Game 104, Royals at Mariners
Happy Felix Day as the Mariners go for a sweep against the Royals. Hernandez vs. Smith, 1:10 pm.
If you’ll recall the last road trip, the lineup took advantage of the opportunity to pound Kansas City’s AAA-caliber pitching. The schedule kept both teams’ rotations in sync to have the same spots come up in the second 4-game series. However, this is only the second rematch of starting pitchers. Bruce Chen from yesterday was the Royals starter in the only game they won, and the Mariners got their revenge even though Chen pitched about the same, but this time Kevin Millwood did much better than in Kansas City. Of the losing pitchers, only Will Smith remains in their rotation, and he was fairly effective in his one intervening start to beat the Angels.
Today’s lineup is identical to yesterday’s. That’s basically just a function of facing consecutive lefthanders, though, more than any idea that the hitters have done enough to have earned any particular spot.
2B-L Ackley
RF-R Wells
CF-L Saunders
DH-R Montero
3B-L Seager
C-R Olivo
1B-L Carp
LF-B Robinson
SS-R Ryan
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133 Responses to “Game 104, Royals at Mariners”
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Any rumblings about the League trade situation? What kind of return can one expect if he’s dealt to the Giants? I imagine he’d have to be paired with a solid prospect to get Belt
That is a nice start for Felix. Wow
I’ll be sorry to see the Royals leave town.
Not as sorry as the Mariners will be, obviously…
I don’t recall Saunders wearing sunglasses at bat before…
Guess Felix won’t be getting the no hitter today. I can’t help but think about it every time I watch him pitch. And then once they get a hit I think complete game shutout. We are spoiled with him!
^ 110% agree.
Minnesota’s catcher made a Montero-esque throw there.
Carp!
Imbecile fan almost cost us a run there…
Are you simulcasting, Westy?
Seager was on 2b – he would have been awarded home if the fan had interfered.
He really is one of a kind. I recently dug up an old program called Grand Salami (must have been one you pick up at a game) from September of ’03 with an article entitled, “Felix Hernandez: The Boy King”
Felix was playing for Everett at the time.
Nonetheless that fan was very stupid. And he was in King’s Court!
Wouldn’t it depend on where Carp was at the time?
If it resulted in Carp getting a single rather than a double, wouldn’t Seager be at third?
Are the Brandon League trade rumors still humming at a high pitch? I also read something about the Mariners being interested in Brandon Belt. He has not quite been as big a disappointment as Smoak, but he has not yet “found” it, either.
Felix has not yet found his command today, has he?
My Tivo just spontaneously rebooted – the umps need to call a Tivo delay so I don’t miss anything!
Hopefully you missed Olivo’s throw down to 2nd lol
Carp would have been given a ground rule double – without any doubts. The ball was well into the outfield. I have never seen a ground rule or intrrference ruled single. Real dumb move by that fan to make an attempt to snatch it. He would have been removed in the 2nd inning of the game … After paying $30 to park and probably $40-50 for the ticket.
I did miss it, CM! Was it Montero-esque?
Thanks, Mike – that makes sense.
I think your TiVo is confused and believes you are watching the “Minnesota” game, Westy ^
It was about 10 feet short and 5 feet to the short stop side (not even exaggerating that much)
Oppo power!
Last update I heard on League had the Giants close to a deal.
Do NOT break Felix!
Now he’s mad. No more line drives for these guys
So apparently Sims thinks there’s some connection between Seager and the number “two”.
- This comment brought to you by the letter S and the number 2.
As seen through his eyes … Of which he also has two.
Yes!
Trayvon!
Carp is now 7-13 in this series. I know – KC, but definitely an improvement over Smoak.
I hope we don’t get Brandon Belt if he’s someone who doesn’t really hit that well. We already have several guys like that. I’d rather they keep League.
And what’s up with the “Brandon” thing anyway? They traded Brandon Morrow for Brandon League, now they might trade Brandon League for Brandon Belt.
Carp’s certainly getting lucky to a degree – but it’s nice to see him consistently making good contact!
Regardless of how well he hits, the team needs position prospects a lot more than they need a MR who will be a FA in 3 months.
I don’t see why the Giants would give up Belt to get League. Am I missing something? Surely the M’s would have to add, and if they don’t add too much its not a bad deal.
Yeah, checking Belt out now in more detail, him for League straight up would be on the level of Brian Giles for Ricardo Rincon in terms of lopsidedness.
Oh… I think they had him there.
BTW what is the appeal of Brandon Belt? I don’t know much about him, but looking at FanGraphs he appears to be a league-average first baseman without a lot of power.
I would gladly take a league average any position player for League haha
Latest on League, is that multiple teams are in on him. Good, drive the price up!
League average has a lot of value, and he’s still young. Also, a lot of his value is wrapped up in patience, which appeals to me, anyway.
Thing is, I wonder if going after Belt says something about the team’s opinion on whether Smoak is fixable.
80 pitches through 5. Hope he has a quick 6th and 7th.
You’re right Johnny – at first glance I’d missed his penchant for the BB%. That appeals to me as well.
I am sure it would take much more than just League to get Belt. It would have to be a multi player trade. Keep in mind, SF can’t hit either. They don’t have a lot of hitters to part with that would actually help to improve anything, But getting anything for League plus player X (Smoak?) could be a good thing … But this is just trade-bating.
Smoak might need a full year at AAA to find himself, if he’s able to at all. Looking for a replacement now, or during the off-season, is probably a good idea.
At this point @westy I don’t think the team can say anything about Smoak that isn’t obvious to all parties involved. He’s a bust. If he can come back from that, great, but he got his shot and failed.
Wouldn’t that be funny, if Smoak got dealt?! I can’t imagine SF wanting him though. Like you said Mike, they have their issues as well, though, it helps that they’re in first.
Condor with a single! I missed his double, thanks to the Tivo’s brain fart.
Are multilevel teams in on League, or are the Mariners contacting multiple teams about him? If teams hear that the M’s aren’t asking for much, I can see there being a lot of interest.
I wouldn’t be surprised if another team asked about Carp before they asked about Smoak.
“multiple”
This Will Smith guy looks nothing like the Fresh Prince. I feel robbed.
Come on, Seager – prove Sims right!
Carp’s also carrying a .217 BABIP into the game. Teams probably don’t notice that but I think a better case can be made for unluckiness than Smoak.
Well, we know the Giants, Angles, and White Sox were all interested. All are contenders.
I suspect Carp’s BABIP over the last few games has been significantly higher…
OH CRAP Chone is on the Yankees big list of MIs to acquire (along with Ryan and Loafy but still).
I doubt the Mariners are willing to just throw Carp into a package, though. He’s at least shown the ability to hit at this level. The M’s can’t afford to deplete the tank much more.
Can’t help but wonder if Monty plays some first in the fall league.
If they were getting a 1B back, I don’t see why they wouldn’t be willing to throw Carp in the mix.
I’d totally do League + Carp for Belt, but that’s pure rosterbation. As noted, I still don’t think teams look too far beyond BA and K rate nowadays.
Felix is inconsistent today, isn’t he? At some points he looks like himself, but he’s looking a lot like he looked against the Yankees control-wise.
Fortunately he’s facing the Royals this time…
Has Belt shown he’s any better than Carp? To me, it’s just trading one guy with a little promise, for another. Why would the Giants do that?
They’d theoretically do it because they were getting pitching help as part of the deal.
When can we include Olivo in all of this trading talk
Belt is 4 years younger than Carp and outhitting him.
Ooh, NICE catch by Cain there!
What do I care, I’m just glad we don’t have to watch Smoak struggle right now!
Small sample size on Carp this year, Johnny.
I expect Olivo to be with the Mariners for the duration. I really hope they don’t pick up his option though.
Surely the Mariners won’t pick up Olivo’s option, right? Please, let me be right!
Funny you mention that, Westy. I had the same thought earlier… could the M’s really be considering that?! I really hope not.
I can’t see why they would. Early on it seemed like they had an absurd attraction to Olivo, but lately they’re playing him a lot less.
He’s a 34-year-old catcher with a declining skill set… one that wasn’t all that great even at his peak. They’ve got Jaso, Zunino probably won’t take that long to come through the minors – why would they?
Coming in late, but the only thing that needs to go with Olivo is DFA. Unfortunately, I think that we’re stuck with him until the end of the season. We’ll either not pick up the option, or do the standard thing, and let him go to Spring Training, and we’ll be stuck with him for a 1 year contract, and a clogged up 40 man spot.
Jaso is going to get a raise almost certainly – he’s arbitration eligible. Wells and Saunders don’t get arbitration for another year. So some of our young talent still won’t cost much next year.
Montero’s cheap too, obviously. Ackley’s costing a bit more, but still not bad.
The only thing I could think of, is if they intend to convert Monty. But even then, there’s gotta be someone else cheaper, and better, than Olivo. I don’t expect Zunino to be ready next year, but I like the idea of a platoon with Jaso coming soon.
The Mariners lucked out on that potential DP.
Tough day for Wells. Crappy at bats, crappier bunt. Wasted an out.
This ad – the dude’s married friends were all jerks not to tell him the wives were coming.
That was quite a bender there.
Ouch, lame AB from Condor. Come on Monty!
Sweet!
Two’s are wild!
Seager!!
BTW Sims – look up confirmation bias sometime.
Seager!!
haha, Mike!
How can the M’s be looking to get young, long-term controlled outfielders without mentioning one of the Big 4? If its a young outfielder, who do you think we’d have to spare to maybe pry Allen Craig from the Cardinals? Ramirez? Paxton? (gulp) Hultzen or Walker?
Seager always comes through with two outs! Except when he doesn’t… like earlier in this same game.
It’s a fun narrative, though, and I’ve really enjoyed seeing Seager develop!
Olivo got nervous when we were talking about him, and so he throws one away. But hey, at least he stopped it.
Olivo can take League with him.
Olivo’s throws today have been comical.
That was sure a nice showcase for League. That deafening sound you hear – might be the old school phones being hung up.
If Brandon knows he’s about to get dealt, I could understand him being nervous out there.
BACK UP THE PLATE, Perez!
That was terrible. All of it.
Zduriencik is doing a facepalm right about now, methinks…
Trayvon probably has a worse arm than Johnny Damon.
Wedge Just could not let Luetge get more than one batter. he out coached himself.
I wonder how many times Sims has said “…and it gets by Olivo!”….
“BACK UP THE PLATE, Perez!”
He was. You generally don’t expect your left fielder to throw the ball close to the opposing teams dugout.
Maybe we could mix-and-match parts of Trayvon and Peggy to get one useful fielder overall.
I am just hoping for extras in order to kill some more time prior to Ichiro’s game. I wasn’t sure how to kill the hour – and with extra innings looming, II might not have to try.
That’s my positive spin on the situation.
Mike Carp!
Felix had retired like 9 straight and was at 101 pitches, just let him pitch the 8th!
An right on cue …Carp!!!
So much better than Smoak. Let’s see if Wedge can coach himself out of a run, here.
^^Mike, I’ve been watching more Yankee’s than I thought I’d ever watch too! Still a pretty solid Ichiro fan!
Yay for another KC mistake!!
another bunt? I won’t watch … well maybe I will.
Good bunt. Very nice!
Wedge relieved.
Has anyone said “F— you, Olivo and League, do use a favor and never show up for a game again” yet? I just got here.
So, um – who’s going to play first base now?
We errored our way into that run! Relying on the opposing team to make errors is no way to do business!
Probably not, because the word “use” doesn’t make sense there.
At least took the lead back, but Felix doesn’t get the win
Westy, I think Vargas is a good choice at First. It’ll up his trade value too!
KC ERRORS YES!
One more insurance run, please … But stretch it out for another hour if you can.
Not all that many guys on the Yankees to hate, actually. One obvious player and the AT&T monopoly thing of the past going for them, but who do they have worth “hating?
Ackley will probadly play first
Almost spiked an intentional walk ball four.
Its the Yankees, I know I will hate them no matter who the players are.
Most of the reasons to hate the Yankees actually have to do with their fans, media, and ownership. Also, how the national media treats them.
Ackley to 1B, probably. Mune to 2B. Just a guess
A bit of Redemption for Wells. Sweet!!!
Well, I guess former owner, who was a convicted felon and a total and utter douche.
I’d love to see Vargas play first, WTF. Not as much as I’d love to see Olivo pitching, though.
Mike – I’d guess you’re right.
A hatred of another teams fans? Are they just not fanning properly? I am sure we are much better at following the rules of fandom. We have to be. We are us. They are them, afterall.
This.
Also, I would tell you to try to have a conversation with a Yankees fan, but I wouldn’t wish that on you, Mike.
You seem like a nice guy.
Yes, George was a piece of work in his early days. Then became revered by those who at one time hated him. All it took was to field a winning team. I did read “The Bronx Zoo” … But that was then. Yesteryear.
And this
There is a Yankee fan just down the hall from me at work. He gloats in an almost non-offensive way – most of the time. He asked if we were still “boys” after the Ichiro trade. I said, “I’m not sure yet.”
Then, we laughed.
Mike, I have this mental picture of an ongoing phone call between Zduriencik and Sabean…
S: Okay, so we just need to pin down the last piece in this trade…
Z: Well, like I said – you can have your pick of Smoak or Carp.
S: Well, I think we pref-
League gives up three runs
S: (Muffled)
Background behind S: Chinese food! Delivery!
S: Sorry Jack, gotta go! My lunch order just arrived!
“[Hideki Irabu] is a fat, pus-y toad.” — After the pitcher failed to cover first base during an exhibition game (April 1999)
“His job is on the line. I think we’re paying him a lot of money. He’s the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don’t think we’d take him back if we don’t win this series.” — on Joe Torre during the AL Division Series vs. Cleveland (Oct. 2007)
“He won’t umpire our games anymore.” — On Bruce Froemming, for his failure to stop play when an invasion of insects affected Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain during Game 2 of the AL Division Series vs. Cleveland (Oct. 2007)
Woo Hoo!
4 game sweep!
George Steinbrenner was a great owner, and a terrible person. His actions were much, much worse than Pete Rose’s, but he was forgiven.
It would be interesting if he had been a different person, or a owner of a different team, how long he would have spent in prison, and if he would have ever been allowed in baseball again.
And now George is dead. I am not sure what the statute of limitations on “hating” the Yankees because of him is supposed to be.
I just don’t see a lot of reason to hate the Yankees as presently constituted/managed. That was my only point.
My other comment (in regard to those links – and thank you for them) is that frat boys should not have seats in the front row and drunk chicks from Boston should not attempt to storm the castle without a pitchfork.
I stopped hating the Yankees about the time Joe Torre became their manager. It was still easy to dislike their ownership and to resent the “we can just buy all the great players” attitude – but the team itself started behaving professionally and, as Wedge might say, just went about their business in the right way.
I don’t really dislike any of the players. A-Rod isn’t my favorite person, but it doesn’t seem like he shows up his opponents the way some of the older Yankees (e.g. Reggie) sometimes did.
Why the hell would we pitch League this close to the deadline under any circumstances? From what I have heard we are looking at Belt from the Giants and Craig from the Cards. And we go and pitch League. Only the freaking M’s
Rumors are also linking the M’s to St. Louis and Allen Craig. Not sure how Wedge would deal with a right-handed first-baseman, though (his head might kersplode), and once again bringing a power righty into Safeco means his production could take a hit.
Rumors are always interesting. I tend to wonder what % of them are actually based on anything other than some writer saying “Hey, Seattle needs a first baseman and this guy is a first baseman…”
Oh, haha, sorry Ichirolling – you mentioned Craig already.
I think the reaction to the rumors is as interesting as the rumors, themselves. I like this time of year.
With two outs and men on base – Ichiro grounded out to 2B in his first AB today. I have probably seen over 7,000 Ichiro at bats over the years, and that result in particular did get kinda old. It’s easy to get inundated with the negative when seeing that many AB’s from one player, but hitting the ball on the ground/on a line – is what you want from guys with speed.
What’s this talk about trading Mike Carp just as he’s starting to tear the cover off the ball? Mike Morse = Mike Carp.