Week 3
One win in a week. The Mariners are 7-13 and at the bottom of the division, and they’re both much worse and much better than that. What’s wrong? Dave wrote that up.
As fans, I think we watch the games too closely some times: it’s easy to watch Meche struggle and think “When will it end?” even when, by some miracle, he gets out of a game only giving up three runs or something. That’s a small victory, even as we can be unsettled knowing that given the same kind of performance, the next time he probably gives up seven and is yanked before the third inning. Not that Meche isn’t a bad pitcher. Because he is.
The team hasn’t been that bad. To look at the positive:
Carl Everett hit really well last week overall. Betancourt’s charging the ball. In a particularly good sign, Ichiro hit like Ichiro! Even Beltre hit .333 (with no power).
The bullpen’s been strong: Rafael Soriano continues to impress, Sherill had a week of being lights-out and not lit-up.
I know it’s easy to say this about every week (“…a couple hits drop in, we get that call from the ump on Tuesday, and Ibanez snags that line drive on Thursday to stop the rally, we’re 5-2…”) but three losses by a run, two losses by two runs — this wasn’t a week when the team got routed over and over.
That said — if they keep playing like we’ve seen so far, they’re not the .500 team I’d hoped for. They’re a 70-win team, and that would cost a lot of people their jobs (and not necc. the right people). The team’s off to a strange start, but they’re not 100-loss bad. They’re better than this.
That’s something.
Bavasi is on KJR now (5:30)
Borders can call a game and as a defensive replacement would be better than Rivera who needs everyday work along with the rest of the catchers we have in the organization. Taking a giant o-fer in the BA category in the maybe 1 out of 5 games that Joh can’t catch is preferable to me than Rivera, who’s pretty much a hole offensively as well as defensively. 2 passed balls and a bad throw in 1 game, and no hits yet. Why would we keep this guy up here?
What? Glare off the space age, super polymer, honeycombed, deep black, custom designed hitting backdrop? Technically impossible.
Joh sitting again tonight?!?!? Injured thumb? Noooooooo…….
Borders? Good lord. Move into this decade, people!
but why bring up Borders? He isn’t going to play here, he is playing at single A Vero Beach by choice.
Ok fine so Borders should remain retired. If we really are talking about an injured Johjima (even just a thumb), who out there can we get to back him up? Or should I chill and let Rivera have a couple of games before we decide if we need to search the FA’s.
Glare? Why was Bavasi sitting out in centerfield? Surely they can get that guy better seats…
A little known fact is that Pat Borders has a lifetime contract with the M’s, whereby he is allowed to come and go as he pleases from now until the year 2065. This is unique clause known among sports agents as the ‘Bloomquist Clause’.
See last night during the Pre-Game they chatted with Grover, and he pretty much said he was going to sit Joh last night and tonight.
Get ready for another “Adventures in Catching, with Renee Rivera” tonight.
Renee, huh? boy, Keith Hernandez isn’t going to like that– if he got all torqued over a female trainer, what’s he going to think about a female catcher…
I peg the odds of Lou returning to manage to be approximately the same as Maury Wills’.
Pat Borders? What, Scott Bradley’s not available? Is Jerry Narron still alive?
Just send Val down behind the plate, he’s already in Seattle, and we get him out of the booooooooth.
#62– Jerry’s kinda busy managing the Reds.
Renee, huh? boy, Keith Hernandez isn’t going to like that– if he got all torqued over a female trainer, what’s he going to think about a female catcher.
Ugh don’t mind my poor typing/spelling. Been a long day. lol
on the other hand Rene does catch like my ex-girl friend..so who knows..
oh, and Scott Bradley is still coaching Princeton.. I was just off checking their record so far… 12-19-1
Woah now, easy on the sexual innuendo there. We like to pretend we’re a family-friendly site.
actually, my ex was a catcher..lol. She wasn’t very good, but the only one on her team that would do it…
..wait..I’m just digging myself a bigger hole aren’t I?
:0
*facepalm*
On the subject of digging holes, I do not agree that Lou would never come back. All you’d have to do would be insure that a) the pitching was not so disgraceful that it brought too much attention to itself and thus his constant ire (a hatred of Freudian complexity stemming no doubt from his having been a formerly excellent but, as ever, hot-tempered third baseman who over the years witnessed once too often a lot of hard defensive teamwork and good team hitting blown by yet another one of those snotty, self-centered hurlers, and especially so-called “relievers”), b) that certain persons not to be mentioned, with the initials HL and CA, and maybe even JE, would rethink rebuilding strategy by doing it correctly, Up The Middle, for once, instead of this mystifying, wall-eyed and expensive corner-building approach, c) the organisation quit confusing the term “sentimental favorite” for “utility player”, and d) give Lou some due come late July (if there’s any reason to hope, that is…)
uh… hmmm… hole indeed.
I was wrong. He’s not coming back.