Second (Official!) Cactus League Game

Jay Yencich · March 5, 2010 at 10:00 am · Filed Under Mariners 

Happy Birthday Mauricio Robles!

Other news in camp, via the Everett Herald:

* Aardsma is out for a little while after straining his groin a bit in yesterday’s game.
* Lee and Felix are pitching a simulated game on the other field. There is no cause for alarm.
* Junior Junior Griffey: just as smug as original Junior Griffey.
* Original Junior Griffey, taking note of Joe Girardi switching the number on his jersey, tries to give #1 to Wakamatsu. As all the single digits were already taken in the first place, catastrophe ensues.
* Mark Lowe, when not preoccupied with thoughts of what to do next with his sideburns, enjoys thoughtfully reading all of his fan mail.

Today, the M’s go up against the Padres again, with a lineup closer to what they’ll run out on opening day.

RF Ichiro!
2B Figgins
LF Bradley
DH Griffey
3B Lopez
1B Kotchman
CF Halman
C Quiroz
SS Jack Wilson

LHP Luke French

Given that the M’s beat the Padres yesterday 9-3 in a game where Jack Wilson was the only regular, and Ryan Garko was probably the best hitter, we could be in for a long one. The potential drubbing starts at 12:05 PT.

Comments

35 Responses to “Second (Official!) Cactus League Game”

  1. tmac9311 on March 5th, 2010 10:11 am

    I know it’s spring and everything, but can Halman play Center? I’m still not even sure what position he plays, but I was under the impression it was first or corner outfield. Not that winning and losing matters in spring, and I realize the team is trying everything they can, but I’m just scratching my head here.

  2. universalguru on March 5th, 2010 10:20 am

    From what I’ve read Halman is actually pretty athletic and can man CF without embarrassing himself. If the guy could just spend some time with Edgar and learn to take a pitch, we’d have a potential superstar on our hands.

  3. Jay Yencich on March 5th, 2010 10:38 am

    Halman has played a little bit of first in the past, but none since turning pro. He was playing right last season mainly in deference to Ezequiel Carrera, who has better wheels. Halman can play a good CF though.

  4. KingCorran on March 5th, 2010 10:43 am

    Hmmm… my understanding is that yesterday’s charity matchup actually was an official Cactus League game this year. Is that not the case?

  5. Jay Yencich on March 5th, 2010 10:58 am

    You may be right about that. It’s not usually the case though. MLB.com lists the M’s as having a 1-0 record, which would mean the Giants game didn’t count, but FoxSports has us at 1-1.

  6. marc w on March 5th, 2010 11:03 am

    Right – Halman is incredibly athletic/fast/whatever. He would never be a top prospect on anyone’s radar without those tools; a 1B prospect with some pop, 200 Ks and no BBs is out of baseball. A CF prospect, well, he’ll get another chance.

  7. msb on March 5th, 2010 11:21 am

    Good to know that Lowe is a thoughtful correspondent.

    I now have a mental picture of him carefully picking out just the right greeting card.

  8. msb on March 5th, 2010 11:27 am

    Drayer reports on the sim games.

    Also in camp, Jon Heyman decides it’s never too early to launch the Cliff Lee Likes Seattle rumors.

  9. mironos on March 5th, 2010 11:42 am

    Still no Gutierrez? Hmmm…

  10. robbbbbb on March 5th, 2010 11:59 am

    I hope Jon Heyman is right, and Cliff Lee likes Seattle. I’d love to see the M’s lock him up to a three year extension.

    So, Trey acts like his dad at that age? Terrific. Can we pencil him in as the M’s first draft pick in 2013?

  11. Jay Yencich on March 5th, 2010 12:03 pm

    So, Trey acts like his dad at that age? Terrific. Can we pencil him in as the M’s first draft pick in 2013?

    We can only hope that would go better than the Craig Griffey pick.

    By all accounts though, Trey doesn’t seem much interested in baseball. He prefers football I think. Not that his dad doesn’t seem to be trying to sway his opinion by bringing him around to various MLB camps and shindigs.

  12. Logger on March 5th, 2010 12:16 pm

    Is this game on TV or the radio?

  13. Wood Dog on March 5th, 2010 12:24 pm

    I am getting the Padres audio feed on the “MLB At Bat 2010” App on my iPhone. App is $15 for the season, and it’s the best thing ever made. Apparently Chone just stole a ground ball up the middle. GOOD STUFF

  14. n8tron3030 on March 5th, 2010 12:34 pm

    Glad to see the M’s aren’t experimenting with two 2B’s and no catcher in the lineup as printed in the Herald. I guess that would be kind of like pulling the goalie.

  15. robbbbbb on March 5th, 2010 12:37 pm

    Trey doesn’t seem much interested in baseball. He prefers football I think.

    If he has the talent for either then this is a serious mistake. Football’s a lot harder on the body, and football players die young.

  16. flashbeak on March 5th, 2010 12:41 pm

    Could someone please enlighten me as to why Griffey gets Spring Training AB’s? Regardless of how out of shape he looks and how miserably he performs, he’s going to be on the active roster come opening day.

  17. Wood Dog on March 5th, 2010 12:52 pm

    Hitters need to get up to game speed by the start of the season. I think even a fat Griffey is better if he’s had a few swings in a game situation, no?

  18. msb on March 5th, 2010 12:58 pm

    Griffey is showing how to work a walk… it’s educational.

  19. msb on March 5th, 2010 1:03 pm

    “coaching visit to mound”

  20. diderot on March 5th, 2010 1:04 pm

    the M’s go up against the Padres again, with a lineup closer to what they’ll run out on opening day.

    If Griffey is our cleanup hitter on opening day, then it’s a fair question to ask who really is running this team. Neither the Pirates nor the Padres nor the Royals nor anyone else would hit him there.

  21. Wood Dog on March 5th, 2010 1:10 pm

    “Padres now UNLOADING on Olson”

  22. msb on March 5th, 2010 1:11 pm

    Hasn’t Olsen been out of the game for while?

  23. Jay Yencich on March 5th, 2010 1:12 pm

    Yes, but Paredes also hasn’t been recording outs. He’s been doing other things.

  24. marc w on March 5th, 2010 1:14 pm

    It’s too bad that Padres seemed to get more out of that lesson than the M’s, msb.

  25. msb on March 5th, 2010 1:15 pm

    I guess we’ll find out now that the Ms are finally back at bat…

  26. Liam on March 5th, 2010 1:28 pm

    The charity game counted in the standings, so wouldn’t that make this the third one?

  27. joser on March 5th, 2010 1:47 pm

    I hope Jon Heyman is right, and Cliff Lee likes Seattle. I’d love to see the M’s lock him up to a three year extension.

    Has he even been to Seattle yet (other than that blurred couple of hours between coming and going at SeaTac when he donned the press conference jersey)? I assume his wife was doing the work of looking for a house in the area. Assuming they’re bothering to relocate at all.

    I’d love to see Lee in pitching for the M’s for several years too, but I just don’t see that happening — unless they have the highest offer when he hits the free agent market. Maybe, maybe, he’d look at a short extension if he has a fantastic time and a fantastic season and team makes a magical run to the WS and looks set to repeat in 2011. But now we’re wishing for things even more desirable and fabulous (and so-far unobtainable) than Lee in an M’s jersey — the latter would just be a pleasant by-product at that point, along with the unicorns we’ll all be riding and the pleasant scent surrounding Tacoma.

    If he has the talent for either then this is a serious mistake. Football’s a lot harder on the body, and football players die young.

    The upside on contract money is higher, too. On the other hand, you can jump directly from college to being an impact player in football. Baseball, not so much (and you may never make it at all, regardless of your bloodlines… this isn’t NASCAR)

    Apparently Chone just stole a ground ball up the middle. GOOD STUFF

    Was he batting, running, or fielding? See, it’s inexplicable “intangible” stuff like this that has the enabled the Angels to win the division lately; I’m glad to see Chone brought it with him to the M’s. Whatever it is.

  28. Jay Yencich on March 5th, 2010 1:55 pm

    I assume his wife was doing the work of looking for a house in the area. Assuming they’re bothering to relocate at all.

    I think I remember hearing somewhere that they were planning on staying in Jamie Moyer’s old place during the regular season.

  29. msb on March 5th, 2010 1:59 pm

    Yup, he’s renting the Moyer house … “Jamie’s house is pretty nice. He’s got, like, 50 kids, so it has to be pretty big.”

  30. marc w on March 5th, 2010 2:24 pm

    Nice job, Steven Shell.
    One PA, one BB for Ezequiel Carrera, he of the .441 OBP last year in AA.

  31. marc w on March 5th, 2010 2:47 pm

    The wheel of minor-league-ground-balling-righthanders has landed on… Kanekoa Texeira!

  32. marc w on March 5th, 2010 3:02 pm

    Scoreless inning from Kanekoa: East of Java, and now we’re on to reclamation project Chad Cordero.

  33. wabbles on March 5th, 2010 3:39 pm

    “I assume his wife was doing the work of looking for a house in the area. Assuming they’re bothering to relocate at all.”

    WIth a major league pitcher’s salary and the current housing market, he probably could buy an entire street of houses.

  34. Slippery Elmer on March 5th, 2010 3:41 pm

    When I was a lad I sent a baseball card to the M’s young phenom Little O Vizquel along with a SASE. I got the card back a few weeks later, dutifully signed–one of my prized possessions to this day.

  35. joser on March 5th, 2010 5:37 pm

    WIth a major league pitcher’s salary and the current housing market, he probably could buy an entire street of houses.

    Yes, but would he want to? It’s not like he’s going to be able to flip them for a profit after his year with the M’s, and the rents he might see won’t match the returns he’d get by putting that money to work in other investments.

    When I was a lad I sent a baseball card to the M’s young phenom Little O Vizquel along with a SASE. I got the card back a few weeks later, dutifully signed–one of my prized possessions to this day.

    Another hole in my childhood education — I had no idea you could even do that. Well, I’m too old for it now. Would kind of like to get Brandon League to sign a coconut for me, though. Kind of a bitch to mail (though my father did send me one from Hawaii years ago — just wrote the address on the husk in felt pen and the post office duly stuck the postage to it)

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