Game 108, Athletics at Mariners
Felix Day! Wooo! It’s Felix Day!
Mariners Decide They Could Go for a Frosty Margarita, Recall Tom Wilhelmsen
The Mariners recalled RHP Tom Wilhelmsen from AA Jackson today, ostensibly to provide bullpen depth. Sources near the team suggest, however, that with the belated arrival of warm summer weather, the team wanted someone with experience creating fruity cocktails.
One reliever noted that Chris Ray had gotten “pretty annoying” by foisting dry-hopped XIPAs on his teammates, whose tastes tended towards lagers and mixed drinks. Eventually, the aspiring brewer went down with an injury and is now on the 15 day disabled list. Another pitcher confessed he was excited for the change. “Look, it’s finally warm out, I want to go out with my girlfriend and have something fun. I like Chris, but he was always rambling on about ‘simcoe’ and ‘amarillo’ and I was thinking he was talking about the Texas League or something, but no, he’s just explaining – again – why the beer I’m drinking is stupid.” A starting pitcher was describing one of Wilhelmsen’s strawberry margaritas in vivid, rapturous terms to a newly-acquired player when I asked them about Ray’s IPA. “I’m really glad he’s the Doogie Howser of making beer more bitter, but everyone here’s looking forward to this move. Everyone.” I pointed out that the Howser analogy is conceptual nonsense, but the pitcher just resumed his discussion of the airy, almost ethereal quality of Wilhemsen’s blended drinks.
A noticeably looser, more jovial Jack Zduriencik told reporters that “Wilhelmsen has earned this.” When questioned how (Wilhelmsen’s FIP and ERA are in the mid 5’s, and his tRA is over 6), Zduriencik changed tack: “You know what? WE’VE earned this. We’ve been working hard, we’ve got nothing to show for it, it’s gorgeous out, we’ve got new guys that we need to integrate into this organization, we’re going to be welcoming.” Asked if that meant that Wilhelmsen is being brought up to bartend, Zduriencik asked, “Every player brings a certain set of non-baseball talents. We don’t typically care about that, as we’re here to win ball games. But are you asking me if I’m specifically going to ignore what Tommy brings to the table? No, I’m not going to do that. It’s not my job to ignore things.” What about the plan to stretch Wilhelmsen out as a starter? “It’s not my job to ignore things.”
(The above is satire. Wilhelmsen was recalled, and I really do hope he makes his teammates some frosty margaritas, if that’s what they want. I also hope Chris Ray uses his down time to make another great brew with Fremont Brewing. Please drink responsibly.)
Minor League Roster Moves: Chiang, Martinez, Robinson Debut Tonight
As you know, the M’s welcomed several new minor leaguers to the fold this weekend, and the combination of the influx and promotions means there are a lot of new faces in the upper minors.
According to Mike Curto’s blog, the Rainiers will start Erasmo Ramirez tonight against Las Vegas. The Nicaraguan control artist started the year well, but HRs and hits have been piling up recently. AAA will be a challenge, but I have to admit he’s one of my favorite dark-horse prospects. Tonight will also mark Trayvon Robinson’s debut with the Rainiers, who made room by placing Matt Mangini on the temporarily inactive list. Francisco Martinez and Chih-Hsien Chiang are both in the line-up for the Jackson Generals tonight as they take on Mississippi (Chiang’s in LF tonight). James Gilheeney was called up from High Desert to make the start for Jackson, replacing Ramirez.
UPDATE, 11PM:
Sorry for the lack of a gamethread. I went to Cheney, and JY had his star-making radio hit in PDX. Trayvon Robinson had a solid debut for Tacoma, going 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base. He was 1-2 w/BB from the left side and 0-1 from the right side. He struck out in his first PA (from the left side) on a 3-2 pitch. He didn’t have much to do in the field, though he made a solid jump on a ball in the 9th to make a good play look pretty routine. He also battled a tough sun field to make a catch on a line drive in the 2nd.
Here’s Robinson:
Erasmo Ramirez made his AAA debut and went six innings of 1 run ball, though he was in trouble the whole night. The lead-off man reached in every inning but his last, and he had two men on in every inning. His great command wasn’t in evidence tonight, as he allowed 3 walks and also hit a batter. He also allowed a number of line drives, but to his credit, pitched around the baserunners by getting two double plays. Stuff wise, he was better than advertised, sitting in the low-90s but touching the mid-90s. That’s better-than-Beavan velocity, though Beavan’s slider is better than any breaking ball Ramirez showed tonight. He had a nice change-up, though. His defense didn’t help him much, as Luis Rodriguez made an error on the very first batter Ramirez faced, which was followed by an infield single. He then allowed a “single” in the 2nd when Carlos Peguero lost a ball in the sun (there’s karma for you), and that run came around to score after a passed ball by the catcher and an infield grounder. Overall, he just didn’t seem like the guy I’d imagined – he wasn’t a high-80s junkballer with good control, he was somewhat wild and he threw pretty hard. Not a lot of swings and misses, but his change-up got a few, and he was actually able to throw his FB by some of the weaker Las Vegas hitters. Here’s Ramirez:
Jay on the Radio, Talking Bedard Deal
It looks like I’m going to be on Portland-area station ESPN 1080 The FAN-KFXX this afternoon around 4:10 pm or so as a guest on Primetime with Isaac Ropp and Jason Scukanec. I’ll be talking about the pieces picked up in the Bedard deal, the general state of the system, and patience and how much of it we should be exercising. Guess what my opinion on that last one is going to be?
Minor League Wrap (7/25-31/11)
The trade deadline has passed with the M’s making an effort to bolster their farm system again. Next up on the schedule, we have the August 15th signing deadline for this year’s draft picks. Jack was on the radio today saying he expected to have Hultzen signed within the next couple of weeks, so here’s hoping they get him and the other top ten guys who are just hanging out right now. After that, we’ll find out who will be our PTBNL from the Fister trade on the 20th. Along the way, some additional international signings may trickle in as well. These are exciting, though exhausting times.
To the jump!
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