Watch Felix’s Tacoma home debut with USSM!
If you’re reading this, you’re aware of the phenomenon that is King Felix Hernandez.
Currently, Felix’s first home start for Tacoma is scheduled for Monday, April 18. As you can see from this fine schedule, that game is slated to begin at 6:05 p.m.
We’re planning a USS Mariner meetup to eat, drink and make merry as we watch Felix (hopefully) mow down Fresno. Join us, won’t you?
As we all know, in this wild game called baseball, things can change as quickly as Chris Snelling can hurt himself. So please note that this date may change, too. Watch the ‘blog for updates in case our gathering is OTBE’d (OverTaken By Events). I think all of us would like to coordinate the meetup around Felix’s debut, so to the extent that’s possible, we’ll do it. Details inside … Read more
Minor League Highlights
The full season minor leagues kicked off last night. Here’s a few of the notable lines:
Tacoma:
Jorge Campillo: 6 2/3 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Jamal Strong: 3-5, 2 runs scored, stolen base
San Antonio:
Bobby Livingston: 6 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Inland Empire:
Adam Jones: HR
Wisconsin
Matt Tuiasasopo (SS): 2-4, double
Asdrubal Cabrera (2B): 2-3, double, walk
Sele v. Benoit (or Park, whichever) today
As the pride of Poulsbo prepares to take on one of his former teams today, MLB.com’s profile on Aaron Sele has some items of interest.
Multiple times, Sele says that inducing ground balls is the key to success for him. That may be true, but if so, it’s not a good thing. Check out his ground ball/fly ball ratio for the last few years compared to the rest of his career.
This is a flyball-oriented staff, and Sele is still more likely to induce a ground ball than Ryan Franklin or Jamie Moyer. But if Sele is hinging his hopes on returning to Jake Westbrook death-to-earthworms territory, I’m not sure that’s in the cards.
We all need confidence to succeed, though, and the veteran curveballer still has that. Here’s how he summarizes his fortunes last season:
“You can’t pitch more than five innings if the manager won’t let you,” said Sele, who was 9-4 for the AL West champions last season. “Mike (Scioscia) does things his way and it has worked for him. But I threw the ball real well (in 2004) and the team won 16 of my 24 starts.”
So 214 baserunners in 132 innings, an ERA over 5.00 and a one-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio constitutes throwing the ball well? From where I sit, Scioscia pitching Sele no more than five innings at a time wasn’t a bad decision, it was a favor.
With Joaquin Benoit (Edit: actually Chan Ho Park) going for the Rangers, runs should be scored. Let’s hope they’re mostly Seattle runs.
Forbes on the Mariners
Forbes has an interesting article on the Mariners worth reading for some perspective on the team’s economic situation.
A lot of it won’t be a surprise to long-time USSM readers, but there’s still new information in here, particularly about the local economic impact of Ichiro-related tourism. Also lots of good stark figures about how huge their media deal with FSNW is, and how amazingly sweet their stadium lease is.
And fun facts like this, just after Armstrong is quoted saying “We don’t make money”:
By not bragging, maybe Armstrong hopes his players won’t ask for more money. The Mariners’ payroll last season was only $85 million, or just 50% of revenue. Teams with similar revenues, like the Dodgers, Cubs and Mets, all spent at least 57% of their revenue on players last year.
Two bits stuck out to me — “Ichiro trinkets adorn cell phones in Japan, where the Mariners’ theme song is a popular ring tone.”
The Mariners have a theme song? And not “The Mariners are playing hard-ball! Hit it again and again and again — hit it again!” What is it?
And in the sidebar, it sayd “For a small-market team, the Mariners do very well.”
I know it’s probably hard to believe, being out in New York and all, but there were three million people in the Seattle metro area last time the Feds published stats (check it out in my favorite Census publication ever in Excel or PDF). If you want small-market, you’re looking for Kansas City, or better yet Milwaukee (1.5m).
Anyway, check it out.
Jim Caple Has A Posse
Jim Caple’s first book, “The Devil Wears Pinstripes,” gets a glowing review in the Post-Intelligencer.
Given that Caple used to work at the P-I before he started hanging out with co-eds and dressing like Tigger, it’s not a shock that they liked the book. I’m sure that the positive review is an honest one, though, because Caple is a gifted writer. It sounds like he’s pulling no punches, either: the shots start with the title and continue from there. He calls Yankee Stadium “a garbage dump,” to name one example.
The one critical line in the piece echoes the only beef I’ve ever had with Caple’s work: the tendency to use quips as an end in themselves, thus hitting narrative high spots too quickly and without enough building. In reviewer John Marshall’s words, the book delivers “such an onrushing onslaught of one-liners that the reader’s funny bone suffers comic shock syndrome”
One quality I admire in Caple is his ability to tell the unvarnished truth as he perceives it. I will always remember the Baseball Prospectus pizza feed a few years back where, during a group Q + A session, I asked Caple who he thought the most likely Mariner prospect to make a real impact would be.
Caple gulped, considered his audience, and went ahead anyway with: “Well, I think they really should give a serious shot to Bloomquist.”
Sure, he was met with immediate sneers, harrumphs and gasps. But he knew he would be, and he said it anyway.
Caple’s a witty fellow who isn’t afraid to say what he thinks, qualities that I expect will make this book a good read — and possibly force him into the Witness Protection Program once Yankee fans get ahold of it.
MLB has a cap! It does! ARGH!
From this AP article:
While the NFL and NBA have salary caps, baseball does not. The current labor contract expires after the 2006 season.
Baseball has a cap as much as either of those two sports do. In baseball, there’s a hard number with severe and escalating penalties if a team exceeds it. Teams are free to exceed that number if they’re willing to eat the penalties… which is exactly as it is in the NBA and the NFL, though in each league the ways teams work it, and the penalties that they pay, differ.
I don’t understand why baseball has this widespread perception. The Yankees are the only team that violates the cap, and they’re paying a huge price to do so that gets higher every year.
Off-day Mariner fix
Times notebook: Pineiro feels great but his return won’t be moved up, Franklin doesn’t want to be in the pen, Hargrove doesn’t think Ibanez is bad in left (which sort of misses the point) and will continue to play him out there, Pokey update, other stuff.
PI Notebook: Madritsch injury could move up Pineiro’s return, Dobbs is enthusiastic, Pokey update, “Yesterday’s crowd of 25,580 was the seventh-lowest in Safeco Field history,” a lot of other stuff
Big Board Update
At long last, the Big Board is updated with opening day minor league rosters. I’ve made guesses in some places as to who’ll be starting where, and rotations right now are simply in alphabetical order. This’ll all come together in the next week, as all four affiliates open their seasons tomorrow.
You’ll also notice some changes in how inactive players are listed. Rather than simply showing them as being on the DL, there are now sections for the 15- and 60-day disabled lists at the major league level and the 7-day at the minor league level. Players who are either suspended or simply inactive are listed as such. Finally, and by popular demand, I’ve included the date on which a player was put on the disabled or suspended list. I can’t guarantee these are 100% accurate to the day, particularly at the minor league level where such info can be hard to find, but they’re at least in the neighborhood.
OK, let’s have at it. Bad links, guys who aren’t really lefties, etc. You know the drill. I’ll try to answer questions as they come up, and hopefully Dave will cruise through here as well.
Minor League Rosters
They’re all out now, though you might have to dig to find them.
Tacoma Rainiers (official site)
San Antonio Missions (mysanantonio.com, may require registration or bugmenot.com)
Inland Empire 66ers (official site)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (official site)
I’m working on a new Big Board as we speak.
Reasons to suspect Mariner Moose is and is not actually a moose at all
Reasons the Mariner Moose is not a moose
1. Walks on two feet in upright, humanoid manner
2. Antlers do not divide in fork-like manner
3. Antlers are not wide, large, or heavy enough
4. Head oriented approximately 90 degrees off normal moose position
5. No “bell” hanging from neck
6. Front legs articulated differently from normal deer orientation with different movement ranges
7. Front hoofs divided into finger-like appendages
8. Front hoofs include opposable thumb
9. Weighs far less than an adult moose
10. Muzzle is soft and furry, rather than fleshy
11. Moose do not ride ATVs in the wild
12. Wears clothing
13. Does not appear to grow new antlers ever season
14. Rather than being reclusive and solitary, is actively social and “can entertain at your next special event including: Birthday Parties, Wedding Receptions, Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, community functions and any other special event where a loveable, domesticated Moose would fit in.” (If anyone takes him up on this, would you please email us and know how it goes?)
15. No slight hump over shoulders
16. No tail
17. Wide, clear eyebrows of distinct color
18. Eyes are far too large in proportion to head
19. During breeding season, does not break silence to search for mate
20. Hair is too short and is not hollow
21. Eyesight far exceeds normal moose acuity
22. Relies on jacketed Mariner ballgirls for protection instead of using antlers, superior size, and sharp hooves
23. Extremely active after dusk
24. Almost all moose in Washington are in the northeastern counties in the Selkirk Mountains
25. Rather than knocking down enemy with front feet and then stomping and kicking with all four feet, charging Mariner Moose holds up sign in an attempt to draw a vocal response from supporters that demoralizes opponent
26. Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has not attempted to help the Mariner Moose back to native habitat, either by leading him back to wild or by tranquilizing and relocating the Moose
Reasons the Mariner Moose is indeed a moose
1. Pursued by people with guns
2. Infested with parasites