Game 75, Mariners at Athletics

DMZ · June 28, 2005 at 7:05 pm · Filed Under Game Threads 

LHP Moyer v LHP Zito. 7:05, FSN.

A couple years ago, this would have been a great pitching matchup.

Comments

80 Responses to “Game 75, Mariners at Athletics”

  1. Yet Another Paul on June 28th, 2005 9:43 pm

    Just got home and heard something odd on the radio feed.
    The trivia question was: What was the A’s logo before it was the stylized “A”?
    Answer: An Elephant

    That’s where they left it. No explanation or anything.
    Does anyone have any background information on that?

  2. DMZ on June 28th, 2005 9:44 pm

    It’s the wonder of the Internets, come to your help:
    http://www.whitecleats.org/elephant.html

  3. Jim in Edmonds on June 28th, 2005 9:45 pm

    For me, tonight’s Magnolia Moment was when I turned off my TV.

  4. Matt Williams on June 28th, 2005 9:47 pm

    Yet Another Paul are you looking for info on the elephant? Very early when the team was formed a reporter referred to the team as a “white elephant”, I think Connie Mack took a liking to it and the image stuck. They’ve used it off and on, both as official and unofficial logos.

  5. Matt Williams on June 28th, 2005 9:49 pm

    Doh, reading through DMZ‘s link it wasn’t a reporter but an opposing manager. Oh well.

  6. DMZ on June 28th, 2005 9:58 pm

    It’s nights like tonight that make me wish my Tivo had a skip-30 days feature. I feel like there’s almost no point to watching games anymore.

  7. eponymous coward on June 28th, 2005 10:04 pm

    Well, it’s official- we won’t have a .500 record halfway through the season.

    We’re also one of 5 AL teams under .500. Good times.

  8. Rusty on June 28th, 2005 10:10 pm

    Getting ready to duck…

    Why is watching the M’s lose 8-1 so unwatchable? At least there’s hope with this franchise. It’s better than being a Devil Rays or Royals fan where there is little or no hope. Or even a mid-80’s M’s fan for that matter, where there was little hope. I will admit that even though I moved here in ’86, I didn’t start watching the M’s until 90 – 91 ish. And there were some bad M’s teams in the early 90’s. But still, there was always something to watch for back then and there still is today.

    I wasn’t glued to the tv set tonite. I was doing 3 other things while keeping an occasional eye on the set. To me, that’s one of the beauties of baseball. Anyway, maybe this is heresy but I find this year’s team much more watchable than last year’s. Last year’s expectations were for a 90+ win season and having those expectations dashed was a real let down. This year my expectations were much lower and even though these low expectations aren’t being met, at least it’s fun watching a younger team try to come together.

  9. TaeBo Jackson on June 28th, 2005 10:17 pm

    At least it was a three Ichiro! hit night.

  10. DMZ on June 28th, 2005 10:18 pm

    Part of it’s that I’m tired anyway, but watching a game where the M’s starter gets shelled early and the team never really puts up any serious challenge is demoralizing. The team’s offensive problems still mean that if they’re down by a couple runs, they’re almost certainly going to lose that game, and then you’re watching for the things you’re talking about — the new players, an interesting defensive play, whatever. And sometimes, that’s not a lot of fun.

  11. Jim Thomsen on June 28th, 2005 10:21 pm

    I have to admit that I’m not paying much attention anymore. I’m just as demoralized as they are. There are bad teams that go down fighting and take extra bases down 10 runs and slash away with utter determination in the final frame … but this 2005 M’s team isn’t one of those. They are in the bell jar, man.

  12. Rusty on June 28th, 2005 10:25 pm

    Re: 60… yea, good point. I agree. Having to watch for the “other” things night after night gets a little tedious. But I’m still not too down on the team because the jury is still out on Bavasi, the fanbase and revenue stream can still support a sizable payroll, and there is some raw young talent that can still be transformed in the coming years. Hopefully I can carry at least a few good memories forward to better years. And, in fact, that one game earlier where the 4 rookies at the bottom of the order came through is 1. I guess I’m waiting to double those good memories soon.

  13. Griffin on June 28th, 2005 10:27 pm

    I’m so sick of watching these clowns play baseball. I try to stay optimistic, but jeez, this is ridiculous.

  14. John in L.A. on June 28th, 2005 10:41 pm

    I agree, DMZ.

    And the reasons I do want to watch, they merely dribble in. I want to watch some youth, so they bring up several guys unlikely to start in 2005 if ever. Other than Reed… who has been a highlight for me to watch, they aren’t bringing up the people I most want to see.

    And your post clarified something I’d been thinking about.

    I like Randy Winn, think he is very underrated. But I want them to trade him. ASAP.

    Not for any good strategic reasons, not for any particular player I want in return. It’s become very simple to me.

    I want to watch Doyle play. Period. I want him up in bigs and roaming the outfield at SafeCo. Or DHing, whatever.

    But for purely selfish, entertainment reasons I want him called up.

    So that I have another reason to look forward to watching any given game. Because some of my old reasons are wearing thin.

  15. Jim Osmer on June 28th, 2005 11:01 pm

    I just want some change. Right now the Morse and Reed at-bats are the best things about the games. Give me some Doyle and Lopez and some pitchers worthy of being in a rotation.

  16. AK1984 on June 28th, 2005 11:26 pm

    Re. #64:

    I know this might be thought of as off of the mark, but aren’t most Seattle Mariner fans more enthralled with guys like Jamie Moyer, Bret Boone, Willie Bloomquist, et cetera? I mean, generally, Seattle fans are as intelligent and rabid as any in the country.

    As it was, the Game Six matchup in the NBA Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Supersonics and the San Antonio Spurs was one of the best sporting experiences of my life, wherein the fans around me were seemingly informed folks who were down for cheering the Sonics and laying it down on the Spurs (e.g., cheering Tim Duncan when he was apparently injured, which he ultimately wasn’t), and it was good times. Also, I went to the Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams NFC Wild Card playoff game and the fans were as loud as can be — although most Seahawk games are like that — and it was fun. Heck, even up in Everett, the NIFL and WHL games with the Hawks and Silvertips, respectively, are enjoyable experiences.

    I guess, in the end, my point is that going to Mariner games can be boring and lame, as a majority of the fans come across as a mixture of stiff, ignorant, and doltish; it’s really unfortunate, actually.

  17. troy on June 28th, 2005 11:57 pm

    # 66, being around “informed” people who were willing to cheer when TD went down hurt is one of the highlights of your life as a sports fan?

    Wow.

    As a native Seattleite, I was embarrassed by that move. I’ve always hated towns like Philadelphia where fans would cheer someone getting hurt. I never thought my town would be one of those, and was thoroughly disappointed when it happened.

    Different priorities, I guess.

  18. AK1984 on June 29th, 2005 12:30 am

    Re. #67:

    As long as it isn’t a serious situation, then I’m all for supporting one’s team. Obviously, there are circumstances where everyone is universal is understanding that cheering is flat-out unacceptable; however, as it concerns a play wherein a player turned his ankle, with the worst possible outcome having been a torn ligament, during a playoff game, then I’m all for disregarding the health of an opponent for the betterment of the team’s success.

  19. Typical Idiot Fan on June 29th, 2005 12:35 am

    As long as it isn’t a serious situation, then I’m all for supporting one’s team. Obviously, there are circumstances where everyone is universal is understanding that cheering is flat-out unacceptable; however, as it concerns a play wherein a player turned his ankle, with the worst possible outcome having been a torn ligament, during a playoff game, then I’m all for disregarding the health of an opponent for the betterment of the team’s success.

    Sad. And pathetic.

    I guess that means we should instruct our pitchers to aim for the head.

  20. AK1984 on June 29th, 2005 2:39 am

    Re. #69:

    Technically, for your analogy to work, it would mean that rather than aiming for the head, the pitcher should instead aim for the thigh; thus, the likelihood for injury is less, while the impact is nearly the same. Besides, a pitcher aiming for a batter’s head would correlate to my saying that ” [if it was a] serious situation,” then one ought to stay quite and not cheer.

  21. Alex on June 29th, 2005 6:37 am

    #70 – It saddens me to hear you (essentially) say that you agreed with the Sonics fans that cheered when Tim Duncan got injured in the playoffs. I thought that was completely classless on the part of the fans who chose to do that. I mean, where’s the cut off point (in your opinion) as to when it’s “okay” to cheer about an opponent’s injury? Is it when they injure their leg? Is it when they’re knocked out cold, lying on the court? Worse?

    Now don’t get me wrong, I’m the type of person who goes by the “it’s not a foul unless the ref calls it” sort of philosophy, so it’s not as if I am some campy, uber good sport kind of guy. I just think that there should be some regard for a person’s health because they are a fellow human being, no matter what color their jersey/uniform is. That’s my two cents worth.

  22. Russ on June 29th, 2005 6:58 am

    Wow, didn’t see this till this morning.

    I never want to see anyone injured, from any team and this includes guys like Jose Guillien and other pieces of work.

    I want to see our team go head to head with the best to win or at least see some big league efforts.

  23. Dead Ball Tim on June 29th, 2005 7:46 am

    I just don’t believe him (Bavasi) when he says that he hasn’t given up on this season. As of this morning the M’s are 13.5 games behind and in 4th place. They’d be in 7th place if that were possible, so theres a bit of luck! He can’t possibly believe his own propaganda. He can’t be that silly. It can’t sound positive to say “we give up” so he won’t say it directly. I (and everyone else, surely) will be watching what he does, not what he says. I suspect that his actions and his words won’t quite match up as he positions this team to be in full re-building mode for the second half of ’05. Winn, Boone, Sele, Olivo, others… I won’t be surprised to see them all go.

  24. Grizz on June 29th, 2005 9:01 am

    From today’s P-I Notebook:

    “Spiezio, who has battled oblique muscle and bat problems, could be back with the Mariners by the weekend.”

    Either DMZ ghost wrote this or Hickey wryly slipped one past his copy editor.

  25. Dead Ball Tim on June 29th, 2005 9:12 am

    oh yeah… forgot to mention… only Tampa Bay and Kansas City have achieved a deeper futility than the M’s at this point… Offer Lou a contract?

  26. David J Corcoran on June 29th, 2005 10:43 am

    74: So it was a fake injury this whole time! I knew it!

  27. Ralph Malph on June 29th, 2005 11:19 am

    I wonder if AK1984 cheered when Spiezio got hurt. He wouldn’t be the only one.

  28. Evan on June 29th, 2005 2:10 pm

    I think I’m with AK1984 on this one. If your priority is to see a competitive well-played game, then sure, cheering an injury isn’t your thing, but if your priority is to see your team win, then cheering an injury makes perfect sense.

    You can’t justify preferences. They just are.

  29. Paul Molitor Cocktail on June 29th, 2005 7:09 pm

    I still don’t want to see this Martin Lawrence movie, no matter how many times you show this stupid preview.

  30. Alex on June 29th, 2005 8:57 pm

    #78 – I have to disagree.. I don’t think that cheering or not cheering for an injury is someone’s “thing”. I think that underestimates the message that it conveys. I don’t know, I have two children at home (one 13 year old and an almost 3 year old) and I wouldn’t want to have to try to explain and justify why certain fans choose to cheer when someone gets hurt. I think it sends a bad message to children and I honestly think that adults should know better than to do that. This isn’t professional wrestling where people get “hurt”, it’s real life.