Game 130, Angels at Mariners

DMZ · August 28, 2007 at 6:23 pm · Filed Under Game Threads 

Santana v Weaver. 7:05. Bloomquist at second to ignite a struggling offense.

Comments

462 Responses to “Game 130, Angels at Mariners”

  1. scottg02 on August 29th, 2007 12:13 am

    Its a good thing I didn’t have any weapons or sharp objects around me, I mighta used them on myself.

    Then again, that would probably be less painful then suffering through that ballgame once the first out was recorded.

    Seriously, it was all over for me when they showed George Sherrill just getting up in the pen for the first time…. later in the inning they show Rick White is warming up with him and I’m like, oh fuck, they’re not going to use Sherrill and they are going to use White. Sure enough, after the intentional walk he makes the call for White. I thought it was some sort of cruel fucking joke.

    We got to our best middle releiver (Sherrill) after the game is basically over, using evryone else in the bullpen before him. WHy bring the best guy in after it doesn’t matter? The umps just made it worse. This team is too frustrating to be a fan of. How the hell is Sexson still playing? GOd I hope Felix can salvage this series.

  2. Sports on a Schtick on August 29th, 2007 12:14 am

    I was at a Giants-Dodgers at Chavez Ravine (when Bonds was at 754) when some kids tried to start The Wave. They were promptly pelted with various materials and expletives.

  3. Tak on August 29th, 2007 12:21 am

    Casual fans are the only reason why baseball even exists. Without a fan base, however dumb they might be, no sport can operate as a business. Sports are supposed to be there for entertainment, if the fans are having fun then thats all that matters. Why should you let that bother you? If you want to watch the game “seriously”, then you should (like most readers here), there is nothing from stopping you. (well at least I have never been really bothered by the surrounding fans, but maybe thats because I am one of those casual fans out there as well)

    And yeah, people should probably not get too cocky about their team until its all over. Now those who made stupid cocky remarks earlier in the thread look totally dumb, ultimatelly making every other poster look like a cocky bastard as well.

  4. scottg02 on August 29th, 2007 12:25 am

    Yeah, you dolts that emailed Plaschke, I’m sure he went (or will) check his email, read through them and just start laughing out loud.

  5. thefin190 on August 29th, 2007 12:36 am

    I know the game is over

    But when I heard Rick White coming in with Bases-loaded against Guerrero with a close game on the line. I thought a couple things.

    1. Oh $%@#

    2. Of course typical Johnny Mac. Maybe he gets a high off sending useless veteran relievers in close games. I can’t think of any other reason he keeps making the same mistakes. Reitsma, Parrish, and now White. I wonder which cruddy reliever will be on the roster next week for Mac to turn to when an important game is on the line.

  6. scott19 on August 29th, 2007 12:43 am

    Re Plaschke: I’m a firm believer in not counting chickens before they are hatched.

    However, if he’s a typical OC wishy-washy sporto, he’ll no doubt be jumping back over to the Dodgers bandwagon the minute the Angies have to start rebuilding in a few years time.

  7. lailaihei on August 29th, 2007 1:16 am

    I hope we lose the rest of our games this season.
    I can’t stand the management and even if we got to postseason, you think Mac could handle that? We’d probably get swept in our first series.

  8. nrehse83 on August 29th, 2007 2:47 am

    This was a tough game to be in attendance. A quick 5-0 lead lulled me into a state of confidence…..which was promptly dashed by a vintage Weaver performance. Ichiro ultimately pulled through and brought victory back within the M’s grasp, but McLaren left Morrow out to rot on the mound, then brought in f#$%ing Rick White to seal the deal. What a god damned joke. How can I take this team seriously? With 2 outs in the 8th, bases loaded, down by one run, our manager brings in an over the hill, NL reject reliever.

    We have one of the best RP’s in baseball, one who didn’t see action last night. What are we saving JJ for? I am dumbfounded. The M’s will not be playing in October with the current roster construction, and more importantly the maddening ineptitude of our beloved manager.

  9. pgreyy on August 29th, 2007 3:18 am

    A few late thoughts.

    1) Our offense let us down. I know, I know…we pounded on Santana while we could…but we HAD to find a way to keep pounding on them until they were dead…and we let Dustin Moseley own us.

    2) Weaver got squeezed a few times and lost focus. Felix, obviously, loses focus rather easily. It seems that our entire pitching staff is so fragile that if they make a mistake, they can’t recover from it. That, to me, sounds either like a managerial (motivational) problem or a coaching problem…above and beyond just “stuff.”

    3) Yeah, we’ve been getting some bad breaks on calls over the past few games. Quality teams absorb the hit and still find ways to win. Can’t put this on the umps.

    4) Rick White coming in with the bases loaded and the game on the line? Ooof.

    5) Regarding the complaints about the “casual fans” at Safeco. I read people complaining here about how the fans only clap when told to by the scoreboard–and then I read those same people complaining that “nobody was standing and clapping when we had two outs.” To me, clapping with two outs or two strikes is just as sheep-like as clapping when the scoreboard tells you to… With the exception of GS52 and JJ (and even THEY can be questionable), there isn’t anyone on the staff that I feel confident enough to stand up and cheer just because they’ve almost done what we pay them to try and do.

    And if you complained about the fans not clapping during THIS game–other than the bottom of the first, what, pray tell, was there to clap for?

    If our team does something good, I’ll cheer my heart out… And, from time to time, I’ll cheer to try to motivate the team towards better performance… But just because I don’t do the hokey pokey when you’ve trained yourself to do it…doesn’t make me a less knowledgeable fan.

    Maybe what I know is that I’ve just been burned too many times before…

    pg

    PS–The team is already tired…and not going to get any rest any time soon… Somebody’s got to step up or it can all slip away. I’ll be cheering tomorrow, but I’m already taking the necessary steps not to leave myself vulnerable to a broken heart.

    For all of the talk about “veteran leadership”…there’d better be someone in that clubhouse who can motivate and guide us. I certainly don’t feel confidant that it’ll be a manager OR a coach.

  10. vj on August 29th, 2007 5:58 am

    Cheer up folks, it’s KING FELIX DAY!

  11. mln on August 29th, 2007 6:33 am

    The surest omen that the Mariners were destined to lose this game was Rick White’s weird day-glo goatee.

    As the kids used to say in the 1980s, Freakazoid.

  12. bram on August 29th, 2007 10:32 am

    406

    Come on, the Angels *pounded* the M’s in these two games. Getting “breaks” wouldn’t have made any difference – the Angels responded ferociously when the M’s issued any challenge.

    Now, the Angels are simply better than the M’s. They have a better repeatable skill set and better tactical management. If the M’s wanted to perform better in this series, there would be two ways, either the Angels would have to underachieve or the M’s would have to overachieve.

    If you don’t have the skills to match your opponent, how do you overachieve? Several ways. Will, focus, exploit tactical advantages by being smarter than your opponent, etc. (Having the last at-bat helps too.) The Angels are performing at or above their capabilities in this series. The M’s are not. Not a recipe for success.

    My question is what’s the root cause? Given how lethargic the entire team looked Sunday in Texas, fatigue is a very plausible candidate, but that should even out after the first game. Hence, my theory. I suspect the Angels are as mentally prepared and focused as the situation warrants, the M’s aren’t. Combine that with the skills deficit and you get two blowout losses (and a possible sweep) at home.

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