Category Archives: Mariners

Posts dealing with the Mariners

by | April 19, 2010 · 3:57 pm

Series Preview- M’s vs. Baltimore Orioles 4/19-4/21

I said in my preview of the Tigers series that if the Mariners could win the next two series, they’d find themselves with a .500 record or better.  They overcame Miguel Cabrera and some tough pitching matchups to win that series, 2-1, and now will try to do the same against the 2-11 Orioles.  They’d love a sweep here, and that seems a good possibility, but things don’t always work out that way.

Who Would You Rather Have

Player pick in BOLD.  (This is another one where  I don’t know the team incredibly well, especially the pitchers.  And Felix is facing the one guy I know about, so that takes away the one easy choice.  Disagreements and discussion welcome.)

C:  M’s Rob Johnson    O’s Matt Wieters

1B:  M’s Casey Kotchman    O’s Luke Scott.  Could go either way here.  Scott’s a more proven but not exceptional power guy, Kotchman seems to be coming around and has the defense.  Also Garrett Atkins here and elsewhere, who’s a decent bat.

2B:  M’s Chone Figgins    O’s Julio Lugo.  I’d probably take Brian Roberts if he were healthy though.  Nice to not have to face him.

3B:  M’s Jose Lopez    O’s Ty Wiggington.  Wiggington’s playing alright this year, but he’s really more of a very good bench guy.  Tejada’s there too.  Not sure if he helps.

SS:  M’s Jack Wilson   O’s Cesar Izturis.  Wow, again.  Lots of good field, no hit shortstops in the AL this year.  There’s really no good option here, unless you’re turning a double-play, in which case they’re both decent choices.

LF:  M’s Milton Bradley    O’s Lou Montanez.  They also have Scott, Reimold and Pie who could conceivably be in the outfield for this series from what I can tell.  Pie sounds nice.

CF:  M’s Franklin   O’s Adam Jones.  Orioles fans would probably disagree, but I’m not an Oriole fan, and they don’t know how amazing Franklin is, especially right now.

RF:  M’s Ichiro   O’s Nick Markakis.  I’d love to have Markakis in our outfield.  He’d be a great fit, and I’d take him over Bradley.  Not over Ichiro though, since we’re going by position.

DH:  M’s Griffey    O’s Nolan Reimold.  These are becoming kind of predictable.

Poor Orioles.  They have some potentially great young players, and some who are pretty great already.  It just so happens that at most of those spots, the Mariners have a player who’s as good or better.  Mariners 7-2, although at least two spots are pretty much pick ’ems.

Pitching Match-ups

Monday:  M’s Doug Fister    O’s Brad Bergesen.  Neither of these guys are too special, but at least Fister is coming off a good start.  Bergesen has given up 15 hits and 10 ER in a little over 7 innings so far.

Tuesday:  M’s Jason Vargas    O’s David Fernandez.  Take Bergesen’s season line and either cut it in half or double it to make it better, and that’s about what Fernandez has.  Matthew at LL compares him to Aardsma, in that he mostly has a decent high fastball and little else.  I know nothing more than what I’ve written here.

Wednesday:  M’s Felix    O’s Kevin Millwood

Closer:  M’s David Aardsma    O’s Jim Johnson? Mike Gonzalez?  Each has a save, the only two for the whole team.  Johnson also has blown two.

That’s 4-0 Mariners on the pitching, although the first few starting match-ups are pretty much toss ups.  I feel better about Fister and Vargas pitching well right now than I would about Bergesen and Fernandez as an Oriole fan.  This series is extremely sweepable.

-Matthew

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by | April 18, 2010 · 6:22 pm

Game Recap – 4/18/2010

The thing about a 162 game season is that you can’t get too high or too low.  Things started out bleak at 2-6 and everyone was freaking out.  Then, the 4 game winning streak occurred and everyone was getting excited.  Both of these reactions were justifiable and somewhat expected but maybe a little bit over done.  The Mariners were not going to win the rest of their games and, while a sweep of the Tigers would have been nice, series wins are what this team needs to shoot for.  They have achieved that the last two series and things look promising since we’re playing Baltimore next.  All of that to say that today’s loss is not a big deal.  It’s pretty close to what we should have expected really.

Ian Snell was decent today.  Not bad, not good, but decent.  He allowed quite a few hitters to reach base but escaped trouble most of the time.  He made some really good pitches and showed the upside that people rave about.  Unfortunately, he showed his downside to: too many walks, too many hard hit balls, and an inability to get lefties out.  We can’t really make any conclusions on Snell because he was sick today and just returned from a death in the family.  Although he struggled at times, Snell was one batter away from not giving up any runs today.  That batter was Miguel Cabrera and there’s no shame in giving up a home run to him, he can really hit and proved it on that ball he launched into the upper deck.  The next two weeks are big for Snell if he wants to stay in the rotation but today gave us both sides of Snell and that means we can’t decide anything today.

As for the hitting…. Well, the Mariners proved that they still have trouble with young right-handers that are talented.  They hit some balls hard but couldn’t get anyone in.  Casey Kotchman hits righties pretty hard and definitely did that today.  There were some opportunities to score, the 8th inning was somewhat painful, but the same can be said for the Tigers offense.  In truth, the Mariners probably should have lost by more today. 

Our infield is really coming together.  Jose Lopez looks better and better at third.  He’s not Adrian Beltre but I think that he will have an above average UZR once the years done.  Chone Figgins is really quick at second.  The two double plays he turned on short hops today were very impressive.  Kotchman had another diving play today and is showing why a defensive first baseman is a good thing to have.

The best part about this loss is that we didn’t lose any ground in the AL West.  The schedule becomes pretty easy over the next few weeks while our rivals go up against some of the best teams in baseball.  This was a good series win against a fairly good team.

A few more thoughts after the jump.  Continue reading →

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by | April 18, 2010 · 12:33 pm

Game Recap — 4/17/2010

It wasn’t as glamorous as Friday’s 11-3 win, but in many ways last night’s 4-2 win was equally impressive. After all, the M’s were facing Verlander, and our starter, RRS, was facing a tough task against an all right-handed hitting Tigers line-up. Seemed like a recipe for a loss. But Hyphen was up to the task, and except for a hanging curveball to Ordonez and a double to Rayburn in the 7th, that was all the damage.

As for the offense, well they banged 7 hits off Verlander. Seattle made him work especially hard in the 1st and I thought we might work him out of the game early, but Verlander hit his stride and got throught 7 strong innings. Guti went 2-4 again, with 2 RBI. Ichiro came up a homer away from the cycle, and if he was given a decent pitch to hit in his last AB, we might be celebrating his cycle today. We’ll settle for 3-3 and a walk I suppose.

Onto some notes and our hero/goat…

  • Bad call made by the 3rd base umpire in the 1st inning. It appeared Figgins had flyed out in foul territory to Carlos Guillen, which would have been enough to sacrifice Ichiro in, but instead, the ump said Guillen dropped it. On second glance, it was clear that Carlos made the catch, then dropped it on the transfer. Figgins struck out and that play would have been magnified if not for Guti coming up with an RBI base hit the next at bat.
  • Andrew pointed this out, and it is very true. The Tigers left field platoon of Johnny Damon and Carlos Guillen might be the worst defensive platoon ever.
  • The play of the game was the double play that ended the top of the 8th. After walking Inge on a full count slider, (which should have been called strike 3 I might add) runners were on 1st and 2nd, with 1 out. The next batter hit a slow chopper to Lopez who charged, made a nice play to relay to 2nd, and Figgins made the throw falling down to 1st. Kotchman scooped it for the second out, and the threat was over. It was a terrific play and probably the turning point in the game.
  • Hypen was sporting a new 2 seam change-up, which cuts at the end rather than drop like his typical 4 seam change-up. Keep an eye on this going forward, because it could be a nice addition to RRS’ arsenal.
  • Lee Tinsley positioned Bradley very close to foul territory in the 9th inning, when Ramon Santiago was up. Tinsley must have known what he was doing, because Santiago ripped a line drive down the left field line, and 99% of the time that ball is a double. But Bradley caught it with ease thanks to Tinsley’s positioning and advanced scouting.
  • Aardsma looked great tonight. I don’t understand why his fastball, which tops out at 95, is so tough to hit, especially when the batter knows it’s coming. But he places it very well, and it must have some movement that makes it difficult. Still, he worries me, though by now I should probably have more faith in him.
      Hero: Ichiro. It would be easy to give it to Guti for another solid night, but Ichiro flirted with the cycle and that is pretty special. RRS had a good outing as well, despite the no decision.

      Goat: Ken Griffey Jr. I love you Jr, but 0-4 with 2 K’s won’t cut it. Griffey only saw 14 pitches in those AB’s also.

    Today we go for the sweep! Snell is on the mound and if he wants to stay in this rotation, he had better pitch well, unlike his last start.

    -Dan

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    by | April 17, 2010 · 12:13 pm

    The Secret to Rob Johnson’s Success

    Courtesy of Jeff Sullivan’s brilliant mind:

    Rob Johnson continues to demonstrate a stunning inability to catch a baseball. Tonight he let a fastball hit him in the foot. Straight-up hit him in the foot. Didn’t touch glove or anything. Just foot. Everybody has to realize how often this happens, but I wonder if Mariner pitchers might not see it from the opposite viewpoint as us. Our understanding is that Johnson can’t catch. The pitchers’ understanding, however, may be that their pitches are moving so much that even a Major League backstop struggles to catch them. In that way, Johnson is less bastion of incompetence and more flattering mirror. It all depends on your perspective.

    I never thought of it this way.  It all makes sense now.

    -Matthew

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    by | April 17, 2010 · 12:40 am

    Game Recap – 4/16/2010

    This afternoon I was all set to write a post about hitting with runners in scoring position.  I was going to say that, while hitting with runners in scoring position does take some skill, it’s mostly luck.  A good hitter will hit no matter if there are runners on or not.  I was going to break it down scientifically and with stats.  All this to prove that the Mariners were going to break out at some point with a barrage of runs.  I would have looked like a genius.  Instead, I decided to play Mario Kart…Oh well.

    So, in case you missed it the Mariners dominated tonight, winning 11-3.  The bats came alive and the hits came in bunches.  There was the 3 run 4th, the 2 run 5th, and the 6 run 6th and all of a sudden the Mariners had 11 runs.  Think back a few days to the dismal home opener and 11 runs counts as a minor miracle.  What’s more impressive is the Mariners did it without home runs; they had 11 singles, one triple, and took advantage of a terrible Detroit defense.  (Seriously, if you don’t appreciate the Mariners defense watch the Tigers corner outfielders.  Ordonez takes the worst routes to fly balls possible and Johnny Damon’s arm is worse than mine.  One time tonight he tried to throw a foul ball into the stands except he didn’t make it there.  It was hilarious.)  Jeremy Bonderman, Detroit’s starter, wasn’t very good and gave up line drive after line drive.  His defense threw in three errors that all led to unearned runs. 

    Felix was good as usual tonight.  He had a little trouble spotting his secondary pitches but his fastball was more than enough to get by tonight.  I couldn’t tell from my seat high up on the third baseline if he was getting squeezed by the umpire but it sure seemed like it.   He had one bad inning in which he gave up his two earned runs.  If it weren’t for that inning he would have had a shut out easy because the Tigers didn’t touch him after that. 

    The atmosphere tonight was great.  It was close to a sell out and the crowd made a good deal of noise.  Johnny Damon was heckled to no end, which is just fine by me.  People are catching on to how great Felix is.  He got the loudest cheer during introductions and then was given a loud standing ovation after leaving the game.  The one bad thing about the Mariners blowing Detroit out was that the crowd lost a little bit of interest after the 9 run lead came.  But that’s just fine.  This city is ready to erupt with Mariner fever, the team just has to be in the pennant race for that to happen.  I might add that I don’t usually like the wave but I saw the most successful Mariner game wave tonight.  I was really impressed.  There was a ton of energy in the stadium. 

    So for now, enjoy this victory.  Enjoy this 3 game winning streak.  Unfortunately, Justin Verlander pitches for the Tigers tomorrow but who knows, we could make it 4 in a row.  Baseball is a funny sport and it’s been a funny start to this season but it seems like things are getting on the right track.  So, maybe someday I’ll get to that post about hitting with runners in scoring position but as for now I’m just going to enjoy what the Mariners did tonight.

    My goat/hero and a few other notes after the jump.  Continue reading →

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    by | April 16, 2010 · 4:42 pm

    Series Preview- M’s vs. Detriot Tigers 4/16-4/18

    Detroit is 6-3 on the year, while the Mariners are 4-6 and on a two game winning streak.  It’d be great to win these next two series at home and be back to at least .500.  I don’t know much about the Tigers, so let’s learn together!

    Who’d You Rather Have (tonight’s line-ups from seattlemariners.com):

    C: M’s Rob Johnson    Tigers Gerald Laird  Pick: Laird  It’s going to take someone pretty bad for me to pick Johnson, although I’m beginning to be hopeful that he could conceivably improve someday.

    1B: M’s Casey Kotchman    Tigers Miguel Cabrera  Pick: Cabrera

    2B: M’s Figgins    Tigers Scott Sizemore  Pick: Figgins

    3B: M’s Lopez    Tigers Brandon Inge  Pick: Lopez, I guess.

    SS: M’s Wilson    Tigers Adam Everett  Pick: Wow, rough time for shortstops.  I guess Everett. He’s hitting better right now, I guess, and they’re pretty even in glove reputation.

    LF: M’s Bradley    Tigers Johnny Damon  Pick: Bradley

    CF: M’s Guti    Tigers Austin Jackson  Pick: Guti

    RF: M’s Ichiro    Tigers Magglio Ordonez  Pick: Ichiro

    DH: M’s Griffey    Tigers Carlos Guillen  Pick: Guillen

    That’s Mariners 5, Tigers 4, and they look that even too.  Tigers have a few more big boppers.  Well, they have Miguel Cabrera.  On to pitching!

    Starters:

    Friday: M’s Felix    Tigers Bonderman  Pick: Felix

    Saturday: M’s Ryan Rowland-Smith    Tigers Justin Verlander  Pick: Verlander That’s two of the very best starters in the league back to back, if you didn’t notice. 

    Sunday: M’s Ian Snell    Tigers Max Scherzer  Pick: Scherzer, but that’s mostly for the future.  I have no idea how either of these guys will throw on Sunday.

    Closer: M’s Aardsma    Tigers Jose Valverde  Pick: Aardsma

    That’s two and two on the pitching, and I’d say it’s a wash for this series.  Felix and Verlander will have to be really off to get beat, and anything could happen on Sunday.  I like the way the bullpen’s throwing for the M’s right now.  Andrew will be at tonight’s game and then have the recap afterward.  Have a great weekend everyone!

    -Matthew

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    by | April 15, 2010 · 12:39 pm

    Game Recap — 4/14/2010

    Winner winner chicken dinner! No but really, I just had chicken for dinner…

    That was a fun game, especially from the 5th inning on. Stellar pitching met timely hitting again, and the result was a much needed W, a series win, and renewed excitement heading into Felix night on Friday. It would have been rough to be 2-8 or 3-7 today, and after Monday’s let down, I fully expected to be in one of those scenarios. Especially considering our 4 and 5 starters would be taking the mound Tuesday and Wednesday. But one thing I love about baseball is how quickly things can turn around with games almost every day, and the M’s certainly pulled a 180 the last couple nights. Fister and Vargas put great starts together, and the offense finally showed up, albeit in short bursts, to avoid losing this series. Heading into the weekend, you get the feeling the early hole this team dug could very well be history come next week.

    The story of the game was probably Vargas’ outing. People in the blogosphere are starting to talk about this guy possibly having a breakout year. If his new cutter is as good as it was last night, this may be true. It can be the perfect pitch to run in on righties. Vargas went 6 innings, gave up 5 hits, 2 runs, and didn’t walk a batter. That’s consecutive nights where our 4 and 5 starters didn’t walk a batter, in a combined 14 innings. You can argue the hits and runs given up ought to be taken with a grain of salt against a poor hitting team like Oakland, but you can’t refute the 0 walks. I especially liked Wak pulling Vargas after 6 innings, even though he had only thrown 89 pitches. The reason I say this is because we have seen Vargas in cruise control for 4, 5, or 6 innings, only to blow up as he begins to tire. By not sending him out for the 7th, Wak ensured his confidence will remain high, and the blow up inning was avoided.

    Hero: Jose Lopez. I thought awhile about this but ultimately I’m going with Lopey. Lopez was 2-4 last night with a double, a walk, and the go ahead RBI single. He looked the part of a clean-up hitter, though I’m not sure he is the long term solution in that role. Lopez also made 2 nice plays in the field.
    Honorable mention: Adam Moore and Jason Vargas. Moore was 2-4, he had a great throw out on a steal attempt, and he called a great game for Vargas. Some would argue Vargas was the hero, and 6 innings of 2 run ball is good, but not heroic.

    Goat: Jack Wilson. Jack was the only starter to not reach base last night. It may just be a slow start, but it’s looking more like Jack won’t have much to offer at the plate this year. Gotta love his glove though.

    Onto the quick notes after the jump, which I was jotting down throughout the game.
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    by | April 14, 2010 · 10:22 am

    Game Recap – 4/13/2010

    Doug Fister: Hero

    A night after a brutal home opener loss to Oakland, the Mariners sent Doug Fister to the mound in desperate need of a good outing, not only for the team, but for himself. His last outing at Oakland was not good. (4 innings, 6 hits, 3 walks…). This night though, Fister delivered, and delivered bigtime. 8 strong innings. 4 K’s, no walks. He had pinpoint control, working the counts in his favor, throwing strikes. 100 pitches, 71 strikes. Awesome efficiency. I felt he kept the A’s on their heels all night, not being predictable. This is the type of outing we all hoped for! Ah, but as we know with this version of the Mariners, great pitching is only half the battle. Gotta score runs!

    As the game wore on, I grew increasingly frustrated with our hitters, especially with RISP. Rob Johnson looked lost multiple times at the plate, as did Lopez with two men on in the 5th. I think it was the most uninspired at bat of Lopez’s career (ok, total overstatement, but that is how I felt at the time watching it live…). Now, I will say Brett Anderson is a flat out stud. He has wicked good stuff, so chopped liver like Johnson and Wilson will naturally look bad, but Lopez is a decent hitter, and Anderson made him look silly. The thing that really made me mad was just the lack of aggression in Lopez’s at bat. It was infuriating to witness.

    The next two innings the Mariners proceed to put men on base. The A’s pitchers repeatedly made mistakes with walks and hit batsmen. But the Mariners could not deliver, no clutch hitting at all. It was a foregone conclusion as I watched this game, I kept telling myself there is no way Jack Wilson can get the ball out of the infield, or Figgins getting caught stealing, it was a trainwreck. Ahh, until the 8th inning…

    Milton Bradley: Hero

    Lopez got his third hit of the night to lead off (ironic that he looked great three of four at bats, but the one in the 5th was just terrible, odd stuff…), then Sweeney worked the count and drew a walk. Up comes Milton Bradley. (I want Milton to succeed. For him, but mostly for the Mariners sake!). Batting left handed, Milton just looks more comfortable at the plate. Boom. 3 run blast to deep right. I went nuts, like we just won the division or something. I guess when run scoring has become such a laborious task for Seattle, seeing a massively clutch home run late in the game made me giddy with excitement. Welcome to Seattle Milton. You start doing things like you did last night and you’ll be loved here. We are simple folk, really.

    Ok, on to the Heroes and Goats!!!! YEAH!!!

    Hero(s): Doug Fister & Milton Bradley. Not sure if I can pick two, but these guys are the clear cut heroes of the night. The M’s needed Fister to step up, and he did, as well as Bradley. Well done fellas.

    Goat: Rob Johnson. 4 LOB, 3 K’s. What else is there to say. He did call a nice game with Fister, but at some point that excuse wears terribly thin, we need hitting from the catcher spot, and Johnson was a complete bust at the plate last night.

    –Joe

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