Game 72, Phillies At Mariners
Dave · June 19, 2011 at 11:38 am · Filed Under Mariners
Vargas vs Hamels, 1:10 pm.
Happy Fathers Day.
M’s face a tough lefty, and again, we are going to see the roster problems exposed. The team doesn’t really have a good RH hitter to play left or DH, and Figgins will probably play third versus most LHPs. Intimidating, this line-up will not be…
Comments
196 Responses to “Game 72, Phillies At Mariners”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Bring on the Nationals!
Great job, JV!!!
Westy-
Not a powerhouse, but a really SOLID lineup 1-9… They certainly aren’t the Mariners…
And seriously, raise your hand if you were feeling good about taking the series from the Phillies, or honestly just hoping we played ’em tough?
Nah. Gameball ALWAYS goes to Brendan Ryan from now on.
Just as everyone predicted – beat Oswalt and Hamels and lose to Worley.
Vargas says, “Fuck them mother fuckers!”.
Well stated sir.
Of course, we didn’t exact face the heart of their rotation, and they did face ours.
No argument there!
Haha, yeah – just ask him!
LOL. Can’t remember the last time I felt so confident about this team.
Varginator!!!
A little love is right..
And the M’s win the series despite losing the game Felix starts…go figure!
Boy, just think about how different this game would’ve been if Ackley wasn’t in the lineup. I already LOVE that guy.
3/4 of our infield is looking AMAZING.
Breadbaker-
Maybe he meant it literally… Like our guys were “right up there” on top of the mound where the Phillies pitchers stand too…?
I kid. Just stoked for a great series by our boys.
IMAGINE the team we could be if we DID have an offense this year– ’cause our pitching has been lights out… (Why, yes, I actually AM ignoring the recent exploits of Jamey Wright… Thank you. *laugh*)
I meant performance wise to this point in the season…I’d take the their rotation over ours of course.
I’m just trying to be a positive pauley!
I’m just glad Vargas’ kids look OK. I love the guy but he’s not a handsome man!
I’m literally high with excitement right now for this team!!
Hahaha he’s handsome enough, he has a hot wife I believe so good for him!
It seems most athletes do…
2009 revisited?
Maybe, but there was no Dustin Ackley then.
And there is no team as strong as the Angels were then in the division now.
So who knows where this goes.
Whoa, Jason Vargas is trending in the U.S. on Twitter as of right now…..I never thought I’d see the day.
Deservedly so though, with his gem tonight.
That’s great. I just rewatched the video of the final out on Gameday. He really did say that, didn’t he.
Yes Daco, I wouldn’t curse myself. Only quote it.
Except for Figgins at bats…
Whoda thunk we’d see any Mariners trending on Twitter?
Also, can anyone explain to me how Olivo is a grandfather at 33? Jeesh.
Hope Vargas’ kids weren’t watching the game that closely!
I rarely swear, but I made the mistake – way back, when my daughter was about 2 – of swearing at my wife. My wife didn’t actually hear me… but, a few minutes later, she heard my daughter happily saying something over and over while we were in her room. Wifey said “I don’t understand, what is she trying to say?” and I had to ‘fess up.
I learned my lesson that day, believe me!
He’s not technically a grandfather. His stepdaughter is 20 and has a 5 month old child.
To return to Dave’s initial post, when your own pitcher intimidates the heck out of the other team, you don’t need an intimidating lineup, just a functional one. I look forward to Ackley moving up to second in the lineup so we actually will have bunched our best hitters together.
Yes, and good point on the amazing observation powers of children!
Well, Vargas is sort of a pokerface, but he really seems to got a lot of fire inside. Outstanding pitching today.
With such great pitching (as Dave illustrated so clearly in his article a few days back), the M’s are probably a pretty nasty team for opponents to face. The offense is weak, but on the majority of days (as seen by our +.500 record) is just enough.
Doesn’t give a lot of room for error for opponents. I love it!
Folks have gotta be pleased with Ackley’s three games. Not an impossibly hot start, but almost all his appearances were good, solid at bats, two of them making solid contributions to the bottom line.
Breadbaker expressed it much better than me.
Fixed that for you 😉
Best thing about Ackley’s numbers so far to me– he’s not looking overmatched AT ALL, and– unlike Peguero– these at bats look totally sustainable, based on the fact that his single, HR, and triple were all on 2 strike pitches.
It also doesn’t hurt that he seems to have a very Ichiro-esque (or Wade Boggs-esque, for those who remember), ability to foul off pitches in tough locations by quickly lunging the bat in a ‘simply for contact’ swatting manner.
All that stuff is crazy good for a fresh out of the fridge rookie, against a DAMN good rotation.
Didn’t have to warm up to room temperature or nothing!?!?!
Lovin’ it.
The trait you love seeing in talent with huge upside is that, unlike lesser talent who have to acclimate their abilities to the new level and work hard to survive there, rare talents actually (seemingly) respond BETTER and seem most comfortable against the best competition.
(NOT putting Ackley in the same territory, but thinking specifically of examples like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and many many Olympic athletes from around the world, they have the ability to give their best performances at the highest levels…)
Yeah, Ackley’s slugging like Jose Bautista!
… over the course of three games, anyway. 😀
Ackley is a stud. I look forward to many hit and run situations with him batting second. Unfortunately in this lineup he should probably bat third.
Ackley has been really impressive! I’d like to see him swap places with Ryan at some point in Washington.
MrZDevotee –
This is what I’ve noticed. His contact rate has been very impressive and as you noted – Ichiro-esque. Two strike hitting is huge! Especially when you know how good his eye is, how good his plate discipline is, and how well he can simply hit. Whether he gets into hitter’s counts, or ends up with 2 strikes, he’s going to rake.
You’re probably right about that. We’re currently on pace to score 572 runs this season – more than last year’s 513, but still pretty anemic. I have no doubt Ackley will push the final tally up at least a few percentage points.
Fortunately in terms of run prevention we’re on track to allow about 590 runs, which is significantly better than the 698 we gave up last year.
At this point last year, we were at 247 RS vs. 306 RA – so we really tanked scoring-wise during the second half!
Amen brother. I like the site too but Dave feels the need to point out every negative thing about the team every game post. Is it because he lives on the east coast? Did he grow up in Seattle and move? Anyway, if you have a site like this it’s usually because you’re a big fan and it just doesn’t seem like he is.
Maybe if the team was as bad as last year but they’ve improved a lot this year so maybe a little less negativity?
The Mariners are well represented online.
While the other half thinks he is a homer and way too positive.
I’m not sure why being a “big fan” has to mean being blind to, or at least silent about, glaring flaws you see with the team.
Have you noticed the M’s haven’t scored appreciably more runs this year than they had at the same point last year? You don’t have to take my word for it – go look it up. Given what everyone has complained about, I’d say that’s still a glaring problem.
I like the site too but Dave feels the need to point out every negative thing about the team every game post. Is it because he lives on the east coast? Did he grow up in Seattle and move? Anyway, if you have a site like this it’s usually because you’re a big fan and it just doesn’t seem like he is.
What a bizzare thing to say.
As a fan, I want the team I root for to have the best possible chance to win they possibly can. That’s why I often fixate on stuff like bad roster construction or use of players–doing so makes it ever so slightly harder for the team I want to win, which annoys me, which leads me to talk about it. I’ve never understood the connection between excessive, rah-rah positivity and fandom.
Also, back when this comment section was a bit less permissive, I recall there was a rule against policing how “real” fans are supposed to feel, react, or behave. I think that was a pretty good rule.
That clears things up nicely. I was SMH at the fact he was a grandfather, because it would have meant that his child was reared before he turned 18 and his child would have done the same thing.
Heh.
I remember the brouhaha about offense vs. run differential.
I’m still on the side of run differential; we can still use the offense, but not at the cost of defense.
Since noone seems to have noticed it:
Yesterday’s lineup had the players from Dave’s optimal lineup vs. LHP on the field, just in slightly rearranged order.
I’d say kudos to Wedge.
True, but the SP’s and bullpen have been MUCH better. Who would expect to go from 60 wins to the playoffs the next year. The Giants won the World Series with great pitching. A team can’t have everything, unless you’re Boston or Yanks.