Game 107, Rays at Mariners
Vargas vs. Hellickson, 1:10pm
Today’s game starts 10 minutes after the trade deadline, so get ready for kremlinological analysis of the M’s warm-ups, batting practice, and the walk to the bullpen (“League generally stays to the right of the guy with the pink backpack, but today he’s on his left. He knows.”).
Jeremy Hellickson’s had very good results, but his K:BB ratio and FIP aren’t all that impressive. Because he’s on the Rays, he’s had only a few months in the spotlight as the next big thing. Alex Cobb’s been solid for the MLB team, and now Matt Moore (the most impressive arm in the Futures Game this year) is laying waste to AAA and is the consensus top pitching prospect in the minors.
Mike Carp stays in the clean-up spot today, and Casper Wells makes his M’s debut…batting in front of Chone Figgins and Franklin Gutierrez.
1: Ichiro
2: Ryan
3: Ackley
4: Carp
5: Olivo
6: Kennedy
7: Wells
8: Figgins
9: Gutierrez
One more trade came made official (or as official as these things can be at this stage) – the A’s sent reliever Brad Ziegler to Arizona for 1B Brandon Allen and LHP Jordan Norberto. Good move for both teams; Brandon Allen’s good, and they could platoon him w/Chris Carter, or just move Carter to LF once and for all.
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136 Responses to “Game 107, Rays at Mariners”
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Wells will fit right in with a weak ground ball to SS.
No! Bad! That is almost as bad as rooting for the Yankees or Angels.
Well. How soon until Guti’s on the DL and one of our new OFs comes up? Anyone want to start a pool?
Ichiro with the only ball out of the infield so far.
Upton seriously looks like (through his career) a less angry Milton Bradley. Doesn’t surprise me at all, that no team pulled the trigger on him before the deadline.
And significantly dumber but faster.
At any moment I expect him to go Plaxico Burress on himself.
Vargas’ curve is more or less a BP pitch right now.
Faster, yes. Dumber…. that is offset by Bradley’s laziness.
ACKLEY, stop standing on second with a guy sliding into you. It’s not worth it!
No, seriously, we don’t even care if you get the double play. Just don’t get hurt.
Wow, tagged him right in the junk!
Well, “I play for the Mariners” doesn’t get you much action in bars any more.
How long before we actually get no-hit? Anyone want to start a wager?
So, reading around, the Bedard deal came together so quickly, and so late, because Boston backed out of a deal for Harden at the last minute after reviewing Harden’s medical records.
Thank you, Oakland A’s!
It’s time for Ackley to move to the #2 spot.
But unfortunately that still leaves a 3-9 problem.
Ackley will save us!
Ackley always works the count. Loves it.
Ichi-
It’s a bit of a moral victory, I think, if we make it through the season without being no-hit. (Baby steps on the way to greatness!)
Anyone noticed that the home plate umpire’s strike call is just a little too similar to a Nazi salute?
Okay, at least one more Ackley at bat to try to break up the no-no.
Carp’s swing has ALWAYS looked to me like if someone could just get him to shorten it up (ie, speed it up) and use his hips more, he’d be a much better contact/average hitter. He has almost like a rotational bow-and-arrow sort of draw and release to his swing. Most visible on inside fastballs– he can’t get around to them fast enough. It’s really evident after watching Ackley right before him. Dustin’s quick hands and hips attack of the ball, versus Carp’s languid wind and release lop at it. I can see where it generates more power for him, but I think quicker more solid contact can be just as effective at providing power (a’la Ackley, Josh Hamilton, Mauer, etc.).
I think if you do this you end up with Adam Kennedy. But uglier and older looking, which is weird.
For the guys questioning Z does this give you a little more hope in him? If we can get an above avg C in the off season it will be good.
re: BJ Upton not being traded (did this have an effect)?
That’s almost Mariner-esque luck, right there. GM has emergency surgery last day before the deadline. (Poor guy)
I’ve never questioned Z’s ability to trade for really quality minor leaguers and give away almost nothing to get them.
My question is 1) can he sign a “great” free agent that will bring some good seasons and 2) will he actually have a job by this time next year?
Like it or not, Olivo is an above average catcher for sure. He will probably be a top 15 catcher in the MLB.
Like it or not, Olivo is an above average catcher for sure. He will probably be a top 15 catcher in the MLB.
I understand that, I am talking about a long term guy. Miggy is not the long term C we need. I think he has value and will be here for awhile, I just want the young C that can grow with the team.
I would love a long-term catcher, but those are rarer than a virgin in the porn industry.
In an unrelated note:
SAVE US ACKLEY!
Well, this one is in the books. Time to start switching between the X-Games, and Shark Week!!!
Why do the M’s use a 1973 camera for the over the top of home shot?
That was suppose to be Adam Moore but I have my doubts he will play in the majors at a consistent level.
Does Guti really need this playing time?
He clearly isn’t “right”, and we currently have more outfielders in Seattle and Tacoma than we have roads under construction.
I have been saying this for awhile, but maybe now we can call Trayvan up and put Guti on the DL. He absolutely needs to sit for awhile, this might be the chance.
I think the onus is on you to provide supporting evidence for that statement. According to FanGraphs, he’s at the very bottom of catchers based on wOBA. If we just look at slugging percentage (so ignoring his very low average and on-base percentages), he’s still third from the bottom. And I’m pretty sure you were probably thinking offensively, because there’s no way you can think he’s an elite defender.
Now technically your “top 15” statement is still true because there apparently aren’t 15 catchers in all of the major leagues that have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. 🙂 But that’s damning with faint praise, at best. And, for the record, if you allow “non-qualified” catchers into the discussion… Olivo is way, WAY down the list.
Amended for historical accuracy. The Heathcliff Slocumb trade: the gift that keeps on giving. Like Herpes.
LOL
In fairness though Varitek did not want to play here, and we had Wilson at the time if I remember right. It is tough to look back on, but there were reasons to trade him, Slocumb was not a fair trade though. I want to get back to the time we had a C and did not have to worry about him. I know they are hard to find, but maybe the FO needs to send Wilson or Valle out to find him. These guys do not seem to be able to find one.
Well, most of the “catchers” you are using aren’t actually catching, especially as often as Olivo has.
However, the calculation is pretty easy for WAR.
A league average player has a WAR of about 0.7 to 0.8 for the year. Olivo is a 0.7 right now.
And Olivo isn’t anywhere near the bottom of the catchers of the values when you include defense and baserunning.