Game 151, Mariners at Rangers
Washburn vs Volquez, 5:05 pm.
Edinson Volquez has made six major league starts. See if you can spot which one is not like the others:
5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 3 BB, 3 K
3 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 HR, 3 BB, 1 K
4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 HR, 3 BB, 2 K
1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 HR, 3 BB, 1 K
5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K
The American League has lit Edinson Volquez up like a Christmas tree. He’s a good prospect who isn’t major league ready, and major league hitters have been punishing him for his lack of command.
Except the Mariners. They faced him a month ago and he shut them out.
The M’s offensive approach sucks. Let’s see if they’ve learned anything.
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My guess: The M’s have learned nothing.
Seconded.
We just need to be more aggressive at the plate, stop letting these pitchers take advantage of us, get a good pitch to hit and hit it. You can’t walk to first base.
Willie at second tonight. Only six points until his OPS dips below .600 on the year. Can he do it? Can Jarrod Washburn NOT give up seven home runs tonight? And who shot Mr. Burns? These stories and more, 5 o’clock.
ESPN has a link to a Jayson Stark piece with this headline:
Stark: Pujols combines power and patience.
Other suggested headlines:
Mortensen: Sky is blue
Hollinger: Limbaugh leans towards republicans
Simmons: L.A. traffic isn’t the best
And, worse, Stark’s piece is an insider story. Yep.
Sky Blue; Grass Green; Where Will It All End?
Celzic: Yankees lineup tough to beat
Me: If Jayson Stark has baseball knowledge, I can’t find it
Who pays for the insider? I had free access to it for a while, but there was no way I was going to pay for that.
I also find it odd that Peter Gammons’ return article is Insider. I know he’s Insider all the time, but the majority of the column is saying thank you to his family, doctors, etc… seems like they shoud have let everyone read it.
Speaking of the Mariners offense sucking, is it my imagination or does Broussard exhibit the most patience at the plate of about any Mariner batter?
#10: I don’t have Insider, and I had access. It had the Insider logo on it, but that didnt’t keep me from reading the article.
#11: Either him or Snelling.
Speaking of the Mariners offense sucking, is it my imagination or does Broussard exhibit the most patience at the plate of about any Mariner batter?
That’s your imagination. Since joining the M’s, he’s seeing 3.75 pitches per plate appearance and has drawn 5 unintentional walks in 136 trips to the plate. He’s a hacker.
Ben isn’t a hacker….he’s a Mariner!
So, setting aside the often-stupid specifics of the lineups Hargrove has rolled out the past month, does anyone have any insight into why he’s trying so many permutations? I’m not talking about “letting the kids play” (Morse, Bohn) or non-platoon platoons (Doyle) or giving starts to people he (though no-one else) thinks deserves them (Bloomquist) — I’m talking about all the different spots in the order for Lope, and Betancourt and Beltre, and now Johjima. This after he went months with unchanging lineups early in the season. Is he actually trying to determine something by testing hypotheses? Is he throwing darts? Is letting people sign up on a first-come basis after batting practice? What’s going on?
I can only imagine what our offense would look like with a few more Snelling-esques in the lineup.
Hargrove read about Monte Carlo techniques, and decided to try to see if it worked for lineups, too.
Trivia question: what two teams (one AL, one NL) have a lower OBP than Seattle this year? Bonus question: what three teams have a lower OPS? (only one of which is in the answer to the first question)
I don’t know the stats, but it seems like Raul is pretty patient (as Mariners go……)
#19 Is Detroit the AL team? Just a guess.
Hey, the Rangers broadcasters are quoting LOB%.
Of course, they don’t understand that it’s only partly a skill, but its a start.
Well, that’s one for Washburn, and counting…
Nope, Tampa
Good guess, but nope, Detroit (.327) is at 26, ahead of Milwaukee (.325) and Seattle (.322); bring up the rear are the Cubs (.321) and the Rays (.313). For OPS, trailing Seattle (.738) are Houston (.737), Tampa Bay again (.732), and Pittsburgh (.730). The M’s are actually middle of the pack for batting average (.269, 16th) and #1 in the AL for triples (#5 overall, at 39) but they’re dead last for doubles. The low doubles number is partly park effect — Safeco supresses doubles, for whatever reason (28th this year) — but the triples count is pretty surprising (Safeco is rated 23rd this year, and has less than half the park factor for triples as Toronto).
Hey, look, Jamie Moyer has a shutout going through 5 IP
Volquez can’t throw strikes. Snelling is the only player that turns this into an advantage.
Just a question: More people in the media (newspapers, talk radio) have labeled Felix’s season as a disappointment, which might be fair. But it seems to me that Washburn, given his contract, is a greater disappointment. Why does he not receive the blame that Felix does for the M’s substandard season?
Love Volquez’s Gameday shot. Scary as hell.
Washburn has taken over the Ryan Franklin “no run support” angle. And everyone knows there can be only one disappointment and one victim of lack of run support.
But also kind of adorable.
29- I love gameday pics, there are some classics out there!!
My birthday is next week. I request a grand slam.
And Hargrove getting fired.
Ok, I’ll settle for part two. Thanks.
My birthday is next week. I request a grand slam.
My birthday is Friday. I request Daisuke Matsuzaka saying that if posted he’ll only sign with Seattle.
Two walks, two singles, 1 stolen base, and 1 run. Sigh.
Volozquez picture reminds me of someone. I just can’t place it.
Dangit. Volquez.
#35 If it were only that easy. Highest bidder wins. All bids are sealed and go to Selig. So unless someone has a spy in another org we have to hope the M’s just throw a crapload of money and cross our fingers.
32 – I’ve always been of the opinion that Betancourt’s gameday pic this year makes him look like a Cabbage Patch Doll.
#38 I think Dylan’s point is that if Matsuzaka said this, other clubs wouldn’t bother bidding on him.
Then again, if he did say that, other teams might bid an exorbitant amount of money to prevent the M’s from signing him, knowing that they get the money back in the end.
Travis Chick’s is the best (worst?)
So Ichiro is now a 40-8 man. Take that, Alfonso Soriano. And Soriano has been caught 16 times this year. Ichiro? Twice. (Actually, the surprising thing to me about Soriano is that he has 63 BBs, vs Ichiro’s 46, in about 30 fewer ABs… and yet Ichiro’s OBP is .366, vs Soriano’s .357)
39- Yu-bet’s is a bit odd. One of the best belongs to John Lackey.
Just imagine if those of us posting on these game threads had pics. Shudder.
…And Moyer — surprise — gives up a solo HR in the 6th. The man is consistent. Fortunately for him, the Phils offense is a little more so too.
#40 Yje winning team does get the money back if they don’t sign the player. I was unsure but found a posting article on my favorite baseball source: Uss Mariner rulz
Yje? Yje? Dang. The.
Stupid discount laser eye surgery. I knew I should haven’t trusted the guy with the laser pointer in the back of the van.
Are you sure it’s your eyes and not your fingers? Stupid discount metacarpals…
Yje Olje Homje Runje Parkje.
No. Its my Dell keyboard put together by the Swedish Chef (who looks alot like Mike hargrove btw).
And now Tom Grieve is explaining the flaws of small sample sizes. Their announces >>>>>>> our announcers.
Hey, wait, what’s that, down in Texas? A ballgame? Nah, it’s just a hybrid zombie/road movie, sports/horror flic: “Washburned Rubber: Return to the Homerdome”
Washburn is showing Travis Chick how to get balls into the strikezone.
One of my Keys to the Game was for Washburn to not give up seven runs. Less than that would be nice, more than that would be comically entertaining. As long as it’s not seven exactly, I’ll be a happy camper.
I’m guessing Washburn’s real injury would be “whiplash”.
Hail Cesar!
Of course, sometimes convenient things just happen at convenient times.
It’s the Jorve Roofing (TM) Whiplash Replay.
I’m not liking our karma tonight.
Hail Longball!
The Mariners are not a good team.
so, I’m guessing Texas won’t be interested in acquiring Jimenez unless they are in need of a new batting practice pitcher….
I have thought about the high-bidding strategy mentioned in #40. You could bid a high amount, then offer DM peanuts, he refuses, but you keep him away from another team.
If it’s any consolation, Spiezio 0-3 with 3 k’s for the Cards (though he has a .986 OPS this month and .824 in 253 ABs this year.
With Volquez pitching like he is the M’s surely must score more than 2 runs? Right? Buehler?
I found this amusing:
89.10 plus shipping for a Jarrod Washburn autographed baseball. Seriously, who would pay that?
WTF
65: Bill Bavasi would
Check out Rickey Ledee’s Gameday pic
#63 That is an idea, but I am sure Bud would go nuts about that. I am guessing the winning post will be significantly higher than Ichiro. I put it at 27 million (crunched numbers in my WAG calculator).
I’d say a nice new autographed Washburn ball would be worth more than one he’d actually thrown — who wants a ball that’s been beat to shit?
Good golly, I believe the hit and run worked.
That wouldn’t be very nice to Mr. Matsuzaka though
so what’s the deal with all these Virgos & Libras? or is it just that you are all more willing to share your birthdays with us?
If you were born Sept. 19th: Trouble will come swiftly and suddenly. You will find that many from the South will not have your best interests at heart. This your opportunity to examine your dreams in the harsh light of day.
Plus you have to believe those that are serious about putting up a large bid are actually interested in his services.
Another steal for Ichiro!
Unfortuantely now agressive baserunning is validated in Hargroves mind.
Born on Talk Like a Pirate Day?
niner-one-niner
Answer: A lot of people have sex when it’s cold out. That’s my theory, anyway. However, best not to lump us rockin’ Libras in with all them fussy, irritating Virgos. Er, present company excluded, of course.
Next week happens to be the 38th week of the year. Human pregnancy normally runs 38 weeks. New Year’s eve tends to involve a lot of drunken sex where percautions get overlooked. I’m just saying…
Has anyone seen the lineup the Mets rolled out tonight, after clinching last night?
No Reyes, LoDuca, Beltran, Delgado, Wright, Floyd, Green…
…but hey, they’re up 3-2 in the 9th.
#41-The Travis Chick Gameday picture looks like he’s on the verge of bursting into flames.
arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
hmm hm hmmmmm hmm hm hm doesn’t belong,
hmmm hm hmm hm hm hm hm huhuh,
hhhmm hm hm hmmmmm hmmm finish my song….
A good video on youtube that teaches you the five A’s of talking like a pirate.
Talk like a pirate
78, I’m just mad that the marlins are about to lose their fourth in a row where in all four games I believe they had a lead after they pulled their starter and the bullpen blew it. They have suffered through many other games like this recently. It’s looking increasingly unlikely that they will play the Twins in the WS liked I’d hoped
or you can watch the Dread Pirate Steve.
Okay, blue tube top alert in Texas. Oh, my goodness they did linger on that shot.
Avast!
Arrrgh! That wench be prodigiously blessed by ye Almighty.
Glad to see the Mariners didn’t treat Volquez like Cy Young tonight.
Darn, wanted Doyle to come through to tie it up, or better.
Is it okay to forgive Doyle but not Bloomquist were he to get out?
It’s funny when Fairly tries to do math in his head. So funny. Hilarious.
88-Perhaps. But listen to him with his repetitious inanities about mananging an at bat. That, my friend, is what it is all about. He is pedantic but those dumb little gems like, “Who is in trouble here” is the voice of a professional hitter who knows is stuff. Ron may not be the best at broadcasting but he does know hitting and is worth listening to.
“….his stuff…” Martinis and blogs do not mix
I’ve often found myself reminding the Mariner hitters when at a 3-1 count, ‘who’s in trouble here?’.
Sadly, this year, it is often the Mariner hitters.
Speaking of Gameday pix – ladies and gentlemen, Josh Rupe, the man who mashes up not one, not two, but THREE regrettable hair fashions!
Perez didn’t strike me as a guy who would immediately regress to Carl Everett form when he was traded to the Mariners. But I was wrong.
Some grit there but was it *true* grit?
89: years ago, red’s continuous baseball “education” irritated the heck out of me… but at this point, i’d rather listen to him in the background than rizz, hendu, etc … because, even though he is repetitious, there is generally value in what he’s saying…
of course, most of this season he’s been banished from t.v. and replaced with a bigger idiot… so good job M’s brass, or whoever makes that choice… yet another shining example of their prowess. if you’re going to replace him, please replace him with someone better… :doh!:
this whole thing with Grover is irritating the F out of me… if that doofis is back next year, i’ll wash my hands of the M’s until the situation is resolved…
So you used to be called chimeraf?
*smacks self upside head*
The chit-chat about no more than 58% of first pitches being for strikes and no more than 57.5% of first pitches being for a ball and that being a ‘tiny’ differential was interesting in what it revealed.
WFB, your new starting 2B….
I grudgingly cheer Willie’s outperformance of Snelling this inning.
Go Ichiro!
WHOO!
wow
NICE!
So WFB is NEVER leaving the team now, is he?
!!!!!!!
Ichiro!!!
I have no problem with WFB being on the team indefinitely provided (a) he isn’t paid more than $1M (the difference between league-minimum and $1M is change-found-under-couch in MLB terms) and (b) he doesn’t start when there’s another, obviously more talented and healthy player in the organization who should be playing that position instead.
Apropos absolutely nothing, other than 9th innning comebacks, but has everyone seen the Dodgers-Padres fangraph for last night?
On topic: Morse!
Pinch run for Richie, please.
G-man, there you go. But Lopez?
See, that’s the problem with starting Bloomquist. He’s not there for you in high leverage situations like this.
OK, Hargrove is PH’ing Jones for Doyle?
Jones for Snelling???
ok……..
I thoiught of Lopez – lets them put him in at second base and move WFB to first. Because, of course, you need to —- PH FOR DOYLE!?!??!?
WITH JONES.
13 pitchers so far in this game, 8 for Texas.
JONES!
Another opportunity to root for Joaquin Benoit’s balls….
Ok, now Hargrove looks like a genius :eyeroll:
Yeah!!!!
JONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hargrove gets the last laugh!!
Still a dumb move.
As much as I want Hargrove gone, it’s nice to be able to cheer for the team…
Not only does he look like a genius but now he’s encouraged to do this even more…
Wow, 5 hits for “Willie B.”
quick, quick, trade Willie to Texas!!!!
5 hits for boom-boom
I was so consumed with that fangraph that I missed Jones hit. Whew!!!
A career year for Bloomquist tonight.
5 hits for BoomBoom! Sign that boy to an extension!
Hargrove has pushed the right buttons tonight. Give him credit when it’s due, just as we do criticism.
You new RF platoon for 2007 – Jones and Doyle???!!
128- He got lucky that Jones came through, that wasn’t a good move, IMO.
no. I won’t.
The defensive alighnment will be intersting – I guess he’ll put Ichi in RF and Jones in CF.
How many other buttons does Grover have? I think we’re out of buttons about now.
Benoit Balls? Sounds like a Token Chick line.
Actually, those Benoit Balls are getting stroked all over the field tonight.
Ok, I’ll stop now.
Hargrove::good baseball move
blind squirel::nut
Bloomquist, 5-6 tonight. And he’s the gritty ignitor. Maybe we can trade him to Texas for one of those clubhouse slackers Hicks was complaining about — you know, Texiera say. Or Bloomquist for Young, straight up.
Bloomquist 5-6 tonight. A WFB rally-killing, low-OPSing, grittiness-bashing comment hiatus is justified for this day.
Teixeira
T-E-I, X-E-I, R-A
so, why was it Adam Jones spent all those weeks on the bench?
I blame #4, shaunmc for the WFB debacle tonight. Just begging for a comeuppance.
Yeah, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Of course Hargrove’s problem is that he runs slower, and slower, each day.
Sorry about distracting you with the fangraph (thought the pitching change would take longer). But now you’ll get to look at the equivalent for this game tomorrow (crosses fingers).
OK, Bohn in RF, no Jones. Where did Bloomquist end up?
138, S-Q-U-I-R-R-E-L
Teixeira (Tee-ee, icksee, Irish Republican Army)
142 – typo, not laziness
OK, sorry about the spelling. I was going to go copy and paste from Yahoo, but I forgot. If he played for the M’s, I’d be more careful.
Uggggh, errors!
WFB ended up on first base.
As much as I hate Hargrove, we like Adam Jones too, right? Adam Jones has great potential, sure he’s not there yet, but he isn’t TJ Bohn for crying out loud. Pinch hitting Jones for Snelling isn’t 100% stupid and it gave Jones a chance to do something and prove himself.
I’m fine with it.
Putz in. Game over.
Yeah!!! Mariners win!
Blalock SWING AND A MISS… AND WE GO TO THE TOP OF THE 11TH… NO.. the Mariners win! Mariners win the ballgame!
Yeah, even if that’s the only AB Jones gets this month it’ll send him off into the offseason on a good note. Knowing you can hit in a high-pressure situation is pretty invaluable; knowing that your manager is willing to give you that shot counts for something too.
My main memory of Jones this year was that easy, gliding run to the ball once he got used to being out there — ala Mike Cameron. If he can hit some, I’m gonna like him I think.
True story: I was playing with Google’s SMS service (which, sadly, I’d only learned about yesterday at An Event Apart). I punched in “seattle mariners” to see what would happen. I was expecting to see a loss, but WTF? They’re winning in the tenth?? Huh.
So, yeah, if you text “seattle mariners” to 46645 you will get the score of the most recent M’s game and info on the next scheduled game.
Not to mention Adam got the pie-in-the-face rookie post game interview tradition. Great to get that at his age!
Off topic to DW real quick: how was An Event Apart? I really REALLY wanted to go, but didn’t have the extra scratch for admission… Missed my chance to see Zeldman.
If you want to blame me HITSTRAVAGANZA tonight, davepaisley, then you must also thank me for Washburn leaving the game early. To be fair.
Per the post-game show on KOMO, looks like Washburn has a torn calf muscle, and will miss his last start of the year.
Good win obviously, nice to have something to cheer about, but…
We outhit them 18-9 and it takes a 9th inning, 2-out comeback to win the thing.
Rangers with 4 hr’s and a double in their 9 hits, we had two doubles and a homer in our 18. We also had 5 walks to their 3!
This seems to be a recurring theme. I can’t watch the games, so what’s the bigger reason for our inability to turn hits into runs: lack of clutch hitting or lack of extra base hits?
Washburn said he thought first he’d popped his achilles, from the sudden stab of pain… greatly relieved it was the calf muscle.
speaking of Adam Jones, great note in the PI about his new custom-made silk suit
OF Adam Jones turned heads as the team dressed after the game for a plane trip to Texas, donning a bright red silk shirt and matching pants. Johjima was alarmed it might be the day rookies are traditionally made to dress in some sort of embarrassing outfit. “I thought today was costume day when I saw that,” the rookie from Japan said. “Then I saw my suit was still here and I was relieved.”
sudden thought– if the Phillies make the playoffs, there could be a Dodger/Phillies playoff game featuring a Moyer/Maddux Slop Fest
Off topic to DW real quick: how was An Event Apart?
It was great fun. Meyer and Zeldman are as engaging as you can imagine them. Zeldman’s a really nice guy — we swapped stories of our two-year-olds. I took a lot away from it, and I’m still unpacking it all.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet your 2007 starting CFer, Willie Bloomquist! This 5-6 night is SURELY indicative of his real level of talent!
on the earlier subject of an inefficient offense:
Earlier tonight Cleveland scored a massive 3 runs on the back of 13 hits (and 5 walks) against Oakland. The A’s managed to score 7 runs on only 6 hits (and of course 7 walks).
Is it just me, or was the M’s-Rangers game completely omitted from the MLB.com Fastcast?
#63: I have thought about the high-bidding strategy mentioned in #40. You could bid a high amount, then offer DM peanuts, he refuses, but you keep him away from another team.
That strategy works for exactly one year. After that, he comes to MLB as a free agent and signs with the Yankees or the Red Sox.
oh, thank goodness we have Steve Kelley to set us straight– don’t believe the hype, the Mariners aren’t improved!!!!
“Bring back Lou,” says Kelley. Ugh, that makes my eyes roll back so far it gives me a splitting headache. Do they pay that guy?
WFB goes 5-6. Now Grover will make sure he gets into the lineup every day for the rest of the year. Just great.
Also, according to KJR the big hero of the game was WFB!
Not only did Kelley say to bring back Lou, he also said that Joey Cora should be the manager.
I agree with the sentiment that the M’s have lots of problems (hitting and starting pitching, plus an idiot manager primarily), but the details in the article were all typical Kelley blatherings.
bring Cora back because his resume lists that he is the 3B coach for the White Sox, has managed Advanced Rookie Kingsport and Class A Savannah, and La Guaira in Venezuela last year, and was also the Caguas GM from 1999-2001 … and not because he is ‘a favorite son’
Willie Bloomquist gets 5 hits in a game! OH. MY. GOD.
WILLIE IS NOT TEH SUCK!
“Imagine a news conference next month announcing the return of Lou Piniella to manage the club.” ~ Steve Kelley
No thanks.
“Imagine I am writing my spring training column about Jr right now.”
“Imagine Seattle with good sports reporters and responsible media and an educated fanbase.”
That’s about as likely as Lou and Jr comming back and doing anything positive.
“Bring back Lou,†says Kelley. Ugh, that makes my eyes roll back so far it gives me a splitting headache. Do they pay that guy?
A better question is “Do they drug test him?”
Only in SteveKelleyland is 77 (the M’s current win pace) not better than 69. Only in SteveKelleyland would making Joey Cora manager be seen as a bold step, not a pathetic sop to sentimental fans. Only in SteveKelleyland would a team loaded with promising young talent not be seen as poised for further improvement.
Too bad Kelley’s 2 actual valid points — Hargrove’s suckiness and the need for starting pitching — are buried in all this crap.
you wouldn’t want to go visit SteveKelleyland, though.
A bit off topic, but wanted to pass the word:
KOMO is doing a push for entries into their Ultimate Fan contest — you can enter at:
http://www.komonews.com/komo1000news/contests/UltimateFanContest.asp
The prize is pretty cool, I think anyways.
-4 Commish box seats
-Attend batting practice on the field
-Authentic Jersey with your choice of number
-Authentic cap
-Laser engraved bat
-a game used ball from Fan Appreciation Night
-Featured on the big screen
They are picking 5 finalists, and every one of the finalists gets a pair of tickets to the Fan Appreciation game – so it might be worth entering just for that.
Ok, just for fun, since this is a dead thread: if you won that contest, what jersey number would you pick (and why?)
Also, I just entered, and if I win (which is pretty unlikely, since I’ve never won any kind of contest/lottery, ever) but if I win I hereby pledge: I will donate the prize to USSMariner with the idea that they auction it off to the highest bidder with the proceeds going to maintain the site. Unless that’s not allowed somehow.