Game 62, Twins at Mariners
Dave · June 8, 2006 at 1:35 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Johan The Great vs Joel The SubStandard. 1:35 pm. No tv.
M’s go for the sweep of the meager Twins, but have to go up against the best pitcher in baseball to get it. They hit him okay in the Metrodome, but the Small Sample Size Police will arrest you if you try to take any meaning from that.
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294 Responses to “Game 62, Twins at Mariners”
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Nobody is (s)crappier than WFB! Bite your tongue!
Great quote, from Jim Leyland on Kenny Rogers … and apropos to the Mariners mindset:
“I think everybody seems to have this fetish about clubhouse atmosphere and what does a guy like that do in your clubhouse and does he help your young pitchers and all that stuff. Well, I’m sure he does some of that. But we got him because he’s a good pitcher.”
Just a for what it’s worth post on yesterdays game. Went there and enjoyed not being at work. But more to the point, the M’s are killing Rene Riveras career. A back up catcher that is only going to play day after night games should be a end of career guy or a Pat Borders type. Rene needs to play. He will look back and probably say that the worst thing that happened to me was being in the Major Leagues. He was so lost every where. How much talent he has I don’t know but it’s leaving him fast.
Same with Reed. Another non platoon day on the bench. If they were going to do this, why not trade him before you killed his value. Again, I don’t know if he is a legit major league talent but this is no way to handle it.
Ichiro and Ibanez are carrying the team…period.
The dingers that Beltre hit this week may turn out to be bad news. Despite his hit, he is back to the bad old Beltre. Last at bat, huge swing at a high fast ball, looked at a breaking ball and struck out on a low and away pitch. Cripes, if a lousy Junior League coach can see it coming from Right Field, what is he doing????
Finally, what’s this crap about a used up bullpen. So what if they pitched the night before, it is not unheard of to do that!!!
Now really finally, this team is poorly constructed and managed. Grover used both utility guys yesterday and one as a DH. There is limited flexibility and what there is is poorly used. This home stand, however, will carry Grover to the end of this trip at least.
We are back to playing the AL West, and the team better split the next 6 games. Taking 2 of 3 from Anaheim (LA, whatever) is necessary, and coming back home with a losing record would be pathetic. The team needs to begin to make up some ground on the teams in the division, or begin to prepare for next year. Tell me there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I think it might be the 9:09 running late…
The M’s aren’t killing Rene Rivera’s career. His lack of talent is.
What Jason said.
Maybe but remember, this is a AA player put in a ML uniform. He showed signs of some talent that has resulted in this position now. If he was ever to have a real chance, he needs to play, learn and develop. He either has it or not but this, sheesh, it really is an injustice.
The problem is that he’s never hit, anywhere, for any extended period of time. The only time he hit well in the minors was in rookie ball five years ago — and that was for all of 71 at-bats. He’s shown no power, no patience, and no ability to hit for average. He’s not going to suddenly figure out how to hit.
The M’s have a player they like much better, Rob Johnson, catching in Tacoma (though admittidly he’s not hitting a lick), as well as a guy (Guillermo Quiroz) who might turn into something. Unless you want to send Rivera all the way down to AA (and that’s Jeff Clement’s spot anyway), there’s not really a place for him to play regularly.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have a veteran backing up Johjima. I would have liked to have held on to JoeJessica, for that matter. But Rivera… it’s of little consequence.
and FWIW, “Tacoma added catcher Brian Schwieger to its roster while starter Rob Johnson is on the bereavement list. Schwieger, 23, is completing his tour of the Seattle Mariners system this season, playing for his fourth full-season minor league team.”
Again, what jason said.
Rivera’s not with the big club because he earned it. Rivera’s with the big club because he’s cheap and all the other guys in the organisation (Johnson, Quiroz, Clement) have somewhere else to be. This spot’s open, we’re (apparently) willing to punt it, so in goes Rivera.
This is all the career this kid’s ever going to have.
#258: You could substitute the name “Bloomquist” for “Rivera” and everything else would be the same.
Well, you are right, he’s not going to learn it trying to hit Santana, that was ridiculous. All I’ve learned about baseball is that to win you have to give yourself a chance, no game is guaranteed. Playing this kid was beyond dumb, Joel P would have eaten him alive yesterday. You really had to see it to believe it.
No Jim, I think WB is an adequate infield utility guy. Gives the starters a day off, doesn’t do much damage either way, gets a hit now and again and can field most positions. Utility guys are not starters for good reasons and WB shows that but he is also being misused. Grover mistakes a good game for starter potential. WB is good for a day here and there but not every day!!
Well, you are right, he’s not going to learn it trying to hit Santana, that was ridiculous. All I’ve learned about baseball is that to win you have to give yourself a chance, no game is guaranteed. Playing this kid was beyond dumb, Joel P would have eaten him alive yesterday. You really had to see it to believe it.
Would you suggest Kenji play 162 games then? It was a day game following a night game; if you continue to play Kenji he’ll run out of gas in the second half.
and he may run out of gas anyway, given the lack of rest he’s getting.
No, of course not. My point was that Rene R is a minor league player that needs to play to improve. If Evan is right and the club see him as a throw away, then sitting him a lot by itself doesn’t matter. What does matter is that he cannot compete and was so overwhelmed that he was automatic. You cannot beat anyone with an out like that. He doesn’t belong here. The club is doing him a disservice and he cannot contribute. Cripes, Pat Borders could at least play the position.
It is quite rare that teams get any real production out of their backup catcher. In the last few seasons, let’s see…
2006: Mike Napoli, Todd Greene, Greg Zaun
2005: Miguel Olivo (with San Diego)
2004: Doug Mirabelli, Joe Mauer
2003: Dave Ross, Todd Pratt
2002: Brian Schneider, Todd Pratt
Pat Borders’ lines the last 3 years:
2005 197/228/265
2004 232/247/326
2003 143/200/214
I know but, it was really bad. He looked out of practice, could not catch, looked like an American League pitcher against a pissed off Roger Clemens. Really. You get something from a backup guy. You get enough good work that your starter gets a blow now and again and you are not playing with 8 guys. We are not getting any of that from Rene R.
Olivo’s not doing bad, btw. Hiting over .260 with 5 knocks.
269, I don’t give a rats behind about Pat Borders, it was just a name I could spell and DMZ wouldn’t zap me!!!!
#271: Same with Joe Borchard, in about the same number of at-bats.
By the way, did you know Pat Borders just retired about 2 weeks ago after getting called up by the Dodgers to Las Vegas? He might be available…
But would you rather have Borchard or Everett as your DH?
Pat Borders retired?
Dude, hire him as a conditioning coach. He’s doing something right to have his knees still working.
Well given, Rene’s .115 average, it is a thought!! Or Borchard in CF if we must platoon…
I’d take Todd Linden, who could had from the Giants on the cheap right now.
Well, Linden is young and has a good enough arm to play RF. I suppose you could try converting him to catcher. Seems like there might be better options, though.
As my DH, I mean. Switch-hitting .265 goodness with power and moderate plate discipline.
I hope Bavasi doesn’t read Chicago papers. Article there (See FOX Sports.com-mlb) speculated that since the CWS needed pitching, the M’s Soriano and Mateo were available. They did so well on the last trade I guess. Where does this stuff come from? Do reporters make this up or how does it go around (assuming of course that it is BS)?
The White Sox are welcome to Mateo.
Instead of Rivera playing the day game (against Santana on Thursday) after the night game, thus giving Kenji 48 hours rest (Wed./Fri.), why not have Rivera play the Wednesday night game? Then Kenji could play the Thursday day game followed by the Friday night game – two spells of 36 hours rest, rather than one of 48.
This may be too creative or out of the mainstream for Grover. (Starting catcher always takes day games off when followed by a night game, #2 hitter always bunts, LP against a lefty hitter, pinch hit for the #9 guy, even if he’s has a couple of hits that day, etc.)
Aaaaaaaaaand the trade season has begun:
“DENVER (AP)  The New York Mets traded slumping second baseman Kaz Matsui and cash to the Colorado Rockies for utilityman Eli Marrero on Friday.
Also, today, Antonio “Six-Finger Fastball” Alfonseca and Scott “Literal Bush League” Saurebeck were DFA’d.
Must have been a truck load of cash, doesn’t Matsui make about $8M a year?
Matsui is in the third year of a three-year, $20.1 million deal.
Looks like the Mets paid both guys for the rest of the year. Maybe they will take Beltre???
Sure, and we’ll take David Wright.
Sure, young kid like that, has no business in that pressure cooker of NY press. Be the best thing for him. Oh, well, forgive me, am looking out at a guy para sailing on a beautiful Friday afternoon while I read reports. At least I can talk baseball a bit!
Our bench is so bad that Matsui would be an upgrade.
#281– re: the Chicago note, it was from a speculation piece about the fact that Williams has been known to trade mid-season… the Ms were listed as one of 5 teams he’s dealt with recently, & not naming players that the author knows are available: “Mariners relievers Julio Mateo and Rafael Soriano would be pleasant additions, though Soriano has a history of arm problems.”
personally I find it fascinating that the NY papers manage each sunday to produce new articles on who the Yankees & Mets should trade for, and have been doing so for at least a month already…
oh, and as Pat retired because he couldn’t take living way away in Vegas after playing the early part of the season at home, I’m guessing he’s not coming back here soon 🙂
Mets sent something like $4.5M to the Rockies with Matsui (and Colorado subsequently optioned him to AAA).