Game 106, Angels at Mariners
Felix Day, Felix Day, Felix Felix Felix Day
Jered Weaver v Felix Hernandez. 7:05. FSN.
Usually, I wait to post the game threads until about an hour ahead of time, but what’s the point? The M’s lineup is going to be the M’s lineup.
For pre-game discussion, then — please help me with this: Lopez is hitting really badly. The last time we visited this topic, he was doing well. Previous discussions about how Hargrove’s insistence on having him go opposite-field and ground to the second baseman all the time were held up as examples of how Hargrove had a long-term plan for developing Lopez, and we (and by we I mean us and Jeff Sullivan at LL) were a bunch of morons for doubting his wisdom.
Now, I missed a chunk of the season there, but what happened? Did he fall apart entirely? Is he swinging at everything?
Ah, lineups are out. And… well:
3 RF-R Guillen
4 LF-L Ibanez
5 3B-R Beltre
6 1B-L Broussard (!)
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Not to jack the discussion thread – but [deleted, attempted jacking]
JLo has really gotten a free pass purely from not sucking as bad as some others (that may happen to play say, LF, SS, or 1B). I’m not as knowledgable as many on this site regarding swing mechanics, but I haven’t seen JLo pull a ball with power in a while. He’s not patient at the plate, and has been quite frustrating to watch this last bit. He has however played an impressive 2nd base.
So awesome to have Derek back.
At least Mac decided to put Broussard in the lineup tonight. Had he not, I would have completely lost faith in him.
Yeah, Lopez’s July has only two extra-base hits (and not many singles, at that): .207/.211/.250
June was a little better, with 7 doubles and a home run (.290/.349/.390).
Would it have been too much to ask for Broussard in the cleanup spot though? I give credit to a thought process actually occurring… in putting in left handed bats against a guy who can’t seem to miss them… I guess I should just be happy to see that much… sigh
Wow. I didn’t realize Lopez had been so terrible last month. I guess his defense keeps us from slamming him all day long like we do with Sexson and Ibanez? I don’t know. That OBP 4 points higher than the BA is truly gross.
I’d just like to say that I have, more than once, been sorely tempted to post off-topic in comment threads here and been restrained by the thought of having my comment moderated in such an undignified fashion. Huzzah Derek!
Lopez is stuck on 8 home runs just like he was last year at this time. Lopez, Johjima, Betancourt, Sexson, Ibanez . . . most of the lineup has been bad lately. Sexson and Ibanez have been so bad that Lopez and Johjima have flown under the radar.
According to Baker’s blog, McLaren will not call the Sexson-Broussard thing a platoon (even though Baker did in his headline).
By the way, Baker’s writing extremely long, detailed posts. I wish I understood his logic better. If the Mariners didn’t need another reliever, he seems to ask, why did they bother going after one? You can’t claim to analyze the team while assuming that they know best.
At least not in these parts, anyway.
Wait . . . Lopez was stuck on 9 last year.
Is it possible to look at stats for the number of pitches JLo sees per at bat? Any links for me here guys? I doubt he has averaged seeing more than 4 pitches/AB during this latest slide.
BROUSSARD ‘O8
What kind of shape is Lopez in? Conditioning is in his contract now, but this is potentially two second-half swoons in a row.
Lopez has looked a bit lost at the plate lately in my opinion. He seems to be going for contact only and not attempting to drive the ball to any field. Whatever it is I hope it is fixed soon.
I like Baker a lot. I do disagree with him on some things, obviously – the bullpen role thing is one huge one – but even if you want to argue that he’s buying into the team’s line, he’s certainly giving it vastly more thought than we ever got from his predecessor.
re Baker:
He did slam us bad, though.
And goes on to blame bad trades on former GM’s and not the current one.
Oh, and Derek? You aren’t really back until you post a “umm, no.”
According to Baker’s blog, McLaren will not call the Sexson-Broussard thing a platoon (even though Baker did in his headline).
That sure follows what Grover did last year. Although, to be fair, McLaren might not really have made his mind up yet, rather than just be reluctant to call it like it is.
Grover drove Eddie nuts with the “he’s still our stopper” nonsense when everyone could see it was Putz. I saw where Eddie and Grover had a meeting earlier this year to smooth things over or put it behind them or whatever.
I’m sure that managers get to like a lot of their players, they are nice guys, they have families, etc. but in that role you have to be able to sit down and honestly tell a player what the deal is.
If it means bench time, they’ll be upset, but they’ll get over it. It’s not like in the real world where a manager has to lay off an employee that is barely scraping by and might end up in the street.
I sometimes disagree with Baker’s reasoning, but it’s very good that he actually offers reasoned arguments instead of tiresome clubhouse platitudes.
Baker’s argument for why we need another bullpen arm is a bit specious IMO. He cherry-picks stats showing each guys weakness as proof we need another shut-down relief ace. Of course, everyone wants more good pitchers in every role. It’s just that the bullpen should be about 4th on the to-do list, after starting pitching, better outfield defense and offense. (#2 by the way is easily fixable, for obvious reasons.) The bullpen is not the problem.
So having failed in my quest to find the number of pitches JLo actually sees per at bat, I’ve started looking at his numbers over at THT. IF/F-17.1%, GB%-46.6, LD-16%, BABIP-.282. While the only thing that struck me as sucktitude was the infield flies (Yuni’s IF/F is only 16.7%), the sucktitude seems to come from TERRIBLE patience at the plate. He’s on pace for 24 walks this season… 24! And he’s not striking out much, pacing for around 67. If you need to pull a pitch to hit for power… wouldn’t it be logical to wait for a pitch you can pull?
Can we not call Jose Lopez JLo? Co-opting other famous people’s nicknames is just so wrong…especially when the gender is off by a magnitude of ..say completely and utterly stupendously silly amounts.
Wow… Lopez’ July looks to be scores worse than Sexson or Ibanez could even dream of. We should be dog-piling on him. Put Vidro at 2b!
;P
I have no statistical evidence to back it up, but I do know that I have hollared ‘take a damn pitch’ at him, frequently.
A lot.
Turbo at second? I’m sure the pitchers would love that.
Mac’s “non-platoon” will be tested on Sat. and Sun. when the M’s face Beckett and Dice-K. (At least I think they do. I am not sure of the order.) Remembering the Reed-WFB non-platoon platoon sure makes me happy that Ichiro is in CF.
Cleveland’s knotted up with Texas in the 8th
Maybe calling him Little Jose Lopez will imbue him with a Cora-esque patina.
Hooray for Broussard!!! I just don’t think they wanted to see Sexson get below .200, haha.
I slam Vidro as often as the next guy, but nothing would make me happier than hearing that this morning he woke up doing squats and shouting, “My knees are back! My knees are back! Holy cow, my knees are back!” If Vidro was our 2B that would be awesome.
It’s Vidro the DH that makes me sour.
I don’t hate Vidro. I hate Vidro’s playing DH.
It may seem as though Sexson is on pace for maybe the worst year ever?
Baker’s argument is that with all the deficiencies and inconsistencies in the starting rotation that the M’s will have to shorten the game to six innings or less most nights and they’ll need all the arms they can get in the bullpen. Can’t say I disagree with that or his puzzlement at the notion that standing pat was enough for this team to make a legit playoff run. I just don’t see it, even if Jones is called up tomorrow.
The M’s are streaky as hell so maybe they’re about to go on another run, but they could just as easily go the opposite direction. One more six or seven game losing streak and the M’s are done.
THT has P/PA in their stats, dislo. It’s in the “THT Stats” box (the second set from the top). However, it’s for the whole year and not broken out in monthly splits. He’s seeing the same number of pitches (3.6) per plate appearance as last year. His walks are way down in July though, just 1 in 98 PA. The other thing that’s way down is is BABIP (.225 for July) so some of it may just be bad luck.
happy Felix Day everyone.
quick 0-2 gotta love that.
Every team in the majors is “streaky as hell.” I’ve never understood this claim that all fans seem to make at one point or another. Every team has winning and losing streaks all season, often at awesome (or demoralizing) streaks.
That said, I understand Baker’s argument while politely disagreeing with his conclusion.
Ah, Groundball Felix. You are awesome.
Long Live the King!
Sweet! FELIX!
Wow, juicy. Keep it up Felix.
Vlad is looking Sexsonastic.
Sure the Mariners need to improve, and maybe they can’t improve enough just by calling up Jones. But you can’t force the solutions to be available by trade when they aren’t there. You can’t be so desperate to make a move that you make a bad trade just to do something. That’s how organizations go from bad to worse.
Motion is not by itself a positive.
I close my eyes and pray . . . King Felix for the whole game!
A lot to say about anyone who can make Vlad look that bad.
El Rey!
They sure are pushing Vidro on us during the FSN broadcasts. How many times do I have to be told he’s hitting x for y period of time?
Just for comparison’s sake, take a look at “little jose lopez”‘s numbers against Sexsons. You tell me who is the bigger black hole…
LJL- OPS of .665
Big Sexson- .698 (doing that with a 200 BA)
Now obviously we want more production from first, but little jose lopez and his middle infied buddy yuni are killing rallies left and right. Especially considering the lack of pitches they require to get out.
8 pitches, all strikes. can’t get much better.
Every team in the majors is “streaky as hell.†I’ve never understood this claim that all fans seem to make at one point or another. Every team has winning and losing streaks all season, often at awesome (or demoralizing) streaks.
The ’01 M’s, from what I remember, were strangely not streaky. They actually seemed to play pretty consistantly at their overall winning percentage through most of the season. But then, that was an insane season and has little to do with normal baseball.
But yeah, when your chances of winning a game are somewhere around .5, and you play 162 games in a row, you’re extremely likely to have patches of 5-10 wins or losses in a row.
DMZ apparently at least one more time
1b, AL: .279 .352 .463
2b, AL: .279 .331 .387
Sooooo. Sexson is the answer to your question.
45- Tough to kill rallies when no one in front of you is on. They are not starting rallies might be more appropriate.
According to what I just read, that hideous bridge collapse in Minneapolis included a lot of Twins fans heading for a game. Tomorrow’s game has been canceled.
Sweet Vidj! Seriously… as a DH I could live without him hitting for power if he’d hit for a .330 BA. He’s just miserable and not fun to watch.
It’s his birthday and we still didn’t call him up? Well, now they’re just being mean.
Nice delayed call by Niehaus.
Here is the ultimate pants-crotch-kick the Mariner’s FO could bring us:
The Mariners enter september 2.5 back of the Angels. Rosters expand. They call up Adam Jones.
Adam Jones plays almost every day.
Now that’d be some irony.
That was a delayed call by several seconds.
33
Thanks a ton, don’t know how I missed that one! Checking… and… ahhh there is yuni with a 3.3P/PA!
FUNK BLAS…..ahhh crap
Park effect special for Guillen. That ball was smoked.
Not only was Lopez terrible, but so was Kenji…I hope they both can pick it back up.
The Angels seem to be pulling a Mariner, and not working the count
Not to throw dirt on 8 pitch 8 strike innings, but he only threw 1 non 2 seamer fastball by Gameday’s account.
holy shit that was awesome.
Yuni-Glover!
Is that an out-of-zone play?
Good play by Betancourt or bad call by Niehaus?
WOW. Yuni has crazy range.
65: Great play by Betancourt, bad throw on the run, great scoop by Broussard. That should have been a hit.
Incredible play by Betancourt, but almost as great a stretch/pick by Broussard.
Broussard, the Gold Glover?
Nice to see the M’s brought their gloves to work today
Broussard! YES!
McLaren’s feeling like a genius right now.
They are looking pumped for this game like Monday night.
If I’m Sexson, I’m starting to chew the bench. Broussard is doing a heck of a job auditioning for 1st Base.
Well Broussard flashes the leather in the top half, lets see if he can bring the lumber in the bottom half.
5 grounders and a K? Beautiful.
35: “Every team in the majors is “streaky as hell.†I’ve never understood this claim that all fans seem to make at one point or another. Every team has winning and losing streaks all season, often at awesome (or demoralizing) streaks.”
How many teams have had two six game losing streaks and a seven game losing streak and are still in contention?
61 Dwez:
The Angels are known as a pitch-taking team. You’ve gotta throw them fastballs early until they show they’ll swing early in the count. When Anderson was first pitch swinging, the very next guy got a first pitch breaking ball.
If Jon Daniels can do it, so can Bill Bavasi with Richie Sexson, Jose VIdro and Raul Ibanez:
CLEVELAND (AP) — Sammy Sosa’s climb up the home run chart is about to slow down.
Sosa was told in a long, closed-door meeting Wednesday that his playing time will be cut, one day after the Rangers traded away two other established stars.
“They have young kids they want to see,†Sosa said. “Once in a while, I’ll be playing. I don’t have a problem with it.â€
“I feel great. If I didn’t want to play, I’d leave right now. I know I have a couple years (left). I’ll stick around here until the season is over and then whatever happens, happens.â€
Sosa leads the last-place Rangers with 16 homers and 70 RBIs, but has seen his average drop to .239 after reaching a season-high .278 on May 11. He hit his 600th career homer June 20 and currently has 604.
The 38-year-old Sosa is batting only .182 (6-for-33) in 10 games since July 16. He was not in the starting lineup Wednesday despite having a career average of .385 (5-for-13) with three homers and five RBIs against Cleveland’s Paul Byrd.
“We’ll give Sammy at-bats here and there and when someone needs a rest,†general manager Jon Daniels said. “Sammy is a pro, a guy who has proven a lot of people wrong this year.â€
Slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira went to Atlanta and closer Eric Gagne moved to Boston in deals Tuesday that brought catcher-first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia, left-hander Kason Gabbard and six minor leaguers.
First-year manager Ron Washington told Sosa about that team’s new direction.
“It was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do,†Washington said. “He’s a Hall of Famer and we’re asking him to take a lesser role.â€
Oh my god, Niehaus is talking about Run Differential.
In what world are the Angels known as a pitch-taking team?
BABIP looks to be going up today… we’re finding some holes! BTW I’m done with my LJL (all credit to #28) bashing, hopefully before people see my screen name and associate it with that. Hopefully he’ll get August started right!
Great baserunning Beltre!
KENJI JOHJIMA!
My Oh My Kenji woke up!
Impressed by Broussard’s “D” already.
Here’s the formula for determining if he can ever win a gold glove:
# Of Gold Gloves Already Won + Home Runs + (Web Gems * 4) – Errors
—
I think the answer is no.
This ump has a very wide zone, all our leftys have been put in holes with his calls. See if they adjust next time up.
Nice job Kenji, a clutch hit. Got a hitters count and did something with it finally.
Think the Rangers will try and get Sammy through waivers? Would anybody want him?
I knew there was a reason I mentioned his slump….can you say reverse jinx?
Lopez has strung together an awful lot of horrible ABs lately.
w00t
Yuni!
Yuni that-my-bat-in-court
Nice range by G.A. on that one, thanks for the seeing-eye double.
M’s look like a playoff team tonight.
tough series for the weavers
Oops, sorry for the no caps.
> tough series for the weavers
Comment of the night, so far.
How many teams have had two six game losing streaks and a seven game losing streak and are still in contention?
Just looking at the Yankees, they have losing streaks of 7, 5, and 5, if my quick count is correct. So that’s only two fewer “streak losses” than the M’s. The Yankees also have a handful of winning streaks. With 162 games, you’re going to lose games in bunches and win games in bunches. The Mariners have done both, as have the Yankees. Both teams are in contention.
I wonder what Mr and Mrs Weaver look like. They have an unattractive brood.
Well struck, Yuni.
Anderson sure took his sweet time getting to that ball (he misplayed Kenji’s double as well). Raul many not have been able to cut that ball off, but you know he’d be running all out for it.
Oops, forgot to close my tag thing.
Boo ya, The King got a 3 spot of support. Now he needs to start twisting the dagger. No messing around go right at em.
Haha, yeah…those ladies do look mighty inviting…mmmmm.
Oh, yeah, baseball, go Felix!!!
#99: Scrawny, anyway. If I was Jared, I’d be looking for a different haircut so I didn’t look so much like Jeff Jr.
Rich Ankiel is that answer to your trivia question. Kudos to whomever mentioned it last night.
My guess is Terrence Long
Jones would have run all the way from LF to catch that one.
oops, got the wrong league on the clue. Kudos to Ankiel.
Good call Blow!
nice scoop LJL
Felix is in a groove with a three run lead. Life is good. So far.
Felix is making quick work of these Angels.
Mariner outfielders need to start looking for dandelions and other weeds in the grass in order to earn their pay on the defensive end. Or they could wash the owners’ cars ala Marge Schott.
Sweet! Texas has scored 2 in the top of the 10th to take the lead on Cleveland!
Is this the same Felix that made the Red Sox look stupid silly earlier in the season?
Was that a balk?
Amazing that Ankiel is putting up those kind of numbers as a hitter. I was living in St. Louis when he had his famous meltdown.
113 What do you think Ibanez has been doing in LF all season? You really didn’t think he was actually playing defense, did you?
116 – someone has to be on base for it to be a balk
Holy cow all the losers on this team are really coming through!
Ra_l raked that ball to center
I spell “Guillen” with one “u.”
I was sure Matthews was going to get to that. Raul pummeled that.
Okay, so adding Lopez to the list of people playing terribly, we now have:
Ibanez
Johjima
Lopez
Yuni
Sexson
Vidro (for his position)
Maybe we’re just not a playoff team this year if we have that big of a hole in our offense. Adam Jones isn’t going to make up for the shortcomings of all those people. Or maybe July was just the perfect storm of bad month’s for guys.
They’re all looking great tonight, strangely.
Jim Edmonds woulda dove for that.
Anyone else hear McLaren yelling “Told ya, told ya!”?
119-
I realize that, but then wouldn’t they count it for a ball? I’m just not too refreshed on the balk rule
Beltre appealing his own checked swings is just the goofiest thing ever.
A balk is a rule designed to prevent the pitcher from deceiving baserunners. If there are no baserunners, there is no balk.
120, Sexson isn’t in the lineup.
I really don’t like the home plate ump tonight.
Can we steal a base on that wind up? Weaver’s a righty so stealing third might not be in the cards, but we should be able to take second for days.
128 – He also called himself safe at home.
Ok. Thanks 129. I always thought it would be a ball. Thanks for the clear-up.
DMZ: “In what world are the Angels known as a pitch-taking team?”
That would be the world of fetish.
Based on slight acquaintance it seems only distantly connected to reality.
Broussard! *prays for more Big Ben playing time*
Probably should’ve slid there Ibanez….
Weaver part deux is even crappier than the prequel
We should go thank the Weavers for having another kid that can self-destruct on the mound.
Brussard with the Charlie Browner. Nice piece of two strike hitting.
This goes back to the pre-game thread, but I remember that in mid-June Lopez’s brother passed away and it has been a downhill slide for him since then.
Here in Cleveland, the Indians are giving away the game in the 10th!
It’s too bad McLaren can’t put Reitsma in to turn this game around.
134: No problem, though I should note I’m no expert. There are times when a pitcher can be punished for breaking certain rules even without runners on base, but I’m not too up on that. Wikipedia has an explanation, but I’m not sure how much I trust it. You could probably look it up in the MLB rules. There’s a link on the side of the USSM homepage.
[expletive] jose lopez (doesn’t deserve capitals in his name)
His name…is Bootcheck!
141 – Good point about the death of Lopez’ brother. That could explain a lot.
It is really nice to see that Bad Weaver can be genetic.
Teej-
Dont really care that much. I trust you. I played in highschool and seem to remember something like that happening and a team mate got a balled called. I realize that the rules may be different and whatnot. Eh, it’s not a rule that I need to learn at all, other than what you’ve told me.
I am sure the death of his brother weighs heavy on the kid who just happens to be 3500 miles from home. Imagine having that happen and not being able to go home…pretty tough.
Ahhhh sweet, sweet revenge for yesterday. I love the taste of your tears Angels.
*waits for M’s to blow it*
If Adam Jones was in LF the King would still have a no-no.
Air Ibanez!
AJ would have had that catch
I’d much rather have Jered than Jeff though. You don’t suppose that if Jeff shaved his beard we could switch with the Angels when they left town without them noticing? You know, a Parent Trap kind of thing?
This may just be something that you say in Little League, but it looks like Lopez is dropping his shoulder. Perhaps we can give a letter to Pentland.
Im just gonna guess that Jones woulda caught that. With his teeth.
Adam Jones saves the perfect game!
In our dreams…
but nobody would have had that
Any reason why they didn’t let Lopez go home to mourn with his family?
Was that play in left as bad as it sounded on XM radio?
Oh look a ball in left Raul couldn’t get to.
Oh shit
Ahhhhh!
God save us!
oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit
Sweet Jesus. Be okay fellas.
holy crap
…oh for the love of…
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no
OH CRAP FELIX?!?!
This blog will explode in 3.. 2…
oh fuck
This is terrible. It’s all Raul’s fault for not catching the bleeder.
Richie wouldn’t have run into Felix.
Seattle exhales.
Ugh. Can we get some more intelligent scoring rules? Vlad’s going to get a double and an RBI out that? Ridiculous.
How about something like a “team error” to account for the situation?
Who ran to pick up the ball? Did the Angels hold the man at 3rd because they were down?
Somebody get Raul a bigger glove.
i didn’t see anyone. It might have been out of respect
The ball rolled out of play.
Well, the first run is Raul’s fault.
The second one is Felix’ fault for acting like an infielder and trying for a ball that should have been Ben’s.
ICHIROUT!
ICHIRO!
YES Ichiro & Kenji! Yeah baby!
Can somebody give us Gameday viewers a summary of the Guerrero play?
STRRRRIIIIIIKKKKKEEEE – by Ichiro
I heart Ichiro!
So thats a ground rule double then?
Ichiro says NO RUN FOR YOU!
Don’t run on that arm. I HEART ICHI
Hey, let’s sign this CF we got to a multi-year deal, he’s kinda good!
well, that was all rather unexpected.
#159– He could have gone home, the Mariners offered, but he wouldn’t have made it in time for the funeral, and his family told him to stay & play.
well, who else’s offense can they talk about?
A nice bit of verse by Rizzs:
What a throw
by Ichiro
to get Guerrero
at home.
Personal thank you to Jesus for not taking Felix from us.
Thanks J-man
Vlad chopped one high off the plate that both Ben and Felix went for. Felix ran into Ben and Ben threw a high elbow (hockey style) unintentionally. Both went down and the ball bounced into the dugout. Felix was down for a while but got back up.
Ichiro says: All your base are belong to me!
Can somebody give us Gameday viewers a summary of the Guerrero play?
Shallow fly ball to center, Vlad tagged and tried to score. Throw by Ichiro was on the money, somewhat of a collision at home and Kenji ended up laying on top of the plate, head toward third, with the ball underneath him somewhere. Ump walks around to the front of Kenji to make sure he still has the ball, then makes the out call.
so who owes Felix a run? Raul? Ben? both of them?
What a throw by Ichiro! I love how Vlad laughed as he realized he was out.
Why does Vidro swing every time that Ichiro tries to steal? That really gets on my nerves
The Weaver bros are taking a beating.
VIDRO-PONG! VIDBALL WIZARD!
Roll that one up and smoke it, Weave.
Felix ran into Ben and Ben threw a high elbow (hockey style) unintentionally
Not what I saw on TV. They showed several replays. Ben saw Felix coming out of the corner of his eye, and at the last second fell away from the onrushing Felix.
Looked to me like Felix took a knee to the stomach or chest.
195, 197: Thanks. I got my money out of that question.
For Gamedayers, Weaver just took one off the foot and it got by Izturis. Ichiro to third. He’s still gonna pitch
We really need to buy this Weaver a fruit basket.
I don’t think Ben owes Felix anything. That play was closer to first base than it was to the mound. Felix wasn’t thinking when he was going after it.
204 – Hmm, I thought it was an elbow, but I only saw it twice…
Yeah, it looked like a knee got Felix in the ribs in the replays; and from Felix rubbing them when he got up. Probably knocked the breath right out of him.
and the threat is once again de-fused.
204- Sure looked liked a tucked in elbow/shoulder to me.
Guillen is a class act.
Looked to me like Felix took a knee to the stomach or chest.
Or just below the belt.
Is anyone else stuck with the Angels’ broadcast? Because listening to this dude talk about how well Ibanez played that first hit last inning was excruciating.
The only announcer I like less than this guy works for the White Sox.
Ichiro, that throw couldn’t have been better. How perfect a double play that was.
Is anyone else stuck with the Angels’ broadcast?
Extra Innings has the M’s announcers today, thankfully.
That strike zone is… generous.
I went back to Tivo and you guys were right, it was probably a right arm to the ribs, as Ben was falling away slower than Felix was running.
Looked to me like Felix took a knee to the stomach or chest.
I went to a fight, and a baseball game broke out!
215 – I’m listening to Hudler spew garbage, he is so bad i miss the M’s crew.
After following a chopper all the way to first and barely surviving, and then trying to barehand a ground right now, next inning Felix will try to catch up a pop fly behind the plate with his mouth.
I’m not sure how you are getting knee out of that. It seems pretty clearly a tucked shoulder.
I’m watching the Angels broadcast on mute.
Is that Rex Hudler the Wonder Dog you’re talking about? NO ONE likes him on-air…
222, see 218.
Tit for Tit!
216 – Ah. That’s blacked out here in Los Angeles. I’m stuck with this… bad announcer.
I wonder how many jelly beans could fit in Dave Sims’ head.
Apparently they forgot about the Ichiro DP already, that was not the first of the night.
#228 – 2,238
224 – Yes, that’s the one. He beats out only “The Hawk” in my book.
222 – Ah, gotcha. Sorry, I type too slow.
Sims hasn’t been saying as many goofy off-the-cuff remarks lately. I’m sadly disappointed.
Jones, Wlad both have bombs tonight.
#229: Very good point. I guess that spectacular throws from center field aren’t as impressive as basic infield dp’s.
Good for the Rainiers. I’m glad they have such a talented team.
Is whoever the hell we got for Mateo in Tacoma or did they put him in AA?
Good for the Rainiers. I’m glad they have such a talented team.
If only we could fleece them of some of their better players, offering, say Ellison and Bloomquist in return.
I know TGF… if only Bavasi could somehow send some players to them, and they send some back. If only there was a way.
Hudlers remark about Lopez’s fine play. “Felix has these guys in the right place at the right time. Their hitting it hard at people.”
I’m pretty sure that was the first well struck ground ball.
That’s Bavasi’s Problem! He thinks he has to trade between the MLB club and the manager of the AAA club! He just doesn’t want to give up any of his AA prospects!
192 Hey thanks for replying! I thought my question got lost in the shuffle of compubox scores for the Broussard/Hernandez fight.
BTW I had it 115 to 113 in favor of Broussard.
236:
“Traded RHP Julio Mateo to the Phillies for SS Jesus Merchan. Assigned Merchan to Double-A West Tennessee.”
Just announced — Schilling will pitch Sunday.
And we get to miss Bedard again, our luck is improving.
Wow that was a wicked pitch.
Some good emotion from the King today
Anybody else noticing Felix keeps grabbing his left pectoral area, or upper rib cage after some of his pitches? Watch.
247 – I see it too. Most likely some bruising after that collision. I don’t think it is anything serious. He is still getting it up to 99 MPH
Thanks, was just wondering if that was part of his normal routine, hadn’t seen him do that before. Let’s hope he keeps up the good work, and most importantly is healthy at the end of this one. Go M’s!
Kenji-san, so slow.
Nice thing about being a SP, Felix gets a few days to recover from that collision. He’ll feel that in the morning (and every minute leading up to the morning).
I just feel sorry for anyone that runs into Weaver the younger – he looks like a rather sharp-boned fellow.
Um, is this Felix or Dick Clark in uniform? http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/sea/images/auctions/ph_felixbobble_360x504.jpg
Is that Bonds at bat and Selig at the park? Whoa.
Yuni loves hopping around the batters’ box.
Adam Jones with a bases loaded double
252: Maybe they’ve got Giant Generic Bobblehead night coming up.
Maybe AJ has to hit .400 to be brought up?
Adam Jones would have gotten to that.
Dammit.
Ah man
King go Boom
Uh, oh. Doesn’t feel like a 1 run game, but it is.
Garrett Anderson = Mariner Killer
Is it too early to bring JJ in?
Felix hung that one but he has been unlucky today. Man
We still have Sean Green. We are all good
We will see how much Felix has matured here since that blow up in Toronto.
the REAL felix finally shows up.
HE SUCKS!!
268- I wish we had 5 guys that sucked like him.
268 – I hope you are joking
Filthy
You’re right, ryans. That curve to Matthews sucks. It dropped a few feet!!
joking fellas…joking.
Well he kept his composure. Our boy may be growing up.
Whenever he gives up a home run it’s usually on that no movement high slider/change…
I feel that a 52-year-old Garret Anderson (or a 70-year-old Vlad Guerrero, for that matter) would still hit M’s pitching hard.
276 – Have you watched this series (or game) at all? Before the game Vlad was 1-9 (infield single) and tonight he hasn’t gotten the ball out of the infield.
ryans- Felix doesn’t suck. He’s young and inexperienced sure and makes mistakes sometimes, but he doesn’t suck. In a few years I can see him being one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Considering neither of those runs in the 4th were a result of shoddy fielding, he’s not pitching very badly tonight, even with the hiccup in the 7th.
It’s “Battle of the Infield Hits” tonight.
Vidro flashin’ the gams!
277 – Have you been watching Vlad vs. M’s for the past 3+ seasons?
SAFE! – From yet another GIDP!
I am really getting sick of the scoring in baseball these days. That was an error.
Woot, not a 1 run game anymore. Phew
Wow, Vidro is very lucky…he almost single handedly ruined another inning.
Who want’s to bet that Ibanez said “you pitch like your brother” to Weaver?
Weaver and Ibanez had words?
Almost a donnybrook there. Good thing we have our enforcer Ellison in the dugout.
Good to see Guillen hitting some RHP.
Weaver kicked Guillens bat on his way to back up the play and it hit Ibanez. Nothing happened.
“Having words” is probably the best way to describe it
#285, ndrfx:
Ichiro almost single handedly led off with a groundout.
eddings is the umpire in mlb with 65% or higher strikes called this season.
Congrats to Ichiro, he is not the current AL batting leader.
eddings is the only umpire in mlb with 65% or higher strikes called this season.
Grammar check I meant “now” instead of “not”.
Come on Beltre. Put this game out of reach.
Darren Oliver vs a right hander has mistake written all over it.
Weaver kicked Guillens bat on his way to back up the play and it hit Ibanez. Nothing happened.
Ichiro (who had just scored) gave Ibanez a little pat and told him to chill.
What the hell?
Oh my god.
OH GOOD CALL, what the freaking hell? Sexson for Broussard, someone go in there and slap McLaren in the ballbag.
Why?
If the game was 10-3 Sexson would hit a 3 run home run.
#290, krb:
“Weaver kicked Guillens bat on his way to back up the play and it hit Ibanez. . . .”
That Jered Weaver, he’s no Roger Clemens.
I fall under the Hate Sexson category, but I like this move… I think.
I swear if Darren Oliver gets out of this inning…
Does Raul’s performance tonight mean we are going to see him batting 4th consistently yet again?
oh, bullshit call
He’s below .200….sweet.
And…Richie slips back below the M-line.
Ibanez and Sexson are so NOT major league hitters anymore. And they are the heart of our order. How the h-e-double-hockey-stick are we still in the race(s)?
oh wow, look at that, what a surprise.
I was in a good mood tonight too. Thanks Richie.
Richie Suckson?!?!? That is worse than Bustre.
Wow McLaren just couldn’t resist getting the veteran Sexson into the lineup tonight. I actually feel bad for Broussard.
Someone tell McLaren he is not a bench coach anymore. You don’t have to appease every player on the team. If they suck, don’t play them. It’s that simple. Now that you are acting manager your job is to put the best team possible out there every day and give your team the best possible chance to win.
Did Felix really just throw 99 on his 103rd pitch?
i feel sorry for Sexson… he’s probably thinking his career is almost over. he’s definitely feeling a lot of pressure. its just too bad.
In regards to my 306 comment. I don’t like the PH anymore.
This year Olivers BAA is .404 vs. lefties and a few points higher over his career. You have to look at the stats McLaren not just the handedness.
The radar gun is “fast” today.
Oh right, forgot about the -3 mph thing for FSN.
Still 96 on your 103rd is pretty dam sweet.
Mariners switch to the fast gun sometime early in this season. Don’t know why.
Anybody else’s MLB.tv not connecting? It was working fine for me at work just an hour or so ago. Now at home it’s being lame, but all my other Internets are working fine.
Anyway, just figured I’d check.
You know I just don’t comprehend the Sexson PH decision? I can’t think of any favorable matchup for a guy that stinks to high heaven against both LH and RH pitching and to top it off is batting .199? WTF over?
324- It’s gold for me.
I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, but Jones was just removed from the Rainiers game for no apparent reason.
Anyone else watching baseball tonight? They just showed that the Indians lose, and they go…the Yankees are only 2 games back? What about the gosh darn Mariners? We are about to be 0.5 back? No mention…grrrr….
YUNI!
Yuni’s running is funny.
I might be a little late to the debate..due to some cigar smoking, leaving me outside. I would have.
Pinch hit Ellison for Ibanez and bunted…Then you have second and third with one out and a two run lead. Plus you have taking our worst fielder out.
326: Thanks. I think it’s something with my firewall. Just kinda weird ’cause it worked fine yesterday.
Oh well. Go Yahoo StatTracker!
328- Thats how it has always been.
Ichiro does not appear to see the ball off of K-Rod very well.
327 What are they going to fly him in on a helicopter for the 9th inning?
That seemed a bit too high risk.
I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, but I just saw Richie out on Royal Brougham sobbing with a 40 in hand.
Tgf… maybe they’re just trying to get his hopes up?
Ichiro!!
That is HUGE!!! Who says he’s not worth his new contract?
ICHIROIDS FEEL GREAT!
mmm….insurance. And off K-Rod too. Sweetness.
A three run lead with JJ waiting in the pen. I like our chances.
MVP.
Yuni made that hapen babby.
336- K-Rod can be really wild so even with two outs that is not a horrible play.
335- Maybe let him catch a late flight to SeaTac? I wasn’t thinking about getting him here for today’s game!
When do the Yankees stop playing AA teams and start to play real baseball teams?
PUTZ TIME!!
/game.
319- Tough to feel sorry for a guy that is making 15 million per year.
337-Good, when he’s good and drunk, could you get him a hooker and make sure there are some reporters there to take it all in?
here comes putz
The Yuni steal was great base running. K-Rod in a 0-2 count usually throws that big slider in the dirt.
347 I didn’t realize the Rainiers were playing out of town tonight. My mistake.
Biggest win of the year so far if J J can hold them off.
351 – Let’s make it a 22 year old lumberjack named “Josh”.
No throw yet again on the SB attempt. I know it’s CI in the ninth, but it’s a disturbing trend.
#325: Richie’s splits in that situation are better than Ben’s both for their careers and for this season.
JJ, stop messing around.
I’ll disagree. The comeback win against Oakland on Sunday was bigger IMO. At the end of the season they’re all wins, but if they lose that one they go in against the Angels at 5 back. I mean, tonights important too, but that Sunday win was Big.
356- Deal.
JJ, these guys can hit that high fast ball. Word on the street is you got a nasty splitter to throw them…
Cmon JJ put ‘em away…
Shit.
Argh!
PUTZ???? NOOOOOOO
Oh No.
UGH! Anyone notice in the M’s dugout, the piece of paper the lists the umpires reads “Umpires” – in quotes?
JJ see 363!!
F’ing Gary Matthews. Of course.
354- Actually, it was my mistake. They’re in Tacoma.
Well I guess it was bound to happen some time, time to get the rally caps on. Yikes!
that was also all rather unexpected.
I call a Beltre walkoff here.
Whatever happened to JJ’s split? That was his worst-pitched inning this year, lots of high, floating fastballs.
That wouldn’t have happened if the Ms would’ve hade Reyes to bridge the 8th inning to Putz…
Matthews clearly owns Putz, and what do they do? Do they work around Matthews and maybe put him on first? Oh, no, of course not. That was one of the stupidest moves I’ve seen yet.
That doesn’t even make sense 377
You don’t put on the tying run on base in the ninth with two outs. He got beat.
358 I’m not saying you’re wrong YET, but can you show me how you figure that THIS SEASON Sexson and not Broussard is the better person to have AB with 2 outs and a RISP against a LH pitcher?
How many teams would put the tying run on in the 9th especially when first isn’t open?
Weak!
379: I’m pretty sure he was joking
HUGE!!!
3 HRS in two games for Matthews? Wake up Selig it’s time to test this bozo again.
Vlad has to be the last person I want to see up to bat here. I vote walk and bring in GS52.
What do you do here? I dunno.
Vlad… definitely not a guy you want to face in this situation
Why didnt they leave Putz in there?? I mean K Rod has been two innings??
Why didnt they leave Putz in there?? I mean K Rod has been two innings??
ok my heart was in my throat
Walk him and let George square off on Anderson, IMO.
Thanks for sliding into first Vlad.
Guerrero was safe, but I’ll take that.
That was great hands by Lopez!
Guerrero has been safe and called out twice in this game. Wow!
Heart Attach!! This game is a pain! I just hope it hurts so good at the end.
WOW, HOLY SHIT!!!!! THANKS FOR SLIDING VLAD!
It’s small sample size theatre but in ’07 Broussard has had 11 AB against lefties. Defer to their careers and it’s not even close.
Sexson earn your f’ing money.
Dude..my grandma could make more contact than Sexson right now
TRUE THAT 401
Nice hit Joe Jimma (why can’t they pronounce his name correctly?).
couldnt have said it better myself, guy makes me sick with his huge contract
Ironic, a 6’8″ hitter out on a come backer by a leaping pitcher.
You don’t put on the tying run on base in the ninth with two outs. He got beat.
Matthews is hitting something over .700 against JJ and had two HR against him. Why pitch to him?
Yes, he got beat. He predictably got beat. How is Izturis hitting against Putz?
Kenji, busting out when we need him! LJL here is your moment to shut us the hell up, please do it!
When was the last time we cared this much about a game in August?
Come on Scrappy, 90 more feet!
The booing of Sexson is classless by the fans.
You boo for poor effort, not a poor performance(s). It’s not like hes trying to hurt the club, he’s just bad.
Nice hitting by Johjima with two strikes, lets see if Lopez can get one of his pop-ups to the outfiled.
I remember playing Little League with all & fielders in the infield
I remember playing Little League with all 8 fielders in the infield
What a wild infield
why not walk lopez to set up a DP?
$AR#$)##*)%#%)#*)%
Goddamnit what was that
D’oh! x 1,000
WHY????????????????????????????????? A SAC FLY WINS IT
YOU F*** WILLIE
Tried to stab at it. Never works…. Bunting 101
Would been a DP anyhow, as it turns out.
I can’t stomach this game. Gotta turn it off.
Thats something you boo, a major leaguer has to get that down. B/S Lopez.
Dave just screamed Yes! & NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! all in the same syllable no doubt….
Instead of a suicide squeeze, it was more like a suicide bluff.
Or just plain suicide.
400 OK Terry you’re wrong about this season, but you’re right about overall career averages. Sexson has a 30 point advantage over Broussard against LH pitching but in reality they both have stunk against LH pitching career wise. You still haven’t sold me into believing that the PH decision by McLaren was justified. The results of Broussard meager 11ABs this season against LH pitching is enough for me to believe he’s the better option than Sexson. Sorry.
423, YOOOOOOOOOOOO
Like the announcers said, You use the suicide squeez for the element of surprise…Winning run on 3rd is no surprise, you hit the ball basically anywhere past the picther..ball game. One of the most idiotic calls I have ever seen
Oh my God. McLaren is a fawking idiot.
Morrow version 2.0 on the hill
I would have left Georgie in….even before the walk.
You’re in the 11th with a tied game and you can’t leave Sherrill in for more than 2 batters?!
It’s like everyone is trying to lose but keeps on failing.
This ump is perfect for Morrow’s control.
428 – agreed. Squeeze with Ichiro up? Ok. Suicide squeeze with Lopez up? Not ok.
dude morrow just owned that guy!!!!
How many pitches is this guy going to foul off?
how come the mariners never have a young guy that works the count like willits
YES!
Dear god, a run please. I can’t take much more of this.
Lucky – that looked like ball 4 he hit.
Willits, the most annoying player since Mark Ellis…
Watch Vidro get the game winning hit.
Alright that is enough quasi heart attacks for the night, how about we get a run right here!
Why is Richie in the game?
I think Yuni is starting to become a professional hitter…he’s not wailing at the first pitch as often, and seems to be trying to work counts more. Hopefully this will continue.
445- Because really heats up in the second half.
Get him in..
I predict Ichiro will be stealing
If Morrow had walked that run in, I was going to pack him in a crate and drop him off in front of Detroit’s front office and say “Aye believe you hab’ our draft choice. Our draft choice, aye believe you hab’ it.”
One dollar says Guillen wins it right now
Jose, the other team’s coach called you a bad name.
never mind
“Why is Richie in the game?”
I would suggest a minor correction:
“Why is Richie on this team?”
You’re welcome.
Ral, you can get your U back if you win this.
How many chances does this assclown get? He’d better produce here or be prepared for a load of abuse. There is no way he should be batting here.
Cmon Ibanez, show us why you deserve a bobblehead night!
C’mon, Raul!
curse you raul!!!
Adam Jones would have won it.
Beltre should be up there now, not Raul. Why did Mac change back, anyway, did he say?
He is not getting any gold stars today, is he?
Vlad trying to take another pitchers head off..
Angels 1-6 hitters: 13 for 31
the rest: 0 for 13
Almost supplying a facial?
See, Baker was right. We could use another reliever for this extra innings game.
On the other hand, if Jones had been playing LF, that first double probably would have been an out and we wound’t have gone extra…
Vlad just hit a pitch a foot below the strike zone and still hit it.
He can’t be human.
By the way, nice one 454.
Maybe Ellison can pitch hit for Richie?
Anderson’s hitting .317 against lefties.
Hey if we win in this inning, O’Flaherty will be 7-0.
I wonder if that’s been done, eh Dave Niehaus?
Good thing were off tomorrow.
c’mon adrian!!!
Just five words…
Raul Ibanez Voodoo Bobblehead Night
I’ll take it.
does Sexson konw how to BUNT??
Come on Sexson!
He’d probably miss the bunt too.
O’Flaherty is some kind of weird good luck charm…I hope.
Good thing were off tomorrow.
At this rate, we may still be playing tomorrow.
471, I like it.
Then they should have Adam Jones bobblehead night so they have to bring him up.
If Richie just doesn’t swing, maybe Beltre is safe at second on the steal…
curse you Richie!!!
At least we have Burkey.
I like Sexson as just a regular guy, and I even thought it would be nice to pick up a jersey in his honor on the merits of his career, but he just keeps making it harder and harder to root for him. I want to be there when we turns it around against, for example, the Angels, and wins the unwinnable game, so I can look at everybody and say “I told you so!” It just looks like that’s not gonna happen.
I like Sexson as just a regular guy, and I even thought it would be nice to pick up a jersey in his honor on the merits of his career, but he just keeps making it harder and harder to root for him. I want to be there when he turns it around against, for example, the Angels, and wins the unwinnable game, so I can look at everybody and say “I told you so!” It just looks like that’s not gonna happen.
478… remember when they had Gary Peyton bobblehead night about a week after the Sonics traded him?
Open for business.
Good ol’ Burke.
Redeem yourself Lopez
Pure power!
Suicide squeeze time!
Oh hey look bases loaded 1 out….SUICIDE SQUEEZE
Way to sacrifice your body for your team, Burkey.
Also, good legs, Jose!!!!
“The Irish Washerwoman”?
You think Yuni is anxious?
that was an intense game.
If management was using Raul/Richie right, then they could be very popular players right now, and helping the team.
If the platoons were on, everybody looks better and the team is better.
Management is to blame here.
C’mon Yuni!
GOG BLESS YOU YUNI!!!!!
Thank you, Yuni! It’s great to see the team so excited
We have a long way to go yet, but come September 30th, this game could be huge.
What an exciting game. Either team could have won 2 or three times before we did. Fortunately, we took it.
YES!!!!!! McLaren said Adam Jones got called up!!!!!!!!!!!!!
adam jones called up
Checkout Fangraphs… insane leverage in extra innings
Biggest contributor: Morrow
Biggets suckfests: Sexson, Ibanez, Vidro
goooooooo adam jonesssssssssss
I’ve got nothing. Just wanted to see this get to 500 posts.
I salute Jamie Burke for getting hit by a pitch. It helped. (.333)
Wow, Mac was really choked up. Was that solely for Ellison, do you think? Or does it have bigger meaning for, say, Raul?
AJ. Friday. Awesome.
Mac wouldn’t talk about Adam’s role until Friday. Should be interesting.
And way to go Beltre/Lopez/Yuni! Nice job.
Adam Jones Friday, Ellison DFA.
Have a happy Adam Jones Eve everybody!!!
Hmm, could it be the management is finally starting to get it? Platoon for Sexson/Broussard and calling up AJ?
Now would be a good time to start getting it if they have, because we have a chance starting now if we do things right.
1/2 a game back of Cleveland, now that’s just good times right there. This Boston series is gonna be equally huge with LA playing the A’s.
#504
That’s Ral-uuuuuuuu
I wonder if it sealed the deal for Mac when he found Ibanez up in the late innings/RBI opportunity facing a left hander, and absolutely no good pinch-hitting options at that point.
Although, I’m thinking the decision had been made before the game.
509. I’m sure it was earlier since Jones left the Raniers game early.
Lots of good news today! Now the blog can collectively smile
In one of the cutaway to commercial views of the dugout before the start of the game, I believe Ellison was going down the bench giving everybody a hug. He was in uniform, so maybe he found out right before gametime?
Any chance Ellison gets claimed or is he a lock to report to AAA?
Ellison, sorry you weren’t used very much, but your sticking up for Ichiro is still my most memorable moment of the season. Good luck wherever you end up.
I don’t know what is more relieving, Adam Jones being called up or the fact I don’t have to read “Free Adam Jones” comments anymore.
Hopefully he’s not in Seattle to play an Ellison role.
514
Unless Jones ends up being imprisoned on the bench, which, given many of the personnel moves we’ve seen… They wouldn’t do that, would they?
Oof. That was an exhausting game to attend. Awesome in the end, but I wish Putz could have pulled it off in the 9th. I never would have thought he would blow a 3-run lead. I couldn’t tell what he was throwing from my high-right-field perspective, but if he needs some splitter work I hope he gets it right quick.
514. STILL, an improvement for the team.
YAY ADAM JONES
Also, props to Jason Churchill for a nice piece that will soon lead to us clamoring for a Carlos Truinfel callup:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/326054_mfarm02.html
For those who have not seen Jones play, here’s a pretty good summary of his expected contribution to the team. I think it’s fairly accurate and even conservative in some areas.
http://prospectinsider.wordpress.com/2007/04/01/no-1-adam-jones-cf/
The way McLaren was getting choked up over the announcement, I get the impression Jones will be starting in left come friday and either Ibanez or Vidro will be taking a seat. My guess would honestly be Ibanez (even though it should be Vidro) because Vidro has played relatively well in the past few weeks, even if he doesn’t do his job as DH.
Defensively, Jones is a definite upgrade over Ibanez. Offensively, Jones shows the potential to be a strong power hitter in the Mariners lineup, which is exactly what we need. Oh, and he’s fast too, and has one hell of an arm.
There is a reason why every team we tried to deal with this season wanted him: he has an excellent skillset. If anyone thinks this is a bad move you need to pull your head out of your ass.
Nice news management of Adam’s call-up.
Lose, and it’s an instant pick-me-up for the off-day.
Win, and everyone’s getting an added high off the buzz.
Good work (at last).
Post-game question that I don’t know where else to put: Does anyone know whether the M’s games are on a radio station in/near Portland?
Thanks!
D’oh. Of course I should have looked on their site, which tells me KFXX 1080 Portland/Vancouver.
522 Comments ? Holy Cow!
How can I read all those when I’m trying to remember the Ortiz-Hollins trade—let alone forget it.
Yay for AJ Day! And he’s got #24… spooky.
Here’s hoping someone in management realizes that of the two DHs, Ibanez is the better one. I know that’s not saying a lot but the fact that Ibanez has twice as many XBHs as Vidro…
I’m preaching to the choir. Go Adam!
I’m totally with you, Ibanez should be playing DH and Vidro should sit, but I don’t see it happening because I think the management will put way too much stake in Vidro’s BA instead of his secondary stats.
I’m pretty sure he won’t be wearing #24…
But take a look at the stats:
Turbo – .306/.369/.372 OPS = .741
Ral – .253/.306/.389 OPS = .695
Raul is barely outslugging Vidro, but Raul’s .306 OBP is just amazing.
Looks like Turbo sucks just a bit less than Raul at this point.
527 – Well, to be fair, part of that is that Raul should simply not bat against left-handers. Make him DH against RH’s and his numbers make a little more sense.
Agreed. Choose the DH based on the best match-up. And it won’t hurt to have a decent AVG/OBP guy like Vidro on the bench.
Btw, today (or yesterday rather, the day of this game thread), was actually Jones Birthday, born August 1st, 1985. Ironic that he was called up on this day of all days.
Big props to #53 for (almost) callling it.
Lauren – Most M’s games are also on TV in Portland… FSNW or WB.
Ibanez vs. RHP: .256/.324/.428
Vidro vs. LHP: .326/.365/.368
It hurts to have that kind of production from DH. The league average OPS in 2006 from the DH was .841. So far this year, we have faced 78 RHP and 28 LHP, so if that trend continues, and Raul and Turbo keep hitting the way they have, we can expect a .747 OPS out of our DH, about 12.5% below league average. It’s a small upgrade there, but with Jones’ bat and glove added to the mix, it’s an obvious aggregate plus from here on out.
I missed the post game and didn’t know they called up AJ, we may see a playoff race, whoo hooo!
526. Didn’t he wear 25 when he was up last year?
perhaps Mac put Sexson in to PH just to underscore to him that he was hitting like crap … kind of like giving Felix the Open Letter.
btw, BBTN had a first-half montage of web-gems, and as far as I could tell (peering through the haze of the fancy-schmancy editing), the Mariners had one defensive play this season — Bloomquist twirling around at short
An amazing/exhausting game to watch as a fan. The kind you go to bed thinking about and wake up still thinking about. All events taken into account it was the best day of the season for the M’s though. Evidence of some conciousness of platoon splits, Jones’ callup, and the M’s beating and taking the series from the Angels.
PS – I found it pretty amusing to check back into the thread and see my post in number two deleted for thread jacking and the information in that post then included in the OP.
Jones Up Friday, per Geoff Baker.
McLaren won’t comment on Jones’ role when he arrives, and Jose Guillen is upset that they might mess with the team chemistry. Good times.
It looks like those tongue-in-cheek posts about AJ messing with team chemistry were spot on. From Rotoworld, “…the Seattle Times reports that several Mariners veterans are not happy that he’ll likely take the place of Jason Ellison while seeing regular playing time. Jose Guillen said Wednesday that he’s “pissed off” about the call-up, adding that “this team has been good with what we have and I don’t think that’s what we need.”
At this point, I could not possibly care less about the egos in the clubhouse.
Adam Jones being in the Mariners lineup gives the team its best chance to win, and the Mariners have worried too much about “team chemistry” for far too long.
Jose Guillen is an a-hole. What a jackass comment.
So, apparently this Jones guy is getting called up.
What’s the over/under on his .OPS with the club? I’ll start the bidding at .745.
Jose can just forget about that multi-year contract extension now. I would rather see Wlad there next year.
What’s the over/under on his .OPS with the club? I’ll start the bidding at .745.
IIRC, Dave pegged it somewhere around .800 + or -. I couldn’t find the link but it was somewhere in that neighborhood.
Guillen’s response was not that awful, you ask any other veteran in that club house especially Ral and you get the same reaction I bet. Those 13 guys have been together the last 5-6 months, if they welcomed some new guy for one of their own I think that would be a problem in chemistry.
The team is tight right now and Adam Jones has to play his way into that. Would you expect them to just greet a AAA player with open arms in a playoff race when he hasn’t done squat for the team this year?
Guillen’s response was not that awful, you ask any other veteran in that club house especially Ral and you get the same reaction I bet
I totally disagree. A real veteran wouldn’t make a comment like that — how would you like to be welcomed as a rookie to a club in a pennant race with that kind of comment?
Guillen is what he has always been — a selfish, obnoxious, loudmouth.
Great – Jones is finally getting called up and he is going to face alienation by at least part of the clubhouse? Yikes. Next, on ‘As the Mariners turn….’
DizzleChizzle: 11 at bats is meaningless as an indicator of anything. If that is a large enough sample size for you to use to color in game decisions, than you might as well be rolling dice and reading tea leaves.
Sexson’s career against lefties: OPS: .870
Broussard’s career against lefties: OPS: .697
Not only hasn’t Sexson sucked historically against lefties, he’s been so dramatically better against them than Broussard has that it’s almost unconscionable to consider batting Broussard in favor of Sexson in such a high leverage PA.
The decision to PH for Broussard in that situation was based upon sound logic.
Prepare yourselves for the new onslaught: the same people who were convincing us that Adam Jones needed to wait longer because of team chemistry and needing “the right moment” are now going to complain because we’re in a pennant race and the games are all important.
Would you expect them to just greet a AAA player with open arms in a playoff race when he hasn’t done squat for the team this year?
This is exactly why he should have been called up in June. He should have done squat by now. The fact that he hasn’t is the FO’s fault, not Adam Jones’ fault.
Also: if team chemistry can negatively affect performance, let’s guess what Raul’s OPS will be in August. .400, perhaps?
545 – A veteran did say that.
545- Guillen is just being the veteran they wanted him to be right? Rough on the edges says what he thinks. I would rather have that answer then some cookie cutter nice guy answer that doesn’t mean anything.
The veterans on this team don’t think they should be replaced, they have gotten this team 3 games and .5 games out of the races. They are a game away from a playoff team right now, I am guessing they don’t think they need help.
As for being welcomed as a rookie in a pennant race if you don’t think Adam Jones could handle being the odd man out then I hope you weren’t calling for him to be brought up. If you thought all the veterans would be happy about this move then I don’t know what to tell you.
As for being welcomed as a rookie in a pennant race if you don’t think Adam Jones could handle being the odd man out then I hope you weren’t calling for him to be brought up. If you thought all the veterans would be happy about this move then I don’t know what to tell you.
Did I expect them to be happy? No.
I wouldn’t expect Ibanez to be happy about his putrid performance over the last 2 months. I wouldn’t expect Guillen to be happy about his putrid performance against RHP, either.
But I would expect a little better reaction to Jones being promoted than a stomp-your-feet-and-threaten tirade. Well, then again, it is Guillen we’re talking about.
Bottom-line — If certain players were pulling their weight (Ibanez, Sexson), this wouldn’t even be an issue. They have nowhere to look but in the mirror. If they don’t like it, tough.
547 I don’t know what else to tell you. I agreed with your analysis however if I used Sexson’s career numbers as an indicator of when to play him, then he’d play over Broussard EVERY day. You’re telling me that I should roll dice???? The way Sexson is swinging the bat these days you might as well roll dice everytime he steps to the plate.
When you add sugar/splenda to your coffee you disrupt the chemistry. But it can also make it tast so much better. If the team starts doing better with AJ in left field…the chemistry becomes stronger and better. That’s just the way it works. If I’m a pitcher I want an outfielder with wheels in left field and not someone who is specifically targeted every single game. You can almost see with certainty that other teams are hitting it to left field to get a double. Anyhow…chemistry is always changing in a clubhouse…let’s give it a few weeks and see how it tastes then.
550 – I disagree. He shouldn’t be saying something like that. Guillen is a baseball player. At one time he was a rookie too. He’s been through these types of situations before and should know how to professionally handle it (or maybe not, since he got benched for the playoffs). He’s not the GM.
If I’m in a pennant race and some young guy gets called up to help the team, I would want to welcome him with open arms and hope my acceptance makes him play better. Because, you know, that might help the kid relax, play better AND HELP THE TEAM WIN. Anything else is putting yourself above the team. Selfish as others have pointed out.
In any workplace, you get new coworkers all the time.
Being able to accept that is part of being an adult, whether you’re a baseball player or flipping burgers.
Perhaps a little ritual hazing of the rookie is just what they need to build even more team chemistry. This is a team who’s manager quit for no reason in the middle of a winning run – chemistry is over rated.
I agree that is all true, but that would take a ton of humility. I would be pissed if my job was getting taken, hope any one would.
IMO you can’t expect professional athletes who are extreme competitors by nature to accept their jobs getting taken by a new guy. Even more so when they are in a playoff race.
Guillen also said, “I understand he’s a good prospect and if they think that he’s ready, then hey we’ll see. He’s going to have to come here and prove that to us. Because this team has been good with what we have and I don’t think that’s what we need…he’s a No. 1 prospect and he’s going to be here sooner or later somehow, some way, but I just completely don’t understand that move right there”
I wouldn’t put that under stomp-your-feet-and-threaten tirade. He says he will have to prove himself and that he doesn’t understand the timing of the move.
Ultimately, everyone’s job in this franchise is to help the team win ballgames; but the players’ job is to go out and play, not to figure out who ought to be playing where and how much. That’s the manager and the FO’s job; and while I don’t expect every player to like every move, I do expect them to be grownups about it, especially since right now, we need to improve or get lucky to make the postseason.
And re #508: no, “Ralu” is Carlos Delgado.
If Guillen doesn’t understand the move, then he hasn’t been paying attention. Ibanez has been struggling badly at the plate. He can’t play defense. It is really quite simple.
555- I don’t remember any burger flippers getting covered in champagne, have kids buy their jerseys, getting called world champions and making millions of dollars. Last time I checked there wasn’t a burger flipper HOF or a kid hoping his dad would teach him to flip burgers instead of playing catch all day.
Baseball is not a normal job.
559- I agree and I have been calling for the move to. I am just saying that his reaction is what I expected and not that out of line for a veteran baseball player. Of course we all wish every veteran was a stand up person and said the right thing all the time, but they don’t.
Who would want a Jose Guillen jersey?
Many pro athletes are out of touch with how the rest of the world operates, yes, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t certain elements of simply being a mature human being that they’re subject to as well.
I couldn’t possibly care less if Jose Guillen is upset about Adam Jones being called up, and you shouldn’t either.
I wouldn’t mind having a Guillen Jersey, he plays the game hard.
I don’t care that he is upset, I am simply stating the fact he said what was on his mind and shouldn’t be torched for it. It wasn’t like he said Adam Jones sucks and shouldn’t be called up. Just that he didn’t understand it.
#547 – Yes, I see your point but to dig deeper into the decision to PH Sexson for Broussard is that LH hitters are batting .400 against Olivor vs. .200 for RH hitters.
Yes, Richie’s numbers against LH pitchers is better than Broussard’s but Olivor hasn’t been the loogy the Angels expected him to be, so leaving Broussard in there should have been the correct decision if Mac and Goff are looking deeply at the matchups.
todda: thanks for the Portland info… I’ll be out camping at Pickathon, though, so won’t have TV access.
But I can still check the scores!