Reichert tossed

DMZ · April 20, 2005 at 3:51 pm · Filed Under Mariners 

Well, we wrote a ton about the gamble the M’s took on him, here at USSM and at the PI, and it’s over. The Rainiers released Dan Reichert. It seems… hasty? To punt a guy this early seems needless. I mean, they just brought back Andrew Lorraine. It’s not as if there’s a lot of pressure to create a spot in the Rainiers’ rotation.

On the other hand, I’m having trouble getting that worked up about this. The Mariners brought him in for spring training, and he didn’t make the team, as they chose to make a weird couple of decisions at the back of the bullpen and didn’t give him a shot as a starter.

Comments

32 Responses to “Reichert tossed”

  1. Russ on April 20th, 2005 3:54 pm

    He’s not from Poulsbo is he?

  2. Evan on April 20th, 2005 3:55 pm

    Who’s the drunken idiot now, eh?

    I would have liked to see Riechert make the big club out of the spring, but failing that we still could derived some benefit from him. We have some major question marks in our rotation, and holding on to Reichert at least through May struck me as good insurance.

  3. edwin on April 20th, 2005 3:56 pm

    I only saw Richert one time, and he had a very hard time throwing strikes. He gave up 5 runs the first two innings due in large part to his lack of command that night. He did not impress me, but it was only one night.

  4. Jim Thomsen on April 20th, 2005 3:57 pm

    So is he just another Thornton with good stuff who can’t control it? That’s how it looks … but since you guys don’t much like Thornton and do like Reichert, I wonder how you analyze the problem with Dan. What’s he missing, besides the plate and the occasional bat?

    And it may be possible that Reichert and/or his agent requested the release. Maybe another organization thinks more of him, or maybe he’ll wind up in Japan or Korea in a couple of days.

  5. Jim Thomsen on April 20th, 2005 4:08 pm

    I look forward to the Rainiers’ annual signing parade of pitching chaff. Andrew Lorraine is the first of this parade, to be soon followed by Vance Lovelace, Gary Rath, Lindsay Gulin, Brent Hinchliffe, Brent Knackert, Dana Kiecker and Darren Oliver.

  6. Jim Thomsen on April 20th, 2005 4:09 pm

    And how could I forget Rich Monteleone ….

  7. PLU Tim on April 20th, 2005 4:16 pm

    Reichert was released to make room for Albie Lopez? Jesus…

  8. Troy on April 20th, 2005 4:24 pm

    OT: ITP is reporting Spieeeeeeeeeeeezio to the DL and Choo to the big club.

  9. David J Corcoran on April 20th, 2005 4:25 pm

    CHOO IS UP!!!!

  10. Jim Thomsen on April 20th, 2005 4:25 pm

    Albie Lopez fits right in on the Rich Bordi-Scott Downs Express. Lovely. Sheesh.

  11. wabbles on April 20th, 2005 4:28 pm

    RE #8: As I have heard nothing about any medical ailments afflicting Spiezio (except maybe an aversion to hitting a baseball into play during Major League baseball games), I suspect this might be an opportunity to take another look at Choo so we can designate Spiezio for assignment. Stay tuned.

  12. Jim Thomsen on April 20th, 2005 4:31 pm

    Or maybe Choo will get the “Leone Treatment” — 5 games, 5 bench splinters in his ass, 0 ABs. Where exactly is he going to play?

  13. Jeff on April 20th, 2005 4:35 pm

    If Andrew Lorraine’s nickname is not “quiche,” I have lived the last 20 years of my life backwards.

  14. David J Corcoran on April 20th, 2005 4:35 pm

    Re 12:

    They can’t call up Choo to ride the pine every day. It just wouldn’t be right. I fully expect him to platoon with Reed.

  15. David J Corcoran on April 20th, 2005 4:37 pm

    Which is to say, I fully expect him to start in Left field tonight, with Winn switching to Centre.

  16. Troy on April 20th, 2005 4:38 pm

    “Platoon with Reed.”

    Ummm, they’re both lefties there DJC. And I’m sure Choo will just be a sub used irregularly. At least this means Grover has another lefty PH to go to instead of Dobbs.

  17. Troy on April 20th, 2005 4:38 pm

    Which is to say, I think you’re hilarious.

  18. wabbles on April 20th, 2005 4:39 pm

    Well, everything I’ve read says Choo plays right field. But as that position is, um, taken, I suspect they will try him in left and maybe center.

  19. David J Corcoran on April 20th, 2005 4:39 pm

    Shoot. What an idiot. I knew that!

    *Corcoran’s wall smacks DJC repeatedly*

  20. Dave on April 20th, 2005 4:43 pm

    Choo was converted to left this year because of that Ichiro guy. And, honestly, anyone who can play right can probably play left. Weird quirks like the green monster withstanding, they’re basically the same position, except RF requires some arm strength.

  21. Steve on April 20th, 2005 4:47 pm

    Speaking of released players, I just noticed yesterday that the Mariners released Vince Faison last week. Faison was the minor leaguer and former No. 1 pick who came along with Jarvis, Hansen, and Wiki in the Cirillo trade. The guy who brought with him a strikeout average (K/AB) of .308 after his first five years of minor league ball. The guy about whom Bavasi commented: “[Faison’s] a tools guy (good arm, bat and speed) and we want to give him an opportunity to bloom a little bit”.

    Just think, all we now have left to show for the Cirillo dalliance is Wiki Gonzalez!! Is that poetic justice or what?

  22. MacMariner on April 20th, 2005 4:54 pm

    Winn is playing LF and batting 2nd. Bloomy is starting in CF with his Zito dominating numbers of 7-22.

    We’ll probably see Choo PH before the night is over is my guess.

  23. wabbles on April 20th, 2005 5:05 pm

    RE 21: That’s not all we got from the Cirillo debacle. You’re forgetting about “The Curse of David Bell.” Look how well the Indians fared after trading Bell for Joey Cora. Look how well we fared after trading him or releasing him or whatever we did to him. It’s a curse. It’s real, I tell ya.

  24. David J Corcoran on April 20th, 2005 5:29 pm

    Guys, we traded Dave Hansen for Jon Huber, so he is a remnant of the Cirillo debacle, no?

    Huber isn’t bad.

  25. John in NV on April 20th, 2005 5:30 pm

    Speeeezzz has “pain in his side” and it “felt fine last night” but it “hurt a lot when he woke up this morning.” PLU: what kind of Lute are you with those Hey-Soos comments? You need to say a dozen “Hail Frosty”s and attend Rejoice! for the next month.

  26. msb on April 20th, 2005 5:32 pm

    #11-re:Speizio; all 3 local papers reported today that he’d tweaked an oblique, just like last year. from the Times: “This time, whatever his injury turns out to be and however long it takes to heal, Spiezio probably will listen. He did not last year, and he admits that the condition “lingered some” as he had the worst season of his eight-year career. “I had trouble running, swinging from the right side,” he said. “But no excuses. They told me I should take time off. But I didn’t want to go on the DL. I had just been on the DL for my back, and I had signed that contract with Seattle, and I felt I should be out there playing. This time, whatever they tell me, I’ll listen.”

    feel free to add your own joke here.

  27. anotherjeff on April 20th, 2005 5:59 pm

    Glad to see that Chooie is going to get a crack at things. To bad Doyle just came back into action, it could have been him.

  28. AK1984 on April 20th, 2005 6:36 pm

    Well, if the M’s send down Greg Dobbs and call up Justin Leone, then things will be even better…btw, how long until Damian Moss, Greg Jacobs, and Ryan Christianson are back? The Tacoma Rainiers ought to release Andrew Lorraine and Masao Kida. Also, the Rainiers outfield looks pretty strong with Abraham Nuñez, Jamal Strong, Chris Snelling starting and Dustin Delluchi on the bench.

  29. Bela Txadux on April 20th, 2005 8:07 pm

    Reichert was a fair gamble, but he came in on the odds, which were heavily against. He didn’t make the team out of camp, on merit, and was shelled in the only Tacoma start I saw a line for him. He wasn’t making it, and wasn’t going to; not the outcome I would have preferred, but there it is. As has been mentioned before, Bavasi has bungled the back part of the Ms roster, and there are a lot of ‘trade filler’ and ‘project’ guys floating around the organization not doing anything that management hasn’t been willing to part with hitherto, like Faison, Reichert, Kida, and plenty of others. Sounds like the FO has decided to purge some of the dross at the minor and major league leveal and concentrate PT in guys who might actually make a contribution at some point.

    Regarding Choo, I’m glad to hear he’s the one who got the call. The Ms broke camp _without_ a fourth outfielder; Bloomquist doesn’t count. I found that ridiculous for a major league organization, and find the continuation of the situation unacceptable. Bavasi gambled there would be a trade or waiver situation at the end of camp to remedy the situation a la Jolbert Cabrera—and came up short. Nobody is making trades this early in the season; the only option is to promote from within. Choo got off to a fair start with the Rainiers, he can play all three outfield positions, and was the obvious person to fill the slot. It would be better, of course, if he got a couple of months of AAA, ’cause he’s far from complete as a player, especially in his control of the strike zone. But he’s a better package than anyone presently on the Ms bench. Incidentally, if Spiezio is the one getting bumped to bring in ‘a real player,’ it’s Dobbs whose position over the mid-term (2-3 months) whose slot is really in jeopardy.

    Regarding Spiezio . . . maybe he did wake up hurt. Myself, I’ve thought he never recovered from his back injury at the end of ST in ’04, which was ‘still bothering him’ in August last year. Or this could just be standard operating dissimulation to park Scott in limbo while the Ms get someone on the bench who can actually contribute in the meantime. . . . [Nothing personal, Scott] Spiezio has got to go. I don’t care if the Ms leave him on the DL for a couple of months, or activate and DFA him, but he can’t contribute and the Ms need to eat the contract and reassign his slot to someone who can actually do something for the club. I have the feeling that management is fin-al-llly coming round to that view, now that Hargrove has seen Spiezio ‘in action’ and probably weighed in.

    And if Andrew isn’t known as “Ersatz” Lorraine, I want to know the reason why *hor-hor-hor*.

  30. johnb on April 20th, 2005 10:59 pm

    I would say the 4th outfielder is Raul Ibanez. Dobb’s and Bloomquist can also paly in the outfield. when we had Edgar he was a lump when it cam to flexibility because he couldn’t play in the field. Rotating the DH a bit helps keep the team flexible.

  31. Adam T on April 21st, 2005 12:29 am

    Was in Tacoma tonight – 2nd game there this season – and Baek had to leave after 1 inning, not certain why but he was stinking and the trianer went out to speak with him right before being pulled.

    My first game (Sunday) the pitcher was hit on a comebacker and had to leave.

    You guys better be glad I wasn’t there to see Felix yesterday, it would have been a lot worse!

    Anyway, seems to me they could have still used Reichart, especially since I’ve seen Kida throw about 7 innings of relief to far.

  32. Ralph Malph on April 21st, 2005 12:09 pm

    I don’t get “Ersatz” Lorraine. I think his nickname should be “Alsace”.