but I suspect Zduriencik has someone else in mind.

…and what do you know. And Sean White was unavailable last night due to “soreness” so I don’t think the Indians would’ve been eager to get him in trade.

Can someone tell me why the F.O. would not make a deal for Mark. Problem solved. I’m so tired of this organization sitting on their hands. Nick Swisher, Mark DeRosa, …..

Derosa was known to be available (Swisher, on the other hand, was not — the Yankees were not eager to move him even before Nandy got hurt so the price would’ve been high). I am certain he wasn’t overlooked by the FO. If Zduriencik wanted him, they could’ve had him. But: he’s right-handed, he’s 34, and he’s really an outfielder: he’s -7.7/150 UZR at 3B or 2B (though he’s about average at SS). He’s versatile, yes, and fairly productive (.347 wOBA this year, right in line with the ZIPS predictions; .376 last year with the Cubs). But he’s really just Willie Bloomquist with a somewhat bigger bat (and more miles on the tires). That would be a big step up from the current situation, of course, but I suspect Zduriencik has someone else in mind. Yeah, it would be nice to know what that is, but let’s not overlook the fact that if we woke up this morning to news of DeRosa coming to the M’s, we’d be reading a lot about “He’s not the final answer” — and he isn’t.

The point about Dobbs is he’s a left handed bat sitting on the bench in Philly, not getting much playing time.

Then you need to follow the Phillies a little closer. With Ibanez hurt, Dobbs is more than just a “left handed bat sitting on the bench.” Prior to last night, he’d been in six straight games, including starting four of them (and pinch hitting in a AL parks in the other two).

The PI headline on their website this morning says:

And this is why we always made fun of all things “PI”

Griffey HRs in Mariners’ 5-1 win over Dodgers

In the article they do mention that he hit one homerun, and they also mention some guy named Felix.

Slowly but surely, Ichiro is moving towards the magical .400 mark.

10.19 SAVES FOR RELIEF PITCHERS

A save is a statistic credited to a relief pitcher, as set forth in this Rule 10.19.

The official scorer shall credit a pitcher with a save when such pitcher meets all four
of the following conditions:

(a) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his team;

(b) He is not the winning pitcher;

(c) He is credited with at least â…“ of an inning pitched; and

(d) He satisfies one of the following conditions:

(1) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at
least one inning;

(2) He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either
on base, or at bat or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on
base or is one of the first two batters he faces); or

(3) He pitches for at least three innings.

Can you imagine if the closer pitched 3 innings today? People would be screaming for the managers head.

In tonight’s game, because it wasn’t a SAVE situation, most managers would not have used their best reliever–their closer. To his credit, WAK did.

It was an easy choice, given the off-day Monday and that he hadn’t pitched since Wednesday. I wish he hadn’t had to throw so damn many pitches. But I imagine I’m going to think that way so long as he’s a Mariner. He doesn’t have the stuff or the makeup to have a lot of six pitch innings.

OR SOMETHING:

JEROME HOLTZMAN devised the SAVE rule–probably to give some relief pitchers statistical recognition. I don’t think he had any idea of the albatross it would become.

BTW, I read somewhere that Dave Smith, the founder of RETROSHEET, noted that the percentage of wins when a team was ahead going into the 9th inning was almost identical before the SAVE rule and after the SAVE rule.

In tonight’s game, because it wasn’t a SAVE situation, most managers would not have used their best reliever–their closer. To his credit, WAK did.

Speaking of ex-Mariners I see from the Cardinals box score that Ryan Franklin picked up his 18th save tonight, and is sporting a 0.93era. I can imagine a typical Cardinals game, having the announcers gush about what a sure thing Ryan is when he comes in in the 9th to preserve Joel Pinero’s eight shutout innings.