Game 116, Angels at Mariners
Today’s lineup:
I. Suzuki RF
W. Bloomquist 2B
R. Ibanez LF
R. Sexson 1B
A. Beltre 3B
J. Reed CF
Y. Betancourt SS
S. Spiezio DH
Y. Torrealba C
I offer you, gentle reader, the Top Ten Reasons I Am Glad Scott Spiezio Is Our Designated Hitter.
10. Successive 0s in box score offer zen-like relaxation effect
9. Lulls Angels into false sense of security, distracting them from Thunderstick Yorvit
8. Gives hope to all minor leaguers that they, too, can fail to hit Eddie Gaedel’s weight and yet keep a job in the show
7. Sets stage for Krispy Kreme stock rebound as all Mariners begin to do the opposite of Spiezio’s routine
6. Increases likelihood of Ichiro teaching teammates Japanese synonyms for “suck”
5. If Betancourt gets a knock, no one can say “of course he’s getting pitches to hit, Spiezio‘s protecting him”
4. Keeps him in running for “worst facial hair by a regular major leaguer” award
3. Raises possibility of a Mariner using a Babe Ruth replica bat in a game
2. Sets stage for his new career: Jared Fogle’s personal trainer
1. Showcases him for inevitable trade to Padres
Comments
347 Responses to “Game 116, Angels at Mariners”
Once again,from the sunny hillside of Firenze,Italy,I’m here,ready to have my heart broken once again by the Mariners..
Spiezio,again as designed non-hitter? Why? Doesn’t make any sense..
still,it can’t be as bad as yesterday’s game,right? RIGHT?
Pass me another beer..
ch. 11 running a package on THE IGNITOR
So is there any reason that Morse isn’t doing the DH duty?
Also, I just got back from vacation and missed Felix’s first start and Doyle’s injury. Does that balance out?
11. As close as we’ll come to seeing an Angel not hit well at Safeco.
They’re profiling Boomstick right now in the pregame. Morrison referred to our guy “Beltran” leading up to it. Ugh. Even the pregame show sucks with this team.
1 – what time is it there? my guess is around 9, 10PM
This lineup just keeps getting worse and worse.
In all seriousness though-could Spiezio as a DH actually be a GOOD thing? Could he play enough and suck so badly that the M’s finally realize the might as well release him?
#6-it’s actually 9:53 pm now
and you’re going to stay up until 1AM to watch this team
that is dedication. or insanity. take your pick.
I predict today is the day when Scott busts out of his funk and funks it up. You will all be eating your words after today!
#10-i would say insane dedication!
of course the beers and the chasers always help..
#11-well,i’ve seen weirder things happen..
the devil rays just won a shutout game,for instance..
Barking Pumpkin- Did you have to restock your beer supply?
Kruegar with Dave already sounding better.
Wonder if DMZ has enough beer today?
#14-no,but only because i overstocked on beers the last time i went to the mart..!
Just to let everybody know, pitchers in there last 3 starts:
Gil Meche: 0-1, 12.2IP, 9.95ERA
John Lackey: 2-0, 21.2IP, 0.83ERA
WHY IS SPIEZIO DH….IS BAVASI TRYING TO MAKE HIM TRADEABLE BY GIVING HIM AT-BATS…Bavasi should know, you cant polish a turd!!!
I say we should just go ahead an pick a random fan for each DH at bat. They couldn’t be any worse. I can see it now: “Called up to the Show Night!” Of course there might be… labor issues. How much would a fan have to be paid for a single at bat at league minimum…
So is there any reason that Morse isn’t doing the DH duty?
They would rather go with a “proven veteran”, and can’t wrap their brains around the idea of having a young player DH?
(Incidentally, doesn’t it seem obvious that if Doyle comes back, he’s going to have to be a DH now? And that’s a big if- blowing your knee out running to first base on a routine play probably means he’s a serious risk to re-injure even if he DHs.)
Yeah, I should confess, I’m already tanked up. Sorry for the predictions…..
I can’t believe they insult Spiezio by putting that rude acronym next to his name in the box score … Doesn’t Hit.
come on gil!
With this linueup I am going to finsh watching the Marseille v. Lyon match first.
Much more potential excitement.
i REALLY don’t understand this harris move..You?
depression/drinking/suicide is normally just a wintertime thing in these parts, but this team is doing its best to make it a year-round phenomenon
#22-another soccer fan.Good
Come on West Ham!
They’ll bring Harris back in September, and he’ll likely get a job once they start tossing veterans from the Kremlin tower come the offseason.
Basically, they need to fire everyone with a 5 ERA or who can’t hit if they want to have a prayer of contending in 2006…
Stupid roster move — not only did they option Jeff Harris to Tacoma today;s but they did not call anyone up! So once again, just like Friday, they’re playing with a 24 man roster…
The only thing I can think of is that they don’t want to recall Strong, Choo or A Nunez and they’re working on a deal to send Nelson or Hasegawa somewhere for some other team’s 4A outfielder…
1-2-3 inning!
Come on!
(insert sound of ice-cold bottle of beer being opened)
Any predictions as to what Spiezio will do. In my opinion he will go 0-4 with a strikeout. However that strikeout will be when runners are on 2nd and 3rd with 1-out.
I-CHI-RO!
Yay!!! Ichiro doubles, now the mighty Bloomquist is up.
Aaaaaaaaand…the Ignitor does it again.
OMFG nice way to not hit a double bloomquist (more like STINKquist)
I’m turning the TV off. *click*
too good to be true..
Whoa, we have a first inning lead? How’d that happen?
Three hits in a row, is that some sort of season record.
As much as I can’t fathom why Spezio is still on the team, I also don’t understand why Bloomquist is batting 2nd. Why not bat him 9th if you want the back-to-back speed of Ichiro and Willie? It seems like the M’s would be better off batting Reed 2nd…
As I’m typing this, Willie got a single. That doesn’t change my opinion, FWIW.
3 ABs,3 hits..
when was the last time something like this happened to this team?
Can’t remember..
Barking Pumpkin- Yesterday found in stash an imported bottle of Lemoncello. Has to be 3 to 5 years old.
Any new to Washington liquor store I buy. It is fine cold kept in fridge.
The Spiezio thing is creating unhealthy anger in me. Sabotage Sandfrog is doing this on purpose.
The only reason I can see for not DHing Morse is so there is a middle infielder on the bench in case of injury.
On a side note, Francoeur made the best throw I have ever seen (including Ichiro) today. See it if you get the chance.
#25
You mean Vai Livorno!!
BELTRE!!!!
What is this weird thing the Mariners are doing while batting? How come they’re running around those bases instead of heading back to dugout like usual?
don’t worry, spaz is up three batters from now. then we’ll get back to normal.
Hmm, looks like we might run Lackey early today.
I believe that Franklin’s suspension eliminates any chance of him coming back next year (idiot thought he pitched well yesterday).
Has similar suspensions of Strong and Christianson soured the organization on them?
39-it is ABSOLUTELY delicious if you drink it ice-cold
Enjoy..
4th hit! 1st inning!
Is this true or did i have way too much beer already??
Go Ms
FYI, that is the fire alarm system going off. They were having trouble with that before the game too.
Oh, I thought that was the “Speizio-just-picked-up-a-bat-and-headed-for-the-on-deck-circle alarm”.
#41-Yes!
I’m at the game and it just went off again between innings.
I think they’re testing it for Felix’s start tomorrow.
Our season in a nutshell: even our first base coach gets a season ending injury.
Quick quiz… without looking, which Mariner batter is having the best August. Hint: it’s by .250(!) points of OPS over everyone else in the line-up.
My guess is that the vast majority of casual M’s fans would answer it wrong… and probably quite a few non-casual ones.
Franklin did pitch well, except for all the hits he gave up.
He didn’t get any run support – why is that his fault?
#42 actually third base coach.
can’t believe I went to yesterday’s game instead of today.
of course it won’t ever happen..
BUT
wouldn’t it be great if Spiezio proved all of us wrong??!
What, Guerrero just looked at 3 straight balls to start an AB. That’s got to be a first for this season. Then he gets impatient and grounds one to Willie.
Nice done,Gil..
Funny how Boone’s .680 OPS labels him a failure
and Bloomie’s .640 OPS makes him the ignitor.
I don’t get this Pumpkin chappie: Living in Italy, following the Mariners and rooting for the ‘Ammers too.
Nice to be back and see the M’s start to win one.
#59
Thank you. I don’t know how the Willie lovers will argue that one.
#60
That’s alright..Sometimes i don’t get myself either!
Niehaus was in the booth with Curto for an inning yesterday.
Maybe scouting for a Rizz replacement.
53. I’m intrigued. I’ve been away and have no clue. Sexson?
Doh, a walk. There goes the perfect game.
61. There are just lots of things wrong with the phrase “Willie lovers”.
#64 everyone but Sexson.
singles by Bloomie and Ibanez
doubles by Ichiro and Beltre
perfect curve..
Pumpkin. I used to live in West Ham (Canning Town to be honest) and I’m not a fan. How come you are?
Meche and Franklin mantra
“better to have blown a lead, than never to have led at all”
Well, that was nice while it lasted. Welcome back, Evil Gil Meche!
#65
Take a bow,sir!
Colm… Beltre. His OPS for August is .904. Sexson’s is .598(!)
My point is not to prove player value with small sample size silliness… rather to point out how large a role perception plays. Even people who watch every game often get a very wrong idea of how players are doing.
For example… Willie smacks a single and goes 1-4 about every game and people seriously have the impression he is playing great baseball. Not even just servicable… they really think he’s doing well.
But Beltre was so disappointing early that all the things is doing better and better get unnoticed by most. They think he’s still playing poorly… and he isn’t.
I log on to game channel and Gil gives up a walk.
Then, I log on to USS MARINER and Gil gives up a hit.
I should have stayed offline.
SPIEZIO!!!!
Speizio walked!!! He did something?
That ball four was right down the middle.
way to go spazzzzio — work that count, draw that walk … did his OBP just double?
#68-I used to follow english footie,without having any real faves.Then,one night,i happened to watch a Hanners-Spurs derby.it ended 4-3 for the hammers,under the lashing winter rain
i immediately fell in love with the team,their passion,their fans
As for why i became a Mariners fan..
It goes way back before they were really any good,before the 95 seasonHere it was,this team that nobody wanted nobody followed..I’m always been a sucker for underdogs,so..
Go Ms!
The stat wizards at Safeco can always come up with something for the big board, such as “hitting over .300 since early July” when the Ignitor comes to bat
Here’s what they’re flashing on the big board for Spiezio:
“Father, Ed, played 9 seasons in the Majors (1964-72)”
Blimey O’Riley. He walked.
Just to set up the double play. Order is restored to the universe.
..and while i typed my last post,i missed Spiezio’s most valuable AB for some time..!
Aggasi is playing Nadal on channel 27 rain delay over. Quite refreshing listening to Oh Canada’s television feed.
Meche has a better batting average (250) than a lot of the roster. Maybe they should have let him hit instead of using Spezio.
Hmm, I’m thinking Ms Jr Broadcaster Grace Stonecipher goes to a nice school. Somethings up, I can’t hear Rizzs teeth grinding as he talks to her.
Apologies. I’ve left a couple of apostrophes out of that previous post.
Rick Rizzs is like a sports announcer from a “1984″ type world. Everything is doubleplusgood.
We got a gift there.
yorvit!that’ll teach him..
Blimey. Ron reports 60 pitches for Meche for 2 2/3 innings. Two on and Vlad’s up.
The bad call at second is keeping this from being an ugly inning so far.
Because I picked him up on Aug 1 in my NL rotis league I offer these stats:
11 games
32 AB’s
10 Hits, .313 avg/.371 OBP/.656 Slg
3 HR, 2 doubles
5 RBI, 5RS, 1 SB
Ladies & Gentlemen I present to you Miguel Olivo’s NL numbers.
yeah,crucial point in the game already..
what a lucky break we got..!
And sound, if obvious, reasoning from Fairly. Re walking Vlad to load the bases – “The worst they can do is tie the game. You don’t want to put the go ahead run up there at the plate”.
Like I say, obvious but correct. I’ll take correct. Fairly is under-rated.
Never seen a pitcher who so consistently throws 20 pitches per inning. tired of hearing about Meche’s stuff. AAA is filled with guys like that.
91. This solidifies my prejudice that the pitching in the national league is a lot worse than the American. A prejudice that explains why Cirillo, Mitchell, et al fail so miserably when the come over to the Mariners.
96: don’t forget Al Martin
You know Ichiro is 4th on the team for HR.
If you don’t count traded players, reed/morse are tied for 5th with 2!
That was a pretty pathetic at bat by Sexson.
Bucky singled in a run in the first today. Can’t wait till them bring him up.
97. I had repressed Al Martin.
Come on West Ham!
Stupid West Ham knocked Reading out of the playoffs last year.
The Reading Royals: Come to the park with your hopes and watch as we mercilessly crush them yet again!
How many pitches has Meche altready thrown?Around 60+?
#102
Ouch..
Sorry’bout that..!
100. Yes, Bucky could put some excitement in the lineup. If he still has the old power after the injury and the no steroids policy, he would probably tie for fifth in home runs in a week.
Ladies & Gentlemen I present to you Miguel Olivo’s NL numbers.
Explain to me how he was going to hit that well in Seattle.
Good on him to finally wake up and start hitting. It’s just too bad that all we got in return was a project.
That was not the upper right thigh.
Way, way upper right thigh.
67 pitches 38 strikes…including the HR
#108 to quote the Young Ones “missed both my legs”
btw-in reference to yesterday’s game….As fat as Bartolo Colon is I’d love to see him pitching in the M’s rotation every 5th day. He just chewed up the M’s and spat them out yesterday.
#111 I wish he had not spat Spiezio out though.
If you haven’t seen this and a are a fan of the Simpsons:
http://barstoolsports.com/article/The_Definitive_MLB__Simpsons_Analogy_List/344/
Uncanny.
#102
Ouch..
Sorry’bout that..!
Eh, no worries. We’re talking about Reading, after all. It’s like watching the ’95 Angels or the ’64 Phillies every single year. Start off hot, choke in the last 10 games.
And look, The Road To Choking 2006 has already started. 3 GP, 6 points, +4 GD, fourth place.
West Ham and now Reading? It must be time to confess my tortured love for Sheffield Wednesday.
No more Meche please. No Franklin either. No Joel, unless something dramatic happens, and Moyer is no longer himself. Can King Felix stay healthy and start 162 games next year?
Whatever did happen to Al Martin, the Billy Liar of left field?
#115-
Good luck on your return to 1st division(or should I call it coca-cola championship?)
Time to thump those blades in the derby,methinks..
If Shick Shadell hospital can cure alcoholism, how come Pay O’Day still sounds hammered?
Meche…nibble,nibble,nibble…
post game interview…
“yeah I had a quality start. I lasted 5 & 1/3 innings and only gave up 2 runs. Sure it took me 110 pitches to get 16 outs but I left with the lead. No, I don’t really care that the bullpen had to get 11 outs. That’s why we’re carrying 500 pitchers in the pen, for just that situation.”
Boy,looks like Lackey has really settled..
#119 got to be better than Franklin giving up 12 hits and getting 13 outs (one on a pickoff) and saying he pitched well. I think Franklin tested positive for hallucinogens.
The sky is blue.
The grass is green.
Gil Meche sucks.
It’s quite obvious that Franklin is insane.
That’s the only explanation for claiming he pitched well yesterday.
So, no Angel runs yet, but how many baserunners has Meche looked at?
Meche..Meche..Meche..
STOP walking those runners!
Please?
Reminds me of John McGrath’s great impersonation of Jeff Fassero saying “I threw just one bad pitch”
125… he listened!
This cannot continue.
Bases Loaded, 0outs, and Vlad is on deck.
Felix, Jamie and 3 chumps for a rotation.
i THINK I’ll need another beer…
Who-hoo..
4and one third innings
Damn..
Wow, this move fills me with confidence.
I think Meche is attempting to set a record, highest ERA in a season with 10 wins. Anyone who finds who’s the current holder of that title gets a +1.
that is WAAYY late for a timeout!
Does Schick Schadel offer a group discount?
Mateo had no interest in pitching to Vlad there.
well, that was pretty predictable
well,well,well…
time to dust off that ol’bottle of mescal..
That’s one way to get rid of those inherited runners…
Is it time to start the heavy drinking yet?
Or was that three months ago?
Hmm, it looks like the bullpen has decided to join the general suckfest that our pitching rotation has been the entire year.
Good times…
To quote Chapelle, this is a game of the “shirts against the blouses”
what a show!
Can Spiezieo pitch?
#145 I would make him catch like the Padres did with Phil Nevin when he used his no trade clause.
Good thing we sent Harris down.
“My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.”
-Bluto Blutarsky
Strikeout, home run… Mateo is OK with it.
Mateo is channeling Ryan Franklin.
You play a game with the pitching staff you have, not with the pitching staff you want.
man,looks like this inning is going on for ages..
where’s that fire alarm when you need it??
(glug glug)
Pitching in a great pitcher’s park, the M’s probably still lead the league in short (less than 5 inning) starts from their rotation.
If you can’t have a pitching staff you love, then love the pitching staff you have.
Does anyone have the 2001 season on tapes… maybe we should send copies of that out and just watch them, pretending its still happening. This just makes me sad.
Roooooooooooossssssssscoeee….?
Is the bleeding over?
153 – maybe the staff has ADD.
It’s almost midnite here,and YET,I’m still glued to the computer monitor,watching this hopeless team throwing another win away..
Boy,I guess the drinks DO work!
Oh,here’s Rizz..
(glug glug)
Technical difficulties resulting from a drunk and angry Ron Fairly kicking out cords and screaming “bring me the head of bryan price”
PMC, my love is all used up. Actually, what’s left of it is reserved for my Macallan’s.
Come on boys!
let’s start something..!
Yeess! I-CHI-RO!
Willie’s still on first, that’s not heads up baserunning.
Might as well, need to do SOMETHING to keep the fans from leaving.
Anyone read anything on the reason Ichiro doesn’t steal more often?
Chin up guys!
Come on!
Gil Meche in August:
3 starts
14 innings pitched
15 ER allowed (ERA of 9.64)
10 BB
6 K
Anyone else thinking he’s going to get tossed from the M’s roster come November?
42,000 fans came to see a last-place, getting-worse team.
They’re not going anywhere.
WHere’s the RALLY MOOSE! Bring out the rally moose!
Oh, don’t worry… Meche will end up winning his last five starts and looking like he’s back on track with some potential for success… just like he does every year.
Come on Sexon, just don’t look stupid at the plate. That’s all I ask. Just don’t look stupid.
168-
methinks there’s going to be a HUGE shakedown in our rotation come November
#173 I hope you are right.
Obviously Felix is in and Joel (stuck with his contract).
I think Franklin is gone but I am afraid they will bring Moyer and Meche back.
I’m hoping the following people are gone from the active roster:
Spiezio, Hansen, Dobbs, Franklin, Meche, Nelson, Hasegawa
I’m ok with keeping Moyer as a back rotation or long relief guy. Can they send Meche to Tacoma? Would anyone claim waivers on this guy? I don’t really want to just release him, but he shouldn’t be in our rotation.
Jamie would be fine at the back of the rotation. The problem is he’s at the front of the rotation, and we’re paying a front of the rotation rpice.
Oh boy,here comes Thornton..
(glug glug)
(glug glug)
(cue Jeremy and the towel)
I even got my wife to call him the towel now.
I’m fine with Moyer staying.. he has pitched some gems this season.
Meche..I do admit he has some potential,but,boy,he’s inconsistent
Joel..The last 2 starts have been pretty encouraging.let’s see how it develops..
I really like Ichiro and Bloomy at 1 and 2 in the order. Both have good base running ability and Willie has much better bat contol than Reed. Also Reed stikes out far too often.
(glug glug)
(glug glug)
thank God my fridge is still stocked with brewski..
(glug glug)
(glug glug)
Bored today so looked it up: 22 sub-5 inning starts by our rotation this year. Meche and Sele each have 6 of them. Unfortunately I had to count injury wrecked starts by Bobby and Campillo.
I’ll be your virtual Jeremy today…
Here’s your Towel.
God help us.
TOWEL!
Hey, maybe both of us posting will make Thornton not suck today…
(sorry to be jacking your flavor)
181 I agree.
This would be where I usually point out the strikeout is completely overrated as being a wrose out than any other out…but the apathy of this awful Mariners team is sort of overwhelming me.
#186 EC,
I don’t mind.
The fact that folks Jim Osmer (#179) can make reference to the Towel outside of the blogosphere makes me smile.
Referring back to #189, my comment should say “folks like Jim Osmer”.
There are no folks like Jim Osmer. Hopefully.
We also call Doyle “the Mongrel”
Soriano “Sh*t man sh*t” which is what Garciaparra probably said during the famous strikeout
maybe Grover calls him the towel too
nice catch..
Hmmm..if they DH Spezio for the rest of the season and he continues his current streak he would have about 228 ABs which, with the 2 hits he already has would put his BA at .0008. Surely there’s a record in there somewhere.
Why is the Angels Dh hitting..?
Pray For Felix
Right-hander Rafael Soriano threw two innings for the Class A Everett AquaSox on Friday night, giving up two runs — one earned — on three hits and striking out one.
I fondly remember when the Mariners were a ptiching rich team, Cloude, Anderson, Nageotte, Heaverlo, Blackley, etc. Too bad they all turned out to suck. Or too bad we didn’t trade them when everone thought they were going to be great. The Soriano news is not encouraging.
OK, my apathy’s gone.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batting?team=sea&season=2005&seasonType=2&type=exp
Willie B’s Runs Created per 27 outs: 3.66 (this would mean a team made out of Willie Bloomquists would score about 3.66 runs per game).
Jeremy Reed’s: 3.58
So, remind me, which player is the disappointing rookie and which one’s the next David Eckstein?
(The real David Eckstein’s at 4.45, BTW. Oh, and Willie B’s WORSE than that since the All-All-Star break, at 2.99 RC/G.)
Hey, so what was the play on which Vlad got thrown out? I’m watching on gamecast so I don’t know where the ball was hit to. Any help?
newsflash..
Thornton not sucking yet
end newsflash..
Did anyone notice that after Price went to the mound the sky fell in? Did you see Gil stretching his right shoulder. I can imagine the conversation: You alright? No commet. You alright? No comment. Maybe we ought to have Rush Lin. come here and help straighten out our bull pen. Now our staff sends down a pitcher who gets outs. Next Bucky up to sit. Thank God She gave us the Seahawks,,,,,,,,,.
Ernie
The record is getting nearer.
yay Yorvit
Nice double Yorvit. I know he has not hit much yet but I like his style.
Any guesses on the two opening day catchers next year?
175 The trouble with removing Franklin and Meche from the roster is that there is no body to replace them. Everyone else has arm injuries and may never be seen again.
have you noticed,whenever our fearless DH is at the plate,every commentator starts yakking about how great a postseason he had in 2002..funny nobody mentions how crap he is at the moment..
In honor of Scott Spiezio the Mariners scoreboard will now show 4 digit batting averages.
Yorvit runs okay too.
I-CHI-RO!!!!!!
Once again,I-CHI-RO!!
Come on!
206, 193. Maybe this could add a little interest to the remainder of the season, to see if Spezio can set a record for lowest batting average in a year. Be sort of like the Ichiro thing last year.
Nothing but really vile videos of Hargrove’s wife with the lawnboy can explain Speizio’s presence in the line-up.
The ignitor gets revenge for the upper thigh injury to Torrealba
This is the first time I’ve ever posted here… but this Spezio thing is really starting to BURN me up! WHY IS HE PLAYING?!!! Even if you assume he is not hitting *on purpose*, WTF is the front office up to? You don’t run out a guy who has only a couple hits in 50 at bats (or whatever it is) as DH day after day!
I would much prefer that they bring Bucky up, and let him WALK to each base… because even doing so… his stats would STILL be better than Spaz!!!
Dammit. Game should be tied now.
Gotta love Ichiro finally starting to steal like a madman again, get some momentum goin
Yeeesss! Chin up guys!
thank you,thank you,and thank you..
Are you kidding me?
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
Donnelly must have money on the Mariners.
Lots of gifts this inning.
Tie game. Thanks, Ichiro…
Come on Richie!!!!
No,this can’t be true..
I here declare this game’s fixed..
Come on Richie, hit a homer!
I smell it coming. I do, don’t laugh.
Two strikes on Richie.. this looks eerily familiar
dammit…
Or maybe Donnelly wants to be the winning pitcher.
I like that attempt with 2 strikes on Sexson and 2 outs.
Ibanez clearly just didnt want Richie to strike out, thats what we call taking one for the team…mate
I guess we’ll never know if he hits a homer now…
why,oh why raul..??
The way the angels bullpen’s going,this could have been a fun inning
???
That commerical…made
NO
SENSE!!
“Call before you dig”? What, is there a land mine problem in Seattle? Why was it so ominous? And why did time stop? What’s two inches underground that could kill EVERYONE in the vicinity???
Is this the reverse towel?
233: that the first time you’ve seen it? It’s on like 4 times per broadcast.
235: I mostly just stare at the wall during Mariner games lately.
Speeze gives the Mariners opponent one free out everytime through the lineup. It’s like letting Tiger Woods hit from the women’s tees in a match against my next door neighbor’s dog.
237 Yeah, if they won’t use Morse, they could at least let the pitchers hit. They couldn’t do much worse.
crap crap crap
(glug glug)
(glug glug)
Are you there, God?
It’s me, Grover.
Please strike my pitching staff dead.
Thanks.
Love,
Mike
Thornton has had a good couple quality outings lately…. Hes got good stuff stick him in the rotation see what he can do…
Heres what the final year rotation should look like:
1. Hernandez
2. Moyer
3. Pineiro
4. Thornton
5. Meche/ Harris
Than next years rotation
1. Hernandez
2. Madritsch
3. Pineiro
4. Moyer
5. Meche/ Thornton
No one really wants to win this game.
Meche, Lackey, Mateo, Donnelly, Sherrill all deserve losses.
The M’s have mucho money to spend on starting pitching next year and need 1 and hopefully free agent starters.
This is my rotation
1. FA (millwood?)
2. FA (matsuzaka?)
3. Felix
4. Madritsch
5. Pineiro
I really feel sorry for the few players that are worth a damn on this club, playing with so many guys who ought to be career minor leaguers.
Jason Schmidt has been tossed around in trade rumors about coming to Seattle possibly…
belt one out of the park Richie!
Beltre please get a HR when it counts…
thats cool to…
good AB,richie..
Come on Ade!
Ahhh,crap!
(glug glug)
REEEEEED!!!!
REED! REED! REED!
YES!
YUNIESKY! be patient!!
Nice one jerry..!
Chin up..
..and here’s the time for another yuni’s triple..
oh no
Hargrove better damn well ph Morse for Spezio.
lou would be throwing bases right now!!!
From top to bottom this ia a really bad team. Some of the words that come to mind. @#%%%#, ***__%, and finally STINKS!
Ernie
Ugh. WHY HARGROVE?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Why are we not freakin’ pinch hitting?
The streak continues
OMG!!! Hargrove are you a ******* idiot?!?!??
spiezio at the plate??!!
WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY was there no pinch runner for Sexson? If we had had a pinch runner we could have scored off of Reed’s double. DAMN!
I hope the Safeco crowd is booing the hell out of Spazzio
Normally I’d cut Grover some slack, but did having Spezio hit there make any sense to anyone?
We have payed Spezio 1.55 mil per hit this season…
Should we start calling him Snelling in hope of him getting injured?
264: I think that is firmly established by now.
what the frag?!
1st pitch
1st damned pitch
I’m tired of this crap..
(glug glug)
Do you think that when he had all those winning teams at Cleveland, Hargrove was just lucky? Or do you think he’s gotten rusty by being out of baseball so long?
Of curse,this hinders tha chances of Having the SpiezioAss as the Ms’next stuffed animal promotion..
1. Sexson was safe. Replay shows it. Where was the argument on the call!? Piniella would’ve been in his face…I want a manager who throws his hat, kicks dirt on the umpire…and…
2. Doesn’t leave Scott Spiezio in with runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs and needing a run for the tie. I gotta say, Hargrove may be even worse than BoMel.
Explain to me why Scott Spiezio was batting with the tying run at 3rd. They had Mike Morse, they had Dave Hansen, they had Eddie Guardado! Ichiro is the only reason the Angels havent turned this game into another joke of a game.
267: Hargrove deserves absolutely no slack anymore. He’s a blob of a man, and shows no emotion. He just doesn’t seem to give two craps anymore, and it shows by his lack of not PH’ing for Spezio, and his lack of passion on the field. I’m so sickened by him that I *almost* miss Melvin.
I’m finally on the Hargrove Blows Bandwagon…charter member. I have given him a fair shot and now conclude that he is not a wise man. We seem to have had a ton of baserunning issues on top of all of this.
#273-Definitely agree with you on #1
as per #2,i guessthe jury’s still out..
but yes i’d love more grit from my manager
I’d like him to show that he CARES..
275 I agree with you except for the Melvin comment. No one named BoMel should ever be allowed near a team I love.
I reiterate – Hargrove is a moron. At least, that’s the most charitable possibility I can think of. Other possibilities would include the oft-mentioned but never proved blackmail scenario, the Hargrove is a double-agent possibility, the ever-popular Alzheimer’s conjecture, or the theologically improbable Hargrove as anti-Christ theory.
I’m pretty sure that Spiezio is giving it his best. Hargrove isn’t. Stop booing Spiezio and start booing Hargrove every time he takes the lineup card to the mound. Worst managing I’ve ever imagined, much less seen.
DFA Hargrove!
Can I get an amen?
I think Grover benefitted in Cleveland from having a Thome/Belle.Ramirez middle of the lineup that covered his mistakes.
I miss Lou railing on our pitchers in public whereas Grover agrees with Franklin’s “I pitched well” comments.
Amen!
Countdown to Felix. One of the few glimmers of hope for us in the near future. I’m liking JooBet more and more.
26Hours and 37MInutes to go.
#270 (2)
Bob Mevin has proven he’s got more class.
Ernie
Interesting thing for today.
Adam Jones leading off in centerfield for San Antonio today.
Just saw Sexsons attempt at home on BBTN. That was a heck of an effort from the big man. Looks like he got in there. C’est la vie.
Correction to my last comment. Strike “to the mound”. Thank you.
..and here we are,its 1:24AM,beers have been consumed,profanities have been uttered,and finally here comes the bottom of the 9th
So we pinch hit for Torreabla and not Spaz?
#288 Grover blindly applies the righty/lefty thing even when the numbers don’t support it.
Why? Why is he pinch-hitting Hansen for Torrealba, when he left Spezio in? What drug causes this?
Next possible Hargrove debacle:
Pinch-hit Putz in place of Ichiro?
or
Allow Felix to throw 140+ pitches tomorrow?
NOW? NOW? Now you bring in Hansen? Apparently Hargrove’s brain is about an inning slow.
Ok, so Hansen is in now as DH. Funny, you have runners on 2nd and 3rd and no PH for Spezio. You have zero runners on, and you DH for the catcher. Are we really missing some big mystery here? I sure hope so, or I think Hargrove is brain dead.
wow..
this truly is bad managing..
#289 your right… Which makes me ponder this question?
Would Grover pinch hit Hansen for Manny Ramirez if there was a righty on the mound?
#295 yes
he did pinch hit Spiezio for Doyle a few weeks ago.
HA! the bat went further than the ball
…on thinking further about my last post. I don’t think it’s even possible for Felix to throw 140+ against KC.
#273 (2)
#283
Better go take my meds now, Getting excited.
Ernie
Please tell me it hit Spiezio.
Nice AB from hansen,though
FRodriguez is going to need hip replacement surgery soon with a delivery like that.
#301 it looked like an nice at bat after watching spezio 4 times today!
Should pinch hit Morse here who at least has a chance to hit a homer.
This is another game where there’s no one to blame for the loss except Mike Hargrove.
The sweep is avenged. Could Scott Spiezio have looked any worse out there today?
How about we all sign a petition for me to go manage? No doubt I could of made this team win 100 games this year…
Actually, you could blame a lot of people…but Hargrove is first on the list, fer sure.
What a waste of a beautiful summer Sunday afternoon.
To top it off (and summarize this pathetic season) the ‘scrappy’ ‘hustlin’ ‘majestic’ WFB swings like a rusty gate at the PKA Beltre-bait to end this miserable freaking game. Gaaaaaaarrrrrgghh!
Spiezio, Hansen, Bloomquist, Thornton. How are we supposed to compete with players like this?
Ballgame. Wow. Spiezio’s not even hitting my daughter’s weight (she’s 7).
Boy oh boy..
Really,a few very odd decisions from Grover..
Why is he keeping Spiezio in the lineup frankly I dunno?
#310 Thornton and Bloomquist are actually good… Thornton can be REAL good…
I wonder if that golf course will offer tees for the price of Spiezio’s BA.
Come on now guys. Hargrove pitched a good game. You can’t expect him to keep teh Angels scoreless with this lack of run support. It was just a few bad pitches ending in hits that could very well have been outs any other day. Grover really did look good out there.
Whats that? . . . oh sorry, wrong excuse set. Let me run through the index for manager section of Major League Press Conferences for Dummies . . .
Post game comment: “The big inning has hurt the Mariners throughout this series.”
Or, as those of us who do not live on our knees in the broadcast booth put it, “We might as well have Stephen Hawking out there pitching for us.”
here’s hoping King Felix restore our faith in the beautiful game tomorrow night..
Now,as I’m on my hols,I’ll try to set the alarm clock to 4 AM-yes,you read that right-to watch the game live..
if it’s too much for me thank god for the MLB TV archives,and I’ll watch the match tuesday..
I say tommorow everybody here goes to the game and boos grover when he takes the lineup out… Than throw stuff at spaz when he is up to hit…
i think i have a better chance of sitting in the furthest away seat from home plate make a paper airplane and hitting spezio with it than he does of getting a hit…
Dead silence, stand and turn your back on the plate — believe me that would send an unnerving message.
I’m sorry to say this but it seems whatever Ron Villone had he gave it to Sherrill. Oh, there is no bullpen star!
Bloomquist isn’t actually good, unless your definition of good is “not a complete waste at the plate like Wilson Valdez or Scott Spiezio”. He still doesn’t walk much and has no power at all, and being “gritty” doesn’t make him a good regular.
He should be a sub limited to 3-4 games a week with defense/PR substitution/PHing against lefties, and letting Morse rot on the bench so you give playing time to Spiezio and Bloomquist is pretty awful roster management. I’d slide Betancourt to 2B and put Bucky in at DH, plus promote an OF from Tacoma, and DFA Spiezio and Hansen.
A good promotion for the Mariners would be if you buy a ticket you get 10 gallons of gas at the price of Spezios BA
#322: I agree 100%!!!
Osmer brought up a good point. There’s a better than decent chance that Matsuzaka signs here in the offseason, and considering the trackrecord of japanese pitchers in their first year who have funky deliveries/pitches, that’s a good addition.
Then we have the FAs: Millwood, Burnett, Schmidt. Anyone of those is good enough.
Imagine the rotation that could give us
Felix
FA to be
Matsuzaka
Madritsch
(Good) Pineiro
Holy starting pitching batman, that’s a good one right there.
Of course, we also could end up seeing
Felix
Crap
Crap
Crap
Crap
x 5 more years, followed by Felix’s departure.
Another 38,500 saw today’s game. From ownership’s perspective, all they need to do improve the team to the 80-85 win level(= “competitive”) and the cash cow will be reborn.
This lose I blame on one thing and one thing only…
Is it the crap pitching of Gil Meche..No
Is it the horrible 1.1 inning that Mateo pitched…No
Was it Scott Spiezio being Scott Spiezio…Well Kinda
….No it was Mike Hargrove, he should have been out there when Sexson was called out at home, regardless if Sexson was out, he should have at least showed his team that he was backing them up, half the team was calling Sexson safe when they called him out and Hargrove did nothing. But, more importantly, he should have pinch hit somebody for Spiezio, I mean the tying runner at 3rd base and you keep the guy who is batting .046, 2 hits all season, 2-45 this year. Agghhhhhhhhhhh! Dave Hansen comes in for the guy that just hit a double in his last at-bat. Dave Hansen should have came in at the bottom of the 8th with runners on 1st and 3rd, not the top of the 9th with nobody on. Thank god we play the Royals next, cause I dont know how much longer I can handle this…I hope King Felix pitches great against the Royals and we can salvage some dignity back from this series…..Can I get an AMEN!!!
For the love of all which does not suck.. Why is Spiezio still on this club??
For that matter, throw in Hansen, Shiggy, and Nelson too.
Thornton and Bloomquist aren’t actually good. Unless you consider a 5.19 ERA good? Thornton has some heat and not a heck of a lot else and in regards to Bloomquist, well, eponymous said it best.
We’ve got some talent, let’s use it. The next few years don’t look too good unless something drastic happens in the off season or from the young players we have. Give them a chance.
The Royals have a 14 game losing streak. Having Felix destroy them doesn’t give us dignity, it’s just kicking the dog.
Sorry, wrong URL….
http://www.petitiononline.com/mariners/petition.html
Spiezio has gone into The Felton Zoneâ„¢. This is an expression that my brother and I would use growing up. For more info: The Felton Zoneâ„¢
Not sure why that didn’t work…
http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/feltote01.shtml
and just to be accurate, Hargrove was out there after Sexson was called out, not that it was going to make Diaz give him the run back. There were some mighty odd calls in this game, non-strikes, called for going around when the batter hadn’t, guys called out when they weren’t….
#317
Yikes, I am moving to Italia next year and there is no way I am getting up at 4am to watch this team
I’ll read the recaps. Watch the lowlights.
Im starting to see why the Orioles let Mike Hargrove go, I think that his success in Cleveland was less to do with him and more to do with that team. I miss Lou..we need to dump this metabolicly challenged chum. Rebuilding? If we were rebuilding we would have Mike Morse as the DH. And Scott Spiezio as the guy who cleans Ichiro’s shoes when he comes in from playing REAL baseball. I mean other then our lead-off hitter what has been consistantly good for this team? I mean I show pity on the fans who have to watch this team, but imagine Ichiro, who has to play with those embarrassments. Can anybody tell me what Mike Hargrove’s plan was? Can anybody tell me what this organization’s plan is? Well its not long till September call-ups, when Mike Hargrove will have another shot at proving to me that he has no idea what hes doing with this team. If I was Ichiro i would demand a trade to a team that is serious about being competive. I need a reason to keep my hope up, but what?
Felix.
yup, Felix.
Ichiro!
Beltre at 3rd, Betancourt at short, Sexson at 1st.
The return of Jeff Harris in September.
Mike Morse, Outfielder.
Here’s a question. How much of this awful year lies on Beltre’s shoulders?
Yes, I know signing Beltre was a logical and VERY defensible decision to make at the time. But realistically, if Beltre is another Bret Boone (when he’s good, he’s good, like in 1994, 2001 and 2003, and when he’s bad, he’s awful), who might show up with .260/.300/.425 seasons on a regular basis, we’re paying someone $11 million a year to be David Bell’s evil twin every so often. Can you win overpaying THAT much for performance, unless you’re the Yankees?
Re: #336 and #328 and a number of other posts on the same theme:
Has it occurred to anyone that Grover wants out more than any of the guys on the field? I’ll bet he’s hoping the M’s get the idea and fire him before they even think to DFA Spezio….
Adam Jones outfielder (at least starting today at SA)
Jose Lopez who is now officially tearing up the PCL
these are also good things.
Sorry, that’s Spazio…er, Spiezio.
Things to look forward to for 2006:
Catchers that aren’t a black hole on offense (can we just see a 700 OPS?) The rise of Jeff Clement.
Richie Sexson hitting 40+ HR
Jose Lopez having a regular job at 2nd base, meaning no more WFB
Betancourt with his spunky defense and knack for hitting opportunistic triples
Beltre having a full year adjusted to the AL and in the magical age 27 year
A starting infield who’s average age is 26.
Chris Snelling taking over for Griffey in the first D/L appearence office pool
Doyle manning LF and roping doubles looking like a poor man’s Edgar from the left side
JReed with the ROY expectations lifted and his hustle in CF
Ichiro with the .400 expectations lifted and an offense scoring runs
Raul being Raul
A bench that is Bucky, Morse, and Strong instead of Spiezio, Hansen and Bloomquist
A full year of the King
The fierceness of Bobby M back on the mound, fresh after the extra rest of the entire 05 season off
The chance we might have good pineiro back
The chance we might land a FA pitcher (or two??) to fill out our rotation
A bullpen that’s solid
The return of Rafael Soriano to said bullpen
The grit of Eddie
The 5 year anniversary of 116 wins
Yes people, there’s always hope.
#340 Even if Beltre was hitting Pujols like numbers we’d be losing. Our manager is horrible and this team was left in such a reck its going to take at least another year for our GM to clean up the mess.
The fact that we are bad isn’t the problem. Its the personel decisions in the last week that are the problem.
EC… I disagree about Beltre on a few fronts. (not disagree, really, I know it was a question… so I take the “not too much” answer)
Beltre, even with his horrific start, is still better than half our hitters… making it not a level of suckitude great enough to blame the season on.
Absent April and May, he’s a good player to have. Overpaid, but not as much as some.
And if we were pinning our season on one guy in the first year of a league change then I would say that’s someone else’s blame to start with.
I feel very good about Beltre next year. His best is better than Boone and his mean projection is better than Boone’s.
And keep in mind that Beltre is just starting to come into his prime age. That’s very different than Boone, as well.
I think that by the end of Beltre’s contract we will have been very glad we signed him.
I worry far more about the people around Beltre, Sexson and Ichiro than I do those guys. It is harder to be a spectacular player on a crappy team than it is to be great on a good team.
I rate this game thread a -23 on a scale of 0 to -50.