Game 25, Athletics at Mariners
DMZ · April 26, 2008 at 5:00 pm · Filed Under Mariners
6:10. The return of Bedard, unless they scratch him at the last minute and don’t tell anyone again. Facing Justin Duchscherer.
As I write this (which is early, because it’s a beautiful day and I’m going to go down to Safeco and see it live! In person!) Bedard requires someone to be taken off the 25-man, and speculation’s run to Baek/Corcoran. We’ll see — they’ll have to make a decision before game time.
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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.
Two Hitters:
Player A sees 4.0 pitches per PA
Player B sees 3.1 pitches per PA
Both are Mariners.
Which one should bat higher in the order?
Two Hitters, part 2
Player A – 12% of his batted balls are line drives.
Player B – 18% of his batted balls are line drives.
Guess which of these two is hitting better at this point in the season.
Two Fielders, part 3. (Same players as in Posts 2 and 3.)
Player A is last among AL West players at his fielding position in Revised Zone Rating.
Player B is also last among AL West players at his fielding position in Revised Zone Rating.
Which player is not meeting expecations? Which player is barely meeting expectations?
I don’t see how they could pick Baek, since he’s already come in early a couple times. Who will fill that “OMFG we’re going to the ‘pen in the second inning!” role if not him?
Hey, how do I find the infield singles stats for Vidro. I’m having a debate about him, and I can’t find where his infield hit were.
They won’t option Baek down, because he would have to clear waivers. Corcoran was sent down to Tacoma.
Nevermind.
Just saw the Jose and Pepe Vidro commercial. Man does that typify the Bill Bavasi era.
Good first inning so far.
I’d say a 7 pitch inning is pretty good…thank god he’s back.
No Pepe! Norton at DH, finally.
hey, was that that guy the Ms traded for?
dangit. I like Slaughter Roy.
you know, Justin Duchererererer just came off the DL. might be good to actually make him work a little.
Who will fill that “OMFG we’re going to the ‘pen in the second inning!†role if not him?
RR-S?
15-Or Morrow if he has his control back. He was being groomed to start.
Anyone else see the nice running catch at the wall that Adam Jones made in center while he was blowing a bubble?
The Safeco scorekeeper is more generous than a drunk philanthropist.
“Wilkerson is the hitter.” No. “Wilkerson is the batter.”
Three players below the Mendoza line
All in a row, not so fine
Felix day tomorrow!!! (sorry. the tv graphic got me excited)
Some nasty breaking balls by Bedard.
21.
Well you better go change your panties!
Hint:
They both play in the infield.
It looked like even Richie was suprised he made good contact there.
Spoon, Band of Horses, and Apples In Stereo all have songs used in car commercials. This on top of Flaming Lips showing up in ads for computers and salad dressing.
Is Pitchfork an ad agency now?
This game is hard because you play it every day.
Wow. Thanks Valle. Such incredible logic.
Answer:
Player A is Richie Sexson
Player B is Yuniesky Betancourt
Bedard through 5, 9 GB, 2 FB. 69 pitches.
so, would this be an example of a ‘postage stamp-sized strike-zone’?
Short bullpen? They used THREE pitchers yesterday, one of whom hadn’t pitched in 12 days.
Short bullpen my ass.
huh.
“We need to get some guys going. Like I said, we’re a month into the season now and if we’ve got to pinch-hit for people we’re going to pinch-hit for people. We’ve gone far enough. We’ve given everyone an opportunity. This game is about winning. It’s not about me being everybody’s best friend. It’s me doing best for the Seattle Mariners and for the ballclub.”
msb: I’m curious, who is the source for that quote?
gosh, just think what Bedard’s pitch count would be like if he’d been given those strikes on the corners….
I’m assuming McLaren, but it just seems so out of character…
that is Mac, earlier today, as quoted by Baker tonight in his blog.
Surprising quote, but very welcome. I just wish they’d take it a little further than pinch-hitting.
Well, that’s a lesson you expect a manager to learn in his first year… his first year as a coach somewhere in the minors. Mclaren has been sitting in dugouts for how many years? Was he just not paying attention to Lou?
I was looking at box scores and noticed that Geovany Soto was 0 for 5 today with 5 Ks. Pretty rare to see a good hitter do that. Pretty rare to see anybody but a pitcher do that.
Wait. You mean the DH is actually supposed to drive in runs? Really?
Norton, demonstrating how replaceable Vidro is (not that Jose/Pepe has set the bar very high).
Maybe this will encourage Mac to at least platoon the DH.
5 K’s = the platinum sombrero. I thought that was 4 K’s, but never mind.
I still don’t think the trade was a good idea, but it is easy to see why the M’s wanted Bedard. Dude can pitch.
39….I would bet it is MORE rare for a pitcher to do that. A team would have to send 45 men to the plate (18 runners on) in order for a pitcher to get his 5th AB. You’d have to assume that team would have a large lead because they’ve sent so many men to the plate AND is still in the game himself (which means he would have had to of been pitching a fine game).
Not too many pitchers get 5 AB’s a game. Better yet K in all five.
So Trembley is upset and volunteered to personally “kick the snot” out of the fans who got onto the field the other night.
Mark Redman 1IP 10ER 3BB 0K Ouch, a 90.0 ERA.
So when Fangraphs says we have a 90% win expectancy, is that just “any team up 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth with a runner on first and two outs”, or are the specific players of the teams considered in some way?
After hitting .409 (with a .917 OPS) in Tacoma, Norton is now hitting .455 with the M’s. Not a bad month.
Ham – and he did it with only 3 walks!
Wow, that’s impressive! I think a 90.00 ERA was what Rick White was working toward last summer when he got released.
Mark Redman 1IP 10ER 3BB 0K Ouch, a 90.0 ERA.
Positively Weaveresque. Though I seem to remember M’s pitching lines like that back in the early 80s.
48: It is your first conjecture. Historically, across all teams and situations, there is a 90% probability that the home team will win given the scenario you described. There is NO adjustment for the particular teams or players involved.
My thought was sort of half-baked, but the point stands that Geovany Soto is not a prime candidate for the Platinum Sombrero.
ERA is not a good way to evaluate pitchers.
47 – The amazing thing about that Redman line is, he gave up 10 ER in the 1st inning and is still out there for the 2nd.
This is prolly a dumb question that I am over looking something simple. But Redman gave up 6 hits and 3 walks no errors, how did he give up 10 runs? 6hits+3BB=9 base runners.
I answered my own question… Sac Fly.
But a Sac Fly doesn’t create a base runner.
HBP could have factored in too.
Juan Pierre was hit by a pitch.
Everyone in the Dodgers’ lineup scored in that inning. Yikes.
I like that Bedard guy.
They should have him pitch more often.
Nice work, Erik!
Yahoo’s box score counted the HBP a BB.
I think that’s how they score Juan Pierre’s hits now.
Nice; I wonder how often that has happened?
Never mind, I am just a big dumb ass right now. The HBP wasn’t counted as a walk. Problem solved.
55. Even so, that sucks.
Bedard is probably pissed at this point.
Historically, across all teams and situations, there is a 90% probability that the home team will win given the scenario you described.
Clearly the team/players (and manager) involved is not factored in. As we’ve seen, a 3-0 lead at home in the 6th is nothing close to a 90% chance of a win when the team is the M’s. As they’re doing their best to demonstrate again tonight.
ARTHUR RHODES TIME!!1!!!1!
It is so sad that I so agree with such a statement. This team is very difficult to love and follow.
Wow. That chick was really hot. How could the guy in the bullpen ignore THAT yelling at them?
Looks like the Dodgers got all those runs with two outs, as well. Sucks to be Redman.
Good move to first with the step off. I am guessing Yuni was looking at the front leg waiting to see him start his motion to the plate.
oh no! Raul’s bad defense may cost us the game!
(I hope you realize I’m being sarcastic.. even though most people who come to this site will probably take it to heart as they think he’s the worst in the league…)
That was the slider Morrow has been working on.
So much for Morrow’s shiny 0.00 ERA (and yes, the fact that Morrow had a 0.00 ERA despite all the tightrope walking we’ve seen him do is a perfect example of why ERA doesn’t tell you much, especially for relievers, and especially about the future)
yeah joser… The amount of runs a pitcher gives up doesn’t matter at all…
That Dodgers game is very weird, I’ve been listening to it on MLB.com. (Ouch, HR on the proverbial hanging breaking ball.) Redman got torched largely d/t walks, not unlike what we’ve been seeing from the M’s lately. On a much more somber note, Kerwin Danley, the home plate umpire, was hit with a pitch (got by the catcher), went down and didn’t get up. They’re saying he got hit in the R collarbone/neck area. They’re taking him off the field in an ambulance. The good news is he apparently is conscious.
How depressing is it that two of the top 5 active RBI guys are ex-Ms?
After watching Dellucci “field” for the Indians this afternoon I’d say Raul has some competition.
What Joser is trying to say is that ERA doesn’t tell the entire story. Nobody is saying that the amount of runs a pitcher gives up doesn’t mean anything. There are external variables that don’t get counted in the ERA. There are a lot better tools to show the true runs given up by a pitcher.
I didn’t say it doesn’t matter, I said it doesn’t tell you much.
It is sad when the expectation for our 3 hole hitter is to move the runner over and not drive in a run.
I know, I’m just being a jerk. I don’t think ERA is as important as some make it… and I don’t think it’s really important at all this early in the season.
However, at the end of the year, I do think that ERA is an important stat.. and not as insignificant as some make it.
Lopez is impressing me this season. Not only is he hitting better than last season, but also he’s doing things like hitting the ball to the right side to move a runner over or getting the ball to the outfeild in the air w/ a runner on third. He seems to be doing very well at the plate all around. Hope he can carry it through the whole season.
We’ll see how Lopez does after the All-Star break. That’s when he usually has trouble.
83
Both Bavasi and Shapiro are willing to give up defense for offense.
I think Norton just won himself a job!
Norton, I love you.
Greg Norton, your new DHThank you for the enlightenment walkie.
Bye bye Pepe… I hope.
Vidro lost his job yet?
I think that fella gets to DH tomorrow, too.
I doubt they will have him in the lineup tomorrow.
So, the biggest PH bat we have on the bench is WFB?
It is a sad indictment of our offense that Willie comes in to pinch hit.
So … do you leave Morrow in to get the save since JJ can’t get it now?
Come on, guys, he’s a full-time starter now!
Morrow can’t get the save either. He came into the game in the 8th instead of the 7th.
Incidentally, Redman is STILL pitching in the Dodgers game; one of those game-lost-save-the-bullpen deals. I always feel really bad for pitchers in those situations; that’s got to be humiliating. No word on Danley yet.
103: that doesn’t matter – he came in with the lead at 3 runs or less. If he finishes the game and the score stays as is … Morrow gets the save.
That was a nice at-bat by Willie.
i bet they will want to get JJ in for some work.
I love 10 pitch at bats. Thanks for something Bloomquist.
If Morrow finishes the game, he qualifies.
However, “saving” is not Morrow’s “role.”
I’m surprised they would use JJ in a non-save situation.
I stand to be corrected.
Heck, if a team has a 5 run lead but the bases are loaded … and a new pitcher comes in and gets the final out … he gets a save: despite a five run lead! The rule is – tying run on deck when you get the final out, it’s a save.
Rick L: with the recent DL stint, I’m guessing they think JJ needs the work. Of course, if he ends up re-aggravating the injury in a non-save situation McLaren will have a lot of explaining to do.
Anybody else noticed that more sluggers are struggling than not? Ryan Howard, Adam Dunn, Carlos Pena, Travis Hafner, David Ortiz, Carlos Delgado (though he’s probably just done altogether), Mark Teixeira, Jack Cust, et al have not been doing so well thus far.
Sims just said that a lot’s expected from this ballclub. What I want to know is, WHY?? Isn’t the lack of talent (with a few exceptions) obvious? They’re playing at exactly the level I expected, that is, .500.
Putz can use the work as he hasn’t pitched much since coming off the DL.
Read and be depressed: George Sherrill just saved his ninth–yes, you read that right–game for the Orioles.
Tieing runs on deck, is it now a save?
seeing the shot in LA, Danley is one of the umps who wears the extra throat protector, as well
Another thing Bavasi and Shapiro have in common is having hired managers who prefer their bullpens to have well-defined roles.
From what I recall, you can’t pitch yourself into a save situation, although I may be wrong.
Are these idiots really booing JJ?
Give me a damn break.
Carson- I think they were directed at the ump.
Somebody tell JJ that if you enter in a non-save situation you can’t turn it into a save situation by putting guys on.
No, you cannot pitch yourself into a save situation.
Perception is reality and the front office has created the perception that the Ms are a legitimate contender this year. The traditional press has swallowed it because the Bedard and Silva acquisitions seemed like the acts of a club that’s serious about winning.
One of these years I would like a really terrible team or a really good team. Mediocrity is the pits.
118. No. You can’t pitch yourself into a save situation.
Ah. Well, they’re still idiots then. He’s missing, and they aren’t that close.
Anyone else tired of Sims constantly complaining about how cold it is every night at Safeco. We get it already, you’re cold. Get over it.
“We’ve got issues now.”
Thanks for the news bulletin, Walter Cronkite.
So nobody gives McLaren credit for using JJ in a non-save situation?
Msb, did the Danley hit look as bad as it sounded? Did you see where he got hit?
Dodgers announcer: “Looks like Bedard’s going to win his first game for Seattle, barring a meltdown in the 9th. They have JJ Putz in.” Are they trying to jinx us or what? Something for us to all keep in mind, though; we could be in Dallas watching the Rangers fall to pieces. Could be worse.
JJ is having a hard time keeping his pitches down.
No more DP situaion.
What do you expect in WA? It’s a whiny state.
or situation.
No kidding — I mean, if JJ is auditioning for Arson Squad: Seattle, we definitely are in trouble!
There goes the DP chance. JJ is going to have to pitch his way out of this–not looking good.
Not only is he blowing this save, but he is wearing himself out for tomorrow.
It’s traditional to boo non-strike calls when you really want a strike. It’s not like most of the fans in the stands are in a position to accurately judge the pitches relative to the zone.
Here’s the full Rule 10.20
Note the “enters” wording. The three inning rule is how you can end up with a save even when your team won by a bijillion runs.
Paulkersey: I’d actually sort of welcome a terrible year, as long as it was d/t the rebuilding with youth that this team seems to be determined to put off indefinitely.
thank you. When we eat beef and get cancer, we complain because we know better. However in Iowa…
That works.
If I were there I’d be booing JJ… he is sucking it up! He has a case of the o’flaherity
I don’t think Sims is from WA.
Bringing in Putz definitely looks like a bad call. Even if he escapes, he’ll probably be unavailable tomorrow, when they might have an actual save situation.
I think Putz probably couldn’t find the grip for his splitter tonight, so he’s throwing almost nothing but fastballs. Some of those wild pitches might’ve been him trying for the splitter. Just a guess.
Wow, 4-pitch walk. He looks awful out there.
I’m glad we are getting this performance out when it isn’t a save situation… otherwise… we’d lose! Wait.. i don’t want to say that too early.. as we still might if he doesn’t throw a strike!
Must have been one hell of a Friday night for JJ. Too much Keystone Light.
Thank you Sweeney! Way to check swing the FIRST pitch after a 4-pitch walk!
Well that was an unnecessary raise in blood pressure. Finally a W.
It’s looking increasingly likely that it will take a terrible year with creaky veterans for management to go into rebuilding mode. Or they could fire Bavasi before that happens…
Kudos to Jamie Burke. I’d give him the Save.
I’m only 21, but I can’t remember a time when the Ms were actually rebuilding. Has to be close to 20 years without really doing it, which is kind of scary.
Shhhhh…Nicole Zaloumis is talking.
Yeah, I remember a time some years back in a game against the Jays where Paniagua got a “save” in a game where we wound up about ten runs up at the end.
Then again, there was also that emergency situation that Wes Littleton of the Rangers found himself in last year where he got a “save” against the O’s — with like a 28-run lead!
Beckya57, I disagree with you. A terrible year would not make this team rebuild, especially under this ownership. It would lead to trading prospects for mid-level talent–or–too many prospects for decent talent (e.g. Erik Bedard–though I liked the trade, but I don’t want to see a bunch of those types of moves). The best part of baseball is hope.
I am drunk.
I wish MLB wasn’t so reticent to make rule changes. Wins and saves are silly, silly stats that need to be fixed in a bad way.
Yeah, because that will get results. I can never understand why fans would boo their own players.
Yeah, it’s the “beatings will continue until morale improves” form of fan support. I’m sure the player goes “Wait, I’m getting boos! What the… hey, what do you know, I’m sucking! I did not notice that before! Thank you, kind fans, now that I’m aware of my performance, I shall immediately begin to excel!”
apparently Penny’s 95+ pitch went straight past the catcher & smacked Danley in the jaw, and he went straight over backward.
I don’t understand the so-called fans booing the home town team either, as it makes zero sense.
I’d like to see any of these clowns who boo their own players how they’d like to have people booing them at work.
I’m for that idea.
Really, FireBavasi? You’re for firing Bavasi? Who knew?
What saved the game for us is that Sweeney runs like Edgar with a leg brace. No way they’re making any other play on that dribbler.
155: On booing…
The object of booing should not be one’s own players, but one’s own Manager and FO. Of course the player will feel it, too, but we don’t have any other way of letting McLaren and Bavasi know that many of us think that the player in question should no longer be allowed to stink up the joint. Thus booing Sexson from about July onward last year was good and right.
That said…booing Putz STILL makes no sense. The guy hasn’t played much lately and is most likely just shaking off the cobwebs. Did you notice that he hit the exact same spot just high and outside to a left-handed hitter with 97 MPH heat? He’s just a little off right now.
Let’s try that link again:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=90efe82d-34af-489d-8e73-0cf510b4eae1&k=43192
Hmm…the ‘Nucks go “SABR” before the M’s do…who knew?!
Re: # 111 (and others) -
I’m surprised they would use JJ in a non-save situation.
W/R/T: Dave Sims stated that closers don’t do well in non-save situations.
Does anyone know of any published data on this?
BTW, Anyone: (Bases loaded, a force at every base.) Was Burke in a position to tag the runner coming in from 3rd, or tag the plate?
171 That was my original thought, but the ball was hit slowly, and the runner was already nearly home. On the replay, it looked like it was a safer play to go to first.