Cactus League Remains Impenetrable, Mysterious: Indians at Mariners
Blake Beavan vs. Scott freaking Kazmir, 1:05
Jeff’s post below summarizes an all-too common problem: baseball is too weird. It’s not just that we thought Garland was penciled into the rotation because of Wedge and gritty veteran-ness. It was, in part, due to things like having Erasmo Ramirez pitch a couple of innings the other night and postgame quotes to the effect that they could stretch him out again “if we need to.” How can you read that and not think, “Erasmo’s not starting the year in the M’s rotation?” And if you make that leap, Garland’s path just got a little bit easier. But all of those logical deductions were wrong. It happens.
I’ll be honest here: I’ve made a lot of logical deductions about Scott Kazmir in the past two years, if metaphors for dead things count as logical deductions.* Kazmir was object A in the risks of trading prospects at the deadline, and then he was an excellent starter for the Devil Rays for a few years before suddenly, utterly losing it at age 27. Hitters in the minors blew him up, so he was out of organized baseball, still believing in himself but, with every failed try-out, making it hard to see him as anything but a pitiful figure – the ex-jock who can’t believe it’s over. A kid with no training in anything but pitching baseballs who deals with sudden, dramatic loss of ability through denial and obsessive work on mechanical tweaks. The Sugar Land Skeeters offered him a job, because why not, and because Bobby Livingston’s not the most durable guy out there. Indy league teams blasted Kazmir too. Today, he’s the odds-on favorite for the #5 spot in the Cleveland rotation. We *knew* the moral of the Scott Kazmir story: ‘Don’t be like Scott Kazmir. Leave with your head held high, get your degree, invest your money and make yourself anew.’ All of that – the dead certainty of it – is gone, and while the odds are still long for Bobby Livingston, lesser versions of this happen all the time. Blake Beavan thinks he’s a groundballer now because he worked with a guy in Texas for a little while. I mean, why not.
Line-up:
1: Saunders, RF
2: Andino, SS
3: Ibanez, LF
4: Smoak, 1B
5: Seager, 2B
6: Montero, C
7: Wells, CF
8: Shoppach, DH
9: Miller, 3B
SP: Beavan
Today’s game is televised on ROOT sports, and it’s on live radio as well. Go M’s.
* I’m pretty sure they don’t, but it’s not like you needed ‘logic’ to see that Kazmir wasn’t capable of pitching anymore.
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They seem to only televise these games when OUR weather is good. But I’m weak…
Uh oh….
Was that lump on his head before?
Oh crap that sounded bad. When you can hear the bat hit his head/mask…
Just turned on the TV to see Montero on the ground…HBP?
Fortunately our emergency catcher is in the lineup!
Hit by BAT.
Tasupi, no, the bat got him. The pitch probably wouldn’t have hurt as much!
What a great ambassador for the team that Felix is. Charming and says all the right things. But the ink. Yikes, something else I’ve missed with a year off TV coverage.
“Gets the ground ball when he’s needed it”
No, Blowers, if he could do that he wouldn’t be doing this badly. Few pitchers can control that.
On a finding the silver lining, at least when Beavan gives up home runs it doesn’t matter who’s playing in the outfield.
Jerry Lewis still ‘performs’? Yikes, part II.
Jerry Lewis must be approaching 100…
So what the heck happened to Montero… Reading Gameday to catch up…
“Michael Saunders singles”
“JESUS MONTERO LEAVES GAME WITH AN INJURED HEAD.”
“Robert Andino grounds out.”
I read he got hit with the bat– but was he up to bat when it happened? Wha?
Any help on the details?
Also, Jerry Lewis? When Beavan gives up a homerun Jerry Lewis does a routine now?
That’ll make the rotation decision WAY easier.
No, Montero took a backswing to the head while catching. Perhaps Gameday just wanted him being pulled from the game to make it official.
But trust us, from the size of the lump on his head, he wasn’t coming back. They did just report it’s not a concussion, although I can’t see how. So no starting the season on the DL, for now.
Jerry Lewis is playing at the Emerald Casinos, according to the ads. And those symphonic rockers, Kansas. Hopefully not together.
They just said Beavan started every inning with a hit. Got out of it most of the innings, but that’s going to make for some frustrating games, I sense.
Thanks for that Juneau… Makes MUCH more sense… (The Montero part anyways)
Appearing live, together, Jerry Lewis and Kansas!!! (cue music) “Dust in the wind… Soon he will be Dust in the Wind…” (headshot of Jerry Lewis)
I can picture that.
Hahaha MrZ!
And another leadoff hit….GRRRR!!!
JZ being interviewed on the TV feed.
Beavan has given up nine hits so far. He’s been lucky to only have given up 3 runs, given the two homers. But they shouldn’t give him credit for what came down to luck – he’s looked bad, but did even worse.
Jack, what spot is Andino fighting for exactly?
I got a bit lost there, Westie, but I think he was saying the utility in-fielder role. With Brad Miller?
So it sounds like they didn’t have confidence that Garland would hold up, and didn’t want to take the risk, as well as Play the Young Guys mentality. Frankly, I like that. Thanks, Jack!
Well, well, Raul, there you go. I still can’t believe he’ll still being doing that by August. Forty-ONE!
That was a meatball – good job mashing it Raul!
Juneau, I just figured the job was (at least tacitly) already Andino’s.
Uh oh, that didn’t look good for Matt Carson.
Oh shit, not a good day for heads!
Yeah, me too, Westie, but perhaps the Garland move should be a warning to all those assuming they know their roles this season.
But back to the vitally important Jerry Lewis discussion, I wasn’t sure if they meant THAT Jerry Lewis when they called him a singer, comedian and entertainer. (Suggesting his singing and comedy isn’t entertaining?) Then I heard the horrible screechy ‘singing’ and it was him.
I try to watch the Mariners games every day and their limited rotation of TV ads start to drive me crazy by about May. The Emerald Casinos ads top that list. Obviously they’re getting to me already.
I’d prefer seeing Martin Short’s Jerry Lewis to Jerry Lewis’ Jerry Lewis.
Another first batter hit!!
No outfielder put-outs though. No fool, Mr. Bearded Beavan.
Go to make a phone call and another 3 runs. Ugh.
Could’ve been worse, Juneau. You could’ve had to watch that half inning. 😉
I am. *groan* Have taken to surfing for funny cat pictures online.
Well Beavan looks ready
Yup – he’s in mid season form!
But does Brad Miller urinate on his hands to toughen them? That’s a real gamer!
“But does Brad Miller urinate on his hands to toughen them? That’s a real gamer!”
Luckily, I have no idea. *laugh*
Back to Jerry Lewis… I’d actually prefer SHERRY Lewis (and lampchops), but ironically she IS already dead.
(I go away for awhile and another guy gets hit in the head?)
I’m not sure I want to understand that reference, Juneau… 😀
This was burned into my memory when the story broke. (I see in 2004. Great. I’m getting really really old and why can’t I remember my phone number but I can remember this?)
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2004/05/why_athletes_pee_on_their_hands.html
Nor did I remember that Sherry Lewis was dead. When the hell did that happen?
Ew….
On the other hand, it’s a great link to hang onto for use the next time someone trots out the “if you haven’t played the game, you can’t understand how things work” meme.
Val seems to be looking at the wrong stats. Sure the A’s average was low – but their OBP was fourth in the AL.
If these guys would bother to even LOOK, they’d see that something as simple as OBP correlates so much better with performance than average. It still drives me nuts.
Don’t argue with what Val sees, Westie. I’m going to bet there were more men on base when all those home runs happened, thus the higher scores to win.
No ‘luck’ involved, Val. If you score more runs, you win, no matter if it’s later in the games or at the beginning.
What an annoying lunk of wood that man is.
Oh, the game’s almost over. Guess I’ll have to get up and do something.
I know you’re right, Juneau. It just irritates me. They don’t even have to think about WAR or wOBA or wRC+ to improve – just look at one simple little stat that you probably are already aware of, guys!
Baker mentioned how the hit Montero took to the head might complicate the decision on Kameron Loe – but I’m guessing it also complicates the outfield backup decision too, since we may be down a roster spot for a while.
Montero needs to go back to the hockey goalie mask. If he was wearing that thing he’d still be fine.
I can’t f’ing believe it. Endy Chavez signed to a minor league contract after being cut by the Royals, joins the big league camp. Which means what for Casper Wells?
Chavez is 35 years old, career line of 269/309/376. Last year’s line was 203/236/278. This spring he hit 188/212/188. Do you suppose he’ll get better at this age?
Yeah. I dont get the mariners. Maybe he is willing to play in AAA as depth?