Game 20, Royals at Mariners
DMZ · April 29, 2007 at 12:04 pm · Filed Under Game Threads
Brian Bannister v Baek. 1:05, FSN.
After that Weaver start, there’s no place to go but up, right?
M’s lineup, with VORP (Value Over Replacement Player)
CF-L Ichiro! +6
3B-R Beltre -1.2
DH-B Vidro +4.4
LF-L Ibanez +.3
1B-R Sexson -2.9
RF-R Guillen +.6
SS-R Betancourt -1.1
C-R Burke +2
2B-R Willie “The Ignitor” Bloomquist -2.3
Also:
Broussard +.8
2B-R Lopez +4
C-R Johjima +6.8
Standard-issue Royals lineup:
CF DeJesus
2B Grudzielanek
RF Teahan
DH Sweeney
1B Gload
LF Sanders
3B Gordon
SS Pena Jr
C LaRue
I would trade the entire M’s infield, including Lopez, for Alex Gordon.
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Fox has the Ignitor batting 9th and playing 2nd.
….and Burke catching and batting 8th. Yu-Bet 7th.
Drayer also said that Lopez has the day off. I assume that WFB takes his spot.
Yeah, like Jose really needs that day off more than Richie, lol
Broussard sits…sigh
Anyone realize what Moyer is doing into the SEVENTH inning right now?
4
Drayer also mentioned that Broussard was penciled in to play 1b today, but he showed up to the park ill, so Grover put Sexson back in the lineup.
5, any time Cabrera goes hitless for the Marlins you have a great shot of a no-no. Their lineup is horrid.
6
So even when Grover FINALLY makes a potentially helpful decision…
How many starts does Weaver get before someone does something about it?
9 Didn’t the Royals do something about it last night?
Does subbing Bloomquist for Lopez mean that Hargrove has tired of that whole trying-to-keep-the-job thing?
Lopez wasn’t going to start 162 games. Or 155, or however many the M’s wind up playing this year. I’m a firm believer that everyone on the roster should get a start every once in a while.
The bigger question is whether he ought to be on the roster.
Sure. But if you’re trying to keep your job now, don’t you put your best players on the field and save their days off for later?
Sure, Lopez should get some rest.. but what about Sexson? What about Vidro? Johjima obviously needs rest as the catcher, but with Joh and Lopez both out, that’s two of our better hitters thus far…
Darn it. Nice going, though, Jamie.
9. According to Geoff Baker’s blog over the the Times website, they’re going to use the off-day tomorrow to skip Weaver’s next start, and he’s pretty much headed to the bullpen, where he’ll have a couple of weeks to figure things out because “you just don’t give up too quickly on a guy you paid 8 mill for”.
*sigh*
I can think of some guys we’ve given up on.
7: Oh, you shouldn’t have said that about Cabrera!
Well, Moyer just doubled and is batting 2-3.
19- So what your saying is he is more productive then Sexson in the last 20+ AB’s.
“I would trade the entire M’s infield, including Lopez, for Alex Gordon.”
Let’s get Teahen while we’re at it.
Gotta admit, it is a pleasure to watch Vidro hit.
“I would trade the entire M’s infield, including Lopez, for Alex Gordon.”
And I would trade Jeff Clements to Detroit for Cameron Maybin. We’ll regret not drafting the second coming of Eric Davis.
Yes! They say Mateo’s not available today.
But Jeff Weaver is probably available today…
Hargrove has to be the least inspiring manager in a long time.
Sit Lopez? Really?
Ya, he pulled the ball a few times yesterday. It was time to sit him.
27: I think he was talking about WFB?
Yes I too would take Richie Sexson like offensive numbers and a downgrade on defense. Oh, wait, I’m not a giggling pessimistic stoner.
K Seung Baek!
Cy Baek
Cha “Better than Jeff Weaver and $7.5 million dollars cheaper” Baek
If you end up with KC, its safe to say you were rushed into the majors.
Why did we sign Weaver instead of just using Baek?
35 – because of his postseason performance and our “sometimes inept” FO.
Who’s a giggling pessimistic stoner?
{30} Guuuuhhh? What?
Damn it Raul walked. Here comes one for his last thirty Sexson…..
One for 31 that makes it.
Can we let Raul know the man behind him is hitting .136, maybe he can expand the strike zone with a man in scoring position.
Richie.
What is the record for most ABs to start a season without getting a single?
I am.
i can understand keeping sexson in to work it out, but wouldn’t it be wiser to move him down in the line-up to take the pressure off him in RBI situations, and just let him hit?
Okay, I’ll ask this question again (I hopewithout embarrassing myself this time) — what happened to the HD broadcasts of all FSN home games on channel 664? Apparently that’s become ‘select’ home games but I haven’t heard or read a word about it.
#36 our front office is only slightly inept. They had me fooled.
please note sarcasm in last post (#47)
They’re still advertising all home games, so they must be on. A Fox network wouldn’t lie to us.
HA! Turns out it’s just the cable menu line up that’s not showing a Mariners game — it’s actually being broadcast and not ‘boxing’.
There are 80 pitchers in the NL with a higher BA then Sexson, perhaps a day off or lineup change wouldn’t be the worst thing.
Although thank the baseball gods I didn’t watch last night’s debacle in HD. Some things — the Virginia Tech massacre and Jeff Weaver’s pitching both spring immediately to mind — should not ever be seen in high definition.
I’m getting the HD feed on 664.
Over at Loukoutlanding, Jeff Sullivan posted an evaluation according to which Sexson is simply being unlucky.
HA! Nice slide Guillen, straight took him out!!
Taking out the fielder at second, btw, totally illegal. Discussed in a recent book of note.
Yet a fundamental part of baseball.
Yu-Bet!
Mike decided to wake up and play manager today, kind of nice.
So, can Vidro handle first base so we can have Jamie Burke DH, Vidro play first, and sit Sexson?
Burke now has more doubles than Rivera had last year.
The Mariners just produced a run!!! They looked like a real baseball team right there. Hard slide to break up a DP, steal a bag, drive in a run. AMAZING!
so does anyone think we don’t have the best catching duo in the league?
60 – that would make Willie the backup catcher.
I think Burke has been more productive than Olivo was the entire time he played as a Mariner.
Actually I read the stat line wrong, Rivera had 4 2B last year and Burke has 3 this year. In 12 at bats.
64- Burke can still be the back up catcher.
Too bad our backup 2B isn’t as good as our backup C.
Hey, Willie’s doing OK — his batting average is still .258.
Oh wait a minute, that’s his OPS. Never mind.
67 – If your DH is your backup catcher, then your pitcher is your backup DH.
If .200 is the Mendoza line, can we push for .140 to be the Sexson line?
Baek definetely has more motivation today based on Weaver’s start yesterday. He knows that he’s playing to be our 5th starter, and if he pitches well today there is no reason to bet against that fact.
70- Thats why we have pinch hitters.
Sweet hack LaRue!
73 – Not very many with a 12 man pitching staff. We can agree to disagree but I’d never use my backup catcher as a DH. If I really wanted to get him in the lineup along with Johjima I’d put him at 1B.
That’s just Adrian being Adrian!
First he can’t lay off the low-and-away pitch then he appeals his check-swing.
Mowed 1/3 of the lawn and am taking break just at right time to get to see Vidro hit.
75. I agree it isn’t a smart thing to do. But putting Vidro at first wouldn’t be either, thought we had Broussard for a reason.
….then he hits a warning-track fly ball.
If he ever changes I don’t know what I’d do. It would be like the sun rising in the north.
That Aflac trivia answer was wrong. It’s in 6.07.
Is anyone else having a problem accessing MLB.com gameday?
72. Baek looked this way for two innings the last time out. Let’s see how he looks the second time through the lineup. But yes. I think he should actually be our 4th starter. I still can’t believe we traded Soriano for Ramirez.
Gameday crashed explorer on my machine, too.
There goes the perfect game.
Or, to be more clear:
The improper batter isn’t out unless the opposing team appeals, and then only if they appeal before the first pitch to the next guy. It’s not that he goes to first and then the umps throw him out. There’s action required by the opposing team, and that has to be done fast.
The answer “When he becomes a runner or is put out” is entirely inadequate, because they can become a runner and be safe.
83: I had to shut down Firefox, and then end its process in the task manager, then when I went back to MLB.com…it worked. Don’t know what that’s about.
Past a diving Boone…….
5 K Seung Baek!!!
That inside K made up about 1/4 of the low “K” to Beltre last night.
Every time a Royal strikes out Weaver loses a chance to ever pitch again.
from AP: “In terms of getting after it and doing what was needed it was probably his best grittiness all year,” Royals’ manager Buddy Bell said of Meche.
hehe
So, on that rule, what happens when the batter is called out after the appeal is made and upheld? Do any other runners return to where they previously had been? Does the play stand but the batter is out? Does the result go into the player’s stats?
…and every time Sexson gets up to the plate I die a little inside.
“Mariner ABs: Don’t Blink!”
Meche must have obtained grittiness in KC. Of all the intangibles he supposedly has, I’ve never heard that one.
Aren’t Bucky Jacobsen commercials a little past their sell-by date at this point?
was that bucky jacobs on that banner bank commercial?
jacobsen…my bad…
Burke’s having a rough day behind the plate.
Shut the hell up, Dave Sims. We know what’s going on, you don’t need to tell us. Did you learn nothing from King Felix’s game against Boston?
There’s no way Bucky would be worse than Sexson.
How in the name of Valhalla do you justify giving Lopez the day off and run Sexson and his .134 BA out there day after day after day!!11one!!??? Note to self: photoshop a picture of Jeff Weaver selling an illicit substance to Mike Hargove and post on internet.
96:
You seen the Jamie Moyer commercial with the “Mariners” blurred out on his jersey?
100- They only get worse as it goes on too.
RE: HD
Only Mariner homegames broadcast by FSN are in HD. The KSTW games aren’t, of course they fail to mention this in their promos. And then sometimes, the Comcast affiliate just plain forgets to pick the game up. Oops!
All the KSTW games are in HD on channel 111.
Ahhhh….Cha Baek: “freely available talent”
I thought Ben Broussard should have Sexson’s job, or at least Vidro’s job. I’m still pretty damn sure I’m right.
I thought Ben Broussard should have Sexson’s job, or at least Vidro’s job. I’m still pretty damn sure I’m right. HE LIKES PEARL JAM! What more do you want Bavasi?
106: The channel 111 feed isn’t true HD I don’t think. It displays in 4:3 on my HDTV. It’s a better picture than channel 11 though.
102 – if you read the whole thread you’d see that Broussard was going to be in the lineup today but he is sick.
WFB!
“There goes Willie Bloomquist, best utility player in baseball.”
Good thing we sat Lopez to get him some AB’s. uhhh!
That’s okay, Willie – just talk Grover into a few more starts and it’ll be spring training for ya all over again!
The Ms offense is like a caged tiger…..
…..doped up on horse tranquilizer so it doesn’t scare the zoo patrons.
how many times is simms going to mention it?
Only 30 more times to make sure he jinxs it.
85 MPH GAS
shit…i guess so…he needs to shut the hell up…
110: ch 111 is digital (better signal/picture), but standard definition… “all FSN broadcasts of home games are in high definition” (on 664) is accurate, “all home games are broadcast in high definition by FSN” is not
fucking simms…
Bummer.
With his pitch count he isn’t going the distance anyways. Thanks Dave, thanks…
also: the taboo against mentioning a no-hitter in progress is that it’s bad luck to mention the no-hitter to the pitcher… some sportscasters observe it, many don’t; including prominent broadcasters (say, Vin Scully) calling prominent pitchers (say, Sandy Koufax)
[]
Not cool, skeet, not cool.
Bad taste alert
126…too soon, dude…no?
Digital or HD it’s still a ton better than the normal “blur vision” that is Comcast in my area (Wedgwood).
Sweet effort by Baek, too bad we can’t score.
126- that’s terrible…you’re going to hell…
So I’m out of the loop. Why hasn’t Jones played for Tacoma the last 3 days?
yea, it’s a race
126
Ouch
I get a couple piddly comments erased, yet the guy who posts about the pitcher who died in a car accident this morning has no action taken against him?
Who’s running this joint?
Funny, every time I get into an argument about whether soccer is boring or not, it’s the baseball or football fans who are mocking ME. The fact that a 1-0 game can be exciting supports soccer’s argument, it doesn’t undercut it.
136
Just don’t call this a board.
Re 137 — Yeah, the mouth-brain disconnect seems in particularly good form today.
dude, it was just april foolies. hakuna matata
From Dictionary.com
shit…let’s get the pen going…
How often is “my favorite player” going to make a flub on the very next play?
Or we can get a real left fielder?
BRING ON MATEO!
140: Well, then, ROTFLMAO!!!!1
Oh, wait, it’s still horribly tasteless.
Unrelated note: Steve Nash has 22 assists today….22
We’re all in some way connected to the same South Korean junk-baller.
Way to wave off the professionals, Willie.
jeez…bad taste begets bad taste.
GAME OVER! SEE YOU NEXT TIME.
Has Baek already pitched more innings then W**v*r?
Putz available for the 8-out save?
Did all the M’s fielders forget to eat their Wheaties today?
Bannister throws upper 80′s “heat” and only 59% strikes, yet we manage 1 walk and 2 hits in 6 innings. Familiar?
100% improvement from W**v*r, I like our new starter.
High-leverage Morrow sighting!
Yes, Baek passed Weaver in IP this year with the out in this inning. 11.2 to 11.1.
has Mateo pitched two nights on a row or don’t the Ms need a groundball?
Morrow can make a run for the team lead in wins… YES!
I really like Morrow. A lot.
Morrow’s never going to get a start in his professional career now.
So why does Beltre appeal his own checked swings??
wow…
Morrow is throwing high octane stuff. ELECTRIC!!
Now that was GRITTY. And I know gritty.
Welp, Morrow seems to be kinda good in these situations at least.
WoW! I just had chills run up and down my spine!
At some point he might need a second pitch… but it works for now.
You know, I think we should keep Morrow as a late-inning reliever guy!
Just kidding.
Nothing fancy about that ched.
Ok offense, you guys owe Baek and Morrow something here..
Now that was fun to watch. So much better than watching things fall apart.
Yes, Baek passed Weaver in IP this year with the out in this inning. 11.2 to 11.1.
Morrow may pass Weaver pretty soon, too.
I haven’t seen anyone do that on the Mariners since Rafael Soriano.
Pinch run for this ‘lum NOW!!
Yeah, it’s a shame that his starter career stock is dropping every time Hargrove uses him as a job-saver. At least he is fun to watch coming in during those situations, though. Would be better to see him starting in AA/AAA, but as long as he’s stuck here in the pen…
He looks confused on first.
I still argue that if an arm can consistently do that in a high leverage situation, it mitigates the traditional sabr notion that ALL relief pitchers have less value… the run/win relationship has to break down in those situations….
Bloomers’ OPS is now 237. If he gets another AB in this game I’ll be sicker than Broussard.
Nash at 23 assists, needs one more to tie Magic Johnson for most ever in one playoff game.
best ever!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!! YUBET!!!
Nifta maneuva!
Berry Nice!
Think they intentionally walk Burke to get to the Ignitor?
Kickass! Safe!
Grudzie….two missed tags… Time to hang ‘em up?
Luck and athleticism, gotta love it!
That sounded like overly aggressive base running on the radio, how did it look?
‘Hustle Double”
When bad baserunning decisions pay off….
Aaaaaaah Jamie
Gotta PH Lopez here right?
Uhh… Lopez? Ellison even?
no pinch hitter???
192 gotta…
Why must they swing at the first pitch, he is in the 7th inning he is going to make a mistake! PINCH HIT PINCH HIT!!!!!!! Please Grover pinch hit…
Why is there not a pinch hitter hitting for Bloomquist? This is dumb.
With Grover? Are you kidding?
Brossard even if he is throwing up??
Weaver should have pinch hit for Bloomers.
just walk
please god
I’d give Willie the take sign at 3-1. And again at 3-2.
Did anyone know Bannister is the son of Floyd Bannister?
FU grover, FU Bloomquist.
Swung on ball 4 darn you!
The fans would tear down the stadium if they pinch hit for Bloomie. Can’t blame Grover on that one.
203…are you kidding?
wow, what the hell?
Reprieve!! He was out there.
Huh? He caught it.
WILLIE BOOM BOOM!
Clutch Grit!
Mr. Grit!
Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in a while.
The legend grows…
you have got to be kidding me
Soooooo fortunate, and I love it.
Thank you umpire, poor Royal fans.
Oh, Jesus, Willie is mayor now.
HA! Royals just got screwed.
Ignitions
haha Buck almost pulled that one off pretty nicely
Although WFB just “earned” himself a couple of more at-bats for the next few weeks…
I
do
not
believe
this.
Bloomquist is bleesed by the luck gods.
And he’ll get overused by the next five years.
Sucks to be a royals fan. YEAAH!
Sucks to be a royals fan. YEAAH!
best bloomie at bat EVER!
Now he gets a gift second chance and gets a single.
I’m glad they’re winning, and give him credit for taking advantage of that, but it’s going to be great listening to all the lather again.
Hahahahahaha!!!! That will earn him at least 5 more starts!
J/K….great job, Ignitor!
ok I’m at the game. Why wasn’t Bloomquist struck out?
Sorry, double. I would rule that a single + error but I guess usually they are ruled that way.
Speaking of double he almost doubled the OPS right there.
Go Ichiroooooo.
I was not aware of that rule. I didn’t know you absolutely had to catch it with the glove. Armpits don’t count?
The umpire made the correct call there by the way. A foul tip (as distinguished from a foul ball as it can be strike three) must be fouled directly into the catcher’s glove or hand.
A foul third strike has to be caught in the glove to be a strikeout according to the rule. The ball hit Buck’s shoulder and went off his leg before Buck grabbed it and put it in the glove.
What is the official rule on that foul tip 3rd strike?
233, 232- Thought so, I had never seen that before.
229 Buck caught the ball in his right armpit and very adroitly dropped it into his glove while his body was blocking the plate ump’s view — according to the announcer unless it’s actually gloved it doesn’t count as catching the ball however.
Willie “The Ignitor” does it again, good call in original starter post. He wasn’t out because the catcher has to catch the ball in his glove, he caught it in his armpit.
Im a little late today and I may be captain obvious here, but Baek HAS to be our 5th starte now right???? Could have saved all those millions on not signing weaver the hittable.
Looks like Turbo’s streak has to end.
Knowing Grover we’ll see Sherill for one batter and then Reitsma before we get to Putz.
On TV, it looked like the fout tip stuck in the catcher’s armpit.
Doesn’t matter where it stuck, he has to catch it.
Can we get a freak Derrick Lee injury to Sexson anytime soon.
Well, ya gotta say…
The Royals were killed by grit today..
I heart Adrian’s Defense
Great play on defense by Beltre. If his bat could get going consistently we’d have a monster at third!
Blowers was right.
Willie the gritster now has .231 WPA today.
Second only to Morrow today.
I saw a couple of Morrow’s pitches in the 87 mph range, so he did throw something other than a fastball.
Morrow will get the win.
Willie Bloomquist says put that in your sabermetric pipes and smoke it. Wo-ha-ha. I kid, I kid.
Back when the Weaver acquisition was under discussion around here Dave (I think; might have been Derek) observed the reasonj Baek/Woods were at least equally poor choices for the rotation — despite some fairly decent outings at the end of 2006 — was that their limited stuff would get sussed out by the opposition after a few series and they would end up being lit up like roman candles by mid-season (I think that’s a reasonable recap of the analysis).
My question is: would it be a remotely reasonable approach to run Baek out there until the end of June, swap him out for Woods until the end of August or so and pray for a trade by the deadline, or even bring up somebody else from Tacoma, just to keep ‘em guessing?
246:
Beltre is the picture of consistency with the bat. He consistently hits warning track flyballs and ground balls to the shortstop.
A drop kick. Should have been a catch.
Yup, scored a 3 base error.
You mean consistently except for his 2 hits today?
254, one of which was a ground ball to the shortstop.
Why waste a reliever on Sexson?
From MLB Rule 6.05(B):
A batter is out when –
(b) A third strike is legally caught by the catcher;
Rule 6.05(b) Comment: ““Legally caughtâ€â€ means in the catcher’’s glove before the ball touches the ground. It is not legal if the ball lodges in his clothing or paraphernalia; or if it touches the umpire and is caught by the catcher on the rebound.
If a foul-tip first strikes the catcher’’s glove and then goes on through and is caught by both hands against his body or protector, before the ball touches the ground, it is a strike, and if third strike, batter is out. If smothered against his body or protector, it is a catch provided the ball struck the catcher’’s glove or hand first.
That’s a pretty rare event and an awful good call by the home plate umpire, assuming the ball did not nick Buck’s glove first (it didn’t look like it).
Kind of a strange rule considering that it is contrary to the rule of what constitutes a caught ball for any other position. At any other position, it would be fine to trap the ball against your body, then drop it into the glove. Only on a foul tip does the ball have to touch your glove or hand (ow) first.
Gobble must be all tired out from his 12-pitch outing.
A single! Damn! I was hoping Richie would make history.
YAY!!! only took him 20 games!
Beltre hits warning track flyballs in Safeco because Safeco’s outfield is cavernous.
#257, It did hit is glove first. but then it came completely out of his glove, so I would guess that would not count as “smothered” against his clothing, since it was not being touched by either his hand or glove for a time.
Who’s pitching the 9th…we’re up 4 runs….don’t want to vary from the designated “role” of the closer.
So WFB is the MVP of this game, isn’t he?
According to the rule, if it hit his glove first and was smothered before it hit the ground, its an out. In which instance, I have to retract my kudos for the ump.
why waste JJ in a non-save situation when he pitch a bunch this week…
Why does Grover still use Elison as Guillen’s defensive replacement? Is it b/c Rauuuul is a crowd favorite?
267- i was wondering the same thing…
266: Tomorrow is an off-day.
266: Hargrove’s been reading the blog, and now he’s trying to use Putz in strictly non-save situations.
Tomorrow JJ will be starting.
that’s why…lol…
Shoulda had Willie pitch the 9th, and cement him as one of the all-time Mariner greats!
267 – That’s why.
Never question the Great Grover.
Defensive replacement!
267- Thats why.
Hargrove’s been reading the blog, and now he’s trying to use Putz in strictly non-save situations.
I actually laughed.
Watching on Gameday now. Would Ellison have caught that “soft line drive” to left field?
277 – no chance in hell. Dropped well in front of Raul.
277 probably not and even if, in LF he wouldn’t have made the awesom catch for the first out in RF.
Sure, he wouldn’t have, but would Guillen have made it? I’ll trust your judgment since I’m not watching it on TV.
I’d rather go by odds though, instead of results. Swapping out Ibanez will save more runs in the end than taking Guillen out will. It’s not like one inning off every few games is really an attempt to keep him healthy, either.
Get ready for your post-game dose of Willie
M’s win!!!
Two of three from the mighty Royals!
DUBYA!
Ballgame!
I still think Guillen is better fielder than Raul, but I’d be interested in evidence to the contrary.
M’s win!
And those two errors, is that why the Royals are a last place team?
JJ threw the splitter twice by my count, missing badly both times. Noted without comment.
280- Don’t think anyone but Ichiro or Ellison(former CF) gets to that ball.
It would be cool if some of the Mariners started saying things in post game interviews like “Well, at least for today I exceeded my sabermetric limitations, thank you very much.”
280 – I actually agree with you. Now, for the more knowledgeable amont us: Is Guillen a better fielder than Ibanez?
I’m glad we won but because it’s against the Royals, it feels too much like a hollow victory… bleck. Bring on some Yankees or ChiSox that I can really hate…
I’d say Guillen has better range, gets better jumps, and has a better arm. He’s not a great defender but he’s solid in at least all of those areas, especially the arm as we’ve seen. Plus, considering the LF in Safeco is somewhat important, even if he were exactly the same as Ibanez it would make sense at least to put Ellison in LF and Ibanez in RF. JMO, of course.
[Dwight Schrute voice] Question: Isn’t “seasoned veteran” repetitive, Miss Capuano? [/Dwight Schrute voice]
Tomorrow’s an off day, I’m OK with using Putz there.
I guess today lessens the chances that we can send WFB back to where he was born to play?
http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/gritcity/
The M’s win another game, led by the efforts of unsung heroes Baek and Bloomquist. The Mariners are now at .500.
It was a great day for heroic Mariner scrubs!
Funny that Hargrove, when asked about replacing Weaver with Baek said that it wasn’t a fair question to answer right now.
Please tell me he’s seriously considering giving Weaver more chances? Isn’t allowing the Royals to crush you for 6 runs in 1/3 of an inning all the evidence you need to get him out of the rotation?
gotta love AP stringers:
oh, and the Kitsap Sun leads with:
South Kitsap’s Willie Bloomquist the Hero in Mariners’ 5-1 Win
That was actually a decent time to have Wille up there. With two outs and guys on second and third you are really just looking for a single. He is certainly a below average overall hitter do to his lack of power, but he can hit singles with the mediocre of em.
300: ??? Willie is an out machine and with two outs and two runners in scoring position in a tie game the last thing you want to do is make an out, which Willie almost did. Each of Broussard, Lopez and Johjima are more likely than Willie not to make an out in this situation.
Working with career averages KJ gets a hit 3% more often, JLopez gets a hit 1% more often and BBrousard also gets a hit 1% more often. All three are much better hitters because they have way more power and generally walk more but when rooting for a single in the 7th inning you mise well leave in Willie. Few PH’s bat near their career average plus you would have defeated the purpose of an off-day for those guys…So I really see no point in a ph there.