Category Archives: M's Game Recaps

by | May 22, 2010 · 10:44 am

Mariners Recap — 5/21/2010

Mmm, 15 runs, it always goes down smooth. Beating up on San Diego brings to mind many Anchor Man quotes, but I’ll try and resist. First off, Sween Dog and Bard were fun to watch and cheer for last night. That is a scientific fact! Ok, I’ll stop with the Anchor Man fun. But really, who could have ever guessed those 2 vets could rack up 6 hits, 16 total bases, 3 home runs, and 9 RBI, in one game! Get used to seeing Bard behind the plate, because he has surpassed Hips and Moore’s combined performances in about 5 games.

This game was littered with statistical oddities, which is typical for a game where the teams combine for 30 hits and 23 runs. Baseball is a funny sport. The M’s scored 12 runs in 8 games between April 30th, and May 8th, a 78 inning stretch. Last night they scored 13 runs in 4 innings. Of course, they weren’t facing Wade LeBlanc during any of those abysmal 78 innings. I don’t understand how LeBlanc is good but I guess it helps pitching in the NL. It is also fun to look at how batting averages can change from one game to the next, when 15 hits are collected. The first number is the player’s average prior to the game, the second number is the new current average-

Sweeney- .226, .276
Bradley- .221, .244
Bard- .333, .400
Wilson- .239, .255

Here are a few more notes and hero/goat-

  • Milton Bradley had a great game. He worked the count, and his 3 hits were all stung. I could see him having a great rest of the year.
  • 347 pitches were thrown between both teams. I think that’s a lot.
  • I doubt Cliff Lee ever gets another win in a Mariners uniform when giving up 7 earned runs. But that’s what happened last night. Cliff didn’t have his best stuff, but even still, he didn’t walk a guy. His control is ridiculous.
  • The Padres didn’t draw a walk, and the Mariners scored 15 runs, but it was San Diego that had 3 more at-bats. Is this weird? I don’t know. I’m not sure why I’m typing this.

    Hero: Mike Sweeney and Josh Bard. Gotta go with co-heroes in this one. Those two were monsters last night.
    Goat: Jose Lopez. Lost in the fun and hugs from last night is the 0-5 night Lopey had. His defense has been great and with so many others struggling at the plate, Jose has flown under the radar. It’s tough to imagine Lopez gets anywhere near his 25 HR, 96 RBI from last year.

    Finally, if you didn’t read the live blog that Jeff Sullivan was doing over at LL, it is worth a read. I have pasted a few of my favorite lines. That dude is funny, and between the humor he recaps the game nicely too. Check that out after the jump! Continue reading →

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    by | May 18, 2010 · 10:31 pm

    Game Recap – 5/18

    • Terrance Jones will sign a LOI tomorrow, hopefully with UW.
    • There may be some good Husky football recruiting news tomorrow.  It seemed like Sark was hinting at that on his twitter.
    • The Lost series finale is on Sunday.  This is good news if you like Lost because it will be awesome.  This is good news if you don’t like Lost because you won’t have to hear about it everytime you turn on the TV after Sunday.  It’s a win-win if you will.
    • Sasquatch! Music Festival is almost here!  That will be a good time for those involved.
    • The World Cup commercials are awesome.  Probably more awesome than the actual World Cup will be.  That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the World Cup.  I just really enjoy the commercials.

    So, now get off the ledge and hang in there.  At least get off the ledge until the Mariners lose another game like this…. That will probably be tomorrow.  

    Hero:  Casey Kotchman.  The lineup wasn’t too bad tonight.  There were lots to choose from and if Rob Johnson hadn’t had a dumb base-running mistake, learned how to move his feet and blocked a ball, and didn’t suck I might have choose him. 

    Goat:  Kanekoa Texeira.  I don’t know, this seems right.  He faced two guys and let them both on base before getting pulled.  None of the pitchers were very good tonight.

    Dear Football, please come fast.

    Andrew

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    by | May 17, 2010 · 10:46 pm

    Game Recap 5/15-5/17

    Well, this sucks.  There’s some reason for hope but this really sucks.  I don’t want to recap these because it sucks enough watching them.

    5/15

    Hero: Mike Sweeney

    Goat:  Jesus Colome

    5/16

    Hero:  Cliff Lee

    Goat:  Griffey

    5/17

    Hero: Jose Lopez

    Goat:  Ryan Rowland-Smith.  We might not see him in the rotation again.

    A better post tomorrow and maybe even a win!  Happy Felix day!

    Andrew

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    by | May 14, 2010 · 8:38 pm

    Game Recap – 5/14

    I didn’t see all of the game and have another post in the works so this recap will be fairly short. 

    By all accounts, this was a nice win for the Mariners.  There was solid pitching all the way around and the power surge continued with another 3 home runs tonight. 

    Cy Young, err, I mean Doug Fister started tonight and wasn’t as sharp as he’s been lately.  With that being said, Fister pitched 5 innings of 1-run ball and got the win.  The one run that did score, scored on a balk.  The Fistinator walked 3 guys which is way more than normal, but minimized the damage with quality pitches on the corner.  Fister has probably been my favorite part of this season which is really weird.

    The M’s scored in the first inning on a 2-run Guti bomb.  He crushed that ball.  They then would play add on with solo shots by Adam Moore and Mike Sweeney.  If you aren’t keeping track, that is Mike Sweeney’s second homer in as many days.  Yesterday before the game started, I laughed at my mom when she said that Sweeney might hit a home run.  Always listen to your mom I guess.

    The bullpen shut down the Rays for the most part.  K Tex came in and threw 2 shutout innings and made everyone think, “Maybe this guy should pitch a little more.”  Shawn Kelley gave up a 2-run homer to Longoria but it was a decent pitch and it was Longoria.  That guy is so good.  Aardsma pitched a perfect 9th for the save.

    Now for the hero and goat:

    Hero:  Mike Sweeney.  There were a lot of guys who could have been the hero tonight but I’m going with Mike.  I’m not picking Sween-dawg because he hit a home run but because he stole a base.  I couldn’t believe Sween-dawg stole a base.  That was his first stolen base in 4 years.  Oh yeah, he’s itting the ball pretty well too.

    Goat:  Casey Kotchman.  I didn’t watch all of the game and Kotchman was the “biggest suckfest” on Lookout Landing so I’ll give it to him.

    That was a fun game.  Hopefully the rest of this weekend brings a few more wins.  Go M’s!

    Andrew

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    by | May 14, 2010 · 10:14 am

    Mariners Game Recap – 5/13 – Worst loss so far?

    Well, well, well, how did I draw this game recap? I wanted it of course, Felix on the mound against the worst team in the league, this was an air-tight opportunity to see a great pitcher dominate and the Mariners win. Up until the bottom of the 8th, the M’s had it, and then it happened. League has been solid all year, but he blew up. Base hits, walks, home runs, it was a bloodbath. Then the M’s put two guys on in the 9th, Josh Wilson at 2nd base, Ichiro rips a base hit to left field, and Mike Brumley, as he is want to do, sends Wilson. Patterson makes a perfect throw, and Wilson is gunned down to end the game. I don’t blame Brumley for sending Wilson, do you really think Figgins is capable of getting a hit to drive him in? He looked terrible all day going 0-3 with 2 K’s. Here are some of observations:

    • Michael Saunders is coming into his own and establishing himself as a legit option in left field. Dan and I agree that Saunders should in left, Bradley at DH when he comes back. Saunders’ at bat in the 5th was a sight to behold fouling pitch after pitch off before hitting a single to right to score Ichiro.
    • Ichiro is “quietly” batting .348 with 10 stolen bases and a top 15 OBP. He is, yet again, having an all-star season. I wonder if people still want Figgins leading off?
    • Felix had a nice bounce back game dominating Baltimore. That was good to see. I feel Wak should have left him in there into the 8th, but hindsight is 20/20. This is Baltimore, you would expect our bullpen to shut down one of the worst teams in the league.

    Overall this game was a heart-breaker. For my money the worst loss of the year. It’s too bad, a lot of good happened. Let’s hope The Fist stops the bleeding and yet again gives the Mariners hitters a chance to win.

    -Joe

    (Forgot the hero and goat: Hero – Michael Saunders. Goat – Brandon League.)

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    by | May 12, 2010 · 10:54 pm

    Game Recap – 5/12

    Well, that was frustrating.  That game, and a sweep, would have been really nice to have but the crazy thing about baseball is that even the worst teams (and the Orioles are as bad it gets) still usually win about 60 games.  As much as sabermetrics do work for baseball, the favorable matchup doesn’t always win.  With that being said, I’m not sure the Mariners had the favorable match up today.  Lets looks at a few matchups in this game:

    • Ryan Rowland-Smith vs. Brad Bergesen.  Let me start off by saying that Hyphen is a good guy.  I like him and have yet to hear anyone write/say that they really disliked him.  But, he just isn’t very good right now.  I want him to succeed as much as anyone but he doesn’t look like a quality starter right now.  Brad Bergesen on the other hand has turned his season around a little bit.  He’s no Cliff or Felix, heck, he’s not even Doug or Vargas, but if given a choice between Hyphen and Bergesen I would chose Bergesen.  This may not be the case in a couple months or years but it is right now. 

    The Mariners obviously rolled out a better defensive unit than the Orioles but lets look at thelineups hitting wise tonight.  We’ll play our series preview game with tonights lineup (winners in bold):

    • Catcher:  O’s-Wieters.  M’s- Moore. This really is a no contest.  Moore looks awful right now, he might need to go back to Tacoma.
    • 1st base:  O’s- Atkins.  M’s- Kotchman.  Yes Kotchman is a better player but looking at this hitting wise, Atkins is a little better in my opinion.  It’s close, but neither guy is really hitting right now.
    • 2nd base:  O’s- Wiggington.  M’s- Figgins.  Yes, I’d rather have Figgy on my team than Wiggington but Ty is hitting the ball.  Chone really isn’t hitting the ball at all.
    • SS:  O’s- Izturis. M’s- Jo. Wilson.  This is a sad contest but Wilson wins.
    • 3rd base: O’s- Tejada.  M’s- Tui.  Tui is another guy who looks lost, right along with Adam Moore.
    • LF:  O’s- Patterson. M’s- Saunders.  I don’t need to explain.
    • CF:  O’s- Jones.  M’s- Langerhans.  This one is closer than it should be.  Langerhans is one of them most productive hitters on the team right now, which is sad, but I still think Jones strikes more fear in pitchers hearts.
    • RF:  O’s- Markakis.  M’s- Ichiro.  Ichiro seems to be on his usual May hot-streak.  This is good.
    • DH: O’s- Luke Scott.  M’s- Lopez.  Jose can’t hit right now.  Scott’s average is lower but he’s shown a lot more power than Jose.  Lopey was so close to a home run tonight but more on that later.

    So, looking at the matchups hitting wise the O’s held a 6-3 advantage tonight.  I know defense is an important part of the game and the Mariners run out a good defense usually but this just shows how inept this offense can be.  The Mariners are better than the Orioles but tonight the matchup never really seemed to be in our favor.  4/9 of our starters were in Tacoma last week.  Four of the other starters are hitting .214 or below.  That leaves Ichiro and he can’t do everything himself.  The lineup should be back to normal tomorrow, which still isn’t anything to be excited about but at least we’ll have a better matchup.

    Goat/Hero and a few notes after the jump.  Continue reading →

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    by | May 12, 2010 · 1:30 pm

    Game Recap — 5/11/2010

    Nothing like seeing Baltimore on the schedule to cheer up a blue Mariners fan. They are really bad. And yesterday, we looked really good. It appears the team is rallying around the Griffey story and if that’s what it takes to come together, then I’m all for it.

    The quick analysis is Cliff did his thing, the Tacoma bats continued their hot hitting, and the M’s took care of business in efficient fashion. Speaking of those Tacoma bats, Langerhans, Wilson, and Saunders combined to go 5-11 with a homer, 2 RBI, and 9 total bases. I especially love seeing Michael Saunders play well, because left field is a position of need for the M’s. If his early success continues, we may look back and point to his call up from Tacoma as the turning point in this season.

    Cliff Lee is fun to watch. I love his first pitch strikes. I love how fast he works. I love that he doesn’t walk batters. I love his cool demeanor. I love you Cliff. Now, please engage in the following conversation, because I’ve had this dream a couple times already.

    Jack Z: Hey Cliff, thanks for coming in, take a seat.
    Cliff: Whats up?
    Jack Z: Well, I noticed your contract is up at year’s end and, well, let’s see if we can’t figure something out to keep you a Mariner a little while longer.
    Cliff: Hmm, I usually don’t do this type of thing mid-season, but I sure love being part of baseball’s best 1-2 punch. Awe heck, let’s bang something out.
    Jack Z: Perfect. How about 3 years, 52 million.
    Cliff: That is generous, but 55 million has a better ring to it. Deal?
    Jack Z: Deal! Now, excuse me while I go get you some bats. I hear Mauer is available, let’s see what Minnesota thinks of Rob Johnson.

    Then I wake up from my dream.

    Some more quick notes and hero/goat after the jump! Continue reading →

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    by | May 9, 2010 · 7:04 pm

    Game Recap – 5/9 (Mariners Win!)

    We may have been slacking on recaps lately but can you really blame us?  This week has been terrible and extremely frustrating.  Today was fun though!

    Jason Vargas pitched a really solid game and the offense finally came alive to score 8 runs.  I know that it was just one game but maybe this will jumpstart our team a little bit.  While this losing streak has been extremely annoying this team, with the rotation it has, could start a winning streak with any offensive consistency.  A post on whether we can expect any offensive consistency will come sooner or later.  

     Through 4 innings it looked as if it would be another close, frustrating loss.  Vargas was on top of his game and the Mariners would come extremely close to scoring but then wouldn’t.  Then Josh Wilson hit a home run.  Josh Wilson!  Josh Wilson has more home runs this year than our DH duo.  That shows how awful our DH’s have been.  Wilson went on to have a great day; he would have had another RBI if Jose Lopez knew how to run.  That Wilson home run was followed by a Saunders home run.  What are the chances?  Before this game the Mariners had 10 home runs in 988 at-bats.  That’s almost 1 home run per 100 at bats.  But baseball is a game where the unexpected happens and that was the case with these back-to-back home runs.  Saunders also went on to have a nice day.  He looks like a different player than he did last year.  He already has 2 extra base hits which is the same number of Griffey.  Wow. 

    After that 4 run inning the Mariners kept adding on.  This is something they haven’t done all season.  Even when they’ve blown teams out it was because of one big inning.  The offense added 1 run in the 5th and then 3 in the 8th.  It was great.

    The pitching was solid too.  I really think that Vargas and Fister will be the ones in the rotation once Bedard comes back.  I know Hyphen eats innings and has a better history than the other guys but Vargas and Fister look good.  Really good.  Fister has been nothing short of amazing and Vargas has that plus-plus changeup to carry him through.  The number of swinging strikes Vargas is getting is really impressive and his control has been much better this season. 

    As Lookout Landing pointed out, if we were going to go 1-8 on this homestand the last game would be the one to win.  Yeah, this sucked but at least we won the last game and Cliff Lee is pitching on Tuesday.  Hopefully, things will carry over.  Just in case they don’t, remember this day because it felt so good to win.

    Hero/goat and a few more notes after the jump.    Continue reading →

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