Game Fifteen Recap
Yay, 8-7.
Again, comments a bit brief, since I didn’t get to see the game.
Vargas with another good performance, and at this point, I can’t see how the M’s can justify taking him out of the rotation. Five more strikeouts give him 16 in 18 1/3 innings on the season, as he’s using his change-up to generate swinging strikes. His ERA might be higher than Fister’s, but he’s showing more reasons to believe he can sustain quality performances going forward. We know what strike throwing flyball lefties can do in this park and in front of the Mariners defense, and the M’s have another opportunity to take advantage of that formula.
Oh, and I think you can officially forget about Jarrrod Washburn. If nothing else, you have to love Vargas for that.
In less happy news, Milton Bradley exits with a tight calf after the first inning. I said this in my interview with the guys at KGA the other night, but the M’s simply can’t expect Bradley to carry the burden they’ve asked him to handle in the first few weeks of the season. He’s not an everyday player, especially not when he has to also play the outfield. He needs to DH frequently and get regular days off, but unfortunately, the M’s roster isn’t really setup to handle right-handed pitchers without him. This is going to have to change, and the sooner, the better.
Chone Figgins saw 28 pitchers in four trips to the plate, but also made another out on the bases. I didn’t see it, so I’ll withhold too much judgment, but I’d still like to go at least one game without giving the other team an out.
Jose Lopez is hitting .246/.266/.262. He’s just not a clean-up hitter, not even on this team. Move him down, Wak.
Can you imagine being Dave Trembley right now? His team is 2-13, faces Felix Hernandez tomorrow, and then has 12 consecutive games against the Red Sox and Yankees before a four game series against the Twins. There’s a chance (okay, it’s pretty remote, but still) that Baltimore could be 2-30 on May 10. Pretty sure he won’t still be managing by then, though. Good luck to whoever takes over for him, because this could get real ugly in Baltimore.
One game is a pretty small sample to make any decisions on, don’t you think?
I totally agree Paul B. It is just surprising to me that all this bashing is coming right after a decent game. And secondly, it is just kind of depressing to come to USS mariner and have all the comments be so negative. We won 3-1, we are on a GREAT homestand, above .500 without cliff lee and erik bedard, and Griffey had a decent game. I know you have to be realistic too but at least enjoy the win for a while. It is just not fun when everyone is soo negative. Here’s what I mean,
True, but harsh.
Really?
This is the guy that built baseball in Seattle, and now we are cheering for him to get hurt? I understand that the Mariners have better options, I really do. But at the same time, it is not up to us to cheer for a man that as clearly earned our respect to get hurt. It is also not our job to call him names. Regardless of how you feel, name calling and DL calling is not really cool.
@ wetzelcoatl:
With a runner on 3rd and 1 out, especially with a fast runner on 3rd and the infield back the runner is going for home as soon as he reads the ball on the ground. Most of the time the runner scores with no problem. In this case the Lopez at bat was so bad that the 3rd Baseman had to charge it and had an easy throw home. Don’t blame Figgins for being able to recognize ground ball off of the bat and do his job. The blame for this play rest completely on another BAD at bat for Lopez.
I don’t see negativism on this site, I see reality.
No one is trashing Griffey as a person, they are pointing out that he isn’t very good at hitting a baseball anymore. It’s a fact. It’s not meant to be mean to him. People go out of their way around here to talk about how Griffey is great and they’re sure Sweeney is nice.
The point is that the decisions now are hurting the team because they are hurting Bradley and limiting our flexibility. We’ve also managed to forget during all of this that Jack Wilson is injury prone too.
What are we going to do when both Jack Wilson and Milton Bradley need a day of rest? Our bench will be a catcher? What the hell is that?
I’m happy to find the criticism here on USS because it’s criticism that the mainstream media in Seattle should be bringing on the organization. The post game interviews with Wak should be pushing this issue and forcing him to answer it.
If the media makes the stupidity of the current situation apparent to the general sports fandom in Seattle, it will no longer be worth it for the organization to force this idiocy on the club (my assumption).
And yes, I would replace Sweeney with Langerhans or with Hannahan. I think the people talking about Griffey going on the DL are *not* rooting for him to get hurt. We are rooting for the team to pretend he is hurt so they can field the best team possible.
All during last year I was a huge defender of Griffey on the team and even the resigning. But, the current situation is ridiculous.
Let me get this right… If an outfielder gets hurt tomorrow, we’re going to send Griffey out there.
It’s been made clear that Figgins is not a utility man, but I like to think he would be willing to play the outfield for half a game if absolutely needed (bringing Tui off the bench). Does anybody know if Wak or any other M higher-up has spoken to this? How etched in stone is this agreement with Figgins?
To explain wisecrack about Griffey having “a few 15-day DL visits written into his contract.” I am not rooting for injury; I was tongue-in-cheek wondering if Ken had agreed in advance to go on the DL a few times to get some rest. He’d stay fresher without taking up a roster spot grabbing pine a couple times a week. He could still be Designated Practical Joker in the clubhouse at these times.
Before I get to roster complaints — boy, I’m sure having fun watching Jack Wilson’s defense. He is so smooth and quick. Beautiful to watch. And now that he’s starting to hit a little, the fun of watching his defense is a little less tainted.
Good to see Moore get a hit. Sure would love to see him hit more consistently, and see Rob Johnson…well…never.
As for the roster — doesn’t it seem like we’re really just missing a good/decent LF who isn’t injury prone? Put that guy in left, Bradley to DH/backup OF, Griffey to pinch hitter/prankster, Sweeney to the free agent list. There, problem solved. See, easy. 😉
Here’s the thing:
You can make a good argument that Griffey “earned” last year’s farewell tour with his past heroics. I would disagree, but I can see the case for it.
But now, Griffey is a year older, slower, and fatter, and his presence is an active detriment to the team’s roster flexibility and performance on the field.
You can’t expect people to keep giving him a pass indefinitely for something that is ten years in the past now, even if you accept the premise that Griffey single-handedly “saved” baseball in Seattle.
Absolutely right. If no one went on contact on this play, then there would be no reason to ever play the infield in. You play the infield in so you can throw the guy out if he goes on contact.
As far as Langerhans, now that he cleared waivers he’s off the 40-man roster, right? So to bring him up they’d have to get rid of somebody (assuming they put Sweeney or Griffey on the DL with a phantom injury). That’s why I’d have to figure if it’s between Hannahan and Langerhans to bring up it would be Hannahan.
If they released Sweeney, they could put Langerhans back on the 40, of course.
By the way, Saunders’ early line in Tacoma is 167/239/167.
Don’t expect much offense at all… the over/under is 7 for this game, trending to 6 1/2.
What purpose is being served by having Figgins play the outfield even in an emergency? Tuiosopo is a perfectly adequate corner outfielder. And you’d gain absolutely nothing by putting Tui in at second and Figgins in the outfield.
I hoped for a Griffey return to Seattle for years and I love that he is on this team and I would be over the moon if the Mariners could punch through and win their first World Series with the Seattle Kid, Ken Griffey, Jr. on the team and then he rides off into the sunset. Believe me, that would keep me on a high note for years!
But it is becoming more and more obvious that the best chance the Mariners have of winning a WS is if Griffey cedes a great deal of his playing time to others. He just doesn’t appear to have a whole lot left in the talent tank and he tires easily, but I would love to have some key Griffey pinch hits or spot starts in the playoffs.
Figgins didn’t make a base running error. You just can’t get back to the 3b bag when a grounder is hit at it. He made the only move that had a potential outcome that was positive. Even if he wasn’t going on contact he would have had to go on that one.
Tuiosopo is a perfectly adequate corner outfielder.
I didn’t know Tui could adequately handle the outfield. If you’re just as sound defensively with him in LF and Figgins at 2B as vice versa, great.
What’s all this talk about Griffey in the outfield if Tui can play there?
I hate to be the rain at the parade, but I think we need to keep a couple things in mind. Yes, the bats started perking up against Detroit. Yes, the team as a whole is bound to hit better than it did on the opening road trip…..BUT this is still not a proficient run scoring team and due to our recent personnel actions we are quite shallow when it comes to bench depth. We are currently playing the Orioles who are a bad team playing badly. We should expect to be winning series against an opponent like this. I’m a diehard Mariners fan and I will support them no matter what thier record, but lets not get too excited until we show we can bang with the big boys on the east coast.
Guys, Easy on Griffey. Geez. I understand what bothers you, I really do. But he is not the one making the roster moves! Yesterday he had two solid hits and a walk. I understand some people being mad, but almost every comment has been negatively directed ken griffey jr, after he had a pretty good game.
Griffey’s hitting .263/.317/.289, with a .326 BABIP (which, if he sustained it over an entire season, would be his best since 1991, when he was 21). ZIPS is projecting him for a season OPS of .670.
Basically, Griffey’s turned into a version of Richie Sexson (OPS last two seasons, mostly with Mariners: ~.700) that hugs teammates and can be used for marketing.
Tui is the only reserve infielder, and when Bradley is out, he is the only one who can play outfield on the bench too. I guess it is not a huge concern, but with Bradley out we are two injuries/ejections away from Griffey playing the outfield.
It is not too hard to envision Wilson and Byrnes running into each other on a pop fly tonight and then you’d be treated to the sight of Tui at SS and Griffey in LF.
To be honest, if you’re going to play Griffey in the OF as a result of having to carry him and Mascot and needing to fill in for Bradley, you might as well do it tonight: you’ve got a dominant pitcher on the mound capable of striking a lot of guys out or making them hit weak grounders, facing a bewildered and slumping lineup on the road. Sub in Byrnes in the late innings as a defensive replacement, hopefully after you’ve taken a lead. It’s not like you’re throwing a flyball pitcher like Hyphen.
I have a fear that the decision necessary to get us on a better track is marred by a lot of politics in the front office. And as such, just like with politics, the decision won’t come until the situation is past its breaking point. (Isn’t it George Carlin who said “Once a problem reaches the level of politics it is, by definition, unfixable?”)
Griffey and Sweeney are like Michael Clark Duncan and Tom Hanks in the Green Mile. Sitting in the locker room, clanging empty metal cups on the bars of the cell, waiting for the electric chair.
It’s only a matter of time.
It’s also like the major problem in American healthcare that nobody wants to touch with a ten-foot-pole… At what point, and at what cost, does keeping the elderly alive unbalance and tip over completely the scales of quality of life? (I don’t have the answers mind you, just personally going through that with two different 90+ year old great grandmothers… One with dementia, and one about to get a hip replacement that won’t be covered by insurance.)
Eponymous-
Excellent point. Wasn’t it Felix’s last start where he was into the 6th inning before a ball had left the infield? This would be a good game to get Griffey in the outfield, if you absolutely had to.
I think I speak for most people here when I say that I certainly don’t *want* Griffey to get hurt, nor do I want him to be unceremoniously released, or anything like that. What I REALLY want is for him to exit gracefully, to the accolades and applause he deserves. Caveat: I’d like that happen soon.
The problem is that it’s hard to come up with a realistic scenario in which that happens and, frankly, I blame Griffey for this to a degree. When he said he wanted to come back for another year, he put the organization in a somewhat difficult position. Yes, the FO agreed to bring him back, but I believe there was a tacit agreement that he would act in the best interests of the team as the year unfolded. Now, I think he owes it to the team to help it out of this situation.
Griffey should hang up the spikes. His legacy can only be tarnished from here on out. He should become a coach for the rest of 2010 so he can celebrate the World Series victory with the rest of the team and we can see his smiling face at the bottom of another pile.
Except you’d hate to see Felix’s no hitter ruined on a catchable sinking liner to left that Griffey lets fall in or gets burned over the top on a line drive. 1-hit ball is infinitely less charming than the alternate outcome.
I understand. I wasn’t trying to be mean, I just didn’t want people to be angry. Sorry. Maybe part of my sadness comes from the fact that he isn’t what he used to be anymore.
Except you’d hate to see Felix’s no hitter ruined on a catchable sinking liner to left that Griffey lets fall in or gets burned over the top on a line drive. 1-hit ball is infinitely less charming than the alternate outcome.
Right, but given the universe of suboptimal options we have here due to management’s insistence on keeping two bad players on the roster for non-baseball related reasons, I’d say playing Griffey in LF during a Felix start, and using Byrnes as his legs in the late innings is a pretty defensible option.
Part of the frustration people have, too, is watching an otherwise very smart organization be held back by being mired in (sorry but I have to be candid) a past that wasn’t that great in the first place.
At some point, 1995 has to take its place in the history books. It isn’t coming back, and the players who could be part of the NEXT great Mariners team should be getting more attention than trying to recreate the past.