Monthly Archives: August 2013

by | August 21, 2013 · 1:24 pm

Bullpen Decisions in Walk-Off Losses

The Mariners have fallen victim to walk-off losses what seems like countless times.  Whenever they play in Chicago, Baltimore, or Washington D.C. I just count on the game to be a walk-off loss.  This season has brought even more of these.  As of the afternoon on August 20th, the Mariners had suffered 10 walk-off losses in 124 games.  Over 8 percent of the Mariners games have ended in a walk-off loss this season.  Furthermore, walk-off losses can only happen on the road, although the M’s might find a way to make it happen otherwise.  There have been 61 road games with 10 walk-off losses.  Over 16 percent of Mariners road games have ended in a walk-off, and not the fun Zoolander kind. Seattle sports…

Eric Wedge (and Robbie Thompson) aren’t exactly known for their bullpen usage.  With this in mind, I went on a journey to find out in what situations these walk-off losses happened (pitcher vs. batter match-ups).

Below, you will find the score of each walk-off loss, a little summary of what happened, who was pitching, hitting, and left in the bullpen.  I will also add a little bit of analysis.  Of course, my research isn’t perfect.  There were days when some bullpen arms weren’t available and I don’t have all of that information.  I’ve tried to make my analysis as fair as possible.

Walk-off loss #1:  April 7, – Chicago White Sox 4, Mariners 3

The Matchup: RH Kameron Loe vs. RH Dayan Viciedo
Who Was Left In The Bullpen:  RH Tom Wilhelmsen, LHP Charlie Furbush, RHP Stephen Pryor
Summary:  A walk-off solo dinger.
Analysis:  This wasn’t all that bad of a decision.  Pryor had pitched the two nights before so I’m guessing he wasn’t available.  Furbush wouldn’t have made sense as a lefty.  Wilhelmsen probably should have been in the game but the Mariners like to keep their closer available.  I don’t agree with this but this decision wasn’t atrocious other than the fact that Kameron Loe was bad and shouldn’t have been on the team.  Robert Andino and Brendan Ryan did start this game at SS and 2B though…

Walk-off loss #2:  May 17th – Cleveland Indians 6, Mariners 3

The Matchup: LH Lucas Luetge vs. LH Jason Kipnis
Who Was Left In The Bullpen:  Not many guys available, everyone had thrown the day before.
Summary: 3-run walk-off dinger.
Analysis:  Not a bad process here aside from maybe leaving Luetge in too long.  You want the lefty on lefty matchup and Luetge is typically good against lefties.  Furbush had already pitched and Perez had pitched over an inning the night before.  Luetge was probably the best option to pitch against Kipnis.  Wilhelmsen (arguably the best reliever at the time) did not pitch in this game.

Walk-off loss #3:  May 18th – Cleveland Indians 5, Mariners 4
The Matchup:  RH Yoervis Medina vs. RH Mark Reynolds
Who Was Left In the Bullpen:  Wilhelmsen, Furbush, Luetge, Loe (I think)
Summary: Jesus Montero forgot to keep his foot on the plate and the winning run scored as he pulled his foot off of it.  You can’t make this stuff up.
Analysis:  Probably the right match-up.  Perez was bad before Medina came in to face Reynolds.  It was a really exciting game aside from the horrible ending!  Medina is a good guy to face Reynolds.  Cleveland is so stupid.  Wilhelmsen, again, wasn’t used.  Instead they went to a rookie in his first week in the majors.

Walk-off loss #4:  May 20th – Cleveland Indians 10, Mariners 8
The Matchup: LH Charlie Furbush vs. Yan Gomes
Who Was Left In the Bullpen: LH Lucas Luetge, RH Farquhar (maybe)
Summary:  Wilhelmsen blew the save in the 9th while dropping the final out at first.  Then, Furbush came in for the 10th and gave a up a 3-run walk-off dinger.
Analysis:  Many people believed he should have come out for the 10th because he was pitching well, hadn’t pitched in 4 days and a few righties were coming up.  I’m one of those people.  Leaving Furbush in to face righties was dumb.  This may have been the worst decisions of the walk-offs, so far.  Andino and Ryan started this game at SS and 2B.

Walk-off loss #5:  May 29th – San Diego Padres 3, Mariners 2
The Matchup:  RH Yoervis Medina vs. LH Will Venable
Who Was Left In the Bullpen:  All of the lefties
Summary:  Wilhelmsen blew the save in the 9th and Venable hit a walk-off single in the 10th, after loading the bases and not getting an out.
Analysis:  This one is bad.  Medina faced 3 lefties (2 were switch-hitters, although they have better splits from the left side) and one righty.  Furbush had pitched the night before but there was no sign of Perez, for some reason.  Medina to start the inning may have been fine but he should have been out after the first hit.  The pitcher spot was coming up in the batting order, which may have caused Wedge to not change guys.  This is a constant in the bullpen decision-making: playing for the hypothetical instead of putting yourself in the best situation right now.

Walk-off loss #6:  June 1st – Minnesota Twins 5, Mariners 4
The Matchup:  RH Wilhelmsen vs. S Ryan Doumit
Who Was Left in the Bullpen:  RH Noesi, RH Farquhar, RH Medina
Summary:  Wilhelmsen walked 3 guys and then gave up a walk-off triple.
Analysis:  Managers have a way with sticking with a closer in the 9th, no matter what.  I don’t blame Wedge for this philosophy but why does it exist?  Wilhelmsen should not have been in the game after walking 3 straight guys.  This one is a baseball problem, not a Mariners problem.  By the way, that was 5 walk-off losses in 15 days.  There was also a homestand in that stretch.

Walk-off loss #7 :  July 31st – Boston Red Sox 5, Mariners 4
The Matchup:  LH Luetge vs. LH Stephen Drew
Who Was Left In the Bullpen:  RH Wilhelmsen
Summary:  Drew hit a walk-off single in the 15th inning.
Analysis:  Luetge had thrown 2 innings before coming out for the 15th and he almost made it through that inning, as well.  He had also thrown the night before.  He seemed a bit fatigued.  Wilhelmsen hadn’t pitched in either game.  I know the options are limited in the 15th inning but I don’t know why you don’t put your best pitcher out there.  Or put in a starter.

Walk-off loss #8:  August 1st – Boston Red Sox 8, Mariners 7
The Matchup:  LH Perez vs. S Daniel Nava
Who Was Left In the Bullpen: LH Luetge, RH Farquhar
Summary:  Felix is awesome.  7-2 heading into the 9th.  Wilhelmsen sucks, doesn’t get an out.  Wrong pitcher is called in by Thompson (accidentally called for Perez instead of Medina).  The wrong pitcher gives up runs.  Medina isn’t good either.  This one sucked.
Analysis:  The Mariners meant to do the right thing and accidentally failed at that.  Medina was supposed to be called in to face Victorino and Pedroia.  Instead Perez was called in and was bad and then Medina was left in too long due to the accident.  This is a dumb rule in baseball and a brain fart by Thompson.  It was an awful game too.

Walk-off loss #9:  August 14th – Tampa Bay Rays 5, Mariners 4
The Matchup:  RH Farquhar vs. LH Matt Joyce
Who Was Left In the Bullpen:  LH Luetge, RH Capps, LH Perez
Summary:  A leadoff triple and then a walk-off single.
Analysis:  A few bloops and one hard hit led to a walk-off.  Sure, they could have taken Farquhar out to play the match-ups but he’d been pretty good  and, as I’ve said, managers stick with the closers.  This one isn’t too bad.

Walk-off loss #10:  August 19th – Oakland A’s 2, Mariners 1
The Matchup:  RH Capps vs. LH Brandon Moss
Who Was Left In the Bullpen:  Everyone but Furbush.
Summary:  Capps gave up a walk-off ding-donger to a lefty.
Analysis:  This was really stupid.  Capps has been the worst guy out of the pen against lefties.  He faces one in the bottom of the 9th (with Perez and Luetge available) and gives up a dinger.  This is one of the least defensible.  Luckily, no one really cared because the Mariners fell to 10 games under .500.

Conclusion:  Yes, the Mariners bullpen is terrible.  Some of these losses are inevitable no matter how good your bullpen.  But, some of the decisions that were made were pretty ridiculous and a few of these outcomes probably could have been avoided.  In-game management has been a struggle this year and, while that is not the only job of a manager, Wedge and Thompson should be held accountable for some of these decisions.

– Andrew

1 Comment

Filed under Mariners

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | August 11, 2013 · 7:39 pm

Husky Stadium: What Makes It Unique

In the next month, the Washington Huskies will begin practicing and eventually move into their newly renovated Husky Stadium.  Over this same time period, we will be writing a few posts about Husky Stadium.  Some will be on the technical side of the stadium and some with be based on opinion.  Here is the first post in the series.  We hope you enjoy!

College football is full of pageantry and tradition.  Each school has something that they try to make unique.  They do this to get a step ahead in recruiting and for the fans.  These traditions turn into what they’re known for.  There’s the checkered end zones in Tennessee and the gator chomp in Florida.  There’s the buffalo in Boulder, Colorado and the War Eagle in Auburn.  The University of Washington has their own traditions.  In this post, I’ll take a quick look at a few of the traditions and landmarks that are unique to the school and Husky Stadium.

The Lake 

Husky Stadium from Lake Washington

Husky Stadium from Lake Washington

As you cross the 520 bridge, the stadium comes into vision.  The view is quite stunning, as you can see from above.  Husky Stadium is one of two places that you can tailgate on a boat, dock and then walk into the game (the other being Tennessee).  The view inside the stadium is just as beautiful.  From the north, south, and west side of the stadium you can look to the east.  If you look over, or to the side, of the (new and improved) video board, the lake will supplement a view that you won’t get at any other stadium in the country.  When talking about Husky Stadium, Lake Washington is one of the first topics that comes to people’s mind.

The Cascades

Lake Washington isn’t the only scenic aspect of Husky Stadium.  The Cascade Mountain range is also part of the stadium’s allure.  Depending on where you sit you’ll be able to see the surrounding mountains and while walking around it’s easy to spot Mt. Rainier.  Seattle locals know how blessed the city is to be surrounded by water, beautiful architecture and an amazing mountain range.  If you have forgotten or aren’t from around here, then Husky Stadium will feature all of that beauty.

The Siren

Most football teams have something that happens when they score.  A certain song blares through the PA or some people run around with flags (ASU promotes chants of U-S-A! Very patriotic).  At Husky Stadium, a siren goes off.  You could take away other things from Husky home games and it will be a little off, but if the siren was to go away I think this would be the weirdest feeling.  It’s something I, and most fans, take for granted.  I’ll try to stop.

Tequila! 

In the second half, during a break in the action, the band will bust out ‘Tequila’.  The song is what the Husky Marching Band is known for.  The stadium turns from a crowd of people ready to make a quarterback go deaf to a crowd celebrating a day off.  If the siren is the intensity of Husky Stadium, ‘Tequila’ is the fun of Husky Stadium.

Husky Legends

Between the third and the fourth quarter of every home game, U-Dub brings back a former player who was a Husky great.  They show highlights of the former player and then introduce him to the crowd.  In the dark ages of He Who Shall Not Be Named (it started with a T), the Husky Legends were what would give us hope.  It’s great that the school and team pays homage to their past, every game.

The Barking

On any given Seattle Saturday in the Fall, around 70,000 people bark all at once, as a teenager tackles another young man who didn’t run as far as normally expected.

Andrew

A year ago today, Matthew wrote this post on the blog.  It’s still my favorite thing we’ve ever had on here.  If you have a few minutes, go read it.

Leave a comment

Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as ,

by | August 6, 2013 · 11:03 pm

A Few Quick Notes About The Washington Husky Football Team, Also Anagrams!

The Huskies have started Fall Camp!  Thank goodness because I can’t take any more talk of what ASJ’s suspension should be.  July is slowly becoming my least favorite sports month.  July is Mariners impending doom and endless speculation about dumb things.  Let me start over.

The Huskies have started Fall Camp!  On Monday, Steve Sarkisian had his annual ‘opening of the season’ press conference.  That was followed by, what has been, two practices.  There are no two-a-days this year, but the Huskies will practice every day aside from Sunday for the next few weeks.

There hasn’t been a ton of news, as the team isn’t even in full pads yet, but I’m going to try to recap the noteworthy information using bullet holes and then write some anagrams about the team after the jump.  Bullet holes!

  • Austin Seferian-Jenkins may or may not be suspended for the first game.  Same with Kasen Williams.  We won’t know until the first game and there is nothing wrong with that, at all.  I don’t know why so many people care about punishing college kids.
  • There were a few position changes announced yesterday.  Evan Hudson, who was a backup tight-end, is being tried out on the defensive line.  He’s a big and long guy, so there is a feeling that this might work.  Hudson played defensive end at Bothell and is being tried out at that position.  While he’s working as an end, from what I’ve read, he is on the inside of the rush end.  So, it’s almost a variation of defensive end and tackle. Derrick Brown is being switched from quarterback to H-back.  Many quarterback have gone through this change and come out successful so this seems to be worth a try.  He was blocked at the quarterback position.
  • There was also a position change along the offensive line, although we don’t know if it will stick.  Ben Riva and Micah Hatchie have flipped tackle positions.  Riva is now at left tackle and Hatchie at right.  The coaches have raved about Riva this off-season, so it would make sense to try him out at the most important line position.
  • John Ross, a freshman wideout, has been the guy who has raised the most eyebrows over the last few days.  He is a smaller guy but may have the best speed on the team.
  • Erik Kohler is the only guy that has been missing from practice and Sark said he has a foot injury.  He has had an injury plagued career and it’s hard not to wonder if this is the end.  I hope not.  Shane Brostek, another offensive lineman, was in a walking boot today after practicing all day yesterday.  We don’t know the severity of the injury.  Otherwise, injuries have been quiet thus far.  After the terrible injury bug last year, let’s hope we aren’t bitten again.
  • As a closing thought for the first two days, it really seems like this team has an attitude about it.  There isn’t much joking around in the interviews, Sark seems to have an attitude, and the goal is a championship.  The whole team is united and seems to be taking on their coach’s persona in the first two days.  They are tired of thinking of the terrible losses that closed out last year.  If they embody this edge and attitude they will be a team to watch this year.  The problem is they haven’t consistently done that yet.  Here’s to hoping that they do.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Huskies Football

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | August 5, 2013 · 11:32 am

A Small Change

Hello Good Guy readers!  We started this blog three and a half years ago and it’s still moving along, albeit at a slow speed sometimes.  We have no intention of ending this blog anytime soon and, truthfully, it holds a special place to us.

With that being said, Matthew and I have been asked to contribute at a new Seattle sports blog that is part of the Fansided Network.  It is called Emerald City Swagger.  Here is the first post I’ve written for here.

Our intention is to keep the bulk of our content here while posting about once a week at Emerald City.  We would love if you kept reading our posts here and then reading what we have over there.

Like any of the athletes we write about on this blog, we should strive to make ourselves better.  Matthew and I believe this opportunity will make us better writers and may, someday, lead to bigger things.

We are grateful for your support of this blog and are honored that you choose to read our work.  Now, go read the post below this because it is awesome.

– Andrew

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

by | August 4, 2013 · 4:21 pm

Rebuilding The Mariners: Is There Hope?

The goal of any team, at any time, is to put the best player possible at each position.  If a team could find a way to put the 25 best players in baseball on the same roster, they would do it.  Obviously, given salary, availability and personality constraints, such a roster is impossible.  Sacrifices are sometimes made, different strategies for building a roster are employed.  Still, at its core, roster construction is simply finding the best player available given that roster’s specific constraints.

This concept is even clearer with a rebuilding team.  When starting nearly from scratch, it’s incredibly difficult to find nine serviceable players, even more so when the pitching staff and bench are added.  Aside from Felix, the Mariners have had so few long-term answers over the last few years, it has made visualizing a future roster all but impossible.

The biggest challenge rebuilding teams face is the sheer number of good players they must obtain.  On most perennially good teams, there are no more than five of 25 roster spots changing from year to year.  Most of the roster is set, leaving the team to focus on replacing a free agent, or upgrading a weak position.  Resources can be focused.  With a team like the Mariners, which has turned over more like 20 of it’s roster spots in some years, they are not only faced with a lack of available quality players, but also with the challenge of where to focus their resources.  Each year brings questions of: which prospects to look at, which mediocre veterans can be lived with for another year, which struggling youngster should get more time, which long-term free agent fits best.  There are too many questions, and not enough innings or roster spots to find answers. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as

by | August 1, 2013 · 5:10 pm

He’s the Ji-Man!

As of late, many of the Mariners young exciting position prospects have graduated to the big league level.  For the first time in a while, the big league club is more exciting than daydreaming of the future while you look at minor league box scores.  But, the minor leagues are a constant beam of sunshine creeping up to the horizon.  More players will put up good results resulting in more hope.  So, if you’re suffering from withdrawals from not seeing Zunino and Miller in Tacoma, here’s a new guy to keep an eye on: Ji-Man Choi.

Choi’s story is an interesting one.  He is a native of South Korea and was signed by the Seattle Mariners on July 2nd of 2009 as a 17-year-old.  The hope was that Choi could keep playing catcher, as his bat was well ahead of his defense.  In 2010, Ji-Man reported to the rookie league in Arizona.  He started ten games at catcher and, while he didn’t excel there, the hope remained that he could be a catcher.  He certainly hit well, posting a .360/.440/.517 line between the rookie league and High Desert.  All of this as an 18 and 19-year-old.

2011 came and didn’t bring good news with it.  Choi lost the entire year to injury (mostly his back, but a few issues with his knees if I remember right).  These were the developmental years that were hard to get back.  Losing a year is what derails prospects.  Ask Carlos Triunfel.

As 2012 started Ji-Man was nowhere to be found in the system.  He was still rehabbing from his injury and finally showed up on the Clinton roster midway through June.  When he did show up, his career as a catcher appeared to be over.  Choi split his time between first and DH while putting up a .298/.420/.463.  They are respectable numbers but he was a 21-year-old playing a power position without much power.

When this year started, Choi was well down on the prospect lists.  He started off the year in High Desert and destroyed it.  For the Mavericks, Choi had 34 extra-base hits in 181 at-bats and an OBP of .427.  He also played a few games at third base and reviews on his defense were pretty high.

Around the first of June, Ji-Man was promoted to double-A Jackson.  At 22 years old (still fairly young for the league), he started off slowly.  After a couple of weeks he got back to himself and has raised his numbers at Jackson to .271/.373/.528.  It appears the Choi has developed more power (as young players are prone to do) and has 15 homers on the year between the two levels.  He shows good patience and has always hit doubles at every level.

About a year ago, Ji-Man Choi was an afterthought.  As a 21-year-old, Choi’s career was on the verge of being labeled a ‘disappointment’.  Now, a year later, he is one of the best hitters in the Mariners’ minor league system.

– Andrew

3 Comments

Filed under Mariners, Uncategorized, Working On the Farm

Tagged as