Game 84, Orioles at Mariners
DMZ · July 8, 2009 at 1:11 pm · Filed Under Mariners
1:40, Hernandez v Vargas.
HOT LINEUP NEWS
Branyan moves from #2 to #3
Woodward to #2
LOPEZ to #4
Death to Flying Things at #5
…and a rare Balentien appearance in left, and Ichiro hits DH
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Just to be clear, that would be their Hernandez, not our Hernandez.
Woodward unchained!!!!
Also of note, Yuni’s first rehab appearance is tonight, and he’ll be playing second base.
Yep, I think the organization has figured out what hole they’re going to fill if they make a trade. Shortstop, not third base.
Question for you Dave. I noticed the future forty has no update after the draft. Is that coming soonish. And Mcowens’ 44 game streak, does that make him a top forty prospect?
So Felix starts tomorrow? Sweet – I get to attend a game on Felix Day!
Go Ms.
Believe it or not, Ronny Cedeno is on Yahoo’s frontpage as a hot fantasy player. Meanwhile, Pujols for unknown reasons is listed as a not-hot player.
Nerts…nobody told me today was opposite day.
Dave – Do you think we’ll see Lopez getting some time at third then?
Vargas got 2 K’s in the first. Threw a lot of pitches, but off to a good start.
Adam Jones had a lead off single.
Franklin Gutiérrez was also listed as a yahoo “who’s hot” a few days back. And how can Ichiro be hitting for such a high average with only 22 RBI’s? It is pretty impressive to hit that well, and have your SB totals chasing your RBI totals.
see here for insight into what Dave thinks the M’s should do.
This was tongue in cheek right?
It’s because he’s selfish, and isn’t a team player.
Or just maybe… it has something to do with hitting behind Cedeno and Rob Johnson.
Listening on the radio, that was about the most exciting bloop single all year.
Or maybe I should say interesting rather than exciting.
It also may have something to do with the fact that our freaking lead off hitter leads the league in intentional walks. What that says..other than Ichiro is awesome and our offense sucks out loud….im not sure.
I like Gutierrez batting 5th . . . but not as much as I like him batting 2nd.
Man, Andino’s gotta be pissed that he basically stood underneath the ball for 5 seconds waiting for Reimold to f*** it up.
Also, what’s up with the second day off for Roberts? I mean, sure, it’s entertaining to watch Wiggington play 2B, but in an entirely different way than it is to watch Roberts…
Lopez is clearly doing his best to have R. Andrino take out the Orioles up and coming LF, Nolan Reimold. What a ploy!
That was even more interesting.
Fair pole-tastic!
and by lopez, i mean woodward. oops.
Lopez hit a really long homer.
Maybe he’ll get hot and hit better for awhile.
I didn’t realize Branyan hasn’t grounded out to the left side one time this year (@ SAFECO). 4 hits to the left side at home. (I was just surprised because I didn’t know they were shifting against him).
LOPEZ responding to batting cleanup!
Oh, and it’s Wigginton… sorry, I threw an extra “g” in there.
Nice shot by Lopez!
I’m pretty sure Branyan grounded out to right center field last night.
Ha… Lopez is meriting all caps now? I like it.
You mean other than the .917 OPS he put up in June?
Wow this first inning makes Wak look like a Genius… or psychic or something.
Roberts out of lineup with flu symptoms
Leadoff man has been struggling due to respiratory infection
Did he get hot pretty much since he came back from his sister’s funeral?
That’s one way to get an out. Don’t know if I’ve seen that one before.
What happened? Gameday doesn’t mention anything out of the ordinary.
Zduriencik seems to have a good nose for outfielders.
Andino hit a weak grounder that Vargas hit with his foot. The ball got away from him and moved toward the baseline where Vargas picked it up and tagged the runner.
Vargas made a kick save on a ball hit up the middle, the ball bounced off him towards the first base line, Vargas ran over and grabbed it and tagged the runner all at once.
Baserunners, Z still needs a little work on.
And if he did, should we send a trained team of assassins to Venezuela?
PS: Bad joke or worst joke ever?
Dear Jack, Chuck, Howard, Jesus, whoevers listening.
I dont like Balentien, and would appreciate it greatly if he was the main piece in a trade for Doc Halladay.
Sincerely yours,
Annoyed in Virginia Beach.
cgmonk – Thanks, I hadn’t heard that yet.
Balentien not helping his case for being an everyday player. What an ugly K…
So would you score it a 1-1 out, or does kicking the ball not count as a possession?
I think the Mariners should trade 3 of their worst players for another team’s best player.
What?
I think the Jays would go for Balentien-Silva-Bentancourt for Doc….Oh wait their GM isn’t Bavasi! dang!
And by “main piece” I assume you mean “along with half of the roster”… right?
“I think the Mariners should trade 3 of their worst players for another team’s best player.”
As stupid as that sounds, while Bavasi was the GM of the M’s, when it came to a trade with the Mariners the other teams fans could say this and expect that it might come true.
I think the only Doc we have a shot at trading for right now, given our moveable parts, is Doc Gooden.
Not sure it matters. If it touches the player, I’ve seen it count. Like a line drive off the back of the pitcher’s glove, careening over to third gets a 1-5-3 putout. Don’t know if that’s the official scoring.
But in that same breath if a scorcher eats up the shortstop, he drops it, picks it back up and throws him out it wouldn’t go 6-6-3 would it?
so I’d guess “1 unassisted” for Vargas.
Speaking of Blue Jays pitchers, they just granted BJ Ryan his release. For a team looking for some lefty help out of the pen, he might not be a bad buy-low option to see if the wheels haven’t completely fallen off yet.
Correct.
True, but “Doc” Graham is a free agent.
Dang, forgot about Ol’ Moonlight. The nice thing is he doubles as Rick Griffin in a pinch, but you lose him for the season.
Gamecast is showing some very odd locations for supposed balls. I wonder if it’s at all accurate…
How long can Vargas bend but not break? I think the dam is about to bust loose.
uh…guys, I’d also like Miguel Batista for Albert Pujols, Yuni for Hanley Ramirez and Rob Johnson for a night out with Jessica Biel, that doesnt mean i think its a realistic option
I kinda thought since the letter was addressed to a guy who died 2000 years ago that it’d obviously be in jest?
How many times will Vargas get ahead in the count and end up walking someone?
Wait, Chuck died 2000 years ago??? (Insert your own management joke here)
Lauren – I’m only watching sporadically, but it seems like Vargas is getting hosed on some close pitches.
Niiiiice. He just powered a high one by AJ.
Holy smokes a catcher who can hit a little bit?
That simply cannot be allowed. More Rob Johnson please.
Wow Vargas is getting lucky today.
There was also a ridiculously-middle-of-strike-zone pitch from Hernandez labeled a ball. I’m thinking Gamecast can’t be trusted.
Well, Vargas is striking out batters at opportune times. He’s helping himself by missing bats; all 6 of his Ks have been swinging.
He is walking a tightrope, though.
Ok, put on your seat belts. Lets hope the Orioles are as lost facing Miguel’s pitches, as I am staring in to his beautiful blue eyes. Woo! Strikeout!
Why is Batista in already? Did Vargas meet some preset pitch count?
Does Mirer know you feel this way about Miguel?
Guti! 11 game hitting streak!
Cintron? Huh.
Gutierrez! Or, since there’s all the fuss about his looks, maybe we should start calling him Cutie-errez….
I can see Sims picking up on that.
I hate it when Ichiro doesn’t get a multihit game every night. Has stupid Mauer qualified for the batting lead yet?
Yeah, and then he can insert a randy “grrrrr” where he’s already ridiculously rolling his ‘r’s. (Somebody should tell him every day is not “talk like a pirate” day.)
More on Roberts:
Mauer is at about 3.05 PAs per game Minnesota has played, so he’s almost there. Stupid, stupid Mauer.
I’ll stick with Franklin, thank you.
So does this mean the divorce with Yuni has been finalized?
I love one site’s review of Cintron coming into this season: “Last four years represent his peak age seasons, yet they look like those of a player nearing retirement. Maybe he should take a hint.”
just when he looked like Beltre he drops the ball
FAIL.
Ugh.
SoaS: You are obsessed with getting me together with players! I didn’t even say that *I* thought Gutierrez was cute, just that people seemed to.
guys don’t like being called cute… you can call him handsome I guess
Bases juiced with no outs. Uhg.
nice. good work olsen
Handsome-ierrez doesn’t have the same ring to it… besides, who cares what he thinks?
Pheewww! Nice, Olson. Er, so far.
On ESPN gamecast, Olson starting Markakis out with a ball dropped the M’s win % from 62 to 56. That can’t be right, can it?
djw: I think you were delayed. Their win percentage was already down below 60 after the bases got loaded, I think.
Nice job, Garrett!!! Yes!
Garrett Olson, Miguel Batista thanks you.
wow. heck of a job Olson.
Wow. Awesome work, probably combined with shitty hitting.
Muahahah. That’s great, usually it’s the M’s that can’t do anything with full sacks and no out.
Ahh, that makes a bit more sense. (Wooooo Olson!)
I think Chris Woodward thanks him more. Good work Garrett!
So does this mean the divorce with Yuni has been finalized?
I’m sure she’s done with that lame SS. There is this new 2B she might be interested in though.
smoke and mirrors
Well, I was fascinated with your fascination with Yuni. It’s like those women who send letters to Charles Manson.
I remember when I used to get Baseball Digest it would run an annual poll asking woman to rate the handsomest players. Consistently the top two were Jose Canseco and Greg Maddux.
Balentien is a curious mix of “skills”, isn’t he? Runs and fields like Griffey, hits like Yuni.
Maddux, I get. I always thought Canseco was kind of homely.
You forgot a skill though, “moles” like Drew Brees
Sooo… CBS sports Gamecenter is showing a guy named J Wilson (position shortstop) on the Mariner bench.
Is that Pittsburgh Pirate Jack Wilson? Did I miss something?
No.. It looks like Josh wilson, claimed off waivers from San Diego
It’s Josh Wilson, our backup infielder. He is nailed to the bench like a fire extinguisher behind glass.
Move over Mario Mendoza, I’m officially labeling .150 the Cedeno line!
Flying things: please meet death.
Handsome-ierrez with the catch!
No, that would be Josh Wilson.
Eaugh.
I can’t believe it looks like the M’s are actually going to win this one. This one has to hurt if you are a Baltimore fan.
Mr. Lowe decided not to tempt fate by letting anyone else, say, hit the ball, after Guti’s great catch.
nice insurance run. set, game, match
now lets hope Texas wins tonight. I could see us 1 game back at the break maybe 2. Going to be a fun second half
So who do we cheer for in the Rangers-Angels game tonight? Rangers I guess, though the Angels are without Vlad again so they may be headed towards being a slightly weaker team for a while (depending on what happens with their pitchers). I’d love to see those two teams trading losses for the next couple of weeks (or, heck, from now until October). Last night’s defensive collapse stings twice as much when you think about how the M’s could’ve picked up a win on the cojoined bastards.
Thus, neatly categorizing the two types of women in this world: those who like twitchy bad boy mullet-heads and those who like wispy porn-mustachioed nerds.
Really Aardsma? Really?
Maddux had a mustache?
Wow
Watch for hubris.
oh, crap.
Lowe really couldn’t stay in just one more? Leading run at plate…
unbelievable. bottom of the order and can’t obtain one out.
Like a 14-year old Hispanic boy.
heh. this game is getting rediculous
WOODWARD! Quit dropping the ball!
holy crap…
I miss beltre
ridiculous rather
figures
Oh bloodyhell. DA to the rescue.
nice insurance run. set, game, match
You might have jinxed them by putting the set before the game…
fucking a, are you kidding me?
Damn I miss Beltre.
Did someone rub butter on every single Mariners players’ hands? Good God
Well the M’s were lucky for 8 innings…
that was, quite possibly, the lamest defensive play of the season.
Really, defense is overrated.
this f***ing sucks
Blown save.
You freakin’ clowns!!1
Mariners just signed Aloex Citron to a minor league deal..
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/07/ms-ink-cintron-to-minors-deal.html
I don’t know how Wak keeps his temper
What. The. FUCK.
OMG!
I picked the wrong day to give up drinking.
You’ve got to be f***ing kidding me. Wak looks pissed.
Well this game was really tough if you are a Baltimore fan, but now it’s sort of switched.
I have no clue how Wak keeps his temper.
“Aardsma just didn’t have it tonight.” – Dave Sims
I assume that “it” would be competent defense behind him.
Luck only would take us do far in this game. It hurts just the same.
And now one of my fantasy players manages to hurt himself in a completely unnecessary freak baserunning accident. This game sucks.
Although the coupe de grace if you are a Baltimore fan would be if the M’s came back and won it in the bottom of the ninth. *crosses fingers*
Other than being extremely lucky for 8 innings, this game was Baltimore’s all the way.
Looks like I picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue.
“Aardsma just didn’t have it tonight.†– Dave Sims
I assume that “it†would be competent defense behind him.
——————-
aardsma didn’t pitch very well either
When it rains it pours, evidently.
Could we possibly make more errors tonight?
This is the stuff that dreams are made of. Big, hairy, nightmare dreams.
UNREAL. Seriously? Seriously?!
way to go Lopez, 2 errors in one inning. sweeeeeeet
WOW. Not content with shooting themselves in the foot, the M’s have now squirted lemon juice on the wound.
Wow, that home run was a long time ago.
It’s gonna end up being the same score as last night
that was the worst fucking inning I’ve seen in a long time
ESPN shows five earned runs in that inning. How can that be with two errors?
I was just considering that Lopez is perhaps better, at least offensively then he gets credited for…..that was stupid
So this will rank in the top five soul-crushing losses of the season.
6 hits, 1 walk and 2 errors later…
bummer.
I guess we could score 2-3 runs here in the last half of the 9th, right? please?
This is the kind of game that makes you throw up inside your mouth.
I bet we finish 2 games out at the end of the year and we will look at this and the 2 games in Texas earlier and just shake our heads.
Words aren’t enough.
I fear what the Rangers are going to do to us
Could we possibly make more errors tonight?
Ask Lopez.
Not a lot of bench to pinch hit for Cedeno, is there?
Oh, the irony. Sherrill on the mound.
Yeah, though it will be hard since they only have 2 outs to work with…
(Unless Wak pinch hits for Cedeno, of course)
why is wak letting cedeno hit? This is a textbook time to pinch hit…
“looks like Neil Young’s younger brother”, sims getting distracted
Some sullen looking fans in the stands.
Aardsma have the bases loaded and gave up a run before the fielding had ANYTHING to do with this game.
This game is 99.9% on Aardsma. That last .1% is on Lopez. But he’s the only person on the team that has driven in an runs. The other one is un-earned.
- D. Aardsma relieved M. Lowe
- M. Mora doubled to deep right center
- G. Zaun walked
- O. Salazar singled to left center, M. Mora to third, G. Zaun to second
- F. Pie ran for O. Salazar
- A. Jones singled to third, M. Mora scored, G. Zaun to third, F. Pie to second
The play at third was going to be safe, or worse, would have been thrown away… Beltre MIGHT get that, but I doubt it.
A team with a horrible offense is going to lose a few games because the bullpen can’t pitch great every day.
Want this not to happen, or more importantly, not to matter when it does? Score more damned runs.
But, also be realistic, we don’t have a great bullpen, we have a good bullpen that has been pitching like its great. They had to come back to earth, and the last 4 games have straightened out the numbers.
And isn’t it nice to have the winning run scored by Adam Jones score the winning run, and George Sherrill to get the save?
I love the facial expressions (shock, horror, disgust) of the random fans the camera pans over.
The bench is Griffey, Josh Wilson and Johnson. If Griffey got aboard, you’d have to pinch run for him. So he waited til Ichiro was on to bring on Junior as the tying run. Given the limited options, that makes sense. Why we have three bench players is another matter entirely.
Griffey! Come on, baby!
“So this will rank in the top five soul-crushing losses of the season.”
I don’t really feel that way personally. I mean, for 8 innings the Mariners were as lucky as you can be in run prevention. It kind of went the other way there in the end.
And thats all, folks
You know, my 76-year-old mother was watching last night during the defensive meltdown (which unfortunately seems to becoming a daily event) and she said, out of the blue, “That ERA number isn’t really fair, is it? When the fielders aren’t doing their job, why should the pitcher get blamed?” Now, keep in mind my mother’s entire knowledge of stats is that ERA and RBI regularly show up in her crossword puzzles. And yet somehow she figured out that (a) defense matters and (b) pitcher evaluation should be done in a defense-independent way. Why did it take so long for the professionals?
And the senior citizen grounds out to end it.
Ugh.
Swept by Texas to really shut this season down?
Seriously, did anyone think Griffey would “park one in the stands”? Really?
Actually, according to Fangraphs, it’s only 85.7% on Aardsma. (WPA for the game -.857…. ouch.)
He had a hell of a better chance than Woodward did.
Well, that was sure a kick in the junk.
he did it earlier this year
F*** Lopez and f*** his defense.
If this team is serious about being in a pennant race, they should trade him ASAP and bench his ass.
There is ZERO excuse for booting two balls in the 9th.
Especially after the first one would’ve been a double play on and left the O’s with nobody on still down a run.
Just get rid of him, forget being sensitive and giving him a second chance, get rid of his ass.
Shockingly, ESPN is wrong. 3 ER, 2 unearned.
@TomTuttle: That’s it, let it all out. We’re here to help.
Uhm, we lost the Yankees series, Angie.
So, we’ve lost 2 of 3 series.
Well, given the opportunity for the change to let Griffey, the AAA catcher, or the Seahawks’ cornerback and punt returner, who would you rather have?
Let me start by saying: Hey rjfrik….you never put a ring around a team until the game is over! You should know that by now, especially the 2009 Mariners, who have had so many improbable wins and bone-crunching losses.
As a vicarious thrill, I went over to seattletimes.com to read the game thread and shouldn’t have been too surprised to read fans calling for the heads of Aardsma and Wakamatsu. It’s really depressing to read some of that stuff…
As far as I’m concerned, the 2009 Mariners have far surpassed even my most optimistic dreams this season. Z has unearthed some gems, the pitching has been good, and the team competes hard.
It’s obvious, though, that this club simply doesn’t have the horses necessary to win the division. It will be very interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks.
What an ugly graph.
But part of the reason the bullpen “has been pitching like its great” is the same reason Washburn has seemed so much better this year: a superior defense made it so. But injuries (particularly to Beltre) combined with gaffes by players great (Gutierrez last night) and merely ok (Lopez) can turn that around in a hurry.
Is it over? Gameday frooze for like 15 minutes and is now showing wlad up to bat…
And replace him with what?
I realize we’re all pissed, but this organization doesn’t have a lot to send up.
If we haven’t released Cedeno, and Yuni, we’re not releasing the best of those 3.
Which would be a bit hard to do in that order, but hey, raging vents don’t have to make sense. That’s not what they’re for.
More soberly, I think Lopez reward is an impending (de/pro)-motion to 3rd, just as soon as Zduriencik can pull a SS out of his magic hat.
Then trade Bedard since he’s a lemon for a starting pitcher (while recalling R.R. Smith) along with Lopez and see what you get.
This kind of crap can’t go on much long, as is we are now 4.5 out of first place with no minor league prospects we can afford to trade for an established superstar.
heh, Mariners have just signed
Alex Cintron. Interesting pickup. Seems like just a switch hitting version of Yuni, but nice to have options.
Then trade Bedard since he’s a lemon for a starting pitcher (while recalling R.R. Smith) along with Lopez and see what you get.
This kind of crap can’t go on much longer, as is we are now 4.5 out of first place with no minor league prospects we can afford to trade for an established superstar.
Sorry, double post.
This is a type of loss that demoralizes a team. This is the game that we will look back at that ended our season,
You have a shortstop, his name is Ronny Cedeno.
But even then, if Chris Woodward can’t play 3rd, what makes you think Lopez can?
I can just only hope somewhere Jack Z. is on the phone right now trying to fix this crap.
Those words alone should lead people to suicide.
Well, at least he’s a temporary fill-in for a shortstop.
We have a new shortstop named Alex Cintron by the way.
That’s a start, now we need a new 3rd baseman and 2nd baseman.
He’s an ok substitute, but this team needs a shortstop and not for just this year. Dave made an excellent case that the real hole in the infield is at shortstop so if you’re going to go shopping, that’s the position to be looking to fill. And the fact that Betancourt is rehabbing at 2nd (see his post at the top of this thread) suggests Zduriencik thinks so too. Even if you’re right and Cedeno and his mighty bat is the shortstop for the rest of ‘09, Betancourt’s new position in the minors suggests Lopez is going somewhere…. and if that’s not to some other team, then it’s 3rd base (as Wakamatsu has already suggested).
Those kind of trades rarely happen (watch the Halladay situation, for example) and they’re rarely worth it, either.
Since Jose Lopez is really just a jack-o-lantern mounted on Edgar’s body, can’t we just leave him out on the doorstep until somebody smashes him in the street?
That or wait until the Moose goes driving again. . .
Gee, I can’t seem to recall, but didn’t the Mariners make that kind of trade LAST YEAR?
Cintron’s Fangraph
What we wouldn’t do for a replacement level shortstop…
Jesus.
The solution to all the Mariners’ infield woes is not far away.
Wouldn’t it be really really cool if the Mariners make a trade at the deadline to acquire this guy?
Hell no, the solution to the Mariners infield problems is Triunfel, but he’s 2 years away.
Cintron is a horrible defender at every position he has been allowed to play up to this point. He’s not so hot with the stick, either. It’s a curious pick-up for Z – the sort of move a GM makes when he needs to stockpile bodies to fill the holes created by an injury . . . or imminent trade.
You don’t know how it will affect the team. Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a bit? Really, it’s one game.
Cluster***ks like this inevitably happen over the course of a season…even to good or great teams. Why, a good team could never lose a game 15-14 after going into the 8th with a 12 run lead, after all!
Odds are he won’t play SS at this level.
Or, as their manager has pointed out, it is a team that has a great short-team memory for a bad game and so they move on to tomorrow.
or just depth at Tacoma
Having heard the end of that steaming pile of a game while stuck in traffic, the whole “Gee guys, we can go 5-4 on the road against the three best teams in baseball…but boy those O’s are sure tough to beat at home” schtick somehow didn’t surprise me.
It’s now up to Junior and his veteran leadershipness to steer the M’s out of this little funk. Ichiro had best keep his distance.
The M’s season surely is on the line with this upcoming 4 game series. If they lose 3 of 4 or manage to be swept, then it’s time to trade Wash and Bedard.
BUT I happen to have faith in this team, along with the fact that we are putting Felix, Wash, Bedard, and Morrow up against Texas. Lets hope this team rebounds, careless mistakes stop happening and the bullpen rebounds.
GO MARINERS!