It’s Adam Jones Day!
Hopefully.
I saw one of Adam Jones’ three games in Everett back in 2003 (which is a fine reason to go check out Aquasox games). I’d heard that his eventual position was on the mound, so I was more interested in seeing his arm than anything (also on that 2003 team, Felix Hernandez). And he had a cannon for an arm that fired rockets with lasers on them.
I left interested, wondering how things would turn out, and followed his progress as his hitting skills seemed to improve at every level. Last year I got to see him again, as he made the transition to the outfield, saw how quickly he was coming around to being a good defender, especially considering he’d only just converted, and it made me happy.
We saw him struggle in his call-up, when he didn’t hit and Hargrove decided he didn’t like the rough defense he saw, so he was going to get squeezed for playing time. Jones’ 2006 line was a poor .216/.237/.311, and I think that did a lot to dim his star in the eyes of general M’s fandom. I heard that his hot start in Tacoma might have been a fluke, and whatever else.
But here’s the thing: Jones was 21 last year. He hit .287/.345/.484 in Tacoma. This year, he went on to show that it wasn’t a fluke, either:
2006: .287/.345/.484
2007: .314/.382/.586
The only thing that didn’t take a big step up was his plate discipline: Jones attacks the ball. He doesn’t walk that often (though his rate’s not horrible) and he strikes out a lot. But when he makes contact, the ball goes places in a hurry. 44% of his hits so far this year have been extra-base hits. 44%!
Look at his ISO (isolated power, SLG-AVG) which will serve us decently here: it’s .272. If he put up a .272 ISO in the majors, he would be one of the ten best, behind Miguel Cabrera (.279), Barry Bonds (.277) and Justin Morneau (.276).
And, unlike somebody like, say, Prince Fielder, or Adam Dunn, other guys who hit for that kind of power, he’s a good outfield glove.
Yeah, so… Have I mentioned I’m a huge fan? I love watching the way Jones plays.
We’ll see if he can translate his steady impressive hitting progress into success at the major league level this time and seize a starting job. And we don’t know how they’re going to get him into the lineup, though all signs are the organization’s committed to seeing him play regularly, which is good.
But Jones is another one of the players I’ve followed for years. I’ve enjoyed seeing him move up the farm system, finding greater and greater success, and I hope everyone else will get to see the Jones I, and the other fans who’ve seen him cut a swath through the minor leagues, have been lucky enough to see.
Happy Adam Jones Day! Huzzah!
Hopefully he can cut down those strikeouts here in the big leagues if they really were a problem for him in Tacoma and he can overcome that problem here in the majors. I’d much rather see him try to hit doubles every time up than home runs (just look at where it got Richie). But I doubt it will be now and I certainly doubt it will be a problem for him by the team he is 25. And quite frankly, I’ll gladly take his bat in the lineup over Raul’s right now. Unfortunately his call up to the show messes up team chemistry, but hey, he makes this team and this lineup a whole lot better right now. And just in time for the playoff charge too.
Happy Adam Jones Day indeed.
PS: I can’t wait to see Jose Guillen have to eat his words.
Woot! I might not have to cringe when balls are hit to left field anymore!
Chemistry is bullshit. Give me wins. Adam Jones is a vastly superior plalyer to Raul Ibanez right now. I’m glad he’ll finally be in the line-up.
Adam Jones Over/Under 108 ABs for the remainder of the season.
I’m on the under. I really hope I’m wrong, but I can see this being just like his callup last year if he doesn’t hit right away…
I wonder how the organization will deal with his strikeouts. They seem to have built a team based largely around not striking out and putting the ball in play. It tends to be very difficult to hit for power while not striking out very often, unless you are a freak.
Are the strikeouts something they’ll be willing to accept as long as he’s hitting for power? Are the strikeouts something they’ll accept as long as they perceive him as “being aggressive” at the plate? Or if he gets off to a slow start, will the strikeouts be blamed?
#6. If you need to see how the organization deals with/feels about strikeouts, look no further than how they let Mike Cameron leave Seattle without even so much as offering arbitration.
Our outfield, and team chemistry has suffered ever since he left. Let’s hope they learned from that mistake this time around.
With all of the news stories about a week ago about Jose Guillen wanting an extension and hoping to make a home in Seattle, I wonder what Dave’s thoughts on that possibility are now with Jose questioning the organization’s decision-making in the press. I’d say the over/under on that are not a chance in hell. Enjoy next year in Pittsburgh or Kansas City, Jose.
Adam Jones being called up doesn’t mess with team chemistry. Losing messes with team chemistry. What are you doing, trying to judge team chemistry based on management’s ability to keep Jose freakin’ Guillen happy?
Egads, Adam, I hope you turn into Eric Davis and not Jose Lopez.
I’m still questioning… when you say “all signs are the organization’s committed to seeing him play regularly” what signs are these? The only thing I’m seeing is Ibanez and Guillen more interested in their own playing time, which isn’t necessarily bad, unless they get outspoken about it.
I do believe chemistry is vastly overrated, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I don’t think a kid being called up and performing decent enough will upset chemistry nearly as much as a veteran or two making a scene about it.
When it comes down to it, is Jones really going to play 4 or 5 days a week? If so, what is the plan?
Welcome back, AJ! And he should definitely be in the lineup tonight against Lester.
The strikeouts shouldn’t be too much of an issue I would think, it’s worth it for the extra power.
Guillen is just pissy because he likes this town and he realizes that a Jones/Ichiro/Balentein outfield is a real possibility next year, meaning he’ll be going somewhere else.
Gotta admire the guy for liking the city and the fans and the team, but the young guys have to take over at some point, and it might as well be when the veterans are vastly underperforming.
“I wonder how the organization will deal with his strikeouts. They seem to have built a team based largely around not striking out and putting the ball in play.”
They’ve put up with Richie all year, and he’s not bringing much else other than home run power to the game. We can damn well put up with Jones to bring us some defense as well.
How many points of average do you expect to lose between the PCL and the major leagues?
Well, I hope you’re right about Jones. You got me on his bandwagon with your ‘his defense is worth being called up’ advice.
Your argument totally convinced me and made great sense. I just hope he doesn’t blow it. He seems like a good kid from the interviews I’ve heard and he’s definately excited about the opportunity.
Look, the way I see it is if he hits .200 he’s an improvement over Ibanez in July anyway.
So, if Adam Jones comes up and tears it up….who plays CF next year, Adam or Ichiro?
Can we, just this once, not rehash this ridiculous chemistry thing again?
mmmmm…mariners…redsox….aaahhhhhhh (drooling)
#17, TaylorD7 Says:
“So, if Adam Jones comes up and tears it up….who plays CF next year, Adam or Ichiro?”
Ichiro Suzuki, duh. jones ain’t got nuttin on AREA 51.
“Guillen is just pissy because he likes this town and he realizes that a Jones/Ichiro/Balentein outfield is a real possibility next year, meaning he’ll be going somewhere else.”
If that was the case, I would more than happy to see Guillen at DH and as a ‘rest’ corner OF. Not sure how he would feel about that, or what the team would do with Raul and Turbo, however.
This is the line-up I would run out there tonight against Lester:
Ichiro — CF
Jones — LF
Guillen — RF
Beltre — 3B
Johjima — C
Sexson — 1B
Vidro — DH
Lopez — 2B
Betancourt — SS
[nooooooooooooooooooo]
It’s a good thing that Adam Jones day didn’t coincide with Happy Felix Day. Derek may have spontaneously combusted in a massive fit of fanboy mania.
So what’s the actual likelihood Jones gets a start tonight? I’m going to the game Sunday, but I bought tickets for tonight solely in hopes of seeing AJ’s first M’s appearance in 07…
[nooooooooooooooooooo]
Now I can start watching games again, and DMZ can stop making fun of me for refusing to watch games based on poor personnel decisions by the M’s!
# 32, Jeremy Says:
“It’s a good thing that Adam Jones day didn’t coincide with Happy Felix Day. Derek may have spontaneously combusted in a massive fit of fanboy mania.”
dear lordy, could you imagine that combined with an Ibanez BOBBLE HEAD day? now that would be a massive fit of fanboy mania…hehe
I don’t think the look at Cammy comments really make sense. Mike hit .253 his last year with us, and .239 the year before. When he was hitting .267 the years before, there weren’t many complaints. If Jones hits .270 or better, with the same power the Cameron had; I doubt there will be any problem from the management (or fans) even if his SO’s are high. It looks like he has the potential to hit for a higher BA & with a higher SLG than Cam.
I just hope they play him!
15- Well don’t quote me on this, but I think the average drop is something like a .030 points off conservatively. Of course, it doesn’t always work out that way.
So with Jones hitting .314 in the minors this year around .275-.280 would make sense. Which would be perfectly fine with me if he put up those numbers as a power hitter. Hell even if he hits .220 it’d still be worth it.
[spelling]
Congratulations. I celebrate with Mariners’ fans everywhere.
What are the chances that, after all of this, Jones becomes simply the next Jason Ellison–late inning defensive substitution (and not even for Ibanez?)
Is there any evidence that the FO or team management realize that Left Field is the more difficult corner outfield position to play at Safeco Field? I mean, they’ve spent the past 1.5 seasons with Raul Ibanez, who is plainly the weakest defender, playing left.
We spent most of last season with Ichiro in right, Reed in center and Raul in left – the least effective defensive alignment possible with those three fielders.
What I’m worried about, and what may be worrying Guillen, is that they’ll see Jones as a strong outfielder – more traditionally suited to right field than left field – and a right hander – therefore a natural replacement for Guillen in the lineup. If they do that, and we still have Raul gimmering about in left, then the improvement in the team won’t be so great.
I really hope that the comments from Guillen (which were made intentionally public) doesn’t put too much pressure on AJ. We need him relaxed, and we need him to succeed early. It was absolutely stupid for Guillen to say those things, and he may have hurt the team in doing so. As a really young ballplayer, AJ migh try to press early on, to prove his worth to the vets. We knew JG was a crazy SOB, but I at least thought his outspoken ways wouldn’t hurt the team.
Adam Jones day!!! PARTY!!!!!
Oh does anyone know how good Jose Guillen will br at left?
I’m interested to see how tonight’s lineup unfolds. Should be a lot of pre-game hype between Jones’ arrival (hopefully) and Lester being back on the mound, in town. Plus it’s the Red Sox, should be an action packed weekend!
darn that real life, interfering with Good Times in Tacoma!
33 – I can see how they’d think he was better suited for RF, but I don’t think there is anyway in hell they take Guillen out of the lineup instead of Ibanez. He’s been solid all year and had his best month of the season in July.
Have they indicated one way or the other as to what position he’d be playing? I think Churchill said right field a couple months ago, but it turned out he wasn’t even coming up so I’m not sure how much stock I’d put in that. Ibanez has only gotten worse since then, too.
Looking forward to being at the game tonight
I mean, they’ve spent the past 1.5 seasons with Raul Ibanez, who is plainly the weakest defender, playing left.
Again, I offer the observation that the team used Jason Ellison as a late-inning defensive substitution for Jose Guillen more often than for Raul Ibanez, so it is within the realm of possibility that they believe Raul is the better defender. Judged by the number of running or diving catches, rather than ground covered, it would be easy to make that conclusion.
40
Hmm, “ground cover” may be a pretty good nickname for Ibanez. Either that or “mighty oak”.
Equally mobile.
My guess is he comes in as an-Ellison replacement initially (obviously he replaces him on the roster, but that’s not what I mean). That is, for a game or two, he’ll come in during the later innings to replace somebody. Maybe he comes in to run for Vidro in a key situation, or takes over for Raul after he goes 0-3, or Guillen in the 8th or something. I just have a feeling it’s going to be “ease him in there” at first, which is ok, I guess, but I think he’d do better getting the AB’s right out of the box.
My only worry with AJ is that it will be entirely possible for him to start off 0-12, in which case the griping and bitching from Guillen and others will be epic.
And I’m not sure that Guillen and Mac etc. understand the concepts of small sample size or adjustment period. The really annoying thing is that an adjustment period would have been a lot easier to cope with back in June.
I was under the impression that the substitution of Ellison for Guillen was at least in part motivated by concern for the latter’s bad legs. The difference in range between bad-legs-Guillen and Ibanez wasn’t huge (Ibanez/Guillen = 14/11 runs below average per UZR this season), so taking wear ‘n’ tear into account, this might not have been the worst decision.
For selfish reasons I hope AJ plays RF. I would much rather watch him running down balls in front of me than Guillen. However, for the good of the team I think he would be a better fit in left. Sooo, I guess that means he will be in RF then.
I don’t care where he plays. LF or RF, we’re making a huge upgrade in range. Guillen does fine, but I’ve seen many balls get past him that Ichiro would have gotten. I know it’s not fair to compare him to Ichi, but still…
Whatever, I don’t care, AJ will hit the winning RBI in tonights game, count on it.
[nooooooooooooooooooooooooo]
Guillen has ben striking out at a healthy rate as of late. In fact, as far as K/BB goes hes been the worse than Sexson by a good margin. This team can afford more strikeouts, and fewer GIDPs and popups if it means actual power and speed from left field.
#7 – the only way the FO could learn from the mistake (of letting Cameron go) is if they actually percevied that to be a mistake. I doubt they do.
Mentor for Adam Jones
http://tinyurl.com/2q6fab
Raul sounds fine. Mac not quite on the planet.
Its Adam Jones day, and I’m stuck in Los Angeles with no TV or radio feed I know of for another 10 days. Lame.
Well, I reckon that means I won’t be seeing the Rainiers this weekend.
Wait, is Toma Ohka still pitching? That may be worth watching.
[nooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Reading your pithy comments as to why a post was edited/nuked is one of my joys of your work Derek, please do share. I, for one, believe sarcasm to be a joy that is to be shared.
hasn’t Bavasi said it already?
I wonder how having fly outs to left field turn into singles and doubles and having the offense put up a goose egg in back-to-back games effects team chemistry, especially between the pitchers and the position players. /snark>
More seriously, DMZ how do you think the M’s will use Jones and how should they? They can’t be so stupid as to call him up and give him 5 AB/week. But somehow I don’t think he’s going to play 99% of the time in LF or RF, not am I sure he should. Personally, I’d make him the starting LF but only play him 75-80% of the time, sitting him against tough righties at home. Not that he can’t hit right handed pitchers, but it gives him a mental break and takes some pressure off on a day where we can get Ibanez, Vidro, and Broussard in the lineup.
Ibanez would stay a lot healthier, such as for shoulders and lower back, if he decided that he COULD become a (sort of) mini-Edgar-Martinez, and take over the bulk of the DH “position” in the lineup. That would help both the team defensively, and probably his own career personally.
Too bad decisions like that are left up to people who don’t seem to process multiple outcome scenarios for a given situation.
ah, yes. from the mid-day ‘discussion’ about Guillen’s comments about bringing in Adam…
“you need a leader to step up and there is no big time leader on this team. Ichiro? He isn’t a leader”
[ot]
[ot]
#9 – Egads, Adam, I hope you turn into Eric Davis and not Jose Lopez.
ED, minus the chronic injuries. ED spent what, about 50% of his career on the DL – he would’ve been a HOFer had he been consistently healthy. Here’s hoping AJ has a long and healthy career in the bigs.
Is there any chance at this point that Adam Jones also plays the super sub role and fills in at SS and 2B as well as playing in the outfield, thereby getting him in there 5-6 games a week without stepping on any one person’s toes too much?
Anyone know if Dave is going to be on with Groz today? I thought that was a weekly thing, but wasn’t sure if it was still on during his visit to Seattle.
Man i am estatic to watch Adam Jones play tonight. I saw him play the bench role last year…not that exciting, but hopefully he starts. Also hope the vets don’t give him a harder time than the usual rookie hazing and such…would he even still count as a rookie?
[ot]
I would love to hear Dave talk about the whole AJ situation on the radio. I postponed my B-day debauchery for another night so I could watch Adam Jones start his first game this year! Don’t fuck me McLaren, don’t you dare flip me over and do my dry and start Ral!
Dave is penciled in at 2:20 w/ Groz on the KJR website.
Yup, and Groz just said that Dave was coming up in the next segment.
Hooray! Happy Adam Jones Day everyone!
Finally.
Just heard on the radio that Jones is starting in LF tonight, batting 7th.
DMZ wrote:
Based on what we heard in Tacoma, I’m not confident that will be the case. More like what Mariner Fan in CO Exile said (“My guess is he comes in as an Ellison replacement initially”) except he’ll get more regular work. If he does well, and any of Ibanez/Vidro/Sexson/Guillen struggle, it could work into more, but I’m expecting no more than 2-3 appearances per week initally.
Not that I agree with this, but I have reason to believe this is what the FO plans…..
Jones playing LF tonight and batting 7th.
69. Dang you stole my thunder.
1. Ichiro
2. Vidro
3. Guillen
4. Beltre
5. Sexson
6. Johjima
7. JONES!
8. Lopez
9. Betancourt
It’s about time they noticed that Ibanez was a liability in LF. Good to see McLaren use the other half of his brain tonight. Although some of you wanted him batting 2nd, I actually like him batting 7th for now. My prediction 3-4, 2B, HR, 2RBI. Nothing too crazy.
Awesome, can’t wait. Pumped he got the start. Here’s to 4/4 and 2 HRs.
We doing the game thread here?
why not?
Chris Guccione, Self-Important Umpire behind the plate tonight.
Well Adam Jones just got to a ball Ibanez might’ve had trouble getting to, which would’ve resulted in at least a run if not two.
It’s already paying off! ;p
Tito was on the pre-game telling us how the hitting (esp. Manny) has picked up since the last time the Ms played Boston
He sure isn’t use to a corner outfield position by the way that curved on him. But great to see he is good enough to catch the ball anyways.
may I just say, the way Rizzs says “Horrracio” drives me nuts.
Thanks for the call Guccione, make yourself apart of the game!
I will regret that statement later.
Why is Away-Ram pitching? We want Home-Ram!!
wacky.
thank goodness– Kenji got out there and reminded HoRam he was in Seattle.
I still have faith he will give up only 3 runs this game.
I have an Adam Jones signed ball. Wonder what it could be worth..
Guillen should not be batting third.
I think this guy pitching is the one the Braves gave up on.
Guillen has an OPS over 1.1 against lefties. He should be high in the order. Righties are eating his lunch, though.
HoRam is going to be out of there by the third though
Didn’t we just watch this inning?
92 no that last one was Horam’s lucky inning. This one will be his unlucky inning.
Oh ok, thanks for the clarification.
DAMN IT!
HoRam cant find the plate!
Just finishing up work for the day and checking in with the game. Yep, the sky is still blue and HoRammy still sucks eggs. Thhppft.
94 Maybe this will be another lucky inning?
Man, Horacio’s good!
he is one lucky man though
It’d be funny if HoRammy allows like 15 hits but only 4 runs. As long as the Mariners score more than 4 runs.
Beltre 1st pitch swinging? At a high fastball?
Damn Sexson sucks.
Sexson probably can’t wait for the next road trip.
AJ is up!!!
Go Joh! A Real Mariner Hero!
Here we go!
WOO HOO!!!!
Welcome back Adam. =)
Auspicious debut.
a great way to get his confidence going.
Dangit, he just ruined the chemistry for this team!
WOOOOOO!!!!! The USSM Mancrush on Jones will go on forever!
Yay! Welcome back to the bigs, AJ.
Sorry Ibanez, I already notice the difference in bat speed.
best thing about that AB is that he wasn’t fooled by the breaking pitch
Yay! Way to kill the rally, J-Lo.
FUCK!
117 – yea what you said.
Strangely I think you guys will find that this will be another lucky Horam inning if he can get out of it with only a David Ortiz SOLO HR.
Now Ramirez can go back to his variation on the pitching to contact strategy: let ‘em get on base and then either run themselves out of an inning or ground into double plays. And of course, there’s always the possibility that someone going yard will fail to touch one of the bases (undoubtedly another linchpin of the Ramirez aporach).
Same hit for Yuni as Wednesday night.
wow I didn’t expect Yuni try for 3rd.
Hmmm, so is there where the few posters settled in for the game thread this evening?
I think most of them are in Everett.
Also, great baserunning by YuBet.
Amazingly, Vidro doesn’t hit into a DP! WooHoo!
C’mon Beltre.. tie it up.
Manny Ramirez is the Shaquille O’neal of baseball. Great at the games single most important skill, but horrible about almost everything else.
Ump is not very consistent calling that Lester curveball.
Good enough.
What a joy to have someone who can deliver with 2 outs in your lineup. Any chance we see a batter other than the Suckson of the past three months?
I would have put a cool mil on Richie first pitch swining right there. Although I had weak foul roller pegged as the result. The man’s clearly got “The Whammy” on him right now.
When you are looking for a 87-91 MPH fastball and can’t hit it as a power hitter, might be time to hang up the spikes.
Why am I not surprised?
Sexson at bats make me cry
Sweet Jesus, Sexson’s really bottoming out. This is gettin’ reeeeal ugly. The guy can’t even make contact with that?
Swung and missed an 87 and 91 mph fastball. Anybody identify the 3rd pitch he swung and missed? He’s just so clueless right now.
136 – I think it was his cut fastball, takes a little off it, but runs it under righties hands.
Help Wanted: First Baseman. All applications considered. Reply to Seattle Mariners.
136- Looks like a slider if Lester throws one. That is a lot of movement for a cut, but could be.
nice inning HoRam
138: tee ball players encouraged to apply
Don’t you mean nice inning blue? That strike zone is shaky.
If I could write a script for Richie’s life, it would go as follows:
- Announce that you’re suddenly retiring from baseball because you just don’t have what it takes anymore, and that you’re a liability to the team.
- Void the last year of your contract, and give the remainder of this year’s salary to charity.
- Sell all your possessions and spend the next six months traveling the world, winding up at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand to meditate on life’s deeper meaning.
- Come back to pro baseball c. 2009 and sign a minor league deal with the Rays. Get called up in August and have one last hurrah in the bigs.
It is also looks like too little movement to be an effective slider. Maybe thats why AJ hit a p-rod off it and Sexson swang through it.
Blue’s zone is all over the place.
Jones is using a different bat, none of them look the same which I think is interesting.
Before the bat boy gave him one.
No matter what happens – working Lester for 9 pitches has been a beauty of a thing to watch (and it ain’t over yet!)
2 for 2 Woo Hoo!
That Manny cracks me up in left field.
Great at bat by Jones! Nice to see him take some pitches early on. Still, you shouldn’t mess with second place chemistry.
Thats how you when an ab.
Yea, the chemistry factor is why HoRam is off this (and every other) game.
We seriously need to get to lester before their pen, trying not to be captain obvious, but that’s a sick line up with Gagne, Okajima, and Papelbon.
FUNK BLAST BABY
153:
Guess so.
Yuniiiiiiiiiiiii!
YUBET!
YUNI!!!!!!!
My wish comes true….. YES!!!!!
YUNIZZLE!!! Atta boy!
Yuni!!!
I would like to get to Lester for about 3-4 more runs.
Didn’t realize we are having two game threads
Oh… YUUUUNNNNIIIIII!!!!
Man, there are equal number of game thread posters at the “Dave on KJR” thread. I asked them to come over here so we could work together. We’ll see.
Jones’ hitting could disrupt team chemistry.
Tell them we are giving out free beer, that always gets me to go some where.
Nice game Guillen. Must be mad at Jones and is allowing that to ruin his team chemistry.
Free beer? Did some one say free beer? Wait, I was already here.
fishjam, had you mentioned the free beer I would have been here quicker, but I’m here nonetheless
and waiting for a double play…
Good grief, Ho Ram’s trying to give the game back…
Someone trick HoRam into thinking the scoreboard is messed up and we are actually down. He loves to give up those leads.
Hearing Sims say “Danger, Will Robinson” and then doing that crackle of his makes me laugh – I like that guy as an announcer.
wow what an arm
Sox lineup is just relentless, and Ho Ram is.. sigh
Ugh, bad throw by AJ.
And a mere 10 hits allowed in 4+ IP. Isn’t HoRammy supposed to be a much better pitcher at home?
Ho-Ram looked terrible tonight, worse than usual. But who can replace him?
176 – up the line a bit, but it was on a rope
Aj needs a few games in left under his belt to get used to the fade and hook of the balls, that wasn’t the best route I have seen.
Baek? Or is he still on the DL…
Until Baek comes back it is these 5 guys, there is no way to replace them other wise that makes sense. Even after outings this bad.
I wonder how Green would be as a starter?
Start Sean Green at first base.
Well, we can all breathe easier now that HoRammy’s out. Though he was replaced about 4 innings too late.
182
What about Tomo Ohka?
That was yet another awesome display of Green-ness! Game on, our bullpen vs. theirs! I like our chances.
To this day I’m trying to figure out what in the hell Bavasi saw in Horacio.
186- Not a better option I would say.
22BB/21K’s .300BAA in the majors this year.
186 –
I can’t believe you mentioned that as an alternate to HoRam…. Against this lineup, it would be 12 – 4 rather than tied.
Not that I like Horatio – Schuerholz pulled another one of his magic tricks by putting a suit on a bag of shit and selling it to Bavasi as a deal. But Ohka throws straight meat.
Sexson is hitting .087 on the homestand…can it get any worse?
Oh come on Sexson, quit hacking at every piece of junk that pitcher tosses up there….
OMG Richie
It’s like a nightmare – just keeps gettin’ worse. :p
NEWSFLASH Richie just made contact!
Ohka’s also got an era of about 10 in Tacoma; I don’t want him near the majors right now.
Dizzle, no kidding
Well at least we don’t have to worry about HoRam anymore, and our bullpen is rested. We really need to mess Lester up this inning though.
Jones is so far looking pretty good. Sexson, on the other hand, needs to GTHO. Sit him please, his AB’s so far have just been pathetic.
Dude, that was atrocious. Nice piece of hitting, Richie.
jus get rid of Sexson. dont even let him bat. just take the automatic out..
I’m not saying bring him up… I hate ManRam. Eh, just looking for alternatives. I didn’t look up Ohka before I posted last. Figured I’d take a shot in the dark.
188: What he saw was NOT Cha Seung Baek – didn’t trust him as our 5th starter. Turns out that was about a wash (well, maybe that was actually a $2 million bath))
NEWSFLASH, anyone on the roster would be better then Sexson right now. Seriously, I would rather see Rowland-Smith up there taking hacks.
2007 Richie Sexson OPS .693
1999 John Smoltz OPS (62 ABs) .725
The sad thing for me is that I still have Sexson on my fantasy team, holding out hope that…well no, I’m just stupid…
202-
Plus a fine Soriano soap.
I like how guilled was makin a big deal about jones comin up, but he’s 0-3, and jones is so far 2-2, what a joke huh
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Tomo%20Ohka&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=219594
That is a sweet profile pic for Ohko.
208 – no wonder he pitches so poorly!
205: Same for me. Just hoping and hoping he’ll start making plays. Still ahead though, but still.
I’d say that Ohka has Nomo disease, except that Ohka was never that good in the first place.
211- So you are saying he has HoRam disease?
anyone watching bonds?
At least the Red Sox are playing Lugo to counteract the Sexson factor, it is nice of them.
Jones HR, I’m calling it damn it.
Actually, I’d diagnose Ohka with chronic Irabu Syndrome, though he has symptoms of acute HoRam disorder.
0-4 K, can’t you feel the excitement of 755?
CMON ADAM!!!!!!
216- I hear he gets the 24-Hour Weaver bug from time to time. Good diagnosis though.
Gameday had that last out on Lugo as being hit behind the batters back. Can anyone tell me what happened there?
Eh….don’t try to do too much….Just get on base…
Timlin has to be my age…46 or so
By hook or crook!
Woo Hoo – We have our lucky Jones!
touched it with his finger…
wow
i bet this is a good kick in the knee on FO huh?
Adam Jones.. gettin the uniform dirty.
Timlin’s 41. Clemens just turned 45.
Crook it is!
That was a hell of a play by Jones, there. Monster effort. Beautiful to see.
STFU Lugo, how the hell are you gonna see the tag from that angle idiot!
Looked like he also got tagged by Youk, but no one is ruining our Adam Jones Day here at USSM!
well, lean the wrong way, Adam…
Ok so this is what i dont understand, that error messed up jones 1000 BA, now it sais 2 for 3? whats up with that
Psst….Jones….steal the base.
yeah Ken, it just seems like he’s been around forever
Lol, or that works too!
Slow paced game….go long enough and the Everett gang may be back in time for the last few innings…
Huzzah AJ!
Twice in a week the umpire has gotten in the way!
Jones is determined to get his 1 or 2 win difference over with this series.
all i want to say is, so long raul
Good for you Timlin since you seem to be infatuated with Jones on 1st.
Ha ha, nice throwin’ Boston.
Yeah throw us to second Timlin. Atta boy.
I think I love AJ
234 – The error counts as a failed at bat.
Wow… this is awesome.
Bunting while ahead in the count with a fast runner in scoring position = bad idea
Trying to throw out the fast runner at third after the bunt = worse idea
Let’s just hope they don’t bring in their -good- relief before we can do some damage.
“Do you bunt him to third?” “If you’re bunting him to second, why not?”
Uhh, because you have no outs and he’s already in scoring position with him on second. Why throw away an out and hurt your scoring chances? Oh, and because when you tried it you almost got him thrown out at third with a poor bunt, that’s why.
thanx 247
Does everyone else feel the energy that he is bringing to the club?
Speed does change things on the basepaths … it’s like having another Ichiro out there!
Why sacrifice??? Glad it worked out, but for crying out loud.
I already notice the youth and speed and this guys brings to the team. You think McLaren could pull off that play with Ibanez on 2nd?
Timlin is horrible.
Because now a sac fly gets us the lead.
Yuni does it again
254 I disagree. Tied game, 6th inning, both BP’s are stingy, you got speedy Jones on 2nd. Why not? As I type this Jones just scores the go ahead run.
lol walkin ichi for vidro
Could this be going much better and still be happening and not just a dream?
No, but hargrove would have tried it with Raul anyway…
Ok now listen very closely Vidro:
We’re not in the porn business, we don’t expect or want DP’s.
Well, Guillen….this is the major leagues….
C’mon Guillen! No DP, no SO… just hit!
heh
I will however say that wasn’t the prettiest looking bunt by Lopez. I initially thought he popped it up and Timlin caught it.
Vidro – another monster single from our DH! WooHoo (but can’t we get a REAL DH, please?)
254 – you are probably the same person who complains about Mac not playing small ball
Don’t let the kid show you up, Jose…
MY TURBO LOVAAAHHHHHH
251 – Sometimes it seems unfair. Adam Jones had one hell of an inning, made a couple huge effort plays… but doesn’t even get a stolen base.
He gets a run scored and a lower batting average.
But he just put the team ahead.
I think I’m gonna like the Jones era.
#268, you do realize that Vidro is hitting over .390 since the All-Star game, right? I realize he’s not a great DH, but I’d take a guy hitting .390 over most other players right now.
Sigh.
Get pissed Guillen!! Veterans are losing their jobs, your former teams are mocking you, Mike Scocia called your mom a floozy!
You guys think one run is enough against the Red Sox? And a sac bunt in that situation barely increases your chance of scoring even one run. Like i said, I’m glad it worked out, but statistically that bunt, if a successful sacrifice, lowers your chance of winning the game.
269 – You sure don’t know me at all.
ugh, He wont be opening his big mouth hopefully for a while, 0-4, Big bite for a lil dog tonight!
You know, Guillen, maybe you should have kept your mouth shut to Baker…
Jose Guillen seems to adversely affected by the newfound lack of team chemistry. Two K’s (looking) against a LHP. And double players in his other two at bats.
276: exactly. Not to mention, Lopez might be the worst bunter on the team, relative to how often he’s asked to do it.
#276, with our bullpen I’d play for the run. Plus, playing at home I think it was a good call.
Ugh, I wish Guillen weren’t having an awful game. I don’t like him, but I think having a bad game makes it more likely for him to be a jerk about Jones no matter what Jones does.
273
Vidro is still not hitting for power or walking all that much. He’s doing OK now, but do you really think he’s going to hit .400 the rest of the way?
I think it’s great that he hasn’t sucked since the all star break, but he hasn’t turned into Ichiro II
273: Look beyond BA. The tools are there. Expect more than singles and walks from your DH – it’s the easiest position to fill. Look at the paltry number of XBHs and RBIs our DH has. Pathetic. I don’t care how many singles he hits (which is far fewer than Ichiro and he has like barely more than half as many XBH’s as Ichiro). You Turbo lovers just don’t get it, do you?
276 – You must not know the Mariners very well do you?
Guillen – 3 AB, 5 outs.
Nice going Jose. Way to show up the rookie.
It’s OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO time!
Oops, that’s 6 outs in 4 AB, with 7 LOB.
Rough night at the office.
Show me your “O” face!
282, like I said, it barely increases your chance of scoring one run. I don’t have the probability chart to hand, but there’s hardly any difference between one out man on third and no out man on second, and it wrecks the chance of a bigger inning. I can’t see it as a good call in the sixth inning.
What is the best record ever put up by a reliever? I know it doesn’t mean much but O Face at 7-0 is pretty amazing luck.
287
It’s clearly AJ’s fault for disrupting team chemistry.
Glen, seriously, do you have any reason to be personally abusive to me? Especially when you make assumptions about me that are completely at variance with what anyone who has read my comments knows?
#284 I’m far from a Vidro lover, but I don’t see how you can complain about a guy hitting .390 since the ASG. Yes, a DH is supposed to hit for power and knock in runs, but he has just as many runs scored as Guillen and a higher OBP. In fact, his runs scored (along with a few of the M’s) would be higher if not for Sexson.
292 – don’t jinx him. Of course, if Ortiz gets on, there is no way he pitches to Manny, so he’s not going to lose tonight, either.
276 We’re lucky that they’re facing probably their worst RP right now. What do you think are the M’s chances of getting another prime opportunity to score a run say against Gagne or Okajima?
I’m in the peninsula without television. Can somebody tell me how Adam Jones’ has played defense?
291 – how many times do the M’s have a man on 2nd – no outs – play AL baseball and he stays on 2nd all inning. I would rather see a sacrifice than hoping to get a hit or a groundball to move the runner with this team.
Hopefully Lowe is his old self again tonight, otherwise this could get ugly…
Yikes. Am I only one who’s nervous that Lowe was just called in from the pen?
297 – Well Sexson hit a 3-run shot against Gagne a week ago in Texas…
Come on Mark! Earn my man-crush!
17 Wins in the AL twice and 18 in the NL is most by a reliever, in the 70′s and 1959.
Management must feel comfortable with Lowe
Mark Lowe broke gameday’s radar gun.
295: I’m not in a combative mood. I’m happy that Vidro is doing something .. but it ain’t much – he didn’t even knock in a run that last at bat despite getting a (weak) hit. So love him if you want … I can’t. Peace out.
MARKKKKKKKKKKKK
WAY TO GO LOWE!
MANRAM got Lowed
305- Lucky for him he just came off a arm injury or he would sit next to Rowland-Smith all day long. He qualifies for half of what our FO loves in a Veteran and previously on the DL.
YEAAAAHHHHH!!! LOWE IS BACK
Damn Lowe, welcome back my friend.
Oh hell yes Mark Lowe!
Also note OAK piling on LAA in the bottom of the eighth…woohoo!!
Hm. Wonder why.
Are they seriously leaving Timlin in there???
307 – I’m not going to argue, because we obviously both have our viewpoints. All that matters is the M’s are winning.
317- SHUT UP, they are going to hear you! We need him in their for insurance runs.
Manny needs to find a way to keep that hat on.
Who thinks we’ll see Morrow in the 8th?
Manny looks like Oprah’s sister.
291 – how many times do the M’s have a man on 2nd – no outs – play AL baseball and he stays on 2nd all inning. I would rather see a sacrifice than hoping to get a hit or a groundball to move the runner with this team.
More great, logical arguments based on something you saw one time. Argue all you want based on random memories and anecdotal evidence you can’t prove, but the fact remains that sacrificing runners over does more to hurt teams’ run-scoring abilities than it does to help them. It’s a proven bad strategy over the long term. Ninth inning, it’s a different story, but giving away outs in the middle of the game is not wise.
Damn Sexson…that was right down the middle! SWING for pete’s sake.
The Sexdoza line is turning into just the Sexson line.
Brutal.
Why the hell wasn’t Broussard in there?
Richie, seriously, get the hell off of our team. This is ridiculous, he’s not even coming close.
Sexson! At least try to lean in there and get hit by a pitch!
Wow, richi is just really horrible isnt he, our “power”hitters arent really doin thier job tonight cept maybe adrian, but the Athletics are whoopin up on the angels so we need this win like a fat kid needs more cake.
323 – it happens more times than not. I know you have your “holier-than-thou” general stats for all of baseball, but I am talking about this team since the ASB.
FUNK!
KENJI!!
KENJI!!!!!
HOLY CRAP JOHJI!
THANK YOU BOSTON FOR LEAVING TIMLIN IN!!
Kenji-BLAST!
holy shit, can timlin come out so he can pitch again tomorrow?
there paying Sexson $14 million to do that?
i wanna be a baseball player..
That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
KENJIIIIII SAAANNNN
Rally FRIES!!!
YEAAA!!!
Why not PH Ben right there? Papelbon and Gagne are RHP that he will see later in the game. If they bring in Okajima oh well, Sexson wouldn’t do any better.
Get Joh Funk on!!
KENJI!!!!!!
I love Timlin.
I hope Kenji is heating up. We could sure use him back.
here comes the man of the night, Cmon AJ, blast one!!!!
Do they still put up Funk Blast in Japanese on the score board? I didn’t see it that time.
this guy has some heat huh? 100mph
Raul coulda done that, and provided chemistry and veteran leadership at the same time.
If Sexson is going to get playing time Mac ought to move him down to say… the ninth spot.
Our 6-9 hitters are 6-11 with 2 HR, 6 RBIs tonight.
Huge.
Sorry Jones but that was just filthy. Inside Guillen is laughing.
Glen, either you don’t know what “holier than thou” means, you don’t understand what other people are saying, or you don’t know how to write a sentence. Possibly all three.
After watching Lopez suck since the ASB, bunting is the best option.
323 – it happens more times than not. I know you have your “holier-than-thou†general stats for all of baseball, but I am talking about this team since the ASB.
It’s not “holier than thou.” It’s just simply accurate and based on years and years of actual results, not random instances we choose to remember. Bunting is almost always a bad idea.
Choosing to look at “this team since the ASB” is always going to give you a skewed idea of what is happening. Sample size.
That was a pretty strikeout…
Goodnight Angels, as all Gametrackers know. Let’s go now.
Mr. Lowe has thrown more breaking balls today than he did all of last year.
Scraps I know exactly what it means, but there are some people here that want to hold up the numbers as the only unit of measure for anything that should go on with this team.
Many people on this site have tried to run over others with differing opinions because of just that — they have a different opinion.
arg….
George O’Sherrity!
are they bringin in MOrrow?
im watching game tracker sooo itsnot instant
355 – we have different opinions. I am not going to argue anymore about this — BUT I will take a sac bunt from Lopez (with his well documented struggles at the plate) over him popping up or striking out 100 out of 100 times.
@359, yeah, but on this particular blog the ability to back your opinions with stats carries far more weight. In fact, just having an opinion don’t count for much.
GS52 Should just close this inning out, no reason to use him just against Drew. Crisp and Lugo are not going to put one over the fence on him if they even get a hit.
Would anyone here trade our bullpen – straight up – for the Bosox bullpen? I knew this was our game when it got to that battle.
So, i am watching ESPN and they were showing highlights from the sox, m’s game, and after the highlights, the announcer was like “pesky m’s” i love it
Oh man that was a wicked pitch by Sherill. Nice SO.
365 – We had a long discussion last night about the struggles of Jose Lopez. I figured that I did not have to bring up those numbers again.
I’d rather have one more year of Sexson at 14 million than 3 more years of JD Drew. I’m still baffled at that signing.
Love that strike zone today, can’t wait till its back to normal though.
But I agree there are times I would not sac bunt because the numbers would be better…but right now with Jose Lopez…I would every time.
I hope GS52 enjoyed his nice bowl of Coco Crisps.
370: But it’s not about opinions. It’s about facts. You’re arguing something that is demonstrably incorrect. You can’t have an “opinion” about something that is factually wrong. Feel free to argue it, but you’re going to get challenged here.
Well, if you’re sure he’s going to make an out.
But given that even HE’s better than Sexson in batting, you sure are determined to stab yourself in the stomach…
o well guys, the bunt in that situation worked ok, now lets get back to whats goin on right now.
I’m listening to the radio cast on KOMO. They’re airing that Schick Scheadle Rehab Center commercial. Just curious… does anyone else think the CEO who narrates the commerical have a half a bag on as he talks about the benefits of sobriety? My god, he’s slurring every other word. Sounds like he downed a half bottle of tequila and a couple of quaaludes before stepping up to the microphone.
Someone earlier asked about Adam Jones defense.
He hasn’t had to make a difficult fielding play yet.
He had a golden opportunity for an outfield assist on a play at the plate, but his throw was offline by a yard or three. Looked pretty strong.
I heard that shick sheadle crap is Shock therapy
Lopez isn’t that good of a bunter. It is no where near a sure thing when he bunts.
Oh Ichiro.
2-0 bunt? Sigh. I give up.
Hope JJ is back on track tonight.
380: You know that expresion: “I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy?” At Shick-Sheadle, it’s the other way around.
378 – That place was a sponsor of one of my Little League teams. Nice, eh?
Hope JJ is back on track for the season.
it’s time for thunderstruck. please.
Amazing play, Yuni.
Damn, that Yuni can BE fantastic at times!
wow, yuni!!!
Okay, anything bad I ever said about Yuni, I take it back.
Based on what I’ve seen this year, a tie apparently no longer goes to the runner. But I’m not complaining here.
could go either way, unfortunatel it’s an out today. Yuni’s been stepping it up with the glove lately.
Heh, it looked like he gave up on the first strike before it was even out of JJ’s hand.
Finally a splitter.
How does JJ look to you guys tonight? Just curious.
today has been a great game
i’d say one of the top games of the year for the M’s
JJ looks pissed about the other night.
Ballgame pitch – this should be fun
come on jj – don’t be intimidated by youkilis’s better facial hair
399 Really I don’t see it. He seems a little hesistant and he doesn’t seem to be locating his pitches that well.
not only 0 for 5 but with 5K?
Putz has to get this guy. Two strikes – don’t let him get away, you don’t want to face Manny.
Except for the last two pitches against Ortiz. Awesome!
Game woooooooooooo!
M’s win!
YESSSSS!!!! GREAT TEAM EFFORT!!!
Good job, fellas – especially Yuni and AJ. Oh, and Kenji-kun.
We get Sexson out of this lineup and we will be damn good! Nice win!
Seemed like there was a discussion between Johjima and Putz about the last pitch to Ortiz for the final out?
Amazing how fast that losing streak becomes meaningless. This has been the most exciting season in a long time.
Good Game! Adam Jones definately has shown some of his talent today.
Why is it always shaving cream pies? Why can’t they throw a banana cream pie in there on occasion, or at least something edible? Blech.
409:
Sean Green says hello.
And check out Fangraphs:
http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?gameid=270803112
HoRam, Richie and Jose G say “sorry we suck, fellas!”
Way to go Mariners!
If we can take this series, it’s gonna be huge. We’re playing a whole bunch of worse teams until the end of August, and the Angels are playing Boston 7 times and the Yankees too.
415 – You’re absolutely right, I forgot to give Green some love. Four guys deserving of praise = very good night.
Sean Green was impeccable tonight. What a performance. Obviously Yuni and others deserve credit, but man, what a stud.
416
Shouldn’t there be a spike in the Mariner’s chances reflecting when HoRam was pulled?
Sean Green, ground ball machine. The difference from HoRam to Green was like day to night. Or flipping off a light switch.
420
You’d think. But that’s not how FG works. Maybe if they add some AI algorithms
420: The winning percentages aren’t based upon who’s pitching or batting, but rather score and chances of scoring runs in each situation (at least, that’s how I understood it). So until the pitcher and batters start doing anything they don’t alter the odds.
Although, to be fair, many of the hits against HoRam were little bloops and bleeders. Sure, Ortiz hit one out, but it seemed to be one of those nickel and dimed, death of a thousand cuts kind of nights.
Adam Jones, second in WPA for this game (for hitters). Welcome to the bigs, kid. Please stick around for another few years. You will be needed.
JJ was looking better tonight than he was yesterday, but not the best he’s been. He did have a few perfect splitters in there, but missed badly on a couple pitches too.
Personally, I just think his confidence was a little shaken from the Angels game. Hopefully having another save under his belt will alleviate that and he’ll be more confident on the mound again.
Still, uncomfortable Putz is still better than pretty much any other closer out there.
I hope Jose Guillen enjoyed winning this game.
Awesome game. Ho Ram sucks, but Jones acquitted himself fine to those suspicious vets. And Yuni, oh Yuni… What a week.
Yes yes, Go M’s, AJ is amazing, all that good stuff. More importantly. Reportedly, I was on TV the first time AJ got up to bat. Me (in light blue hoodie with dark blue map of the world on it), my girlfriend and a whole bunch of dudes screaming like crazy. Anyone see us?
Schick-Shadel. Aversion therapy, which means they make you puke. You know, ‘enjoyable’– just as the ads claim.
ah, you young pup. Northwest Legend Pat O’Day does the ads.
I don’t think we’re at the point where we need to speculate as to whether or not JJ’s OK. The guy is absolutely kick-ass. He’s blown two saves this year. TWO. And they happened to come kinda close together, so we naturally want to draw conclusions that we simply can’t substantiate.
He wasn’t going to be perfect all year. What Gagne did with the streak was unbelievable. You can’t expect that to happen again. JJ is still the best reliever in baseball, and a blown save or two isn’t going to change that. Until he gives us a real streak of mediocre to bad performances, we’re doing nothing but spinning our wheels trying to gauge something we simply don’t know. We can’t peek into his mind, and no amount of speculation is going to get us anywhere closer to understanding what he’s thinking, so we just have to look at his performances.
JJ rocks, and his first half spoiled us and gave us unreal expectations. Here’s a spoiler: He’ll probably blow another save this year. Maybe even another three-run lead, who knows? Let’s be realistic and enjoy the stellar pitcher that we so enjoy.
GO M’s! And congrats to the bullpen. Who needs Dotel or Gagne? Not us.
btw, pre-game Drayer mentioned that during spring training when she talked to Adam about how things were going, & what veterans had helped him most, he said Guillen & Ichiro. Guillen said before the game that now Adam was here, and so was family, and it was handshakes all around during BP.
Yeah this whole Guillen thing has been blown out of proportion. Guillen wasn’t hating on Jones, he was sticking up for Ellison and Ibanez. No big deal.
So Ibanez’ OPS vs. RHP is .756. Guillen’s is .680. IS the 76 points of OPS you gain with Raul worth the loss of range and arm strength if you put Raul in right field? It seems like a good way to keep Raul in the lineup so he doesn’t get rusty. Assuming you don’t want to totally give up on the guy.
PH – “Why not PH Ben right there?” (See 233.)
Then Francona brings in a LH pitcher, and the only RH bat you have to PH is Willie B. – Say!
435- Ben would do better against a lefty then Sexson would at this point. And if he gets another AB he prolly faces a righty in Papelbon or Gagne. I know I wrote that just below my first comments which were not 233.
435:
Ben is better than Richie right now, period.
Willie is better than Richie right now.
Jamie Burke is better than Richie right now.
I started a “Let’s go Ad-am” in response to the “Let’s go Red-Sox” chant. And you know what? 5 or 6 people joined in.
It was good times, I tell ya. Good times.