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Game Twenty-Nine Recap
Dave · May 7, 2010 at 8:21 pm · Filed Under Mariners
This was totally predictable. All of it. The lack of hitting. The lack of winning. And mostly the people jumping ship. This team wasn’t built to win it all this year. It was designed to give it a chance if “everything” went right, but mostly it was a blip before next year. Z will still get it right in the end.
charliebrown on
May 8th, 2010 7:10 am
Nothing is going to change until Z and his front office realize that hitting is just as important as defense and pitching and that you must use resources (money, tradeable players) to ensure that you have adequate hitting.
Defense is great people, but what you’re seeing with the Mariners this year is exactly what you get when you ignore hitting.
clandon on
May 8th, 2010 7:30 am
This is Dave’s fault. He wrote that there was nothing interesting to write because the M’s management was doing everything right. We need to sacrifice more than a chicken to end this streak. Maybe a small third world country will do it
Thank you.
wtnuke on
May 8th, 2010 8:00 am
This is the one instance where I think they’ll sell more tickets if they stop playing the games. Can Griffey and Sweeney sing? Maybe they can turn Safeco into a “theater in the round.”
but there’s very little that can or should be done at this point other than wait it out for key personnel to being their ascent toward mean production…
Yeah, you get out there with you “regression to the mean” sign and root for that. Reasons why that may not happen:
1) Players have bad years where they don’t play up to their average performance.
2) Poor hitting is contagious – players aren’t robots – they respond to the situation they’re in. If nobody’s hitting, the team isn’t meeting expectations, well, psychologically it’s hard to dig yourself out.
3) Who know what Wak is doing behind the scenes, but he apparently is a robot. Never mind Lou, what about, say, Mike Scioscia as an example?
At some point this is who the team is, not their ZIPS or CHONE predictions.
eponymous coward on
May 8th, 2010 8:47 am
Its early. Everyone just needs to relax.
It would be a lot easier to relax if the team was getting bad results from good decision making- this happens. However, there were and are a number of decisions made making this roster that were questionable at the time, and aren’t working out now. When you’re making bad decisions, you deserve bad results.
Also, we might say “but hey, they were awful last year, and they bounced back”- but they also didn’t make the playoffs last year. The games you punt in May do count in the standings in September, and this team hasn’t beaten a decent team in almost a month (their wins since mid-April are against a bad Royals team and a terrible Orioles team).
They’re not this bad, but they aren’t anything approaching good.
MBK on
May 8th, 2010 8:53 am
I was in bed this morning thinking that maybe Wak and Z should have taken them all out for ice cream after the game. Ice cream makes everyone feel better.
King.Dome on
May 8th, 2010 9:01 am
From Larry Stone’s blog, a guy on Indian’s tv going off on his horrible team. As Larry said, he might as well be one of us pained Ms fans.
Remember how happy we were about our off-season acquisitions? It is still too early to make meaningful judgments but so far:
Figgins – disaster
Bradley – disaster
Lee – disaster (due to injury)
Kotchman – disaster
Griffey/Sweeney – disaster
League/Texiera – been OK, but unremarkable starts
Byrnes – disaster
This is just a ton of bad luck and even our biggest critics couldn’t have invented a worse possible scenario. But if the results don’t greatly improve immediately this season could be over within a week.
Also, according to MLB Trade Rumors, Jack Z is considering bringing Jose Guillen in to DH. I doubt it happens, but at least it suggests that Griffey and Sweeney’s leash has run out.
guybrad on
May 8th, 2010 9:31 am
The problems start at the top of the lineup. Ichiro and Figgins have to get on base and shake things up or there is no hope.
GarForever on
May 8th, 2010 9:34 am
Also, according to MLB Trade Rumors, Jack Z is considering bringing Jose Guillen in to DH.
If that’s true, I say if they want Cortes back to make themselves feel better about the YuBet trade, make it happen. The comparison at MLBtraderumors between our two-headed hugging monster and NL pitchers makes me want to go out to the garage and just end it all.
snapper on
May 8th, 2010 10:20 am
At least we can start taking a look at Bryce Harper… i kid i kid (i hope)
Harper is eligible this June.
Washington already has that #1 pick.
TumwaterMike on
May 8th, 2010 11:30 am
Nothing is going to change until Z and his front office realize that hitting is just as important as defense and pitching and that you must use resources (money, tradeable players) to ensure that you have adequate hitting.
They understand the importance of hitting. that’s why 6 of their first 7 picks last year were position players.
charliebrown on
May 8th, 2010 11:40 am
They understand the importance of hitting. that’s why 6 of their first 7 picks last year were position players.
Great, so in a few years the Mariners might have some guys on the major league roster that can hit.
If they truly understood the importance of hitting, then they would have spent some of their resources this past offseason to improve the hitting at the major league level this year.
They didnt.
CarpCarter on
May 8th, 2010 11:45 am
Also, according to MLB Trade Rumors, Jack Z is considering bringing Jose Guillen in to DH. I doubt it happens, but at least it suggests that Griffey and Sweeney’s leash has run out.
Give ’em Snell. Bring back Kelley.
Bip on
May 8th, 2010 12:28 pm
It’s somewhat entertaining to read some of these comments. I was admonished in the off-season for complaining about the fact we had no hitting (and no #3 or #4 hitter) only to get talked down to about our improved OBP and the fact that a run saved = a run scored. I imagine a few of those folks would reconsider with the fact that a run saved doesn’t help when you don’t score a run. It’s not pretty but I think there’s a balance in Z’s approach that was not emphasized. Pitching, defense AND offense get you to the post-season. We seemed to have skipped that last notion as charliebrown so aptly points out.
scott19 on
May 8th, 2010 1:24 pm
Actually, I think the M’s need to change their opening theme music from that Deadmau5 song to The Doobie Brothers’ “What A Fool Believes.”
The offense was not ignored. Bradley was brought in, as was Figgins. The offense projected to be a little below average and we all knew that, and with a good defense and pitching staff, that gave the team a chance to compete.
Unless you really saw the offense averaging 3 runs a game, and going a whole week scoring as many runs as some teams do in 1 game. If you actually called that, well then bully for you.
mln on
May 8th, 2010 1:58 pm
I was in bed this morning thinking that maybe Wak and Z should have taken them all out for ice cream after the game. Ice cream makes everyone feel better.
Ice cream, and pizza, and group hugs!
Sweeney and Griffey should take the whole team for an outing to Chuckie Cheese or something.
scott19 on
May 8th, 2010 2:14 pm
I think it’d be kinda nice for the team to take all of us fans out for pizza and ice cream…
Besides the obvious “feel good” factor, it seems the least they could do for having to put up with all of this crappy play lately.
TumwaterMike on
May 8th, 2010 3:08 pm
If they truly understood the importance of hitting, then they would have spent some of their resources this past offseason to improve the hitting at the major league level this year.
And who was out there at a price the M’s could afford without getting stuck with a bad contract?
This was totally predictable. All of it. The lack of hitting. The lack of winning. And mostly the people jumping ship. This team wasn’t built to win it all this year. It was designed to give it a chance if “everything” went right, but mostly it was a blip before next year. Z will still get it right in the end.
Nothing is going to change until Z and his front office realize that hitting is just as important as defense and pitching and that you must use resources (money, tradeable players) to ensure that you have adequate hitting.
Defense is great people, but what you’re seeing with the Mariners this year is exactly what you get when you ignore hitting.
Thank you.
This is the one instance where I think they’ll sell more tickets if they stop playing the games. Can Griffey and Sweeney sing? Maybe they can turn Safeco into a “theater in the round.”
Yeah, you get out there with you “regression to the mean” sign and root for that. Reasons why that may not happen:
1) Players have bad years where they don’t play up to their average performance.
2) Poor hitting is contagious – players aren’t robots – they respond to the situation they’re in. If nobody’s hitting, the team isn’t meeting expectations, well, psychologically it’s hard to dig yourself out.
3) Who know what Wak is doing behind the scenes, but he apparently is a robot. Never mind Lou, what about, say, Mike Scioscia as an example?
At some point this is who the team is, not their ZIPS or CHONE predictions.
Its early. Everyone just needs to relax.
It would be a lot easier to relax if the team was getting bad results from good decision making- this happens. However, there were and are a number of decisions made making this roster that were questionable at the time, and aren’t working out now. When you’re making bad decisions, you deserve bad results.
Also, we might say “but hey, they were awful last year, and they bounced back”- but they also didn’t make the playoffs last year. The games you punt in May do count in the standings in September, and this team hasn’t beaten a decent team in almost a month (their wins since mid-April are against a bad Royals team and a terrible Orioles team).
They’re not this bad, but they aren’t anything approaching good.
I was in bed this morning thinking that maybe Wak and Z should have taken them all out for ice cream after the game. Ice cream makes everyone feel better.
From Larry Stone’s blog, a guy on Indian’s tv going off on his horrible team. As Larry said, he might as well be one of us pained Ms fans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t9-DIKDGGA&feature=player_embedded#!
Remember how happy we were about our off-season acquisitions? It is still too early to make meaningful judgments but so far:
Figgins – disaster
Bradley – disaster
Lee – disaster (due to injury)
Kotchman – disaster
Griffey/Sweeney – disaster
League/Texiera – been OK, but unremarkable starts
Byrnes – disaster
This is just a ton of bad luck and even our biggest critics couldn’t have invented a worse possible scenario. But if the results don’t greatly improve immediately this season could be over within a week.
Also, according to MLB Trade Rumors, Jack Z is considering bringing Jose Guillen in to DH. I doubt it happens, but at least it suggests that Griffey and Sweeney’s leash has run out.
The problems start at the top of the lineup. Ichiro and Figgins have to get on base and shake things up or there is no hope.
If that’s true, I say if they want Cortes back to make themselves feel better about the YuBet trade, make it happen. The comparison at MLBtraderumors between our two-headed hugging monster and NL pitchers makes me want to go out to the garage and just end it all.
Harper is eligible this June.
Washington already has that #1 pick.
Nothing is going to change until Z and his front office realize that hitting is just as important as defense and pitching and that you must use resources (money, tradeable players) to ensure that you have adequate hitting.
They understand the importance of hitting. that’s why 6 of their first 7 picks last year were position players.
Great, so in a few years the Mariners might have some guys on the major league roster that can hit.
If they truly understood the importance of hitting, then they would have spent some of their resources this past offseason to improve the hitting at the major league level this year.
They didnt.
Give ’em Snell. Bring back Kelley.
It’s somewhat entertaining to read some of these comments. I was admonished in the off-season for complaining about the fact we had no hitting (and no #3 or #4 hitter) only to get talked down to about our improved OBP and the fact that a run saved = a run scored. I imagine a few of those folks would reconsider with the fact that a run saved doesn’t help when you don’t score a run. It’s not pretty but I think there’s a balance in Z’s approach that was not emphasized. Pitching, defense AND offense get you to the post-season. We seemed to have skipped that last notion as charliebrown so aptly points out.
Actually, I think the M’s need to change their opening theme music from that Deadmau5 song to The Doobie Brothers’ “What A Fool Believes.”
The offense was not ignored. Bradley was brought in, as was Figgins. The offense projected to be a little below average and we all knew that, and with a good defense and pitching staff, that gave the team a chance to compete.
Unless you really saw the offense averaging 3 runs a game, and going a whole week scoring as many runs as some teams do in 1 game. If you actually called that, well then bully for you.
I was in bed this morning thinking that maybe Wak and Z should have taken them all out for ice cream after the game. Ice cream makes everyone feel better.
Ice cream, and pizza, and group hugs!
Sweeney and Griffey should take the whole team for an outing to Chuckie Cheese or something.
I think it’d be kinda nice for the team to take all of us fans out for pizza and ice cream…
Besides the obvious “feel good” factor, it seems the least they could do for having to put up with all of this crappy play lately.
If they truly understood the importance of hitting, then they would have spent some of their resources this past offseason to improve the hitting at the major league level this year.
And who was out there at a price the M’s could afford without getting stuck with a bad contract?
Here are two names.
Vlad 1 year – $3.7 MM, 6.7 RAR (Batting-2010)
Thome 1 year – $2.2 MM, 4.8 RAR (Batting-2010)