Oakland Claims First Place, Now Hosts Mariners
| MARINERS (29-38) | ΔMs | ATHLETICS (41-27) | EDGE | |
| HITTING (wOBA*) | -12.9 (18th) | -0.4 | 18.3 (8th) | Athletics |
| FIELDING (RBBIP) | -5.3 (21st) | 1.9 | 16.4 (4th) | Athletics |
| ROTATION (xRA) | 18.2 (6th) | 5.5 | 14.2 (8th) | Mariners |
| BULLPEN (xRA) | 4.1 (9th) | -1.5 | 2.3 (11th) | Mariners |
| OVERALL (RAA) | 4.2 (14th) | 5.5 | 51.2 (5th) | ATHLETICS |
A month ago, on May 15, the Athletics lost to the Rangers and fell to 20-22 on the season. They’ve gone 21-5 since then. They’re doing it again, the jerks.
I suppose seeing runs like that from teams like the Athletics fuels some hope for the Mariners to make such a run. However, if the Mariners did go 21-5 over their next stretch that would — which we must conclude is extremely unlikely — they would still only be on a 87-win pace. That would be contending for a playoff spot but certainly not looking like a lock. And don’t forget the awesome assumption here that the Mariners could pull off 21 wins in their next 26 games. Frankly, the A’s are a much better team.
| Batter | PA | P/PA | Slash line | nBB | K (sw) | 1B/2B/3B/HR | Sw- | Ct+ | Qual+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K Seager* | 57 | 3.6 | .327/.404/.481 | 5 | 9 (6) | 13 / 2 / 0 / 2 | 101 | 101 | 137 |
| J Bay | 55 | 3.9 | .176/.291/.314 | 4 | 16 (10) | 6 / 1 / 0 / 2 | 99 | 98 | 161 |
| R Ibanez* | 54 | 3.9 | .216/.259/.471 | 3 | 17 (17) | 6 / 1 / 0 / 4 | 106 | 97 | 132 |
| B Ryan | 49 | 3.9 | .222/.306/.244 | 4 | 14 (11) | 9 / 1 / 0 / 0 | 105 | 100 | 69 |
| K Morales^ | 45 | 3.5 | .267/.289/.378 | 0 | 6 (6) | 9 / 2 / 0 / 1 | 115 | 99 | 38 |
| N Franklin^ | 45 | 4.2 | .316/.422/.447 | 7 | 8 (7) | 7 / 5 / 0 / 0 | 79 | 109 | 156 |
| M Saunders* | 44 | 4.1 | .162/.273/.189 | 6 | 10 (8) | 5 / 1 / 0 / 0 | 86 | 105 | 112 |
| E Chavez* | 43 | 3.8 | .293/.326/.341 | 2 | 5 (5) | 10 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 95 | 108 | 77 |
| K Shoppach | 29 | 4.1 | .160/.267/.240 | 3 | 12 (10) | 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 125 | 73 | 116 |
Nick Franklin is awesome sauce so far and — be wary of small sample adjustments — has been hitting in mostly pitcher’s parks thus far. He’s patient and when he does swing he makes contact and when he makes contact he’s stinging the ball all over the field. If this didn’t so exactly match Dustin Ackley’s first showings in the Majors I would be a lot more enthusiastic. Instead, I’m guarded and wary, but hopeful. Besides, who else is there to focus on in this crummy lineup?
Kyle Seager, that’s who! He’s still good somehow.
Jeff’s post about Raul Ibanez isn’t just about Raul Ibanez. It captures about everything surrounding the 2013 season and how I/we have come to feel about the team and the people who assemble and manage it. I honestly don’t know if anything else needs to be written about the Mariners any more this year. Jeff’s article should just be re-posted every week or so. Probably forever.
| Batter | PA | P/PA | Slash line | nBB | SO (sw) | 1B/2B/3B/HR | Sw- | Ct+ | Qual+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J Lowrie^ | 60 | 3.7 | .273/.344/.309 | 5 | 5 (4) | 13 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 99 | 107 | 118 |
| J Donaldson | 57 | 4.1 | .245/.281/.321 | 3 | 13 (10) | 11 / 1 / 0 / 1 | 94 | 97 | 65 |
| J Reddick* | 52 | 3.9 | .255/.327/.362 | 5 | 4 (4) | 9 / 2 / 0 / 1 | 95 | 102 | 126 |
| C Crisp^ | 46 | 4.1 | .341/.383/.568 | 2 | 6 (4) | 11 / 1 / 0 / 3 | 86 | 112 | 107 |
| Y Cespedes | 44 | 3.8 | .286/.333/.595 | 2 | 12 (9) | 7 / 1 / 0 / 4 | 92 | 99 | 94 |
| C Young | 35 | 4.1 | .125/.200/.188 | 3 | 8 (7) | 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 92 | 101 | 100 |
| J Jaso* | 32 | 4.2 | .414/.469/.483 | 3 | 3 (2) | 10 / 2 / 0 / 0 | 79 | 110 | 108 |
| N Freiman | 31 | 3.7 | .300/.323/.367 | 1 | 3 (2) | 8 / 0 / 1 / 0 | 104 | 101 | 147 |
| B Moss* | 31 | 3.9 | .172/.226/.586 | 2 | 9 (5) | 1 / 0 / 0 / 4 | 107 | 90 | 149 |
| S Smith* | 30 | 4.6 | .200/.333/.240 | 5 | 9 (7) | 4 / 1 / 0 / 0 | 86 | 86 | 113 |
| D Norris | 30 | 3.9 | .133/.161/.300 | 0 | 4 (3) | 1 / 2 / 0 / 1 | 102 | 108 | 77 |
| A Rosales | 27 | 3.7 | .192/.222/.346 | 1 | 9 (6) | 3 / 1 / 0 / 1 | 104 | 94 | 99 |
| E Sogard* | 23 | 3.3 | .250/.375/.300 | 3 | 2 (1) | 4 / 1 / 0 / 0 | 79 | 121 | 113 |
John Jaso v Michael Morse Watch:
Jaso – 107 wOBA+ (StatCorner), 107 wRC+ (FanGraphs), 180 PAs, 0.8 fWAR
Morse – 108 wOBA+ (StatCorner), 109 wRC+ (FanGraphs), 209 PAs, -0.3 fWAR
Good thing Jaso isn’t cheaper, younger, under contract longer or play a more desirable position even before current depth issues are taken into account.
| MARINERS | ΔMs | ATHLETICS | EDGE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INFIELD | -1.6 (15th) | 0.9 | -17.6 (29th) | Mariners |
| OUTFIELD | -3.7 (20th) | 1.0 | 33.9 (1st) | Athletics |
| RBBIP | 0.308 (17th) | -.002 | 0.296 (6th) | Athletics |
| OVERALL | -5.3 (21st) | 1.9 | 16.4 (4th) | ATHLETICS |
14 JUN 19:05 – TOMMY MILONE* vs JOE SAUNDERS*
The Mariners are nominally tossing their top three starters at Oakland, which should include Erasmo Ramirez, but instead includes Joe Saunders. There will be Felix and Iwakuma though so it’s not all discouraging!
15 JUN 16:15 – A.J. GRIFFIN vs FELIX HERNANDEZ
16 JUN 13:05 – BARTOLO COLON vs HISASHI IWAKUMA
| Reliever | BF | Str+ | nBB | Ct- | K(sw) | GB+ | HR | Qual- | LI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Furbush* | 50 | 102 | 6 | 96 | 15 (10) | 93 | 1 | 98 | 1.0 |
| T Wilhelmsen | 48 | 91 | 7 | 98 | 8 (8) | 75 | 0 | 124 | 2.7 |
| Y Medina | 47 | 86 | 6 | 93 | 9 (6) | 160 | 0 | 61 | 1.9 |
| D Farquhar | 44 | 96 | 4 | 93 | 18 (16) | 92 | 0 | 85 | 0.8 |
| C Capps | 31 | 96 | 2 | 96 | 7 (6) | 72 | 0 | 81 | 1.9 |
| H Noesi | 31 | 108 | 1 | 105 | 6 (4) | 112 | 1 | 133 | 1.4 |
| O Perez* | 30 | 102 | 2 | 96 | 9 (6) | 95 | 0 | 129 | 1.3 |
| L Luetge* | 27 | 102 | 2 | 97 | 6 (5) | 142 | 2 | 98 | 0.6 |
| B Beavan | 20 | 110 | 0 | 110 | 4 (2) | 126 | 0 | 40 | 0.3 |
Tom Wilhelmsen is struggling and might be demoted out of his designated closer role. So who replaces him? The thing about closers is that you’d prefer them to not be hindered by platoon issues so if you’re picking just one guy (i.e. not playing match ups/committee, which would be better but also require knowledgeable managing) so out goes Capps or Furbush. You want a guy who can throw strikes so no Medina, which leaves Beavan, Farquhar and surpringly enough, Oliver Perez.
I’d have thought Perez would be untenable due to splits, but he’s actually fairly tough on right-handers as well. However, anointing him as closer limits your ability to play LOOGY match-up in earlier innings. I mean, it doesn’t at all, but it would to Wedge because ROLES!!!
| Reliever | BF | Str+ | nBB | Ct- | K(sw) | GB+ | HR | Qual- | LI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S Doolittle* | 50 | 123 | 1 | 112 | 11 (9) | 89 | 1 | 99 | 1.6 |
| G Balfour | 49 | 100 | 5 | 107 | 11 (8) | 82 | 1 | 103 | 2.4 |
| R Cook | 45 | 103 | 2 | 97 | 10 (8) | 91 | 0 | 79 | 1.8 |
| J Blevins* | 42 | 98 | 5 | 114 | 5 (3) | 93 | 0 | 104 | 2.0 |
| J Chavez | 33 | 101 | 1 | 94 | 10 (5) | 72 | 0 | 66 | 1.8 |
| P Neshek | 27 | 111 | 1 | 102 | 7 (7) | 106 | 0 | 120 | 1.2 |
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27 Responses to “Oakland Claims First Place, Now Hosts Mariners”
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Shoppach just got DFA’d and the M’s signed Henry Blanco.
Well, he is 41 years old … and he should have things in common with Raul.
I hope Zunino doesn’t get dinged up tonight, becuase it looks like there might only be one catcher on the Roster (and in Oakland), tonight.
I wonder if Zunino was in tonights listed lineup and Shoppach blew a cork.
Interesting.
Mariners!
The part of Shoppach will now be played by Blanco. I wonder if anyone will notice.
Yes, the Soap Opera changed a cast member but retained the “character.”
We are slowly becoming the Amanda Bynes of baseball teams…
Henry Blanco raps?
I think Shoppach was probably caught perusing the Fangraphs Website on his I-Pad at the Hotel, Wedge saw it and pointed to the door.
He and Wedge go back a ways, so it must have been a decent little flare up.
Good for Shoppach, though. I hope he had a chance to fully vent his spleen and maybe he can catch on with a better team, now.
Henry Blanco is still alive?
Divish and Baker don’t know what Shoppach is gone. Baker speculates he’s worn out, too tired to play the bulk of the games — huh?
There is apparently some confusion among certain team officials and baseball writers. The primary function of players on the 25 and 40 man active rosters is to actually PLAY BASEBALL.
For those who said Zunino needs to play most every game while Sucre is injured just got their wish.
I’m really starting to not understand what’s going on with the roster.
Is Jack Zduriencik actively TRYING to get fired now?
Not that Shoppach was great, but – at least he knew how to put on the gear!
It is painfully obvious that this management team (front office + Wedge) has no earthly idea about how to dig out of the hole they have dug for themselves (with Bavasi’s help), so they are just grasping at straws now.
Maybe Shoppach forced their hand, maybe he is hurt, maybe he doesn’t want to go back to a role player, maybe he is tired. The reason doesn’t really matter. What matters is the organization is always running around with its pants down.
Despite how much I rail against the current regime… there HAS to be a reason for this. Something obvious, like Shoppach got caught selling crack or abusing puppies.
There’s just no way the move makes sense from a baseball perspective, even to a guy like Wedge.
At this point, it just looks like the bumbling works of a front office that doesn’t have any semblance of a plan. I’m kind of embarrassed for them now.
Of course, there’s another possibility.
I imagine if Shoppach had marched into Z’s or Wedge’s office and read them the riot act about what a stupid move they were making with regard to Zunino’s development… that would be a DFA-worthy offense.
You know, my first reaction was that the Shoppach DFA to sign Blanco was that it was pants-on-head crazy. However, it’s worth noting that ZIPS (ROS) currently projects Blanco to have a better wOBA going forward. I guess Shoppach’s awful strikeout rate might be another cause for concern.
There has to be a factor that we don’t know (and never might).
Because this doesn’t make sense to do even if you’re Bizarro and eat green kryptonite for breakfast.
Does anyone actually know if Shoppach went ballistic for any reason?
Paraphrasing here, but Z’s quote was something to the effect of “the opportunity recently arose for us to make this move.”
Spin it Jack … Spin it buddy!
You got us all thinking now … This must be the precursor move to the Smoak/ Shoppach/Morse for Stanton trade.
I think I figured it out.
OlivO
MonterO
ZuninO
BlancO
????
Number of playoff appearances in the last decade plus- 0
Oops forgot JasO…then again so did the M’s…
If I’d have finished that Hitler Downfall/Jack Z film with “So we’ll hire Henry Blanco” I’d have thought it was too silly to post…
I agree with a lot of you – the hope is that Shoppach threw his toys out of the pram (rightly you’d imagine), or did something so appalling, that no team could keep him on.
As my Facebook status says – the Mariners are a hard team to love.
Jay R. wins the intarwebs today.
BillyJive gets awarded the silver.
Wow. So this is working out well, don’t you think?
Sheesh.
Any truth to the rumor that Shoppach got a consulting call from Mike Hargrove?
@BillyJive Don’t forget the recently inked Jaramill-O