Watch Dominican amateur baseball online
With the Mariners among the most prominent players in the international market year in, year out, many people here and on other sites around the internet have often expressed interest in the international scouting game. In the past, the answer was always that the kids are raw as hell, because most of them go into high-octane training programs at a very young age that focus on building athleticism and drills rather than playing actual baseball games.
This has started to change in the past couple of years with the advent of trainer-run leagues, most notably the Dominican Prospect League. Tomorrow, a TV station out of the Dominican Republic will be broadcasting the DPL all-star game. You can watch online at http://www.teleuniversocanal29.net tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. The game will feature $3.5 million Texas signee Ronald Guzman as well as Helsin Martinez, who the Mariners were rumored to have signed for somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million (though that rumor has been walked back), among many other 6 and 7-figure signees.
As for what to expect: I’m going out on a limb and saying you’ll probably see a good deal of athleticism on the field, and very, very raw baseball skills. The DPL is turning into the Dominican equivalent of the showcase circuit in the United States, only with kids 2 years younger than their American counterparts. Nonetheless, I thought it might be interesting for those who want to see what a $3.5 million 16-year-old talent looks like.
The seven-man bullpen
When was the last time a team carried 13 pitchers for any significant length of time and afterwards looked back and said “That worked out really well. We were able to get everyone consistent work and they all contributed”?
Did you have to have double-headers regularly for it to make any sense?
Game 99, Mariners at Redsox
King Felix vs. John Lackey, 4:10 PDT.
After being swept aside by the 4th place team in the AL East, the M’s arrive in Boston to face a team with a wOBA of .354. The only Mariners with a wOBA that high are Dustin Ackley and Doug Fister.
As you all know, the M’s have lost 12 in a row, and I’m sure reactions to the streak differ from fan to fan. Jeff Sullivan says that losing 12 in a row has made each successive game more captivating – that a win wouldn’t just be a meaningless win in a lost season, it would feel like an accomplishment. Others may be secretly (or not so secretly) hoping that the streak continues; if the team isn’t going to win, the least it can do is lose grandly. While it might be hard for some to justify rooting against the Mariners, the line-ups they’ve trotted out must give even the die-hards pause. I’m not big on “true fan” debates; the pointless and often heated arguments wherein one group of baseball fans spews venom on another for enjoying the game in all the wrong ways. If you’re still here after the past two years, you’re a fan. If you think an epic losing streak is more likely to produce meaningful change in the future, great. If you want Felix to destroy and demoralize the Red Sox hitters because he’s Felix and they’re the Red Sox, yeah, that’d be nice too.
The M’s may find themselves in what’s going to have to pass as a decent match-up. No, I know, the Mariners are still playing, so I’m not going to push this too far, but the Red Sox are starting John Lackey, owner of a 4.71 FIP on the year and an RA near 7. Lackey’s fastball has gone from a solid pitch to a liability. He’s walking more lefties, and his walk rate against righties is a bit misleading: he’s already tied his career high in hit-by-pitches, with 9 of 12 coming against righties. That pushes his walk rate vs. righties from around 7.3% to 10.6%.
He’s using his slider more this year, and while it’s not as effective as it once was, it’s still been his best pitch in terms of generating whiffs. When the M’s faced him in late April, they ran out a lefty-heavy line-up, but he handled it fairly well, yielding 2 runs in 6 innings. In that contest, he threw a blizzard of curves to the M’s lefties, and while he gave up walks, that was about all he gave up. Of course, there’s not a lot whole lot to glean from a game in which Lackey faced Mike Saunders, Milton Bradley, Ryan Langerhans and Jack Wilson. Guys like Carp and Ackley can probably expect a steady diet of curves and change-ups, and the right handers will see quite a few sliders.
But if they can be patient, they’ll see Lackey’s fastball, which now has so little arm-side run that the Pitch FX algorithm classifies it as a cutter. Now, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but you’d think if he was intentionally throwing his FB this way he’d just, you know, stop. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Whatever you call it, the 90mph thing that he throws hasn’t been good, and the M’s (especially the lefties) need to jump on it. Justin Smoak, if you’re still in there somewhere, give me a sign. Blink twice if you can understand me.
The line-up:
1: Ichiro?
2: Ryan
3: Ackley
4: Olivo
5: Kennedy
6: Smoak
7: Carp (LF)
8: Cust (DH)
9: Halman (CF)
Happy Felix Day, though
May he be backed up with a reasonable lineup as he attempts to prevent a thirteenth straight loss.
To each their own
“You can’t give in to the fight. You can’t keep pouting about it. You can’t quit. You’ve got to just keep going,” Wedge said. “I’m looking at this from an individual basis right now. Each man has to come out there and do everything that they need to do to help us win a ballgame tomorrow.” — Eric Wedge, quoted on MLB about his post-game clubhouse meeting
I hope this means Wedge will be turning in a reasonably sane lineup card next time.
Game 98, Mariners at Blue Jays
Fister vs Romero, 9:37 am.
A couple of pieces of news – Kyle Seager was optioned back to Tacoma to make room for Josh Lueke on the roster. Seager probably would have stuck around if the bullpen hadn’t been worked so hardly lately, but with the team headed for Boston and New York, they needed a fresh arm, so Seager was the one to go. Kennedy will go back to playing third base.
In other news, Chone Figgins is playing left field for the first time as a Mariner today. You could either look at this as the team preparing him for a super-utility role, or showing other teams that he can still play out there. The Reds have been reported to be interested in Figgins as a lead-off guy, and they’re also unhappy with their current left fielders, so it could be a favor to the Reds to show them what Figgins looksl ike in LF.
Oh, and cover your eyes before looking at the line-up.
Ichiro, RF
Ryan, SS
Kennedy, 3B
Olivo, C
Smoak, 1B
Bard, DH
Gutierrez, CF
Figgins, LF
Wilson, 2B
Game 97, Mariners at Blue Jays
Vargas vs Morrow, 4:07 pm
Normal-ish lineup with Carp in left, Kennnedy at first, and Smoak DHing.
Game 96, Mariners at Blue Jays
Pineda vs. Cecil, 4:07 PDT.
Happy Pineda day! I find that thinking about Pineda’s development helps prevent me from sinking into pessimism and apathy after watching the M’s get annihilated by the Rangers. If you somehow figured out how to watch condensed games that only showed the M’s on defense, you might think they were contenders.
Pineda will indeed get to face Jose Bautista, who returns to the line-up after a minor ankle injury. He and Travis Snider are the Jays best/only hitters, but Pineda handled them back in April.
Mike Carp’s in the line-up despite the fact that Cecil’s a lefty. Mike Curto points out that Carp went 2-6 with a HR off of Cecil in Las Vegas this year, so that certainly helps (Ackley was even better – 4 for 7 with a HR and a 2B). Carp’s the DH today, which allows the team to get another righty into the line-up in Greg Halman. However, while Carp’s allowed to face lefties, Kyle Seager’s still got his training wheels on. Chone Figgins plays 3B and hits 8th. I can’t seriously argue that Seager’s a better bet against Brett Cecil, but if we’re going to bench Jack Cust so Carp can take on lefties (and I like that move), then I’m not sure why Figgins’ marginally better split would earn him the start.
Line-up:
1: Ichiro
2: Ryan
3: Ackley
4: Olivo
5: Smoak
6: Gutierrez
7: Carp
8: Figgins
9: Halman
Save us, Michael Pineda!
Series Preview – Mariners at Blue Jays
Now that the Rangers have well and truly kicked the life out of the 2011 season, it’s time the M’s focused on player development goals that could pave the way for an improvement in 2012. The M’s head east for a road trip that begins in Toronto, where they’ll face another team that’s looking for improvement in some young players that they hope form the core of a contending roster down the road.
The M’s face lefty starters on Tuesday and Thursday, and they’ll see old friend Brandon Morrow in between. Given Dustin Ackley, Kyle Seager and now Mike Carp hit lefty, one critical goal for the M’s will be to figure out how to hurt lefty starters. Derek Holland and CJ Wilson didn’t seem to break a sweat against this line-up, and while Ackley started off hot against lefties (including his HR against Johnny Venters), Justin Smoak’s been the M’s most consistent right-handed bat. The M’s will need Greg Halman and/or Franklin Gutierrez to contribute. Production out of Brendan Ryan/Jack Wilson would be nice, but that’s getting pretty fanciful. Franklin Gutierrez used to excel against lefties, but I don’t think anyone expects a whole lot from him now.
The M’s also need to assess exactly what kind of hitter Mike Carp is against righties. This may interfere with him playing every day, and I know many want to see Carp sink or swim, but the M’s need to see a lot of both Halman and Carp. Halman needs to show that he can hit more than just the occasional HR without sending his K rate through the roof, and Carp needs to show that his struggles against righties were a small-sample mirage. No one’s asking either player to single-handedly claim the LF spot next year; rather, each just needs to show that they can be of some use if they’re put in advantageous situations.
Jays RF/Demi-god Jose Bautista missed his last game with a slight ankle injury, but is expected back for tomorrow’s game. Travis Snider was awful in April (I can still see his “swing” against a Pineda slider) and was sent down to AAA for a while, but he’s got 10 extra-base hits in 11 games since being recalled. JP Arencibia is essentially a young Miguel Olivo, as he’s got a wOBA of .305 despite a terrible OBP. He’s been awful against right-handers this year, despite not showing much of a platoon split in the minors. Aaron Hill’s descent from slugging 2B star to poor man’s Jack Wilson is nearly as bizarre as Gutierrez’ collapse. He hit 36 HRs two years ago on his way to a 4 win season. Last year, he still hit 26 long balls, but put up a putrid slash line of .205/.271/.394. Jays fans pointed to his sub-.200 BABIP as a reason for hope in 2011, but instead, he’s cratered. He’s got all of four HRs and a .274 wOBA that makes him one of the few regular players who’s hit worse than the Seattle Mariners.
What are you looking for in the remainder of 2011? Should Seager and Carp play against lefties even if it makes shutouts more likely? Should the M’s pick up older stop-gaps (Marcus Thames, maybe) to improve the watchability of these meaningless games, or would you accept another 100+ losses if it provided some meaningful input for 2012 roster construction?
Minor League Wrap (7/11-17/11)
Monday of last week, 7th-round pick 3B Steve Proscia and 22nd-round pick RHP John Taylor signed. Since then, nothing. No new draft news, no new international news. Taijuan Walker and James Paxton both made Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet though, so there is that. There was also a Geoff Baker piece which references the allegations against the buscon of Esteilon Peguero and others and clarifies why Peguero hasn’t gotten his bonus yet. The short of it is that the rules have changed and the money is now held in escrow until a prospect turns eighteen. Oh, and there was that Peguero/Carp thing, which is probably good for us in the long run.
To the jump!
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