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 (!)
Comments
565 Responses to “Game 106, Angels at Mariners”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
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!