8 Responses to “Cactus League After Dark – Mariners+Padres”

1. PackBob on March 18th, 2014 7:10 pm

   There was an article on FanGraphs recently about players trying to play through injury and that it usually didn’t work out too well. Iwakuma sounded more like he didn’t think it was anything serious rather than trying to play through it, but the principle is the same. If he had had it checked out immediately, he might be pitching right now.

   Maybe it’s just that old views die hard, but with today’s advanced sports medicine, it appears obvious that to err on the side of caution is much preferable than manning up. For a rookie that may have just one shot to make the show, it might be worth the gamble, but for most other situations it is a lousy bet. Not only is further injury a risk but too many players end up performing at a lower level that hardly makes it worthwhile.

2. Longgeorge1 on March 18th, 2014 7:33 pm

   It wasn’t that many years ago that many of the surgical options that are now available weren’t. The only choice was to tough it out. Maybe old ideas die hard.

3. msfanmike on March 18th, 2014 7:57 pm

   Speaking of “old” ideas … I see Justin Smoak is still an anchor to the team instead of an anchor for the team … While holding down the all important spring training slot of “cleanup hitter.”

   Sorry boys, I am a bit out of practice for ragging on the guy and I need some spring training reps in order to be ready for the upcoming season. My expectations are obviously soaring. I am going to look for every reason to love Lloyd, so I assume he will eventually find ways to get his best hitters the maximum number of at-bats as possible – during the season, Right?

   Hey, there’s Miller!

4. Snuffy on March 18th, 2014 8:41 pm

   How long McClendon sticks with Smoak & Almonte will depend on how foolishly stubborn the manager is, rather than how poorly those 2 play. Smoak is not trade-able & Almonte is a 4th outfielder with 5th outfielder skills… and Almonte looks to bat leadoff and start in CF. Almonte does have speed but makes poor reads and runs questionable routes. His arm is a cannon but he can’t get near his target. Abe’s pitch selection does not bode well for a leadoff guy. With time maybe… but for now, just don’t see it.

5. msfanmike on March 18th, 2014 8:48 pm

   Precisely

6. californiamariner on March 18th, 2014 10:18 pm

   Weird to me that Brad Miller keeps batting at the bottom of the lineup. Maybe tonight will bump him up to where he belongs. He’s hitting over .400 this spring (it’s spring training it shouldn’t matter but you know it will)

7. LongDistance on March 19th, 2014 12:52 pm

   ERA and batting averages in spring training should be included in Webster’s as an alternative definition of “meaningless”.

   Not having much interest in CactusLand other than taking in the experimental positions shifts in search of seeing who’s most at home where (Carlos Castenada claimed this could be solved with peyote)… I did go around looking for something, anything, that seems to have any meaning in terms of stats, which translates into something you can roll over into the season. And that is K% and BB%.

   Slim pickings, I agree. But, for me, it gives me something to look at.

   Otherwise, CactusLand… where we can watch outfield-like elements learn how to play outfield, and where The Broom will earn 99% of his paycheck.

   Go M’s……….

8. G-Man on March 19th, 2014 5:06 pm

   I thought they should showcase Franklin at SS if they really want to trade him. I’d even go so far as to option Miller to Tacoma to start the season and let Nick play full time in Seattle.

   On the other hand, if they think Nick is going to actually hurt his trade value by showing what his limitations at short, that’s something else.

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