Game 59, Mariners at Orioles
Mike Snow · June 10, 2009 at 4:07 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Betancourt is back in the lineup. On a more positive note, Happy Felix Day! And game threads are back after a one-day hiatus, because there really wasn’t much point in discussing yesterday’s abysmal offense anyway. Hernandez v. Guthrie, 4:05.
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96 Responses to “Game 59, Mariners at Orioles”
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Happy Felix day! And now we can hope to look forward to Happy Morrow days too. On the pre-game show Drayer interviewed Morrow and he sounded committed to going back to the minors and doing what it takes to learn to be a major league starter. It’s like a bonus first round draft pick.
Meanwhile, the M’s go down 1-2-3. Ugh. C’mon Felix.
One really wonders if there’s a point to actually watching these games as opposed to just saving our enthusiasm for upcoming years of better Mariners baseball…
Nice play by Branyan…
I’ve been asking that since 1977.
And yet, here we are.
Come on… There were like… Three or so years where we actually discussed that year’s play and not next year’s hopes… Out of 32… That’s not THAT bad.
Wait, no, I’m being informed that that IS in fact bad.
If people hadn’t watched them when they were bad, then they never would have given us 2001.
Lopez is waking up recently
That was clutch.
So, at some point the Cubs are going to go 162-0?
OK, Yuni did what he’s supposed to do there.
Yuni demonstrates again just how much his consistent approach provides real value to the team:
2 pitches, one out.
I guess by his consistency, he’ll demonstrate how badly we need to get rid of him, which will improve the team.
Thanks Yuni!!
Ha ha… Brandon Morrow bobblehead night…
Good stuff.
All I know is that I suspect we are all umpteen times lazier than anyone in MLB.
And get paid umpteen times less than them for a job that provides more real value to society than them.
Lauren, you can come down from the ledge now. Yuni’s back.
Well, I know I wake up earlier than Ichiro. After that, though… yeah.
Oh, I got some new promotion ideas:
Brandon Morrow waffle iron night
Yuni Lay-Z-Boy night
Carlos Silva Team Poster (same picture, but without Ichiro)
Wak’s Wok
Ichiro!
Speak for yourself. I provide way less real value to society. In fact, aside from mid-wifing the term “rosterbation” I don’t think I’ve provided anything at all. Well, except CO2. I do provide that. Oh, wait, now you’re saying that’s a bad thing too?
SoaS: I’m mad at Yuni for making me look bad by supporting him. I am value-judging the heck out of him for that.
Also, he is making me think of my slacker coworker (mentioned in the Yuni post) which just makes me angrier.
That’s not true…
You also provide important nutrient recycling mechanism.
Well… at the least, we do get paid a lot less.
So there’s that…
You ARE also…
I would love my edit button back…
Frankie is hurt… That’s not good.
Well correct me if I’m wrong Lauren but I remember you saying you rooted for Yuni not for his abilities… but for his looks??????
Guti out with self-inflicted injuries.
Nice having a such an abundance of centerfielders, yes?
Ugh… Apparently I need to read my edits better…
And the broadcast really needs to come up with some better Aflac trivia.
Bob Melvin was also ejected during the line-up exchange, too, guys.
After that insane call at 3B against Tampa.
I’m surprised nobody mentioned that Doyle has been aquired by the Pirates…
oh wait..I just did…
Go M’s!!
SoaS: Not for his looks. Just because I found him likable for some reason. I guess he always seemed kind of jovial (not so good when you’ve just screwed up a big play) and he had a cool name and heck it was probably the holdover from the tandem bicycle commercial. Suffice it to say I had no good reason.
Besides, going for him based on looks could depend on him staying in shape.
J. Lo, workin’ the count! Love it.
Yea, I was going to say. Yuni is way below replacement level from an aesthetic standpoint.
I’ll remember Lauren’s answer the next time I see a woman with a horrible boyfriend or something.
Yeah, Yuni learned a lot from that benching.
SoaS: Just keep in mind that I’m talking about “root for as a baseball player,” not “accept into one’s bed.”
I didn’t see that Yuni at bat – how many pitches did he see?
Hey, at least we scored the run…
So I normally watch games at work with ESPN’s GameCast, which doesn’t list the type of pitch the way that MLB GameDay does. But GameCast is down, so I’m on MLB… and it sure makes it easy to get worked up over the number of four-seam fastballs Felix is apparently throwing.
I was thinking about this while pondering the (presumably) imminent trades of Bedard and Washburn…
If the unthinkable is going to happen in the 2010 offseason, then we’re down to about 50 Felix Days.
That future event should be referred to as “the event which shall not be named.”
Anyone watching have any idea yet on the severity of the Gutierrez injury?
Then again, the poor Expos/Nats had the misfortune of their two best years being either messed up or completely ruined by strikes.
Talk about being born under a bad sign…
Bruised knee, according to Dave N.
One thing I dislike about the Yuni pile on is the extent to which it is media driven. Take a look at Geoff Baker’s in game post. He never has posts like that about Carlos Silva or Rob Johnson. I am sure he thinks he is holding Yuni “accountable”.
Felix scares me sometimes.
Remember M’s fans:
Saying “Pull Up Your Pants” means You’re Old.
(Twisted ankles are cool! All the kids have ‘em!)
One thing I dislike about Yuni is that while he was a great talent a few years ago, his skills seem to have declined and he hasn’t made any effort to sharpen them, even after having been talked to by people at all levels of the organization.
Carlos Silva isn’t starting. He has an “injury”
Yuni is keeping a replacement on the bench who is better than him right now.
Silva is trying. Yuni is not. I think the reason we doubt the media-driven “Ichiro is a bad clubhouse presence” is because of Ichiro’s performance on the field. What has Yuni done to earn our benefit of the doubt?
Yum, more 1 run Mariner baseball. I just can’t get enough of it.
Wow.
Not following this closely, but it seems from Gameday as if Felix is pitching quite badly, overusing the four-seamer without much control, and just riding his luck.
Anyone who’s actually watching this care to elucidate?
Lopez!!!
J-Lo strikes again!
I mean, 8 base runners on 6 hits and 2 walks through five innings, and only 3 K’s.
That the Orioles have only scored one run is tough to credit.
Nice to see Beltre hitting better.
If Lopez could come up with a runner in scoring position every time, he just might be an all-star, despite his defense.
At least the offense is waking up.
Apparently Lopez doesn’t want you to.
I cracked up when I heard Wakamatsu joke the other day about how a two run win “felt like a blow out.”
Well at least Jose got the message from Yuni’s benching.
Thank you scott19
Just to play a little bit of devil’s advocate to my sarcastic comment above: I’ve been reading for years on this site about how Felix’s pitch selection leaves something to be desired, yet he’s “doing the same thing he’s always done”.
At what point do you say that Felix is wasting his talent as well?
When he drops bellow replacement level. Let us pray that never happens until is 52 and retires in an M’s uniform.
Practice makes perfect.
I can’t believe we have to wait 2 months for the next USSM get-together.
I’ll be surprised if Felix finishes his career in an M’s uniform. If he doesn’t start piching better he won’t be worth the money he’ll be able to command. I do hope we are able to buy out 1 or 2 years of free agency, however. Felix at 75% is better than 90% of all pitchers.
So far, by Gameday, Felix has thrown about 10 change ups, 1 curve, a handful of sinkers and sliders, and 70 4-seam fastballs.
It does seem as if he’s determined to macho his way through this, no matter what the smart-arses think his best pitch is.
That exchange about that guy’s sweater and rain poncho was priceless.
They’re 689-665 this decade. We haven’t had it that bad.
I love Beltre’s happy feet after he almost swings at a bad pitch
76 games over for 2001, 42 under for the other years combined.
Okay, that’s looking at the glass half empty, I know. Winning records in 5 out of 9 seasons since 2000, isn’t it?
Doesn’t feel that way though.
Felix went 7 innings and threw 79 fastballs, 58% for strikes. He threw 24 other pitches, 83% for strikes.
But there’s nothing to be learned from that so we’ll just move on.
Can Sean White start?
Considering there were 99 and 101-loss seasons in there, 24 over for the decade isn’t that bad overall.
But, I agree, Colm…it does feel like the long, miserable stretch has been a lot longer for some reason.
From Drayer’s blog on Yuni: “One thing I did see was Yuni taking ground balls during batting practice with more focus than I have ever seen. No hot dogging or half assing it. He really attacked the balls that were hit to him. Seen the same thing on the field tonight. Didn’t like the first pitch out after a 7 pitch hit by Lopez in the fourth, but he has shown a little something extra in the field tonight. Moving like he is 15 pounds lighter.”
Good to hear.
Boy, they’re dogging on that guy in the sweater and clear plastic coat.
But I must say, living in a place where I must routinely see tourists wearing plastic garbage bags as clothing, that guy has them beat. K Street dweeb staying dry.
Also from her blog:
Hilarious
The Double Play Twins come up with a win.
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
The run prevention this month has been awesome. 14 runs allowed in the first 8 games of the month.
The M’s are going to start winning again. Mr. Z. is finding hungry, skilled players instead of just hungry for the post game buffet. Finding talent with character counts, as we have lacked this equation for the past few years in the infield. Most winning teams are good up the middle with their shortstop and second baseman. Yuni had his turn and blew it. Next!
If the M’s had any kind of offense at all, they’d be a winning machine.
Wow, Pittman with a nice tip of the cap to the “blog community” on the postgame show for the analysis of Felix and his fastball tendency.
Matt Pittman thinks Felix throws too many fastballs.
Heard Pittman. One more guy for Felix to ignore until he grows up. (what a day that will be)
Please be back soon Guti.
FSN is trying to get Felix the Cat to catch on like King Felix.
Did I fall asleep yesterday and miss that the M’s now have 3 catchers and one less relief pitcher?
If true, why do the M’s need 3 catchers if none of them can hit?
Not gonna happen. Soon, they will learn the mighty power of the blogosphere!
Well, since the M’s seem to be going through catchers so far this season like Spinal Tap did drummers or the Grateful Dead did keyboard players, I guess they figure it’s not a bad idea to have a couple of extras around just in case.
FSN is trying to get Felix the Cat to catch on like King Felix.
KJR had tried to do the same thing–finally gave up.
(Reminds me of that scene in Casablanca where the German soldiers were trying to over-ride La Marseilles with Deutshland Uber Alles , and finally gave up.)
[Today's game showed why the title KING is appropriate.]
I dunno.
I think El Rey Felix was a touch lucky tonight.
7 Hits and 2 walks usually racks up more than one run, even with a bunch of grounders mixed in.
We have 3 catchers because one of them (Rob Johnson) is hurt, but not bad enough to be put on the DL, apparently. And you can’t really play with 1 catcher… It seems obvious that the M’s should have put Johnson on the DL at this point, before handing Stark his DFA papers… But maybe they were concerned about the MLB noticing that a bunch of their “not very good” players were getting sent to the DL with injuries.
And Matt Pittman absolutely tore into Felix, or as much as he could on the M’s network broadcast after a game where he gave up 1 run.
But if Felix can pitch like an idiot and give up 1 run, god bless him. I’d be curious to know how many times Felix shook off Burke.
And also, I’m curious how Jeff Clement’s knee is doing.
After his 27-game hitting streak came to an end last Friday, all Ichiro Suzuki has done is gone 8-for-15 in the last four games.
Too bad he’s so lazy and selfish, otherwise he would have been willing to end his hit streak long ago so he could have a four-game stretch with eight hits.
What a jerk that guy is.
=oP
Redundancy is crucial to mediocrity.
Shannan Drayer seems to imply (from some of her recent comments), that the impression she is getting from the clubhouse/front office is that if this team has a good road trip right now, they will go shopping for a bat to add to this lineup quickly.
So on that note, if the M’s do go shopping (whether you think that’s a good decision or not), who is likely to be available, gettable, and a good fit for us right now?
mariners splits against left and right handed pitching are pretty much exactly the same. Which makes me less worried about the fact we are facing 13 right handed starters in a row. I know that ichiro and Branyan tear up right handed hitting and skew the #’s a bit. But we are still statistically a team that has equal success, or more appropriatly lack there of, against left or right handed pitching.
I don’t know how “gettable” he would be, but if the M’s are going for a bat, Brad Hawpe would be a very good fit. He is in the prime of his career, is a left-handed power bat, and can fill in for the Chavez/Wlad combo of pain in LF. He would only cost pro-rated $5.5 mil this year, plus is under contract for $17.5 mil over the next two years (he has a $10 mil club option for 2011 that becomes guaranteed if he is traded). When Ackley is ready, he slips right into DH, if not sooner. Oh, and he is hitting .339/.411/.611 this season at age 28. I am sure it would cost a lot to get him, but if the M’s are going for it this year, Hawpe should at least be part of the conversation.
Any thought on the possibility of trading for Jermaine Dye(.276AVG, 15HR and 39RBI)? He has limited no trade protection(Northeast teams for the most part) and could be a fit for the M’s in LF. The M’s would only be responsible for about 4.5M this year and there is a mutual option for 12M for 2010. He can be expected to hit around 30HR and would be a solid fit for the M’s.
If #34 is Felix the Cat, any chance we could make Bill Krueger into Triumph the Insult Comic Dog?
Or maybe that is reserved for someone else. . .
Corner OF, DH, 3B, SS, 2B, C all could use some help at the moment offensively. . .
Let’s start there.
Well, since Triumph is occasionally funny whereas Bill Krueger never is, I seriously doubt it.
Hmmmmmmmmm, think of it as a “Evil Rick Rizzs” moniker. . .
Or maybe that’s a little bit of a stretch.
Well, from 2004 to 2008, we’ve averaged 72 wins, and averaged 12th in the AL in both Runs Scored and HRs. The team has been awful and boring.
But things are looking up! Maybe not this year, but soon.