Game 152, Mariners at Rangers
Baek vs Tejeda, 5:05.
As ESPN’s preview will tell you, Baek has a 15 inning scoreless streak against Texas. Why we’re supposed to care, I’m not sure. Expect another beatdown of his junk in the bandbox known as Ameriquest Field.
And, just to piss us off, Willie Bloomquist is starting in right field tonight, and Doyle gets the night off. Against a right-handed pitcher.
Yes, Willie got 5 hits last night. Big whoop de freaking do. That brought his average all the way up to .255 for the year and he has 9 extra base hits in 235 at-bats. Chris Snelling has 10 extra base hits in 77 at-bats, and he’s hitting .313/.413/.552 against right-handed pitching.
Oh, and if you want to use the “he’s in a slump” argument, he’s hitting .294/.429/.529 in the last 7 days. So no.
Mike Hargrove, the Steve Kelley of managers. They both deserved to be stocking shelves for a living 10 years ago.
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233 Responses to “Game 152, Mariners at Rangers”
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Nice game by the Mariners.
Like him or not, we probabaly watched our 5th starter for 2007 pitch tonight.
Personally I dont mind it.
Like him or not, we probabaly watched our 5th starter for 2007 pitch tonight.
Personally I dont mind it.
I dunno…Not-Being-Pineiro is a rather low bar for a fifth starter to reach.
Gotta do better than what he did against Toronto, and miss a few more bats.
203- Well Toronto was just one start, everyone has a bad start it happens.
I am not a BIG Cha Baek fan, but as a 5th starter who will be just has good as Jarrod Washburn and make 37 mil less, I’ll take it.
I think Jake Woods falls under the category of “not being Pineiro”, I think Baek has been better than that.
Ichiro circa 2004>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ichiro 2006
You can’t expect him to surpass an all-time record by 14% every season.
You know what I’m talking about. 225 singles.
262 hit season: Of the last 50 hits, 47 were singles.
Give credit to Washburn for his comment in the PI this morning:
“My season sucked.”
Followed by Hargrove’s assessment: “For the most part he’s pitched well.”
Tomorrow we’ll see Hargrove’s assessment of Bloomquist: “25% of the time he’s batted 1.000”
And his assessment of Rivera: “If he caught better and hit twice as much, he’d be an awfully good player”
And this on Pineiro: “He’s given us some darn good innings this year”
While Ichiro just snuck past Sisler’s hit record (2% margin) he killed Wee Willie Keeler’s single-season singles record (198 in 1898).
I think Baek will turn out to be the 4th starter next year. I know Dave doesn’t think so. But he’s pitching as well as Washburn and almost as well as Meche, and on this team, that puts a pitcher right into the middle of the rotation.
If only Baek could pitch against the Rangers every start.
Baek at least deserves the opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation during Spring Training next year. Hopefully, the best he can do is get the fifth spot – if he’ s a three or four we are in serious serious trouble.
He can’t be a 4 if they get an ace (Matzusaka) or pseudo-ace(Schmidt/Zito) and Meche is brought back.
1 Matzusaka
2 Felix
3 Meche
4 Washburn
5 Baek
Granted the team would be much more likely to pitch Washburn second. They might even put Felix in the fourth spot behind Washburn and Meche. No matter how you slice it Baek is a fifth starter and the only spot in the rotation (barring injury) that may be available for a young player.
For next year I like the idea of having Schmidt more than bringing Meche back, but signing Schmidt involves more than next year. Meche may have more of a career left than Schmidt.
There’s also the interesting possibility of Moyer declining the mutual option and re-signing here. I’d like to see them add a Lefty to the rotation, but there’s got to be other options than Woods, Zito and Moyer.
Which of Baek’s numbers is not like the others?
6.0 K/9
3.4 BB/9
1.77 K/BB
0.95 G/F
1.65 HR/G
79.8% LOB%
3.67 ERA
5.41 FIP
4.97 xFIP
If Baek’s the fifth starter next year, something has gone seriously wrong this offseason.
I’d say if Schmidt or Zito are a starter next year then something has gone serioulsy wrong this offseason.
213 – I am sure Schmidt & Zito will be starters next year…just hopefully neither one starting for the Mariners.
As far as getting another starter (praying for Matzusaka for first one), there will be options. For instance, the constant rumors about Buehrle for the White Sox being available. He may be another Washburn, but it would only be for a year.
Buehrle is having the worst season of his career. If there’s reason to beleive the 27 year old will bounce back, what would the M’s haveto trade to get Beuhrle and pick up his $9.5 million option for ’07?
Is he worth $9.5 million?
not to mention the rumors that Freddy is also on the block for the Sox 🙂
I don’t see giving anything up to get him for one year and pay $9.5 million. His career is more impressive to me than Zito’s, but the only thing that would make it worthwhile is signing him longterm and then it’s a question of what he’s worth and for how long. Had he been a FA last year he would have been worth looking at. Can we trade Washburn for him and sign him to longer term?
I think Freddy’s the ex-girlfriend that you still like but could never go back out with.
just reminded myself to go looking for this years baseball cartoons by Choi Hoon– few of us read Korean, but his images are great 🙂
there is a recent one featuring Johjima, some with odd Ichiro panels like this WBC cartoon, and one with Texas tying Ichiro down
I wish I could read Korean, they look interesting enough.
Meche isn’t coming back. Even if the M’s wanted him, some team is going to believe his first half is the real Meche and give him 3/$24M and the Mariners won’t pay that. Baek’s stat line looks a lot like Pineiro’s except that the strand rate is exceptionally high rather than exceptionally low. That said as a 5th starter for $400,000, either could be OK though Pineiro isn’t available at that price.
Buehrle’s K rate has fallen through the floor from 6.3 in 2004 to 5.9 to 4.3. It’s possible he’s been hurt, will recover and his rate will jump back up. But the more likely answer is he’s no longer effective.
Schmidt is at least reasonable, though likely to be overpriced, as opposed to Zito who is overpriced and not very good.
Pineiro is striking out 1.5 less batters per game than Baek while walking the same number. His groundball tendencies help a little, but at this point, Pineiro is no longer a major league pitcher. Even as a groundball relief specialist, Sean Green is a better option.
222 are you saying that Buehrle’s career peaked at ages 22-25? there’s not much possibility that a pitcher with good control can overcome his early reliance on the strikeout when it stops coming?
RE: #207. Maybe Washburn should focus on being a field manager when he retires from pitching/his lucrative M’s contract expires…
ron fairly is not comming back at the end of the season. I dont know about you guys but i am happy.
ah, rookie day happened yesterday…. reports from the TNT & Times, but sadly (or perhaps fortunately) no photos as yet…
Ron Fairly will not be back for the 2007 season
I just heard that Ron Fairly will not be back in the booth next year.
This sounds a bit like another bench coach firing – there’s a problem, so we’ll change something in hopes of improving the situiation, but we’ll avoid wholesale change.
there has been talk for a year that Ron was being eased out….
Ron Fairly’s take on the situation: “You know, the secret to working is keeping your job”.
I was just looking over a potential Free Agent list and thought I’d share it.
Pettitte is a LHSP who’s only signed through 2006. He’s making $17.5 million this year (backloaded 3 year 30.5 mil. deal) I’ve previously heard that he would retire or play in Houston, but he’s only 34 now. What possibility is there that he might sign here? Of the potential FA LH Starters he’s the only one that’s very appealing.
J.D. Drew can opt out of his contract after this season and that would be interesting to see him opt out of $11 mil/year through 2009. I doubt he’d do that but wonder how he would do in Safeco…
Add Matzusaka into it, a better backup catcher, a 3B coach who makes up his mind and doesn’t change the sign to stop at the last second, a Manager who has a better grip on reality and statistical preference and a decrease in ticket price would be my wish list.