Game 88, Tigers at Mariners
RHP Zach Miner v LHP Jarrod Washburn.
I… I… here.
DH-L Ichiro!
3B-R Beltre
2B-R Lopez
LF-L Ibanez
1B-R Sexson
RF-S Everett
C-R Johjima
CF-R Bloomquist
SS-R Betancourt
I can’t think of the last time the M’s have fielded an outfield defense this bad. And behind Washburn? This is a meltdown in the making and all we can do is watch. This is worse than early-2004 Ibanez/the start-of-the-season lost Winn/Ichiro. Maybe a 2003 McLemore/Winn/Mabry? I know, I’m reaching here.
At the end of this game thread, the person who comes up with the most recent outfield alignment that’s comperably bad will get a congratulatory email and a year’s subscription to USSM.
Game 86, Angels at Mariners
RHP Colon v LHP Moyer.
Garret Anderson in left field! Woo-hoo! Hopefully we’ll get to hear that he’s also a centerfielder, and that’s why he’s so good in the outfield.
Standard no-Reed anti-RHP lineup, with Johjima still behind Everett because Everett prevents another R-R pairing in the lineup.
Game 85, Angels at Mariners
Jeff and I both attended today’s game and watched, in horror, as an elderly woman in front of us finished her nachos and then used her fork to eat the (substantial amount of) leftover cheese. When the fork prongs weren’t effective, she turned the fork around and used the handle to scoop the last little bits out.
So! Why the hell does Hargrove not use Soriano when the game is close and they’re in trouble, but instead chose to bring in Mateo, who’s been crap almost all year, and then bring in Soriano much later (granted, he didn’t do well, but I don’t get the logic).
Also: bleaccch.
Game 84, Angels at Mariners
BATTLE OF THE PHENOMS!!
Jered Weaver v Felix Hernandez!
If only we could have picked up Jeff Weaver to replace the pinata Pineiro in the rotation, we could have looked forward to all kinds of stories about the family connections. Instead, a matchup of talent v talent!
AND THE DEBUT OF CHOO!
Yup. Lineup out right now says
RF-L Ichiro!
3B-R Beltre
2B-R Lopez
LF-L Ibanez
1B-R Sexson
DH-“S” Everett
C-R Johjima
CF-L Choo
SS-R Betancourt
Also, Fruto’s up, as Green went on the DL with a bad back.
This should be a fun game to watch.
Game 83, Rockies at Mariners
RHP Jennings v LHP Washburn. 1:05.
Day game after a night game means Johjima’s got the day off. Rivera plays, bats 8th (!) ahead of Betancourt (I sort of see the logic… you get a Betancourt-Ichiro turnover at the bottom, and yet…)
If Arizona can beat Oakland today (Webb v Zito) and the M’s win, well.. I don’t want to say anything.
Game 82, Rockies at Mariners
RHP Byung-Hyun Kim vs. RHP Joel Pineiro, 7:05pm.
Kim has turned his career around after a disasterous 2004 season in which he posted a 6+ ERA (albeit in limited action). This year he’s at 4.31 through 11 starts, and despite pitching half his games at Coors Field, has only surrendered five home runs on the year. He’s also on something of a roll right now, having allowed no runs and nine hits in 13 innings over his past two starts.
Then you have Pineiro. It’s been a month since his last good start, when he held Kansas City to one run over seven innings. In the four starts since then, he’s allowed 31 hits, ten walks, and has fanned just 12 hitters in 21.2 innings, all good for a Boeing-friendly 7.47 ERA. Ugh.
Yes, the thread is up a bit early. Please play nice.
Game 81, Rockies at Mariners
RHP Josh Fogg v LHP Jamie Moyer.
The team returns home over .500, and what a great day for it. I’m tempted to hop on a bus and head on in. I’m curious to see if the M’s start to see walk-up ticket sales pick up now that they’re in the hunt.
I’m still a little hungover from last night, so if everyone could try and type quietly, that would help out a lot.
Everett returns to the lineup. We may see if the team’s recent tear was due to losing the DH.
Game 80, Mariners at Diamondbacks
Gil Meche vs. Arizona’s other E. Gonzalez, Enrique. 6:40pm.
Oakland has won; Texas has lost.
Game 78, Mariners at Diamondbacks
Washburn v Webb! Webb rocks, and hopefully this’ll be a good game to watch. 6:40.
Still no Everett-in-the-outfield sightings, which is good.
Game 76, Mariners at Padres
Crafty lefty Jamie Moyer vs. RHP Chan Ho Park, who’s making over $15M this year. 7:05pm.
Usual Ichiro-Beltre-Lopez Ibanez-Sexson-Johjima Reed-Betancourt-Moyer batting order.
Beltre, in case you were wondering, is hitting .311/.374/.544 in 90 at-bats (small sample size caveats apply) since moving into the #2 slot. Over the course of a full season, and given his defense, that’s the sort of production which justifies his contract. Sadly, the news isn’t so rosy for Richie Sexson. He’s slugging over .500 in June, sure, but he’s not walking enough to get away with a batting average in the low .200’s.
I’ll come right out and say it — the M’s need a win after dropping back-to-back games. Oakland’s already lost today, and Texas is down 7-0 early at Colorado.