USSM/Lookout Landing Event(s)
The July 31st trade deadline occurs on a Tuesday this year, and is always one of the busiest days of the year, traffic wise, for the blog. Everyone has an opinion on what happened, what should have happened, and what might have happened in a dream world. So, what if you had the opportunity to get together with a large group of Mariner fans a couple of days after the trade deadline, talk about the recent events, and watch some Mariner prospects at the same time?
Well, you just might. Jeff Sullivan and I are looking into the feasibility of flying into Seattle during the first few days in August and hosting a pair of USSM/LL events – one up in Everett for the northsiders, and one down in Tacoma for the southside folks. We’re looking at August 2nd/3rd as the potential dates, which is a Thursday night in Tacoma and a Friday night up in Everett.
Cost for each would be likely somewhere in the $20-$25 range and would include your ticket to the game. If you’ve been to a USSM get together before, you know we’ll do our best to make it worth your time and money.
Since planning this involves some airfare purchases for Jeff and myself, I’m putting this thread up to gauge interest and make sure it’s something you guys would want to attend. We also want to get a good feel for how many people would want to attend the Everett vs Tacoma events. So, in the comments, here’s what I’m asking for:
Number of people – bringing friends/family?
Level of interest – definitely in, probably in, or maybe in.
Which site – Everett or Tacoma (or both is fine too).
I have an idea of what I think the response will be like, but before I throw down a good chunk of cash and buy a plane ticket back to Seattle, I’d like to make sure this is something you guys are in for. The events are always a good time, and we’ll get to prove that Jeff and I are indeed two seperate people.
Game 73, Red Sox at Mariners
Weaver vs Tavarez, 7:05 pm.
Jeff Weaver threw a complete game shutout in his last start. It was one of the most shocking developments in recent baseball history. If he throws one tonight, I’ll retire from blogging and prepare for the end of the world.
So, What Did I Miss?
I take a road trip to Atlanta for a couple of days, take in a Braves-Tigers game, and get reminded in person that Carlos Guillen and Rafael Soriano are both still awesome, and I apparently missed quite a bit in Mariner-land.
1. The Richie Sexson Annual Second Half Tear looks to be just about underway. .300/.364/.900 in his last 7 games, including 4 home runs. This is why the team didn’t bench him. He’s a ridiculously streaky hitter, but when he’s running hot, he’s the most effective power hitter the offense has, and they can’t win without him driving the ball.
2. After the Friday night debacle, Hargrove responded with more line-up changes. Last time he shook things up, he did well, moving Lopez to #2 and dropping Vidro to #8. This time? Not so much. Vidro brings his pathetic little .721 OPS back to the #3 hole. Becuase clearly, this team needs more Turbo.
3. Hargrove may be noticing that Guillen is having problems with RHPs, however, as he got Broussard into the line-up on Sunday in RF. Apparently, Guillen and Ibanez are both too hurt to play. Hello Adam Jones! No? Arghh. I don’t love Broussard in the outfield, but RF at Safeco is the easiest spot to play, and Guillen doesn’t have much range with his bad ankles either, so the offensive upgrade against right-handers is probably worth the experiment. He really needs to be in the line-up more often, as the team just can’t afford to keep a .295/.349/.487 left-handed hitter against RHPs on the bench.
4. Also, from the box score, it looks like Hargrove made two terrific moves yesterday – the suicide squeeze is my favorite play in baseball, and should be used far more often than it is. Kudos to Grover for calling it in the perfect scenario, with Betancourt on 3rd and Bloomquist at the plate in a tie game. Also, for handing the ball to J.J. Putz to get the final out in the 8th inning. Sherrill’s good enough to get tough righties out, but since he’s set on playing the L/R matchup game with his bullpen, going to Putz instead of Morrow could have been a game-saving decision.
5. And, finally, the big one – Ken Griffey Jr gave an interview on Fox Sports Northwest where he said he wants to retire as a Mariner, and that Seattle will always be home. You have no idea how happy I am that I wasn’t around the blog for this, because I’d have been pounding my head against a wall trying to keep the trade-creating-posters at bay.
So, what does his statement mean? Well, obviously, he had a good time in his return to Safeco, and the numerous standing ovations meant a lot to him. There’s no doubt he’s going into the hall of fame as a Mariner, and the idea of playing his last game with the team that he broke into the majors with holds significant appeal to both him and a large portion of the fan base. And we know that the M’s organization absolutely loves stuff like this, so the executives will push hard for a Griffey return when it becomes possible.
But as far as making a move right now? Let’s look at this from a realistic perspective. The M’s currently have a better player than Ken Griffey Jr biding his time in Tacoma waiting for a spot in the line-up to open up. They have a quality left-handed hitter sitting on the bench, unable to get as much playing time as he deserves. And they have another outfielder in Tacoma who continues to take a significant step forward in development and, because he’s out of options, he has to be on the team next year or be in another organization.
We already can’t find room for Ben Broussard and Adam Jones right now (again, this is why the Vidro trade was so ridiculously awful), and next year, you have to add Wladmir Balentien to the mix. Between the three outfield spots and designated hitter, you’ve got four line-up spots for Ichiro, Ibanez, Guillen, Vidro, Broussard, and Jones. Toss Balentien into that mix next year, likely replacing Guillen, and you’ve still got six guys for four spots. And that’s not including Jeff Clement, who is making a huge push to make sure he’s not forgotten about as a source of LH power.
Yes, Junior is better than Broussard and Vidro. And he’s a better fit for this team than Guillen, as the team needs a LH bat in the line-up more than a right-handed bat. But the marginal improvement of trading for Griffey isn’t as large as you’d think, looking at his numbers. He’d be another guy blocking Adam Jones, who really needs to be in the Mariners line-up right now, and would make a larger difference in improving the team than Junior would. He’d be another guy blocking Wladimir Balentien next year, giving the organization yet another high salaried player at a position where they had a low salaried option, taking more money away from the budget and preventing the club from improving at other positions.
For the huge portion of the fanbase that loves Griffey, I hope he does retire a Mariner. It just makes more sense for that to happen in 2009 and not 2007.
Game 72, Reds at Mariners
Arroyo vs Batista, 1:05 pm.
At this point, I’ll be driving back from Atlanta. Still nothing pithy to say.
Game 71, Reds at Mariners
Lohse vs Washburn, 7:05 pm.
I’m in Atlanta and I wrote this intro Friday night, so I have nothing pithy to say.
I’m at Redmond Town Center tomorrow morning
I’ll be let out of Clarion briefly tomorrow to attend a 11:00 am summer book event at Borders. Link here.
Game 70, Reds at Mariners
Harang vs Feierabend, 7:05 pm.
For a lot of people, tonight is a big deal. Ken Griffey Jr returns to Seattle for the first time since he was traded to the Reds, and the M’s are rolling out the welcome mat. They’re having a welcome back pre-game ceremony, had him autograph 1,000 commemorative “Griffey returns” baseballs, and have been pushing this series as a must see event all year. It’s Junior coming back to where it all started and the city is basking in nostalgia.
And I know it’s weird, but I don’t care. I tried to, but I don’t. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of fond memories of Griffey as a Mariner. I am the target audience for this kind of thing. I was nine years old when Jr made his major league debut, and he was the star of the show as I learned how to fall in love with baseball. I had the Upper Deck rookie card and the candy bar. I loved the home run swing, the leaping catches, the backward hat, and everything that went along with The Kid. When he broke his wrist catching the Kevin Bass flyball in 1995, I remember a hopeful season being flushed down the drain. And I remember where I was when he took John Wetteland yard for a game winning home run three months later to ignite the amazing comeback. I jumped up and down when he raced around the bases to beat the Yankees just like everyone else, and I cried when the Indians ended the dream a week later.
Junior was a huge part of my childhood. But he was never the player that I admired. For me, that guy was Alvin Davis, then Dave Valle, Erik Hanson, Bill Swift, Dave Fleming, Brian Turang, Darren Bragg, Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Mike Jackson, Mike Cameron, Chris Snelling, and now, Felix.
Those were the guys that I loved, that I adopted as my own. Why? I don’t know, honestly. I can explain some of them, but others, they’re inexplicable. And it’s okay, because they’re emotional attachments, which aren’t the most rational thing on earth to begin with.
But Junior never cracked that group. He was always the great player, the franchise, the most talented player I’d ever seen. But I rooted for him because he was a Mariner and admired him for his abilities, but the deep emotional attachment that others are remembering? I don’t have that with Junior. I never did.
I don’t begrudge anyone their nostalgia, and for a lot of people, I’m sure tonight is going to be a lifelong memory. That’s awesome. I hope you have a great time.
When they do a welcome back for Brian Turang, call me. I’ll be fired up for that.
Sullivan on Felix
I posted a lot of my comments in last night’s game thread and was planning on just throwing up a quick recap of why last night’s performance by Felix didn’t impress me much, but Jeff Sullivan did me one better. Just go read that instead. He nails it.
Game 69, Pirates at Mariners
Hernandez vs Van BenSchoten, 7:05 pm.
(Doyle Update: Mike Curto interviews the beloved Aussie outfielder on the Tacoma Rainiers pregame show at around 6:55 pm – listen here)
Same line-up as last night. Here’s to hoping for a Happy Felix Day for the first time in a while.
Some news
A couple of quick items that deserve mention on the blog.
Ryan Feierabend is replacing Cha Seung Baek in the rotation, and will start on Friday night against the Reds. Baek probably didn’t deserve to lose his rotation spot so quickly, but for one game at least, it’s a better matchup – the Reds are a significantly better offense against RHP than LHP, and Feierabend should have more success against the Reds LH sluggers. I’m glad to see Feierabend get another look in the rotation, honestly, and Baek’s still around to replace Weaver if he struggles again in his next few starts.
Also, the A’s rid themselves of Milton Bradley today, designating him for assignment. This is now the fourth organization that has decided that they don’t want him around even when he’s playing well, as the Expos, Indians, Dodgers, and now the A’s have all come to the conclusion that he’s just not worth the trouble. He’s probably running out of chances, at this point. This definitely makes the A’s a worse team on the field, however, so it’s somewhat good news for the Mariners.