Is it time to admit that the Gil Meche we saw in April is not the same Gil Meche we’re running out there every 5th day anymore?
Month ERA GS IP H R ER HR BB/9 IP K/IP
April 2.53 5 32 29 10 9 5 2.53 8.16
May 3.70 5 31.2 29 13 13 4 2.31 6.35
June 3.58 5 32.2 28 13 13 3 3.35 5.31
July 5.51 6 34.1 39 22 21 8 3.70 5.54
August 4.30 3 23 18 11 11 4 3.52 6.65
Pre AS 3.61 18 112.1 107 47 45 17 2.81 6.26
Post AS 4.79 6 41.1 36 22 22 7 3.48 6.53
April’s strikeouts stand out as an abberation. His K/IP the rest of the year has been average or worse. When he succeeds, its because he’s throwing strikes, which he hasn’t done recently. His walks are up, his homers are up, and he’s been a below average pitcher since the all-star break. At this point, it might be rational to not only limit his workload, but consider shutting him down for a few weeks regardless. The M’s greatest strength is their pitching depth. As good as Meche was early in the year, that is just a memory now. It may be time for Rafael Soriano to enter the rotation, and not at the expense of Freddy Garcia.
The Moose doesn’t just steal food from vendors. Check out this past Moose-related incident from the Kingdome days. You’ll note, if you look at the complete thread, that it’s verified by witnesses, etc.
Gil sure got a dose of the whupping stick today. 2 HRs and 7 other guys on base in six innings, only 2 Ks… man. Meche is like Freddy Garcia, except with good starts mixed in. Meanwhile, Rafael Soriano has a 1.22 ERA and hangs around in the pen. I have to think Soriano could be used in the rotation for a couple starts, give Meche some time off, maybe, see what’s up.
And on the other side, with the same number of pitches, Josh Towers went nine innings, walked none, and only two runs scored. This against the (relatively) juicy M’s lineup, with Cameron back and Wilson sitting. I predict Sanchez will continue to hit until Dave concedes that he’s hitting well, after which Sanchez will go 0-for the rest of the season. Never concede, Dave! Never give up!
Also, how in the world do dogs manage to bark continously all day? My neighbor’s finally taken care of Popper, the Welsh Corgi, and now another neighbor’s got a lab (I think) out in their yard that barks, barks, stops, barks… all day. Don’t their throats ever get sore? Doesn’t barking ever bore them? Boy, I’m sure going to miss my neighbors when I move.
Oh, hey, there was a game last night, right?
Edgar Esta Caliente! or whatever it is they flash on the scoreboard now.
Rey Sanchez continues to give people reason to fill our inbox with “See, this guy is a good hitter” crap. Given any 18 game sample, absolutely anyone can hit .348, including a lot of pitchers. The fact that all 23 of hits hits since joining the Mariners are singles should tell you something. He’s getting extraordinaly lucky at the moment. This recent hot streak brings his season line to .246/.282/.267, by the way. Thats still good enough to get you released by the Devil Rays. If the Mariners actually go through with the idea of having Guillen shift to third base so we can get this guy in the line-up more often, well, I won’t be surprised. It would fit in well with other great strategies like “Mark McLemore, left fielder” and “Dan Wilson, multiyear contract”
3. The M’s aren’t interested in the Potted Plant. Hooray!
4. Not only did Ryan Franklin not give up a home run to the Blue Jays, he only gave up one extra base hit. Stunning, really.
5. Folks, save yourself five minutes and skip over Steve Kelley’s columns.
Bret Boone.
Is your.
AL MVP.
Jayson Stark’s column today features a 7-game series simultaed on Diamond Mind Baseball between the 1962 Mets and the 2003 Detroit Tigers. I’m so inspired by this I’m thinking about seeing if I can’t play some all-time Mariner series (say, 1995 versus 1980. 2001 versus 1995.)
In the primitive stats we get from Blogger, we sometimes see what people were searching on. Usually it’s something normal, like a prospect we talked about, or crimes the Moose has committed. So once in a while we see some weird paths people followed to our little corner of the net. Today’s gem: a search on Google led someone here while looking for “Greg Colbrunn’s wife”.
Midland’s old stadium was a giant bandbox, a hitters park along the lines of Coors Field. Piatt wasn’t exactly young for the league, either. Other Texas League stars who just aren’t good major league hitters:
Jason Hart, 2000, Midland: .326/.410/.582. 23-years-old at the time.
Jason Lane, 2001, Round Rock: .316/.385/.608, 24-years-old at the time.
Keith Ginter, 2000, Round Rock: .333/.445/.580, 24-years-old at the time.
Adam Piatt is what he is; the part time half of a platoon who offers nothing but the ability to hit lefties. The minors are full of guys with similar skillsets. He is the definition of replacement level.