Tag Archives: Jose Lopez

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 1, 2010 · 12:26 pm

I Need to Vent

Last night had set up so well. I was going to the Husky Spring Game, which we will write about later, then, I was excited to come home and watch Cliff Lee dazzle the Rangers in his Mariners debut. Needless to say, my expectations were high for the evening. The Husky game did not disappoint, though it took 2 hours to drive from Maple Valley to Montlake even with the 520 carpool lane! And Cliff Lee didn’t disappoint either. But the Mariners offense did. Don Wakamatsu did. Eric Byrnes and Mike Sweeney did as well. And now for the venting…

This offense ticks me off. Not scoring runs ticks me off. 9 home runs in 23 games ticks me off. Our lineup, bench, and designated hitters really tick me off. Having an 0-5 record when the game is tied in the 9th inning really, really, grinds my gears. Call it bad luck, but that does nothing to help my frustration. Apparently this stuff balances out over a 162 game season, but in a division of 4 teams, where the separation from first to last is a half game, garbage like last night can’t happen.

Having back to back innings where the bases are loaded with 1 out, then coming away with no runs both times is absurd. Pinch hitting double play machine Mike Sweeney was painful to watch. Also painful was seeing Eric Byrnes whiff on a bunt attempt. But that’s okay because Wakamatsu says Byrnes is “the ultimate competitor.” Maybe he is, but he’s also the ultimate spaz, the ultimate infield pop up artist, and the ultimate swinging strike king. He and Sweeney should not be on this team. And back to Wakamatsu, who normally is a pretty likable manager. I’m not that dumb fan who wishes their manager would be fired after a couple questionable moves, but his lineup selection is horrible. How can you possibly justify having Lopez as the clean up hitter?!

I’m not irrational and I realize there is plenty of time, no one is running away with the division, and the bats are bound to heat up. But there is something about the nature of our losses…walk-off hits, pitching gems wasted, and of course last night where any ball past the infield would have won the game twice, that just makes my head want to explode. I’m sure the plan is to stay within a couple games of the division leader in July, make a move for a bat, get Bedard back, and start the playoff run. But until then, I will expect games like last night to be commonplace, especially as long as Sweeney and Byrnes are on this team, and Wakamatsu’s infatuation with Lopez in the 4 hole continues.

And what the heck is with sending Kelley down to Tacoma? He is one of our best relievers. Weird.

I am about one more painful loss away from taking a week off from this team. That loss may very well come today, because it looks like Texas just scored 3 in the second. 2 of those runs came off a bloop pop fly that Bradley just gave up on. As Ryan Divish says, “Milton Bradley does things in a way where people can’t help but dislike him.” Those 3 runs should be plenty enough for the win against our offense, which again just hit into a double play with bases loaded and 1 out. Thanks to Rob for that one. That would be 2 losses in 17 hours, coming against Lee and Felix.

(This is just one Good Guy’s opinion. I’m sure the others disagree on parts of this)

-Dan

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by | April 24, 2010 · 11:03 am

Game Recap — 4/23/2010

When the Mariners score 6 runs, they are usually going to win. Maybe that’s what made last night’s loss so hard to swallow. Or maybe it was the the fashion in which they lost, giving up a walk-off homer to Andruw Jones. Or maybe it was especially difficult given how the A’s, Rangers, and Angels all won their games. Either way, that game really put me in a bad mood. Just ask my wife…So on that note, let’s review some quick points and move on!

  • Jose Lopez didn’t just hit his first HR of the year, he hit his first career grand slam. Congrats Jose.
  • Milton Bradley is missed. It doesn’t take long to get tired of seeing Eric Byrnes in his spot.
  • That last pitch by Mark Lowe was an absolute meat ball. I would have kept challenging Jones with 98 mph heat, but it’s all hindsight. I thought Lowe had him struck out on the 2-2 slider he threw. Oh well.
  • Jack Wilson is one injury prone dude. I mean really, he nearly breaks his finger on a ground ball. Thankfully x-rays were negative.
  • Hey Sean White, you suck. Hey Wak, why do you have a crush on him? I understand White had not technically given up a run all year, but he is shaky every time, and really shouldn’t ever pitch in a game we are leading. That needs to be Brandon League’s spot. That’s my opinion anyway.
  • Tui can’t field and strikes out a lot. I guess that’s to be expected for a young guy, but you have to wonder if he is cut out to be the utility guy on this team. I like him on the team, but he can’t play any position well, other than maybe first base, let alone fill in at multiple spots. Of course I’m a little biased because I have flashbacks of yelling “Tui sucks” throughout my high school career when Bothell was busy bruising Woodinville. (Quick shout out to Rocky Jorgensen and his 80 yard TD return in 2002. He stiff armed Tui running down the sideline to end the first half. It was like James Harrison in the Super Bowl.)

    Hero: Jose Lopez. His first career grand slam got Seattle back in the game, and it was nice seeing him pumped up in the dugout. I especially liked that he hit it off Putz, because it reminded me that we traded him for Guti. That always puts a smile on my face. I also really like how Jose has played this year. I figured getting rid of Yuni would be a positive thing for Lopey and his so-so work ethic, and it looks like it has been.

    Goat: Mark Lowe. It’s tough to single out Lowe as the reason we lost, and I could give it to Kotchman for his 0-4 performance, but Lowe did give up the walk-off to Jones, and that usually makes you the goat, at least for a day.

    I like our chances today with Fister on the mound against Freddie Garcia. Hard to believe he is still pitching! The M’s need to start winning some road games, and let’s hope it starts today.

    -Dan

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    by | April 21, 2010 · 9:46 pm

    Game Recap – 4/21/2010

    That went as expected.  I feel a little bit bad for Baltimore.  They really suck and probably won’t reach 10 wins for another month.  Seriously.  Thankfully, I’m a Mariners fan and it appears that the dark days like those are past us.  After starting the season with a 2-6 mark and causing concern throughout Mariner nation, the M’s have rattled off wins in 7 of their last 8 games and are only a 1/2 game out of first place. 

    This game had two key parts that determined the outcome:  Felix Hernandez and the bottom of the 4th inning.  We’ll start with the latter.

    Guti started the inning with an out but then the miraculous happened, Jose Lopez drew a walk!  When that happens I feel like something special is about to happen.  After Loafie walked, Kotchman singled and Sweeney popped out (more on Sweeney later).  Tui then hit a sharp single and Lopez stopped at third.  Rob Johnson hit a slow roller up the middle and somehow Tui beat the throw to second.  Then Jack Wilson cleared the bases with a double.  Bingo!  That’s all the runs the Mariners needed.  What’s even more weird is that all those RBI’s came from Hips and Hot-Hands Wilson.  I was beginning to believe that Jack Wilson was going to hit about .230 all year and I was okay with that because of his amazing defense.  All of a sudden, he has 4 doubles in 3 games.  I hope he can continue to hit at least somewhat. 

    Once that bottom of the 4th happened the game was over.  Most 3 run games can be a little bit tense but not this one, I had no fear that the Mariners would lose this game and that is because of Felix Hernandez.  Felix didn’t appear to be very sharp early; leaving fastballs over the middle of the plate and not mixing in other pitches.  He gave up four hits in the first two innings and one unearned run.  But then, he got in one of those moods.  You know, the “Hey, I’m Felix and I’m better than you” mood.  His control got better and his other pitches became a part of the game plan.  He faced Adam Jones in the 6th and snapped off a 90 mph slider to strike him out.  In the 9th, he ended the game with nasty curveball that Reimold chased as it dove to the dirt.  After a few games in which Felix didn’t quite look like the king we saw last summer, he found his crown tonight and showed why he’s one of the best pitchers in the AL. 

    Kevin Millwood was weird.  I’ve watched Millwood pitch quite a bit and he’s never looked like that.  I’d have to do some research to be sure but his fastball used to have a little more velocity and didn’t run so much.  It seems as if he switched from a 4-seam fastball to a 2-seamer that had a little more run on it.  It ranged anywhere from 86-91 mph and came in on righties.  He threw his normal slider that was around 82 mph.  That’s a normal Millwood pitch and was pretty effective.  Then, he threw in this loopy breaking ball.  It was SLOW!  It came in at about 70 mph and had some major break to it.  You know what that repertoire looks a lot like?  Doug Fister.  No, seriously.  Matthew made this observation about halfway through the game and then I started to pay closer attention.  Fister threw in that loopy breaking ball on Monday and had some very good success with it.  So, in a week where Fister has been compared to everyone from Brad Radke to Carlos Silva, it seems like Millwood may have been trying to imitate Fister.

    Hero/goat after the jump along with a few notes.  Continue reading →

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    by | April 20, 2010 · 10:25 pm

    Game Recap 4/20 – M’s 3, Orioles 1

    I said I’d take the recap on this one, and then ended up not being able to watch most of it, so this recap will be short.  As much as any game is in a 162 game season, this is the type of game that the Mariners need to win if they want to challenge for the playoffs.  Facing an incredibly struggling team with an inexperienced and mediocre pitcher, a good team has to take advantage.  Will they always?  No, and if they hadn’t it wouldn’t have been the end of the season or anything.  But with the chance to go above .500, a loss would have been more frustrating than a win is satisfying.

    Not to say that this win isn’t satisfying.  The offense, while not scoring a lot tonight, did enough and has a lot of guys locked in pretty well.  I remember being told by a coach when I pitched that the most important inning you’ll throw is right after your offense has scored some runs.  It’s the pitcher’s job to maintain the momentum to some degree.  Tonight in the first, the Orioles couldn’t hold a one run lead, and the Mariners could.  Vargas, from what I could tell, did everything you could want from him.  The Orioles are a terrible team right now, but they have enough guys who could hurt you if you don’t execute your pitches.  I’m anxious to see what Snell will do in his next start.  He’s not showing more than Fister or Vargas right now, better stuff or not.  Fister and Vargas will get hit more than they have when they face better teams, but they’ll minimize some damage through lack of walks.  Right now, I’m not confident Snell can limit walks or hits.  I’d love for him more than anyone to prove me wrong, though.

    The offense is doing about what we hoped it would, with Ichiro and Figgins on base and a few guys hot behind them.  I’m still not convinced that Kotchman will keep this up or ever hit lefties, but he looks excellent right now.  Bradley swings harder than anyone I’ve ever seen.  He’s a little more contact away from a monster year.  Hopefully he’s alright after leaving the game tonight.  I haven’t heard yet what the injury was.  Franklin is looking like a legitimate MVP candidate.  Once Figgy starts getting a few more hits to go with his walks, they could really have something.  The little hot streak from Wilson is nice too.

    Hero, goat, and a few quick notes (after the jump): Continue reading →

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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 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.
    Continue reading →

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