Game 68, Rangers at Mariners
Erasmo Ramirez vs. Joe Saunders, 7:10 pm
It’s hard to imagine having anything to say about this particular matchup. Saunders is Saunders. You saw him last year, perhaps too often. He pitches well in Safeco. We could be in trouble. Erasmo Ramirez is familiar with trouble. He’s given up dingers this year, he’s given up walks. Look at the big rates of K/9, BB/9, HR/9, BABIP, LOB%, HR/FB, everything’s increasing. This has been your afternoon summary of Fangraphs.
There’s not much you see off physically from Erasmo over his parts of three years in the majors. Stuff remains roughly the same, mile off a fastball, mile onto the slider, a couple miles added to the curve and one more off the change-up. You feel like this is within the margin of error for velocity. But the whole package has been terrible and the individual pitches have been terrible, except for the change-up, which has been not terrible, but not especially good either. For all the talk of in spring training, how McClendon wanted Erasmo to not live in the zone as much and to make quality pitches outside of it, his O-Swing% is at an all time low and for the first time, below league average.
I’ve thought about Erasmo lately probably more than I’d recommend and it seems like there is a line to be drawn between physically and psychologically off. I don’t know where he falls on it either. I’ve thought with the perceived loss of command, the elbow could be wrong in some way he isn’t telling the team staff. When I think about such scenarios, it seems possible to physically force your way through something like that. Plenty of hikes, I’ve come to the end wobbly and dragged myself to a resting spot. It seems like people who do these things, these physical acts in exchange for paychecks, might also push themselves to that limit or well beyond the point where the rest of us tucker out.
Of course, I’ve also thought that because I force myself to get to the end of that hike, the summit or just an appropriate vantage plateau, that forcing yourself to do something physical is easier in some ways. The body is after all just a body, and you’ll probably regret it until the pain goes away, but so be it [I have the luxury of saying such things as a younger man, who despite this has been dealing with a stress fracture for over a year]. Much easier than say, writing, where it’s harder to power your way through because inevitably you have results to account for and no one likes to throw away work. You could spend hours at it and get nothing, or reach the apex of your present powers only to discover later that even that in and of itself was not very good and the whole project ought to be abandoned or re-appropriated bit by bit. As this happens, and the work frustrates, and inspiration is wandering far fields, it can be harder to sit down and do it. But what about when the results you care about are the physical acts? Now things start to blur. I can care less about the results of hiking or what have you because my livelihood and my sense of self-worth aren’t contingent on it. If they were, I would be talking about it very differently.
Erasmo Ramirez is a pitcher at the highest level. He hasn’t been able to execute on things that he’s been able to do much of his adult life. He’s been told to try different things. These haven’t succeeded. He’s presumably tried other things in response. Is he blocking? Is he too damaged physically to do what he’s supposed to be doing? Was he never all that good to begin with, or does he lack whatever external factor that separates those with talent from those with craft? I don’t know that it’s any one thing right now, but it always just ends up as a combination of variables anyway, some bigger than others.
I’ll be at the game tonight because my dad and stepmom like to buy me tickets once a year and it usually falls on a bad pitching match-up. So I’ll be sitting there, watching a pitcher make some good and some bad pitches, and be thinking about life and the fact that Erasmo Ramirez could be a metaphor and also definitely is a real person. Not like that Jesus Montero guy. Go ‘Ners.
CF James Jones
LF Cole Gillespie
2B Robinson Cano
DH Jesus Montero
1B Logan Morrison
C John Buck
3B Kyle Seager
RF Stefen Romero
SS Willie Bloomquist
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29 Responses to “Game 68, Rangers at Mariners”
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Gillespie, Montero, Morrison, Buck, Romero, and Bloomquist all in the same lineup. Looks like a split-squad game.
Tacoma vs Round Rock with a few major leaguers interspersed throughout.
Go Mariners!
Romero-Montero-Buck 3-4-5.
It’s a murderer’s row, all right. Just don’t ask which team is getting murderered.
Unable to watch or listen. Did they go to replay to overturn that stolen base?
Yes, cano kept his tag on the helmet as Martin’s foot came off the bag. Heads up call!
Yeah, he slid into 2B, first foot touched and then came off, second foot touched after tag. But generally, great base umping this season. Terrible ball and strikes calling.
Walker and Pryor had nice outings today, would love to see them get healthy.
Nice, but should have been throwing home all the way, not toward second.
Typical Sunday lineups (bench guys) more often playing on Saturday nights now. At least this is the second time this month I remember Buck catching Saturday night.
Thanks guys!
Seems like at least half the times the other team makes a stupid goof on defense, it’s the Rangers.
Why didn’t Seager score there?
Bad baserunning.
This is looking like another 1 – 0 loss kind of night.
He had to wait for the ball to get through or he’d have been an easy out at third. Not bad base running. Erasmo is actually settling down and throwing a nice game. We just need some runs!
I was referring to him not scoring on the Jones dribbler up the line, not the hit through the six hole. He had no chance to score on that play, I agree.
Holy cow, a run!!!
Bad baserunning. Again.
Pinch runner. Yeah, I didn’t think Montero could run all the way to second either, the shape he’s in. And didn’t Blowers call him “Alfredo Montero”?
Ugh. Morrison strikes out in a prime time situation, again.
Why the heck was Cano looking back at the outfielder when he rounded third? He should have had his head down, running.
Yes, I am ever the cynic.
Crimony, Ackley. With a Lo-Mo special.
Awful.
Well, Romero has that strikeout thing down.
Of course I tune in to the game in time to watch them lose in the 9th. 5 games over .500 was fun.
How many of you knew it would end exactly like this? C’mon, don’t be shy. Hands up!!
Hand held high!!!
Hey….on a positive note….Happy Father’s Day tomorrow!!
I hope JY at least got to do some metaphorical reflecting with Erasmo out there.
Actually, I was able to just enjoy the game. Strike out/throw out double play, runner caught between bases, play at the plate, spinning bunt single that refused to go foul, lead changes, comebacks. The result sucked, but I was entertained for the duration.