Game 32 Recap
No one expects a Game 32 recap!
I don’t know if it was the drizzle, the “12,614″ fans, or the fact that this game featured the Orioles, but it was tough to get into. A fairly crisp (if predictably offense-free) start turned ugly in the 6th, but a win’s a win.
Thoughts:
* I never understood why David Hernandez wasn’t in Baseball America’s top 10 Orioles prospect rankings. His minor league K rates were great, and BA admitted he had the best slider in the organization. So how could Kam Mickolio be rated higher? Some said it was his lack of a change-up, but compared to Kam Mickolio, Hernandez is as polished as Greg Maddux. Others said it was that he was prone to lapses in concentration. That always seemed suspicious to me, but I think I get it now.
Hernandez was down 2 in the 6th and the rain had made the mound a bit muddy. He seemed to struggle with his landing foot and walked Josh Wilson on pitches that were nowhere near the strike zone. 2 outs, Josh Wilson on first, Ken Griffey Jr coming to bat. You could find the run expectancy for an average situation like that, but taking the specific players into account, I’d put it – charitably – at about 0. *Rob Johnson was in the hole.* Hernandez, though, lost the plot. He walked Griffey, tossed in a wild pitch, gave up a line drive single to Johnson (figures that he found the plate again with an M’s catcher hitting), and that was that. This game should’ve been closer, but I’ll admit I’m glad it wasn’t.
* Rob Johnson is unquestionably a better hitter at this point than Griffey. That’s not hyperbole, that’s a simple statement of fact that illustrates why The Nap doesn’t matter.
* In the 5th, the M’s loaded the bases with 2 outs, and Hernandez walked Ichiro to get to Chone Figgins. At one point in his AB, Figgins squared to bunt. One thought came to my mind: awesome. 2 outs, force anywhere, and Figgins thought the percentage play was a bunt. That’s the 2010 offense in a nutshell.
* Brandon League just doesn’t seem like the pitcher I thought we were acquiring. That’s not League’s fault, and it’s not Zduriencik’s; I just need an adjustment period. I thought we were getting a dominant strikeout pitcher, with moderate-to-questionable command and a great splitter. Instead, we got a command/GB reliever whose sinking fastball may be his best pitch. League came in with 2 on and 1 out in the 8th, facing Miguel Tejada. Jeff’s already recapped the AB here, but it really was a thing of beauty. People have been wondering (and I’m definitely one of them) why he doesn’t throw his deadly splitter more, but after seeing that AB, I’m not sure I care anymore. Those were 4 pitches with Brandon Webb-level sink and mid-90s velocity. Oh, and he’s walked 2 hitters in his last 10 appearances, covering 46 batters.
* Cliff Lee is really good. The strikeout of Wigginton with runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out cut the Orioles’ win expectancy by 9 percentage points. The Wieters at-bat that followed had an even higher leverage index, and Lee induced an easy ground ball with a well-placed change. Cliff Lee is very good at what he does – he’s able to miss bats when he wants to, and he’s seemingly able to get GBs when they’re called for.
Blengino was the guy who was high on League.
I watched the game on TV (actually the Orioles broadcast) and there definitely were not 12,000 there. It looked closer to around 300.
League threw 15 pitches total to record the final 5 outs. I’m no math wiz, but this translates to … EFFICIENCY.
Cliff Lee knows what he’s doing when he goes out to the mound. I’m sad we probably won’t have him on the team next year, but I hope Felix can learn some stuff from Cliff.
Uh-oh…that sounds kinda like that Marlins-Nats game down in Miami a few years back where the “announced” attendance was several thousand, though in reality, it was actually more like 300-400.
A bit of puffery for posterity’s sake on the part of the O’s front office, perhaps?
Also watched the O’s broadcast. Josh Wilson was the best player on the M’s tonight. Great D, with a very Jack Wilson-esque throw from the hole and a fantastic turn from Chone. His hustle on a wild pitch by Hernandez set up the intentional to Ichiro and then walk to Chone.
First thought was that he brings everything that Griffey can’t bring anymore.
Brandon League is awesome. I’m so glad we have him instead of Morrow.
Morrow might realize his potential, one day in the future after many many days of fan anxiety (and if he doesn’t get cut eventually, that is), but I doubt it.
Scott19-
You don’t remember back in the Kingdome days when the Mariners front office fudged the announced attendance numbers?
Cliff Lee is really really good.
In the AL, attendance is tickets sold (which includes season tickets) regardless of whether they came through the turnstyles.
At least, that is the way it used to be, maybe they changed it in the last decade or so.
In Figgins’ defense, he shows bunt and doesn’t really offer pretty often. I’m-bunting-no-I’m-not seems to be part of his offensive arsenal. Maybe he thinks it helps him get more walks.
In all of MLB, tickets sold is called “attendance”.
Figgins showing bunt is probably just to get the 3Bman to move in.
Have we used League too often? He has pitched more than 19 innings so far. The rest of the bullpen have pitched from 9 to 12 innings. I know he is the best arm in the pen, but I am just a little bit concerned.
League’s performance last night, and really the last few outings has convinced me that he needs to be the one closing. He seems very poised under pressure, whereas pretty much everytime Aardsma has come in lately, it seems like he brings his gas can to the mound. I don’t have the stats and maybe I’m just dwelling on the negative, but League has really impressed me thus far. Maybe that was the plan all along…to let Aardsma build up some value this year, trade him and put League into the closers role.
I was also watching the Orioles broadcast because there was something wrong with the FSNW feed on MLB.tv and Gary Thorne was saying that with Hernandez this year, he has struggled at times because he feels like he has to be perfect to get a win, due to the lack of run support. Sound familiar?
My thoughts exactly. I think Aardsma is a player we could use in a trade to help the offense. I like DA, but his position is overvalued in the general market and we should use that to our advantage. (Putz trade anyone?)
RE: Figgins showing bunt…are there numbers to show that it’s a lower percentage play than swinging in that situation? I’m genuinely curious, not argumentative here. The numbers would have to separate sac bunt attempts from bunt-for-hit attempts. (And then I guess measured against odds of getting a hit on a swing or walking/being hit by pitch).
Or the Spanish Inquisition!
Small sample size, and they won’t keep hitting at the pace they are on, but interesting that 3 of the top 4 hitters on the team were in Tacoma until recently.
Does that say something about Wak’s talent evaluation?
Above Average OPS+
Saunders 319
Josh W 217
Guti 135
Langerhans 130
Ichiro 116
Below average OPS+
Milton 90
Kotchman 80
Jack W 72
Rob J 62
Figgy 62
Stinky bad
Lopez 45
KGJr 38
Sweeney 33
Adam Moore 16
Games and homeruns
Saunders: 3 games, 1 homer
Josh: 6 games, 1 homer
Langerhans: 7 games, 1 homer
KGJr: 24 games, 0 homers
Sweeney: 12 games, 0 homers
Apparently, Cliff refused to continue speaking to the media until LaRue left the room.
It’s cool that it appears Cliff cares enough about his team to do that. Maybe we have a shot of keeping him. But, it sucks that LaRue is getting beat up so hard for doing his job.
By the way, Cliff Lee stopping his interview last night to ask the TNT to leave was awesome, as was other players doing the same at their lockers. Hopefully this is the kind of thing that brings this rag tag team together and they start putting some wins together.
Why are we continuing to talk about how our DH’s aren’t cutting their own weight. WE KNOW. Seriously, we know. Griffey and Sweeney know too. It will be changed. Realistically, Jack Z. is looking for a replacement for Sweeney, and I’d bet with the way Saunders is hitting the ball, the first choice is when Milton comes back; Sweeney’s gone, Milton is everyday DH (LF to give breaks to Saunders), and Saunders is our everyday LF. That home run took a lot of pressure of that kid. He’s got great speed, good defense out in LF and tons of potential. But if he doesn’t get a whole year to adjust to the bigs he’ll always be just a fill in from AAA. Wak needs to give him the at-bats that Branyan and Guti were told they were gonna get last year, that way even if he struggles at one point, he can be assured that he’s not going to sit as a consequence. So folks, let’s focus on the good stuff and put the “Griffey stinks, Sweeney needs to go” crap to rest. Management isn’t blind, they’re just needing to look for their next move. Griffey was meant to be the 25th man, not an everyday starting DH. Not sure why they’ve gone that route, but it wont last. If Milton doesn’t work out, Langerhans or Josh Wilson will fill in until Jack finds a new bat.
Though this was a needed win, it was agianst the worst team I’m baseball. Maybe a sweep is exactly what this team needs to get going and start playing up to the pre- season hype? I really feel that it’s not going to change things.
With that said I really hope Milton comes back an crushes 100 HR. I hope Griffey eats some weird herb that makes him think and play like he’s 25 agian. But yeah…
Any Mariner has the right to refuse to talk to any reporter.
But no one has the right (other than the team) to ask/force a credentialed reporter to leave the clubhouse.
If the Mariners were hoping this whole thing would blow over, this was a bad development.
LaRue got his story right, he was courageous to report it, and it will be interesting to see if his fellow journalists say anything about his reported banishment.
LaRue was courageous? How about stupid? Writing this type of report is gonna leave you with what? Do you think the M’s players will give him anything anymore? Don’t be surprised if the TNT fires his A$$ because he can’t get anything to give the TNT to report. Every whines about free speech… all it means is that you can’t be persecuted for free speech. There is nothing in there that says that you can’t have consequences for your stupid reporting.
How do you know?
LaRue has another Griffey-bashing article up today, coming up with another angle on “Griffey sucks”.
Seems to me someone it a wee bit defensive, and it’s not Jr.
I know some of you can’t stand the idea of Griffey facing any criticism…but there’s no question LaRue is doing his job infinitely better right now than Griffey is doing his.
LaRue has been around for over 30 years, and from the reports I have heard, is respected. His article was damaging but fair based on the realities of Griffey and the team right now. He was doing his job. Period.
The players are acting like spoiled brats in my opinion. They aren’t gelling, they aren’t producing and they aren’t not playing the fundamental baseball that they are being paid millions to do. We all go through tough and problematic times, and often, the most important aspect of the problem is how we deal with it.
This is a national debacle and bad PR, but pointing fingers at people that are actually doing their job is childish and immature. As a fan, I want honesty and work ethic in my team, but these are not lovable losers. I have a hard time defending elitism these guys are projecting. As a loyal fan, I deserve better.
Um, Paul, that was John McGrath who wrote that.
Also, this is a telling statement from the piece.
Can we really be that surprised that no one would step up and answer Sweeney’s bully-challenge? Who in their right mind would?
Doing his job. There are a thousand factors into what was going on. But how it was reported made it sound like Griffey didn’t care what anyone else was doing, decided to go into the clubhouse and take a nap, flipping off (figuratively speaking) management and his teammates, and never caring what was happening. For all we know, Griffey was told “You’re taking the night off, no matter what.”, or Griffey knew that if he was needed as a pinch hitter, it would be late in the game, and since it is well documented that he has sleeping issues, he’s 40, and taking a little nap resets the body, maybe he was planning on “preparing” in the clubhouse. I want to know who these anonymity sources were of LaRue’s. Funny how this sounds like the Enquirer and not legitimate reporting. When “someone else” says something, it can be taken out of context, then reported out of context, then argue being out of context, then decisions made out of context. That is how gossip and rumors cause more problems than do anything to help. And all this sounds like are reporters using BS to inflame an issue that is the only thing legitimate in the discussion… Griffey isn’t playing like the Griffey we wanted to see. BUT, he’s also in a role that he never planned to be in. Reduce his role, like mentioned in the beginning of the season. His job is to keep the clubhouse smiling and positive, pressure free. But honestly, don’t go out and say LaRue was doing his job reporting what he hears. The way he reported it was extremely wrong and destructive. IF ANY OF YOU M’S FANS think that LaRue was doing his job, what did you expect this to accomplish? You think the other players that were not supposedly involved liked to see this? It accomplishes nothing except satisfying the obsession that many in the media have on producing a story that is “ground breaking”. When the nation heard this story, what do you think happened. LaRue is laughing all the way home. Doing his job…. sure.
I read McGrath and thought LaRue. I’m a moron.
Not to mention, that article that McGrath posted sounded like a whining teenager in high school. I was just waiting to read a “Sniff, Sniff, Sniff… Well you’re a booboo head because you didn’t believe me. It’s not fair.” It’s been a while since High School, please, I don’t want to have to go back there again. Let’s have some journalistic reporting that gives legitimate facts that have any relevance to anything. “Jr. was sleeping and not available!!!” HA HA HA, that is the reason he is not doing well…… he’s sleeping in the clubhouse! Get some info first, idiot, he’s been doing this for years. BREAKING NEWS! That is bad journalism, thinking you have such a big story and get to blow the top of something and be known for doing such. LaRue and McGrath must have cried when Jr. left in 1999… and this is their pay back.
That’s the problem I’m having with this. It seems like the reporters have decided to take an active role in getting rid of Jr.
And for the record, I agree that Jr should have retired at the end of last year. On the other hand, I look at the team as currently constructed and I have a hard time believing “You know, if only they got rid of Jr everything would be fine.” Get rid of Sweeney, put Jr on the bench until he leaves on his own and move on to the next issue.
There are a ton of problems right now, and none of them are being talked about except Jr. That McGrath article basically says “Jr is so bad they don’t even want him to pinch hit for Rob Johnson. ROB JOHNSON!”. They’re more focused on who will pinch hit for Johnson than the fact that Rob Johnson sucks.
And once you deal with Johnson there are more. And so on.
You know when we’ll actually be a contender? When the biggest issue we face is Lopez’ plate discipline.
I agree, there are a thousand factors that are going on. We hardly know any of them, but a beat reporter doesn’t stick around for 30 years if he isn’t doing his job.
Unless we read different articles, it sounds like Rayvensdad is getting the Mariners PR department confused for being a journalist.
“Sounds like Rayvensdad is getting the Mariners PR department confused for being a journalist.”
No, I just know that sports teams aren’t going to trust a reporter in the future that quickly puts out something extremely damaging without stating specific sources and sounding like the National Enquirer. All I’m saying is what are the Mariner’s players going to give LaRue… if anything, in the future? He’s hurt his “illustrious” 30 year career with this, and while I don’t follow him, I’d hope for his sake he does more than just report the sports in Seattle… or he’s gonna be moved to paper boy.
If this were true there would journalism in any form wouldn’t exist.
Do you work in the M’s front office? Sounds like you have definite inside information, as you are definite on what is going to happen.
Since you have inside info, can you explain why it is taking so long?
Dude, reporters don’t name their sources, usually.
Why aren’t you up in arms when one of Seattle writers puts out something inflammatory? Were you around last year when He Who Will Not Be Named was stirring up more trouble than this little article? Or are you a Griffey apologist?
I admit I could have pointed that out more nicely. Sorry about that.
But yeah, there’s a lot going on with this saga, and we can pretty much find fault with how everyone involved has handled it, and handled themselves. LaRue could have been more forthright about Griffey’s sleep history (which he should have known about having covered this team forever), and maybe come forward once it blew up and clarified some things. The team could have taken it easy on the denial and been a little more even-handed in addressing the matter. Sweeney could have been a lot less threatening in defending his veteran teammate, and the player probably could have been a bit smarter and less fraternal in how they handled the matter.
But such is the peril of being human: As intelligent as we are, we can be emotional creatures, and our emotions sometimes produce suboptimal decisions.
Here’s a new SI article on Griffey, those of you who still like to watch him play may actually like this article. It is written from the perspective of someone who knows he is through, but still likes to see him.
After 30 years maybe LaRue is losing his touch.
The mistake he made was in using the anonymous quotes in pursuit of something even he acknowledged wasn’t that big a deal. He hung his sources out to dry (although he did try to cover for them). You don’t do that unless it is a big story (steroids say, or cheating). It shows a lack of perspective. If you dig for dirt some mud is going to stick to you.
On another topic, I enjoyed reading Morosi’s Brynes follow up on FSN today. It helps put things in prespective.
I want to know who these anonymity sources were of LaRue’s. Funny how this sounds like the Enquirer and not legitimate reporting.
This statement betrays a fundamental and very basic lack of understanding of journalism. Anonymous sources have long been an invaluable and necessary part of investigative journalism, so much so that the protection of that anonymity is supported by law, and widely understood to be necessary for the freedom of the press.
IF ANY OF YOU M’S FANS think that LaRue was doing his job, what did you expect this to accomplish?
For one thing, I don’t think journalists can or should worry too much about the likely fallout of their story, at least not most of the time. But on a personal level, I absolutely don’t care a whit whether Griffey sleeps or not, or whether the clubhouse successfully guards the secret or not, under normal circumstances. In this case, however, I welcomed the story, as giving this ‘incident’ publicity has the possibility to embarrass Griffey and the Mariners, which might lead to a change. I want a roster that maximizes our chances of winning games, and I don’t much care about Griffey’s feelings, or the feelings of fans overly concerned with him. So to the extent that the article might increase pressure to fix the roster, Mariners fans should be grateful Larue published it.
I think the point of Larue’s reporting is being missed here. Those two unnamed players may have been reported word for word exactly what they said and Griffey may have slept through the last 6 games for all we know. The bottom line is when you’re going to publish a report damning one of the biggest sports icons in your city’s history you owe it to your credibility and your employers to make sure your report has a little more backbone too it. Maybe asking Wakamatsu or some veteran players on the team (I’d ask Griffey too, but if he was asleep he isn’t going to tell you) instead of rushing out this hasty damning of Griffey and he wouldn’t be going through all this right now. Unfortunately I’m a Mariners fan is syracuse, new york so I’m not privvy to Larue’s writing and history. But I think he owed it to himself, the organization, and the paper employing him to get this right before coming out with it.
I just know that sports teams aren’t going to trust a reporter in the future that quickly puts out something extremely damaging without stating specific sources and sounding like the National Enquirer.
I don’t think this is necessarily true. Geoff Baker spent the summer of 2008 gleefully fanning the flames of “everyone hates Ichiro” story, and he doesn’t seem to have suffered in terms of access over the last two years.
How, exactly? By refusing to name them when some members of the team insisted that he do so?
I think that’s protecting sources.
I object to the speculative part of the LaRue piece. It starts with the history and performance this year, talks about the now-famous sleep-gate and then launches into rampant speculation.
Being released, having Wakamatsu ask for a better player and it happening this month are offered with no supporting evidence. There is plenty of easy to clear dead weight on the roster even without Griffey. It has often been pointed out here that Lowe could be optioned, Colome DFA’d and Sweeney released. Griffey could shift to a PH role while he “works on his swing” or his hip/knees/hamstring/duodenum/dermabrasion might bother him and force him to the DL.
Combining the speculation with the rest of the article invites it to be taken seriously and a careless reader might even infer a causal link between the sleep issue and the May release. The specificity of the May release also invites one to think that it is more than a wild-ass guess.
I think it would have been more responsible journalism to separate and more clearly identify the speculation as such. If there is supporting evidence relating to the May release, present it there.
Maybe that’s the problem. Unless we are dealing with illegal acts or drug use or cheating, sports reporting isn’t investigative journalism. It is entertainement. It is (or should be) soft news.
In 2008 Baker faced no backlash because Sweeney and Griffey weren’t in the clubhouse. This incident is an opportinity to teach the young players not to go blabbing to the press. It reinforces the clubhouse culture. Will it result in more wins? I doubt it but if it does you can bet lots of people will point to this moment as a turnaround.
Careful with the that word, you’ll turn Josh Wilson into the next WFB in these parts.
Good post:
The whole closed clubhouse elitism still bothers me though, and I doubt the leadership of Griffey and Sweeney right now.
So here’s the deal for me (I basically use this place to try to organize my thoughts on this particular issue):
- Griffey got signed to a 1yr deal
- Griffey is in the lineup every day
- Griffey is not producing
Based on these three facts, people are arguing that Griffey should either retire on his own or be released by the club.
Isn’t the biggest issue that he’s in the lineup every day? Why do they continue to keep trotting him out there, day after day, when there are other options?
Put yourself in Jr’s shoes, or for that matter any aging athlete. He’s obviously frustrated with his lack of production, but why should he think he’s done? First of all, very few people (especially in the pro/celebrity bubble) are that self-aware, and more importantly HE’S BEING TREATED LIKE HE’S AN EVERYDAY PLAYER.
The front office signed him to a 1yr deal and centered a significant amount of their marketing around him. Stupid. The manager continues to put him in the lineup every friggin’ day. Stupid.
But it’s all Jr’s fault because he won’t quit on his own.
I repeat: cut Sweeney, bench Jr. Put him in the lineup on his bobblehead nights, or maybe once a week. Never have him pinch hit.
We could go the rest of the season with that scenario and have it minimally impact the team.
Well, this comment thread was going well for the first half, and then it seems it took yet another off-ramp to Napistan (where everyone’s reputations go to die). And so I skipped reading that half of the thread, like I’ve skipped just about everything since this blew up, because I really don’t need to read all the same arguments again. Those of you who enjoy that please continue, and don’t mind me, but I’m going to go back to some of the interesting stuff from closer to the top of the page:
We’re about 20% of the way through the season, so right now he’s on track to pitch just under 100 innings. He had 77 with the Jays last year and about the same number (split between the Jays and AAA Syracuse) the year before. So yeah, if current trends continue we’re headed into somewhat uncharted territory for him — a near 50% increase over his career high. I don’t know if there’s a supposed “Veriducci effect” for relievers, but if there is he’d be a candidate — assuming they keep working him this hard (and especially considering how hard he throws).
On the other hand, there’s still a lot of season left and the starters are going deep into games (hopefully that will include Felix again soon) so there really shouldn’t be such a need to work him that hard. We probably are seeing the “hot hand” thing getting applied by Wak: he does have other options in the pen but he wants to keep flipping the coin that already came up heads a couple of times in a row. It takes guts to not go with the guy you feel most comfortable with.
Of course, this overuse of one reliever is yet another indictment of the seven-man bullpen. There are a lot of guys sitting around in cobwebby Hoplite helmets out there. At least they have a painting to look at.
I do think League was acquired with an eye to making him a “closer in waiting” and leaving him in for the save last night may very well be a step in that process. It’s unfortunate that the M’s haven’t given Aardsma more save opportunities so far this year because the lack of counting stats likely will hurt him most with the kinds of teams that overvalue closers, assuming Jack has been dangling him as one lure in an attempt to get another bat.
Like when pretty much everybody in MLB was blackballing Jim Gray for a while after that idiot started badgering Pete Rose about gambling in that interview during the 1999 World Series.
The LaRue source of importance is NOT the players that commented on something that Drayer says is common knowledge. The source that I want to know is who told LaRue that Griffey could be release in 1 month!