Cactus League Game 19, Rockies at Mariners
This one is on the TV, so it seems like the right idea to throw this up even if I don’t have much commentary or news.
SS Figgins
2B Kawasaki
DH Ichiro
1B Carp
CF Wells
3B Seager
LF Peguero
RF Wilson
C Jaso
P Noesi
NO MONTERO FOR YOU! YOU’LL GET YOUR CARLOS PEGUERO AT-BATS AND LIKE THEM! Oh wait, Montero looks like he’s on the bench. I don’t know, maybe? He’s been “not feeling well” the past few days or something. I hope it’s not desert fever.
The Times has most of the content for today. Jerry Brewer wrote about Vinnie Catricala. Larry Stone asked a Japanese baseball expert what we should expect in Ichiro’s return. Bob Condotta talked to Carl Willis about pitching. That’s what I’ve got to tide you over for the next forty-five minutes or so.
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45 Responses to “Cactus League Game 19, Rockies at Mariners”
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We haven’t seen a whole lot of Smoak either. Wonder if he has an issue as well? Would be nice to see a televised game with Ackley, Carp, Smoak, and Montero, all in the line-up. Catricala would be a bonus.
Is Wedge hoping some sort of Keystone Cops or Benny Hill moment spontaneously happens in the outfield? It must be for entertainment, because it’s certainly not for defense.
With Phillis lack of infield depth and the recent injury to Placido Polanco I have to think they are looking for a veteran infielder. The Phills have also been rumors to be trying to move Joe Blanton. Idk if Blanton is who we would want but with Seager and Chone as well as Liddi and Catricala theres potential for a swap of some kind.
Maybe he wants to see Noesi and the other scheduled pitchers work their way out of jams? With the potential for errors and undeserving base-hits, there’s likely to be some extra base-runners 😉
No Smoak. No Montero. No Ackley.
Oh boy.
I have now heard Noesi’s name pronounced three different ways and have no idea if any are correct.
Nice to hear the grass is wet, so the field is slow. Thankfully, we have the wheels of Peguero and Wilson to counter that.
No Saunders either. I was hoping to see him bat to see how he has changed.
instead we get a lineup with players getting to experiment. Hard to believe this team heads to Japan in 3 days.
If it’s of any comfort, Saunders has looked confident and aggressive. I’m far more sold on his changes than Peguero’s.
Would be cool if we could see Moyer pitch for the Rockies today.
Noesi’s been around 92 so far. He hit 94 once.
Rockies C Jordan Pacheco’s a so-so prospect who’s been kicking around the PCL for the last year or two, but he’s had an impact in the majors already.
While he was at the Univ. of New Mexico he taught a high school kid a curve ball. That kid was Matt Moore, last year’s #1 pitching prospect and the guy who signed a lucrative extension with the Rays this off-season.
On the positive side, I haven’t seen Jaso until today.
I wonder if Peguero and Wilson have a shot of being an extra bat in Japan. For instance, if Ramirez makes the team, there might not be a need for him in Japan (and he’s not on the 40-man so he wouldn’t need to be optioned).
And by “have a shot,” I mean losing out to Liddi.
Wow, great catch by Mike Wilson in RF.
I think Peguero has a shot at that taxi squad thing in Japan. Wilson wouldn’t seem to have much of a shot given that he’s not on the 40 man, he hasn’t gotten as much A team ABs so far this spring, etc.
I make a joke about Peguero and Wilson with wheels, and look what happens! I have no problem looking dumb in exchange for good defense though!
@marc
Who do you suspect is slated for long-relief roles? I would guess Furbush, but Noesi or Iwakuma as well?
It will be interesting to see who will go to Japan, and what roster changes they make when they get back.
Noesi got away with one there
I think Furbush is something of a lock at this point. Noesi and Iwakuma are on the team, but seem like they have a good shot at the rotation. Erasmo Ramirez has a very good chance at some kind of role. He may start off as a righty long man and then transition into the rotation as needed.
They may opt to have a smaller bullpen, which might preclude a standard long-man role. That would probably mean Ramirez would start in Tacoma, but I don’t think he’ll be there all that long.
The real question mark in this is Blake Beavan. If Millwood’s in the rotation, then Beavan may be the odd man out. He could be the long-man, but if they have a 6 man pen, then it’ll be tough to carry him.
Noesi’s velocity is down here in the 3rd. That’s not a great sign. He’s around 90 as opposed to 92-93 earlier.
Thanks man. I’m real curious about Ramirez making the team too. I’d rather see him as a starter, but even if he doesn’t start with a spot in the rotation, you figure he’s gonna get the call real quick. This reminds me… I need to look into each pitcher and the super-two timelines.
That was either a failed hit & run, or a horrible jump by Figgins. Out by a mile.
Sunday Times says the roster needs to be down to 30 when they leave for Japan.
That will give them 5 extra in case of injury before they play Oakland.
It’s gives them extra pitching for the exhibition games.
Nice job Seager!
Nice to see Peguero walk.
Jaso! That’s what I’ve been waiting to see. I really like the idea of him taking starts from Olivo, especially with RHP’s.
Give Figgins some credit… he’s laying off bad pitches and not trying to do too much with pitches outside in the zone. Made a nice play at short as well.
Figgins taking pitches is certainly a good sign. However, it is still doubtful if he will be able to drive the ball enough.
I’m still hopeful to see him drive himself to another team 😛
It’s not automatic. You stick to the approach and good things start happening.
Just like the back up quarterback is the most popular player on bad football teams, Seager, Liddi, and Catricala (hopefully future stars) are in popular demand over Figgins.
Rain has stopped.
Anybody is in demand over Figgins. That’s what happens when you are under the Mendoza line.
I’m not sure your point in relevant Paul
Furbush about to come in for Noesi as they are about to get back underway
It’s too bad they can’t bend the rules for spring and allow the game to be continued in the evening. Not a lot of time before the trip to Japan.
SCRATCH THAT
No difinitive figures emerging from the crowd of pitchers vying for a spot in the back end of the rotation…
My point was that it the reason for wanting a backup to play third is not because the team did poorly, but rather because the player was one of the worst hitters in the League (the only players with lower OPS than Figgins last year had fewer plate appearances than he did).
Yeah, I realize Figgins has taken some walks this spring – but we have so many “question mark” players managing to put up exceptional numbers, yet he’s still hitting below .200 with an uninspiring OBP.
I’d argue it’s not really small sample size when it’s in line with his past two years’ performance. He’s not done anything to merit breaking camp with this team. We all know the Mariners are looking forward – quit wasting ABs on a guy who has no chance of being part of the M’s future. Even if the Mariners somehow managed to dump him, they’d have to pick up almost all his entire salary… there’s nothing to be gained in keeping him around.
I still think showcasing him at all these different positions this spring is a final attempt to shop him. If or when that fails, I would expect them to cut him loose. Maybe he sticks around for a month, but I think his days in Seattle are numbered.
Everyone already knows he plays a lot of positions, I don’t see how showcasing him doing it helps much.
Hey, Figgins is in left today (Monday). I wonder if he’ll throw a fit the first time Saunders calls him off a fly ball.
@badbadger
Having played several positions 4-5 years ago doesn’t hold the same weight as doing it now. It eliminates the “Can he still play…” questions. Having said that, I think it’s a long-shot that someone gambles on him.