Game 38, Mariners at A’s
Dave · May 17, 2010 at 5:04 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Rowland-Smith vs Gonzalez, 7:05 pm.
The line-ups are getting more ridiculous by the day. The A’s are starting a lefty, so instead of either of the actual useful left fielders, we get Tui in left, playing behind an extreme fly-ball southpaw who badly needs to have a good game. I’ll do a post on this tomorrow, but Wak’s lack of understanding that Tui sucks is a problem. Oh, and the kicker – Junior is at DH, hitting 5th. Against a lefty. Sure is a good thing we’re carrying two old guys who can’t play the field and 12 pitchers. That never comes back to haunt us.
This roster is a joke.
Ichiro, RF
Figgins, 2B
Gutierrez, CF
Lopez, 3B
Griffey, DH
Tuiasosopo, LF
Kotchman, 1B
Josh Wilson, SS
Bard, C
Well, we’re almost to the quarter pole and it’s Wak’s 200th game as a manager tonight (99-100 record). Maybe he’s celebrating by trying to get everyone hitting under .200 into the line-up.
WOW! He’s got to be trying to get fired at this point. I can’t imagine he seriously thinks this puts the team in the best position to win. Amazing.
Jack…. please…. do something about this.
Wak is like Bill Murray, except instead of being stuck on Groundhog Day, his lineups are stuck on April Fool’s.
I guess Sweeney’s injury is a little worse then he was letting on last night? Not that it matters.
Wow. I was joking with my brother the other day about wondering how soon Wak was gonna get caught throwing games (we obviously don’t actually think this, but it was a fun conversation with regard to recent events/mismanagement), but this lineup is ridiculously bad.
WHAT IS JUNIOR DOING AGAINST A LEFTY? WHAT!?!?! Is this a joke.
Look up must-win game in the dictionary. This is it. We need to win both of these games against the A’s. And these are winnable games, since we get to face arguably their 3rd and 4th best starter.
Is Wak kidding? I don’t even want Junior in against righties. This is NOT a home game. Why is he playing? It isn’t even like the organization has to start him, because it’s his bobble-head night or whatever. The game is in god-damned Oakland.
It’s almost like Wak thinks Junior can actually play. That is the only plausible explanation. Which is a shame.
Wakamatsu is one of the most dull, uninspired and uninspiring managers I can recall seeing. Except for lineups, which seem to come from, well, left field.
I don’t think the roster is so awful (could be improved by dumping pitcher #12 and at least one of Sweeney/Griffey) but he makes such awful use of it. I mean, really.
He is a man out of his depth – a steady hand at the tiller, much like the captain of a certain unsinkable ocean liner we often refer to. And yes, Tui is pretty much a deck chair.
What did RRS do to deserve this lineup? Are Langerhans, Saunders, Sweeney and Bradley all unavailable? Is there any evidence that Tui can play LF passably?
Perhaps it’s time to be looking for 1B alternatives if Kotchman continues to hit this badly. Not sure any Rainiers qualify for the role though. Everidge and Nelson are more credible DH candidates.
Yeah, Wak even has two guys playing second base. What’s up with that
Ugh, this is ugly. There must be some reason for it though. I could have sworn I read that Langerhans had a sore elbow and Sweeney had a stiff back or something, but I can’t find it now.
Sabermetrics suggests managers have a meh effect in general.
Is Wak just ugly meh or is he costing the Ms serious damage?
Is there any rational thinking behind what Wakamatsu has done this year at all? This lineup is unfathomably inept, given what it could conceivably look like. If you really wanted Tui in there so bad, shouldn’t he be at first instead of the uberslumping Kotchman, allowing Langerhans to play left for the fly-ball pitcher?
This makes me want to cry.
To be fair, I think everyone else is hurt besides Saunders, but I’d still rather have Saunders in the lineup even with a lefty on the mound, and take out either Tui or Griffey. Wak is just dumb if he can’t see we’d be better off with Saunders.
This is the M’s answer to Dave’s earlier post “It’s Get Serious Time”. As in, “you can’t tell us what to do”.
Even if you’re a sabr-agnostic, this lineup makes no sense. It doesn’t even follow most of the old cliches the old-school guys like to follow (excepting the fact that Griffey is a “professional hitter” and “proven veteran” I guess). Is Saunders on the bench just in case we need a pinch hitter?
Oh well, this particular fan will be sitting this one out.
Please rank in order of priority:
a) baffling lineups
b) sub-optimal bullpen usage
c) Keystone Cops routines on the basepaths
d) Catchers who don’t
e) 6 man bullpen
f) 1 man bench
g) Designated Hitters who don’t
h) not enough Junior Bobblehead promotions
i) beer prices too high
j) mattresses in clubhouse too hard
k) other (please specifiy)
Terry, when a manager is consistently running out a below-replacement-level hitter at DH when there are better options throughout the team, that in and of itself is costing the M’s a couple of wins this year. This is more than just a meh effect, given the vast disparity between abilities.
I wish I had not looked at the line-up today.
I was so looking forward to tonight’s game and a lot of the wind just went out of my sails.
Jose Lopez batting fourth.
Amazing, whatever his shortcomings in other areas he had been good for a few EXBH in the past.
But in his last ten games he has actually had 2 doubles and no Home runs. And 2 walks!!!
He has as many walks as EXBH in his last ten games!!! .213/.242/.273 for the season.
Gio Gonzalaz should send the M’s a thank you note for that gift. How many other teams send up a clean-up hitter like that?
Never thought I would see the day when Jose Lopez was valuable for his defense.
The other thing is – not meaning to pick on Sweeney but… his back is acting up after playing, what? three days in a row? four days? And his proponents think he can handle the regular DH job how, exactly?
Hmmm…wonder where Wak got the lead paint chips he’s been munching on for lunch lately — the team hasn’t been to Fenway Park yet this year!
I was reading how banged up the bench is. If you ask 6-4-3 he will probably contradict the manager and say he could have played.
If the bench is so banged up and he has to trot this lineup out, it’s time to release Colome and add another hitter (Hannahan? if not, try out Everidge for God sakes, ANYBODY with some ability to drive the ball).
Is this Wak’s attempt at a cry for help? I just do not understand.
My thoughts exactly. Saunders in Left, Tui at first would be a bit more acceptable (barely though).
Lookoutlanding is saying Hannahan IS back up. Wow.
I’d put Tui at DH and keep the defense at 1B, personally. (But if Langerhans could play, I’d replace Kotchman with him at 1B)
Erroneous. LL is saying he should be back up.
Huh? I did not just see that lineup. I don’t think anyone can fight the fact that Wak is becoming a large portion of the problem here.
That lineup is one severe facepalm.
Sweeney had better be in traction; this season is turning into a spectacular shit-show.
I feel bad for RRS. He hasn’t been on his game, and is the type of pitcher that will almost undoubtedly give up a run or two, but when he is on, he keeps the game close at least. Too bad he will get ZERO from the offense, at least theoretically. Saunders, Langerhans, and Sweeney have all been hitting at a far better clip than Tui and Griffey, but we get the bottom of the stick?
I wasn’t really sold on Wak’s managerial skills last season, and most (nearly all) of my hesitation to doubt him is gone.
Remember in the offseason when this team had AL West contender written all over it? It’s mid-May and all we can do is count the days until the deadline to see what we get for Lee and until the next offseason.
Sad.
At this point Tui would be an improvement over Junior. That is so many variations of sad
Maybe Wak is just trying to channel his inner Billy Martin by putting everyone’s name in a hat and drawing their names out to determine the line up. Hell I think Billy Martin won that game too, at this point why not try everything you can. Fact of the matter is, this team (God forgive me for saying this) SUCKS!!!!!!!! I love the Mariners I’ve loved them my whole life, but when you watch this team half of them don’t look like they even care. It’s almost like the only thing any of them are looking forward to is to see if Ichiro can get another 200 hits. Some of these games the Mariners have lost especially over the last 4 or 5 days are games that any team who gives a crap should win. There is just not much heart on this team.
Vargas and Fister care and beyond that I’m not so sure. As far as I’m concerned Lee is just doing a season long tryout for his contract next year. And everyone else seems to just be playing for the sake of getting a pay check. Say what you want about Milton Bradley, at least he seemed to give a crap about winning, he showed some emotion, maybe a bit too much but he showed so damn emotion.
Thank you Dave! This roster is a laughing joke. Tui is worthless and so is Griffey. Wak is a large part of the problem. Tui in left field makes absolutely no sense. I’ve enjoyed going to the games the last few weeks but now I’m not going to the home games — until they turn it around, they won’t get one dime of my money. What else is on tonight?!
Fire Wakamatsu. His ignorance is crazy. He sucks.
I don’t care who we get to replace him, at this point.. I think I would do a better job as the manager of the Mariners. No… really. I’m not kidding.
Yeah. It’s terrible, but true.
Although I would like to see what Tui can offer, it shouldn’t ever impact Saunders! He is producing and plays better defense than Tui. Aaahhhh I’m losing faith in Wak every single game.
The line favoring Oakland has moved from -145 to -160 since lineups were announced.
I’m not kidding.
Jack needs to lay down the law and tell Wak that he is losing that 7th reliever. With innings eaters like Felix, Fister, Vargas and Lee in this rotation a 7 man BP is a stupid way to manage a roster.
Griffey needs to be told that he won’t retire, he can go rest his knees on the 60 day DL and have his second (and final) farewell in September.
Figgins needs to go down to #9. Put him down to 9 puts him in front of Ichiro!.
Tony B. is on FSN right now, talking about UZR and FIP.
Griffey is hitting .190 / .258 / .214. !!!. If Wak wants Tui in the lineup, DH him and put Langerhans in LF. This is painfully obvious. Emphasis on *painfully*.
I am curious but he looks lost every time I’ve seen him hit this year. I am curious to see what a Tommy Everidge could do. I am sure he won’t be much better but if Kotchman is gonna stink it up with the bat, let’s take a look at the big guy for a couple weeks.
Jack better be the one determining the roster, because Wak apparently doesn’t know what’s going on at this point.
I am down with this move. Who would hit second? Guti? Saunders?
Wow. Even some well-informed alcoholics know that this line up is a joke.
Saunders, I think.
I was always under the impression that Jack defers to Wak’s opinions on many things.
I’m so mad, I’ll post it twice. WHAT THE FXCK? not only is Griffey, with his .460 OPS, on the team, but he’s in the lineup, batting 5th, against a LEFTY. And Tui, who can’t play LF is playing LF while Saunders and Langerhans, who are good left fielders, are on the bench. This is so insane.
Bingo! I’d go Ichiro, Saunders, Gutierrez, Bradley (when healthy), Langerhans, Lopez, Bard, Wilson (when healthy), Figgins myself.
God, the Mariners are worthless at this point.
I feel bad for Dave Niehaus and Rick Rizzs. And for that matter: Lee, Ichiro, and Griffey.
Funny thing about chemistry, btw, if we are going to talk about Griffey and Sweeney, Z said it at his first press conference last year.
TALENT WINS.
Character is great if you can find it and you should do your best to combine those two things into one.
But TALENT WINS.
And I just pray to God that the mindset of this organization hasn’t changed in that regard because of Armstrong and/or Lincoln butting in to Jack Z’s plans.
Because as is right now, the Mariners roster is shorthanded by about 5-10 players. And two of those spots are because of players that are here for chemistry reasons at this point.
It wouldn’t be a problem to have 12 pitchers on our roster if Sweeney and Griffey were substituted for two position players.
Cases in point:
Saunders disappearing with lame excuses as to why he won’t play for awhile.
Johnson catching so many games when it was clear he was playing in pain (and not very good anyway).
Keeping Sweeney and Tui on the roster solely due to ST numbers.
Going from a 6-7 man pitching staff (panic!) and keeping it even with Fister and Vargas eating innings along with Felix and Cliff Lee coming back from injury to be the stud he usually is.
No joke. DFA Colome now. OR is he apart of the belief system we need around?
I agree wholeheartedly but I have to believe Howie and Chuck are leaving Z alone. I have to wonder what kind of budgetary handcuffs they may have placed on him though.
There aren’t many teams willing to deal this early so I am not so incensed with Z. I am starting to get frustrated with Wak. I do like the guy and think there is a good manager in there. Right now, he’s managing much like his team is hitting…badly.
Earth to USSM Community:
The reason why Wak’s lineups are so bad right now is (as far as we know):
1. Injuries and bad luck (shit happens)
2. The way Z constructed the roster being too concerned about pitching and defense. Plus, there is practically NOTHING TO WORK WITH ON THIS ROSTER RIGHT NOW.
So unless we find out from Geoff Baker or whoever that Wak is the one keeping Sweeney and Bradley on this roster, stop blaming him for all that is wrong with this team.
Z, as good as he is, deserves blame too.
I think between last year and this year, Howard and Chuck have started butting there noses into the GM’s business again!
I think Wak believes that Jesus saves.
Saunders needs to be in the lineup – I don’t get it – he is a 23 years old emerging MLB player, arguably our best prospect especially with how Ackley has played. So we bat him 9th – where we wouldn’t even bat our 3rd string catcher just recalled from minors or our backup backup shortstop, look for him to bunt when runners are on, and bench him when a young lefty Gio is on the mound and still somehow he has been one of our best hitters for the month of May producing major league quality hitting numbers (something this team has only got from Guti and Ichiro so far this year). Wak just seems to have no clue about his players and roster. Nice messaging to one of our organization’s top prospects. Is one of the last guys who should be on the bench tonight! Yech!
I am just frustrated and venting. I said it a few days ago and above, I like the guy and do believe he is a good manager. I just do not understand why he’s being so stubborn on some things. Guess time will tell.
Why Wak strains in choosing the available worse thing in the equipment and taking the worst possible desicions
Wak only help helps the adversary.
Every player who gives a good game is destined for the bench to put someone who suck.
Wak is an idiot. Please fire Jack
We should just forfeit. At least no one will get hurt.
This lineup is so bad, there’s plenty of blame to go around.
Good points Tom Tuttle.
Can you provide any possible justification for Griffey being in the lineup and batting 5th against a lefty, with Tui in LF, while Saunders and Langerhans are on the bench? Set aside roster construction. As a matter of filling out the lineup card, isn’t that flat-ass insane?
What are the odds on the M’s getting no-hit? 1-3?
I wish someone in the press conferences would ask questions about his reasoning behind these lineups. There has to be some reason he’s putting these out there besides chemistry or some other fuzzy metric. I’m just mystified what.
You know your team sucks when the fanbase is up in arms that Ryan Langerhans isn’t in the lineup.
As for the lineup itself, I’m not sure why people are so surprised to see Tui in left. All managers, not just Wak, put too much emphasis on righty/lefty matchups, IMO. He’s already got lefties like Kotchman and Griffey in there, he probably figured he didn’t want to put yet another one in LF. I’m not saying I agree with that reasoning, but that’s the way most managers think.
Right. So between the three (available) lefties (Saunders, Griffey, and Kotchman), one of them should very obviously be sitting this one out. And it’s not Saunders. Probably not even Kotchman.
By the way, I don’t think most people are suggesting that Wak is the reason the M’s are doing so poorly. He’s a minor contributing factor, but, in reality, the reason the M’s are doing poorly is because the bullpen has blown more than its share of games and the entire infield and DH has underperformed hitting projections by a ton.
We get worked up about Wak’s decisions because they are decisions, rather than failures of talent or execution.
A future Hall of Famer, a right-handed hitting mascot, and an out of position LF walk into a bar . . . .
thetourist,
Sweeney isn’t available, is he? That would be my guess as to why Griffey is in there.
And like I said, I’m not defending the lineup. I agree with everyone else that the lineups suck on a nightly basis, but people are surprised by this lineup tonight? Really??? At what point do people stop being surprised and just accept the fact that as long as Wak is the manager we are going to see horrible lineups pretty much every game?
With a bobblehead in one hand, and a tube of Icy Hot in the other…
Is there a rule somewhere that one or the other has to DH?
Yeah, totally understand that. I think it’s just the buildup of bad lineups piling upon bad lineups that is getting to people. Especially when those bad lineups are failing, and could be improved upon. For me it’s just that at some point there’s a straw that breaks a camel’s back.
We’ll probably never know for sure, but I’d be willing to put $100 on the certainty that the team starting the season with Sweeney on the roster was almost entirely Wak’s decision. All the “reasons” for having him on the team — clubhouse presence, unwillingness to cut a guy who “earns” a spot with a crazy ST performance — are a manager’s reasons, not a GM’s.
Anyone else having issues running the stream for the Mariners on MLB.tv? Usually it’s up right now with the pre-game stuff…
There it goes. Disregard.
I think this lineup is unusually bad because Wak was faced with two unique choices: 1) Who to DH against a lefty with Sweeney hurt and 2) Who to play LF against a lefty with no right-handed OF option. He made the worst possible choice in both cases. This isn’t a case of inertia, or pre-defined roles, or roster constraints, (mis)guiding his decisions. This is a case of flat out doing two stupid things, for which no one has been able to provide any justification, and with plenty of time to think about it. It really makes you question his decision-making.
It’s days like today that make me glad USS Mariner’s ad on the upper left side of the page is for a lawyer specializing in alcohol expenses.
Error codes being given for all three late games on MLB.tv – maybe this is God’s way of telling me to do something else.
The surprising thing is that the lineups seem to be getting worse. Wak is a human being, and a relatively young one as major league managers go, so he should be able to learn. And maybe he is learning, but it seems to be the wrong things. Last year when he announced he was going to try out a lot of different lineups and then did so, at least initially, the things he was trying made sense or at least were defensible. That has not been true lately.
Of course if at least an equal number of players were playing above their projected/career averages as below, the lineups wouldn’t matter nearly as much — and perhaps Wak wouldn’t have gone completely Mad Hatter on us.
Nope, there’s no rule that says Griff or Sweeney are the only guys who can DH. However, although we understand that, Wak seemingly doesn’t. Odds are he will always go to Sweeney and Griffey as the DH, and he will almost always have them hit #5 in the lineup. Just like he will stubbornly insist on hitting Figgy 2nd, despite the fact that he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat right now.
And I hear you about the straw breaking the camel’s back. I think I reached that point a while ago. Maybe that’s why I’m not surprised by anything he does at this point…
Wak’s reasoning for the moves – if he DH’s Tui and plays Saunders in left, they have no backups if anyone gets hurt unless they forfeit the DH. He’s not willing to officially forfeit the DH, so he’ll just unofficially do it by starting Junior.
Dave, in a one-game situation, I think that logic isn’t so bad. But I think either Tui or Kotchman should be out of the lineup instead of Saunders.
Valid points, CCW and joser. I guess what I’m saying is nothing he does surprises me anymore. He could put Justin Bieber in left and it wouldn’t surprise me. Come to think of it, I bet Bieber has pretty good speed and a decent UZR. Be on the lookout for that addition to the lineup…
I have never seen so many guys with a slugging Pct under .3 all in the lineup at the same time…and this isn’t even the NL…sigh
I have a proposal. Let’s just require Griffey to play left field until he gets hurt. It might cost us a little defensive value now, but in the longer term, it may be for the best.
Seattleguy, Bieber could probably move some merchandise too.
Well RRS got his run for the night. Good luck Hyphen!
… every night.
2 delayed steals?!?
They must have seen something from Suzuki in the last game.
Who is this Bieber?
This is perhaps Griffey’s best at bat of the season.
@#!$ MLB.TV!
There is your 1 run for the game, RRS.
GO GET EM!
Anything having to do with Bud Selig is automatically awful.
Any other dish network people not getting HD?
ndrfx,
Bieber’s a kid singer who is a big hit with the teenybopper crowd. I was just trying to think of a ridiculous example, and he was the first one who came to mind.
We’re all friends here, right? I’m going to admit something… Remember when it almost became OK (it felt good in a way, at least) to root against the M’s because we knew that the only way to get rid of Bavasi and fix the front office once and for all would be spectacular failure? I’m starting to feel the same way about Griffey. I don’t know where rock bottom is, but maybe if he goes 0 for his next 30 or something, we’ll get there.
I’m praying that RRS has a good game. Because after him, it’s Snell or Shell… Either that or a 4 man rotation.
Good AB,
samelame result.Great at bat by Griffey. Guti is amazing and Hyphen again sucks
To be honest, for me it’s worse. I hope he gets hurt. Not bad, just a pulled muscle, or a hernia.
Game %
gopher-ball
Fuck.
That’s game.
RRS just punched his ticket to Tacoma.
Get Snell up, and let’s get this crap over with.
The game is over. Thank you Hyphen
RRS can’t be optioned to Tacoma without clearing waivers.
Well, if we can’t win a game while ahead…
Josh Bard should be called “Bald Eagle” with a beak and a head like that.
Think of it this way…you are parolled early for good behavior. You now have 2.5 hours to do something else with your evening.
On waivers: A 27 year old who can’t get anyone out, can’t keep the ball in the ballpark, and the mental make-up of Brendan Morrow. But he has a cute accent.
Slugfest!!!
So there you go. Via Niehaus, we have one healthy guy on the bench.
And I think there are more people commenting here than there are at the actual game. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stadium so empty.
Slugfest requires 2 teams to score. We all know the M’s aren’t capable of that. This is going to be a drubbing.
As Dave put it when on with KGA earlier today, RRS as a lefty making the league minimum with his track record is likely to be claimed if they tried to pass him through waivers.
Ah, JEEZ that’s some funny stuff.
I can throw left-handed, as well. Doesn’t make me a major leaguer.
Hey guys this is my first post this season.
Boy these guys suck.
Tired of watching this crap. I’m going to watch some better athletes. I think pro poker is on ESPN8.
The Hyphen can make any batter look like an all star caliber player even Jack Cust.
Do you remember the possible trade in the preseason Hyphen for Callaspo…
What’s the story with Cust? Didn’t the A’s release him earlier this season?
holy crap, we’re still in the bottom of the 2nd??!
Billy, that comment stands on grounds for possible comment deletion and/or account banning
WTF happened to RRS anyway? Why has he regressed?
The RRS Express has DERAILED.
The A’s don’t know batting practice is over?
At least Bard looks like he’ll block the plate if given the chance.
3 outs into the game and Snell is up… gonna be a long night boys and girls….
I got $5 that says the Hyphen wont make it out of the 2nd.
Yikes. RRS’s last start for awhile, I’m sure.
Colome its a good pitcher vs Hyphen,… What a shame
The A’s buried the Mariners when they scored the second run of the game… now they’re digging up the corpse and burying it somewhere else…
Somebody should remove RRSs blog link to the right. What a disaster.
I’m out, hope everyone has a Great Day!
In the pre-game, he said he wasn’t pitching with a chip on his shoulder and he needed to get back to that. If it’ll make him throw harder…
Are RRS and Snell this year’s double-mint twins?
I really wonder what goes through Wak’s head. Does he actually think that this lineup has a chance to beat any major league team? Ever? Even with luck? It’s literally as if he’s trying to find 162 different ways to lose a baseball game. John McLaren is currently watching at home laughing himself to death.
What in the @#$% happened to RRS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! This guy was a guy who was relatively consistent when he pitched in the last two seasons. Almost always gave you 7 innings and kept it under 3 runs. Is this entire team, with the exception of a few, completely horrible when expectations are arise??? RRS was afraid to lose his position in the rotation… well guess what chief, you’re going back to the Land Down Under… luckily for you it is Tacoma, because you couldn’t get High School hitters out right now. Man, I was backing you all off season and you make me look like a numb nut. This whole season is making me sick!
Do we even care if someone claims RRS through waivers? I don’t.
Hyphen? Or “minus” sign?
WTF was with that throw by Bard to 2nd? I hope it just slipped out of his hand, because otherwise people are going to run on him constantly.
This is actually getting depressing. I remember when Phil Bradley was my favorite player, when I insisted on sitting next to the USS Mariner in left-center, and just how much those teams sucked. I mean hoover-quality mega suck. A nuclear junk-shot couldn’t stem the tide of suck, and yet I had more fun watching that debacle than this one. I wonder why…
OH RIGHT. Aces up (Lee + Felix), added value (Fister, Vargas), magazine covers (that never used to happen), and then a collective fart noise loud enough to send Australia to the bottom of the ocean.
The old suck was sorta fun. This one just hurts.
It’s cool, this spectacular lineup will bail RRS out.
Mariners have less wins this year, than they did the year they lost 101 games.
This team would be so much more fun to watch if Figgins started hitting! I swear the success/failure of the M’s has a lot to do with Figgins’ slump!
Lets see if before the end of the inning we can get Ichiro over to 3rd. That will show some growth as a team.
He’s got it all wrong, he’s pitching with a chip on OUR shoulder.
God this is pathetic. It’s still good that the long suffering fans can still muster disgust. My give-a-damn isn’t busted yet, but it is being tested.
Come on rain, start dumping and flush this turd out to the bay….
Who is ready for some Football?
Gotta go to my happy place and imagine myself at a tailgate watching the Hawks/Dawgs.
Nope not this time. Wish I could say I was surprised.
So when do we officially start calling Figgins “6-4-3″?
God.. I was so excited when the Mariners signed Figgins. He’s beyond terrible this season. He needs to be batting 9th.
i was talking non-stop about figgins when we signed him. i dont mention his name anymore.
no kidding, he’s so fast and yet he still finds way to hit into double plays. I am convinced he’s still a LA Angels employee.
How in the hell the Hyphen was still allowed to go out there is just crazy. French is killin in Tacoma with around a 1.50 ERA. The Hyphen has more BB’s than K’s and over a 6.00 ERA. UGLYYY!!! Bring up French until Bedard is ready.
Figgy grounding into another double play, what do you know!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HEY WAK, do you know what makes a good manager and one that is ridiculously bad?!?!?! One that can’t get away from a plan that doesn’t work……. AKA CHONE FIGGINS BATTING 2nd!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wake the F$%K UP!!! When a plan doesn’t work out, then that’s life. But only idiots keep doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. How many times does a moron bang his head against a brick wall before he realizes that the blood dripping into his eye MIGHT actually be prevented? I’ve never been so tire of this @#$%^! Oh, but hey M’s fans… no worries…. we’re only 5.5 games out. IT’S OK! Well, @#$%^ that! I congratulate those on being optimistic, but I live in the real world, and when you suck this badly, there rarely is a light at the end of the tunnel in the same season. Time to spend energy cheering for someone else… go anyone but the Yankess, because even the Royals are more interesting to watch than these bunch of useless professional athletes.
Waive Colome put Minus as the long reliever.
Slide Figgins to the 9 hole.
DL Griffey or if he refuses, Reduce his role to mop up duty Pinch hitter.
Replace Sweeney with a Russel Branyan esque DH (I guess Bradley could be that guy??)
Have Saunders play 80% of the time in LF-with Langerhans filling in there, at 1B and CF/RF
Change some things around WAK or A)This team will lose 100 games. B)You wont be the Mariners manager in 2011
Imagine that…a DH that hits….
RRS REALLY REALLY-SUCKS!!!!!!!
they’re not going to come back from down by 4, might as well leave him out there and save the bullpen a little bit… oh well
Jesus
ChristColome! Now I have to watch Dancing with the Stars for the rest of the night! Thanks a ton M’s!dang theres a lot of seating in center field.
Yikes. Dammit, I always liked hyphen. Too bad he started drinking Griffey’s suck juice or something.
Did you guys catch the speed on that pitch?
78mph, and it definitely was not a curve.
Is he hurt?
I hope RRS hasn’t been pitching through pain and not telling anyone.
It’s early, but I had a lot more fun watching in 2008. When Miguel Cairo was playing first base. Yeah.
“In Z We Trust” is utterly invalid at this point. This roster needs a serious shakeup NOW, or I’m bailing on my Safeco trip planned this summer.
We like baseball. We like this team. We’ve all invested valuable time and money into this team. Therefore, we don’t deserve being abused by this team. This is utter abuse.
With 2 outs and nobody on, I quipped to my co worker “we might get out of the inning without allowing a run.” I even knocked on wood to be safe. Sorry Ryan, my bad.
Not your bad, he just sucks.
THANK GOD IT IS RAINING!!!!!!!!!! Maybe they can just call it a final after 3 and let us keep some dignity.
It’s lightly raining, but the last time a game in Oakland was rained out was back in 1998.
I’m wondering the same thing. Whether he is or isn’t, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him put on the DL shortly.
Bengie Molina could steal 2nd off of Bard.
I told my buddies at the beginning of the year that I thought RRS was going to have a breakout year….
I feel bad for the guy…I would love to see him be successful…
Three straight games of RRS not going more than 4 innings with Ian Snell pitching afterward……. I swear, if Wak keeps up his BS about “No, RRS is still in our rotation, and he shouldn’t be looking over his shoulder”, then I’m gonna hang myself. I couldn’t be a manager, because I’d call out my player out right and have him stand up and be accountable. “Dude, you suck right now. You’re going down to Tacoma so you can learn how to throw again, and if you’ve been pitching hurt, then you need a smack in the face and wake the hell up.” Pitching hurt doesn’t do anything but lose games. Sure makes you look good, but only if you win. And if you aren’t own up and move out of the way.
We’ll take it….LOL
I am sick of being led on by this team every spring, only to have them be the same old mariners. “believe big” yeah ok!
That was a pity HR
Tui should be pointing at Rajai Davis instead of the sky after his home run.
Tui???’
Can we take that Tui break back and save it for a game we can actually win?
You Mariners better shape up or Rayvensdad is going to lay it down on you boys.
Is there a type of massage that can cure sucking?
We even need help with our homeruns. Awesome!
I’ve never heard a Mariner HR call and thought Meh. At least we hit our two-run cap early tonight.
wow… so many ways to go with that one…
“Yes, but it will cost extra.”
“I thought sucking was part of the whole package”
“Listen, buddy, I’m not a hooker.”
Yea, I didn’t even know where to begin.
How about “Maybe, but there’s no guarantee of a happy ending”
In Seattle there are no happy endings.
Well, maybe on Aurora.
We are the fucking Bad News Mariners.
If not the disabled list, at least on the down low – as long as down low means the rarely-used guy in the pen.
“It’s been that kind of night.”
No, it’s been that kind of season.
That was actually kind of funny. In a Bad News Bears sort of way.
Everyone is really on their A-game this evening.
That started off as sarcasm but then I realized this isn’t much of a drop-off compared to usual. So sad…
Hey, the other Sweeney knows how to hit into a
6-4-3double play too!Hyphen could be the official pitcher in the HR DERBY, with his normal pitching staff
Unbelievable. Dude wasn’t even looking and he caught the ball at the wall.
And I should also mention that the A’s are literally laughing at us.
That catch by Cust kinda sums up the M’s season so far…he might as well have been smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer…
Geez, Rizzy sounded like he was gonna pee his pants when Tui went yard a little bit ago — even he’s getting battier from this miserable stretch.
Colorful way to put it, though totally funny!
Well, if you’re really scrounging around for something else to watch and have access to Mhz, Australian Rules Football is on tonight — which, besides being a fun game to watch, is infinitely better than this mess.
This sucks. It just sucks. I’m done for tonight, I’ll torture myself more tomorrow with game 2. Have a great night all.
I say we start Ian Snell next time in RRSs spot. While he’s not the permanent fix, things have sure calmed down since RRS exited.
GMZ needs to negotiate longer, more favorable repayment terms to the Devil that allowed him to steal Cliff Lee.
The Seahawks are shaping up to be terrible this year, too.
1-15 or 2-14 terrible.
Josh Wilson (the paperboy) is going to be their starting right guard, from what I’ve heard.
Hawks show promise. Real good draft, shake ups at QB and RB which were bad last season. cant get worse at those two pos by much.
This place is far more entertaining during times of great sucktitude. Not sure which I want more–quality entertainment at USSM or a winning hometown baseball team. Tough call.
I know which one I’d pick.
Whenever I see Griffey and Lopez next to each other in the lineup, I think double plays, here we come.
Well… turned the game back on just to see two on and no outs… then Griffey came up and made that go away pretty quickly.
Suckageddon
God even our good players are getting brain cramps now….
Winning baseball. It’s easier on the wallet in these times of economic difficulty. A strip of World Series tickets is less expensive than all the booze and broken stuff around the house a team like we have now requires.
And now Wak brings out the white flag in Colome.
Sucking is contagious.
Better to use Colome now, when he has nothing to lose.
Have we scored more than 8 runs all year?
Suckopalyse
With that out by Bard, six of the nine Mariners in the lineup are batting under .200.
The current Mariner nine now sports six players below the Mendoza line. Has that ever happened this late in the season in major league history? And Lopez got two hits to move up to .222.
Well that’s it– starting tomorrow, it’s Get Serious Time! Or at least sometime this week. Or by the end of the month at the latest.
I can’t stand to listen to the Mariners announcers in a time like this. Optimism is fine, but when your team looks as horrific as the Mariners do, you’ve got to draw the line at some point.
Can someone shoot all be A’s fans that won’t stop whistling. It so fucking annoying I am watching the game on mute.
The “get serious time” is the trade deadline.
Hey guys, comin’ in late on this one. So, anyone “regressing to the mean” yet? Any hitting close to career averages among the regulars goin’ on?
…
Hm, hey, look at that.
Interesting trivia: Mario Mendoza (he of “Mendoza Line” fame) was actually a Seattle Mariner for one season, in 1978. He had a .198 average in 148 games as the shortstop. He also had more home runs in 1978 than Junior does so far in 2010 (1, an inside-the-park HR).
No idea why I thought of Mendoza just now. No idea.
Faggins didn’t hit a 643, that’s it, I am pissed!
Some Mariner averages for May:
.250 Langerhans
.250 Gutierrez
.235 Moore (DL)
.217 Lopez
.189 Josh Wilson
.148 Figgins
.115 Johnson
.111 Griffey
.111 Tui
.071 Kotchman
Oh, and Ichiro!: .361
Predicted winner: OAKLAND 96%
This seems low to me?
It was 98, that seemed low to me.
Regression to the mean isn’t a 24hour phenomenon.
Al least Junior can’t hit into a double play.
I’m taking bets on this. Who thinks Wak is actually stupid enough to let Junior hit here.
3:1 odds. Against common sense.
Wow about to fall 10 games below .500….. My boy hyphen is sucking big time.
This season smells like 2008 with better pitching.
2010 Mariners
A new day, A new low.
“Junior still looking for that first homerun of 2010″
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
HA! HA!
No pinch-hit? Rad.
Doesn’t seem to be a 5 or 6 week phenomenon either.
Junior is about to become a punch-line. Why won’t he just walk away? *sniff sniff
You lose the DH when you pinch hit and Sweeney is injured. I know, the DH isn’t hitting anyway, etc. etc.
Well at least Wak finally chose a proper situation to bring in White and Jesus.
Chris_From_Bothell, what’s your point?
How bout Langerhans? I don’t even care that he’s a lefty. Maybe that will piss Griffey off enough to retire.
Langerhans: bad elbow. You’re thinking Saunders. You still lose the DH.
firova2- I keep hearing how these hitters can’t possibly keep hitting so badly… and I keep seeing them hit badly…
I can’t imagine our pitchers hitting much worse.
Lost, a few weeks back.
As someone already pointed out, statistically speaking we’d be doing better if our pitchers hit anyway.
Time for some patented Mendoza Magic
Chris– what do you expect people to say? Chone Figgins isn’t a career .185 hitter.
Can we rename the team “The Mendozas?”
Suckernova.
I would be all for renaming them if most of them could actually get to .200.
They didn’t let us down this time, boys!
Keep them the Mariners, rename the line.
firova – I don’t know anymore, man. I don’t know.
The Seattle
MarinersRight TurnersThat would be a waste of a good stat…
Here are the season averages of our 5th thru 9th batters:
.182, .156, .185, .189, .167. Tonight they collectively went 1/17.
Going in, I thought we had a better team but there is no fix in the world that can help this team. Even if we had the best farm system in baseball which is far far from true, it wouldn’t help. Even if it’s “only” mid-May, this team will not be playing in October. The sooner Z & Co. accept that, the sooner they can start making moves which will help next year.
Under .200, that is called the Figgins line, or the Kotchman line, or the Griffey line, or….
He thinks EVERYBODY struggling on the roster is doomed to hit around the mendoza line
for the rest of their careers. Instead of understanding that it would be wholly unprecendented for a collapse of this magnitude to occur in the majors. If Ichiro was hitting .200 alongside everyone else would you believe he would turn it around? Or just damn him to hell, all for a month and a half?
The Kotchman line, that is under .100, scuse me.
Can you imagine how obnoxious that place would be if they ever sold out? It’d be like, I don’t now, a Raiders home game or something.
Raiders fans haven’t evolved enough to learn how to whistle. Me being a lifetime Chiefs fan should explain my disdain for the Raiders.
Ok, time to stop putting Prozac in the M’s broadcasters’ water cooler.