Game 34, Rangers at Mariners
If the Mariners don’t manage to cut into the Angels’s lead in the next week or two, I get the feeling that there’s going to be a lot of finger pointing going on as to who’s responsible for the team’s awful fortunes, and there’s a very good chance that we’re going to see the new guys, called up to help the franchise, blamed for not turning the team around.
That’s too bad, because they don’t deserve it. Let’s compare where things stand right now just in terms of production.
Balentien’s hitting .238/.238/.524 in his 21 plate appearances. But Wilkerson was hitting .232/.348/.304, so every game he’s playing that Wilkerson doesn’t is an improvement just on offense.
Jeff Clement, new semi-DH, is hitting .176/.300/.176 in 20 plate appearances.
Jose Vidro, the old DH, hit .192/.248/.298 in 113 plate appearances. As a side note, to get to Clement’s line: -3 singles, -1 double, -1 walk (sort of).
In terms of overall contibutions, here’s their VORP: Vidro, -4.1, Clement, -1.2. Clement needs to suck as badly as he’s sucked for another 18 games before he’ll have hurt the team as much as Vidro already has.
If you want to portion out responsibility, start with the players who have really stunk up the place. Johjima, as much as I’ve been a fan, has been horrible (-7.1 VORP). Bloomquist still can’t hit, and managed to get over thirty plate appearances (-2.6 VORP). Miguel Cairo’s awful ten plate appearances (-1.8 plate appearances) hurt the team more than Clement has so far.
And that’s not even getting into who isn’t playing up to expectations or salary. Or the team’s defense, which has been bad.
The rotation’s been pretty good, though Batista and Bedard have disappointed to different degrees. Putz hasn’t been himself, and the bullpen’s been a real weakness so far, along with bullpen management.
Which brings us to the topic at hand. It’s not fair to blame Clement or Balentien if the team doesn’t come back to be competitive. They don’t fill out the lineup cards, forget who’s in the bullpen, or run the game. They didn’t assemble the roster, or hire the manager. They didn’t hire the GM who hired the manager.
Blame, if you’re going to hand it out, should flow upwards from the new guys who’ve only been playing for few games to the architects of the season, roster, and franchise.
But it’s too early yet for blame. Let’s wait a game, at least. And hey! There’s a game in an hour!
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95:
[Mike Rowe voice]
“1500 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor…the Mariners continue to stink up Safeco Field…”
[/Mike Rowe voice]
10 runs on 6 hits? Seriously?
Wlad getting his sea legs under him…
That should be southeast…
God, it’s such a bizarro night, I’m even dyslexic with my compass directions. 😮
Maybe Raul needs to bite the head off a herring.
The comeback begins!
(probably not.)
I dunno, the M’s could be 1500 miles southwest of Dutch. They look pretty much lost at sea…
So much for a comeback, with Willie in center. That should be seen as the ‘we’re conceding the game’ sign. Will Cairo being pitching in the mop up roll next?
Why is Ichiro out of the game?
JMHawkins-
I would say the game is out of reach and Ichiro doesn’t get days off. A few innings here and there in blow out losses or wins is good for his long run health.
I know. what a waste of real estate. They could easily move Mission Impossible or The Untouchables to that slot.
because they are down 9 runs?
You know, Cairo taking one for the team on the mound for an inning or so might not be any worse than some of the performances we’ve seen lately out of the old
Arson Squad, er, bullpen.Okay, good, Mac’s just throwing in the towel. I was afraid Ichiro had pulled something or something.
so, wonder what it was the Rangers saw when they watched Ponson pitch for teams this spring that the Mariners did not see.
AB is now having a seat, so Cairo is in at third.
Jeez, even the play by play guys are in a mop-up roll! Blowers and Sims? “Sometimes these games happen, just put it behind you, blah, blah.”
Er, this is one, against Sir Sidney, that the team needed to win. You expect them to get beat by Wang, not some bloated drunk. (My apologies, Sid, if you’re dry these days.)
The way this season has started out, poor Ichi might be wishing he was 1500 miles southwest of Attu right now…
Which means he’d just about be back home relaxing.
well, FWIW, Ponson came into the game with:
ERA W-L SO WHIP
1.10 1-0 10 1.10
Grit doesn’t take a day off even when it’s 10-1!!!
At least we’re outhitting them!
This would be an excellent opportunity for that Ichiro impersonator from last night to play centerfield and see if the McLaren notices the difference.
Though I still don’t know how in the bloody hell that’s possible.
Since this game lacks a little to excite us I was checking out Sports Center. If you geta chance checkout the throws from centerfield by Rick Ankiel (sp?) Threw a runner out at third on the fly from the warning track plus another great throw. I also believe that he may have hit a dinger. Just some great plays. Sorry to get off track.
If you can’t draw a walk to save your life:
You might be the 2008 Seattle Mariners
If you think having Miguel Cairo AND Willie Bloomquist on your 25 man roster is a good idea:
You juuuust might be the 2008 Seattle Mariners.
If your line up is getting mowed down by Sidney Ponson:
You are definitely the 2008 Seattle Mariners
I was at the game last night and sat 4 rows up from the entrance to the Ranger dugout. After his pop out in the 2nd, Milton Bradley yelled at a fan in one of the olwer rows to “SHUT UP!!!” It was pretty funny. What a nut case. Did anyone see anything about that?
I’m awfully tired of these hangdog post-game McLaren press conferences… nothing about that guy inspires any kind of confidence.
If you’re a baseball fan, but are so frustrated with the season thus far that NASCAR reruns are almost an option:
You’re definitely watching the 2008 Seattle Mariners!
10 walks?!?!?! Good grief.
I kinda wondered why we never took a look at Bradley, considering that he was probably as palatable as some of the other corner outfield options…
…Oh, that’s right — I forgot we have to keep things “family-friendly”.
I am okay with Clement in the lineup trying to figure out the majors. He seems to be hitting the ball hard and usually taking the pitcher deeper in the count (after swinging at the first pitch in his first 3 AB’s). I have faith.
I would rather watch young guys with potential struggle than old guys suck…
I actually thought there was hope of 7 wins in a row after last nights game…boy was I wrong.
That is absolutely depressing. Down right embarrassing with such a beautiful stadium. We are wasting SafeCo Field.
Bavasi should be ashamed of himself.
Well, look on the bright side…as the immortal Benny Hill once said, at least it was “one in a row”! 🙂
Geez, I guess we’ve now officially joined the ranks of such fine franchises as the Orioles — who’ve been wasting Camden Yards for a decade now.
If this downward spiral of crap weather combined with miserable play continues, we’ll be right down there with Oakland, Tampa Bay and Florida attendance-wise before too long. >:(
re: 132
The Mariners should seriously consider playing the theme song from Benny Hill every time the hometown 9 takes the field.
It sure beats “Who Let the Dogs Out.”
But the Orioles have these two good players named George Sherrill and Adam Jones.
C’mon Howard, start writing out that check:
T-E-X-E-I. . .
Will someone please fire Bavasi before this gets any worse, I mean, my god, he’s had 5 years to turn this around now. How many more chances does he get?
scott, The Orioles have won a World Series.
Sorry for rubbing it in. I sat through 200+ pitches of detritus tonight – in the damn cold. So I’m not happy.
Tomorrow is another day. And tomorrow is a good day to start a 3-game winning streak.
True — and that was an awesome franchise in those days. How sad it is that Angelos has neglected them to the extent that he has in recent years.
Sorry the game tonight turned out to be such a stinker. And if we get tomorrow’s game, it’s Felix Day! on Thursday.
And, I think after losing his last two starts, he should plenty pissed enough to completely shut down the Rangers.
134: Funny you should mention it…I remember when they used to play that song (“Yakety Sax”) in-between innings at the Safe.
I cracked up every time I heard that, too — ’cause I always thought it’d be funny if the grounds crew, ball girls, and security folks started re-enacting that Benny Hill scene by chasing the Moose around the field. 🙂
I picture the Benny Hill song playing in the background whenever Raul tries to chase down a ball.
I agree that blaming Clement or Balantine would be totally off base. If Clement AND Balantine were both as good as The Kid was in his rookie season, this team would still have a long way to go before being a contender. Clement and Balantine were (we hope) solutions to two of our biggest problems this season, but the Mariners have a problem in more than half the hitters in the line up; even if replacing Vidro and Wilkerson fixes a problem or two, we have several more problems to contend with.
Wlad is arguably hitting better than Adam Jones (I know, small sample size).
Patience needs to be exercised with Clement. Eventually, those hard-hit balls are going to drop for hits.
Meanwhile, Johjima is still sucking wind.