Ichiro the slap-hitting singles machine has hit 16 doubles, 3 triples, and has 7 home runs. Meanwhile, in New York… the power hitting Matsui has 23 doubles and seven HR. Their lines:
Ichiro: .356/.398/.487
Matsui: .286/.340/.432 (side note — Matsui’s having a monster June that’s finally dragging his season stats to the not-totally-embarassing level)
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Who’s got the better Japanese player? We do, that’s right, you whiny New Yorkers.
Mariners Home Run Race 2003
—
Boone, 19
Franklin, 18 (though as Niehaus cannot stop mentioning, “15 of those have been solo shots” as if that has anything to do with anything)
Garcia, 15 (or the same number of solo shots Franklin’s given up)
Edgar, 14
Meche, 11
Cameron, 10
Moyer, 9
Ichiro/Mateo, 7
Which brings us to another edition of
Derek’s Wacky Mariner Pitching Rate Stats
Who abf h% hr% bb% k%
Franklin 409 21.0% 4.4% 6.4% 12.0%
Garcia 412 21.4% 3.6% 8.5% 14.6%
Meche 377 21.0% 2.9% 7.2% 17.8%
Moyer 396 19.7% 2.3% 8.1% 17.7%
Mateo 119 21.8% 5.9% 6.7% 19.3%
Carrara 141 28.4% 4.3% 9.9% 9.2%
Pineiro 430 20.7% 1.4% 9.3% 16.5%
Nelson 107 20.6% 2.8% 11.2% 26.2%
Hasegawa 142 19.7% 1.4% 4.2% 12.7%
Sasaki 85 22.4% 1.2% 8.2% 24.7%
White 7 28.6% 14.3% 14.3% 0.0%
Rhodes 130 14.6% 0.0% 7.7% 23.1%
Soriano 26 15.4% 0.0% 11.5% 30.8%
Apx AL averages: H 23%, HR 3%, BB 8%, K 16%
(leaving White and the demoted Carrara out of this for now)
Leaders, good sense: H, Rhodes, HR Rhodes, BB Hasegawa, K Soriano
Leaders, bad sense: H Sasaki, HR Mateo, BB Soriano, K Franklin
Soriano makes me think of Bull Durham.
“He walked 18.”
“New league record.”
“Struck out 18.”
“Another new league record.”
Here’s another thing on my mind: who cares about Safeco Field? Safeco’s another HOK park, it’s got a retractable roof. What aspect of Safeco reflects Seattle? What makes it truly distinctive from any park built in the last couple of years? View of the Seattle skyline? Blocked in large part by Seahawk Stadium, which is a huge fucking disgraceful boondoggle and I cannot believe as a city we built a ballpark and then immediately decided to wreck the ballpark’s view of the city by sticking a football stadium right in its sightlines. How can no one be fired, sued, or impeached over this? Every day the Mariners play, 35 thousand people can’t see Smith Tower because the Seahawks are playing what, ten games a season and wanted a stadium that for whatever stupid reason had to have really high sides.
But here’s my point: Safeco’s a nice place to watch a game. I have some gripes, but they’re not that serious. What it lacks is a truly distinctive spirit (I’ll be editing this post when I come up with a better word) that we’re going to love now and in 50 years. PacBell’s an amazing park, with McCovey Cove and this beautiful feel to it. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has a great look, and the warehouse — it’s distinctive and immediately recognizable. But a lot of these other HOK parks are generically nice: Great American Ballpark sucks, but it doesn’t suck distinctively compared to say Miller Park. I don’t want novelty as a salve: don’t give me a pool in centerfield, or a hot-tub, or pole dancing, or whatever. Okay, maybe the pole dancing. No! What I’m looking for is something in a park that says “You’re in Seattle.”
We used to have it in the views, but we pissed it away. We’re a short-sighted and stupid city, corrupt and lazy, and given the chance to preserve something truly distincitive, a beautiful calling card, we sold it to Paul Allen.
Minor League Highlights for Sunday, June 22
New Orleans 7, Tacoma 5 (15 innings). The two teams played an epic battle Sunday, with New Orleans scoring three runs in the top of the 15th to win it after the Rainiers had scored a run in the bottom of the 9th to force extra innings. RHP Scott Atchison (4 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 B, 5 K) took the loss for Tacoma in relief of starter Brian Falkenborg (5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2 HR). Offensively, the Rainiers were powered by homers from SS Mickey Lopez, DH Greg Colbrunn and C Julio Mosquera.
San Antonio was idle, as the Texas League played an extremely light schedule Sunday. The Missions have yet to announce a starter for their game with Arkansas.
High Desert 5, Inland Empire 1. The 66ers fell short on offense, managing just four singles and two doubles in the game while leaving six runners on base. LHP Glenn Bott (3 1/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) left the game early and took the loss, though the bullpen kept the game close. LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith pitched a scoreless inning (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) in his high-A debut. 3B Hunter Brown and LF Jason Van Meetren each doubled for the 66ers, with Van Meetren driving in DH John Castellano for the lone run.
Burlington 10, Wisconsin 5. Wisconsin pitchers gave up 19 hits in the game, as LHP Bobby Livingston was roughed up (5 1/3 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) and took the loss to fall to 9-3 on the year. RF T.J. Bohn, who scored once and drove in a run, had two of the Timber Rattlers’ seven hits, and C Christopher Phillips drove in a pair of runs.
Everett 4, Spokane 1. LF Josh Ellison had a monster game, going 4-4 at the plate with a double and a run batted in. Ellison, who also scored twice and stole two bases, is now hitting an even .500 on the young Northwest League season. Meanwhile, five Everett pitchers combined to limit Spokane to five hits in the game, with the win going to RHP Felix Hernandez (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Hernandez took over for starter Elvis Perez (3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), who is working on a rehab assignment and will likely be promoted shortly. RHP Brian Stitt worked a shaky 9th (1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) for his first save.
In other minor league news, OF Jamal Strong made his 2003 season debut in rookie ball yesterday. He was apparently pretty rusty after the long layoff, going 3-3 with a triple, two walks and a steal. Once he gets some at-bats in, Strong should report to either San Antonio or Tacoma.
And now, a reminder that no matter who’s on your schedule, you still have to go out and play the games. M’s fans were pretty happy having three games with San Diego while the A’s had three with the Giants, but after the dust had settled this weekend, the Mariners lost two of three while the Athletics won two of three. Don’t look now, but Oakland has won eight of their last nine and is only 5 1/2 games back.
Minor League Highlights for Saturday, June 21
New Orleans 7, Tacoma 4. LF Jalal Leach and RF Kenny Kelly each homered for the Rainiers, but it wasn’t enough to lead them to victory as LHP Matt Thornton was hit hard again (4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), falling to 0-2 with an 8.00 ERA since being promoted from San Antonio. Outside of Leach and Kelly’s homers, the only bright spot for Tacoma was the relief pitching of RHP Aaron Looper (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K).
Midland 4, San Antonio 1. RHP Chris Wright, back in the starting rotation after the promotions of LHP Matt Thornton and RHP Rett Johnson, was hurt by his defense and allowed three unearned runs. SS Jose Lopez, 1B A.J. Zapp and 3B Rob Gandolfo each made errors behind Thornton (5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). Offensively, the Missions out-hit Midland 9-8 but were only able to score once. 2B Jay Pecci, thriving since his demotion from Tacoma, and DH Chris Snelling each had a pair of hits.
Inland Empire 4, High Desert 1. The 66ers rallied for a late victory, scoring three runs in the 8th and one more in the 9th to make a winner of LHP Ryan Ketchner (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) in relief of RHP Cha Seung Baek (4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K). DH Blake Bone and C Luis Oliveros each had a pair of hits, with Bone driving in two runs . RHP Enmanuel Ulloa (1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) struck out the final batter of the game to pick up his first save of the year.
Wisconsin 7, Burlington 1. CF T.J. Bohn and C Rene Rivera each hit two-run homers, as the Timber Rattlers took a 6-0 lead after three innings and never looked back. RHP Tanner Watson picked up the win with his first complete game of the year (9 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), improving his record to 2-3. DH Carlos Arroyo and 3B Matt Hagen each doubled twice, and SS Michael Garciaparra had a pair of singles.
Vancouver 4, Everett 3. Despite seven hits and eight walks, the AquaSox managed just three runs thanks to stranded 11 runners. RHP Randall Frye, the M’s 4th round draft pick in 2002 making his season debut, started for Everett but wasn’t around for the decision (5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K). Offensively, SS Luis Cordova had a pair of singles and LF Josh Ellison scored twice.
Minor League Highlights for Friday, June 20
Tacoma 7, Memphis 2. RHP Rett Johnson (7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) was shaky early, but settled down and didn’t allow a hit after the 3rd inning to win his AAA debut. The Rainiers pounded out 14 hits in support of Johnson, with 2B Mickey Lopez leading the way with a 3-5 night. DH Greg Colbrunn, LF Jalal Leach and SS Ruben Castillo each added a pair of hits, and Leach, 3B Luis Figueroa and 1B J.R. Phillips each drove in a pair of runs.
Midland 6, San Antonio 4. Midland jumped on LHP Travis Blackely (5 1/3 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) for a run in the 1st and four more in the 2nd, dropping the young Australian to 9-3 on the season. Offensively the Missions were led by LF Mike Curry, who went 2-3 with a double, two runs scored and a run driven in. RF Elpidio Guzman also had a pair of hits in three at-bats and scored once.
Inland Empire 17, High Desert 2. The 66ers exploded for 17 runs on 16 hits, scoring in all but the 1st and 2nd innings. All that offense was more than enough for LHP Troy Cate (8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), who has pitched much better than his 3-7 record. Seven players — CF Dustin Delucchi, 3B Hunter Brown, 1B JOhn Castellano, LF Greg Jacobs, DH Cristian Guerrero, 2B Evel Bastida-Martinez and C Luis Oliveros — had two hits each. The 66ers hit seven homers in the game, including two each for Brown and Jacobs.
Burlington 9, Wisconsin 2. LHP Cesar Jimenez (2 1/3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) allowed six runs in the first inning, as Burlington pounded out 16 hits and limited the Timber Rattlers to just five. 3B Matt Hagen provided most of the offense, scoring both the team’s runs and going 2-2 with a homer, a walk and a run batted in.
Everett 4, Vancouver 3. LHP Beau Hintz, who posted an 8.39 ERA at Wisconsin this year, found the Northwest League more to his liking and picked up the win (6 2/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) in his first start with the AquaSox. C Brian Lentz had two hits and scored twice, and CF Josh Womack drove in a pair of runs with a triple.
Well, that was fun.
Six words I never thought I’d see together:
-L Ugueto hit for A Rhodes.
Now, I’m not listening to the game, so I’m not going to assume that Bob Melvin really did lose his mind, but can someone explain to me how he chose Luis Ugueto as his pinch hitter in this situation. Other apparently available options included:
Edgar Martinez (good choice)
Mark McLemore (not as good of a choice)
John Mabry (bad choice)
Guillen’s hurt and I understand not wanting to burn your backup catcher with a 3 run lead, so we’ll ignore Wilson as a potential pinch-hitter. But wasn’t I just reading an article about Arthur Rhodes sending a ball into the upper deck in Safeco Field? Does anyone really think Luis Ugueto is a better major league hitter than Arthur Rhodes? Is choosing Luis Ugueto over Edgar Martinez grounds for admittance to a sanitarium?
This worked last time I tried it, so: ” I’d love to see Meche bring the A game tonight. We’ve seen him decent and good this year, and I’m dying to see him bust out another really great game, rack up some Ks.” And boy, did it work… I know Maddux racked up 11Ks, but I didn’t notice — Meche was as good as I’ve ever seen him until he came to earth a little later in the game.
It’s time to face our natural rivals, the Padres. There’s a long history of animosity between these teams. Feel free to use these handy phrases while watching this series and its twin later in the week:
“There is no love lost between these two competitors.”
“When these two teams get together, you can throw out the record book.”
“Forget everything you know about these two teams, because this is a whole other ballgame.”
“People talk about New York and Boston, Cubs and Cardinals, but they’ve never seen these two squads go after each other.”
Many people forget that there’s also a historical basis for this rivalry. During the 1600s, Spanish missions were frequently intercepted on the high seas by English privateers, who would steal their supplies and press them into service in the English navy, a practice which led to many conflicts between the two countries including a bloody 20-year trade embargo of northern Spain by England and France intervening in support of the Basque civil war. The English navy’s habit of forcing people into service — this was called impressment — also sparked a second war with the US in 1812. Anyway, the Catholic Church was heavily funded by the Spanish crown, and antagonised by Queen Elisabeth’s split of the Anglican church. Pope Matthews the V attempted to deploy the Vatican navy to blockade London in 1662, but suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Admiral Stevens. The church issued several edicts exhorting all good Catholics to forsake marine service, which in the end only created more tension when Catholics were forced to charter ships from Anglican and other pagan crews, and the Padres were forced to endure long journeys filled with torment.
Making fun of interleague stupidity is hardly even fun anymore: look at what I’m reduced to.
This series should be a cake walk for the M’s, and I don’t mean the kind of hard cake walk with music and little tickets you have to keep track of. No, this is some kind of brand new super-easy cake walk where someone just hands you a cake and you walk away with it.
Fri, RHP Gil Meche v RHP Oliver Perez, 7:05
Sat, RHP Joel Pineiro v RHP Adam Eaton, 7:05
Sun, RHP Ryan Franklin v RHP Jake Peavy, 2:00 (ESPN game, I think)
None of the San Diego pitchers have had a lot of success this year, but I think Peavy’s talented and will come around eventually, and that could be a fun game to watch. Adam Eaton’s a local boy from Snohomish. And if the M’s win they’ll push the Padres further down, giving the Tigers (playing at Colorado) a chance to gain some ground in the race to not be the worst team in baseball.
Minor League Highlights for Thursday, June 19
Memphis 4, Tacoma 2. The Rainiers ran into Cardinals top prospect Dan Haren, who limited them to two solo home runs in eight innings of work. LF Adrian Myers and 3B Luis Figueroa each connected for the long balls, but Tacoma couldn’t manage anything else. RHP Jeff Heaverlo got the start and gave up three runs in four innings. RHP Brian Sweeney made his first appearance out of the bullpen in some time, tossing three scoreless innings of relief. Rett Johnson makes his AAA debut for Tacoma tonight, so if you don’t have any plans, head down to Cheney Stadium. Take a “We love the U.S.S. Mariner†sign and I promise Jason Michael Barker will personally come over and give you a hug. Or at least say hello.
San Antonio 2, Midland 1. RHP Clint Nageotte had one of his good starts, holding the RockHounds to one run in seven innings of work. He gave up just two hits, walked four, and struck out eight. LHP Randy Williams got the win in relief, though, as the Missions scored once in the 8th to tie and once in the 9th to take the lead for good. San Antonio racked up 12 hits, including two apiece for DH Chris Snelling, CF Jamie Bubela, LF Michael Curry, and 2B Jay Pecci.
Inland Empire had the day off. They begin a series at High Desert this evening. Expect a few inflated ERA’s over the weekend.
Burlington 3, Wisconsin 2. RHP David Viane only allowed two baserunners in three innings of work, but one of them crossed the plate in the 10th inning as the winning run, and Viane was saddled with the loss. RHP Tom Fulmer got the start and pitched seven strong innings, allowing just two runs despite putting 13 men on base. 3B Matt Hagen went 1-2 with his team leading 12th home run and also stole a base and drew two walks as the main offensive contributor. RF T.J. Bohn went 3-4 and scored a run as well.
Vancouver 7, Everett 2. Yes, Everett made it a perfect four for four, with all of the Mariners affiliates playing last night scoring two runs. Weirdness. RHP Audi Alcantara took the loss with 5 rough innings of work. He didn’t have his command working and allowed five runs on five hits, three walks, and a hit batter. The bullpen continued its strong work until RHP Kenly Chang gave up 2 runs in the ninth inning. Offensively, CF Chris Colton is repeating his strong start from last year, getting two more hits and just missing his second home run of the year. SS Oswaldo Navarro went 2-3 as well. On the downside, the Aquasox were caught stealing three times with just one successful attempt.
Also, one last friendly reminder, but I’ll be joining Pat Dillon on the AquaSox pregame show tonight at 6:30 p.m. You can find the game on 90.7 FM KSER, or try the streaming broadcast from the link on the Aquasox homepage.
Hallelujah.
Nice to see Soriano get some work today and pitch well. I really don’t want him sitting around waiting for a starter to get bombed so he can throw mopup work. He needs to pitch regularly. I’d still rather he be in Tacoma, but if he has to be here, use him.