Game 14, Indians at Mariners
Hernandez vs Tomlin, 7:10 pm.
Happy Felix Day!
From Shannon Drayer’s blog:
“Miggy is our starting catcher, Jesus is going to get time as well, it is going to be tough to get Jaso back there,” he said. “Not that I am against it but right now I feel like I need to give the time to Miggy and Jesus. I still want to get Jaso’s bat in the lineup from time to time if I can so that is what we are trying to do.”
I asked Wedge going with Olivo was more about what he does behind the plate or getting his bat going.
“We’re trying to get it going,” he answered. “I have had conversations with him. I was really pleased with what he did this spring he’s working up the middle more, he is trying to go the other way which is against what you have seen from him in the past typically. He has done a nice job with it. I think he has been a little anxious here early on I think he has been pressing a little bit but his confidence hasn’t wavered and I feel he is going to hit but he just has to do some things in an adjustment period to make that happen.”
I guess my kudos towards Wedge were premature. He really has no idea that Miguel Olivo is a terrible baseball player, or that John Jaso would give the Mariners a better chance of winning. Fantastic.
By and large, managers don’t really matter much. They really only need to be able to do a few things decently well – correctly identify the guys on the team who should play the most often, keep order in the clubhouse, and don’t be a total tool to the media. Wedge seems to be just fine at the last two, but he’s awful at the first one. He’s not the only problem with this team, obviously, but just pretending that he isn’t one isn’t useful either.
Figgins, LF
Ackley, 2B
Ichiro, RF
Smoak, 1B
Seager, 3B
Saunders, CF
Olivo, C
Jaso, DH
Ryan, SS
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Person of interest is on now
fuck me side ways League sucks
Never have I seen an ump call that low strike, i think it’s only because the catcher has to drop his glove to hold on to the ball…frustrating!
Felix is about to kill someone
Figgins with the most useless play in baseball. Doesn’t throw it within 40 feet of the plate AND allows both runners to move up.
The good news is Chris Perez is not the scariest closer ever. He’s like Joe Nathan but worse…. Searching for bright-sides here.
Felix has got to feel snake bit just about now…
That was such a cluster my feed went out.
We’re not allowed to have nice things…
Figgins just needed to blow that play from both ends. Two years ago he watched the ball roll 4 feet from him like he was at a tennis match.
Shoulda hooked him sooner, Eric, preferably before the bases were juiced.
This game became a cluster duck in a hurry…
Can we somehow blame this on Miguel Olivo? I’d feel alot better if we could…
Actually Olivo made two pretty good stops back there. I’m surprised.
Can we somehow blame this on Miguel Olivo? I’d feel alot better if we could…
Yeah, if he hadn’t grounded into an inning ending double play, the M’s would have 2 runs.
This isn’t cricket. Throw a F*ing strike
Hey, Hultzen had a great game at least..
Lots of pressure on a rule5..
Oh my of that was weak….
5 runs in 3 games?
Mariner’s baseball!
Great game Felix!!! Brandon….
Mariners are the fucking artists of mysery. They don’t just lose. They show you the’re going to win, then the lose.
Shoot, forgot the 8-9 loss.
@henryv,
I agree…inning ending DP with a person on third….
Olivo’s fault. Trade him or DFA him immediately.
Of at least make him sell tickets. Maybe we could attendance to 400 for tomorrow’s game.
That’s a top-ten loss for me right there. Awful.
Of at least make him sell tickets. Maybe we could attendance to 400 for tomorrow’s game.
Surprisingly, I haven’t been drinking tonight. Hmmm…
Watched this on Tivo delay, so I ended up disappointed about 30 minutes after the rest of you. 🙁
Man, I am happy Felix loves Seattle but – I really don’t understand why.
Also, good game for Condor after Glen and I stuck our necks out in support of him earlier in that other thread! 😀
Olivo – not his worst game. He dropped a number of pitches, but actually blocked a few too – and I don’t remember any getting away. Maybe he’s taking pointers from Montero?
Jaso – why are people evaluating him (as they’ve been doing with Saunders) based on a particular single at-bat? No one can hit at will. Jaso’s current line is .273/.333/.727 – I don’t expect him to maintain that, but it’s hard to find fault with his offensive performance right now!
The loss in this game should go to Wedge. You play the infield at normal depth in the ninth. Best case Hannahan’s grounder is a DP. Worst case we’re still playing. Shoulda been a sweep. This series was basically Mariners vs Mariners.
Blaming Wedge is wrong. Might not agree with all his lineup decisions, but which team doesn’t have some poor lineup decisions?
We, have no clue what actually goes on in the clubhouse, that includes you!
Playoffs, this year. NO.
I still love my M’s.
Yeah… this game, I gotta give the loss to the guys being unable to put many hits together. It looked disturbingly like a lot of Felix’s losses during his Cy Young year.
Dave,
You’ve been the one driving the bus on getting Olivo out of town. And since you started to point out why last season you have made me a believer in your concept that Olivo is best served as a backup C at best. However, your critique of Wedge couldn’t be any more wrong.
He can’t just go bashing Olivo in front of everyone. Hell maybe he’s even smarter than you realize and he’s just trying to get a hot streak out of Olivo so he can get someone to eat his contract or just release him …just like were hopefully doing with Figgy.
Also, your comment that Managers don’t really matter much is just absurd. Your ability to manage statistics is fantastic. But my money is on you being an atrocious coach.
JoshJones, actually its not. Wedge’s in game decisions are pretty awful as well. Someone tell that man that its legal to pinch hit!
I have a front row seat on that olivo-out-bus.
Wedge doesn’t have to criticize him, he just needs to NOT PLAY him.
Hey, he’s fine w/ letting Jaso and others rot on the bench, so we know benching isn’t against his philosophy.
@josh
Managing 101: Put the best team you can on the field. It’s not complicated. Look at the match-ups, career numbers, play the odds.
@idaho
I’ll drive that bus!
LOL
I wasn’t wild about seeing Figgy in LF w/ a one run lead in the last inning. Surely that situation cries out for a defensive replacement. Granted, that would require actually “managing.” Wells probably has twice the arm as the Figlet & his middle infielder pop gun.
Alrighty then, consider this.
Perhaps Wedge is running Figgins and Olivo out there to “hopefully” increase their trade value. Im convinced that’s what they are doing with figgins. Taking him out for a defensive substitution makes him look bad.
I think wedge is sticking with the veterans. He’s trying to get them to play to his percieved potential. As long as it ends up with him giving them the backseat as the season goes along then i’m all for it. Perhaps it’s theraputic for Wedge to see Olivo for what he is…a shitty offensive/defensive catcher.
@stevemotivatier
Managing ISN’T that simple. I’ve been doing it for over 10 years now. If it was as simple as matchups/career numbers/playing the odds then Chone Figgins wouldn’t be batting leadoff. There’s confidence factors, team concepts, egos etc.
^First, everyone knows what the plan with Figgins is. But there really isn’t an argument for Olivo because he isn’t expensive and he’s on the wrong side of 30. His numbers are rapidly declining. Trade value shouldn’t be the deciding factor on whether he plays.
Second, I didn’t say managing was simple, I said it’s not complicated (yes, there’s a difference) -and I’m referring to the basic principles, hence the “101” reference. I’m backing up Dave, because I agree, that who’s managing shouldn’t make that big of a difference. Key word: shouldn’t. The fundamentals, the most basic, general rules/ideas/principles ARE the same -no matter who’s in charge.
^I love john jaso. He should be starting 4/5 games a week with Montero taking the other start. But we all know that isn’t going to happen.
So we either trade/release olivo. Or make him the 3rd string catcher. For some reason i dont ever see that happening. Olivo is a very well liked guy in that club house. He’s a coaches player type of guy for whatever reason (he can’t field or hit).
So what is wedge supposed to do? Put him on the bench. Like it or not that could create a problem in the clubhouse.
I can only hope Wedge is playing Olivo hoping he either improves or is so bad they trade or release him. If he is truly playing him because he thinks he is best suited for the starting role then he’s making a mistake.
^I agree with ya on those points, but the one thing I’d mention, is that these are professional players… they (should) all know, that being liked and performing -have to go together. Otherwise, performing alone takes the cake. What’s best for the team should be the priority. Everyone wants to play, but it should be understood when/why the player performing better gets the starts.
Another point I was trying to make, is that it isn’t important to worry about getting something from Olivo. He isn’t costing that much, and even if he hit .250, he wont bring in much of a return (probably nothing), so there’s little reason to keep him around. I don’t think DFA’n him would hurt the morale in the clubhouse either. I think the show of confidence in Jaso and Montero (who also seem to be well-liked), will benefit the team.
^Oh sure. In a perfect world. Maybe even 5 years ago. But pro sports are filled with pre-madonas. Most are underworked and over paid. Twitter, facebook, social media. The 15 man on a NBA roster can demand a trade, etc. At all levels of sport their is one things that cant be dissected or fully understood and that’s the ego/psyche of a ballplayer.
Figgins insisting to be a leadoff hitter is a perfect example.
I’m all for DFA’ing Olivo. I think we should have done that before the season started. but we didn’t so now Wedge i’m assuming Wedge is stuck juggling that situation without pissing anyone off.
His job isnt to “not piss anyone off”, his job is to put the team in the best position to win baseball games. That’s starts with playing your best players and not playing your worst playrs except when necessary. Not only does playing Olivo not result in furthering either of those goals, it actualy actively retards progress. Those are the simple facts and anything about egos and being a veteran or pissing him off is inconsequential (or should be).
@josh
You really think it’s that complicated? They’re grown men, they’re professionals, and they’re MARINERS! If it was that complicated, they’d hire pyschiatrists and therapists instead of managers.
^I totally disagree. A manager can’t go into a clubhouse and start throwing chairs and turning everyday players into backup-to-the-backup roles.
Look at Bobby Valentine. He went into Boston and thought he could just change everything and call players out. BobbyV calls out Youk..Youk gets offended…Pedroia takes Youks side. Now you have clubhouse drama.
Or how the Lakers handled the Lamar Odom situation. They almost traded Lamar and that pissed Lamar off. As a result, he demanded to be traded. So they traded him to Dallas. As a result, Kobe bryant was pissed off.
Doing things to drastically can create major problems. What if Felix and Olivo are best friends and it makes Felix demand a trade. Probablly not going to happen..But who knows. Players now days are spoiled. Everyone is assuming its as simple as just don’t play Olivo. All i’m saying is it’s not that simple and I wouldn’t be suprised if there were extentuating circumstances.
Some of these guys qualify as grown men. A number of them, though, are basically spoiled teenagers who’ve never had to deal with reality because they’ve always had people padding the sharp corners of the world for them just due to their ability to play a children’s game very, very well.
Motivational speeches are one thing, pyschiatric conditioning is another!
My point is still the same… I’m not arguing whether or not it’s simple to manage a team, I’m saying that the fundamentals of managing, the basic principles ARE the same, no matter the manager. One thing all managers have to do, is improvise. And, again, we’re talking about the Mariners.
I understand (and agree with) what you said Westy. But handling different personalities, dealing with what you might call maturity issues, isn’t something a manager can’t handle. Shouldn’t be anyway. Veterans play a role in situations like that. By the time a player makes it to the MLB level, there should already be a pretty good understanding (with most players) of what is needed and expected of them.
I seriously doubt the situation with Olivo has anything to do with fear of clubhouse resentment if he’s benched or removed. I think it’s pure stubbornness on Wedge’s part.