Game 117, Mariners at Indians
Vargas vs Talbot, 4:05 pm.
Over the last 30 days, Michael Saunders has been the team’s best hitter – he’s at .288/.351/.442. Chone Figgins isn’t that far behind, at .298/.371/.375. Josh Bard has been decent for a catcher, hitting .257/.316/.400. And then everyone else has been horrible. Ichiro’s not hitting. Branyan’s not hitting. Gutierrez isn’t hitting. Lopez isn’t hitting. Neither Wilson can hit. Kotchman’s not hitting. Adam Moore’s still struggling. Bradley wasn’t hitting before they DL’ed him. Smoak wasn’t hitting before they optioned him to Tacoma.
Or, to put it another way, over the last month, the Mariners have hit 10 home runs. Adrian Beltre has hit nine.
This can’t continue forever. Eventually, some of these guys will start hitting. I promise.
Ichiro, RF
Figgins, 2B
Branyan, DH
Lopez, 3B
Gutierrez, CF
Kotchman, 1B
Bard, C
Saunders, LF
Josh Wilson, SS
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33 Responses to “Game 117, Mariners at Indians”
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I wish I believed you. We’ve gone most of the season with almost the whole team not hitting. Why can’t we go another month and a half?
So the best 3 hitters are batting second, seventh and eighth. At least if you believe in streaks.
Well, maybe the Mariners can score some runs in the third inning.
We are at 67 HR for the year. What’s the least amount of HR’s in a season?
Count me as a Saunders fan. He’s very good defensively. Actually the M’s may have the best OF defense in MLB with the 3 starters and Ryan Langerhans off he bench. This helps Gutti to get a day off when Saunders is moved over to cf, w/o that much of a defensive drop off. Bradley is a DH/DL player at best.
Back to Saunders… he’s getting pounded inside and does not seem to be able to elevate the ball. His flyballs to LF when he’s pitched away are mostly harmless. And this is our best hitter! Hopefully he learns to adjust. Saunders really rockets the ball through the 4-3 hole and is being reasonably selective. I’m hopeful he will provide more power, say 20-25 bombs off a full year. I’m very concerned about his ability to handle LHP. At this point he should NOT be platooned. He needs to see as many LHP as possible. If not, he will still be useful as a platoon player vs RHP, but I’m hopeful he could be more. His defense/arm is to good to sit out vs LHP.
So our best hitter on a 30-day streak had a .793 OPS. How many teams have averaged that in a season?
Yeah, but will they start hitting this season?
3, according to Baseball Almanac.
Milton Bradley was scheduled to come off the DL a few days ago, but instead, he’s undergone exploratory surgery.
The procedure was done today, no timeline, no comment from MB (according to Ryan Divish of the TNT). I’m sort of glad a doctor can point to some physiological problem with Bradley, so while I hope they don’t find that he’s got no knee ligaments left, I’ll be glad if they find something to work on.
Come on Michael Saunders!
So Figgins has pretty much it for his expected numbers over the last 30 days – hopefully that means he’ll stay up there (as opposed to some people thinking it’s a “hot streak”).
It’ll be fun to watch how Saunders does over the next two or three years. I’m hoping his slugging percentage climbs a little more (compared to the last 30 days) – it’d be great to have a good defensive left fielder with some pop. As a fan, though, I’m reasonably happy with where he is right now, especially compared with the way LF has gone for the Ms in the last, oh, forever.
Small sample size, small sample size… I do hope Moore comes around sooner rather than later if only to keep the RoJo fans quiet. Plus while I’m not a big believer in hot streaks being anything but luck, I do believe slumps can become self-maintaining if a player lacks confidence (and no, I have no stats to back that up).
If Bradley is out for an extended period of time that stretches into next season … and if he is rehabbing (not retiring) – is the team insured for a portion or perhaps even a majority of his contract? Does anybody understand how insurance coverage works in regard to pro athlete contracts? I know there is such a thing, and I know there is certainly a reason for it to exist, but it would be a nice convenient exodus and a win-win for the team and MB if he can get paid while not actually having to do anything other than rehab and “not retire.” It won’t help your or my insurance premiums in the long run, but you get the jist.
I know the NBA insures its players, but I am not sure of the details – and how various coverages work for baseball players’ contracts. If anyone does know, please chime in.
I think you are preaching to the choir on this one Westy. We all hope for the same thing.
From the looks of it though, Moore cannot yet come close to hitting anything (especially on the inner half) with a break to it. He can hit a fastball … but any average+ breaking pitch makes him look like he is swinging the circus sledge hammer and hoping to ring the bell. He looks worse than Rojo on breaking pitches … and that is no easy feat; nor is it easy to write. Blech! I need to go wash my hands.
Nice to see someone else farting away a baserunner for no good reason. Of course, he came up through our system.
So perhaps Milton has channeled his rage into another sort of psychosis, a kind of Münchausen syndrome in which — instead of breaking bats — he submits himself to unnecessary surgery? (Yes, I’m kidding and it’s black humor of questionable taste, but… well, having endured this season to this point we all are wearing our own psychoses a little more prominently, no?)
Actually, it would be kind of awesome if this “fixes” his physical issues and he comes back next year, after rest and rehab, to be the kind of hitter he was with Texas. (And yes, I know how unlikely that is as well. Again, consider where we are.)
Ichiro!!!!!!!! Greatest at-bat ever
You beat me to it. Nice 11 pitch AB by Ichiro to draw a walk. He fought off some tough pitches and didn’t swing at any crap in the dirt.
Quite a game thread today. 3 total posts during the action – with only 2 about the actual game … and both of them regarding the same event. The heat must have melted the 206/253/425 ‘ers
This team looks better since Wak was fired, I´m not saying that the problem was Wak, but probably we needed a change in the clubhouse…
Bard!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mmm, I like that kind of Rye bread and mustard!
Every dog has its day. but I’m loving this.
Make that 13 home runs in the last month…
POWER, for once.
erm…
Wow?e
doublepost
Very small sample size of “absolutely nothing to bitch about.” Nice change of pace.
I think Dave is owed some credit for a timely prediction.
Felix is going to be expecting “some love” tomorrow as well.
great grab ichi
How long has it been since the Mariners had 3 home runs in a game?
I don’t know, but my guess would be three years.
Pretty sure they did it earlier this year.
May 14?
Confirmation Bias goes both ways. 😀
Darn it, I ended up missing this game because my wife said we needed to go get a new barbeque grill. Of course, she does most of the cooking so I better not complain too loudly.
I’m at the Rainiers game. First USSM reader to find me in section D in a Jimi Hendrix shirt and backwards Ms hat gets a free beer 🙂
Woo Smoak. Woo Ackley.
I didn’t know anyone wore backwards hats anymore. Edgy.
I’m a 30 year old stuck in a 22 year olds body.
So the Blue Jays in July hit about 10 fewer home runs than the M’s have hit all season. But hey, Bard!
OK, Bard is one. So at least one of the low cost gambles paid off, when they picked him up to be insurance at catcher before spring training.