Game 138, Mariners at A’s

Mike Snow · September 3, 2011 at 1:17 pm · Filed Under Mariners 

Update: Since it’s Labor Day weekend, posting may be kind of light. Feel free to use this as a game thread for Sunday’s and Monday’s games if we don’t get separate posts up for those.

Pineda vs. McCarthy, 1:05.

Smoak is back in the field today. Since Smoak has been thought of as a better prospect than Carp, it was assumed that he would block Carp, which is a big reason why Carp was ever tried in the outfield. That apparently motivated some of Carp’s improved conditioning, which may contribute to him turning into a better hitter. Not that Carp should really be an outfielder, especially with how many other possibilities there are that can field the position better.

At that point, then the question becomes whether you want Smoak at first and Carp at DH, like today, or Carp at first and Smoak at DH, like yesterday. Smoak has usually been considered the better defender, but it’s not clear that he’ll perform to the glowing reputation he had in some circles when he was acquired. Carp, meanwhile, is not spectacular but not a total disaster either. Smoak is still probably the better option of the two defensively, but the difference is not so dramatic that you can’t switch back and forth a little. It can keep both of them well-rested while keeping them in the lineup, and they can both learn how to adjust to the rhythms of DHing so their hitting doesn’t suffer too much.

RF-L Ichiro
CF-R Gutierrez
2B-L Ackley
DH-L Carp
1B-B Smoak
LF-R Wells
3B-L Seager
C-B Bard
SS-R Ryan

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Comments

5 Responses to “Game 138, Mariners at A’s”

  1. jephdood on September 3rd, 2011 3:49 pm

    Yeah, actually I’ve been pretty impressed with Carp’s glovework at first. Seems like he’s had to scoop/dig several errant throws over there, and really stretches well for the close plays. I’m not sure if either one is obviously better than the other with respect to range. I like the idea of rotating both at the two positions, and so far it’s not looking like Carp needs to be a platoon partner with anyone.. he’s hit great against lefties.

  2. bookbook on September 3rd, 2011 4:21 pm

    This is a relatively good looking offensive line up. I hope they perform,

    Edit: Guess not,

  3. georgmi on September 3rd, 2011 4:35 pm

    Heh. September Mariners game threads: almost as futile as September Mariners games.

  4. samregens on September 3rd, 2011 6:54 pm

    Yeah, actually I’ve been pretty impressed with Carp’s glovework at first.

    Me too. There was a foul popout yesterday, which he didn’t get but he came a lot closer than I expected, trying to make a sliding catch. Pretty nimble on his feet, at least much moreso than Smoak.

  5. henryv on September 3rd, 2011 8:00 pm

    I’m pretty sure there were more Mariners playing than people actually listening on the radio.

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