Bloodied Mariners Confront Strutting Rangers
| MARINERS (20-27) | ΔMs | RANGERS (30-17) | EDGE | |
| HITTING (wOBA*) | -8.9 (20th) | -3.3 | 8.5 (10th) | Rangers |
| FIELDING (RBBIP) | -5.9 (19th) | -8.2 | 13.0 (5th) | Rangers |
| ROTATION (xRA) | 8.8 (9th) | -3.2 | 21.5 (4th) | Rangers |
| BULLPEN (xRA) | 4.6 (9th) | -1.0 | -0.2 (16th) | Mariners |
| OVERALL (RAA) | -1.4 (16th) | -14.7 | 42.8 (3rd) | RANGERS |
That was a two game series! A two game series and look what it wrought above. That was the Mariners team I feared coming into this season. It was some mediocre pitching but that’s not unexpected given it was the back end of the rotation. It was some mediocre hitting but that’s not unexpected given that I thought our offense was mediocre.
It was horrendous, absolutely horrendous defense and that was my, and a lot of other people’s, big worry. The Mariners definitely traded away some defensive prowess this winter, ostensibly for enough offense to make it a net benefit. Many of us thought it wasn’t enough. It’s looking like it wasn’t enough.
The 2013 Mariners aren’t making the playoffs. I’m pretty confident in that assumption. I never held out hope for that. I did hold out some hope for fake contention, the sort where the team hangs around .500 all summer to at least keep some interest alive as I bide my time waiting for the Seahawks to resume domination of their league. This series against the Rangers seems poised to KO the chances of that quasi-contention as it’s easy to see the Mariners down to 8 or 10 games below the .500 mark by the end. Luckily though, after these three games comes 10 contests versus other losing teams (Padres, Twins, White Sox), so the Mariners might be able to prop themselves back up again.
| Batter | PA | P/PA | Slash line | nBB | K (sw) | 1B/2B/3B/HR | Sw- | Ct+ | Qual+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K Morales^ | 52 | 3.7 | .354/.404/.604 | 4 | 10 (8) | 9 / 6 / 0 / 2 | 96 | 97 | 138 |
| M Saunders* | 50 | 3.4 | .188/.240/.229 | 2 | 17 (15) | 7 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 108 | 92 | 67 |
| K Seager* | 49 | 4.1 | .250/.367/.450 | 8 | 6 (6) | 6 / 2 / 0 / 2 | 86 | 105 | 116 |
| M Morse | 45 | 3.5 | .293/.370/.415 | 4 | 8 (5) | 9 / 2 / 0 / 1 | 103 | 98 | 97 |
| J Smoak^ | 44 | 4.5 | .250/.386/.472 | 8 | 12 (11) | 5 / 2 / 0 / 2 | 92 | 100 | 81 |
| D Ackley* | 40 | 3.9 | .147/.275/.176 | 6 | 9 (3) | 4 / 1 / 0 / 0 | 68 | 113 | 89 |
| B Ryan | 40 | 3.6 | .297/.350/.432 | 3 | 9 (7) | 8 / 2 / 0 / 1 | 116 | 96 | 116 |
| R Ibanez* | 36 | 3.4 | .314/.333/.829 | 1 | 5 (5) | 5 / 0 / 0 / 6 | 112 | 92 | 118 |
| J Montero | 26 | 3.5 | .217/.308/.217 | 3 | 5 (4) | 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 | 102 | 91 | 122 |
| J Bay | 24 | 4.2 | .182/.250/.364 | 2 | 7 (7) | 2 / 1 / 0 / 1 | 98 | 81 | 111 |
| K Shoppach | 23 | 3.6 | .150/.261/.300 | 3 | 8 (6) | 2 / 0 / 0 / 1 | 96 | 88 | 67 |
| R Andino | 20 | 4.4 | .235/.350/.294 | 3 | 8 (3) | 3 / 1 / 0 / 0 | 80 | 95 | 136 |
It appears that Robert Andino is on his way out from the Mariners. That’s no big loss at all. Carlos Triunfel would appear to be the likely replacement simultaneously filling Andino’s spot and leaving the 40-man roster slot open for Jesus Sucre. I’ll be interested to monitor Triunfel’s, if it’s him, playing time. Especially with Brendan Ryan’s recent offensive resurgence, and obviously superior defensive skills, perhaps Triunfel’s playing time will come more from second base than short stop.
And in time maybe it paves the way for Ackley to get some Tacoma time as well.
| Batter | PA | P/PA | Slash line | nBB | SO (sw) | 1B/2B/3B/HR | Sw- | Ct+ | Qual+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E Andrus | 60 | 4.0 | .283/.383/.340 | 7 | 10 (7) | 13 / 1 / 1 / 0 | 88 | 108 | 70 |
| A Beltre | 56 | 3.4 | .377/.411/.698 | 3 | 4 (3) | 11 / 5 / 0 / 4 | 116 | 117 | 97 |
| L Berkman^ | 56 | 4.3 | .294/.357/.451 | 5 | 7 (5) | 10 / 3 / 1 / 1 | 95 | 107 | 81 |
| M Moreland* | 48 | 4.2 | .295/.333/.727 | 3 | 11 (8) | 3 / 5 / 1 / 4 | 95 | 102 | 74 |
| N Cruz | 47 | 3.7 | .186/.213/.465 | 2 | 12 (9) | 4 / 0 / 0 / 4 | 116 | 89 | 78 |
| D Murphy* | 42 | 4.1 | .316/.395/.658 | 3 | 4 (3) | 7 / 1 / 0 / 4 | 80 | 112 | 90 |
| G Soto | 32 | 4.4 | .222/.375/.481 | 5 | 10 (6) | 3 / 1 / 0 / 2 | 75 | 100 | 131 |
| L Martin* | 32 | 3.5 | .344/.344/.625 | 0 | 5 (5) | 6 / 2 / 2 / 1 | 124 | 98 | 87 |
| I Kinsler | 29 | 3.9 | .192/.276/.269 | 3 | 4 (3) | 3 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 89 | 104 | 84 |
| C Gentry | 22 | 4.0 | .300/.455/.300 | 2 | 2 (0) | 6 / 0 / 0 / 0 | 96 | 116 | 78 |
| L Garcia^ | 20 | 3.2 | .250/.250/.250 | 0 | 6 (5) | 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 | 115 | 88 | 91 |
Elvis Andrus in 1.7 years away from even beginning his eight-year contract extension with the Rangers and so far this year he’s putting up a wRC+ of 73. His defense is still fantastic and his bat will likely regress upward, but he’s never been a good hitter so it makes me wonder about the wisdom of locking up a guy with so much value tied up in his defense to such a long contract so far in advance.
| MARINERS | ΔMs | RANGERS | EDGE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INFIELD | 2.7 (14th) | -0.4 | 12.6 (5th) | Rangers |
| OUTFIELD | -8.6 (24th) | -7.7 | 0.4 (17th) | Rangers |
| RBBIP | 0.312 (18th) | +.008 | 0.292 (4th) | Rangers |
| OVERALL | -5.9 (19th) | -8.2 | 13.0 (5th) | RANGERS |
What a disgusting series that was. It’s not all to blame on the defense. Aaron Harang, though putting up entirely good strikeout and walk rates, has been a punching bag when hitters do put the ball in play and it’s hard to defend against line drives. But my defensive components do adjust for that, and they still crucify the M’s for that performance in the field against the Angels.
24 MAY 19:10 – JOE SAUNDERS* vs JUSTIN GRIMM
Hey, it’s Guy’s Night Out at Safeco and here’s Joe Saunders to pitch. If it weren’t a Friday evening with, so far, reasonably nice weather, I wonder how few people would be showing up for that. I don’t think guys need a special invitation to go to Safeco and drink, but maybe any extra rowdiness will be directed toward cheering the Mariners. It’s worth a try once at least.
25 MAY 19:10 – FELIX HERNANDEZ vs DEREK HOLLAND*
Felix Hernandez is pitching and Perfect Felix Hernandez is bobbling on Saturday night’s game. The Mariners sure put these promotions in fortuitous times because right now feels about as low in fan morale as there’s been in awhile. Nothing gets a fan base to cheer up and show up like free stuff though. Well, nothing aside from winning. That’s also free and way better. Try winning, Mariners?
26 MAY 13:10 – HISASHI IWAKUMA vs NICK TEPESCH
I still feel like Iwakuma’s entire start last time out was inexorably altered by that horrendous no-call on the 0-2 pitch that eventually led to a home run and another Mariner unraveling.
| Reliever | BF | Str+ | nBB | Ct- | K(sw) | GB+ | HR | Qual- | LI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y Medina | 40 | 94 | 4 | 104 | 10 (5) | 112 | 0 | 84 | 1.0 |
| C Capps | 39 | 107 | 1 | 89 | 14 (11) | 65 | 2 | 85 | 1.2 |
| C Furbush* | 38 | 107 | 2 | 81 | 14 (9) | 71 | 2 | 130 | 1.1 |
| T Wilhelmsen | 37 | 103 | 2 | 95 | 8 (7) | 133 | 0 | 129 | 2.2 |
| O Perez* | 31 | 102 | 4 | 88 | 14 (11) | 86 | 1 | 135 | 1.0 |
| H Noesi | 26 | 101 | 2 | 106 | 4 (2) | 45 | 0 | 143 | 0.4 |
| L Luetge* | 26 | 102 | 2 | 96 | 6 (4) | 149 | 2 | 107 | 0.7 |
| Reliever | BF | Str+ | nBB | Ct- | K(sw) | GB+ | HR | Qual- | LI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Kirkman* | 49 | 99 | 7 | 97 | 14 (11) | 104 | 0 | 106 | 0.7 |
| R Ross* | 46 | 104 | 3 | 99 | 11 (8) | 101 | 0 | 99 | 0.9 |
| T Scheppers | 45 | 101 | 5 | 102 | 8 (3) | 105 | 2 | 86 | 1.1 |
| J Ortiz* | 43 | 101 | 2 | 102 | 6 (5) | 86 | 1 | 120 | 0.5 |
| J Nathan | 39 | 98 | 5 | 103 | 8 (7) | 43 | 1 | 113 | 1.9 |
| J Frasor | 23 | 92 | 1 | 88 | 8 (4) | 80 | 1 | 83 | 0.8 |
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“Hey, it’s Guy’s Night Out at Safeco and here’s Joe Saunders to pitch. If it weren’t a Friday evening with, so far, reasonably nice weather, I wonder how few people would be showing up for that.”
Don’t forget it’s also College Night, so the nosebleed section is gonna be somewhat full as well.
Since baseball is baseball, the M’s have Felix and Hisashi going, and the M’s did smack the Rangers around a little bit last year, I can see them going 3-0, but 0-3 is certainly there and anything between. Player meeting, roster shake-up – it’s all eventually about talent but maybe they can get motivated and catch some fire for a bit. Stranger things have happened, and the M’s love to tease.
Everything would be a lot better if Ackley would just hit some balls to left field. An Ackley hitting like Ackley was supposed to hit would make a big team difference while waiting for the pitching.