Game 63, Mariners at Cubs
An early 11:20 start. No M’s TV broadcast. WGN’s broadcasting it, though, if you have access to their feed. Jeff Weaver v Jason Marquis.
Is it best that we don’t have television for this one? I’d rather not watch bad Jeff Weaver. Now, if he’s willing to put up another decent enough chunk of innings, that’d be fine. And I’m interested to see how he’s looking, since the back end of the rotation really needs the help.
Lineups posted when I see ‘em.
Mariners
CF-L Ichiro
2B-R Lopez
RF-R Guillen
LF-L Ibanez
1B-R Sexson
SS-R Betancourt
3B-R Willie “The Ignitor” Bloomquist
C-R Burke
(pitcher)
How can a team with both Burke and Bloomquist lost? Also, I like that Sexson’s protected by Betancourt. Pre-season, who’d have thought there’d ever be a lineup turned in like that?
Cubbies
LF-R Soriano
CF-L Pie
1B-R Lee
RF-L Floyd
3B-R DeRosa
2B-L Fontenot
C-B Hill
SS-B Izturis
(pitcher)
yah, it would have been nice if they’d gotten yesterdays game, with this one looming …
Most likely no Barrett for the Cubs today. Aside from being a day game espn is reporting the poor lil guy needs some time off.
Here is hoping that Weaver gets his ERA under 10! That means 6+ innings with no runs.
What are the chances this game becomes bizarro? 70%? 80%?
XM 189, for those of you trapped within the bowels of a huge building, without real permission to use your ‘net connection for streaming media (or, well, blogging, but that’s neither here nor there). I loathed the thought of paying for radio, but actually I’m surprised at how much I’m listening to my XM. I bought it so I could listen to early games at work, but I’m finding that I flip through the channels listening to music when no M’s games are on, or listening to other games ’round the league…
getting ready to turn on the KOMO pre-game and instead get KJR & Fain — if the Ms are to make a run they need to improve the infield defense as Beltre & Yuni are just not making the routine plays, and maybe find pitching; he doesn’t want to give up on Weaver just yet, but you know Ryan F won’t cut it as a 5th starter (“people are trying to make him the 2nd coming of Felix Hernandez!”)
Drayer just said Chuck Armstrong told her that the team’s like $9 million over budget, but that cost would be no object, as far as obtaining players, if the team was in contention near the trade deadline.
With that in mind, why not dump Weaver as part of that team improvement? The sunk money would be “of no concern,” and it would benefit the team’s fortunes. Makes sense to me…
Drayer just said she was introducing Chuck Armstrong at a KOMO/advertisers do this morning and took advantage to ask him some questions–
if they are still in it, do they make a move? Chuck says they are waaaay over budget, but that he has been told by ownership that money will be found if they have a move to make.
Ichiro? Chuck has been talking to Attanasio (in person, as recently as the San Diego trip) and they are cautiously optimistic; they really want him retiring as a Mariner
Until recently, I was impressed by Grover’s occaisonal use of Broussard to spell Sexson and Guillen. I can’t think of a good reason to start Broussard today, preferably in place of Guillen.
The way to improve the infield defense is to let Yuni and Beltre work it out. Seriously, what better solution is there to their occasional lapses? You’re not going to find replacements who hoover up more balls and give you hitting, too.
well, and Beltre’s recent ‘problems’ would seem to date from the thumb injury …
Dave, DMZ,
From what I understand Wrigley Field has a wide range of favoritism to hitters and pitchers depending on what the wind does. Overall, is Wrigley considered to be a pitchers or a hitters park when adjusting statistics.
Thank you, thank you! “WGN’s broadcasting it, though, if you have access to their feed.” No whining as I beat my dead horse!
And it’s fun to hear out of town broadcasters sometimes; let’s hope it’s one of those days. Except the Angels. Never the Angels.
Hey, the Cubs have their how Willie! On air interview with Fontenot, who ‘does a bit of everything.’
These Cubs announcers are terrible. If you like random tangents however…
Wrigley, overall, plays as a slight hitter’s park. That said, yeah, depends on the weather. Even year-to-year, you’ll see it play neutral or other confusing swings.
Just noticed that Sexson’s finally at the .200 mark…
Ah, but the Cubs announcers told us what no Mariners’ would–I think–Weaver hurt his back during his AB!
That makes sense. Probably popped it up when he lifted the bat. I swear, he looks like a Stretch Armstrong that won’t return to his orginal size.
MSB-
What the hell are you talking about? What has Beltre done wrong on defense?
#18– FWIW, Weaver himself said on KOMO a few days back that it was the AB that messed him up
#19– nothing … see #6
angels and reds tied…
junior homered…
Down 0-3. Time for Weaver to pitch. Brace yourselves.
is it a bad sign that Soriano got a hit?
One hitter, one hit.
Thus it begins.
Daygames at Wrigley, even just on TV, always makes me feel as though I should be wearing sunglasses.
Yea, watching Pie launched that into the ivy sucked.
I never thought one pitcher could be this bad
Time to put him back on the dl?
Lee should be pissed that he didn’t slam that meatball.
At least the Cubs announcers are making it all about their hitters’ great hitting.
If only they knew….
Maybe this will be Weaver’s last start.
That’s been said before, though.
stay positive…reds up 5-3 on the angels…
Weaver’s ERA is not going under 10. It’s going over 20.
WAKE UP HARGROVE!
Has anyone noticed how nice it’s been over these last 20 games or so NOT to be down 4-5 runs before the 3rd inning?
weaver’s swan song today in chi-town?
Weaver looks hittable. By my grandmother.
Don’t stop believin!
good thing the bullpen got all that rest.
The Cubs still need a homer to hit for the cycle in the first inning.
Christ… just turned the game on and Weaver is already getting rocked…
Who’s available in the bullpen?
Cubs announcers finally saying Weaver’s not good.
Heck, Wrigley can change from a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park (and back, and vice versa) over the course of just a few innings. That’s part of it’s, uh, “charm.” When it’s blowing in, as it apparently is just now, Sexson is about the only guy with a shot to get a ball out. But that shouldn’t much affect a singles-slapping team the Mariners have been lately.
Of course it also turns HRs into triples, especially when you have a meatball pitcher on the mound. Like, say, now.
According to gameday, Weaver hasn’t topped 87 so far.
Glad that time working up his arm strength helped him find his velocity…
Even Bavasi has to be willing to admit now that Weaver was a mistake and should be regarded as a sunk cost.
Even the outs are scary.
How many runs does it take Weaver to get three outs in an inning?
Can we trade for Michael Barrett, just so he can slug Weaver?
Guillen looked positively Raul-like turning that last x-base hit into an rbi.
Even two of Weaver’s three outs were hit hard
He sucks, get SOMEONE…ANYONE else please.
Is Woods warming up yet?
Brutal
do you pull him early, and wreck the bull pen if this continues, or do you make him throw 125 pitches and at least try to save the arms in the pen for the rest of this road-trip?
If Weaver is as bad as he sounds, he can always go back to a league that’s easier on pitchers and a division where he’s had success, like the NL Central.
Oh, wait.
Take your time Cubbies…Raul was running
Our hitting hasn’t been much since those early runs on Tuesday.
Cubs announcers “Boy the cubs bats are hot. 3 runs last night.” Wait, what?
Nice to see our hitters working on the pitch count
Weaver has to eat innings today. He’ll go 5, even if it takes him 150 pitches to do so.
and at what point does Guillen get a day off, as his bat & legs would appear to indicate he is worn down?
I say leave him out there til his arm falls off, just to see how many runs the Cubs can score.
“Can we trade for Michael Barrett, just so he can slug Weaver?”
Trade for Zambrano, and we solve two problems. We already have two good catchers, but pitchers….
Speaking of which, Marquis can be pretty good. And the Mariners are looking kinda hackafantastic today.
Good thing we rested the bullpen last night.
…
Feierabend, plz.
55
At least that sounds entertaining.
Our bats look like we’ll give Marquis the first CG in under 60 pitches in quite some time.
The sleeping dude they keep showing on WGN must be a Mariners fan.
Groundout. Groundout. M’s can’t wait to get Weaver back out there.
“C’mon Jeff, you can do it!”
Question: if Hargrove forced Weaver to throw 200 pitches, and Weaver got injured, would the M’s have an insurance claim?
just saying…
Here we go again. Nice to see Weaver giving up 4 hits, 3 of them for extra bases. 2 triples already… wonder what the record for triples is…
incidentally, Angels are back up 6-5.
Angels now up 6-5. A’s up 3-1.
Daygames at Wrigley, even just on TV, always makes me feel as though I should be wearing sunglasses.
The Cubs traded Lou Brock (Lou Brock!) to the Cardinals because he couldn’t field in Wrigley. When he got to St. Louis, the team took one look at him in the outfield and told him to use sunglasses. Problems solved. And the Cardinals won the WS.
At the end of the last inning Dave “announced” that Cincinatti had tied the game on a Junior HR. You’d think that they’d be able to get up to date stats in there… Especially since many fans have internet and are probably checking in on the game.
Too bad the M’s don’t play the Cubs again tomorrow. You could leave Weaver in and let the Cubs score 20 runs and tire themselves out.
Dave, 5 innings from Weaver? Can Hargrove stomach watching that? And would that solve two problems, as Weaver is released and Hargrove develops an ulcer forcing him to retire…
Can they DFA Weaver in the middle of the game?
Hargrove comes out to the mound and takes the ball, “Sorry Jeff you’re fired. Have your locker cleaned out by the seventh inning stretch and we won’t be paying for your hotel tonight.”
The sleeping dude they keep showing on WGN must be a Mariners fan.
You sure it’s not Hargrove?
At least he can strikeout Marquis.
Weaver got a GB out! That’s an improvement!
The Angels ALREADY have the lead back?
Sigh
“At least he can strikeout Marquis.”
Oh, I hadn’t noticed who was up. There go my hopes, shattered.
Man, how can they not DFA Weaver now….I don’t see how he pitches with that giant fork sticking out of his back.
It would be extremely bad for Weaver to “settle down” at this point if the M’s are not going to come back. We don’t want him convincing Hargrove he’s worth throwing out there for another game.
8-9-1 vs an NL team and you STILL can’t get a 1-2-3 inning!
That alone should be a danger sign (to go with the other 4,231 other such signs he’s given us)
Weaver = Hope (for the opposing batters)
All right, I see what you mean about Cubs announcers, whoever said they go on tangents. Long convo about marriage proposal in stands. Had a panic moment, since I’ve got a friend there at the game, but the guy knows better. Only at a Red Sox game, and only while sitting on the Green Monster.
Back to the top of the lineup, and boom. Base hit.
Nice routine fly to the friggin’ wall from a non-power hitter to end the inning (eyes rolling)
All hail the Wrigely wind. It’s doing a better job of keeping Weaver in the game than he is.
#69 Paul B Says: Too bad the M’s don’t play the Cubs again tomorrow. You could leave Weaver in and let the Cubs score 20 runs and tire themselves out.
I was just thinking as I was catching up on the comments so far that the Mariners could just leave Weaver in….Chicago. Leave without him.
OMG…a scoreless inning? He’s got potential!!!
85 – please don’t say that. Grover might read it.
Screw you perfect game.
Thank you, Burke!
3 runs? That’s pessimism at it’s finest. It isn’t over until the fat lady sings…
I ♥ Jamie Burke
Jamie Burke: M’s MVP
Did we get an actual baserunner? Are we allowed to do that?
Crap…the loser himself is up…how ironic
What a man! Jamie Burke, a hitting machine!
Burke is great.
Burke doubles. Let’s see Weaver got yard.
Wow, maybe Weaver can DH.
89
Have you seen Weaver pitch this year, lol?
Wonder if this team’s offense would improve if Burke was our DH…
Well, at least Weaver can bunt.
dang, that was almost a pretty good bunt
angels score 6 in the seventh…
Hmmmm…
Definitely and officially one of “those” games after even Ichie gets thrown out on a high chopper
Ever wonder about announcer’s affinity for THSS (The hittting streak stat)
A strikeout? Whhhaa???
Ron Fairly would occasionally mention a batter was “working on a little two-game hitting streak.” I kept waiting for him to announce a one-game hitting streak, but AFAIK it never happened.
and now a tangent about players in the stands before the game. love them cubs announcers. but still…much better than them Angels mic jockeys
1st and 10 on ESPN or Weaver pitching on WGN? Equally aggravating viewing experiences.
Time for a ussmariner poll………….
Are we watching Jeff Weaver’s last start as a Mariner?
108: We can only hope.
Keep hope alive!
I wonder if the M’s would have been better off starting Burke.
After today, check out these records:
WITHOUT Weaver: 34-21
WITH Weaver: 1-7
c’mon Gullien, you gotta hit the cut-off. sloppy..
Did Rick just call Weaver a groundball pitcher?
“Humiliator” lined into left for a base hit. “Eliminator” into right field … another base hit.
SURELY this is the last we see of Weaver?!
Baker talks about Mateo on his blog, but here’s one instance of why I’m a fan of Bavasi, the dude:
hee hee hee.
How about a new promotion for Baseball. “If you ever wanted to see Barry Bond hit but he won’t be coming to your ballpark, come see Jeff Weaver pitch. Its like wathcing Barry Bonds hit in all 9 batting spots!”
oppenents BA against Weaver, .423
Yikes!
Yes, he’s a quality pitcher. GO WILLIE!
Yes, he’s a quality pitcher. GO WILLIE!
I wonder if D. Lee is taking a serioue ribbing in the dubout right now:
“Dude, you’re 0-2 against Jeff freakin’ Weaver!”
“Wow, you just got struck out by Jeff Weaver? Really?”
Sorry to post twice. Nice double play.
The last 21 innings, Seattle has scored in just THREE of them and the amounts have been 2, 1, & 1. And remember those “2″ were after Vidro was so clearly out at home and Barrett simply dropped it.
Weaver, as usual, continues to blow, but we still need to score…at SOME point today.
I watched a little of inning 3 on WGN, and noticed at least one of Weavers pitches hit 91, and a couple were at 90, several more around 88.
Is the WGN speed gun fast? Or did Weaver get a little faster?
Personally, I’d like to see Weaver pitch well. I think the Mariner’s are a stronger team with an effective Weaver in the rotation. His next start would be against the Reds at Safeco…hard to imagine him receiving a warm welcome from the hometown fans.
The team wants to make sure Griffey has a great return.
Can anyone post a link to the feed? I’m new at this.
At least he would be helpful in the hometown crowd getting to see a Junior HR.
Looks like he’s not going to get much run support, either.
I’ve been a Mariner fan for a really long time. Here’s something I have never heard said before:
“The two best hitters on the Mariners right now are the two catchers”.
130
You mean you couldn’t say that while Valle was there?
(Actually Scott Bradley had a few nice hitting years when he was paired w/ Valle)
Weaver sure doesn’t waste any time, does he?
Weaver is getting hit hard and is lucky he is only down by three runs.
Granted our record would likely be pretty bad no matter who we were throwing out there on Weaver’s starts.
Here is how his run “support” has gone:
3,2,1,3,1,3,6 and ZERO so far today.
Big surprise that the one the M’s won was the only time they had more than 3. (He still sucks though and we need to get rid of him asap)
4 of Weavers 8 hits so far have been Xbase hits
2 doubles and 2 triples.
M’s need to do something here pretty quick so I can justify slacking off at work and watching this mess.
I had a moment…if Richie hits a HR, things look better here.
Then he struck out.
136
What? Sexson whiffing at three straight pitches after being up 2-0, isn’t exciting enough?
Idaho,
Are those the runs the M’s have scored, or the runs Weaver has give up in the first inning.
I vote for seeing Jamie on the mound.
We need some Grit!
D’oh.
139
Waaaaay to small of numbers to be what Nightmare Weaver gives up, lol
Burke on the mound, Weaver catching.
Idaho,
I meant the first inning. But then again, maybe you did too…
Hargrove comes out to the mound and takes the ball, “Sorry Jeff you’re fired. Have your locker cleaned out by the seventh inning stretch and we won’t be paying for your hotel tonight.”
The CBA would require the team to pay for his airline ticket home — hopefully on Southwest.
146
I’d love for the voice in the SW Airline commercials to be able to say, “Jeff, you’re now free to pitch for anyone else in the country”
I see Weaver has really “solved” Floyd
Three outs away from a “quality start.”
**********I like that Sexson’s protected by Betancourt.**************
Isn’t the concept of lineup protection more myth than reality?
That’s part of the joke. I was thinking about putting “protected” there but I figured everyone would get it.
Is someone watching this on tv? What exactly is Marquis doing to the M’s hitters? All I can tell on Gameday is that the hitters are sucking (swinging at terrible pitches) but not why.
It seems like every year the M’s have a pitcher who sucks for the first inning and then settles down, and the M’s can’t get it going with enough offense to recover. This year they’ve done a good job of coming from behind in the 7th or whenever the opposing bullpen gets into the game, but this whole “he had a great game other than all those runs he gave up in the 1st” is really tiring.
I know it’s really fun and fashionable to trash Weaver, and he sure has been an easy target so far this year. But, he’s keeping us in the game. In addition to being lousy, he’s been incredibly unlucky this year, with a .473 BABIP average coming into this start. His lifetime BABIP is .338
Pretty good locating, but it’s mostly the M’s getting themselves out.
Weaver plunked “on his pitching arm.” Ha ha.
Oooh, that’s a good way to get a base and get him out of the game.
How much did Bavasi have to pay Marquis to do that?
And a baserunner to boot!
The sad thing is that Grover used “protection” to justify his batting Kenji and Lopez so low in the lineup.
DMZ, it probably wouldn’t have helped anyway, because the mockery of the quotes could just as easily be read as insulting to Betancourt’s capacity to do so.
Hey, Weaver gets on base!
DL!!! PLEASE, DL!!!!
I feel evil…but hey, he already got hit, I can’t change that.
Way to take one for the team!
Now Weaver has to plunk the opposing pitcher…. if he has that kind of accuracy…
the irony will be when that hbp fixes weaver’s delivery.
Uh, pitch runner? Or did Hargrove in fact tell Weaver he’s finishing this game, NO MATTER WHAT.
I see (Gameday) that Weaver was HBP. Is he trying to learn by osmosis?
Let’s be honest – everyone here wanted to be the one to bean Weaver. I’ve never been so jealous of Jason Marquis.
Its like Marquis has to work out of the stretch…and doesn’t know how to pitch now
hey, Marquis and Weaver were teammates– he knows what Weaver can do on the basepaths
163
But the idea is to get even. To get even, we’d have to pitch the next inning underhand to make up for their generosity
154, BABIP theory is predicated on Weaver actually being a ML-quality starter. You’re probably right that’s he’s also been unlucky, but we have to accept the possibility that he actually sucks bad enough to run very high BABIP numbers.
Mark McLemore made his MLB debut today with Houston
fdsm,fnadsmhf
error!
YES!!!
Jeff Weaver’s lifetime batting average: .205
Kata’d! We’ll take it.
Huh, Weaver getting run support for himself.
…and said “generosity” continues
Imagine if Guillen’s power outage gets solved here!
I’ld like to bean Weaver for every dollar he stole from the team. His actions are derailing the Mariners chances at the postseason.
Quick!
Someone tell Guillen its ok to not swing at crap being up 2-0
Come on Raul.
way to walk!
bases juiced
Guillen didn’t get the run home yesterday with less than two outs and a runner on 3rd, so nice walk there.
But we need Raul to come through here BIG time.
Looking good…
OK, Raul, show us that your resurgence is real.
looks like he fouled off ball four, but got the walk anyway a pitch later
I see (Gameday) that Weaver was HBP. Is he trying to learn by osmosis?
That’s really funny. I kind of wish the M’s were in the NL so I could use that joke again sometime.
Jack one out of here Raul, and I’ll give you a bonus “u”
#179, he must have heard you.
Is anyone watching on TV? Has Weaver increased his pitch velocity as the game has gone along?
hmmm..one in and bases loaded, and still no hit in the inning. Was the Guillen walk intentional?
LOL, would be nice to get a hit or two to score some runs.
Angels win.
btw, we have loaded the bases and scored a run without a hit in the inning…
Mark McLemore made his MLB debut today with Houston
I really am impressed with the advances we’ve seen in cloning technology the last ten years. From a sheep to a utility infielder. Can a .900 OPS corner outfielder be far behind?
I think if I was Lou I would have brought in a lefty to face Raul here.
189: no
Oh hell yes!!!!
got home from work at the BEST time! whoooooo!
Guillen safe at home? Fire the 3rd base coach! He’s not doing his job.
Uh oh… wtf is Guillen and the ump arguing…
Thanks, joser. I aim to please. (Incidentally, my wife, a non-fan- she’s learning- refers to Weaver as “the tee.”)
Rauuuuuuuuuuul
No way–might Weaver actually pick up a win?!
I’ll take it
RAUUUUUL!!!!
what is jose mad about?
Well, left-handed sock is what you want here, and Ibanez is as close as the M’s have.
And….. Raul comes through! How many “u”s for that?
OK, who predicted Weaver was going to outlast Marquis?
Uh, Guillen’s touching the ump. Won’t he be tossed?
RAUUUUUUUUL!
What do you think my BABIP would be against ML hitting? My four-seamer tops out around 47 MPH on a good day. About 1.000, I’m guessing. How “unlucky” would you call me then?
even the chicago announcers say that guillen was in the right there.
The Cubs have the worse body language of any teams I’ve seen in a while. Uh, the Mariners were taking the lead. Why did all the fielders act like they were tossing a fly ball back in?
After the 3rd baseman had just slumped his shoulders after letting a ball get off his glove, instead of covering his base.
Raul: “You mean we’re still playing the Cubs?! Crap, I’d better go get a hit!”
What was the argument about?
This is why we need field mikes and an alternative channel that allows unedited sound. I would pay a fine sume of money to know who started talking smack first there.
What’s the argument about? Gameday has him scoring.
hope he’s not tossed…
#188
Weaver’s hitting 91 on the radar. It does seem like his fastballs gaining some steam. He’s mostly throwing mid-80s and his curve hits high-70s. And most of it is junk.
Hopefully Weaver can last one more inning without giving up a run and the Mariners turn around and trade him to a National League team. The M’s can keep a semi-straight face while making the argument that this guy can get some passable work done against NL teams. I really hope we don’t think that this guy is suddenly able to face AL teams because of his performances against the Padres and Cubs.
Unbelievable. 2 hits? 4 runs? wow!
4: you called it Sportsonaschtick. bizarro
McClellan is the same up who’s sorta lazy on his ball strike calls and refuses to give the signal right away. Apparently he’s not to big on getting out of the way either. (Unless it was a different ump. I thought that’s who the Cubs announcer said it was)
How many runs would Weaver have to score as a runner to redeem himself?
Hi from Budapest.
Guillen scored standing up and bumped into the home ump since the ump failed to get the hell outta the way. Jose kinda/sorta shoved him, then the ump wagged his finger and said, “I’ll kill you Jose.”
Something like that.
I wonder if Weaver’s spot would’ve rolled around again and the bases were loaded if they’d have p.h. for him.
If so, has anyone heard of being pinch hit for on your SECOND time up in an inning?
#221 — I’m assuming the ump was standing on the base path? Well then, he should have gotten out of the way!
Guillen pushed off the homeplate ump as he scored. The ump wagged his finger like Jose was a bad dog. Words insued.
Guillen had been prepared to bowl over the catcher for a play at the plate, but since no Cubs were really trying, Hill just stepped out of his way, and his forward movement carried him into the ump. Not his fault.
But was he tossed?
So, odds that Weaver gives this lead right back up? I like the bullpen match-up, but I’m not sure how well I think Weaver matches up against their bullpen.
McClellan is actually a really good ump. If you are close at the games he gives a fairly quick verbal strike or ball, he is just a little slow for the motions. Watching him in action though I have always liked his consistency with the zone.
Guillen held his hand on the ump’s stomach while talking with him. It wasn’t aggressive by any means, but I still wonder if MLB will take a look.
Sharpie Day? WOOO! Honey, grab the kids, we’re goin to the Cubbies game we’ve been waiting all year!
Honestly guys…
Has Weaver had ONE inning this ENTIRE YEAR where he was still in the game and the inning ENDED w/ the M’s ahead?
228: lol, that’s just what I was thinking!
If I remember, McClellan gets high marks from players for consistency of strike zone, even though they’ll carp about how slow he works behind the plate. I don’t have a link to the survey handy, though.
Giving up the lead… T-minus 10, 9…
Has Weaver increased his pitch velocity as the game has gone along?
I doubt it. His command may have improved slightly.
Then again, maybe not.
Forget ENDING the inning with a lead…
Is this the first lead of ANY kind Weaver has had?
um, Jeff? you have a lead?
I wonder if they give out sharpies to the fans and then make the Cubs come over and sign autographs …
Sean Green coming in w/ men on base???
Gascan meet fire
If there was ever a time to yank a pitcher
OK, how long is Weaver going to pitch?
Don’t the M’s have an off day tomorrow?
Mr. Sajak, i’d like to buy a DP please.
Niiiiiiice Ichie
TGFI – thank god for Ichiro!
they better bring in someone to handle soriano, soriano has owned weaver so far.
love that guy…
hang on to your seats
Dang, I’m gonna have to leave work soon.
I might have to stay late to watch the end of the game.
nice
No, wait, the off day is Monday. Never mind.
Raul is just money out there
(you didn’t think I was serious)
When the Mariners brass watch Weaver on a day like this, do they feel like giving him another chance? Or do they know how amazingly lucky he got and how bad he pitched? I feel like Hargrove must know, but then there’s that whole Mateo situation…
wow, now it’s really bizarro! Weaver didn’t give up the lead!
Anna11: Budapest? Cool. It was frickin cold when I was there, but I quite enjoyed the faded imperial ambience. (And the women are gorgeous).
Budapest, Prudhoe Bay, the UK, and all over the US (not to mention Idaho) — the Mariners (and USSM) have quite the far-flung fanbase.
Derek, are you thinking of the 1999 players survey?
Results of an umpire survey commissioned by the Major League
Baseball Players Association and the end of the 1998 season. Players, coaches and managers took the survey. The umpires are listed are for the best-worst category followed by physical condition (PC); physical and mental toughness (PM); accuracy of calls on the bases (AB); accuracy of calls at the plate (AP); consistency (CON); temperament (TEM); respect for players (RP); and overall capacity (OC).
American League
PC PM AB AP CON TEM RP OC
1. McClelland 5 2 1 1 2 2 2 3
I have to think Weaver will be pinch hit for here in the 7th…gotta like getting another quality start out of him though.
How many lives has Weaver used up?
#220 – Just missed you. I was in Budapest last week.
wow, that was an ugly looking swing willie
What’s with the extra 3 inches on the outside?
That Bud Light Cam showing a montage of people holding beers was totally transparent.
don’t the cubs announcers know that “grunge” was dead a long time ago?
the ump wagged his finger and said, “I’ll kill you Jose.â€
If the ump had said that, he’d alredy be dead. Not Jose, the ump. Guillen is like Baghdad: you know there’s an explosion coming, you just don’t know where or when.
I will take that start from weaver, even though it was shaky in some parts. He settled down some after the first just like his previous start.
I think Ellison was trying to be the first MLB player in history to strike out on two pitches
Ellison is terrible.
253- “quality start”? we should be getting our asses handed to us right now…huge amounts of luck….
Nice AB there, Jason.
Man, Ellison is pretty bad.
Great inning by our offense. Nice work, Jeff. Five shutout innings after the rough first, a quality start, and leaving with the lead.
I love the “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” tradition at Wrigley. That recent Kelly Pickler one was classic.
I wonder if they give out sharpies to the fans and then make the Cubs come over and sign autographs
I doubt it. You’d think the Cubs would know better than to give out something the fans can actually throw with some velocity, but they certainly know better than to send the players into range.
wow, guess the M’s couldn’t way to hear the Fray do the 7th inning stretch
If Ellison wasn’t going to use that bat, why’d he bring it up there?
Well that was productive…
Axtell,
Have we gotten a quality start out of Weaver before today?
Looks like we are going to hear how Weaver Settled down after the first. Even though he had baserunners every inning. Has Weaver had a 1-2-3 inning with the M’s?
Why would we use a really good DEFENSIVE player to be wasted for an OFFENSIVE move (and quite frankly a rather offensive at bat)?
263-
A quality start is defined by MLB as a pitcher going 6 or more innings and giving up 3 or fewer runs.
Weaver had a quality start today by MLB standards.
272
I think he had two such innings in a row vs SD
Ellison as PH, when WFB is already in the game.
First, that makes Beltre the pinch runner if needed, and second, that is assuming that there is going to be a more important at bat later in the game where Vidro would hit.
I guess the second part is probably going to be true since there was two out and no one on. But I’m concerned if they have to use Beltre as a pinch runner.
263 – I agree. He was getting pounded (from what it sounds like). I’m glad we got the luck… but I share 249′s fears.
Why use Ellison to PH. He can be an adequate defensive replacement for a double-switch. Turbo cannot, but Turbo is a better hitter, relatively speaking.
It seems Vidro should have PH’d
Joser (#251): If anyone cares, Germany is following the thread as well.
Why does Hargrove continue to PH Jason Ellison? (A dude that simply CAN’T hit). For that matter, what purpose does he even have on this team??
or use to decorate Historic Wrigley Field …
I’d rather see gorgeous George pitching with his non pitching arm, then Sean Green in
Wow, lots of Hungarian links here today. My wife is Hungarian and we married in Budapest 5 years ago.
On a more relevant note – you all realize that Weaver just absolutely earned himself another start, right? You know that’s not even debatable given the M’s brass.
You have Vidro, Broussard and Johjima on the bench. So Ellison is the 4th best hitter on the bench to pinch hit there.
Hey, I think that’s it, msb. Thanks!
Holy hell Sherrill has been great.
LOL. The guest in the WGN broadcast talking about baseball in Denver: It hasn’t been the same since, you know, The Cat Andres Gagaraga.
what the hell do you want? “Weaver had a quality start by MLB standards” we’re ahead and he pitched effectively. be glad and hope that there are more outing like this to come.
I want Adam Jones!!!
281:
a) Friend of WFB
b) His defense makes our outfielders feel good about themselves
Which is why “quality” is such a hard thing to define.
Ellison is a better defensive outfielder than Raul, unfortunately he usually replaces Guillen in late innings with a lead.
What else is he good for? He’s a decent pinch runner, and if you are going to play Willie, it is nice to have a pinch runner on the bench.
I’d rather see Ellison in the OF than Willie (which we saw way too much last year).
That’s about it.
It’s nice that Hargrove is allowing George to pitch to more than lefties this year.
Ralph
Maybe Grover just woke up and figured after the first inning, we’d be down by two td’s now.
So he just grabbed the first non pitcher he saw
Did Weaver pitch well enough to keep his job?
Sherrill!!!!
[Rizzs]
Sherrill is awesome
Floyd quickly discovers facing Sherrill late in the game is just a liiiiiiiil’ bit harder than his three previous ab’s vs Weaver
GEORGE!!!!
Also, I love that Hargrove has been letting Sherrill pitch to one righty if that batter is sandwiched between lefties. His bullpen management has been so much smarter this year it’s hard for me to understand what happened.
294- I think he’s more than deserved it. He’s been clutch this year.
Sherrill and Putz have been so money during this stretch… it’s just dominant.
296-I guarantee this start has warranted Weaver to make his next start.
Ellison was the first PH-for-pitcher in the Washburn extra innings game too. And that didn’t make any sense either. But at least Hargrove is consistent.
Ichiro! Dude is going to set some more records at this rate.
This outing did drop Weavers ERA down below 11!
Please don’t get me wrong…I’ve been as disappointed in Weaver’s cost-to-performance ratio as anyone.
Just saying, 3 runs over 6 innings is a marked improvement over his past performances.
I’ll take Rizz tormenting some child in the booth any time over this.
Ugh, those sessions make my skin crawl so bad I have to turn off the radio for an inning.
That was so close to being botched.
Why do we bunt Ichiro over? Can’t he just steal?
It’s the return of Jose Bunting Lopez.
Just for reference, how much did that bunt decrease our chances of scoring this inning?
Not this again…
Hargrove playing for one run in one of the most hitting friendly parks in the majors. I’d rather have seen Jose line a double into the gap.
Axtell, but was what Weaver himself did actually better than those other outings? Or did the Cubs just suck worse today? I’m not that sure of the answer.
I love random “Rauuuuuul!” screams in opposing stadiums. Reminds me of the good ol’ “Edddd-gaaarrrr” days.
Lopez looked really enthusiastic about bunting. Pops it up, then just stands there. Think he wants to tell Hargrove to stuff it?
Jason Ellison is like Charles Gipson without the plate discipline.
“You keep a car for two, three, even four years.”
Yeah, I buy a new car every two years in your dreams, car salesman slimeboy.
313, I don’t know how to read it off the graph that accurately, but the WPA did kick up a little bit in favor of the Cubs following that bunt.
Weaver threw junk and got away with it (for reference, see any of the Derek Lee at-bats). Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Weaver has never been a consistently dominant pitcher. His four best years he had an ERA around 4. Two of those years were in the NL, where an ERA of 4 is nothing to shout about. He is an innings muncher who gives you a chance to win when he is pitching effectively. Just like Miguel Batista. Today, he was pitching effectively. With our offense, he can have a 4.50-5.00 ERA and we’ll win some games. Let’s hope he does just that.
Ichiro’s on a better hits pace this year than he was in 2004.
119 pre-AS break hits in 2004 and he’s already got 91 with 23 pre-AS break games left.
Not that it means much, considering he had 143 post-AS break hits in 2004 and hit .429, but it’s yet another reason to throw buckets of money at him.
I know some people will insist that bunting with Lopez is a good call in that situation. But mathematically it’s not: Fangraphs says the Cubs got a couple percentage points back on that play. And Fangraphs doesn’t consider Ichiro’s running ability or Lopez’s hitting ability.
It’s not as bad a play as it usually is. But it’s still a bad play.
Virtually EVERY single commercial break by KOMO goes on long enough that at least one pitch has already been delivered when the broadcast is rejoined … and we get one of the announcers making a fake call. It makes me mad they do this so frequently!
Hmm, kinda surprised Ichiro didn’t tag to third.
As the road team:
Top 8, up by 1, runner on 1st, no out – win expectancy is .788.
Top 8, up by 1, runner on 2nd, 1 out – win expectancy is .777.
Basically, it lowered the M’s chances of winning by 1%.
well, according to Hargrove, running is the one thing Beltre can do at the moment
the whole list is findable at asbs-m
One of the few things I’ll say in Hargrove’s favor: his use of Sherrill and Putz has been pretty much unimpeachable. Sure, it’s easy to look good when you’re putting in guys as consistently lights-out as those two, but he’s using them in high leverage situations, he’s willing to leave Sherrill in for more than one lefty out, and he’s brought Putz in before the 9th when necessary.
OK Mr. Mendoza, we need a hit 1 out of every 5 tries.
327: You never chance making the 3rd out at 3rd base.
Lets see if Mr .197 can not screw the pooch here.
Good thing we used on of our three outs by bunting it
[coughRizzscough]
ONE of our three outs that is
Ugh, those sessions make my skin crawl so bad I have to turn off the radio for an inning.
Of course the kids they pick don’t help out. Most of them have a 1 word vocabulary that consists of “Yeah”.
#251 — Yup, I’m in Budapest. I’m usually based in Seattle, but I’m on my way to Serbia for a summer language program. I’ll do my best to make a few Mariners Nation converts while over here.
So…who thinks Weaver is going to get another start now? I’d rather trade him while he has some value…
JJ should pie Weaver in the face if the M’s win.
Richie was worse today than Weaver.
and here comes the walk machine…
330: He still won’t bring Putz in in a tie game, though, even when there is no chance for him to come in with a lead.
323, I’m just not convinced he was pitching effectively today. The results were acceptable, but I’m not sure he wouldn’t have given up a *lot* more runs against a half-way decent offensive club.
After the game, when Fangraphs puts up the Play Log, you’ll be able to look and see what the WPA and pLI for that bunt was exactly.
Did Jason Davis shrink and steal Morrow’s jersey?
is it possible for morrow not to walk a hitter every inning? I couldnt even imagine what it would look like if he were a SP.
I don’t think Weaver’s trade value is very high….I’m reasonably sure he’ll start next week against the Pirates. It would be a good matchup for him, especially at Safeco.
He still won’t bring Putz in in a tie game, though, even when there is no chance for him to come in with a lead.
yeah, you’re right. OK, that weird feeling I had praising Hargrove was entirely justified.
morrow is killing me…
Brandon Morrow has the command of a 9 year old. How he ever gets people out is beyond me.
they have to move him down…
Morrow has this frustrating tendency to alternate good outings with ones where he just cannot find the broadside of the barn.
Bunt into a triple play damnit.
Gosh, it’s just so dang fun watching Brandon Morrow pitch. He makes it like SOOOOOO exciting.
Yikes. Not only 4 straight balls after the called strike, but not one, according to game day, was above 92 mph. Is Morrow ok?
for this I stayed late at work?
I hope they sac bunt. We need an out.
Morrow just can’t throw strikes.
Dave,
I had great command when I was nine… I could throw a change up and a fastball for strikes consistently!
i’m starting to think that morrow is the WFB of pitchers. Best attributes for the M’s management: White and a local kid. Ugh.
Jesus. His control is getting worse as the year progresses.
Walks drive me friggin nuts. No better way to give away a ballgame.
Brandon Morrow dream train might be over…
everyone has learned that his command sucks and he only throws a fastball…the take sign is always on…jesus…
Fangraphs now shows Cubs with a better than 50% chance of winning the game.
following the second walk, the Cubs had a 55% chance of winning.
Bunting is probably doing us a favor at this point. Just hands over an out and leaves first base open for his next walk.
How long until the book on Morrow is “Don’t Swing”?
Has anyone ever seen someone with a worse bb/9?
Wild thing, you make my heart sing!
Pretty nice play by WillBlo
Dammit.
My god, Mr. Morrow needs to learn how to throw strikes on a consistent basis.
paging Rafael Soriano. Rafael Soriano to a white courtesy phone.
Mike Hargrove = Real Man of Genius.
At some point, Morrow is going to have to learn how to pitch. Unless they really want him to be a one pitch short reliever.
But he’s going to be in the minors sometime. It’s sort of fascinating to watch and see when he’ll get sent out. In the same way watching storm stories on the weather channel is fascinating.
#292 Lovin’ the ZatAoMM reference.
I guess you don’t need an outpitch when Soriano expands his zone to the dugout
We’ll have a ghost of a chance still if Green miraculously gets us out of Morrow’s mess here
our lineup in the 9th?
YuBet
WFB
Jamie “Carlton Fisk” Burke
We have Felix the King and they have Felix the Foot.
Vidro and Johjima are available to pinch hit. I would hope one of them hits for WillBlo
Is Morrow just getting overused in addition to his usual control “issues?”
377: The Killer B’s?
The slow, inexorable glide out of the AL West race may be beginning.
382: wow, that might be a little too knee-jerk, but I get the sentiment.
Gotta be kiddin’ us with that garbage YuBet
for petesake, it’s Bobby Howry pitching.
Willie swinging for the fences…surprisingly unsuccessful
Where the fuck is Ben Broussard?
so we let WFB hit and pinch hit for Burke? What genius.
Grover! Mike! Wake up! They’re still playing ball out there!
Just SOMEHOW get Ichie up there
Ben Broussard is batting in Sexson’s spot. But Vidro was available. Why do you hit for the guy batting .415 and let WillBlo hit?
Broussard came in on a double switch in the 8th.
This loss is essentially all Brandon Morrow’s fault
FUCK
FUCK
Sorry, meant to say Broussard was in the 9th spot after the double switch.
Who would play 3rd if we made it to xtra innings? I guess that’s the dilemna that Hargrove couldn’t figure out. Plus, he just loves Willie.
Sad thing is…
You know in a million years, it never ocurred to Grover that Sherrill really didn’t HAVE to come out. They had some lefties coming up. And Morrow could use more than one day off in a row.
Notice, Howry didn’t immediately come out and make way for Dempster. Lou actually goes win the flow sometimes instead of “pre-arranging” everything.
Why do you hit for the guy batting .415 and let WillBlo hit?
Who would you put at third?
I’ve been saying Morrow’s wildness is going to cost a game all along, but I didn’t expect his fielding to matter.
Guess Hargrove figured Bloomquist was on a hot streak. He’s got his OPS up to 560 on the year, after all.
Welllllll…the M’s made the most of their 3 hits and 3 BBs, scoring 4 runs with that. But when they let the other team get TWELVE hits and 3 BBs? For a couple of minutes or so in the top of the 8th it looked like the M’s would steal another 1-run win.
Bye, bye Weaver. (I wouldn’t even let him back on the plane)
Easy…you put Vidro at 3rd and pray it doesn’t get to him. Or better yet, put Lopez there and Vidro at 2nd.
Couldn’t Lopez have moved to third and Vidro played second?
Last I heard, if we didn’t actually score, there would be no need to worry about the ninth inning infield.
But, I’m still figuring out why Sherrill was taken out so quickly with a tired pen behind him
Weaver good, Morrow bad. Crazy.
Oh well, pen had to blow one eventually.
Who would you put at third?
Cross that bridge when you come to it, the first order of business is scoring a run to tie, or 2+ for the lead.
#397 — Didn’t Lou love Willie too? All the M’s managers seem to love Willie because he can fill in at almost any position.
Sure, it’s not ideal, but I’d put either Vidro, Burke or Lopez at 3rd. Cross that bridge if you get to it. But you can’t let the worst hitter on the team bat there, against a righthander.
Disappointing….arguably, Beltre is the player we can least afford to lose for any length of time, because the dropoff to Bloomquist is so great and there aren’t any alternatives. Get well soon, Adrian.
Bat Johjima for WFB, let Burke hit and play 3rd. He’s played a lot of 3rd in his career.
Willie can’t hit, never has been able to hit, and I just can’t understand why he gets so many at bats.
What, he has 4 RBI’s already this year? He’s got a chance of reaching double digits….
409
I’ve been as hard on Beltre as anyone and I completely agree with you
#399
You have to get to the bottom of the 9th first. WFB was an out waiting to happen.
Lopez at third and Vidro at Second?
Burke at third and Joh at catcher?
Now…trade WEAVER NOW… Now that his stock is rising…
Good lord, what a disaster. The bullpen has been solid all year, but today it cost us.
So, is Morrow’s transformation from top starter prospect to crap reliever complete? If high draft picks can be considered as investments, isn’t this the equivalent of blowing your inheritance on cocaine?
When do we cut him? And how long will it take his next team to repair the damage and actually develop him into a pitcher? A year? Two years?
Ironic, isn’t it, that we run off this incredible streak of 1-run victories on this road trip, only to end it with two one-run losses to the Cubs, who have been terrible in 1-run games this year.
And before we jump down Brandon Morrow’s throat, let’s remember that his stellar 8th inning work has been worth at least a couple wins this year, maybe more. We’re still on the positive side with him.
And certainly, pitching didn’t lose this game. Managing just three hits and a little bit of managerial incompetence did.
Weaver didn’t give up a run after the first. He’s with the club for the rest of the year now.
416
Stop using him every day or every other day would be a step in the right direction.
What happened to that Soriano guy who used to do the same job without walking eveyone?
aw, they are playing Lou’s WGN postgame conversation. good to hear all the stammering and bizarre mid-sentence pauses again.
Why would they cut Morrow? That’s nuts. If anything, this helps them send him to the minors to turn him into a starter, just like they should have from the beginning.
That postgame conference with Lou was funny — everybody all happy to have taken 2 of 3 “from one of the hottest teams in baseball.”
OK, you can all please stop it with the Bloomquist hatred. Willie made a huge play on Sunday to steal third and then score the winning run. But no one gives him any credit for that on this blog. He also scored the winning run on Monday, taking off from first on the Ibanez double.
Yes, he’s no great shakes at the plate. That’s why he’s a bench player. He’s a good pinchrunner and can play many positions adquately, filling in when someone is hurt or needs a day off. It’s certainly a chicken-and-egg question about his hitting, because it’s not easy to sit for four days and then go out there and go 2-for-4. Everyone knows that.
After the 1 millionth “Wille Sucks” comment, I’d think we could just desist for a bit.
Hargrove on Weaver: “Pitched well” “He was good after the 1st inning”
We’re going to be seeing him every 5th game through the end of season.
I second the motion #422.
say, has anyone warned Ichiro about the outfield in Houston?
That’s ridiculous. We talk about Bloomquist as a great 25th man all the time, particularly in how his base-running and versatility make him well-suited for that role. There’s a lot of mocking about the gap between actual value and the tongue baths the broadcast crew gives him, but no one really argues he’s not worth his roster spot.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a huge drop-off from Beltre to Bloomquist at third.
And for the “sit for three days…” he doesn’t hit when he gets regular playing time, either.
It’s certainly a chicken-and-egg question about his hitting, because it’s not easy to sit for four days and then go out there and go 2-for-4. Everyone knows that.
We’ve looked at his minor league record, too. He has over 2500 professional at-bats, and he just can’t hit, period. Jamie Burke is almost certainly the better hitter… but WFB got to swing away.
It’s stuff like that that drives people crazy, FWIW.
The last two games are games that championship level clubs do not lose: first, you lose on a misplay of a routine throw, and then a relief pitcher that walks you to a come-from-ahead loss. I am encouraged by the development of this team so far, but this pair of one-run losses to the sub-.500 Cubbies has brought me back to Earth. I hope that they can win the series in Houston to come back home with a nice 7-3 roadtrip. As for the AL West race, maybe it is a little knee-jerk, but, with the Angels playing at such a torrid pace, it will be hard to contend with them.
I blame the Curse of the Sudden Spotlight. The media wakes up to the fact the Mariners are playing pretty good, they talk about it, and we start losing. The moment they gave A-rod the super attention–different from his regular ‘god on earth’ moniker–he stopped hitting 3 HRs a game. The moment the media started wailing, The Yankees are done! they started winning.
Still, these two loses hurt. I swear, sometimes it’s better to just lose by 7 runs and figure it was a bad day.
The last two games are games that championship level clubs do not lose
You obviously did not watch the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals much.
A’s and Astros, tied in the top of the 11th. Here’s hoping the Astros have a burned-out bullpen.
I’ve been enjoying FanGraphs as much as anyone, and usually checkout the WPA each game. But I just noticed something that made me throw up a little bit in my mouth. Go to FanGraphs, seelct Teams and look at the Mariners for 2007. As you’d expect, Ichiro leads in WPA this season. Look at who is No. 2. And look who is last. Now, I’m not sure I trust that WPA is really telling us much.
The “cut him” was a jab at the M’s inability to develop or understand pitchers, not a suggestion.
I don’t think WPA tells us much about individuals, no. It does tell us significant things about the game state during a game, and also about apportioning credit between the starting pitching, bullpen, and offense.
The starters have been mediocre-bad, the offense has been a little above average and the Mariner bullpen rocks.
#151: and now I’m the joke….
The reason Bloomquist doesn’t hit when he’s given regular playing time is that he’s worrying about not getting to play if he has an o-fer. What they need to do is let him play every day for 2 or 3 years. Only then will we be able to truly evaluate whether he can really hit.
See, his repeated failure to hit is really management’s fault. That was Spiezio’s problem too. They only let him suck for a year and a half before they benched him.
425- Ichiro played center in the All-Star game in Houston.
416- Blowing your inheritance on coke is a lot more fun than that 8th inning was.
Open question: When Mark Lowe returns, presuming that he has bounced back fully from his injury, should the Mariners send down Brandon Morrow to get work as a starter, with Lowe taking his place in the bullpen?
#359, Is California considered “local”?
And I have a question for people that know more about Morrow than I do: Does Morrow have a history of having no command/control or is this a recent development?
436 – Ralph, don’t confuse the Ignitor with some up-and-comer who is trying to develop into a day-in day-out regular, or someone trying to earn a spot on the field. Willie’s playing time is not dependent on whether he has good or bad days on the plate. His talents and abilities are well-established and are not going to change, and in a sane world, neither is his role. He is a utility reserve who is well suited to that role, not a plucky but raw kid who risks AAA-time for having a bad run at the plate. I repeat – he is a permanent reserve who’s playing time is dependent not on his own performance but by the availability of the starters. He would have to eat the bat with his asshole to lose playing time on account of his performance, so that’s not a concern.
WFB is an asset to the team when used according to his capabilities, and the mark of a good manager in any line of work is recognizing what their employees are capable of succeeding at, and placing them in situations where they can do well. Problems arise when bad management places more stock in him than his track record demonstrates to be wise, and he is left in to slap for the fences while the best hitter of the day is subbed out.
Addendum – Maybe you were being sarcastic =)
Did anyone else hear the post-game “round-up” where Rizzs gave Weaver the MVP for the game? I get the feeling that this start means we’re stuck with him for the rest of the season no matter what happens.
I think any post invoking Spiezio pretty much has to be sarcasm.
…And the A’s win it in 11. Thanks to some kid named Suzuki. Kurt Suzuki. Who’s a catcher. Jeez, Beane even manages to get the cheap combo version of M’s stars.
On the plus side, the Astros only got 4 innings out of their starter and used Lidge and Qualls for 2 innings each among six relievers total. And their starting shortstop, Adam Everett, broke his leg.
Kurt Suzuki
445
Only matters if we can limit our infamous 7-8 pitch innings tomorrow.
#432 – WFB has been fortunate to be inserted into several games lately where he has had high leverage impact, bumping up the WPA.
WPA is all about being in the right place at the right time. Note his BRAA is pretty sucky.
Still, as noted, it merely reinforces the notion that he is an excellent late innings PR, not so much a valuable everyday guy.
ugh, Yankees catching up on the wild-card standings… this is not looking too great.