Game 98, Mariners at Blue Jays

Dave · July 21, 2011 at 7:46 am · Filed Under Mariners 

Fister vs Romero, 9:37 am.

A couple of pieces of news – Kyle Seager was optioned back to Tacoma to make room for Josh Lueke on the roster. Seager probably would have stuck around if the bullpen hadn’t been worked so hardly lately, but with the team headed for Boston and New York, they needed a fresh arm, so Seager was the one to go. Kennedy will go back to playing third base.

In other news, Chone Figgins is playing left field for the first time as a Mariner today. You could either look at this as the team preparing him for a super-utility role, or showing other teams that he can still play out there. The Reds have been reported to be interested in Figgins as a lead-off guy, and they’re also unhappy with their current left fielders, so it could be a favor to the Reds to show them what Figgins looksl ike in LF.

Oh, and cover your eyes before looking at the line-up.

Ichiro, RF
Ryan, SS
Kennedy, 3B
Olivo, C
Smoak, 1B
Bard, DH
Gutierrez, CF
Figgins, LF
Wilson, 2B

Comments

84 Responses to “Game 98, Mariners at Blue Jays”

  1. pgreyy on July 21st, 2011 11:46 am

    That NEVER happens for us! MOMENTARY HAPPINESS!!!

  2. wilchiro on July 21st, 2011 11:46 am

    Bases loaded, one out for Olivo. If they fail to score AGAIN in the same situation, I’ll rip my hair out.

    I’m hoping Figgins will at least get one hit, 1-3 with an SB and a good game defensively in LF doesn’t look terrible. I would try him leadoff but Ichiro went 3-3 today, so that won’t be happening.

  3. The_Waco_Kid on July 21st, 2011 11:47 am

    OMG we needed that.

  4. lalo on July 21st, 2011 11:47 am

    Olivo!!!

  5. wilchiro on July 21st, 2011 11:47 am

    I can’t believe my eyes! MIGGY!!!

  6. Dave Spiwak on July 21st, 2011 11:47 am

    I was predicting the opposite using reverse psychology!

  7. heychuck01 on July 21st, 2011 11:53 am

    So the veterans have showed the young guys on the bench how to play. Hit grand slams! Way to teach the young guys, vets.

  8. SODOMOJO360 on July 21st, 2011 11:54 am

    Worst M’s lineup I’ve seen in a long time. Poor Fister can’t get any love with some offense

  9. G-Man on July 21st, 2011 11:55 am

    If Figgins put us ahead, I will kiss him – and run on the field to do it.

  10. SODOMOJO360 on July 21st, 2011 11:57 am

    I knew my jinx would work!

  11. Ichirolling51 on July 21st, 2011 11:57 am

    Are my eyes decieving me, or am I day dreaming again? It was 5-0, when I stoped wtaching now 5-5, is this someone’s idea of a sick twisted joke? Thank God for DVR I guess, but I’m starting to think even that’s wrong.

  12. pgreyy on July 21st, 2011 12:17 pm

    Well, at least there was momentary happiness. As an M’s fan, you have to take what you can get, lately.

    Hey! We almost didn’t lose!

  13. make_dave_proud on July 21st, 2011 12:18 pm

    Wow, that’s crushing. The bats seem to be waking up, but this team just cannot buy a break right now.

  14. msfanmike on July 21st, 2011 12:19 pm

    18 or bust!!!

  15. Mustard on July 21st, 2011 12:23 pm

    Momentary happiness.
    The Mariners score 16 runs in 3 games, which is fantastic for any team yet manage to go 0-3.
    That simply is gut wrenching.

  16. heychuck01 on July 21st, 2011 12:23 pm

    Yay! A nice even dozen!

    Unless you are a baker, then you can celebrate tomorrow.

  17. edclayton on July 21st, 2011 12:26 pm

    Why on earth wouldn’t Wedge use Ackley to pinch hit for Figgins with the winning run on second base in the eighth inning? Leaving Chone in to hit in that situation was absolutely inexcusable. He could have moved Ackley to first, Kennedy to third, and Halman to left for defense. By the time Ackley came in for the ninth it was already too late.

  18. georgmi on July 21st, 2011 12:27 pm

    18 or bust!!!

    Why limit ourselves? We should be going for the 1899 Spiders’ record. We matched the 1906 Cubs, it seems only appropriate to catch another century-old record.

    Halfway there!

  19. TumwaterMike on July 21st, 2011 12:43 pm

    Let the race for next years #1 pick begin. Look out Houston, we’re coming after you.

  20. G-Man on July 21st, 2011 1:10 pm

    Geoff Baker says the strange-looking lineup was because Wedge was preparing to go off on the team afterward if they lost, and he didn’t want to be lambasting a bunch of rookies. IMHO, whatever.

    Grasping for straws, the offense has awoken. Now we just need to get this tricky concept down:

    good offense + good pitching = W

  21. UnderTheClouds on July 21st, 2011 1:19 pm

    Dear Jack Z,

    After two years of your historically-bad lineups and 3 different field managers, at this point I’d even be happy with a “Committment to Mediocrity.”

    Sincerely,

    A thoroughly disgusted fan

  22. mln on July 21st, 2011 1:30 pm

    We need to have one of those “chasing history” countdown clocks, as the Mariners pursue baseball immortality and seek to shatter the consecutive loss record.

  23. groundzero55 on July 21st, 2011 1:33 pm

    Why on earth wouldn’t Wedge use Ackley to pinch hit for Figgins with the winning run on second base in the eighth inning? Leaving Chone in to hit in that situation was absolutely inexcusable.

    Wedge had a very legit reason to start all the veterans over the rookies. Bringing in a rookie would have made it a moot point. We are playing for a high pick, imo.

  24. TumwaterMike on July 21st, 2011 1:41 pm

    We need to have one of those “chasing history” countdown clocks, as the Mariners pursue baseball immortality and seek to shatter the consecutive loss record.

    Wasn’t that by the Orioles?

  25. mln on July 21st, 2011 1:48 pm

    We need to have one of those “chasing history” countdown clocks, as the Mariners pursue baseball immortality and seek to shatter the consecutive loss record.

    Wasn’t that by the Orioles?

    For the AL, it was the Orioles with 21 losses.

    For MLB in general, it was the Cleveland Spiders (NL) with 24 losses.

    http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/games_lost_records.shtml

    Go M’s!

  26. Westside guy on July 21st, 2011 1:51 pm

    Geoff Baker says the strange-looking lineup was because Wedge was preparing to go off on the team afterward if they lost, and he didn’t want to be lambasting a bunch of rookies. IMHO, whatever.

    As far as I can tell, the current crop of rookies on the major league roster aren’t really the problem.

  27. SonOfZavaras on July 21st, 2011 1:55 pm

    Why on earth wouldn’t Wedge use Ackley to pinch hit for Figgins with the winning run on second base in the eighth inning?

    Because Wedge is a tactical moron. There. I said it.

    Seriously, watching Wedge manage has been the equivalent of that one scene in “Airplane!”- Robert Stack’s “Cpt. Rex Cramer” gets told that they should turn on the runway lights so that the plane Ted Striker is piloting can land.

    And Stack monotones, as if in war: “No…that’s just what they’d want us to do.”

    His managing has too frequently been a living, breathing face palm. Which in turn is one of the main reasons behind this current face plant.

  28. SonOfZavaras on July 21st, 2011 1:58 pm

    Let the race for next years #1 pick begin. Look out Houston, we’re coming after you.

    Not that I question our ability to do it, especially at the rate we’re going…but Oakland, Baltimore, Kansas City, Chicago Cubs, LA Dodgers, San Diego and Houston all currently have records either equal to or worse than us.

    At this point, if nothing changes? We’re a lock for the top 10, outside shot at top 5.

  29. kenshabby on July 21st, 2011 2:10 pm

    I’m just pissed that Bautista didn’t hit 5 HRs against us in this series. Seriously rooting for the guy to have one of the all-time great (and steroid/HGH-free) offensive seasons.

  30. msfanmike on July 21st, 2011 2:13 pm

    At this point, if nothing changes? We’re a lock for the top 10, outside shot at top 5.

    Top 3 pick … or bust!

  31. groundzero55 on July 21st, 2011 2:39 pm

    Nah. The offense guys right now are ranked from 3-10. If we had #1 there would be too much likelihood of getting a pitcher again.

  32. Ichirolling51 on July 21st, 2011 3:07 pm

    No, we’re stock piled at pitching right now, no need for another one. If this were the NFL, where pick trading is legal (isn’t in baseball for some reason) then I would say trade down, to 7-10, and collect more picks. But since we can’t, then we HAVE to take the best hitter available, and if we don’t, like this year (SMH) I will fire JZ my self!

  33. stevemotivateir on July 21st, 2011 3:41 pm

    This line-up makes sense. Why would you want the two hottest hitters in there with Fister pitching?
    And I’m pretty sure they brought Bard back for his bat, rather than to catch.

    Seriously, if there was going to be a surprise move, it should be Carp at 1st in place of Smoak. Smoak could probably use a day or two to think about things.

  34. G-Man on July 21st, 2011 3:56 pm

    Smoak was the least-tenured of the guys in there, and one of the bigger underperformers as of late. According to Wedge’s easy-on-the-kids plan, he should have just played Carp, even facing a LH pitcher, because Smoak has been more of the problem than Carp – Mike had nothing to do with most of the string of losses.

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