Game 40, Angels at Mariners
DMZ · May 19, 2009 at 5:55 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Felix Dayyyy!!!! Palmer v Felix. Hopefully Felix read Dave’s article. Or someone read it and told him about it. Or read it and told one of the coaches.
7:10.
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Remember, folks, it’s Cheer for Russell Branyan Day! We MUST give props to our unsung RBI and HR leader. It goes like this: RUS-SELL BRAN-YAN! *clap, clap, clap clap clap* (repeat until he hears it)
I like that idea!
I’m a Branyon Fanyon…
In other news, Yunieski gets Benched-a-court again.
You don’t suppose he’s printing his online boarding pass for Pittsburgh..
Incidentally, can we no longer edit comments?
Terrible news for me, I can’t make it to the game tonight so I won’t be able to do the Russell Cheer. So bummed.
Star Spangled Banner on gee-tar = Uh, okay.
I’m not a fan of the full name cheer, that’s a Yankee thing. I think a “Bran-yan” like “Ed-Gar” would be better.
Better Banner than some American Idol wannabe…
FSN, do not screw with me. I’m warning you. (currently looking at a black screen.)
Hardballtimes.com out of zone plays on FSN?
SSB on guitar BY MIKE MCCREADY! Come on, Seattle, the guy is a legend!
Mike + Felix – Yuni = Victory.
Get loose, Mariners.
I… I just saw a whole thing about actual… (stares at beer) that can’t be right.
Can someone explain to me what rational reason there is for Branyan batting 5th and Junior batting third? All you need to know is that on Sunday, the only guy the Sox got Okajima ready for was Branyan — they were content to let their righties pitch to the rest of the lefties. Putting that guy in the heart of our lineup makes so much sense, it hurts my head.
I, too, am staring at a black FSN screen. Apparently Kreuger’s keys to the game were so incisive that they didn’t even feel the need to air the contest.
Perhaps I don’t want to be watching this game. Dammit!
Ooh, was that thunder just now? I want lightning on Felix Day!
FSN coming in fine in Ballardia.
Well, 14 straight fastballs to start the game. I guess he didn’t read the article.
We’ve replaced Felix with fellow Venezuelan Carlos Silva to see if anyone notices.
dr. jeff and juneau,
Where are you and which system are you on ?
If Felix did read Dave’s piece, he either didn’t understand the math or he thinks it’s for sissies.
I’m in Juneau, Alaska, GCI cable.
still black screen ?
Well fuck a duck this sucks.
Yep. Silence, completely silence. Perhaps my TV is stunned by Felix’s performance so far.
Felix: offspeed pitches=out Did you notice that?
89 mph change up.
Napoli is too cool for buttons.
30 pitches and one out, huh? Well, at least our bullpen is reliable.
Oh.
GCI is aware, they are working on it.
God, I’m like a crack addict. The little gasp of joy when the screen finally came alive was pathet—NOOO…oh, it’s back again.
Felix looks pasty. Is he unwell again?
Black screen in Portland (comcast) as well. But I have a feeling I’m better off.
Felix just doesn’t get it BTW. He’s a little too content for a guy with his gifts.
Only 2-0, that is a bad start for Felix, but not an insurmountable obstacle.
Whats worse on an arm, a 110+ pitch outing or a 30+ pitch inning?
Felix looked like Silva out there in the first. Two run hole for the Mighty Mariners offense. great…
YES!!!!
Such a beautiful swing.
Adrian will break through, he will.
Silva has internal impingement. The labrum and rotator cup are torn making his thoracic compressor discombobulated.
Jr’s sweet swing is like baseball porn.
Yeah I wish they broke it down a bit further. Basically Silva’s shoulder is f’d up. Oh well big loss…
I wish Felix would stop thinking and just throw what is called.
What number crappy start is this for Felix?
lefties=kryptonite
Is the MRI and second opinion review all part of the plan for a made up injury?
I think I’ve figured out Felix’s problem. That whole throw less fastballs thing seems interesting, but has anyone else noticed that Felix wears his cap slightly pointing to the left?
A two run jack from Johjima would be nice right now.
YEAH! Cedeño!
Ronny blasted that thing.
Would you settle for one by Cedeno?
Nice use of the ballpark’s architecture, Ronnie.
Will Randy get a standing ovation welcome or a boo bird greeting?
CEDENO! hopefully he just earned another start tommorow.
Yeah Cedeno!!!! I like him as the SS over Yuni almost any day.
Randy has been at Safeco before and got a warm greeting, so I would imagine he will again.
Yeah Blowers, Cedeno looked real foold on that HR…
Cedeno punks Puget Sound!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is it just me or is Abreau playing pretty far back?
Yeah and that huge wad he’s got going on needs to be placed on his right side to counter balance it.
That ball took a sharp right when it hit the ground.
Finally. Jeez, stop the bleeding/stealing!
Why would there be any doubt about Randy getting an enthusiastic greeting for what will almost undoubtedly be his last time at Safeco?
An ominous clap of thunder outside Safeco just then.
Thank goodness Kenji threw out Hunter when he did!
The Angels always have one of these Alley Oop the Caveman players, with the scruffy beard and unbuttoned jersey. Overcompensating? I suppose saying you’re an angel isn’t very manly.
So what you’re saying is, his hat is tipping his pitches?
Alright, since the mystery of Felix has been solved twice over now, how the heck did J. Pineiro become a viable starter again?
That was one scary broken bat!
I appreciate Ken’s hard slides. He must know he needs to do that, with Beltre batting behind him.
‘Viable’ you mean as in, ‘#4 or 5 by end of season’ starter?
ok, back inside from the rain & other weather theatricals — with both pitchers having thrown so many pitches, is the ump calling an odd zone, or are both pitchers just off?
Is this good or bad news?
Luck? Given his ridiculously low k-rate and hr/fb, I can’t imagine it’ll last too much longer.
Sweet f****** cracker sandwich.
Under the theory of sunk costs, anything that allows Silva to be placed on the 60 day disabled list, and thus not really taking up a roster spot, while not actually pitching games that count, is a good thing.
Sorry folks, getting caught up here…
As long as you don’t do it like that leather-lunged asswipe at Tropicana Field…
Apparently not, and so it will be until DMZ has time to plunge his figurative fingers into the literal guts guts of the site (or perhaps the other way around) so complaining about it is unlikely to help.
You need to post that every game, so Jr can go yard just to spite you.
Yeah, like Brad Fullmer. I hated that guy.
So, the Angels are now 3-for-5 in stolen bases in the first four innings.
And Ryan Franklin a closer.
Mind you, a complete game shutout against the Cubs is… well, it was the Cubs. He only threw 92 pitches in that game. How the hell does that happen?
a **** ton of groundouts and no walks.
Damn Ichiro, getting those selfish RBI doubles to pad his hits total…
Damn selfish opposite field double by Ichiro.
Gotta love the internets. I did a search on Brad Fullmer to see if he was caveman I remembered for a year or so ago with the Angels, and first hit was ‘brad fulmer ‘roids,’ and then when I did a google image search, got Shirtless pics on flickr that had Fullmer all greased and ripped. Sweet.
oh, that Joh. speed kills.
Amazing that this inning started with a totally useless at-bat from Lopez. I’m thinking we need to clone Ronnie Cedeno so he can replace both of the Doubleplay Twins.
Ex M’s who seemed like they were done, and then land in STL and do well, shouldn’t surprise anyone. Every year the Cardinals pick up a few players off the scrap heap and they end up being good, and not just one year wonders either. I don’t know what Tony Larussa’s magic is, but he can fill out his roster with cast offs and it works for him and them.
Psh. That double by Ichiro! was only a 2.00 on the LI. Selfish indeed. Why, I remember the Mick would only bother if it was up to at least 3.00. And there wasn’t even such a thing as ‘leverage index’, he just knew.
I think it may have to do more with Dave Duncan if I’m not mistaken. They seem to be mostly pitchers. Not that I’m taking anything away from Tony…
Felix is pitching like young Mariner pitchers in the eighties pitched.
Niehaus just mentioned that Felix started the game off with 14 straight fastballs.
What an ugly game.
Felix just hates to get ahead of the Angels. He’s not selfish at all.
Silva being hurt is great. Put him on the 60 day DL, and thank him for his time.
Wow Felix is stinking up the joint tonight. He just has no command at all.
I take the comment back, Ronnie.
are you serious? this is ridiculous
DAMMIT LOPEZ!!!!!!!! Wow he just plain sucks defensively!
Someone has to make up for Yuni’s defensive lapses…
A least Lopez looks like he cares when he boots a ball.
Yuni looks like he is smirking. I just want to strangle him when he does it.
Good. Sixty percent is a worse rate than not stealing at all.
Neither team wants to win.
So what you’re saying is, his hat is tipping his pitches?
Joser – No need to tip pitches. They are all fastballs.
I nominate Jack Wilson for Shortstop and Kelly Johnson for second base.
I don’t understand what Joel is doing, exactly. The thing that jumps out at me looking at
this start is that everything that missed, missed down. He only had two called high balls the whole night. And yet a third of his pitches were coded as four-seam fastballs (and another third as two seam). Does he have a killer sinker/splitter now?
Well, even Larussa’s magic has limits (see Spiezio, Scott). But it’s not just the Cardinals. It’s the NL in general. I’m still surprised that Olivo, Torrealba, and (especially) Aurilia still have jobs in baseball.
Yeah, just amazing how many times they tried. I don’t know whether they thought Hernandez was taking too much time to come to the plate, or what.
Kenny the walking man.
Ah, it’s a wonderful feeling knowing we’ve not one reliable starter and human pinball machines for middle infielders. :S
The on air guys were saying Felix had a high, slow leg kick on those steals. I think they were saying, we can steal on you, Felix. At least if you’re stealing on every pitch, the defense can react.
are you fucking kidding me lopez
So we bench Lopez…who does this leave to play the infield?
I think the “Lopez is just as bad as Yuni” meme on this site is going from “convince me” to “conventional wisdom” very rapidly.
I’m done with Lopez. Get him out of here.
Thanks Lopez, we should be up one run but due 100% to you we are down one. I would bench his ass right now.
Wow Lopez needs to consider becoming an actor because he’s doing a great job of playing the role of Yuni Bentancourt.
Is there anyone in Tacoma who is at least somewhat reliable?
Way to go, Lopez. The way to make up for blowing a double-play in the top of the inning is to hit into one (on the first pitch you see) in the bottom. Now you just need to get caught doing something stupid on the basepaths and you’ll have the bench-him! trifecta….
Scott Speizio is one of the best samples of St. Louis picking up somebody from the scarp heap and having them be good, he was decent all year in 2006 when they won it all. And How about Ryan Ludwick? true, it may be the NL in general, but he was mediocre at best before landing with the Cards, now he is a star.
The broken bats parade is in town tonight at the Safe.
Are we entirely certain that “nobody” is a worse option?
Maybe “human pinball machines” isn’t the best metaphor. More like “two giant anchors dragging the good ship Mariner into the briny deep”.
willie bloomquist!
Some people Advocate trading Beltre right now, and moving Lopez over there. Watch every great play that Adrian makes or even Figgins makes, and contemplate Lopez playing it.
I mean, we have an outfield of three center fielders. It might just be possible to have Gutierrez handle the 2B bag also.
(No I’m not serious)
(I think)
Since we’re on the Lopez topic. Did anyone else notice that Lopez was shaded way up the middle on both of Hunters singles? Both would have been routine plays if he were in normal position.
Nice fastball, Felix. Looked just like Morrow’s fastball last night.
I think I’ve figured out Felix’s problem. That whole throw less fastballs thing seems interesting, but has anyone else noticed that Felix wears his cap slightly pointing to the left?
Is it me or has Felix been wearing his cap like this for the past couple of years? Jr is starting to warm up just like the weather.
It’s a dark and stormy night. We need kindling.
In other news: effing Abreu. effing Angels.
That was a hanging curve.
Not sure where you are, but it’s 46 degrees in Seattle.
I am more concerned about shortstop then second.
If Lopez were dealt, even if they did not get a second basemen back, journeymen second basemen are almost always available. And you can always get one who still can hit decent, but has lost a step, but still is way better than Lopez is on defense. Good shortstops are harder to come by.
2-0 count and you bunt? I don’t really like it. Hopefully Chavez can get him in at least.
That was the first 1-2-3 inning in this game for either team.
Damn you Beltre.
WTF.
First they (Sims/Niehaus) said Lowe threw 97mph last time. Then they said he threw 99mph. Then right now Sims just said Lowe threw 101mph. Are they really that stupid? I thought it’d be obvious that Lowe is not physically capable of throwing 101mph. And if that’s actually what the radar gun showed, then the gun was inaccurate.
Nice double play.
Nice play by Cedeno there. Hope it earns him some more time out there…
Joh’s arm’s going to fall off from throwing at base stealers.
Upgrading the outfield defense has certainly made Washburn and Bedard look a lot better. Flyballs in the gaps that were extra-base hits last year are outs this year.
Until we do something similar to the 2B/SS positions, Felix will disappoint. So will Silva, but we may not notice.
Is it me or is Kenji playing better overall this year at this time then he was last year at this time???
Alright Lopey, you need some redemption here…
Id trade Lopez, Beltre, and Yuni for a new bullpen cart!
Not what I had in mind…
I keep going through spells where I think Lopez might not be that bad… then nights like this come along to remind me.
JerBear, any player will have good games (example: WFB). That’s why you look at the stats dispassionately.
Very true. Conversely, any player will also have bad games. The fan in me often wants to believe that the good games are the norm, and the bad just deviations – Even if I know it’s not really true.
If you’re looking for a scapegoat for the last few weeks, it’s interesting that Miguel Batista wouldn’t be in the conversation at all.
Miss those bats Miggy!
here comes fuentes!!!
Silva needs a lot more than that.
Two different methods for measuring speed. One is radar, the other is pitch f/x. Radar gun speeds will always vary depending on where exactly they are pointed. It’s an inexact science when it comes to radar guns, unless of course, it’s officer Poncharello.
I may be mistaken, but I think he’s been doing this since he’s been on the big club. Are you implying that it has something to do with his performance?
I was just thinking, does this team ever pinch hit?
And here’s one. See if it works.
Just hit an homerun, Ichiro. I’m so tired of these one run games.
Jesus, Fuentes chooses to still live in Merced, CA? Ugh.
He was born there too. Thanks for the info Dave!
Could be worse. He could choose to live in Stockton. Or Bakersfield.
I’m not a glamorous well-paid professional athlete and I knew to get the hell out of the Central Valley as soon as possible.
These one run losses are killing me.
I am really, really curious just how much the 2009 MLB Draft will play as far as getting us further along as a competitive organization.
I’m somewhat resigned to the idea of Dustin Ackley trading UNC powder-blues for Mariner blue. He doesn’t really thrill me, but he’ll hit.
And Lord knows we need a few more guys with an idea of the nuances of hitting.
Anyone want to speculate on just where guys like Betancourt and Lopez would fit on an imaginary “baseball IQ” scale?
I agree with juneau_fan….these one-run losses get old.
By the way, Juneau, where are you from in the Central Valley?
If it’s not 4th down and a punting situation yet, then it’s at least 3rd and 20 and our QB’s got a broken arm. It was a nice try.
Sooooo….we’re six games out of first with 40% of our opening day rotation on the DL, right?
The center of the universe, better knows as Modesto. Way too many years before I was able to escape back to the cool rains of Alaska.
It’s sort of sad that the exciting part of this team right now is what moves they’ll make to try and make this team better, rather than what’s happening on the field. Batista sure seems to be pitching his way out of town.
SonOfZavaras: why wouldn’t you be thrilled with Ackley? The guy’s been very consistent since the day he started at UNC. 3 straight years of 400 AVG and 500 OBP. He bats LH, and started to hit for some powers this year with 17 HR in 215 AB. You look at the 4 guys we have in our in field: Yuni, Lopez, Beltre and Kenji, they are all RH bats with the same sucky approach.
I read UNC’s coach thinks Ackley could play 2B given enough time. As much as I love Beltre and his D, and his two 790 OPS seasons prior to this year was pretty solid for a guy who plays half of his game in the Safe, he just seem lost this year. I am torn about whether we should try to sign him after this year. Yuni and Lopez can just leave. I think they are not Jack Z and Don W type of guys, and they will be gone after this year. You find a stop gap guy for 1 year and let Ackley learn the position in 2B next year, and give the job to him fulltime in 2011. You are going to have your starting 2B for the next 10 years. Guti is just doing fine, I don’t see why we really need Ackley move to CF. He’s never going to be Guti or Ichiro in CF. After this year, you send a good farewell to Griffey and give the full time DH job to Clement and tell him not to worry about catching any more. You re-sign Branyan, and find some cheap LF / 3B solutions. You get another high draft pick after this sucky year and get a college pitcher to ready to join the rotation. You can probably contend in 2011 or 2012.
If they would just listen to Dave, Felix wouldn’t be in this mess.