July 10th, 2007
Let’s recap:
Morning: Ted Miller quotes USSM in the P-I, then jumps on the Adam Jones bandwagon.
Afternoon: Ichiro re-signs with the Mariners.
Evening: Ichiro goes 3-3 with the first inside-the-park HR in all-star game history. Wins All-Star game MVP award.
Late Evening: Jason Churchill reports that the team will give Adam Jones a starting job and bench Jose Vidro on Thursday.
I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the best single day this franchise has had since October 8, 1995. On the heels of Felix Hernandez mixing his pitches after reading our open letter, the Mariners winning 3 of 4 in Oakland while going 14 and 4 in their last 18 games, and Mike Hargrove resigning as manager, it feels like we’ve been granted access to our own personal genie.
As a lifelong Mariner fan, I’m used to finding a pot of crap at the end of the rainbow. I like this better.
Although I am happy to see AJones get the call too, let’s not get too excited too quickly. He was called up last year
and stunk. He couldn’t hit MLB pitching, striking out 25 out of 75 ABs and batting a Sexson-like .211.
I think it’s the right time for the move and a good experiment. But he may not do anything and may be sent back down again very soon. I seem to remember the same level of internet crowing and excitement over (among others) one Jeremy Reed, who was supposed to be the steal of the century in the Garcia trade, the next sure thing, can’t miss prospect and the future of the Mariner OF. Prospects are called prospects for a reason. I hope AJ can contribute this year at the MLB level, but I remain skeptical. Looks like we will find out now.
As for our center-fielder, Ichiro is God.
Great night, but I’m having a hard time envisioning Ichiro cruising around Seattle in a Chevy Tahoe. He just doesn’t seem like a Tahoe kind of guy. Although it would have room for a humidor.
Last year Jones had an OPS of .829 in AAA, this year in a half of season he has an OPS of .963. I’ve seen too many ‘can’t miss prospects’ miss to say Jones is going to be a second half mariner MVP, but Jones has a much better chance to excel this year than last.
Last year he feasted on mistake pitches and meatballs. I remeber watching him at the end of his stay in Seattle last year and the scouting report got out to throw him anything crooked, didn’t matter if it was a strike or not. This year his approach has changed, he’s more patient, he’s recognizing pitches MUCH better and not just sitting on that mistake fastball thats right down the pipe. Nevermind the HUGE defense upgrade he brings! I think he’s taken his last swing in AAA.
#101 – I think you need to go back and reread some of the posts made regarding Reed and Adam Jones. Dave has made many posts talking about how over rated Reed was and has repeatedly discussed how much improved AJ is this year compared to last.
And remember, 75 ABs for a 20 year old does not a sufficient population make; we have to rely on some sort of translation from his minor league stats and his stats this year are ridiculous.
well, FWIW, he got 47 ABs in July, and 27 from the next two months …
but it’s a hybrid! 🙂
103, 104, 105: As I said in my original post, I agree with you all (and most everyone who cares about the Ms) that the time to call up AJones is now.
All I’m saying is that what happens next is more of a question mark than people seem to be suggesting. If he struggles mightily at the plate as he did last year in his MLB attempt, then this might be a pretty quick experiment.
I hope he contributes — it would be a great boost. The proof will be in the pudding. It will be interesting and exciting to watch the M’s the next few weeks!
MSB…that’s a “hybrid” Tahoe, don’t forget.
what a joke…
Given that almost ALL top notch players struggle in their first big league experience, posting numbers similar to Jones, I think you may be overemphasizing Jones’ numbers last year.
And Jones is not the same hitter that he was last year. That’s apparent from the numbers that have already been posted by others.
There’s always a risk, but this risk is small.
#82. joser, you should really write more stuff like that… LOL!
#90. I agree. Ichiro plays the game ‘way better than the guy M’s fans love to hate, the guy who’s supposed to be the best player in the game right now…in the last couple of years you see footage of ARod slapping at a ball, stupidly challenging an armored catcher, yelling at fielders as he runs behind them, elbowing a 2B in the “lower abdomen” after being forced at that base w/the ball on its way to 1B for the GIDP, and yesterday running into an out-by-15-feet at the plate. And it’s not like he was covering Jeter’s territory when he missed that catch yesterday, either.
#92. I thought Leyland left JJ in TOO long… Oh, well, JJ has today (and hopefully tomorrow, with Felix going against The Gambler) to rest up.
Does this mean the Chris Antonetti’ 07 Campaign goes on the shelf?
106: I think if I were Ichi, I’d trade that Tahoe on a Lotus Elise! 🙂
Karen, glad you appreciated it. I’d write more stuff like that if I could. But it was 2am and about 100° in my place and I’d been up all night drinking Hoegaarden; that combination of sleep deprivation, dehydrated intoxication, and fevered hallucination doesn’t come along very often. Probably for the best, really: regular bouts of that kind of inspiration would likely kill me.