Game 154, Mariners at Rays
Dave · September 25, 2010 at 12:00 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Fister vs Garza, 4:10 pm.
You know what would be nice? Seeing Justin Smoak get a couple of hits, draw a couple of walks, and generally remind us all that he can hit. That won’t happen today, though, because he’s not playing. Apparently, we haven’t seen enough Casey Kotchman this year. Oh, and Michael Saunders isn’t playing either, even though there’s an RHP on the mound. Yup.
Ichiro, RF
Figgins, 2B
Lopez, 3B
Gutierrez, CF
Kotchman, 1B
Moore, C
Mangini, DH
Carp, LF (not kidding)
Josh Wilson, SS
What also would be nice is if he was actually playing. WHY THE HELL IS KOTCHMAN IN THE LINEUP? OR LOPEZ?? Bench these clowns!
Good news. I’ve lost 10 pounds since the all star break.
Also, everytime I see our lineup, I puke.
If this last 2 weeks keep Lopez here then can we get rid of ownership insisting he stays.
You know what would be nice? Having a manager who isn’t a complete idiot.
We used to have one like that, but he got fired.
Kotchman is at first? Carp is in left? Lopez is at 3rd? WHY???
I’ve been trying to stick with this team, watching for hope from the young guys – but the manager doesn’t seem to understand what players should be getting on the field. I think I’m sitting this game out – just like the players I’d prefer to see.
Not today, Kotchman is the hot hand so he’s playing!
Who is at DH?
Oh, Mangini at DH. That’s cool. He can flat out hit.
Carp in LF along with Kotchman and Lopez starting?? Oh wow has Brown been drinking Wak’s kool aid or something?
Ugh…what a stupid, stupid manager. Thank god he is just the interim.
It would be nice if everyone wouldn’t jump to conclusions. Both Saunders and Smoak have had injuries off and on and how do you know that isn’t the case today. If that isn’t the case then yes, the manager sucks but why don’t you wait until you hear something.
At least Mangini is playing. Otherwise, what a ridiculous choice of players. Can’t wait to get a real manager.
I think assuming someone is injured unless you hear otherwise is a rather odd way of thinking – especially when it comes to young guys who don’t have a history of being hurt (as opposed to, say, Milton Bradley or Jack Wilson). Saunders hasn’t been injured for quite a while. Neither has Smoak. There’s simply no reason to assume they’re hurt now.
Carp’s not an outfielder. If Smoak needs a day off, it’d make more sense to let Carp lay first. If Saunders needs a day off (which is unlikely anyway), we actually do have a few honest-to-goodness outfielders on the team – playing Carp out there is just silly. There’s no way Kotchman will be back next year, and he’s been horrible offensively. We’re not playing for anything – there’s no reason to put him out there when there are young guys who need to a chance to show whether or not they have major league talent.
Larry LaRue, in a comment, said he thinks the Mariners keep playing Lopez because they hope to trade him this winter. Is there any way that could be true? Wouldn’t that require they pick up his option?
Yikes, I just noticed that all of the players in the Mariner’s lineup are slugging below .400.
Carp played a lot of games in LF in Tacoma when Smoak joined the team. I don’t know how he did but does it really matter at this point in the season? Why not see if he can play there, it’s not like Saunders is tearing the cover off the ball. Everyone is hyping Saunders up but he can’t hit lefties and he’s hitting around .200 on the year
I think the manager is concerned about tossing out a lineup too heavy on rookies since Tampa’s in a tight race with the Yankees.
We may know how much our “veterans” suck…but the league might still frown on putting the Rainiers up against a playoff team.
FOR GOD’S SAKE WHY??????
Limited mobility and not real good at reading balls—why SHOULD we see him there?
Why limit a player to one position. It’s called flexibility
Ibanez wasn’t the greatest LF but he could hit.
Good point but I think the league knows how bad Lopez and Kotch suck by now and I don’t think they’d be offended by us playing Smoak
I would really like to see if Mangini can play 3B for the rest of the season. Has Lopez earned his time – don’t think so. Maybe Mangini can help this team, only one way to find out.
Why, Figgy will be at 3rd next year with Ackley at 2nd.
I just want to see the shock on everyone’s faces when they make the weirdest decision ever and bring Lopez to spring training. And he’ll have an OK spring, get the job, and then suck just as much as this year.
That’s a recurrent nightmare I have. They’ve done screwier stuff.
Fixed that for you.
Lopez and Kotchman again? This is drifting away from simple asshat-ness and bordering on full blown gluteal haberdashery.
Carp looked pretty good in LF in a super-small sample size during the AAA playoffs at Safeco Field, flashing some range and decent hands. I don’t seriously expect him to be anything more than average out there, and not-a-disaster is probably more realistic, but this team has bigger issues than running Mike Carp out to LF in a meaningless game in September. Such as why Jose Lopez and Casey Kotchman are even playing, much less batting 3rd and 5th respectively.
What is with the Saunders obsession? In 105 PA’s (all of August and so far in September) the guy has a .130 BA, a .238 OBP, and is “slugging” .228. Yeah, yeah, I know – small sample size.
Well, obviously you don’t really believe in small sample size – but that’s exactly what it is.
If one wanted to cherry pick, one could also choose to point out that in half a season’s worth of plate appearances, he’s hit 9 home runs – basically as many as Jose Lopez, but in 1/2 the plate appearances.
But the whole point is this – Saunders and the other kids need to be given consistent and considerable playing time so the team can determine what they have, exactly. Or don’t have. Continuing to run veterans out there who have already demonstrated they aren’t worth a lot simply doesn’t make sense.
Dude plays like he is on Qualudes. Three toed tree sloth watching might be more entertaining than his “intensity” at the plate. Someone stick a fire-cracker up his ass – please. You are in the big leagues son … play hard.
It’s too early to give up on Saunders, Moore & Smoak. That’s really all I have left (other than Felix). What an awful year. If they aren’t playing I just don’t bother.
Might as well play Moore (C), Smoak (1B), Mangini (DH), Tui (3B), and Saunders (LF) every day…. Let the kids play. They are the future of the team–not Lopez, Kotchman, etc.
It’s more entertaining to watch Smoak take a walk than it is to watch Lopez hit 3 HR’s. Although watching Lopez attempt to run is the funniest thing ever.
It’s obvious I’m a fan of the young guys – but I agree that it’d sure have been nice if at least one of them had come up and immediately started hitting, rather than making us drone endlessly on about “potential” and “future” and “small sample size”.
Maybe it’d be worthwhile to record Felix’s next start on my Tivo, copy it over to my computer, and cut out all the frames he’s not in. Then, whenever there’s a game, I’ll just watch that over and over.
Heh, game thread with no game commentary.
I hope you keep the blog going next season Dave. I don’t blame you if you decide to close it down though. What a boring team to watch when anybody but Felix is pitching.
It’s hard to feel sorry for the Yankees, but what does it do the sanctity of baseball when you have two teams in a pennant race and only one of the two teams is playing major league competition?
I am sure Yankee fans were looking at the schedule a few weeks ago and saying, that’s not fair, but they’ll probably have to face Felix at least once, so they won’t sweep. Think again. Yankee fans would rather the Rays were playing the Washington Generals rather than the Mariners.
Well, it’s hard to comment on a game I didn’t watch. 😉 And Mr. Brown put a lineup together that I had no interest in seeing.
I complained about it – but maybe he actually did me a favor.
The Red Sox are going through the same motions as the M’s are. And I couldn’t care less what Yankee fans feel. What good would it have done the M’s to change their rotation to move Felix back? The M’s owe the Yankees nothing.