Game 76, Mariners at A’s
Ryan Franklin v. Joe Blanton. Sorry we’re late.
BP/USSM at the Park
One of the main comments we heard at last years Pizza Feed was that everyone wanted to do one during the summer and catch a game together. Well, that is officially in the works.
Saturday, July 16th, the Mariners hook up with the Baltimore Orioles at 7 pm. We’re in the planning stages of putting together an event for Baseball Prospectus and U.S.S. Mariner readers. Full details will be forthcoming at a later date, but we are planning on purchasing a large block of tickets for the game. In order to make sure we accurately guage interest in an event like this, we’d like to hear from those of you who are extremely likely to attend. The cost of the outing (still to be determined) will include your ticket to the game.
If you’re fairly certain you’d be able to attend on the 16th, send us an email and let us know how many people you believe you would be bringing with you. This does not guarantee you entrance into the feed. This is simply to guage interest so that we have a general idea of how many tickets to buy. We’d like to be able to accommodate everyone who wants to come, so if you think you can make it to the park on July 16th, drop us a line. The sooner, the better.
And yes, I’m flying out from North Carolina for the event. So no excuses about travel, okay?
Between the Numbers: The Big Caught Stealing
Beware: do not read this post.
It will remind of last year’s most gutwrenching losses. It contains positive comments about both Dave Henderson and Willie Bloomquist. As such, it such may be dangerously shocking to people with heart conditions, pregnant women or children. So if you’re a pregnant child with a heart condition, for the sake of all that’s decent, do not read on.
Those who have longed for an exhaustive treatise on Willie Bloomquist’s stolen bases, join me after the jump. Read more
Olivo up, Rivera down, black white, day night
Miguel Olivo, who is hitting not-quite-as-badly as when he was sent down, has been recalled according to this baffling press release on MLB.com. Rene Rivera’s been sent down.
Now, whether this is temporary and they’ll make another move when Wiki’s ready (in a health sense there, reserving judgement about his true talent level).
Borders, 68 AB: .221/.260/.294
Gonzalez, 16 AB: .375/.375/.625
Olivo, 110 AB: .145/.174/.236
Rivera, 33 AB: .364/.382/.545
Wilson, 27 AB: .185/.214/.185
This has been a weird year.
One way or another
Bavasi, via MLB.com:
“We feel better about this club than last year’s club,” Bavasi said. “The way we look at it, we don’t have to make those kinds of decisions until after the All-Star break. We’re not ready yet to say we’re going to trade veterans for kids in the classic give-up style.
“But neither are we at the point of trading for veterans in the classic contender style. The so-called ‘rent-a-player’ idea doesn’t scare us, but I don’t think we would want to trade for someone with a bad contract.”
Fair enough, and in other discussions I’ve tried to make this point: if the team has to pay all of a veteran’s salary (say, Boone) to trade them for a gumdrop, they may be better off keeping the player and letting them finish off the season.
That being said, Bavasi predicted the Mariners would be active “one way or another” as the trading deadline approaches. A lot can happen in the next three weeks, especially with so many games (10) against American League West opponents heading into the three-day All-Star break.
A hot streak could catapult the Mariners into the Angels’ rear-view mirror. A cold snap could bury them in the lower echelon of the division.
We’ve discussed this before, but no hot streak gets this team into contention. They’re over ten games out at this point. Historically, teams that are over ten games out this late in the season don’t come back. It’s possible but extremely unlikely.
This article’s general point, that Seattle’s looking at the pot and wondering, is backed up elsewhere.
In the PI:
The Mariners are said to be considering offers on three players: second baseman Bret Boone, left-handed pitcher Jamie Moyer, and outfielder Randy Winn.
It’s interesting Guardado’s not mentioned here, though we’ve noted that they refused to consider trading him last year and consider having a closer an important part of their .450 team.
A baseball executive whose club spoke with the Mariners recently was told Seattle was in a “holding pattern.”
“If they continue to lose, they’ll probably move some players,” the executive said.
That seems to be the perception of the executive more than anything Bavasi’s said, in the same way the MLB.com article is. Much of the speculation about what’s in the front office’s head is unsupported by even their statements.
They may be doing what they did last year at this time, and playing hard-to-get. There was a time they weren’t going to trade Freddy Garcia. They could be working the phones, or waiting for the last round of suitors to come knocking again.
They could be bored. They may figure that given the choice between dumping a veteran (and eating a lot of their salary) to pick up a AAA guy they’re going to release this off-season and having that veteran finish out the year, they might as well have the veteran around.
They might be twiddling their thumbs.
We can reasonably expect they’re not punting on next year. As the Yankees, and Red Sox, and other contending teams have trouble getting other teams to cough up players that might help them, it’s unlikely the Mariners are going to go out and trade off their middle infielder crop for rent-a-players.
At some point though, we should worry about Bavasi weighing self-interest against the long term interests of the team. We’ve seen it happen in other teams: if he doesn’t feel like he’ll be around for the next really good Mariner team unless they get to .500 in 2006, there’s a lot of damage that can be done in a one-year quest to guarantee contention.
Doyle’s recent abscence
Doyle’s sat out a couple of Tacoma Rainiers games, prompting speculation that he’s hurt. No big deal, he’s got a stiff neck, should be back soon. I attribute this directly to many commenters here using another name for this fine young man, and pledge to take this as the cosmic warning it was clearly intended to be.
Boone or Moyer could be Padre-bound
We’ve been discussing in the comments how the talk of the post-game show was about a potential trade of Bret Boone to the Padres. Shannon Drayer and others said the stadium was abuzz with the rumor, and Bob Finnigan adds to that chorus.
Smoke being a common indicator of fire, it seems there’s at least something to this. Also, there have been multiple trades between the two clubs in the recent past, including the casting off of unwanted players.
The word from Finnigan is that the Boone talks “had gotten off track at some point before yesterday’s game.” A less likely scenario would be a deal for Jamie Moyer.
No word on what the Padres would be giving up, and I wouldn’t get my hopes up. The cupboard is thin.
Added by Dave: Most rumors have the deal being a variation of Boone for RHP Justin Germano, an overachieving control artist. Think Cha Baek with a curve ball.
Game 74, Mariners at Padres
Joel Pineiro vs. Woody Williams, 1:05 p.m, as the M’s try to fight their way out of the gutter. TV: 11. Radio: 1000.
Ichiro gets the day off today, his first of the season. Apparently this is a Hargrove decision — since the team has the day off tomorrow, he’ll get two days of rest.
Ichiro is second on the team in batting average against Williams, going 4-7. Who’s first? Jamie Moyer, who in two plate appearances has a walk and a single. Bret Boone is a robust 0-11.
Maybe they’ll pinch-hit Moyer for Boone late in the game.
Secret Revealed
Nobody has generated as much talk on the blog lately as one Michael Morse, who is something like 142 for his last 50, and is leading the league in every major category known to man. Okay, slight exaggeration, but the guy’s been on fire ever since the M’s called him up, and people are climbing all over each other to get on the Mike Morse bandwagon.
Well, this morning, the secret of Mike Morse’s hitting abilities was faxed over to USSM headquarters. After confirming its legitimacy with three sources, I’ve decided to publish the document that reveals why Mike Morse has been able to keep his Ted Williams impression going for several weeks.
Remember, this is a USSM exclusive:
Dear
WillieMike,Thank you for contacting Satan Enterprises LLC. We have reviewed your file and feel that you are a perfect fit for our newest promotion. As a recent graduate of the minor leagues with a less than stellar performance record, it appears that you could use a hand–or perhaps, a spirit–in making your dream of becoming the next Alex Rodriguez come true. After all, by the time he was your age, he had 120 major league home runs and had been a three time all-star. You, not so much. But we feel that you’ve got things we can work with; you’re tall, you are from Florida, and you play shortstop. Well, that’s what the program says, anyways. With a little help from the Dark One, we feel you could become something special.
Sound exciting? This offer is tailor made just for you. If you respond in the next 24 hours, we’ll even slash our price in half. That’s right, you can become a major league superstar for the low, low, low price of one soul-and yes, it has to be yours-and a 2 year agreement to conduct rituals (that are described in the attached pamphlet) on a weekly basis. That’s it! You want to become M-Mor? We will make it happen, and really, you won’t miss your soul at all. It just gets in the way of superstardom anyways.
We look forward to hearing from you. You can call Hades at 1-900-Go-Satan twenty-four hours a day. Or, if you’d prefer, simply fill out the form below and place it under your pillow this evening. We’ll send a representative-and please, don’t refer to them as ghouls, as they have feelings too-to pick it up and save you the cost of a stamp.
All the best,
Beelzebub.
[ ] Yes, I want to hear more. Please send me an informational video.
[ ] No thanks, I’m happy with my mediocre baseball skills. I’ll be a role player and like it.
[X] I want to be a superstar! I’ve already built my altar and want to sign up.Michael Morse (sign here)
Sexson suspended
Two games, plus a fine (“undisclosed amount”) for “inappropriate actions in the bottom of the first inning during his club’s game against the New York Mets on Saturday, June 18, 2005 at Seattle’s Safeco Field.”
He’s out tonight and tomorrow unless he appeals (and really, why bother appealing? It’s not like the Padres are a division rival and the Devil Rays are coming to town next week).
It’ll be interesting to see what happens now. Spiezio would be the obvious choice, but unless he’s suddenly activated, it’s more likely to be Hansen, but also Hargrove might use Bloomquist or Ibanez (because he likes to play the field, as you remember).