Raul Ibanez Might Still Take Pride In His Defense
This is not being published for the purposes of making any greater point. I don’t intend to make a statement about the front office, I don’t intend to make a statement about the coaching staff, and I don’t intend to make a statement about Raul Ibanez. Raul Ibanez is not being judged by me on the below, because the below are aberrations, and because the below aren’t why Raul Ibanez is on this team. This is being published because sometimes when Raul Ibanez plays defense it ends up being really god-damned hilarious, and who am I to deprive you of a smile? It’s been a hell of a week. Kick back, relax, and watch a professional baseball player look funny on TV.
(I would embed, but something weird is happening and I don’t have the patience to figure it out right now. You’ll manage.)
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22 Responses to “Raul Ibanez Might Still Take Pride In His Defense”
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I didn’t think there was a way for Raul to top the lawn dart but man.
Lay off Rauuuul. Didn’t your mom teach you to respect your elders? You whippersnappers with your high-defenestration videomacams and slow-motion Graphics Interchange Format files.
That’s what I call hi-freakin-larious!!
This is too funny I don’t even know what to say here.
I wish we still had Wells… fuuuck
Hilarious.
I love the unnnecessary slide to not catch the ball.
I’ve seen plump little leaguers play a more capable outfield.
Raul in the outfield is like an episode of Keystone Kops all by himself. Sad in reality, funny in retrospect.
It’s a damn shame that last one didn’t put him on the 60-day DL.
I’d give him shit but it’s not his fault he’s being criminally misused by the FO/Wedge.
Going into the season, writers like Johns were saying the team talk about bringing Ibañez in to be a veteran leader really did seem to be the case, and they didn’t seem to care how productive a player he’d be. I don’t think the plan involved running him out there every day…
But, on the other hand, the roster construction pretty much dictated that there would be times where this bad option was the only one available! I laugh at these plays, but I largely agree with Hutch – this isn’t Raul’s fault, it’s the front office’s fault. They didn’t learn from all the problems that happened back when they chose to carry Sweeney and Griffey, because they’ve basically repeated that mistake… and with even less excuse, since they already had a pretty good idea regarding Gutierrez’s durability.
When you see these GIFs, try to picture a bald older white guy (Z) in them… because really he’s the one muffing these balls, at least as much as Raul.
Is part of why Raul was brought back so that he could retire in a Mariners uniform and be a “true” Mariner (like Junior) who started and ended his career here and is inducted into the lofty Mariners Hall of Fame? (Is this in the FO’s thinking?)
REMEMBER THE CASPER!!!
We didn’t trade him for better talent…or even worse talent. He didn’t get injured. We voluntarily let Wells (1.0 WAR) and his outfield defense skills (and his .698 SLG)…go… so we could keep Ibañez (.3 WAR) (and his .598 SLG so far in 2013) and Bay (-1.1 WAR) (and his .668 SLG in 2013). And not to forget that Wells is younger than both.
I openly MOCK this organization and their decisions. Get someone who understands baseball! We’ve put up with this for a decade and the empty promises of “next year is the plan” are ringing hollow now!
And Raul is back in LF tonight. Fiddly dee.
You casper wells apologists are more pathetic than Raul’s defense.
You do realize that, as disappointing as Casper Wells performance was while he was here, his OPS just while on the Mariners was higher than Jason Bay’s with the Mariners… right?
So ignoring defense and ignoring any complicated stats – Bay was still the wrong choice.
I get what both sides are saying in this argument about Casper Wells. Because the thing is, Casper Wells is clearly a better choice than Jason Bay (and arguing otherwise would be stupid) but the reality is you’re still choosing between a C- and a D.
It has nothing to do with being a Casper Wells apologist and everything to do with the Mariners putting a quality team on the field. Maybe Raul does provide benefit as veteran leadership, but it’s not what the fan sees. And I think you have to question the value added by leadership when the improvements to the offense are due to better hitting by Morse and Morales, added talent, and not an increase in production by the younger players Raul is supposed to influence.
Kudos to Raul for trying his best when put in bad situations. It’s not his fault, but the results are pretty funny.
Casper Wells apologist = person who cares about basic competencies.
The thing that really makes that third GIF work is the McDonalds “I’m loving it” logo in the corner, which elevates the ridiculous to the sublime.
What is Casper Wells basically competent at enough to warrant his inclusion on a Major League roster? At this point, apparently nothing, according to more than one organization.
While I get the complaints about Raul and Bay vis-a-vis roster construction, it’s such a minor flaw in the overall makeup of the club when 5 spots of the everyday lineup are offensive wastelands and a manager sits in the dugout who goes out of his way to make poor decisions that negatively impact the team’s chance of winning a game.
There aren’t enough 28 yr old above average OF defenders without much of a bat to make up for those kinds of holes.
Boooooooo!!!!!!
#cutRaul