Game 104, Angels at Mariners
On returning:
Escobar v Batista. 7:05, FSN.
CF-L Ichiro!
DH-B Vidro. Really? I’m out six weeks and he’s still… okay…
RF-R Guillen
3B-R Beltre. Wow, he tore the cover off the ball while I was out.
LF-L Ibanez. Wait, what? The Cliff claims another 30-something Mariner hitter.
1B-R Sexson. Is that really his stat line?
C-R Johjima. Wooo!
2B-R Lopez
SS-R Betancourt.
Okay, what else… Hargrove’s gone, no one knows why still… Adam Jones still in Tacoma for no discernible reason. The team’s still a couple of games back in the races… Dave’s been on fire for so long those giant tanker planes are dumping water on his place and it turns to steam immediately…
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[deleted, horrible capitalization, punctuation]
Ah, now I’m back.
It’s always good to have the dry humor and wettened whistle of DMZ back.
[Mariners']
Oh, the joy. Chris Reitsma out for the year. We know he won’t be in to screw crap up tonight.
Big series. Go M’s.
I thought Dave was “On Fire!!!”
well, apparently he is scheduled to be on KJR tomorrow morning … maybe he’ll say
I’ll bet he doesn’t.
I love the tyranny when Derek roams the blog.
Being deleted for posting a Welcome Back Kotter line on a blog?
Finally, a story for the grand kids
Good to have you back Derek. It seems you’re a deletin’ sort of mood. Prepare to be busy.
quite right too. Welcome Back Kotter was a dreadful show.
I know that, and I grew up 6,000 miles from here.
OMG VIDRO IS .360 SINCE JULY 13th!!!! THANKS FSN!!
What is Welcome Back Kotter?
so the next five days bring Escobar, Lackey, Je. Weaver, Lester & Matsuzaka, hmn?
[Mariners]
Why do I have the feeling Vlad’s homer drought will end this series?
It’s well documented what the FO needs to do to improve the team. But if the *team itself* wants to make the postseason, it needs to sweep this series. Even 2/3 isn’t enough. Let’s go, guys.
Why is Sexson in the lineup and not Broussard? Why didn’t we trade for Mark Carlson as Lineup Corrector?
#16 – Because Vlad’s an insane masher and it has to end sometime?
btw, you might have missed just a few Vidro/BA threads whilst out there scrivening, Derek…
The world must be coming to an end because Kruk just talked about the merits of defense. Meh – he’s still an idiot.
#21 – Doesn’t he only have one testicle?
I just think it’s hilarious that our DH is lauded for being a singles machine that can’t take walks or hit for power. Please increase our chocorations to 10g.
#22– and that is important, why?
They know what the Angles are all about guys. Don’t worry.
#24 – I’m not sure, I was just piling on John Kruk.
Heh, Mike and Dave are preparing for the worst.
I will settle for 2 out of 3 cheerfully. But what does Broussard have to do to get a start against a right hander? He mashed the ball yesterday.
17 (bram) – Disagreed. 2/3 would be huge. The Angels are a better team. It gets us only one game, yes. However, our schedule isn’t too rough down the stretch.
I’d be a lot more worried about another 7 game losing streak against bad teams.
There are a LOT of games to play. I wish people would stop freaking out so early.
Adam Jones went 20 for 4 today with 19 HRs and a double, and caught every fly ball hit to help his team to a complete game no-hitter.
“Unfortunately, there’s just no way Jones would be able to help the Mariners right now,” McLaren told reporters before the game. “Look at these guys.”
Vlad this season against Seattle:
.552, 4 HRs, 11 RBI
F___
Hey, welcome back Derek. You’ll probably notice a few new faces. They may need some time to get used to having an, ah, editor for their comments. Are they really have that much trouble spelling Mariners?
Odd, FSN just showed a shot of Mac in the M’s dugout, and you could see the lineup card behind him. Vlad and Anderson in red, while everyone else was black. Hmmm. Wonder what that means?
26
Didn’t he have cancer? If so, show a little respect.
I can’t believe the third game will not be on Wednesday night baseball on ESPN. What a crime.
wonder what would have happened in the Angels/Tigers series if that faux-homerun had been called correctly?
#26– yeah, cancer is always a good insult.
16: Ah, the old “M’s are cursed” argument… I can’t lie, i’m definitely prone to believe that after following:
* Every Free Agent or Established Player the Mariners have ever traded for or signed
* Every Seahawks injury between 1990 and 2004
* Every bad call by an official in the NBA (of course, no we know that’s actually due to the whims of the betting public, who we already know are against Seattle clubs due to east-coast bias, which makes it easier).
Welcome back, Derek. It’s good to have you here for the party.
Carson –
I agree the season is long and the M’s don’t have a particularly difficult schedule. But we don’t have very many chances to gain ground on the Angels.
And if you think I’m “freaking out,” see: http://ussmariner.com/2007/07/27/track-records/#comments #14
The scary thing about Vlad is that you can throw him a pitch a six inches off the plate and he can still drive it for power.
For the Figgins and Cabrera at bats, Gameday showed pitch speeds 2 mph faster than was shown on the TV broadcast (presumably the Safeco gun).
Man, those are some ugly uniforms the Anaheims are wearing. Did they think the throwback game was tonight instead of yesterday?
Yes, Kruk had cancer. But that of course is not the reason why he’s an idiot. Sorry I brought up Kruk. I heard Adam Jones actually pitched that no-hitter.
Will we know if Batista would have had a play? Don’t see how it’s a hit unless VG was going to be any potential throw.
thats why pitchers should just leave it to the fielders when possible.
Gameday shows “result speed” and “release speed”, which may be measured at different points than the Safeco radar gun. I think Dave knows more about the A.M. stuff from MLB.com.
But yeah, it typically shows faster speeds that you’ll see posted as the pitch speed. and everything comes out every pitchers hands in the mid-90′s, it seems.
Nice play by Johjima
The game’s on TV where I am (So. Cal) = good!
…which means I have to listen to Rex Hudler = bad!
Nice place by Yubet.
Man, this is exciting. I haven’t been this pumped since the 2001 playoffs.
Did anyone see Hudler being interviewed on the pregame? Is he auditioning for WWE or something? Man, he is terrible.
you’ve got to love it when it is the opposing pitcher (ie Street, yesterday) though …
it was Kruk who showed up after his surgery wearing an I’m taking my ball and going home t-shirt …
ICHIRO!!!
Here’s to another escobar meltdown *clink*
Thats just fun to watch. Hit it on the nose.
47 (apunetid) – Just remind yourself that it’s not Ron Fairly.
The one time Vidro doesn’t hit a ground ball.
Vidro line drive, what were the chances?
Wow. Vidro even hits into DPs when he drives the ball. Impressive.
Did Ichiro get duked by the middle infielders? That sucks.
F
Even Barry Bonds would have hustled that one out. Way to quit on the team Ichiro.
gosh.
well, crap.
that won’t help the .360 average
How pathetic is our DH? For any other hitter that would have been a single. But because they Angels know how terrible Vidro’s power is, they play up like he’s a pitcher. Just awful.
60 (fetish) – Give me a break. He had no shot. Would you rather him try to run back to first on a pipe dream and pull his hamstring?
Vidro will find a way to hit into a double play… he will not be stopped.
60 – What? Did you even see the play? Or was that sarcasm?
Apparently Bonds is supposed to be a byword for not hustling now, on top of all his other evils? How much more ridiculous can the demonizing get? Has he kicked anyone’s dog yet?
Duked.
definition: to deceive, or deke, a dupe with a fake play.
Someone’s been working on their throwing. Dang… Yuni’s made some pretty nice looking throws lately hasn’t he?
I think Yuni appreciated his day off.
Can’t complain about Yuni’s defense today. Talk about making a statement…
[punctuation]
Still not watching!
I will watch no more games while Adam Jones is in Tacoma, whether in person or on TV.
Beltre has indeed been great lately.
On the other hand, the next hitter, Raul Ibanez, has a .701 OPS for the season.
Willie Bloomquist is at .704.
But Broussard sits and Jones waits.
[punctuation, spelling]
All I’m sayin’ is, there is a one guy who would have gladly given both hamstrings on the outside shot that the ball gets intercepted by a flying squirrel.
Those of you who have a Tivo, you’ll see that Ichiro clearly gets confused as he approaches second base. Do you guys remember Lonnie Smith costing the Braves the 1991 World Series when he falls for the same deke by Chuck Knoblauch?
If I stopped watching the Mariners every time they made a boneheaded move or refused to make an obvious good move, my lifetime Mariner intake would be a tiny fraction of what it is today.
Good eye Ral.
Oh, it’s an entirely meaningless gesture, but it makes me feel better.
Ichiro didn’t get confused. It was a straight steal and by the time he realized what happened he had no shot. Sometimes you get unlucky. Let’s not argue that Ichiro has no *grit*.
It doesn’t get much better. Raul strikes out and Sexson, with a .708 OPS, comes to the plate. Maybe WFB finally has a beef about playing time–the regulars have come down to his level.
A walk. We’ll take it gladly, Richie.
It is sad that WFB would be an upgrade on first base if you account for his defense.
[shift keys are located on the left and right of your keyboard]
And WFB would probably be a left field upgrade based on speed alone. Outside of Ichiro, Beltre, and Guillen, the offense has been pretty sluggish of late (Oakland Game 4 excepted).
74 – Not what I saw. He had to make a judgement, realized there was no way he was making it back, and did what he should have done… kept going.
Because, you understand, if he does go back because the outfielder bobbles, then he’s out on the force at second anyway, right?
Nobody tricked him.
[this is not a board]
Who is the official scorer at this game? Mrs. Williams, the lady who works at the Community Center?
Are all stats (and therefore statistical analysis) piped through the official scorer at each ballpark, who routinely hand out base hits on what should be errors?
At least, can we start tracking baserunning and batting errors (ie, two-strike foul bunts, batting out of the box, etc?)
Big strikeout!
Great strikeout. Glad he went right at him. Now roll another groundball.
Pardon me, forum, community.
Besides which, what you said was that he “quit on the team.” Which is obviously… well, you know.
71 – I boycotted the Mariners for a long time, but the point wasn’t to make the Mariners change, it was to save me grief. If I’m getting more frustration than enjoyment, why not?
So I left until Hargrove did… the original plan was to boycott until both Hargrove and Bavasi were gone… but I let myself come back early. The Adam Jones situation is making me question that decision.
88 – It’s not a forum or community, either. It’s a blog. Very different.
Did I hear that Reitsma has an “arthritic” elbow? If so, he may be done for good. That’s an unfortunate way to end things, even though he clearly was struggling.
What about the move to bring up Rowland-Smith? This could have been a chance to bring up Jones, but they have to maintain this boatload of relievers.
Good result on Cabrera.
Is anybody else surprised at what a good season Cabrera is having? According to the Hardball Times, Cabrera is in a three-way tie for 8th in the AL in Winshares; if you’re curious, Rodriguez is first at 23, and Ichiro is in a four-way tie for second with, among others, Vlad, at 22.
I love Vlad, except when he’s playing the M’s. Then he simply terrifies me.
It looks like the ump is calling rather low strikes this game and that Batista has been the beneficiary of several such calls.
Well is it a blog in this instance? I thought blog only applied to the musings of the two main authors.
The Adam Jones situation is frustrating… but I think I was the most frustrated with the Chris Reitsma situation. The Chris Reitsma project really got me fired up.
He’s got the gum…don’t throw him anything close!!!
I know this was a ways back, but #13 – are you serious? Next you’ll tell me that you don’t know the Reds radio broadcast is on WKRP. For God’s sake, yesterday was turn back the clock night! Erik Estrada!!!!!
How scary is it to watch Batista pitch to Vlad?
Every time I see Vlad swinging that bat without batting gloves I wonder if he follows the Moises Alou method of toughening his hands. I’d like to think not.
OMFG@!@!!
Give that man a gold glove!
What a scoop….I thought it bounced…wow.
Jones would’ve had that. Oh wait.
Jones would’ve had that without a slide.
Wow!
Whoa. Great to have a little luck
My God he caught it! Thank the heavens it was right at him.
nice catch Raul, you get one “u” back for that
Okay, I guess the sun shines on a dog’s (well, you know) every once in a while.
Good play, Raul.
It’s scary to watch anyone pitch to Vlad. Earlier this year Felix threw a 97 mph fastball that was shoulder high and six inches outside and Vlad hit it out on a line.
Did Raul just get impaled by Vladimir?
That was just the best…the best possible thing that could have happened….he hit it right at us.
Did i just blackout for a second or did Ibanez just make a nice play? Little luck never hurts.
Holy! RAUUUUUUUUULLLLLL!!!
Adam who?
Every time I see Vlad swinging that bat without batting gloves I wonder if he follows the Moises Alou method of toughening his hands. I’d like to think not.
If you had the opportunity to meet him and shake his hand, would avoid it? Would your answer change if you knew for sure he did follow the Moises Moisturizing Regime?
I cringe everytime Vlad swings..
Wow…the baseball gods are giving us all kinds of gifts tonight. I think this game is ours….if we can just play.
Raul made that look way too hard. Good stuff though.
(Expletive) Dave Samson
Ichiro!
Ichiro! just rocks so hard sometimes.
Gimme a break. Bear Grylls can live for months off of his own whiz, yet you pansies are afraid to touch a possible pee-pee hand? MAN UP!
Great toss Vlad. Way to use your teammates.
I am very curious how Vidro is going to make this a double play. Seems like a long shot, but I like his chances.
My favorite phrase on the web has to be in play, no out
123: LOL
Charlie Browned him.
Rex Hudler just said that if Vlad would have hit the cutoff man instead of throwing to 3rd, Ichiro would have been out by 5 feet. I hate the Angels announcers.
WOOO TURBOOOOO LOVER
TURBO!!
116 – I would grin and bear it. It’s not like I would catch anything … I just find the practice distasteful. And, it’s not like there aren’t alternatives. Judging by your tone I guess you’d also not hesitate, right?
MY TURBO LOVER!!!
123. Watch ending a sentence on a preposition. DMZ lurks.
God Bless Dave Niehaus. He is blind as a bat in his old age yet he is still lovable.
A prepo-who?
All right Miguel, no more meatballs please.
I just realized Ichiro COULD pass Ordonez tonight.
123 – If you read the news you’d know that a more appropriate title for that show is Man vs. Hotel . Watch Survivorman for the real deal.
The more and more I watch, I think Ibanez is the guy that should hit the pine when AJ comes up.
134 – I believe that while UP is a preposition in this case it might be considered an interjection or an adverb.
134: Take two of these and call back in the morning. Nothing wrong with the phrase ‘man up’ anymore than saying ‘ante up’.
The Reitsma story bothers me more as I think about it. Setting aside signing him in the first place, who was more foolish in this situation–Reitsma for not telling the truth about his arm, taking the ball in big situations even though he was probably hurting, or the team for failing to grasp that the man was still injured? We’ve gone from Reitsma as an ineffective 8th-inning setup guy to a pitcher with an arthritic arm and another date with the surgeon in a mere matter of days.
Garret Anderson didn’t destroy us. Let the Ice Follies begin in Hell.
142. At least you didn’t use that Red Sox phrase.
Time for the Mariners to cowboy up! Ooops… Sorry.
Maybe AJ will be up after the trade line
Who’s got the best chance to take Escobar deep today?
On Reitsma, I should have added that this all went down in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. Somebody’s blinders potentially cost the team games.
Rowland-Smith will just have to man-up in Reitsma’s place.
Up in this case is part of the verb. You don’t man in an up direction; “man up” is what you do.
In any case, there’s nothing inherently wrong with ending sentences in prepositions; sometimes it’s clumsy, sometimes it’s the most natural way to express the thought. There is no rule against it; it’s a matter of style.
OOOH! Please get ejected for Broussard. Pleast get ejected for Broussard.
Toss HIM!!!
Sexson’s frustrated. He should be.
This is the Mariners. It’s sailor up. Or maybe seamen up.
Anybody know what the career record for multi-hit games is? I can’t find it on baseball-almanac.com, and my google-fu is apparently lacking. Just wondering if Ichiro has a shot. I imagine Ty Cobb or somebody has it locked up, but you never know.
151 – Your statement is something I have problem with. Or rather, it’s a statement with which I have a problem.
Scraps, that’s an explanation up with which I will not put.
Richie should have pulled a Beltre and asked the ump to check with first base ump.
Maybe Ritchie needs to pull a Beltre and point to first base.
152 and 153, you both crack me up. This has to be the first time for fans rooting for one of their players to be ejected.
This “rally fries” thing is tedious.
Those of us who were in the Navy know it’s, “heave out and trice up.”
Don’t ask me what it means.
157: comment of the year.
Jones would have gotten that without moving.
151. You’re right. Even Strunk and White has backed off on that old rule.
Batista is dealin’ tonight!
What’s worse:
1. Old ladies knitting during a game at Safeco?
or
2. Fans arguing about proper grammer, punctuation and syntax?
Yuni fields every ball like crap. That scoop and throw looked plain lazy.
[spelling]
[miscaptialization]
Ichiro started his MLB career comparatively old. He would probably set a lot of career records if he never played in Japan. Too bad.
167 -
3 – Taking anyone here seriously.
This “rally fries†thing is tedious.
Yeah, but I thought it was pretty damn funny when they did it on the road. Take your own gimmicks into someone else’s stadium… Plus, it looks like it was a spontaneous thing by Blowers, which makes it a little cool in the age of craptastic marketing campaigns.
scraps, wanna write my grad school application essays?
151. Maybe the slang form is bothering me because it is so . . . prevalent.
Reitsma says he has “a 60-year-old elbow.” Too bad Bavasi and McLaren didn’t know that.
I wanted to get a french fry costume (that guy is so turn-back-the-clock) and go to the stadium with a sign saying “Will Trade Rally Fries for Adam Jones”
Ok, that would be silly. Maybe I’d just get the hat.
173 – The Angels’ rally monkey was a good idea at one point too.
I think I saw the original instance, when it was cool, after which it immediately is turned into a tedious, grinding beg-a-thon by fans and circle of self-reference by the broadcast crew.
We tune in to watch the game, not fret over whether the grandmother or the baby will get free fries.
Also, fans: have some dignity.
What’s “Rally Fries?” (almost afraid to ask…)
My wife’s parents are coming over from Japan next month and we’re heading up to the Safe for a game against the White Sox. I’m trying to think of a good rally fries sign…
“I Rike Rarry Fries” has already been shotdown by the better half.
Re: Reitsma:
“This guy tried to pitch with some pain, and I respect him a lot for that,” McLaren said. “There’s probably no one I respect more in that clubhouse than Chris.
Did anyone else think that the mariners’ 1977 uniforms looked really cool?
166. He is pitching his ass off. If he can keep it up through seven innings, we could win the opener.
168. Yuni was brought up primarily for his defense. He has been sucking all year. It might make sense to move Lopez back to shortstop and put Yuni at second where he could actually throw the ball to first base.
I, for one, am entertained by Rick R, Dave N, Dave S, Blow, and Rally Fries. Call me a fan.
get em miguel
The rally fries was cool when it started but they are just overdoing it now. And fans have no dignity. That ship has sailed.
looooking
According to the tracer, only one of those pitches to Figgins was a strike.
180 – Make it worth your time and ask for a Rally Autographed Jersey.
Yeah, I liked the unis. Usually anything from the 70s makes you shudder with horror, but those were pretty good. And not just because I remember them fondly from my childhood. I could see them doing a variation of them (with the new logo, obviously) as the real home garb.
Of course, if they’d really done them 70s style with the tight pants and all… yikes.
180, That might be the funniest thing ever stated by someone in the School House Rock, er, Uss Mariner comment section
I think Yuni is doing well and his bat keeps getting better.
What a relief!
The Angels’ rally monkey was a good idea at one point too.
No sure I agree with that. But how about Rally Monkey Brains instead of fries?
C.C Sabathia has it in his contract that he will not wear tight uniforms for fear of scaring the fans.
181. Yeah, I think it is great that McLaren respects him, and the guy was trying. Putting him in key situations late in ballgames is something other than respect, though. A shame on all fronts.
182. I’m probably a lifelong Mariners fan because I thought their uniforms were cool in 1977 (and because, well, I lived in Washington). I liked the upside-down trident and hated it when they added the star logo for the 1979 All-Star Game. I had a blue pennant on my wall in my bedroom. I thought the colors, lettering, and nickname were great. It certainly wasn’t because they were a good team, though Ruppert Jones was fun to watch at times.
2. Fans arguing about proper grammer, punctuation and syntax?
Geeks argue about grammar.
We’re on the internet, posting about a baseball game we’re not actually attending. What do you think that makes us? We might as well all be living in our parents’ basements. In McCall Idaho.
If that was a strike WFB is better than Sexson. Oh wait…
155 – Pete Rose had 1255 multi-hit games, Ichiro has 465
This only goes through the retro-sheet era
The power of baseball-reference.com
Speaking of old school unis… does anyone know where I could get a late eighties, early nineties “S” Mariner cap?
Reitsma: “I’m done”
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7076206
Along the lines of comment 200, I’ve been looking for an Ichiro 2001 jersey, I’m not sure if it was an all star game jersey, but it was kind of royal blue in color. I see it around every once in a while but can never find it for sale.
182. Also, I liked the lead broadcaster.
I’m not a geek, I’m at the game with my Clearwire connection while I “blog”. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
I still love the idea of making MacLaren wear a uniform that looks like an admiral in “The Pirates of Penzance.” It would make those mound visits absolutely hilarious, mo matter how many runs the pitcher had just given up.
197
lol my wife and I are loving that one
That looked like a busted hit and run.
200 – My best friend has one of those. I’ve offered money only to be brutally rebuffed.
I love how he gets that hit just right of 2nd but he does it with runner on 1st too often without getting through the gap
Ichiro came over too late to break Rose’s record, but he might well get to 3000 hits.
204
Prove it by winning the “Rally Fries” from Blowers
That was just the multi hit game record
210- Ichiro will be 34 in November I believe. Getting to 3000 is going to be nearly impossible. Heck, getting to 2500 will be hard.
Kenji is setting up in the on-deck circle.
Weak little squibber by Ol Pee Hands.
I bet that’s the 1st time that sentence has ever been written.
Rally Fries are stale, I agree. It’s not those ‘Refuse to Lose’ stickers that somehow became the M’s theme in 1995. It was cool when they did the Rally Fries mini-documentary; now it’s hackneyed and provincial.
As for uniforms, the Mariners have been in their current uniforms for 14 years now – this offseason wouldn’t be a bad time for a change. The current logo and uniforms are very successful and the logo is strong. I’d hate for them to royally screw it up the way some teams have.
Pee hands? I remember Alou, but who else?
You’re all going to be sick of this, but I can’t get over this from the manager.
McLaren: “We knew he was hurt. We didn’t see the real Chris Reitsma.”
Translation: “Even though we knew he was hurt and put him on the DL twice, we kept sending him out there late in games. We didn’t see the real Chris Reitsma, because what we thought was the real Chris Reitsma does not exist and hasn’t since he began a string of multiple elbow surgeries.”
That was a fierce hit.
I really liked the M’s 77 uniforms. I like the home uni’s, but cannot stand the road ones. They looks.. cheap.
218 – The scuttlebutt is Vladdy. Someone claims to have seen him come out for batting practice with two urinal cakes tapes to his hands.
Its a TURBO Drive!
Vidro hits purely to spite the USSM crowd.
I think Vidro is trying to spite us until we accept his being here.
Good luck with that one, Jose.
Vidro owns Escobar.
Okay it’s the apocalypse, Vidro just hit a ground rule double.
MY TURBO LOVER!
194: Tip of the hat.
197: Wag of the finger.
Maybe his legs are returning…this guy is not so bad…not so amazing…but not so bad.
Nice to see Matthews get victimized by his shallow fielding of Vidro – which of course served him well in the 1st inning.
You know, I hate to incur DMZ’s wrath by encouraging the whole Rally Fries thing, but bilingual rally fries signs in English and Japanese would probably have a good chance of getting on TV. Perhaps something like
Plane tickets from Japan: $2000
Ichirolls and beer: too much
Blowers’ Rally Fries while watching Ichiro: priceless
(Does anybody at Safeco sell edamame? I’ve never seen it, but they apparently sell it at the phone booth in SF)
Turbo looks locked in. Lets see if Guillen can use the 2-0 count to drive him home.
Guillen and Beltre. This looks good.
If you counted the 1,200 or so hits Ichiro had in Japan he’d have had a pretty good shot at Rose’s record. Shame.
Escobar has nasty stuff.
Yes. Framing your begging in the form of a commercial = awesome.
I was thinking of something like “Hey Blow, you had sex with my mom while you were playing in Japan. I’m your daughter. Gimme some free fries and we’ll call it square”, and making my wife’s niece hold it up. Cause you just know Blow is sweatin’ that one out!
Guillen only has one swing: hard.
234- It wasn’t too good this time. Can we get a clutch hit?
BTW, is Blow like one of the worst nicknames of all time?
Oh crap, it’s monday. I could be getting cheap beer at Norm’s.
That was a blown opportunity we are going to regret when we leave Batista in for one too many hitters
242 – nothing beats watching the M’s and putting down a 40oz in a brown bag
Vidro shows power and 3-4-5 can’t get it done. Escobar is on tonight.
That portly kid could use a rally celery stick.
I just had a flashback to reading the blog about how Ichiro is probably stealing Ibanez’s ball…love it…
246 – Ha ha. Mean.
I’ve changed my mind. 2 of 3 in this series is good. It sends a message to Anaheim: “we’re better than you, even without our #1 and #2 starters”. There is no way in heck the Angels wouldn’t feel that pressure.
By the way, nice out-of-zone play by Ichiro.
Was that an OOZ ball for Ichiro?
Gotta give Ibanez props for hustling to back up Ichiro….
Yay, it’s the regular anti-pitch count rant! When do we get to the “players shouldn’t wear gloves” part?
Dave Sims seems to laugh off his goofs as effectively as Farva from Super Troopers: transparently.
Gotta hand it to Miguel tonight. The 8th inning looms.
Miguel sure is pitching one hell of a game.
[apostrophe]
What a start for Batista thus far. Do you think he will go out for the 8th?
Actually, you could probably shorten that to “I’m the love child of a former big league third baseman who played in Japan. I want a paternity test, but I’ll settle for Rally Fries”
I still love that line from Major League, as Peter Vuckovich comes to the plate and says to the catcher “How’s your wife and my kids?”
Apparently he ad-libbed that. Used to use it in actual games.
Wow! I can’t quite believe the score. I was bowling earlier this evening when several of us howled in joy upon seeing Ibanez’s diving catch. Joy and disbelief, I should say.
Nice work, Batista.
But DMZ, how are players supposed to get a feel for the ball when they wear gloves – especially when it’s cold? I don’t think Brett Farve wears gloves, and he’s won a Super Bowl.
[win is not capitalized]
Turbo would have beat that out.
That’s not a joke.
Any other baserunner would have been safe.. but its Richie running.
#246
THAT IS THE FUNNIEST THING IVE EVER READ
Well, Richie made him throw nine pitches, anyway.
At least Richie made him work. Not that I’m eager to get to their bullpen.
Fetish, as soon as I saw “Bret Farve” I started hearing your entire comment in a John Madden voice in my head (or, actually, the Frank Caliendo version of Madden) and it made it truly hilarious.
I hate Dave Sims but he is having fun out there.
Was that “Islander” music they were playing during the highlights?
That was hillarious to watch Vlad reel that in. He is such a circus in right.
Since when does Kenji go oppo? That’s twice now. Very impressed.
Why Morrow and not Green? Maybe because McLaren burns out the bullpen by having everyone warm up and pitch a third of an inning.
I demand that Ichiro hit a 3-run dinger.
Give us some cushion Ichiro!
272 – I’ll take a double.
There’s a million dollar purse for terry if he can go 2-for-2 on dinger demands.
I’ll take anything as long as it results in a run this inning.
I heart random bad hops
GO ICHIRO!!!!!!!
I-CHi-RO!
Almost hit him in the face
ICHIRO!!!
I guess that’s what you call a bad hop.
two words, rally fries
Granted I’m watching from TV, but Vlad looks like he has about as good of range as Raul (not based on Ichiro’s chopper).
Adam Jones makes that play.
#275: regression to the mean….
Granted I’m watching from TV, but Vlad looks like he has about as good of range as Raul
MVP?
Granted I’m watching from TV, but Vlad looks like he has about as good of range as Raul
Not that time, Terry, but so far you are 2 for 2 with good results!
What a freaky hop. Someone commented yesterday that the M’s have been real lucky in the last day+. Throw that in with Ibanez’s catch earlier and it starts to add up.
Apologies for the repeats, my computer is haunted. And it really doesn’t like Raul
Wow, according to Gameday, the six pitches that Ichiro saw were 98, 97, 98, 98, 98, 98 mph. And that’s in the 7th inning from a starter. Yeah, the Angels are happy to have this guy.
Vlad’s years in Montreal damaged his wheels.
Hardball24, how’s Vlad’s range compare to Raul?
Morrow in the 8th??? I love it!!
Vidro’s second half split of .389/.459/.463 looks impressive but he’s only had 4 extra base hits in 62 PAs coming into tonight.
Nice SO for Morrow, pretty nice control there.
I would’ve liked to see Batista come back out though.
YUNI!!!! Nice range and got on top of the ball. Great play to keep the tying run in teh ondeck circle.
Has Morrow always taken that pronounced deep breath before every pitch?
I feel like that’s new, but I’ve never paid that close of attention before.
With Morrow living the highlife in the majors can anyone imagine him adjesting easily to like in the minors.
What are the odds that Morrow ever starts a game for the Ms?
That Tracer is just not trustworthy. Where did Gameday show that last pitch? The Tracer showed it being on the bottom line of the strike zone, which I just don’t think is true.
Please no one on base for Vlad. I beg, nay, plead.
How come those misspelled Brett Favre posts didn’t get the axe?
joser: The sushi place that serves Ichirolls sells edamame for 5.50, I believe (just noticed it yesterday).
Come on, Morrow.
I hope Morrow takes care of business here because I’d like to see Putz take care of Vlad next inning.
Out please….
Oh dear lord thank you.
Hooray, put ‘em away Putz
Morrow looks so much better now. Damn that’s awesome.
If you’re actually looking for some impressive stats to back up my comments, I don’t have them. Like I said, from my couch, Vlad’s range seems pretty limited. That’s all I got.
Putz vs Vlad!!! I predict a weak groundout to Yuni.
Does Morrow’s insulin routine factor in his potentially pitching relief long-term?
[it's spelled grammar]
The Pitch F/X system that gameday is running on is inflating velocities at Safeco by about 3 MPH. Basically, whatever gameday says, take that -3, and thats your real velocity.
Hey, Dave’s here. Kudos to Dave for amazing work while DMZ was away.
Bring it Vlad you’re going down.
314 – Thanks for clarifying that. And given that info, I still think Escobar’s pitches to Ichiro in the 7th were impressive for their consistent velocity.
I wonder why gameday would inflate pitch velocities?
I’m not drunk…really….. my spellchecker is…..
Dave, when did gameday start inflating the velocities at Safeco?
WHIFF
Now who didn’t get a huge smile at that first pitch/swing and a miss to Vlad?
Guys like Vlad are just good for baseball….
HOOAH! Big K right there.
WOOO SEE YA VLAD
… and an even bigger smile at the strike three swing? I love this stuff.
Putz makes me happy I gotta say
4 in a row! 3 back!
Wow what a huge win. Way to start out the series.
YEEEEAHHHH!
That was an awesome win.
Funny… I can’t remember the last time the Ms lost…
JJ!!! What a game. Game ball this time goes to Batista
Game 1 victory, fantastic. Now I’m off to drink a few Angels fans under the table. It’s a good night to be an M’s fan.
The Ms need Dotel why?
Great game! Batista was unbelievable. Vidro hit the ball in the air -twice- and Raul Ibanez made a vital defensive play…something smells fishy, we must’ve somehow wound up in Bizarro Safeco tonight.
I first noticed the velocity spike in gameday data about 3 weeks ago. It’s been consistently high for a while – I haven’t pinned down the exact date yet, but its a recent thing. It was fine earlier in the year.
The people in charge know about it.
I am not so thrilled with Morrow’s performance. 19 pitches, 9 for strikes, in one inning.
Quick question –
Are doubles considered power?
well, power hitters rack up doubles. Even Ichiro isn’t a great doubles hitter.
Nevermind… found my answer. Thanks
Thanks 338.
Oh man that was a great game to go to in person. First game I’ve been to since April, wow the atmosphere at the Safe has changed. Really enjoy JJ Putz Thunderstruck .Still too much wave. Fantastic game. Vidro still stinks.
Staying in downtown Seattle is good too because cabs are cheap and I get back to condo quickly and can get back on USSM.
Batista…what can I say, he was AWESOME!
I wish all you Vidro haters would take a hike, too.
Corco:
What happened to your living in Tacoma (or wherever it was)?
That was Batista’s befst performance of the season for sure. Vidro is clutch, but still just Willie Bloomquist, or Garrett Anderson Lite
My Raulee fries are burnt…I need a Jones soda!
343: I go to school in Tacoma, but live in Idaho. My parents wanted to go to Seattle to see some games, so we came up to Seattle for a few days on a family vacation, and we rented a condo downtown.
I’ll be returning to Tacoma in late August.
#162–
get out of your hammock and lash it up out of the way ….
The guys on KJR’s “Baseball’s Best Postgame Show” are actually arguing AGAINST calling up Adam Jones.
Not playing Devil’s Advocate…but flat-out saying that they wouldn’t do it. It’s the old experience vs. potential.
Le sigh. Le sigh.
Reitsma just faked an injury, I think its time for Ibanez to step up too.
Batista pitched an awesome game, but Putz is the MVP of this team IMO. Watching him strikeout Vlad in the 9th was a thing of beauty. Maybe it’s just me but this guy has been out to prove something since he blew that save against Texas.
#349– I dunno, I think having surgery is just a tad drastic to get out of pitching for the M’s ….
#351- haha yeah I was kinda joking about Reitsma. But I was half hoping that Raul caught his cleet in the grass on his sliding catch.
Nahhh….
If he hits like crazy and frustrates the hell out of us, then that’s good for the team.
If he tanks and get us Adama Jones, then that’s good for the team.
It’s just when he sucks and STAYS there……that’s what drives folks crazy. And he HAS to keep that batting average up to keep from sucking…
“I wish all you Vidro haters would take a hike, too.”
Oh, the irony.
348 – I don’t understand these people. What good is experience if it can’t play for a damn?
And why bother to have minor leagues at all? Or a draft? I mean, we could get some 80 year-olds up here… think of all the experience.
If you are against calling up AJ right now, with the way our veterans are performing… then when are you for bringing someone up?
So tired of these buffoons.
Really, it doesn’t matter to me if you bench Vidro or Ibanez. But definitely dump one of them. Vidro just seems more logical.
Corco AND DMZ in a game thread, along with lots of [baleeted]. This could not be any better.
[I is capitalized]
I do appreciate having Dreyer around:
Glasgow: I’d rather get Dotel than Reyes.
Dreyer: Eeeeuuuugh.
May I suggest a new nickname for Mr. Batista: The Dictator.
Or is that a faux pas?
349 – maybe Raul will pull a hammy or something. Wouldn’t that be nice, and Sexson will twist his ankle. Seriously, will keep using a dulled knife when you have a sharp new one in the drawer?
i meant why keep using a dulled knife when you have a sharp new one in the drawer.
sigh. Drayer.
she added ‘you’re the only one, Tom’
With Morrow living the highlife in the majors can anyone imagine him adjesting easily to like in the minors
Eh, his agent might ‘splain to him how much free agent starters – even crappy ones – make compared to free agent RH relievers. Then he’d probably be happy to take a dip into the minors.
Hobbled Left Fielder:
I love this quote from the ESPN website, covering tonight’s game, “Then Guerrero, 12-for-21 in his career against Batista at that point, hit a sinking liner. Hobbled left fielder Raul Ibanez caught the ball inches above the grass while tumbling to end the inning and save at least one run.”
I’m glad they are winning again but watching Richie Sexson and Raul Ibanez hit is awful. It would be so simple to just put Broussard in the line-up and put Adam Jones out in left…
Why doesn’t anyone suggest it?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2003813775_webmari30.html
McLaren said before the game that he was “absolutely” going to stick with Ibanez and Richie Sexson down the stretch, despite their significant slumps at the plate.
“When you’re a professional and you’re not having a great year and you’re still going out there and giving it your all, and not hanging your head and battling, that means something to your teammates, and that’s important to me,” McLaren said.
yeah…..
I think winning would mean more to their teammates… and having guys that actually produce go along way to doing that.
366–
Don’t look too much into it. What else can he say?
“Yes, I plan on benching my clubhouse leader next Tuesday.”
Even if he was planning on benching him tomorrow, he’d still say the same. Part of the job is being political/diplomatic, especially regarding the press.
I’ll give our announcers one thing: the description of J.J. vs. Vlad as “big-boy baseball” was spot on.
I’m curious for anyone’s observations re: Joh setting up three times low and away, and J.J. delivering three heaters up-and-in, which Vlad could neither hit nor resist. Intentional deception, or J.J. overruling his catcher?
342
“I wish all you Vidro haters would take a hike, too.”
So I take it you would be pleased if the server gets fried by continuous trading deadline refreshes and the blog goes out of existence? Or would it be enough if Dave, DMZ, JMB, and Jeff were all replaced by ESPN commentators?
Any word on the Mateo deal? Who did we get? Or what did we get? Pinetar? A used fungo perhaps?
Probably Pat Gillick…