Game 24, A’s at Mariners
7:10, FSN. Batista v Eveland. Oakland comes into the series tied for the division lead with the Angels. The M’s have a chance to pull them down. We’ll see how it goes.
Dana Evelend’s another guy the A’s took off the Diamondbacks. He’s a lefty, pretty heavy groundballer, historically has a little above average on walks given up, about average for striking guys out.
I don’t think lineups have that huge an impact, but if I were to put together tonight’s, I’d be wary of where I put the slow ground ball hitters, if you know what I’m saying. We’ll see what happens.
Lineups!
C-R Suzuki
1B-L Barton
2B-R Ellis
DH-R Thomas
LF-L Cust (who is listed under “designated hitters” on the A’s roster)
RF-R Brown
SS-R Crosby
CF-R Sweeney
3B-R Murphy
CF-L Ichiro!
2B-R Lopez
LF-L Ibanez
3B-R Beltre
DH-B Professional Hitter who is not hitting Jose Vidro
1B-R Sexson
C-R Johjima
RF-R Bloomquist
SS-R Betancourt
Don’t want Jose’ getting any of those selfish RBI. In the 9th. To win the game. We have too much team chemistry for that.
Ah bunt. What a bunch of bunt. That was one of the worst bunting decisions I have seen. How in the bunt does bunting really help you win at that point? Bunt this team and bunt McLaren.
Watching the M’s makes me want to kick puppies.
so, what is the magic number of days until it finally becomes obvious to the FO & Mac that a good number of hitters on this roster are not going to hit, no matter how many times we look at the back of their baseball card?
I am so relieved to know that it was a great play by BC that saved the game for Oakland and not the Assssss of a call by the manager. 4 for 4 let’s bunt. AHMac or MacAHole which ever.
And then there’s Mac…just bound and determined to keep running that same strategy into the ground time after time…ARRRGH!
Speaking of time…time to hit the bar and go medicate! >:(
thank you.
bunt Mac and sac this team.
I blame Mclaren for this loss, I mean Lopez is 4 for 4 and you have him bunt with Ichiro on first and no outs?!
Anyone else feel that even though Cha Seung pitched great, no one will probably see him for another 2 weeks. I just can’t see Mclaren doing anything right.
254 – I couldn’t agree with you more – I can’t believe he bunted lopez who was 4-4 … I most definitely would have sent Ichiro before bunting lopez. It is literally unbelievable how many of Mac’s decisions have backfired on him since Grover QUIT
side note: 4-9 hitters were 1-17 today. Miserable.
Geez, even Nellie on KJR is acknowledging what a dumbass McLaren is. That oughta tell ya something!
I nominate JimmyLauderdale for a Golden Comment Award. Bunting great comment, dude.
Wow, Orioles @ White Sox just getting started.
254 & 258: I’m not sure what you meant. The sac bunt attempt gave up an out without any benefit whatsoever. Short of a double play, it was the worst possible outcome. That the game ended on a great play by the shortstop doesn’t get McLaren’s stupidity off the hook, it just amplifies it.
I blame last season. If the M’s had won 10 fewer games then Bavasi would have been fired. Without Bavasi, no McLaren.
Haha, thanks msb and JMH. I think I can speak for all of us when I say McLaren bunting pisses me off.
So, I don’t ever get to post during games since my computer is in a seperate room from the TV so I’m going to say this now…after the game.
That appears to be 2 games we’ve lost at least in large part because a pitcher was injured and didn’t say anything. First, JJ and his rib business and that homerun to Hamilton. Now, tonight with Batista. If you hurt your groin area in any way, you can’t pitch. You can’t drive if it’s on one side and you can’t land right if it’s on the other. Silva had no qualms with acknowledging his quad last night and having himself pulled. I know it’s super macho to play through being hurt, but it’s bs to continue to play and put your team at risk.
Anyways, that’s about all. Oh yeah, and bunting with a guy who’s gone 4 for 4. Very nice.
Honestly I don’t believe or care about anything that comes out of Batista’s mouth.
Lost all respect for him last year when he just wouldn’t take the blame for getting lit up by New York and tried to hide behind the excuse that he was tipping his pitches. He should have just said “I sucked, and they lit me up”.
But that’s just my opinion and feelings about somehow who I deem useless and overpaid.
I was at the game with my kids.
We were there since 4.30pm (for our Bobbleheads!)
Batista was dreadful.
(My kids were crabby too).
The M’s hitters were wasting no time getting themselves out as quickly as possible.
We left in the third.
I wasn’t upset to leave early.
wouldn’t admitting that you were tipping pitches be admitting that you sucked?
Yeah, well, what do you expect? Trading for a pitcher who has never pitched a full season and always has an excuse. Relying on old arms with big, long-term contracts. Putting the money on “professional hitters” like Vidro and Sexson when they were never all that special to begin with. Having little hope to run down a double to left. Trading away your staff of young, quality arms over and over again. Not to mention total and utter mismanagement. From top to bottom this team is a wreck. Definitely what you’d call mediocre… at best.
We’ve been through the mud long enough. Honestly, I’m not excited about the Mariners at all this season and the off-season moves really solidified that feeling.
Note to management: sign or trade for “professional hitters” with great OBP. You know, Rajai Davis might’ve been a decent addition to this sorry sack. At least he’s better than Wilkerson, in more ways than one.
I’m just thankful I haven’t watched any games this year. The radio babble is bad enough!
This game was dreadful. Give up just three hits and allow four runs and lose. McLaren did his part with a botched bunt attempt with Ichiro on first….I wonder if anyone asked him about that blunder in his post game press conference.
The real irony has to be on the defensive end.
The A’s have shown a terrible defense this year….errors in twelve consecutive games, plus Cust misplays a double, Emil Brown overthrows two cutoff men, Crosby can’t make a throw and allows the speedy Vidro to get to first….but then in the ninth makes sports center with an amazing play to end the game…..WTF!
Once again I have to write: Hitters 4-9: 1-17 from the plate. Despicable. Embarrassing.
Undoubtedly a credit to Bavasi’s unreal moves as GM
i was at the game tonight. very very painful first inning.
when crucial clutch hits needed to be made, our usual groundballs were hit.
if we make no moves before the deadline, im pretty sure we don’t win our division, or even really keep up for that matter.
how long must we wait for some of these bats to “come around”
oh well, at least i got 2 ichiro bobbleheads, right?
….
The Mariner offense has two key components: the sacrifice fly and the sacrifice bunt.
When these two things are not clicking together, their offense struggles.
When your offense’s key components are both sacrifices it’s no wonder when it struggles. What a poorly constructed team.
Imagine Lopez’s numbers if McLaren weren’t infatuated with the sacrifice bunt.
Oakland’s defense is fine. Their .718 defensive efficiency through this morning makes them #9 in baseball, much better than the .697 showing by the M’s (#20). Errors stink, but there are a few players on the A’s who can get to the ball in a hurry (Ellis, Crosby, etc.)
hey! look who’s joined us in the pool!
I also forget to mention some other key aspects of the Mariner offense: rally fries, grittiness, and um….
I’d like to see them try the Sacrifice Double* on occassion.
* The Sac2B is called a sacrifice because the hitter is sacrificing his reputation as a gritty, team-chemistry sort by selfishly getting a base hit and running up his individual stats. Also, a mis-hit double could easily go over the fence for a rally-killing HR, making the Sac2B a high-risk strategy. Still, some managers swear by it.
I hear Edgar favored the Sacrifice Double. Maybe he could teach the coaching staff something about this arcane technique?
Damn it, they are just not that good.
279 and 280 I like your style.
One more thing about Lopez bunting in that situation. The sac bunt increases your odds of 1 run at the expense of a multiple-run inning. So by choosing to go for 1 run, McLaren is being unnecessarily conservative. Instead he wants to take his chances in extra innings. But, in reality, his best chance of tying and winning the ball game was in the 9th.
I think the managers who prefer The Book to actually thinking for themselves don’t see that outs are the most precious commodity in a game, and that giving them away (e.g. the sac bunt) reduces your team’s chance of winning.
A Tale of Two Hitters:
Player A sees 4.0 pitches per PA
Player B sees 3.2 pitches per PA
Both are Mariners.
Which one should bat higher in the order?
Correction: Player B sees 3.1 pitches per PA
A Tale of Two Hitters, part 2
Player A – 12% of his batted balls are line drives.
Player B – 18% of his batted balls are line drives.
Which of these two is hitting better at this point in the season?