Raise your hand if you think Jeff Cirillo is really hurt. Oh, put your hand down. This injury is as legit as (insert patented Jim Caple analogy here).
We may have just witnessed Rob Ellis’ last major league start.
Dan Wilson is making his 4th consecutive start, and he’s now gotten the nod in 6 of the last 7 games. Just so we’re clear:
Wilson: .251/.286/.333
Davis: .294/.339/.481
Oh, but Dan “calls a great game”. The team ERA with Wilson behind the plate is 3.60. With Davis behind the plate, its 3.86. That’s statistically insignificant. Last year, the team ERA was lower with Ben Davis behind the plate. He also throws out runners at a much better rate than Willy, if you care about such things. Every night that Box O’ Rocks pencils Dan Wilson into the line-up is a night that the Mariners handicap themselves. The single biggest improvement this team can make is turning Dan Wilson into a backup catcher who plays sparingly.
That thing you think you’ve been seeing, where Meche seems to cruise along until all of a sudden the wheels fly off — that’s not just you, it’s real.
Opposing batters facing Meche, by inning:
1-3, .231/.300/.375 (210 batters, 24 runs scored)
3-6, .250/.288/.427 (190 batters, 19 runs scored)
7-9, .416/.460/.543 (46 batters, 9 runs scored)
Or, by pitch, using the STATS Inc numbers on ESPN:
46-60, .189/.231/.378
61-75, .284/.321/.405
76-90, .324/.351/.592
91-105, .295/.354/.432 (much smaller sample here)
A batter in the late innings is almost twice as likely to score against Meche than one in the early/mid innings.
Pocket Lint has another column in the Times about trading-not trading, and it includes this gem: “Discussions with several sources confirm what generally is assumed to be Seattle’s basic trading stance: It is highly unlikely the club will add to its payroll, already more than $92 million, nor part with any of the top four or five prospects, pitchers Clint Nageotte, Travis Blackley, Rett Johnson and shortstop Jose Lopez. ”
ESPN has the Mariners payroll at $87m. No one, not even the Times when they wrote that article we made fun of here earlier this year, can manage to get their payroll up to $92m for 2003. It’s one of those lie numbers people come up with and say over and over hoping it catches on, and that a newspaper would eagerly repeat such a stupid, airy lie is lazy journalism and a disservice to its readers.
Go ahead and discuss, I’ll be back in a couple of days.
The past few days, all the trade rumors focused on a certain outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the Pirates seem amenable to trading Brian Giles, having to absorb Jason Kendall’s contract as well looks like a disaster in the making. Giles is, after all, 32 years old, and has experienced a serious decline in power this year.
However, I still suggest we trade for a left-handed outfielder in Pittsburgh. Just a different, much less expensive one.
Giles: .302/.435/.500, 278 AB, 33 extra base hits
Stairs: .299/.378/.535, 174 AB, 24 extra base hits
Matt Stairs, a left-handed pull hitter, would have few problems adjusting to Safeco Field. His defense is attrocious and you don’t want him playing against lefties, but thats why we have Randy Winn. He’s due just $300,000 the rest of the year, so forget budget constraints. At age 35, with free agency looming, the Pirates won’t ask for a lot in return.
Is Matt Stairs the answer? Probably not. He is, however, a definitely available, reasonably inexpensive left-handed bat who would be a great addition to the club.
You know, if I was an Oakland A’s fan, I’d be really worried right now. Their offense is putrid. It’s going to take some huge changes to get that team jump started. The Big Three are great and all, but you can’t win if you don’t score runs. And that A’s lineup isn’t going to score runs in the playoffs. At this point, I wouldn’t even bet on them getting there.
Like Jason, I’m optimistic the M’s will do something this year. I’m just guessing its going to be along the lines of acquiring a bench player, a Jeff Conine type, more than any real impact. However, considering just how godawful our bench is, I’ll take what I can get.
Oh, and for all the Greg Jacobs fans out there wondering why he’s still in single-A, he’s not anymore. He got the bump to San Antonio, which means that one of the Missions outfielders is likely on their way to Tacoma (or Seattle).