For the last three years, I’ve been talking up Rafael Soriano’s “stuff” as some of the best in the organization. Currently, I can’t stop raving about how good Clint Nageotte’s “stuff” is. The talk of spring training was the return of Gil Meche’s front-line-starter “stuff”. Watching the game tonight, I’m reminded of something I often forget; stuff isn’t half as important as command at the major league level, and command will be why those pitchers succeed (if they do).
Joel Pineiro has better velocity than Mike Mussina. His curveball has a better break. His 2-seam fastball has more sink. And Mike Mussina is a far superior pitcher because he has impeccable command. Mike Mussina is a pitcher. Joel Pineiro is still a thrower. He’s getting by on Safeco Field, great defense, and a nasty outpitch. For him to be anywhere near the Mike Mussina class of pitcher, he’s going to have to strengthen his command.
Nick Johnson is back, by the way. It isn’t easy to break into the all-star game as an American League first baseman, but Johnson is going to force his way onto the team. This is the kid that posted a .525 OBP in AA as a 20-year-old. By the end of the year, he just may be the best hitter on that team.
Mark McLemore hit .214/.353/.295 in the second half last year. He’s hitting .215/.308/.337 to start this year. He’s 38-years-old. Can we stop believing that this guy is anything more than a 25th man on the roster? And why are people so shocked that this bench isn’t very good?
Despite the issues, we’re still in first place, and thats a happy thought to go to bed with.
This just in: Missions won their 18th game. Tonight’s M’s game is going to be awesome, I’m giving it my must-watch recommendation. Also, I want to say “wie gehts” to our reader(s) in Switzerland, where us Zumstegs came from, long ago. And to Shane Lidman, who’s in Germany right now doing graduate studies on the lost art of diplomacy.
Our only single team member here, Dave, would like to add that he would be happy to date any female M’s fans in Switzerland, or North Carolina for that matter. Jason and I (who are both married) are so impressed with David Cameron, we’ve given him our full endorsement. You can set David up with dates by emailing him at ussmarinerblog@hotmail.com.
Minor League Highlights for Super Tuesday, May 6
Colorado Springs 11, Tacoma 1. RHPs Jeff Heaverlo (2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) and J.J. Putz (4 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) were each shelled yesterday, allowing five runs in the first inning, one in the second, three in the third and two more in the fourth. Meanwhile, the Rainiers managed just one run on their eight hits, of which 1B Andy Barkett had a pair. He also drove in SS Mickey Lopez for the team’s only run. With the game well out of reach, utilityman Craig Kuzmic was allowed to pitch the 9th inning (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) and didn’t fare badly.
San Antonio 6, Tulsa 1. I’ve run out of adjectives to describe the Missions, who have now won 17 games in a row. David Cameron tells me that one more win will the franchise record, set way back in 1908 when the club was called the San Antonio Bronchos (yes, that is the correct spelling). LHP Travis Blackley, who struggled mightily with his control in his last start, walked just one hitter in seven innings to pick up the win (7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) and RHP Craig House (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) finished things off. LF Jaime Bubela led the offense with three hits in four trips, two runs batted in and a steal, and DH John Lindsey was 2-4 with a homer and also stole a base. The Missions will take their incredible streak to the field today in Tulsa, with RHP Rett Johnson getting the start.
High Desert 8, Inland Empire 5 (11 innings). RHP Kazuhiro Sasaki, with the 66ers on a rehab assignment, got the start but worked only one inning (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) as he was on a strict pitch count. LHP Russ Morgan, fresh off the disabled list, followed with a scoreless inning but gave way to the day’s regularly scheduled starter, RHP Cha Seung Baek. Perhaps uncomfortable pitching out of the pen, Baek did not fare well (3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K). 3B Hunter Brown led the offense with two hits, a run scored and one driven in, though the 66ers managed just seven hits in the game despite playing two extra frames. RHP Brian Strelitz (2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) took the loss in relief, surrendering the winning runs in the top of the 11th.
Lansing 12, Wisconsin 7. The Timber Rattlers continue to score a ton of runs, but poor pitching performances have done them in. RHP Tanner Watson (4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K) struggled, leaving the game while Lansing was in the middle of a 9-run 5th inning. Watson had been spotted a 6-1 lead entering the 5th. RHP Renee Cortez, who had been stellar this season up until yesterday, couldn’t stop the bleeding (1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) and saw his ERA jump by nearly three runs. Wisconsin managed to score their seven runs on just eight hits, including two doubles from RF T.J. Bohn and a homer from DH Carlos Arroyo. Bohn scored twice on the day and drove in a pair of runs, while Arroyo knocked in three and scored once.
I don’t think this is anything new to most people, but the official scorer at Safeco is an absolute joke. When a ball hits the fielder in the arm, glove or hand and he’s not making some diving try, score it an error like it darned well should be. Ichiro has not one but two singles tonight that should have been ruled errors — one in the second inning and one in the fourth. The one in the fourth was particularly bad, as Alfonso Soriano moved to his right and tried to backhand the ball, only to have it hit him on the wrist instead of in the glove. That’s an error, Mr. Official Scorer.
By the way, the San Antonio Missions just won their 17th in a row. This is ridiculous.
MLB.com is running a poll on who should receive the most playing time at 3b. The results so far: Cirillo 54%, McLemore 21%, Bloomquist 22%, Mabry 3%. I assume that all 450 ppl who voted for Mabry thought (like I did) that they would see their vote alone when the results were displayed.
I was going to do a quick piece on apx ticket availability for future homestands, but Ticketmaster (no link, I hate them) is so screwey I’ve given up. I hate their anti-automation device where you have to type a generated word EVERY TIME YOU WANT TO SEARCH. Hey, I’d like to go to this game. Are you sure you’re not a robot? No, I’m not. Okay, here’s some possible tickets. Mmm, what about a different section? Are you sure you’re not a robot? No, I have not suddenly become a ticket-trolling automated robot in the last minute. Okay, here’s some possible tickets. Why does it have to be my problem that Ticketmaster can’t figure out if scalpers are trolling? Why can’t I look at a game and tweak my criteria — not even buy a ton of tickets, but just tweak a setting — without having to pass a Turing test? Why not limit HTTP requests to, say, 1/m or something after validation, if you’re afraid people are going to game the system by searching over and over or something? Why can’t Ticketmaster offer an interactive map that, say, greys out areas as they’re sold off, so I could see that it’s not worth searching for field seats, say, because the good ones are all sold, and instead, should look up a deck, or something?
It’s not as if they don’t have the money to develop these things.
And their ticket search functionality is ass. I was looking for best seats for a particular game and said “best available”. Ticketmaster said “hey, you want these two semi-good Avaya Terrace Club seats.” I said “no, not so much, what’s available in the field level–” and there were plentiful tickets off first base by a section, 6 rows back, for much less money.
To sum up: don’t use Ticketmaster. Call the Mariners ticket office directly, or hit up a team store.
I’m baffled by Davis, for the very reason you mention — he either hits for power or takes walks, but apparently can’t do both at once. His 2002 season was a great example of this. First half: .230/.306/.278, with 15 walks in 126 at-bats. Second half: .294/.324/.559, with just 3 walks in 102 at-bats. And as you mention, he’s basically repeating his 2002 second half so far in 2003 (.280/.308/.580). Despite my disdain for hitters who don’t walk, I have to say I like Power Ben better than Patient Ben, given that the latter seems to include a nice batting average as well. If he’s going to hit like this the rest of the season I’ll have no complaints.
Oh, and I’ve just updated the Big Board (link to your left). Very minor stuff, no pun intended. The biggest news of the day is that Kazuhiro Sasaki is on a rehab stint with the Inland Empire 66ers, scheduled to start tonight with a 20-25 pitch limit. There’s an article about this in today’s San Bernardino Sun, from which I quote, “Sasaki, who has been slowed by a bad back, will throw between 20 and 25 pitches in what is likely to be his only outing with the team. Sixers manager Steve Roadcap said if all goes well tonight, Sasaki likely will go to Triple-A Tacoma for another start before rejoining the parent club.” If any of you reading this happen to make it to the game tonight, we’d love to hear how Sasaki looks on the mound.
So, what do we think of Ben Davis? His career to date shows that he can draw walks or hit for power, but apparently not both at the same time. He’s doing the Alfonso Soriano at the moment, with a lousy 2/11 BB/K but a .588 slugging percentage. 9 of his 14 hits are of the extra base variety, which is really hard to fluke. He’s also been Gil Meche’s personal catcher, whose emergence has been the story of the first month. Since this city is so fond of giving Dan Wilson credit for his work with the pitchers, they’d ought to at least recognize that Davis has been the one behind the dish while Meche has emerged as a legitimate major league starter.
Minor League Highlights for Monday, May 5
Tacoma 8, Iowa 1 (DH Game #1). The Rainiers scored two runs in the top of the first in the first game and didn’t look back, never trailing at any point in yesterday’s double dip. LHP Craig Anderson had yet another strong start (7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), going the distance in the abbreviated game and lowering his ERA to 3.15 on the season. 1B Andy Barkett led a nine hit attack with two homers, two runs scored and four RBIs, while 2B Chad Meyers had two hits and also scored twice.
Tacoma 12, Iowa 0 (DH Game #2). The drubbing continued in the nightcap, as the Rainiers pounded out 14 hits in a blowout victory to sweep the pair or games. RF Kenny Kelly, perhaps inspired by Barkett’s performance in the first game, went deep twice and drove in five runs to pace the offense. Five other players — 2B Mickey Lopez, LF Jacques Landry, C Pat Borders, 1B Craig Kuzmic and DH Chad Meyers — each had two hits, and all nine starters scored at least one run. RHP Scott Atchison (5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) picked up the win to move to 3-1 on the year. As an interesting side note, the Rainiers scored six runs in the 7th inning of each game.
San Antonio 8, Tulsa 1. Another day, another win for the Missions, who thumped yet another helpless pitching staff to win their 16th straight contest. They’ve outscored their opponents by a 122-49 margin during the streak, winning each game by an average of 4.6 runs, and now stand 22-9 on the year with a five game lead in the West Division of the Texas League. RF Chris Snelling, who apparently hasn’t missed a beat, went 3-5 with a double, a homer, two runs scored and two driven in. He’s now hitting a cool .500/.526/.889 in four games since coming off the disabled list. CF Mike Curry and DH Jaime Bubela each added two hits for the Missions in support of RHP Chris Wright (7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), who won his 4th game of the year against just one loss.
Inland Empire did not play, as the Cal League played a limited schedule yesterday. The 66ers are home against High Desert today but have not announced their starting pitcher, due to RHP Juan Done being placed on the disabled list with a sore shoulder. Done has been unable to get loose lately and is now headed for an MRI. Lefty reliever Russ Morgan was activated from the DL to take his spot on the roster. This may mean a chance for LHP Ryan Ketchner to enter the rotation.
Lansing 10, Wisconsin 6. Wisconsin scored six runs for the second straight game, but this time didn’t get the pitching to make it stand up for a win. RHP T.A. Fulmer was hit hard (9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and took the loss after falling behind 3-0 in the first inning. Offensively, 2B Tim Merritt and CF Gary Harris each had three hits, and 3B Matt Hagen drove in three with his 3rd homer of the year. The Timber Rattlers will try it again today with LHP Tanner Watson on the hill.