Game recap, 8/9
Felix is our king.
That’s the only thing I’ve got on my scorecard under “scorer’s notes”. I’m not sure that there’s much else to be said.
Hernandez looked amazing, flat dominating. He came out throwing fastballs, changed up, then went back later, and all game the Twins batters would walk back to the dugout with expressions that read “I can’t believe I’m going to have to face this guy for the next five seasons. Maybe I should switch leagues.” His stuff is flat wicked, and there’s something about seeing it in person, too, that’s electric — a batter whiffs on something and I’d think “What the heck was that?” (and Jonah, out loud, would say “What the heck was that?”)
The crowd was the most excited I’ve been to a game with in a year, easily — and part of it goes beyond the hype. Because, honestly, a fair portion of the crowd doesn’t know who the kids are (fan to Snelling as he chased down one of the few well-hit balls: “Go get it, Raul!”). It was because after being beat down for two years, watching start after start after start of pitch-to-contact garbage outings, where a highlight would be a quality home Moyer start, we saw something entirely different. And it made us think of Randy Johnson and other pitchers from years back who could dominate a game like this, keeping the ball in the infield, striking hitters out, seeming to leave them no option but to go down in order.
We could stand up and cheer with two strikes, because two strikes didn’t mean an almost certain ball in play — it could be a crazy breaking pitch or some wicked inside heat for the strikeout. It was worth paying attention and becoming emotionally invested in the game and in the pitcher, because unlike Meche, or Pineiro, or Franklin, if Hernandez can stay healthy he’ll be leading the next Mariner charge for a pennant. It was more than a pleasant evening at the ballpark.
I haven’t been as involved and happy to be at a game in years, and I get too worked up about four hour 8-9 dirges. This was something else, and I’m glad I was there.
Comments
84 Responses to “Game recap, 8/9”
sweet sweet sweet. a 2 hour 1 minute game which the mariners win 1-0 on the pitching of the next coming of jesus. being able to go get cocktails at premier after the game because it wasn’t too late and starting felix on my fantasy baseball team this week. excellent!
Filthy. Exclamation point.
I saw his last game pitched in Tacoma where he gave up Zero hits in 4 innings of work. This one was better. At Tacoma it was like he was clowning around. He posed for a picture with Jose Lopez before the start. He played some sloppy defense. And when he got into trouble with some walks, he just dialed it up a notch and struck out the hitters.
This was way different. There was something serious about him. Yes, he gave up more hits, but he also seem to know that he couldn’t be careless with BB’s since he was pitching to major leaguers. Which is suprising in itself since in AAA he pitched to plenty of players who have been in the show. On that last Tacoma start I counted at least 5 hitters on the AAA Royals who had major league service time.
And, of course, he was serious about his own defense. Maybe I’m projecting my own stuff here… but he looked like a player that knew his every action meant something, and maybe even something historic. If this every pitch seriousness is something we’re going to see every time out, then I say hoo boy!
Long live The King.
Oh… it goes without saying but the M’s owners have a goldmine on their hands for the next 2 or so years at a salary of $300k/year. This guy is going to be generating a lot of extra revenue at Safeco during each of his starts, ala the Big Unit.
In the first of many milestones in what we hope to be a long career in Seattle for King Felix, tonight’s game was the shortest in Safeco Field history — just 2 hours and 1 minute.
I was at win 116 in 2001.
I was at Ichiro’s 258 hit game last year.
This was, hands down, the best and most fun game I’ve ever been to.
Was that you guys in center field with the “KKKKKING” sign? (I was seated over toward home plate.)
Felix is our King
He always gets the batter out
That is why we sing and shout
Felix is our King….
(Pardon me for being silly and euphoric; hopefully on this of all nights that’s okay….)
Throughout the game I had to keep reminding myself that he wasn’t being allowed to throw the slider.
Without that knowledge he was great. When you know he has another + pitch he’s not even using, at 19, it’s mind boggling.
Paul, I was totally thinking that (the Weasley is our King thing) too, so don’t feel too bad. I think I annoyed more people in my section tonight by trying to convince them that Wiki’s song should be changed to “Mickey” by Toni Basil — “Oh, Wiki, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Wiki!”
That was a really fun game. I’m so excited that I was able to witness this memorable event in Mariner history.
I took a bunch of photos. Hopefully you can see them here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28128023@N00/sets/729755/
Included are shots of the KKKKKKing sign, Felix warming up before the game, and an intermittant log of his ball to strike counts with the speed of his pitches. He threw 97 MPH on his 93rd pitch, the same speed as his first.
I think he may be the best pitcher in the American League right now.
He’s like a mix of Freddy Garcia and Pedro Martinez.
Why no slider?
12
Small sample size.
That is to say, he might become that, easily, but as of this moment, I don’t know if you can say that.
I was there in section 119, row 12 with my 3 year old son for his first game. We didn’t make it past 20:20 as my son was simply done for the evening, but we had a great time watching the King work. I’m extremely excited about the prospects of the next few seasons at this point.
What a game! I was there at the stadium – planing to leave early around 9.30pm. Never thought I was able to watch the whole game. Awesome King!
By the way, I was sitting on 300 level – so I couldn’t differentiate (most times) between change-up and curve. Does anybody know the percentage (rough guess) between those two?
Well, obviously it’s early.
But, really there hasn’t been anyone THAT impressive in the American league this year…which is the other reason why I mentioned that.
Roy Halladay has been a beast.
And, we’ll see how he reacts when he has less command and he’s not so pumped up….
But it’s hard to imagine him giving up more than 2 runs in Safeco field.
He was throwing fastball and curves through the first 4-5 innings…and then started throwing more change-ups especially in the last two innings.
Amazing.
Just amazing.
I posted some thoughts in the game thread, so all I’ll say here…
This was the best night to be a Mariners fan in a very, very long time.
#11 – Adriot, those are awesome pictures. I’m jealous of your camera and its zoom — dammit, I need better seats next time Felix starts. My pictures didn’t come out so well — the best one I got probly was of Joe Mauer in the Twins’ bullpen, bleh.
You know, no one did The Wave at all at that game. I think that’s the first M’s game I’ve ever been to where there was no Wave.
In fact, that may be the first major league I’ve ever been to where there was no Wave (somewhere north of 90 games since 1989). The only possible exception I can think of was the first Rockies game in Denver in ’93, but somehow I seem to remember then doing that (it got pretty boring late).
Anyway… if King Felix kills the Wave, all the reason to love him more.
All hail the name of Zumsteg, the scion of which, one Derek, proves himself expansive in his generosity to friend, supposed foe, and passing stranger alike; he whom, furthermore, is possessed of a copious capacity for the refreshing brew regarding which a measure, one tall pint to be specific, I owe him still, and shall repay, at a time to be determined (s’ long as its west of East[side]). Brouwer’s, I may say, for Trippel Carmeliet, which is whence I repaired to in the gloaming after.
. . . That comp ticket was the best seat I’ve had at a game in twenty years, Derek, especially since I was housed, on the aisle no less, at the nyah nyah-netproof end of the row rather than the American Dental Association Poster Child End. Thanks again.
What’s that, the game—oh the _Game_! : 69 strikes, 25 balls, 8 innings, 5 H, 5 K, 0 W, 0 R, one 1-0 W for a 1-1 record: that’s how ‘Hernandez’ is spelt in these parts, sez I. El Gato sat at 96-97 mph, had the most beautiful curve at 82 which surpasses most of those ‘best in the game’ comparables because it was consistently catching the zone for called strikes. Sliders in there, too. Fastballs early, with breaking stuff mixed in to finish ‘em off; then plus-plus offspeed _for strikes_ late, with Big Heat to seal the deal. Superb command, and fields his position like a champ, both snagging a crucial high chopper for the easy play, and at other times sprinting fast to 1B for the throw over. Bases loaded on a bonehead E-6 for the only threat, and not rattled at all, but buries the batsman with a hard one, for said high bouncer. If you weren’t there to see this game, you’ll be kicking yourself ten years from now. The deal doesn’t get more real than Felix the Cat.
Baseballers being the competitive sort, Kyle Lohse himself threw ‘a damn good game,’ completely handcuffing the Home Nine until with two outs in the seventh he got careless and left one up for Reed, who smoked a double into the right-center gap. Yunie Bet-on-it then turned a pretty good fastball but one still out over the plate too into a screaming opposite field line drive that went to the wall in right center for a don’t-bother throwing triple to plate the only run. I really LIKE this guy. Doyle pulled three balls like bullets down the right field line getting good wood on them each time, but the firstbaseman kicked the only one he didn’t turn into an out. Guardado carved up the visitors in the ninth for the save. What makes Eddie special is his location; he pounds the strike zone, but with quality strikes. His true secret, however, is the late break he gets on his stuff: sinker, slider, splitter, all with that sweet, late wiggle. It doesn’t matter if he’s throwing 88, ’cause velocity was never what he was about. Wiggly pitches in the zone, WOOOOOOT! Bloomsbury made a couple of good plays in the field, give him that.
What else? Most umpires looked like their first career was ‘failed palooka.’ The home plate umpire tonight was a strikingly handsome man, and most generous in his allotment of the low strike to both pitchers I might add. – -Except in the 4th inning when, mysteriously, said ump wouldn’t give Felix the pitch for whatever reason. Maybe he had a spasm in his cornea or something. Felix worked out of it, and the rest of the night the ump was Santa Claus sans facial foliage. Since Felix and Lohse both feature big curves, 1-0 shows the result.
Adrian Beltre . . . well, he had a _rotten_ night. Swinging at curves, AND MISSING BY TWO FEET, YOICKS!!! Then taking the fastball for a called strike. He looks completely lost at the plate. This isn’t any question of ‘adjusting to the league’ or suchlike. Is he even seeing the pitch out of the pitchers hand, or just flat guessing? Yoicks. And then with two out and men on first and second he blanks out on the game situation when a three-bouncer comes right to him. All he has to do is step on the bag five feet to his right to end the inning, but he stands there, feels the runner coming by and waves a wild swipe-and-a-miss at him, then fires late to 1b and so high that Richie Sexson is the only man in the game who catches that throw in the webbing to save a run. Felix pitched out of it, but Adrian just had a bad, bad day. . . . Can we just give this guy a plane ticket to Cozumel for the rest of the season, and have him come back next year with somebody else’s head transplanted to the top of his neck? I don’t know what he’s thinking. I don’t know if he’s thinking. I don’t know if he’s thinking too much. But I know what I’m thinking: Too much of not enough.
A beautiful game; a beautiful night; this is what baseball was like when it was fun. Veterans win in October, yes, but young guys bring a different edge to the park, young guys full of red meat and sarsaparilla still playing a summer game for fun ‘n’ dreams. You had to be there watching this one, too, Bill B., and I know you saw what I saw. More young guys, Bill B., more of ‘em like these.
“But it’s hard to imagine him giving up more than 2 runs in Safeco field.”
Why?
“Why?”
It’s like when Randy was pitching in the Kingdom.
Every once in awhile someone would put a charge into the ball and it’d go over the fence because it was such a hitters park.
Safeco…alot of those balls won’t go out. He’s just so hard to make solid contact against.
His fastball is moving more then it did in his spring training start. Such a beast.
It’s great to hear the reports from the ballpark. I planned to go but didn’t (also picked up Kris Benson instead of Felix in fantasy, playing it safe). I saw the King pitch in Everett 2 years ago, not knowing who he was but thinking, “damn, that pitcher today struck out a ton of batters!” when I left the park. Will he be pitching next on Sunday or Monday?
So I’m at work tonight. Some fella’ comes up to the box office, (I work at a movie theater,) and I see an M’s ticket poking out of his shirt. I ask, “Hey, were you at the M’s game tonight?” He said yes. My response; “Lucky bastard.” I had just finished listening to the game, and I was real wound up about how amazing King Felix had been. “It was all right, I guess. Kinda’ boring. We left early. Wanted to see Dukes of Hazard.” I swear to God, I came REAL close to reaching through the window and strangling the guy.
Adriot, any chance I could get permission to link to your photo montage from tonight’s game for the column I just finished for BP that’s running tomorrow. I tried to encapsulate the night’s events best as I could, but those are some great photos, and I think people would like to see them. Please let me know here, or by e-mailing me at the address provided. Thanks much.
Oh and most fun I’ve had at a game since the mid-90s Expos. Easy.
I agree #7 the most exciting game I’ve seen in Safeco, and probably one of the best crowds for the size since 95.
Well done, Aaron. I don’t know that i could have restrained myself.
Just a little blurb that I found tonight while reading the PI… shouldnt really surprise me since Derek writes for them, but still.
MARINERS/MLB
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Mariners’ Hernandez dazzles
Future is now as 19-year-old rookie wins Safeco Field debut
By JON PAUL MOROSI
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
He deserved a sellout. Instead, he drew a fairly unspectacular Seattle blend of well-behaved professionals and families, a typical weekday crowd of 34,213 at Safeco Field.
In fact, even fewer showed up than for Monday night’s win.
Still, Felix Hernandez was gracious to the guests, offering a prolonged look into what — for now, at least — appears to be a limitless future. Before the largest crowd he had ever seen, the 19-year-old Venezuelan ushered in what may be known as a new chapter in Seattle baseball history, with eight scintillating, scoreless innings in the Mariners’ 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
It should tell you a little something about the general state of affairs at Safeco that the most anticipated baseball event all season begat scores of empty seats in the right and left field corners. Seated before several empty rows, Russ Queen, a Seattle resident and sports fan, was offered two free tickets to the game and had to really think about whether to take them.
So, he checked the pitching probables — and found his answer. He called Bryan Chrey, his buddy since high school, who followed the same line of reasoning.
“Let’s face it: This is a lost season,” said Chrey, 44. “I’m here because of this guy.”
Some were like Queen, who learned of Hernandez when he logged on to the U.S.S. Mariner blog two years ago. Others were more recently initiated, like Redmond’s Rick Davis, who heard about Hernandez after his start in Detroit last week.
Always cool to see some recognition for this great blog.
Sean, you’ve NEVER restrained yourself from being rude to customers. Really, you’re what I’m shooting for. But, y’know, if you wanna’ put something in the manager’s log about my commitment to customer service, that’d be cool.
I feel like in the last 10 days, the Mariners have finally turned the corner. It’s been a long time since I’ve had so many good things happen to the team I love. Let’s all hope this is a sign of things to come for this organization.
If the offspeed pitch Felix was throwing in addition to his curve was indeed a changeup, it was dropping _at least_ two feet; just SICK, as Dave said in t’ other thread. Heater at 96-97, changeup with a wicked break at 82, curve with a bigger break at 84 . . . opposing hitters are going to get drymouth just walking to the on-deck circle.
Re: 17 A Twin’s Blooger broke down the King’s preformance very nicely
http://www.sethspeaks.net/
adroit — fantastic photos. well done.
#23 – Bela – “. . . That comp ticket was the best seat I’ve had at a game in twenty years”
You’re welcome.
I really glad someone who appreciated it got to use it and I would have cried at not being able to use it myself except that I was whooping and laughing too much with every pitch.
Anyone know if he will be pitching next on Sunday or Monday???
Rama Tall –
I think he’s scheduled to pitch Monday, now that Franklin is scheduled to come back from his suspension.
He’s scheduled to pitch on Sunday, according to Niehaus last night.
The pitching last night was phenomenal on both sides. I was as pumped about Betancourt as could be though. He looks awesome. And man, what the heck is the deal with Beltre? He looked terrible at the plate, just like in April. Swinging at crap that was way outside, then he had those happy feet in the batter’s box when he tried to hold up. He was making me crazy. I’m glad he didn’t manage to screw it up for Felix and Yuniesky was able to save the day….
At spring training during Price’s pitcher comebacker drills Felix looked to me to be raw and uneven and I thought to myself yeah he can pitch but his fielding? After last night’s display of his superb agility (pouncing on that bunt firing a 97 mph strike to third for the force)I am now convinced that Felix’s fielding prowess will continue to be, in addition to his pitching, a joy to behold.
For people looking for an in-depth analysis — breaking down percentage of heat, curve balls, change-ups; velocity; pitches thrown on which counts — check this out.
Bryan Price is going to be on KJR at 8:00 this AM, and I’m sure he’ll let everyone know when Felix will next pitch. I’ll bet dollars to donuts, though, that he pitches Monday against KC, with the off-day Thursday, Franklin coming back, and the Ms playing Anaheim on Sunday.
Beltre has looked terrible at the plate all year, except for his brief glimmer of hope in July (I think it was then). It seems like he bites on the low and outside pitch every time.
On the brighter note, yes, Felix looked great last night. Let’s not jump the gun on “The M’s have turned the corner!!!11111″, but …indeed it’s nice to see something exciting for once.
Tribune sports headline this morning:
King For a Day
Jimmie
#28, Jonah: By all means, feel free to link to the photos. I can’t email you since the email addresses don’t show up in the posts, but if needed you can reach me at: oeud6j602 “at” sneakemail.com.
TANGENT: That Olivo trade will go down as one of the worst in M’s history. You can all kick me now, but that guy will be a better player than Ojeda, Wiki, Yorvit and Nate Mateo combined.
Horrible.
What I saw last night on FSN was a power pitcher that made pitching look easy. As much as I (still) love Randy, I don’t remember him ever looking as smooth, effortless, and poised as Felix did last night. I do not believe I have *ever* seen an M’s pitcher dominate a game that effortlessly. He also fielded his position very well. We have a for-real superstar in the making here.
I envy you that saw this game live, but as one who watched every minute of it on FSN, I have to say this is the most fun I’ve had watching baseball in a long time. Lohse’s dominance of the Mariners would have been completely frustrating under most circumstances, but last night it just added to the drama of Felix’s performance. Terrific pitching, great defense (that saved the game after some truly stupid Beltre defense), and an incredible level of self-confidence on the mound.
And, truly, to have Eddie come out and pitch that last inning the way he did . . . you couldn’t have written a better script if this was a movie.
I’ve only lived in Seattle since July of 2002, so my experience at Safeco is limited to say the least, but that was the most fun I’ve exciting game I’ve seen there. It was also one of the most impressive pitching performances I’ve ever seen. I’ve finally found a game that surpases the Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura game as the best baseball story I have to tell.
I also want to take a moment to say how much I enjoyed meeting everyone at King Street before hand. Especially Derek, Brian, Deanna, and Jon.
Adroit, I hope you don’t mind if I link to those photos from my site as well? I assume you aren’t paying for Flickr’s bandwidth
-Andy
Hey Rama and Joey,
Do either of you know for sure yet when Felix pitches?
Thanks! I might take Nate Thruelson to the game.
Amid all the excitement about Hernendez’ performance (well deserved), we should also keep in mind what else it took to win this game: back to back doubles by the two youngsters, Reed and Betancourt. So last night was all kids, all the time — a game that lets us peek into the future of the Mariners, we hope.
I envy you guys who got to see the game in person — we had to settle for watching the game on TiVo, but for the first time in God knows how long, I wasn’t fast forwarding through the other team’s at bats — it was like watching Guardado for 8 innings, with Felix attacking the plate and just chewing up the Twins line-up. Maybe Hernendez can inspire the rest of the staff but I’m more afraid that he’s just going to make them look really, really sad in comparison.
He is staying on 5 days. Brian Price said just now on KJR. That means Monday night against KC.
He also said Ryan Franklin is still starting.
Rama and Jon,
I’m going to the game Monday, and if you’re going to be there, I’m sure I’ll see you at Pyramid. You should definitely bring the Colonel.
I can’t wait to see his next start…at the Safe this time instead of on TV.
Watched the game on TV last night, and the player he most reminded me of last night was Pedro Martinez in his early Red Sox days. What an amazing breaking ball, and he was spotting his fastball on both sides of the plate as well. G/F something like 6:1 by my rough count … awesome.
Now as long as BP doesn’t ruin him by filling his head with a bunch of pitch to contact BS I think we’ve got a player here …
#51, feel free to link to the Flickr site. Anyone feel free to link to the Flickr site if you wish to do so!
On Flickr:
It’s Flickr’s bandwidth, not the photographer’s. The photographer only gets “charged” for upload bandwidth. So, I don’t think it’s a problem, since it’s public.
However, if adroit says “no, please don’t show the world my marvelous pictures of our Once And Future King (God Save Him And His Labrum),” then you shouldn’t link to them.
Kinda wish we’d all agreed on a Flickr tag first….
I picked up Felix in my two Yahoo leagues last night. Yippee!! It’s a benefit of competing against owners who have forgotten about their teams.
I picked up Felix in my two Yahoo leagues last night.
Not to start fantasy league discussions lest this be delorted, but… I used my first waiver wire claim of the year on him last week.
And since I’m in a modified keeper league (you can carry up to two guys over), I did it less for the pitching this year and more for the pitching next year.
according to rototimes.com:
Aug. 10 The Seattle Times reports that Jamie Moyer (P) Sea has turned down a trade to the Yankees. Citing unnamed East Coast sources, the Yankees attempted to acquire Moyer in a waiver trade but could not get an agreement from him to switch teams. If the Mariners didn’t want to receive anything in return, they could have let the Yankees simply claim Moyer off waivers.
Letting the Yankees claim Moyer off of waivers would have been a low down dirty deal. Not the least reason of which is that it is the Yankees. Yuck. I can see exacting something from them in a trade, but giving any freebies to the Yankee Nation would be treasonous.
Wow. Just had to chime in on how awesome those pictures are. Who’s a professional sports photographer in disguise? Who’s a little professional sports photographer in disguise? *pinches adroit’s cheek*
The Harry Potter references made me very happy.
More than a thousand words…
The way he falls off the mound reminds me of Bob Gibson.
Thanks for posting your pix, adroit.
TANGENT: That Olivo trade will go down as one of the worst in M’s history. You can all kick me now, but that guy will be a better player than Ojeda, Wiki, Yorvit and Nate Mateo combined.
Olivo sucked here. His career line is .221/.269/.383.
Is it because of his line in San Diego? He’s had all of 20 ABs.
#63 they weren’t going to let the yankees claim Moyer off waivers without getting something in return. In order for the teams to make a deal after July 31, the player first has to clear waivers (or clear waivers up to the team that the M’s want to make a deal with). If Moyer had given his OK, the teams would have made a trade — and NY is so desperate for pitchig help right now I believe we would have gotten something good back for a 42 year old in the last year of his contract…
In the PI they mentioned that that was the first win by a teenage starter since Jose Rijo in 1984. That’s incredible. If Felix turns out to be as good as Rijo — one of the most underrated pitchers of all time, better than half the guys in the Hall of Fame — I will be THRILLED.
Every day will not be like this. Felix will get rocked occasionally. But the possibility, the promise, is so tantalizing. First time I’ve been excited in two years. In that time, the only riveting Mariner moments were watching Edgar LEAVE, which is depressing. This is uplifting!
Tangent: David Locke accused Bud Selig of telling a “bold-faced lie”. The expression is “bald-faced”; bold face type, bald-faced lie. Locke is an illiterate boob.
I heard Price on KJR this morning. The interview can be summed up by Mitch asking Price a question about who are the pitchers between now and Monday. The tone of the question was, ‘How many guys do we have to wade through between now and Felix’s next start.’
Price sounded like a guy who was relieved to be dealing with a real pitcher with real stuff, instead of the schlock that problem children Piniero and Meche run out there every fifth day.
Seeing Felix last night really brings into sharp focus the deficiencies of the rest of the staff. I had very high hopes for Joel and Gil starting the year – still do. But I can only imagine the frustration that Price must feel with those two guys.
Jonah Keri over on BP makes mention of Felix being 2 years shy of the legal drinking age. This misses the point. The important thing is for the opposing hitters to be of legal drinking age, because they’re going to need a few drinks after games like these.
I was so amped up after last night, that I forgot to set my alarm and woke up about an hour late this morning….
Great game. Hope is always a good thing.
If Felix turns out to be as good as Rijo  one of the most underrated pitchers of all time, better than half the guys in the Hall of Fame  I will be THRILLED.
There are two teenagers he’s being compared to:
Jose Rijo
Dwight Gooden
By the end of his career, Rijo’s arm was more torn up than the Dallas freeway system. Gooden had problems with, to use an old literary phrase, Colombian Marching Soldiers.
There are a lot of temptations at this age, not just with the night life but with a team pushing him too far too fast.
His potential is massive. Let us hope and pray he’s able to fulfill it.
Even before yesterday’s start, Dave called Felix one of the best pitchers in the American League. If Felix has anything close to this kind of success next year, at what point do the Mariners begin to think about pre-empting free agency? How long should a long-term deal with a kid pitcher be, given all the risks? If he turns out to be a viable all-star pitcher, how many years do you keep paying him on club-control contracts? I think the whole “service-time” argument is going to be put to rest by his performance, which will force a contract long before free agency enters the picture. When would or should that be?
and FWIW, the two sources on the Moyer to Yankees are Finnigan and the NY Post….
Yes, Rijo was abused, and had his career shortened by it. That’s why he’s not in the Hall. But he was a hell of a pitcher for a pretty long time. If Felix turns out to be a shade short of Maddux or Pedro, I’ll still be well satisfied.
I do wonder if he’s going to turn out to be, uh, a bit fat. There’s a hint of a gut there, and he’s only 19. I hope he can stay away from the Fernando Valenzuela training program.
Note: Felix is now the 11th-ranked rookie pitcher in the AL, by VORP. After two starts. Next up: Fernando Rodney, with 24 innings of stupid relief, and Chris Young, with more than 11 times as many starts as Felix. If Felix gets nine or ten more like this, he’ll be challenging Blanton, Street, and Chacin for the top. Probably too late for RoY, but DAMN.
Yes, Rijo was abused, and had his career shortened by it. That’s why he’s not in the Hall. But he was a hell of a pitcher for a pretty long time.
I’m not arguing against that. He was lights-out from 1990-94. It’s just too bad he was so abused so young and lost those six years.
I really hope this kid has a work ethic….Don’t turn into Bartolo on us…
The only thing that can hold this kid back is himself or an injury.
Awesome.
David Andriesen had a nice piece about him last year, talking about the competitiveness, confidence, maturity…
Tangent: David Locke accused Bud Selig of telling a “bold-faced lieâ€Â. The expression is “bald-facedâ€Â; bold face type, bald-faced lie. Locke is an illiterate boob.
Wrong. Both are acceptable alternative usages. Actually bold-faced is the older term and bald-faced is a more recent variation.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/wftwarch.pl?050405
“Illiterate boob” is a very strong term and you ought not use it without having your facts right.
Nice article…
This part is what it comes down to it seems:
[deleted, see comment guidelines, needs a link or cite]
“Tangent: David Locke accused Bud Selig of telling a “bold-faced lieâ€Â. The expression is “bald-facedâ€Â; bold face type, bald-faced lie. Locke is an illiterate boob.”
Harsh. Maybe it was in writing.
Also, re: edit in 80, it looks like he was referring to the article cited two posts previously
Adam in #12 said, “I think he may be the best pitcher in the American League right now.
He’s like a mix of Freddy Garcia and Pedro Martinez. ”
Re: #15 – “That is to say, he might become that, easily, but as of this moment, I don’t know if you can say that. ”
A small nit to pick here with the response. If he is the best in the AL right now, he is that whether or not we net-rats have it “proven” to us over 10 starts or two years or whatever. He will not have become that *after* he proves it. He will have proven something that has already been true. I would say that Adam may not be far off in his comment. I think he can say that.
Having watched him pitch a couple of times both in the minors and again last night, my intuition tells me that he is not there yet, but after maybe two more years of development, he will be. I would certainly say, though, that Adam’s position is a reasonable one.
Laurie, if that was your seat, thanks mucho for the ‘pass through.’ A great place to be on a great night. You were there, weren’r you??
No!!! A last minute conflict – I was so bummed I seriously almost cried, but I’m just glad someone who truly appreciated it got to use the ticket.