Carp’s Debut
Want to know how to get the M’s blogopshere on your side in your major league debut? Do this:
That’s Mike Carp’s first at-bat as a major leaguer. He saw five pitches, staring at all four out of the strike zone. He swung once and tried to hit it to the moon. He missed, but the at-bat continued and he took his walk.
So, in his first plate appearance as a major leaguer, he showed better pitch selection than everyone on the roster besides Branyan/Griffey, he showed a willingness to swing for the fences when he thinks he’s getting a fastball, and he showed the patience to take a walk in the at-bat where he had more nerves than he’ll ever have again. Not bad.
He’ll get the start at first base today, then probably go back to Tacoma tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what he does today – either way, I think he earned himself a fan or two last night.
I think it bodes really well for the future of the M’s that Jack Zduriencik seeks hitters who exercise patience (and a left handed stick).
Carp may not ever be a star, but a lineup with several Mike Carps would certainly wreak havoc on the opposing pitcher’s pitch count.
Good start, Mike!
And you can’t forget this was his FIRST MLB at bat!
The last thing a kid wants to do is strike out his first time up in the bigs, and he had the guts to sit there and wait for a strike and not swing at crap.
Very impressive!
Wasn’t Branyan going to miss some games? Or maybe it is just one game, after which Carp will be sent back?
The latter.
Branyan is attending his grandfather’s funeral today. He’s expected to come back in time for the homestand.
But can’t Carp stay up with Bedard on the DL?
They didn’t call up another pitcher did they?
It’s becoming more and more apparent the type of hitter Z and Wak want on the roster – selective hitters who aren’t free swingers, who show plate discipline, who are willing to take a walk over swinging at crap out of the strike zone. It’s sad that players on this team who have been in the bigs for years could look at this rookie’s plate discipline and learn.
He got an eighth of Yuni’s total bases on balls in one plate appearance.
What I liked more than anything else was his demeanor as a whole. To look at him, you wouldn’t have known it was his first day in the majors. He looked and acted like it was just another day at the ballpark, not nervous or awestruck at all.
That, if nothing else, improved my opinion of him even further.
Actually, Gutierrez has a 21.7% O-swing rate this season, not as good as Griffey but better than Branyan — hence his #3 spot (behind those other two) in walk totals on the team.
Which just emphasizes the point about the kind of players Zduriencik is looking for: all three of those guys, plus Endy (#4 on the BB list despite part-time play) are part of the “new way” this year.
He could stay, but he would only have a role in NL parks, so he won’t. With Branyan at first, and Griffey at DH, there isn’t a role for another lefthanded 1b/dh type bat except in NL parks where he can pinch hit and Griffey is in left.
They also need somebody to go down when Johnson comes back from bereavement leave, plus they’ll presumably want to get back to 12 pitchers.
Does this short stint in the majors affect how many times he can be called down\up or the amount of minor league options?
As he trotted to first, my thought was “Thumbs up from USSM”.
Does this short stint in the majors affect how many times he can be called down\up or the amount of minor league options?
Options are tied to seasons. A guy can be yo-yoed back and forth as much as they want in any given option year.
That’s good. It’s nice to see a patient start in his 1st at bat. If only he could replace Sweeney but it would probably affect him with not getting as much playing time as he would in AAA.
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Can’t wait until the rest of the lineup starts hitting like Carp.
Same question – Why cant he play a little lef field with Chavez backing him up in late innings??
I dont see that Balentin has solved his problem from last year where he did well at the start and then nothing after that. Whatever they are trying to fix in his swing would get better results in the minors. I do believe he is out of options so would someone grab him?? I really think the Mariners are short a lefty on the bench!!
Could even do a rotation of Carp and Griffey in left field and DH.(I know I know you cant wait for interleague to get over so Griffey is back at DH)but after that nice running catch last night JR should only be a -12 or so in Left!!