Dave With Brock and Salk
Dave · May 19, 2010 at 10:15 am · Filed Under Mariners
Due to tomorrow’s day game, we’ve moved my weekly chat with the boys at 710 ESPN to this afternoon at 12:30. The Mariners probably won’t like what I have to say, so if they want to keep me from yelling at them on the air, perhaps they should schedule a press conference for 12:29. I can imagine a few things worth announcing.
Either way, tune in.
I hope you’re able to muster up a thing or two to talk about.
The “this team is so fun” comments sure have died down lately.
Oh, boy.
The sturm and drang I think Dave could conceivably unleash might wind up being the most entertaining thing I’ve heard all week.
So now I know when to take lunch so I can hear it in the car. Give ‘em hell, Dave.
I listen to 710′s stream throughout the day at work and with the Ms being the only action in town right now… I’ll just say it’s very depressing. My work day is now riddled with very sad, sad thoughts about the Mariners.
I’m excited to hear this segment though.
Release the
KrakenCameron!Oh, bet the farm I’ll be tuning in. Good times!
Let ‘em have it, Dave!!!
Both barrels. Don’t puss out.
Salk is completely unwilling to accept that Jack Z’s off-season was less than perfect or that a batting order makes any difference. Jack Z seems to be sharing the same free ride as Griffey. Can you please throw out some drastic changes that could occur, like trying Figgins at SS to get more pop at 2nd?
When’s Salk going to start posting on UssMariner? He announced that he would on Twitter. Now you can roast him, Dave, because they always are making fun of you! I will be at the game tonight –will have more fun though listening to you call it like it is today.
Or perhaps Dave is the 300! (words per minute, all of them angry)
For a front office that was very active during the winter, they sure have been… what’s the word I am looking for here… comatose. I think that gets the image across.
And for those that would say “other teams aren’t ready to trade yet”, there are sure lots of things the M’s could do to fix some of the sucking chest wounds in the lineup and bullpen that wouldn’t require getting a star player from another team.
Fury.
Drayer on right now – sounds like trouble on the Chemistry front, and dogs – or at least Big Dogs – not wanting to be whispered to.
The only guy the Mariners would seemingly trade with any substantial current and future value to another team without giving up prospects is Cliff Lee. Ichiro is the face of the Mariners and he’s not going anywhere. Nobody wanted Jose Lopez in the off-season and he hasn’t done himself any favors since then. Gutierrez is the core of our future. I wouldn’t think Aardmsa has the kind of value that teams would give an arm and a leg for. Jack Wilson is a good defensive SS, but I think the M’s were too crafty for their own good when they traded with the Pirates. Basically, all the Mariners can do is dump the dead weight and move on. I don’t see them winning much of anything this year. I didn’t get my hopes up too high at the beginning of the season because it was obvious to me that the M’s had put together a patchwork of players that couldn’t really compete for 162 games with the real contenders. There are so many unknown variables during the season and the Mariners weren’t as well prepared as they should have been.
Its time for management to do what is necessary. No player should be safe from the changes, including Ichiro. I’m tired of his batting practice skills being left in the dugout.
Junior hits home runs in batting practice too. Maybe because it’s batting practice.
After a bit of a slow start, Ichiro is right back to his usual self. He doesn’t need to do anything different. Suggesting that he is part of the problem is reminiscent of 2008 when he got a whole lot of flak while being the team’s best player.
Ichiro is anything but the problem in Seattle. He brings a ton of Japanese tourists to our city and puts asses in seats. He actually hits. He can play defense.
Moving Ichiro around in the batting order is only going to antagonize him and not change the fact there are 7 other players on the team that have considerable problems getting on base or getting hits.
Well, it’s been said before, but it bears repeating: this whole situation stands as a stark refutation of the idea that Good Chemistry can overcome Losing. Build a team with both eyes firmly on winning, and let the chemistry take care of itself.
Really?
Of all the things wrong with the Mariners that you could complain about, you complain about a guy with a .374 wOBA? And with 1.4 WAR before the end of May?
I’m sorry to ask yet again, but are these carried live anywhere over the Internet. (i hate waiting for the podcasts to be posted) I’m stuck in california and need my cameron fix.
http://www.mynorthwest.com/streams/streampop_espn.php
Here is the link, follow “listen live”
nevermind
How high is your dudgeon? Does that make us the Dudgeoness Crabs?
I know better than to open a can of works by actually suggesting we try to trade Ichiro, but right now it seems like he’s one of the few players of any value that another team would even consider trading for.
Which is sad.
This reminds me of that great line in Die Hard…
“Shut it down… Shut it down now.”
Unleash hell Dave!!! You are the collective voice of all the pissed off M’s fans out there!
M’s should go get Hanley Ramirez. Then Hanley and Milton could team up as the lollygag twins.
And at least Hanley Ramirez can hit the damn ball…unlike about 80% of the roster right now.
I want Fury!! Let ‘em have it.
80%? Feeling generous today?
As far as I’m concerned the club made it well known how they feel about the people that cover the team, whether traditional press or blogger or what-have-you, with their total inaction in the whole LaRue debacle.
Maybe they were just wishing hard that it would go away on its own, but I was actually offended by the way the management let the players treat Larry…with The Hugger flat-out calling him a liar after threatening his own teammates with physical violence, Cliff Lee being a giant baby and refusing to talk until Larry left the room, and anyone else who was cold-shouldering Larry. Drayer pissed me off for the first time ever, too, with what I perceived as gratuitous player buttkissing. We have Angie Mentink for that!
It would have been nice if Lincoln had at least said they don’t condone what the team is doing but will leave it at that…at least it would have been something. Now I think the entire press, of every sort, should be absolutely hammering this team for its lack of performance.
For the record, Dave’s take on Wakamatsu is the most sensible explanation I’ve heard to date and falls in line with my sentiment with Wak. He said it better than I ever could.
This is Wakamatsu’s second year on the job. He has shown to be a pretty smart guy. He’s struggling with managing the team just as much as the team is struggling to win. That’s one of the main reasons I’m not on this ever-growing “Wak is bad” bandwagon.
So, Dave, who *would* you like to see replace Sweeney in the lineup? Seems like you hang on to Sweeney until you can land a guy like Ryan Raburn.
Like I said on this here board last night, Drew Carey has so much more game when it comes to running a sports franchise than Lincoln and Armstrong combined.
But the Nintendo people could care less if the team is making money which I why I still think the only reason Armstrong and friends finally fired Bavasi in ’08 was because he saw the team was finally going to go into the red and finally ran out of 1995-related goodwill in his mind.
Oh, 80% of the roster can hit the ball. They just can’t do it more than 15% of the time.
A word is missing.
80% of the roster can hit the ball WEAKLY.
Dave, where are you getting probabilities for the M’s chances of making the playoffs? Coolstandings.com has the Pirates at less than 1% and the M’s at 5.9%. That’s still really now, of course, but if we were in the Pirate’s position, then there’s NO reason to try to fix anything–just trade Lee and let Tui take his lumps.
15 Percent of the Time It Works Every Time…
Actually, yeah, and my bad…
I should’ve said about 92% couldn’t hit — which is the percentage of the 25-man roster minus Ichi and Guti’s contributions.
Yeah, I don’t know that Wak is the problem, particularly if he was given more to work with. But it’s true he doesn’t have a lot of experience, and that’s part of the package. We thought the trade-off for that was an openness to new ideas, and we saw that last year at least in terms of trying out lineups. And yet this year, as Dave said, we see Wak try the same things over and over like he’s some hidebound McLaren or something.
But that’s an easy thing to “fix” (and, again, having better guys to write into the lineup would help too). I don’t know that replacing Wak is a priority: no uber-manager is going to be able to turn this team around by himself (and how many would want to even try?), and the things an uber-manager would need are the same things Wak needs; given them Wak could probably do it too.
But there’s a reason virtually all the “great” managers didn’t stick with the first teams they coached. These guys get fired and hired and learn things along the way. Sometimes they get handed a job managing crap because the better, smarter managers avoid it. Sometimes they luck into a great situation and look great as a result. Don’t forget the MLB-best, once- and future- World Series-bound Tampa Bay Rays are Joe Maddon’s first gig as manager. I suspect Wakamatsu would look pretty good writing out the Rays lineup every night too.
Liam wrote:
Damn, I missed it :\ Went to Pacific Place to spend what was going to be spent at Safeco on various tickets to SIFF…
Anyways, when the clip is up, it will be here:
Brock & Salk – Monday, May 19 – 12pm to 1pm
At this time, it’s not up. Should be up soon though…
Though, unfortunately, HowChuck are still stuck in that 1995 mode — as evidenced by the sliding bobbleheads, retro t-shirts and mascots on the roster.
I think there’s a false dichotomy. The question isn’t whether Wak is a good manager, it’s whether he’s the right manager for the team he has and whether someone else is that right manager. With all due respect to Wak, he’s a pretty passive guy. That works well when things are going well, but right now, not so much. I’d have loved for him to have confronted the ump after the ump called him out while he was still in the dugout. And if he’d been tossed, maybe we don’t bring in Sean White. I’m just saying (and yes I know the manager still pulls the strings even after he’s tossed).
If we had a record like the Humboldt Crabs (35-13 last year) maybe we’d be happier.
Yes, it’s a very good take on it. But I’m still leading the pitch and torchfork brigade on Wak. He’s got fewer excuses for his screwups than Figgins or Kotchman or Felix. During the whole segment before Dave where Brock and Salk were talking about Felix not liking Wak’s visit to the mound, I kept thinking that if I was in Felix’s place, I’d be a little torqued at someone making the mental mistakes Wak is making telling me to get my head in the game.
I think Wak can salvage himself as a manager, but he’s really got to figure out his current belief system isn’t working in a hurry. He’s got to come up with a better idea about talent eval and how to put his players in positions where they have a chance to succeed.
He’s not the main problem. He is a problem, and one that can be fixed more easily than others. And while I don’t believe that good chemistry can turn a bad team into champions, I do think that bad chemistry can turn a decent team into doormats. Mental mistakes are contagious, and when they guy who’s job is 100% mental is making them, it sets a bad example.
Time for Wak to shape up or ship out.
It’s up now
It could be worse. Imagine how the Boston Red Sox fans must feel – coolstandings.com has the Sox at just a 5.2% chance of making the playoffs. Less than our Mariners!
Enough to make you cry for their pain…..
And, as we know, it’s a total sign of the apocalypse for Saux Nation if they have to sit out the playoffs one year.
Waiting for Dave’s post is like the calm before a storm today. Fury!
So, Dave, who *would* you like to see replace Sweeney in the lineup? Seems like you hang on to Sweeney until you can land a guy like Ryan Raburn.
Bradley would be the most obvious in-house choice, when he’s ready to return. But beyond that, there are several in-house options that are clearly better than Sweeney. Carp is in a huge slump in Tacoma, but there’s still Everidge and Nelson. They’re much, much better options.
Oh, awesome. I love that logo, especially if it was on a cap. Unfortunately “Crabs merchandise will be available for sale on our website starting in May 2010″ (Looks at calendar… hmmmm)
Also
Anyway, I guess we have the benefit of a weak division to keep our inflated hopes alive. That’s one thing about the Orioles: there’s no doubt where they are, or that there’s any chance of coming back from it. You either go to games at Camden because you just love baseball, or you go into full “next year” mode. It’ll take the Red Sox a lot longer to make up their minds about that.
Well, for all the ones who only jumped on board after 2003 — which, around here, seems to be almost all of them — it might be a sign for them to find a new bandwagon. In which case I feel sorry for the Rays. (I was going to mention the Phillies, but nothing would make me feel sorry for the Phillies.)
According to mariners.com, RRS to the pen. Snell to the rotation.
The start of changes maybe??
The RRS/Snell switch was made yesterday.
I know. I just thought it was worth mentioning as I didn’t notice it in this thread. Maybe I missed it though or it was in another one.
There are still so many problems outside the Pitching/Bullpen that need to be addressed.
I’d be very surprised if there is a single AL “playoff-team” within the last 10 to 20 years that have carried 3 players on their roster that can’t play everyday in the field.
Even more troubling is seeing Jack Z essentially idle for this long… Hopefully this is the calm before the long overdue storm.
I hope RRS gets things right. He’s a good guy and I would rather see him in the rotation than Snell.
So who wants to bet Wak puts out the same lineup tonight with Lopez hitting 4th and Griffey hitting 5th?
I will, he kept talking about “saving” Sweeney for the lefties we’re facing. I imagine he’ll be in the lineup tonight.
Bradley is out with the team working out? Maybe he will be back in the lineup tonight? That would certainly help things.
Awesome news! I’m guessing that means Langerhans will be going on the DL.
Well, you’ll just have to make the trip down for Pirate Night and buy a hat at the ballpark. The Crab Grass Bank is even playing.
Actually, unless Langerhans is genuinely hurt, I hope it means Tui is going back to Tacoma. But Wak loves him some Tuiasosopo.
Stonetweets:
Er, Crab Grass Band. with a D.
I don’t think Ichiro is a big problem. But he could help this team more. The M’s have had him at leadoff, and have’t accomplished much. Why keep doing the same thing when he has more to offer this team? Is there a legitimate reason to not try Ichiro on the 2 hole on a team that needs more offense?
Joser, this is purely my observation, but in his lone AB last night it looked like he was hurting.
They’re facing Brett Cecil tonight, right? So probably Sweeney, yeah. Hopefully the M’s can rough up Cecil as much as Texas did in his last start. Then again, that was Texas, who can actually hit, and in the Skydome, which seems to have suddenly become Coors North (aka “Molson’s”).
Lineups are out:
Ichiro
Figgins
DTFT
6-4-3
Lopez
Bradley
Kotchman
Bard
Wilson
Tonight’s lineup:
1. Ichiro
2. Figgins
3. DTFT
4. Sweeney
5. Lopez
6. Bradley
7. Kotchman
8. Bard
9. Wilson
No bench players listed in the lineup, which means the move is coming from either Langerhans or Saunders.
If Langerhans is hurt that would just be another cherry on this sundae, wouldn’t it?
However you want to spell it, their repertoire list is… impressive. (I also like the extensive lyrics for “Louie, Louie”)
I look at that lineup and all I see is GIDP.
Drayer was saying that Langerhans had ice on his elbow after the game.
So, 6-4-3 in the lineup, Junior taking BP, I guess that does mean Langerhans to the DL.
That’s not gonna difuse the fury.
Can we get a recap on this? Wasn’t available to listen to it, but I really freakin’ wanted to..
Well, at this point anything is worth trying. And it’s true that Ichiro has almost exactly the same career batting average with men on as he does with the bases empty, so it shouldn’t hurt him (and ~10 fewer PAs shouldn’t harm his 200-hit chances). Ichiro hardly ever hits into DPs either.
However, coming into this season Figgins was .314 / .374 / .417 with men on (and .318 / .367 / .417 with a man on first) vs his overall career .291 / .363 / .388 line, so despite his higher rate of GIDP he overall gets a benefit from having a guy on in front of him. Ichiro doesn’t get worse, but Figgins gets better.
At least, that was how things stood coming into the year. So far in 2010 he’s slightly better with the bases empty than with a man on ahead of him, but his performance this season has been so aberrant that I’m reluctant to even look at the (SSS) numbers for any illumination.