Mariners End Disappointing First Half
| MARINERS (40-52) | ΔMs | ANGELS (44-46) | EDGE | |
| HITTING (wOBA*) | 4.0 (11th) | 13.0 | 56.3 (3rd) | Angels |
| FIELDING (RBBIP) | -16.7 (23rd) | -2.5 | -7.6 (19th) | Angels |
| ROTATION (xRA) | 5.6 (13th) | -3.5 | -31.0 (27th) | Mariners |
| BULLPEN (xRA) | 2.2 (14th) | -3.4 | -9.0 (26th) | Mariners |
| OVERALL (RAA) | -5.0 (12th) | 3.5 | 8.6 (11th) | ANGELS |
The final series before the All-Star Break begins today and despite actually being about 57-58% through the season, it’s considered the mid season mark. The record is a disappointment for sure but a lot of the underlying factors are trending positive.
For the first time in a long while, the offense ranks as above average. Sure, a lot of that is Raul Ibanez and Kendrys Morales, but Smoak, Seager, Franklin and Miller are producing and after a stint in Tacoma, perhaps Ackley will get back on track as well.
That the Mariners’ -5 overall run mark ranks 12th shows a bit how the teams are slightly lopsided this season, tilted toward some legit powerhouses like Detroit, Boston, St. Louis and, somehow, Pittsburgh.
I’m out and about again this weekend so this is yet another abbreviated commentary preview. Here are some bullet points. This series I’m feeling:
Most optimistic about Kyle Seager. There’s nothing to pick out as a problem.
Most pessimistic about Nick Franklin. Franklin’s one walk and 19 strikeouts in the past two weeks is a blaring klaxon PTSD’ing me to Ackley.
Mariner I’m most looking for to not being a Mariner is Raul Ibanez. At this point, it’s actually about the potential return in a trade than anything else, but I’m also not sure who takes his playing time in the outfield. Which is itself a horrible and predictable result of this winter’s terrible roster planning.
Rainier I’m most looking forward to being a Mariner is no longer Erasmo Ramirez so, I don’t know, Brian Moran?
| Batter | PA | P/PA | Slash line | nBB | K (sw) | 1B/2B/3B/HR | Sw- | Ct+ | Qual+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K Seager* | 61 | 3.8 | .358/.426/.623 | 7 | 6 (5) | 13 / 2 / 0 / 4 | 97 | 114 | 155 |
| R Ibanez* | 56 | 4.2 | .314/.393/.608 | 5 | 12 (11) | 10 / 1 / 1 / 4 | 97 | 98 | 118 |
| B Miller* | 56 | 3.8 | .286/.375/.469 | 7 | 13 (12) | 7 / 5 / 2 / 0 | 105 | 96 | 118 |
| K Morales^ | 55 | 3.8 | .314/.364/.608 | 4 | 12 (10) | 9 / 3 / 0 / 4 | 115 | 99 | 123 |
| N Franklin^ | 49 | 4.0 | .250/.265/.438 | 1 | 19 (17) | 7 / 3 / 0 / 2 | 109 | 90 | 108 |
| M Zunino | 47 | 3.6 | .205/.277/.227 | 3 | 10 (8) | 8 / 1 / 0 / 0 | 110 | 91 | 88 |
| J Smoak^ | 47 | 3.9 | .357/.438/.619 | 5 | 8 (5) | 8 / 5 / 0 / 2 | 96 | 109 | 139 |
| E Chavez* | 37 | 3.5 | .303/.395/.364 | 4 | 4 (4) | 8 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 102 | 99 | 92 |
| D Ackley* | 36 | 3.9 | .212/.278/.303 | 3 | 6 (4) | 4 / 3 / 0 / 0 | 99 | 100 | 91 |
| M Saunders* | 30 | 4.3 | .280/.400/.600 | 4 | 8 (6) | 2 / 3 / 1 / 1 | 93 | 98 | 109 |
| J Bay | 27 | 4.1 | .208/.321/.625 | 3 | 9 (6) | 1 / 1 / 0 / 3 | 88 | 84 | 150 |
| Batter | PA | P/PA | Slash line | nBB | SO (sw) | 1B/2B/3B/HR | Sw- | Ct+ | Qual+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Pujols | 46 | 4.0 | .225/.326/.375 | 6 | 6 (5) | 7 / 0 / 0 / 2 | 102 | 108 | 102 |
| J Hamilton* | 46 | 3.8 | .333/.435/.744 | 7 | 10 (8) | 5 / 4 / 0 / 4 | 105 | 92 | 143 |
| M Trumbo | 44 | 3.6 | .238/.250/.500 | 1 | 14 (12) | 5 / 2 / 0 / 3 | 108 | 81 | 71 |
| E Aybar^ | 43 | 3.8 | .350/.372/.425 | 2 | 5 (5) | 12 / 1 / 1 / 0 | 103 | 114 | 122 |
| M Trout | 43 | 4.1 | .361/.523/.667 | 7 | 7 (5) | 6 / 5 / 0 / 2 | 79 | 102 | 155 |
| H Kendrick | 42 | 4.0 | .244/.286/.512 | 1 | 8 (8) | 6 / 0 / 1 / 3 | 125 | 101 | 70 |
| A Callaspo^ | 41 | 3.8 | .237/.293/.289 | 3 | 3 (2) | 7 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 99 | 113 | 72 |
| J Shuck* | 36 | 3.9 | .306/.306/.417 | 0 | 4 (3) | 8 / 2 / 1 / 0 | 96 | 116 | 75 |
| H Conger^ | 23 | 3.8 | .286/.348/.667 | 2 | 5 (5) | 2 / 2 / 0 / 2 | 95 | 103 | 156 |
| MARINERS | ΔMs | ANGELS | EDGE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INFIELD | -4.7 (18th) | -1.6 | -15.6 (28th) | Mariners |
| OUTFIELD | -12.0 (24th) | -0.9 | 8.0 (10th) | Angels |
| RBBIP | 0.317 (25th) | +.002 | 0.313 (20th) | Angels |
| OVERALL | -16.7 (23rd) | -2.5 | -7.6 (19th) | ANGELS |
12 JUL 19:10 – JOE SAUNDERS* vs JEROME WILLIAMS
13 JUL 19:10 – FELIX HERNANDEZ vs JERED WEAVER
14 JUL 13:10 – HISASHI IWAKUMA vs JOE BLANTON
| Reliever | BF | Str+ | nBB | Ct- | K(sw) | GB+ | HR | Qual- | LI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B Beavan | 56 | 112 | 4 | 108 | 9 (8) | 79 | 3 | 122 | 0.6 |
| C Furbush* | 53 | 107 | 1 | 92 | 19 (14) | 96 | 1 | 139 | 1.3 |
| D Farquhar | 52 | 104 | 4 | 89 | 16 (12) | 99 | 2 | 106 | 1.2 |
| O Perez* | 48 | 108 | 3 | 85 | 18 (13) | 56 | 1 | 97 | 1.7 |
| T Wilhelmsen | 46 | 102 | 5 | 95 | 10 (7) | 95 | 2 | 106 | 1.2 |
| Y Medina | 43 | 98 | 4 | 98 | 10 (9) | 132 | 0 | 108 | 2.1 |
| C Capps | 42 | 99 | 5 | 105 | 8 (5) | 93 | 4 | 121 | 0.6 |
| Reliever | BF | Str+ | nBB | Ct- | K(sw) | GB+ | HR | Qual- | LI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G Richards | 56 | 97 | 7 | 98 | 8 (7) | 160 | 0 | 86 | 0.8 |
| D De La Rosa | 50 | 112 | 1 | 89 | 15 (13) | 106 | 1 | 96 | 0.9 |
| E Frieri | 49 | 109 | 3 | 90 | 23 (19) | 79 | 0 | 74 | 1.6 |
| K Jepsen | 46 | 96 | 4 | 110 | 8 (7) | 93 | 0 | 84 | 1.9 |
| M Kohn | 40 | 105 | 4 | 101 | 7 (7) | 62 | 3 | 82 | 0.6 |
| B Buckner | 34 | 98 | 3 | 114 | 5 (4) | 87 | 2 | 127 | 0.4 |
| S Downs* | 26 | 96 | 2 | 94 | 7 (4) | 113 | 0 | 112 | 1.5 |
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8 Responses to “Mariners End Disappointing First Half”
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Franklin’s AAA numbers were not Peguero-ish, so it’s possible he can adjust… but given the current team management, I doubt he’ll be given any impetus to do so. Wedge’s stated examples of a good plate approach have been Beltre this year and Olivo previously…
I’m glad to see Saunders showing some power again.
I feel bad for Ackley. He should’ve been given more time in AAA to adjust to being an outfielder again. It has been a few years, and I expect being a major league center fielder is significantly harder than a college CF. Of course if he doesn’t hit, he’ll be back down there soon enough – but who will replace him?
The future is interesting and maybe even hopeful – but this last series demonstrated the team still has a long way to go.
The pitching staff is in a slump. And the Manager is clueless as always, both from a lineup/defense construction standpoint and also from a defensive positioning standpoint. But the young guys have all been varying degrees of promising, and a lineup that contains 7 young hitters, plus Ibanez and Morales, is perfectly acceptable to me. They just need to fire wedge and bring in an interim guy whose mandate is to give every possible inning to the youth core. Chavez and Morse and Bay *may* bring a few more wins, but they are worthless wins. Miller, Franklin, Seager, Smoak, Zunino, Ackley, and Saunders should be in the lineup every day that they are healthy enough to go. It may be the whitest lineup in MLB since the 60’s.
I’d argue that pitching has been an issue all season, both starting and bullpen. I don’t understand why Brian Moran is still down in Tacoma. How much worse can he be than the backend of the current relief corps? It is frustrating to see Carter Capps go out there with a good fastball, but not enough other pitches to survive in the major leagues. Send him down!
We’re about 5 wins under where I figured we’d be which is a little disappointing. But I’m enjoying watching this team play right now.
I would point out that any interim guy would likely play for the same worthless wins this year that Wedge would to prove he can do the job. Unless Jack instructed him to do otherwise(just play the kids) which he could say to Wedge without replacing him.
Morse really doesn’t have a spot on this team right now but he’ll push someone off the roster when he returns. My guess would be Ackley at this point. He still can’t lay off or hit the outside pitch.
Carter Capps is in Tacoma. The pitcher I’m watching right now is Iwakuma. He’s homer prone and in the last 29 innings(covering 5 starts) he’s allowed 10 which is exacting the amount he allowed in his first 14 starts. He’s a much different pitcher when he controls the home runs. I’m crossing my fingers that changes soon.
There’s about 2 weeks left before the end of the non-waiver trade deadline(discounting AS week). A vet or two could be moved but I wouldn’t count on much coming back.
Rainier I’m most looking forward to seeing as a Mariner is Danny Hultzen…
…in an imaginary world where his shoulder isn’t disintegrating and making me wonder if he’ll ever make it to the majors, and if he can handle 200+ innings a season, which is what a guy with his skillset needs to provide.
I’m nervous about Hultzen, when he was the guy I was most excited about last season.
Dammit.
And re: Franklin
I’m most worried about how Wedge is gonna screw him up… Wedge actually said in an interview the other day, when Franklin first missed a game, but only one, and was put right back in…
“That’s what these guys need to learn, to play through the soreness… It’s part of being a major leaguer…”
(pulling my hair out)
Yeah, great Eric, tell the injured guys “Just buck up! Man up!”
Maybe that’s where Ackley went wrong, playing with injuries last year because his manager didn’t think a true major leaguer needs to heal?
Bongo-
Capps is already in Tacoma. They read your mind…
Interesting.