Salutations.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Jay Yencich. I’ve been following the Mariners’ minor league system for the past eight years and covering it for the past five, first on blogspot and on Scout.com with Joe Kaiser and Jason Churchill, and most recently on the MVN network. Five years is a long time in the minor leagues, enough to span entire careers and then some in many cases. Over the time I’ve been a fan, I’ve never lacked for things to write about. Of course, part of that is the around 850 games played last year by M’s affiliates alone, but there are other storylines as well.
I’ve observed three changes each in GM and scouting director, all with varying priorities for the international and domestic domains. I’ve witnessed the signing and failing of the first ever prospects from China and Russia, and I’ve seen the Mariners expand their scouting domain to include El Salvador, Taiwan, and Korea, as well as less common baseball places like Brazil and South Africa. I’ve read translations of scouting reports in at least six different languages. I’ve cheered as work visas for international players were reclassified from seasonal workers to entertainers. I’ve hunted down various sources when you couldn’t get a box score for the Arizona League, let alone the Dominican or Venezuelan Summer Leagues. I’ve watched as the draft-and-follow process ended and the new compensation system began. I’ve covered all fifty rounds of one draft (never again) and found enough information to write a paragraph about each player the M’s drafted.
I remember when Ryan Anderson was the Mariners top prospect.
The point is that, if you care to watch, there’s always something going on in the minors, whether it’s as simple as the development of a top prospect or as groundbreaking as a new market of talent emerging. Along the way, you get accustomed to other sights as well, such as an infielder who used to play pick-up with cardboard glove watching his first dizzy bat race between innings or the latest developments in the field of t-shirt propulsion. Dave asked me to come on so I could bring some of that to you guys on a weekly basis with snapshots of what’s going on. For daily updates, breaking news as it happens, and more bulky analytical posts, you can find me at my current home at Mariner Minors on MVN, linked up on the sidebar, but once a week, usually Monday, I’ll be here to talk shop and cover some of the recent happenings.
In the meantime, here are the top five prospects to watch on each roster for the teams starting up tomorrow.
Tacoma Rainiers (Triple-A)
C Jeff Clement
1B Mike Carp
LHP Garret Olson
LHP Jason Vargas
OF Mike Wilson
(Tui bumps one of the last two off when he comes down)
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Double-A)
IF Carlos Triunfel
OF Gregory Halman
C Adam Moore
RH Josh Fields
RH Stephen Kahn
High Desert Mavericks (Advanced-A)
RH Phillippe Aumont
RH Michael Pineda
RH Juan Carlos Ramirez
CF Tyson Gillies
LH Edward Paredes/RH Nathan Adcock
Clinton Lumberkings (Intermediate-A)
SS Mario Martinez
RH Brett Lorin
RH Aaron Pribanic
RH Stephen Hensley
CF Daniel Carroll
Rehabbing, MIA, or Not in Full-Season
CF Michael Saunders
RH Maikel Cleto
RF/1B Dennis Raben
3B Jharmidy deJesus
1B Gerardo Avila
I’ll be hanging around today to answer general questions, should the need arise. For more detail than you require on the rosters, I have some preview posts up in my usual haunt.