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Twittah
Today’s “nothing like Opening Day” lineup:
No Endy; no Lopez; no Beltre; no Branyan; no Griffey; no Aardsma. (Griffey is available to pinch hit; Aardsma just needs a rest)
So we have: Carp at 1st, Cedeno at 2nd, Woodward at 3rd. Betancourt is going to look even more bewildered out there than usual.
One ugly thing that I hadn’t thought about until now: Endy was the backup CF. So anytime Gutierrez needs a rest (I don’t even want to think about him being unavailable for other reasons) Ronny Cedeno is your Mariners’ center fielder. Those of you wondering about him getting DFA’d, consider that his job security. Of course Ichiro could do it, but I don’t think that’s all that appealing to anybody either.
Would that Ichiro could be a man and back up CF.
Just for a sec here I was missing Bloomquist. I’m sorry, I’m very sorry.
What’s with Branyan? Just a day off?
Anybody else on FIOS in the Portland area? I can seem to get the game. Verizon says it’s blacked out, which seems like horsecrap to me.
Well, that pitch Branyan took on the forearm/wrist last night looked pretty painful; I imagine it stiffened up some (I was worried he would have a hairline fracture or something, but he seems to be built like a tank). Baker says he “can’t play in anything but an absolute emergency role” without giving any additional details, which doesn’t sound good. Fortunately Carp’s still with the team (and I guess Sweeney can play there too) and there’s no game tomorrow.
This lineup would barely work even in spring training.
“This is FIOS. This is
bighorsecrap”I like it.
‘Davis has great control and can hit the outside corner.”
…and then two walks. Great announcing.
Carp and Woodward padding their OBP (hilarious SSS slash line for the latter: .571 / .666 / .571). It’s a sign of how bad things were under Bavasi that everyone acquired since seems to be better at taking walks.
Note to Woodward: you may not be as fast as you were the last time you played in the majors.
Nice grab by Yuni (I quit you, though, so don’t expect these compliments all the time). Couldn’t quite tell whether the problem was with the throw or the attempted grab at 1st.
Yesss!
It’s so great to see more incompetent base-runners than most of the M’s.
Felix, first 25 pitches: 19 four-seam FB, 2 two-seam FB, 3 sliders, 1 curve. Hmmm.
Did I just hear Blowers say, “With Edy having season-ending surgery, why not roll with it? (Balentien)”
Because he’s not good?
Somehow, I’m sure it’s Johjima’s fault.
He did seem to be shaking Burke off quite a bit.
Ahh, weak hitters may be just what the boy needs.
So to face Felix the D’backs bring in 3 LH hitters (Drew, Montero, Para) and 3 switch hitters (Lopez, Clark, and Ojeda). Though Ojeda’s less effective batting LH, Lopez is more so, and Clark is equally effective either way. I’m sure Wakamatsu wishes he has that kind of flexibility.
Well, we are now in the unfortunate position of having to consider “Who would be better?” for our outfield AND middle infield.
Good? No. Best available? Sadly, yes.
I mean, we have 5 outfielders remaining… !, Death to flying things, the mole, The Kid(?), and Cedeno (not worthy of a nickname).
So, like it or not, we’re probably going with this garbage for quite a while. Unless the M’s are planning on calling up Prentice Redman or Brian LaHair, since they’ve said Saunders isn’t coming up soon…
And of course, now we’re probably stuck with getting even less for Bedard and Washburn… But Branyan is going to be a hot commodity…
Kinda feel like the M’s are trying to play poker with 3 cards at this point.
Uhm, if we added up all the home runs today’s line up hit last year, would we get 30?
Felix’s GS last year can count, too…
If Felix wants a win, he may have to hit.
That was a pretty pathetic slide. When your ass gets buried in the dirt a foot from the bag, it may be time to consider retiring.
Heck, I’m all for DHing for Cedeno. Felix can hit.
Hell, or maybe try to get Washburn to play 2B, since I’m pretty confident he’s better with the bat than Cedeno is.
Anyways, Felix is throwing nearly 75% 4-seam fastballs. And not throwing them for strikes, either.
And that silly bunt from Guti wasn’t called from the bench… Or at least no one told Sweeney.
That’s one of the reasons you’re not a starter, Wlad. Nice baserunning.
Well, Felix, you got a run, better make it stand up, because that’s probably all this line up has in it.
Yuni, I hate you a fraction less. 1-0!
I was watching the Boston game when the anouncers acknowleged that Don Wakamatsu was elected to the All Star game…. from Oakland. Sigh!! Hey we have a run. Yes!!
That was a pretty pathetic slide. When your ass gets buried in the dirt a foot from the bag, it may be time to consider retiring.
You do need a certain amount of speed to get you to the bag.
Ahhh… Physics.
Don’t be the third or first out at 3B, Wlad. I think I learned that in T-ball.
Leo can call the game. Give Simms a break
Yeah I was cursing out the TV when I heard Wakamatsu and Oakland in the same sentence. East coast morons…
So what’s the story on Beltre and Branyan? When’ll they be back?
Okay, Felix.
Fastballs are balls and hits.
Sliders, curves, and changeups are strikes and outs…
And yet, you’re throwing 74% fastballs…
Oh, MAN! We’re playing our arch nemeses the hated San Diego Padres on Tuesday! We better save the bullpen for those games.
Hopefully they will be back for Tuesday’s game against SD. Beltre is probably a wait and see thing. He won’t be able to hit with a bad shoulder. I’m sure Branyan will be back Tuesday. They just need to get healthy for the upcoming roadtrip.
For something like the hundredth time over the last few threads: Beltre has a stiff shoulder from diving head first into second base. He got last night off and will probably be back tomorrow. Just keep an eye out. Day-to-day.
Branyan was hit by a pitch on his right wrist. He remained in the game last night, but is not on the DL and appears to be fine. Day-to-day also.
Crap nice catch by Upton! Cedeno finally hit a ball! haha!
Ichiro! at 1900. Woo.
Wow, Ichiro should get to 2,000 hits by the end of the season easily.
Branyan probably back Tuesday after getting hit on arm.
Beltre same deal, but not as specific. Shoulder problems lingering.
I love Ichiro.
Considering Cedeno only hits line drives 4% of the time, it will be another week before we see him hit a ball that hard for quite a while.
Nice catch, Wlad. Way to go to the “heading to commercial” music, FSN guy in the control booth.
Balentien is going to give me a freaking heart attack out there.
At least I KNEW Raul wasn’t going to get it… With Wlad is more that he’s probably not going to get it.
Milton Bradley would be so proud.
Balentien looks really slow compared to Burns’s two running catches.
It’s been nice knowing you, Mike.
Now please retire.
Agh… if only Sweeney had just gotten himself out.
Way to go Franky!
Felix is at 94 after 6.1… Lets hope he can go 8…
Wow Balentien tapping into his inner Endy Chavez!!!!
Simms seems shocked that Wlad can make MLB-quality catches..
Too much Raul.
101 after 7, lets hope he can go 9 with Aardsma not avaliable…
Who pitches the ninth in a 1-0 game, assuming no White or Aardsma? Batista? Corcoran?
Yeah, Yuni runs hard all right.
Idiots in the booth. Idiots.
Giants just took the lead back on a Randy Winn single. Way to help the old team!
Yuni just had a 7 pitch at-bat for a hit.
Will miracles never cease?
Sweet, we get to face a pirate next! Arrrr!
I’d think Batista gets the save…
Oh my god…
I think Lopez was laughing after that tag.
When Yuni took Endy out earlier this week, it probably cost the team a couple of wins. He’s doing his best since then to pre-atone for those inevitable losses… CS as I type those ellipses. :/
Wow, Yuni…what?
Out by a mile there Yuni!
God, I hate steals that go wrong right before a basehit.
And another horrible slide that ends three feet in front of the base.
Yuni must have heard Sims and Blowers saying what a fast runner he is and actually believed it.
Justin Upton would look much better in an M’s uniform.
Watching that Yuni CS makes it look like that was a hit and run.
Yuni doesn’t leave until the ball is nearly out of Davis’s hand.
I hate it too because it makes the caught stealing ‘seem’ worse, but I think the batter/pitcher dynamic changes because of the out. The base hit may have never happened without the caught stealing.
Now let’s pray for an 8-pitch inning for Felix.
I don’t get this line-up. I realize Wak didn’t have much to work with, but why not bunch Ichiro, Betancourt, and Guitierrez together. Hindsight is 20/20, but they are your best hopes in this line-up. Put Carp in the mix, but sprinkling the best hitters in the line-up seems like a waste.
Olson and Jaku in the pen. That makes marginally more sense.
My god, what’s with the Balentien tongue-bath? Do they get memes from the team?
Felix has thrown about 10 balls and 4 strikes to Upton.
I can’t remember if it was on USSmariner or another site but it talked about trying to link events in one inning to one another, and saying it was poor rationalization. Yes, Yuni getting thrown out was bad, but just because a hit happened, doesn’t mean that hit would have happened if Yuni was still on first or if he had successfully stolen second.
But it is more proof that giving up outs unnecessarily (like sacrifice bunting) is poor baseball management.
Well, good game, guys. I’m heading to Lowes to buy a new grill.
You know, that was a good pitch.
So Ichiro was intentionally walked again. I was curious, and looked it up. Did you know that Ichiro has more intentional walks per plate appearance than Hank Aaron?
It was a fine pitch. A certain number of great pitches are going to get hit by a home run..
And unfortunately, the M’s offense today probably isn’t capable of scoring more than a run, in order to make up for that.
That did look like a good pitch. Damnation.
Axtell, that writeup was on Fangraphs.
And yikes, that was a nice pitch to Reynolds, and he puts it out to dead center. Sometimes you gotta tip the cap.
Please pinch hit for Sweeney, I beg of them.
Take out Ichiro, and this team is 5-21 with 6 bases.
And take out Yuni too, and this team is 3-18 today.
henryv, take out Ichiro, Carp, Guti, Yuni and Burke, and we’re hitless.
Take out Felix, and we’ve only pitched two thirds of an inning. Your point is?
Tiger is 9 back with 18 holes to go. And you know what, I’d still bet on him with the right odds.
Another illustration of the importance of solid defense. Because all of us are so ignorant in that regard.
Is anyone actually available to pinch hit besides Rob Johnson?
Oh man if they blow this I am going to cry.
Griffey?
Yeah, that was the Fangraphs post on independent events.
Well, Rizzs on the radio the last couple of days seems to have decided to bestow his affections on Carp, FWIW.
Why is Sweeney facing the RHP?
Apparently not, even though Griffey’s standing there with a damn bat!
Griffey sighting with a bat, but he may be using it more as a cane…
Wak is an avant-garde manager. His next composition is entitled “Mediocrity in Action” (or “Mediocrity inAction”)
Well, hot doggidy. Sweeney got a base hit.
Can we at least pinch run here? Sweeney’s puffing like he ran for a triple. Even Johnson’s a better runner.
AArgh! Showing freakin’ bunt!
Gutierrez easily could work a walk out of this to load the bases for… Wlad. Crap.
Steve Kelley is priming his typewriter for a “turning point game” piece.
Thank god for even more incompetence than our own fielding! Who gets the error on that?
Nice work and thanks due to the Dbacks’ pitcher.
Sweeney did do a good job of sliding hard into SS to ensure the DP didn’t happen.
Yay! The pirate!
Rollie Fingers redux enters the game. He needs a little Miracle Grow on that mustache.
Surely, Wak had to know the lefty was coming in. Time to beat the numbers.
The Mustache is back again.
Yay! The pirate!
He does look a little like Capt. Jack Sparrow.
That mustache looks like its glued on, like a kid trying to get into a bar. It’s not even the same color as his hair.
In the words of Craig Ferguson … Oooooooooh!
But with Johnson the only healthy guy on the bench, Burke is really the only guy that can be pinch-hit for anyway. And this is the time to do it. So….
Well, now it’s apparent. Wak was simply a genius who anticipated Sweeney and Yuni getting base hits, that’s why he left Griffey to pinch hit for Burke.
Dear Ichiro!,
Please just end this in the bottom of the 9th with your home run swing!
This is providing they don’t intentionally walk him if Cedeno manages to get on….
That ‘stache is better than Lowe’s Alley Oop facial hair.
You can totally tell that Yuni is trying to win me back. It’s kind of sweet.
Yuni certainly seems to be playing with more focus the past couple of days. Is he trying to “win one for the, er, Ender”? Will it last? Is it all just a SSS mirage? Magic 8 ball says: Signs point to yes.
That play actually looked like a major league shortstop.
All that matters is that Yuni didn’t screw up…
Or maybe it is Lauren. Clearly you have to play hard to get, girl. If he thinks you’ve un-quit him, he’ll be right back in the Space Cadets.
You can totally tell that Yuni is trying to win me back. It’s kind of sweet.
Don’t fall for it, Lauren. Guys are totally like that, taking you for granted until you break up with them, then being super-nice because they want to get back together.
Rangers lost, M’s really need to win this one.
Cedeno’s only hope is to take every pitch. And it works!
What are you, some kind of freaking psychic?
Oh, wait, they’re going to pitch to Ichiro?
And I like how Sims and Blowers sound shocked that a M’s hitter would be patient with a struggling pitcher. “Why isn’t he wildly flailing away like all our other hitters?”
Dear Ichiro: don’t get hit by a pitch. We have too many guys hurt as it is.
Ichiro almost took out the Moose with that foul ball. That’s something I would love to see. Provided the guy in the Moose didn’t get more than a bruise (that costume has to provide some padding, right?) But decking the goofy mascot? Priceless
This pitcher needs to grow the ‘stache out just a bit if he wants to emulate Fingers.
Wasn’t there a scene like that in Bull Durham? Or maybe I’m thinking of a different baseball movie.
Is it me, or does Ichiro seem to be running faster this year? He should have been out, I swear. So much for losing a step as he ages.
Mike: No worries. I’ll play hard to get through the post-season and act like Carp is my new favorite (not tough).
You got to hit one of those fair, even if it goes back toward the mound.
Bunting with two strikes is fucking stupid…
Dear Arizona: you know those roadrunner cartoons? That’s Ichiro. You’re the coyote.
Yes. That’s part of the reason it would be great. But in the movie, the world-weary permanent AAA catcher (Burke, er, Costner) tells the promising but unrefined young fireballing pitcher (Morrow, er, Robbins) to freak out the batter with his combination of velocity and wildness by intentionally throwing a pitch at the mascot.
Woodward, you gonna play for the M’s, you’ve got to learn to bunt. Thank you.
Wow, walking Sweeney to get to Guti seems a little dumb.
Walk Sweeney, I love it! Go go Guti!
I was thinking that too vern.
does making it so you will lose if you walk a guy seem smart when your alternative is pitching to Sweeney?
HOLY CRAP
That’s gotta be an E3.
aahahahahahahaahaha
I don’t know how it happened (Gameday viewer), but WOO!!!
Good things happen when you make contact and have speed.
Only 2.5 games back with our AAA team playing? I think it’s time for Dave’s buy AND sell plan to begin…
Wow… Not even sure how to enjoy that win. But only 2 1/2 back now!
Walk off error. Sheeese!
Haha wow Clark was handcuffed by the throw!
So, so, so, so many ways to lose when you load the bases.
Woooooo hoooooooo!
Bouncing grounder to third, thirdbaseman running in, fielding it and throwing to first on the run, firstbaseman dropped it. Simms said the throw “handcuffed him” but on the replay that would look to be charitable.
That was the worst offensive showing by the M’s all year but the way I look at it, it makes up for one of those blown saves/soul crushing losses in May due to Morrow.
35-34!!!!!! WOOT!!!!
Lets hope the Angels lose tonight to keep things very interesting. Z please get us a bat!!!
The ball never left the infield in the bottom of the ninth.
Old guys. Sometimes they give you the walkoff HR. Sometimes they give you the walkoff error.
It’s officially summer, and the M’s are officially over .500. If you’d told me this last September, I would’ve called you delusional.
If the Mariners make the playoffs by 1 game this year, send your Christmas cards to Tony Clark.
Wow.
I’ve NEVER seen a game end like that. . .ever.
2 1/2 out !!!! Yes please.. can we pick up a bat? We have to be buyers now right?
Poor Dave N. First he said that the throw pulled Clark off the bag; then he said he bobbled it. I watched the replay and it looked like a straight drop to me. I wonder if he just can’t see out to first any more.
AHAHAHA! What an ending to that game… Kinda feel sorry for Clark, though, always had a lot of respect for him.
He would, though. Purple is just not his color.
… what?
Wak said after the game that Woodward strained a groin and couldn’t run, hence the bunt attempt with two strikes.
Really? Was he anywhere near Yuni when it happened?
(Dang, this is getting not-so-funny….)
But it has happened before.
Huh! I can’t get the link button to work.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2910082/bill_buckner_play_1986_world_series/
Just back from Safeco. The thing I’ve never seen before: Ichiro broke two bats in one at-bat. He rarely, rarely breaks a bat but Snidely Whiplash apparently throws a very different ball than anyone else. The good thing was that the bat breaking on his ground ball deadened it enough so that he could beat it out.
My other complaint: can someone please, please tell the Mariners fans not to do the freaking wave when our guys are in the field? Rattle their pitcher, not ours. Thanks.
What are people doing a wave for at a baseball game anyway?
How distracting could the wave really be? Unless the pitcher really wants to see if it makes it across the bleachers.
Haha I was at the game Friday and people kept trying unsuccessfully to start up the wave. It never seems to sustain itself at Safeco….
Mariner fans have always done the wave when the visiting team is batting. They do it in late innings because they get bored. They used to do it in the Kingdome all the time.
DEATH TO THE WAVE!
The only time it is acceptable to do the wave is:
1. If the M’s are up by or down by 10 runs or more.
2. If Scarlett Johanssen shows up and says she’ll strip if everyone does the wave.
Other than that, it is utterly unacceptable. Period.
Oh…
3) If Ichiro! demands it.
People have been doing the wave at Mariner games for over twenty years. If you’ve never seen the wave at a Mariner game you are a new fan or you haven’t been too many games. Some people loathe, some love it. I just love the fact that the cheer is usually organically created by fans unlike the clap-alongs and other stadium directed cheering techniques.
The wave today was pretty rad looking.
Even the people in my section (a few rows behind home plate) were actually energetically participating, which is unusual.
Did Ric Flair take over for DMZ in the game thread post? Woooo.
Mlb.com reporting this evening Ned Colletti is seriously intrusted in Washburn. This is great to have the Dodgers come out now and show signs they are interested as it will only help our hand.
Juan Pierre is a bench player for the Dodgers. He would make a very nice #2 hitter behind Ichiro. But then again we need some lefty power….hell any kind of power will do.
Juan Pierre? You’re kidding, right? You think this guy has power, what, his .372 career SLG makes you think that, or his career high of 3 home runs in a season?
Just say “No!” to Juan Pierre, his empty batting average and his fat salary. If it is to be a trade with the Dodgers, how about Blake DeWitt or Xavier Paul. Neither will ever be a star, but both have potential, bat lefthanded, are only 24, and are making the major league minimum.
Oh no I know Pierre has zero power! It would be a bad trade for this team since well the M’s need some power and middle infielding..
Pierre would be a welcome addition with the departure of Chavez, the Mariners might only trade Washburn(3.24ERA in 83.1IP) for Pierre(.337BA 0HR) if the Dodgers take on part of each of Pierre’s remaining contract years. While the money for the this season is pretty much a wash the M’s wouldn’t want to be on the hook for 18.5M of Pierre for the next two years in a declining free market where he would be lucky to get half that on a two year deal.
Why would we want Pierre? Seriously, this isn’t meant to be a slam, but what would Pierre bring to the table that we couldn’t pick up from countless other players, all of whom are younger, more reliable, and cheaper?
Oh, another thing to see just how poor Pierre is, he’s 74th (!) among active players in career OBP, showing just how empty his BA rank among active players (18th) really is.
How this guy is making $8 million a year shows just how poor the decision making is in LA. Let’s take advantage of that and grab some of their young talent in exchange for Washburn.
Juan Pierre has been a .296/.339/.356 guy over his last 3 years… Nothing special if you take the BA out of it.
He has, however, lead the league in CS several years, which is impressive. He’s now a 1.0 WAR player or so, with an 8 mil per year contract and a 31-year-old body.
He also has the rare distinction of being drafted by the M’s twice and never signing.
How about Tony Abreu? He’s unlikely to get much playing time behind Furcal, but at one point he was a promising prospect before his injury.
2B Tony Abreu(.289AVG) suffered a groin injury in late 07 that kept him out of the 08 season. This year he has only played in 20 games.
A guy I would like to see the M’s get in return for Washburn is SS Justin Sellers(.294AVG). He has played in 61 games. He is strong defensively and would be a solid pick up.
Dave Campbell, whom I usually like, was all over Juan Pierre on the ESPN radio broadcast tonight. He said something like “he was considered one of the better leadoff men until the stats guys started complaining about his on-base percentage.” Then he said, “for my money, he’s a winner. He has a World Series ring with the 2003 Marlins.”
Dave Campbell has a World Series ring with the 1968 Tigers, but while I suspect even Juan Pierre had more to do with his team’s World Championship than Campbell did, it’s not like Pierre was Josh Beckett or something.
And anyway, “the stats guys” didn’t make his OBP so low. It’s a fact, not something someone came up with. He doesn’t get on base much and he gets thrown out a lot when he does. He also has no power. He is, in essence, the player Silva thinks Ichiro is.
If you liked Brian Hunter, you’ll LOVE Juan Pierre.
Breadbaker- That comment is why baseball is so painful to have on TV…the commentators are unable or unwilling to grasp that there might be newer, better ways to look at what makes a ball player good. It’s not like ESPN is against this change, for their Sunday night games, they show a players OBP, SLG, and OPS instead of batting average. Not that Joe Morgan or Steve Phillips ever talk about it (at least Jon Miller will reference it).
I’m surprised Joe Morgan can even spell OPS.