Saturday, May 08, 2004
12-17
This one's going to be shorter than yesterday's, because Jeff is still recovering from a long night. That said...
Since starting the year 1-7, we've gone 11-10, including a five-game losing streak. In other words, we've been playing like a 85-win team since the first week of the season. Take it for what it's worth (and it's not worth much), but it's still pretty neat.
Ryan Franklin last night was everything that Ryan Franklin isn't. He struck out five batters in six innings, including Giambi/Sheffield/Posada in sequence in the second inning. He didn't allow a single extra-base hit to one of the most powerful lineups in recent history. And he walked four hitters while struggling to find the strike zone a little bit, violating the good control we've come to take for granted from Franklin since he reached the majors. As a guy who has a penchant for catching too much of the plate every so often, Ryan kept the Yankees guessing last night by pitching to the corners more often. He didn't have the command you'd like, but he kept opposing hitters off balance, and if this is the kind of performance that we can expect from some new version of Ryan Franklin, then sign me up.
The story of the game, however, was Edgar Martinez, who received a pair of standing ovations after smacking his 500th career double in the first. He followed that up with a two-run homer in the third, his second home run of the season. He is now one blast short of 300 career homers, one of those milestones that will only help him build his case for becoming a Hall of Famer. The entire lineup seemed to feed off the environment and excitement, as we had twelve hits in eight innings before the night was through. That said, this offense remains wildly inconsistent and typically ineffective, and for good reason: we remain primarily a singles-hitting team that doesn't draw a lot of walks. Batting average, by nature, is prone to considerable fluctuation, meaning that we can slap five singles in a row one night and three all game the next. Ibanez' surprising power so far has been a welcome addition, but between his uncertainty and Boone/Edgar's injury problems, we have the rough equivalent of two sluggers in the lineup on any given night. That leaves seven guys who don't walk much, a few of whom might finish the year with empty .290 BA's. This is how the team looked before the season started, though, so nobody should be particularly shocked. I guess the upside is that, should we make the playoffs, there's a chance that the entire lineup catches fire at the same time and we go 2002 Anaheim all over the place, but wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to dig so deep to find a silver lining?
Speaking of Boone (which we were, at some point in that paragraph): he was out last night because of back spasms. Now, we all know the hazards of having back problems - they can flare up at any point without warning and knock a guy out of the lineup for a few days, maybe even send him to the DL. These are the kinds of risks you take when you build an old team. Something else the article mentions that doesn't make me feel too good, though, is that Boone's determination can occasionally overwhelm his faculty for rational thought. The last thing we need is for Boone to play through pain and compound the problems; this is why we could use a backup like Mark Bellhorn, a guy who can step in and play a little bit in a pinch, and who won't embarrass you if he needs to play for two weeks while your starter's on the DL. Maybe Jolbert Cabrera can be that guy, but PECOTA put him at a 74% chance to decline from 2003's performance while projecting 41% odds that his production dips by a fifth. The .286/.306/.371 hitter you see now is probably just about what we can expect from Cabrera over the year, and that's not a bat that you want to pencil into the lineup should Boone miss a little time with an injury.
Rich Aurilia: o'fer
Dan Wilson: o'fer
We already knew that one of them wouldn't hit, but nobody had any idea that Aurilia would actually be worse than the guy we already knew wouldn't hit. Between his poor performance in the majors, both at the plate and in the field, and Jose Lopez hitting for a high average and impressive power in AAA, I think that there's a real legitimate chance that we see the kid before we get too far into the summer. Is it the right move? I wouldn't say that quite yet, but if Rich is still struggling come mid-June and Lopez is still among the Rainiers' leaders in home runs, then I guess it would be in the team's best interests. That is, if the season is still salvageable.
It's always nice to beat the Yankees. It's nicer to beat them twice. Meche against Mussina tonight, and it would be a thrill if Mussina's difficulties would last just one more start.
This one's going to be shorter than yesterday's, because Jeff is still recovering from a long night. That said...
Since starting the year 1-7, we've gone 11-10, including a five-game losing streak. In other words, we've been playing like a 85-win team since the first week of the season. Take it for what it's worth (and it's not worth much), but it's still pretty neat.
Ryan Franklin last night was everything that Ryan Franklin isn't. He struck out five batters in six innings, including Giambi/Sheffield/Posada in sequence in the second inning. He didn't allow a single extra-base hit to one of the most powerful lineups in recent history. And he walked four hitters while struggling to find the strike zone a little bit, violating the good control we've come to take for granted from Franklin since he reached the majors. As a guy who has a penchant for catching too much of the plate every so often, Ryan kept the Yankees guessing last night by pitching to the corners more often. He didn't have the command you'd like, but he kept opposing hitters off balance, and if this is the kind of performance that we can expect from some new version of Ryan Franklin, then sign me up.
The story of the game, however, was Edgar Martinez, who received a pair of standing ovations after smacking his 500th career double in the first. He followed that up with a two-run homer in the third, his second home run of the season. He is now one blast short of 300 career homers, one of those milestones that will only help him build his case for becoming a Hall of Famer. The entire lineup seemed to feed off the environment and excitement, as we had twelve hits in eight innings before the night was through. That said, this offense remains wildly inconsistent and typically ineffective, and for good reason: we remain primarily a singles-hitting team that doesn't draw a lot of walks. Batting average, by nature, is prone to considerable fluctuation, meaning that we can slap five singles in a row one night and three all game the next. Ibanez' surprising power so far has been a welcome addition, but between his uncertainty and Boone/Edgar's injury problems, we have the rough equivalent of two sluggers in the lineup on any given night. That leaves seven guys who don't walk much, a few of whom might finish the year with empty .290 BA's. This is how the team looked before the season started, though, so nobody should be particularly shocked. I guess the upside is that, should we make the playoffs, there's a chance that the entire lineup catches fire at the same time and we go 2002 Anaheim all over the place, but wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to dig so deep to find a silver lining?
Speaking of Boone (which we were, at some point in that paragraph): he was out last night because of back spasms. Now, we all know the hazards of having back problems - they can flare up at any point without warning and knock a guy out of the lineup for a few days, maybe even send him to the DL. These are the kinds of risks you take when you build an old team. Something else the article mentions that doesn't make me feel too good, though, is that Boone's determination can occasionally overwhelm his faculty for rational thought. The last thing we need is for Boone to play through pain and compound the problems; this is why we could use a backup like Mark Bellhorn, a guy who can step in and play a little bit in a pinch, and who won't embarrass you if he needs to play for two weeks while your starter's on the DL. Maybe Jolbert Cabrera can be that guy, but PECOTA put him at a 74% chance to decline from 2003's performance while projecting 41% odds that his production dips by a fifth. The .286/.306/.371 hitter you see now is probably just about what we can expect from Cabrera over the year, and that's not a bat that you want to pencil into the lineup should Boone miss a little time with an injury.
Rich Aurilia: o'fer
Dan Wilson: o'fer
We already knew that one of them wouldn't hit, but nobody had any idea that Aurilia would actually be worse than the guy we already knew wouldn't hit. Between his poor performance in the majors, both at the plate and in the field, and Jose Lopez hitting for a high average and impressive power in AAA, I think that there's a real legitimate chance that we see the kid before we get too far into the summer. Is it the right move? I wouldn't say that quite yet, but if Rich is still struggling come mid-June and Lopez is still among the Rainiers' leaders in home runs, then I guess it would be in the team's best interests. That is, if the season is still salvageable.
It's always nice to beat the Yankees. It's nicer to beat them twice. Meche against Mussina tonight, and it would be a thrill if Mussina's difficulties would last just one more start.
Minor League Wrap-Up:
Tacoma was postponed yesterday. Doubleheader today, with Blackley throwing the first game and Anderson going in the nightcap.
San Antonio lost to Wichita, 7-3. Troy Cate started well until hitting the wall in the sixth inning, and he took the loss. Jose Nunez had another rough outing in relief, allowing three runs in two innings. Notables:
Troy Cate: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Dustin Dellucchi: 1-4, 1 BB
Shin Soo-Choo: 2-5, 1 double
Greg Dobbs: 1-3, 1 BB
Greg Jacobs: 1-4, 1 BB
Inland Empire was destroyed by San Jose, 12-2. TA Fulmer was brutalized as San Jose scored 11 runs in the first four innings. No 66ers had a multihit game. Notables:
TA Fulmer: 3 IP, 11 H, 10 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HR
Juan Gonzalez: 1-4
TJ Bohn: 0-3, 1 BB
Rene Rivera: 1-3
Matt Hagen: 0-3
Wisconsin beat Battle Creek by a score of 11-6. The Rattlers scored nine runs through the first three innings, and held on as Bryan Heaston got the win in relief of Thomas Oldham. Notables:
Thomas Oldham: 4 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 3 HR
Josh Ellison: 2-4, 2 doubles, 1 BB
Adam Jones: 2-5
Josh Womack: 0-4
Tacoma was postponed yesterday. Doubleheader today, with Blackley throwing the first game and Anderson going in the nightcap.
San Antonio lost to Wichita, 7-3. Troy Cate started well until hitting the wall in the sixth inning, and he took the loss. Jose Nunez had another rough outing in relief, allowing three runs in two innings. Notables:
Troy Cate: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Dustin Dellucchi: 1-4, 1 BB
Shin Soo-Choo: 2-5, 1 double
Greg Dobbs: 1-3, 1 BB
Greg Jacobs: 1-4, 1 BB
Inland Empire was destroyed by San Jose, 12-2. TA Fulmer was brutalized as San Jose scored 11 runs in the first four innings. No 66ers had a multihit game. Notables:
TA Fulmer: 3 IP, 11 H, 10 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HR
Juan Gonzalez: 1-4
TJ Bohn: 0-3, 1 BB
Rene Rivera: 1-3
Matt Hagen: 0-3
Wisconsin beat Battle Creek by a score of 11-6. The Rattlers scored nine runs through the first three innings, and held on as Bryan Heaston got the win in relief of Thomas Oldham. Notables:
Thomas Oldham: 4 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 3 HR
Josh Ellison: 2-4, 2 doubles, 1 BB
Adam Jones: 2-5
Josh Womack: 0-4
Friday, May 07, 2004
Notice anything strange about this box from last night?
HR: COL- None RMD- J.Tyner (1), W.Betemit (2), C.Thomas (1), J.Velandia (2)
Focus:
HR: COL- None RMD- J.Tyner (1), W.Betemit (2), C.Thomas (1), J.Velandia (2)
His player card entering the year:
FLAWS: Tyner has never homered in four pro seasons. He would benefit as a leadoff man by learning to lay off more pitches out of the zone. Often falls behind early in the count.
He never homered in college, either.
Congratulations to Tyner for finally knocking one out of the park. It's a stroke of good fortune for Jason, who might wind up finding himself employed by an ML team again before too long. Too bad for the poor saps who give him the opportunity, though.
HR: COL- None RMD- J.Tyner (1), W.Betemit (2), C.Thomas (1), J.Velandia (2)
Focus:
HR: COL- None RMD- J.Tyner (1), W.Betemit (2), C.Thomas (1), J.Velandia (2)
His player card entering the year:
FLAWS: Tyner has never homered in four pro seasons. He would benefit as a leadoff man by learning to lay off more pitches out of the zone. Often falls behind early in the count.
He never homered in college, either.
Congratulations to Tyner for finally knocking one out of the park. It's a stroke of good fortune for Jason, who might wind up finding himself employed by an ML team again before too long. Too bad for the poor saps who give him the opportunity, though.
11-17
It took a lot of effort, but we finally got a win for Freddy Garcia, who is now 1-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 42.2 IP. A little more on Freddy later; before I get there, let's check out something else:
.252/.321/.372
Do you know what that is?
It's our team batting line. An approximation would be a lineup of nine Alex Cora's. Let's re-visit a post of mine from two weeks ago. How does that chart look now?
Raul Ibanez and Dan Wilson are exceeding expectations, while Rich Aurilia needs to pick it up a little. One of the interesting things in there is that, without Ben Davis, we'd actually be hitting above the projection, but since EqR takes into account a little thing called playing time, let's see how our catchers have done as a collective:
Expected EqR: 9.3
Actual EqR: 8.1
∆EqR: -1.2
Our catchers have been subpar, with Randy Winn and Bret Boone underperforming, but the offense as a whole hasn't been that far off the projection. Over a full season, we're on pace to score 14 runs below the PECOTA projection - costing us a little more than one win. What does this mean? In essence, get used to having difficulty scoring runs, because significant improvement seems unlikely. As Winn, Edgar, and Boone pick it up, Ibanez, Spiezio, and Wilson will negate the production by regressing back to the mean. It really makes you wonder how much of a difference it would make if we had a competent bench - Ichiro seems in dire need of an off day, and Edgar could use a day on the bench as well, but when the alternative in each case is giving Quinton McCracken four at bats, is it really worth it?
If there is good news - and there has to be - it's that we're ever-so-slowly moving up the ladder in total walks. Raul's only drawn three in his last fourteen games, suggesting that his early season BB's were more a coincidence than anything else, but Boone is finally flashing a little patience, and the entire lineup seems to be drawing deeper counts. Yeah, Boone seems a little over-anxious, but this last series featured a textbook example of a hacking team (save for Shannon Stewart), and the Twins are going to have trouble consistently scoring runs if they don't approach the plate with an actual plan.
If we hadn't rallied to give Freddy a win last night, would anyone have been surprised if he just threw up his hands and left the team in a fit of rage? For as much as I've harped on him over the past year and a half, he deserves a lot better than what he's getting. In his six starts, we've scored a total of 13 runs. Yet, he continues to pitch extremely well, whereas you get the feeling like Freddy Garcia, v.2003 would have thrown in the towel and collapsed. What's the difference between this year's Freddy and last season's version?
-Strikeouts are up half a batter per game
-Walks are down 33%
-He's not allowing any home runs
By limiting bases on balls and increasing his K rate a little bit, Freddy is compensating for the significantly worse defense behind him. His home runs are way down despite remaining a fairly neutral pitcher, with slight flyball tendencies. This may be interpreted as a sign that Garcia is locating his pitches better than he did in 2002/2003, no longer catching as much of the plate as he did during his struggles, which is a direct function of not falling behind in the count as often. Something more peculiar is that his doubles/triples allowed are incrementally higher than they were last year, but even the best pitchers can still be hurt by a rough defense. Freddy's peripherals so far are looking a lot like they did in 2001, so don't brace yourself in anticipation of a considerable dropoff. As long as he's limiting his free passes and keeping the ball away from the middle of the plate, he should be in for a huge payday come December.
...however, always the spoilsport, I will point out that Freddy has been extremely good with runners on base, and even moreso with RISP; his OPS against of .351 in the latter situation is a full 310 points lower than it is with the bases empty. His numbers from previous seasons show no such split (his numbers are virtually identical, in fact - see for yourself), so his ERA isn't going to hover around the low-2's for the duration. That said, he's still been terrific, and even a little dropoff will still leave us with one of the better pitchers in the league.
Returning to Earth:
-Scott Spiezio. His OPS has dropped more than 250 points in the last two weeks, and he's just 5 for his last 29. The good news is that he's walked four times over that stretch and has two extra-base hits, so he could very easily wind up with a .275/.340/.440 line.
-Raul Ibanez. Stop me if you've seen this before. Really, it's only the getting-on-base part of him that's struggling - he's still hitting for tremendous power. He's 8 for 43 in his last ten games, with a .222 OBP, but he's put up a .256 Isolated Slugging Percentage. At this rate, he'll finish the year as a moderately more successful Russ Branyan. There are worse things, of course, but it's a shame that his walks have dropped off.
-Dan Wilson. He's always been a decent hitter in April before falling flat on his face in May, and this year has begun in a similar fashion. He finished the first month with a .782 OPS, but has kicked off May with a 2-11 performance (3 for his last 17 overall). I don't think anyone needed much convincing that Wilson would eventually stop hitting, though.
Still Dropping, Despite An Entirely Woeful Start:
-Rich Aurilia. He's 1-for-May, and hasn't had a multihit game since April 14th. Since his OPS peaked on the 15th, Aurilia's put up a .172/.254/.188 line, including an o'fer in our recent 16-inning barnburner. He still hasn't homered on the year, and has just two doubles since the fourth game of the season, meaning that the only good thing he had going for him coming into the year has disappeared. Given enough of an opportunity, he'll pick it up - and really, it's not like we have a backup SS pressing for more playing time, anyway - but I wonder if our fickle fans will let him live that long. More likely he winds up being labeled as the new Cirillo and gets blasted at every opportunity by fans and journalists alike.
On The Rise:
-Ichiro. I thought it was strange for a player to lose so much speed over one winter. He has ten hits in May, and while he's still not hitting for very much power, he's slapping the ball and running once he gets on base. Of course, we can't have him stealing bases at a 60% clip all year long - that does nobody any good, except the catchers - but he's a big part of the team's general strategy, and getting him on base gives Melvin an outlet for his creativity that, for the first month of the year, was being employed on the bullpen.
-Bret Boone. He never stopped hitting for power, as he's on pace to equal last year's home run total, but for a little stretch there in April he wasn't able to get on base, limiting the amount of times the core of our lineup came up with men on base. He's hit .282/.349/.410 since April 25th, a line which features a subpar slugging percentage, but this isn't anything to worry about. He's starting to look a little tired, but if Melvin gives him a day off (hopefully against a tough righty this time, like, say, Mike Mussina, tomorrow), I think he'll come back energized and ready to go on one of his trademark tears.
Ryan Franklin goes against newly reconstructed Jon Lieber tonight. I'll say one thing, it'll be fun to see whether or not the BABIP magic returns for one more night, or if we're in for a blowout.
It took a lot of effort, but we finally got a win for Freddy Garcia, who is now 1-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 42.2 IP. A little more on Freddy later; before I get there, let's check out something else:
.252/.321/.372
Do you know what that is?
It's our team batting line. An approximation would be a lineup of nine Alex Cora's. Let's re-visit a post of mine from two weeks ago. How does that chart look now?
| Player | Exp. EqR | Actual EqR | ∆EqR |
| Ibanez | 10.4 | 17.7 | +7.3 |
| Martinez | 13.2 | 14.6 | +1.4 |
| Hansen | 1.6 | 3.7 | +2.1 |
| Boone | 16.4 | 15.6 | -0.8 |
| Spiezio | 11.3 | 12.3 | +1.0 |
| Aurilia | 10.1 | 7.2 | -2.9 |
| Wilson | 3.9 | 8.1 | +4.2 |
| Bloomquist | 4.0 | 3.5 | -0.5 |
| McCracken | 3.4 | 0.5 | -2.9 |
| Olerud | 13.5 | 13.0 | -0.5 |
| Ichiro | 15.0 | 14.3 | -0.7 |
| Cabrera | 5.1 | 1.8 | -3.3 |
| Winn | 11.4 | 9.9 | -1.5 |
| Davis | 5.4 | 0.0 | -5.4 |
| Team | 125.0 | 122.2 | -2.4 |
Raul Ibanez and Dan Wilson are exceeding expectations, while Rich Aurilia needs to pick it up a little. One of the interesting things in there is that, without Ben Davis, we'd actually be hitting above the projection, but since EqR takes into account a little thing called playing time, let's see how our catchers have done as a collective:
Expected EqR: 9.3
Actual EqR: 8.1
∆EqR: -1.2
Our catchers have been subpar, with Randy Winn and Bret Boone underperforming, but the offense as a whole hasn't been that far off the projection. Over a full season, we're on pace to score 14 runs below the PECOTA projection - costing us a little more than one win. What does this mean? In essence, get used to having difficulty scoring runs, because significant improvement seems unlikely. As Winn, Edgar, and Boone pick it up, Ibanez, Spiezio, and Wilson will negate the production by regressing back to the mean. It really makes you wonder how much of a difference it would make if we had a competent bench - Ichiro seems in dire need of an off day, and Edgar could use a day on the bench as well, but when the alternative in each case is giving Quinton McCracken four at bats, is it really worth it?
If there is good news - and there has to be - it's that we're ever-so-slowly moving up the ladder in total walks. Raul's only drawn three in his last fourteen games, suggesting that his early season BB's were more a coincidence than anything else, but Boone is finally flashing a little patience, and the entire lineup seems to be drawing deeper counts. Yeah, Boone seems a little over-anxious, but this last series featured a textbook example of a hacking team (save for Shannon Stewart), and the Twins are going to have trouble consistently scoring runs if they don't approach the plate with an actual plan.
If we hadn't rallied to give Freddy a win last night, would anyone have been surprised if he just threw up his hands and left the team in a fit of rage? For as much as I've harped on him over the past year and a half, he deserves a lot better than what he's getting. In his six starts, we've scored a total of 13 runs. Yet, he continues to pitch extremely well, whereas you get the feeling like Freddy Garcia, v.2003 would have thrown in the towel and collapsed. What's the difference between this year's Freddy and last season's version?
-Strikeouts are up half a batter per game
-Walks are down 33%
-He's not allowing any home runs
By limiting bases on balls and increasing his K rate a little bit, Freddy is compensating for the significantly worse defense behind him. His home runs are way down despite remaining a fairly neutral pitcher, with slight flyball tendencies. This may be interpreted as a sign that Garcia is locating his pitches better than he did in 2002/2003, no longer catching as much of the plate as he did during his struggles, which is a direct function of not falling behind in the count as often. Something more peculiar is that his doubles/triples allowed are incrementally higher than they were last year, but even the best pitchers can still be hurt by a rough defense. Freddy's peripherals so far are looking a lot like they did in 2001, so don't brace yourself in anticipation of a considerable dropoff. As long as he's limiting his free passes and keeping the ball away from the middle of the plate, he should be in for a huge payday come December.
...however, always the spoilsport, I will point out that Freddy has been extremely good with runners on base, and even moreso with RISP; his OPS against of .351 in the latter situation is a full 310 points lower than it is with the bases empty. His numbers from previous seasons show no such split (his numbers are virtually identical, in fact - see for yourself), so his ERA isn't going to hover around the low-2's for the duration. That said, he's still been terrific, and even a little dropoff will still leave us with one of the better pitchers in the league.
Returning to Earth:
-Scott Spiezio. His OPS has dropped more than 250 points in the last two weeks, and he's just 5 for his last 29. The good news is that he's walked four times over that stretch and has two extra-base hits, so he could very easily wind up with a .275/.340/.440 line.
-Raul Ibanez. Stop me if you've seen this before. Really, it's only the getting-on-base part of him that's struggling - he's still hitting for tremendous power. He's 8 for 43 in his last ten games, with a .222 OBP, but he's put up a .256 Isolated Slugging Percentage. At this rate, he'll finish the year as a moderately more successful Russ Branyan. There are worse things, of course, but it's a shame that his walks have dropped off.
-Dan Wilson. He's always been a decent hitter in April before falling flat on his face in May, and this year has begun in a similar fashion. He finished the first month with a .782 OPS, but has kicked off May with a 2-11 performance (3 for his last 17 overall). I don't think anyone needed much convincing that Wilson would eventually stop hitting, though.
Still Dropping, Despite An Entirely Woeful Start:
-Rich Aurilia. He's 1-for-May, and hasn't had a multihit game since April 14th. Since his OPS peaked on the 15th, Aurilia's put up a .172/.254/.188 line, including an o'fer in our recent 16-inning barnburner. He still hasn't homered on the year, and has just two doubles since the fourth game of the season, meaning that the only good thing he had going for him coming into the year has disappeared. Given enough of an opportunity, he'll pick it up - and really, it's not like we have a backup SS pressing for more playing time, anyway - but I wonder if our fickle fans will let him live that long. More likely he winds up being labeled as the new Cirillo and gets blasted at every opportunity by fans and journalists alike.
On The Rise:
-Ichiro. I thought it was strange for a player to lose so much speed over one winter. He has ten hits in May, and while he's still not hitting for very much power, he's slapping the ball and running once he gets on base. Of course, we can't have him stealing bases at a 60% clip all year long - that does nobody any good, except the catchers - but he's a big part of the team's general strategy, and getting him on base gives Melvin an outlet for his creativity that, for the first month of the year, was being employed on the bullpen.
-Bret Boone. He never stopped hitting for power, as he's on pace to equal last year's home run total, but for a little stretch there in April he wasn't able to get on base, limiting the amount of times the core of our lineup came up with men on base. He's hit .282/.349/.410 since April 25th, a line which features a subpar slugging percentage, but this isn't anything to worry about. He's starting to look a little tired, but if Melvin gives him a day off (hopefully against a tough righty this time, like, say, Mike Mussina, tomorrow), I think he'll come back energized and ready to go on one of his trademark tears.
Ryan Franklin goes against newly reconstructed Jon Lieber tonight. I'll say one thing, it'll be fun to see whether or not the BABIP magic returns for one more night, or if we're in for a blowout.
Minor League Wrap-Up:
Tacoma beat Edmonton, 4-1. Clint Nageotte was strong through five innings, giving way to Scott Atchison, who picked up his second win. George Sherrill had another good outing, as he recorded his third save. Notables:
Clint Nageotte: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
George Sherrill: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K
Jamal Strong: 1-4
Hiram Bocachica: 2-4, 1 homer
Justin Leone: 0-3
Jose Lopez: 0-3
Ben Davis: 2-3, 1 double
A two-run eighth helped San Antonio beat Wichita, 6-4. Tim Rall got his first win of the year in relief of Juan Done, who allowed three runs in six innings. Greg Dobbs led the offense by driving in three runs. Notables:
Greg Dobbs: 3-4, 3 doubles
Greg Jacobs: 2-3, 1 BB
Dustin Dellucchi: 3-4, 2 doubles
Luis Oliveros: 0-3
Shin Soo-Choo: 1-4
Inland Empire rallied to defeat Stockton, 10-6. A five-run eighth propelled the 66ers into the lead, and Miguel Martinez got the win out of the bullpen. Felix Hernandez went five strong before giving way to Darwin Soto, who was legitimately terrible. Notables:
King Felix: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Juan Gonzalez: 3-5
Hyung Cho: 1-5
Rene Rivera: 3-5, 1 double
TJ Bohn: 2-4, 1 triple
Wisconsin fell to Beloit by a score of 5-2. Eric O`Flaherty got the loss despite a strong outing, as the offense could muster just three hits. Notables:
Eric O`Flaherty: 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
Adam Jones: 1-4
Josh Womack: 0-4
Josh Ellison: 2-3, 1 triple, 1 BB
Blackley's on the hill tonight, against Salt Lake.
Tacoma beat Edmonton, 4-1. Clint Nageotte was strong through five innings, giving way to Scott Atchison, who picked up his second win. George Sherrill had another good outing, as he recorded his third save. Notables:
Clint Nageotte: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
George Sherrill: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K
Jamal Strong: 1-4
Hiram Bocachica: 2-4, 1 homer
Justin Leone: 0-3
Jose Lopez: 0-3
Ben Davis: 2-3, 1 double
A two-run eighth helped San Antonio beat Wichita, 6-4. Tim Rall got his first win of the year in relief of Juan Done, who allowed three runs in six innings. Greg Dobbs led the offense by driving in three runs. Notables:
Greg Dobbs: 3-4, 3 doubles
Greg Jacobs: 2-3, 1 BB
Dustin Dellucchi: 3-4, 2 doubles
Luis Oliveros: 0-3
Shin Soo-Choo: 1-4
Inland Empire rallied to defeat Stockton, 10-6. A five-run eighth propelled the 66ers into the lead, and Miguel Martinez got the win out of the bullpen. Felix Hernandez went five strong before giving way to Darwin Soto, who was legitimately terrible. Notables:
King Felix: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Juan Gonzalez: 3-5
Hyung Cho: 1-5
Rene Rivera: 3-5, 1 double
TJ Bohn: 2-4, 1 triple
Wisconsin fell to Beloit by a score of 5-2. Eric O`Flaherty got the loss despite a strong outing, as the offense could muster just three hits. Notables:
Eric O`Flaherty: 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
Adam Jones: 1-4
Josh Womack: 0-4
Josh Ellison: 2-3, 1 triple, 1 BB
Blackley's on the hill tonight, against Salt Lake.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
I bet you didn't see this coming.
All right, so we all knew that Davis was finding himself deeper and deeper in the organizational doghouse as the season progressed, and that he was due to be moved somewhere. Turns out that somewhere is Tacoma, where he and Wiki Gonzalez will have to split playing time as each tries to make it back to the majors. Nevermind that Borders hasn't hit in AAA this year, after a whole ML career of not hitting, and that Wiki's been destroying the ball in Tacoma for a month - Pat's got that "special relationship" with the club, and is supposedly Freddy Garcia's overlord. So what we have now is a roster that, on June 9th, will feature exactly zero position players on the good side of 30 years old.
The good news, I guess, is that Borders will be hard-pressed to do any worse than Davis has. The bad news is that this could spell the end of Davis' career as a Mariner. Yeah, he probably needs a change of scenery, but he was the only position player worth keeping an eye on these past few years as he seemed to be on the verge of a breakout. Now that he's gone, we just have to hope against hope that our collection of stiffs and Edgar staves off age-related decline for another year, at which point we may find ourselves watching Jose Lopez every day (for better or worse).
All right, so we all knew that Davis was finding himself deeper and deeper in the organizational doghouse as the season progressed, and that he was due to be moved somewhere. Turns out that somewhere is Tacoma, where he and Wiki Gonzalez will have to split playing time as each tries to make it back to the majors. Nevermind that Borders hasn't hit in AAA this year, after a whole ML career of not hitting, and that Wiki's been destroying the ball in Tacoma for a month - Pat's got that "special relationship" with the club, and is supposedly Freddy Garcia's overlord. So what we have now is a roster that, on June 9th, will feature exactly zero position players on the good side of 30 years old.
The good news, I guess, is that Borders will be hard-pressed to do any worse than Davis has. The bad news is that this could spell the end of Davis' career as a Mariner. Yeah, he probably needs a change of scenery, but he was the only position player worth keeping an eye on these past few years as he seemed to be on the verge of a breakout. Now that he's gone, we just have to hope against hope that our collection of stiffs and Edgar staves off age-related decline for another year, at which point we may find ourselves watching Jose Lopez every day (for better or worse).
10-17
My connection's being sporadic, so this will probably be shorter than usual, but anyway...
One of the problems inherent in having an old roster is that it takes longer for the players to recover from exhaustion. In this case, a 16-inning game the night before. The Twins, on the other hand, are a bunch of kids (comparitively), and they came out and played a solid ballgame. It's never good when you get shut down by a guy with a limited repertoire and a Franklinesque ability to strike hitters out, but credit Silva for pitching well.
Ichiro is officially coming alive. Look at his numbers in the last five games:
.385/.407/.577
...including his first triple and homer of the year. But has the rest of the offense responded? The team has scored 22 runs over that span, but one of the games went to sixteen innings...it comes out to an average of 3.81 runs per nine-inning game, which is actually slightly below the team average in the previous 22 games. Even so, a successful Mariners team certainly involves a successful Ichiro, so seeing his line leave Darin Erstad's and approach Juan Pierre's is still nice to see. He's not hitting for power yet, but only Ibanez and Boone are, so it would be foolish to chastise Ichiro when Edgar's still sitting on one home run himself.
Apparently, a four-run deficit is large enough for Melvin to throw up his hands and give a young pitcher some playing time. JJ Putz entered in the seventh inning and proceeded to breeze through the Twins, allowing a hit and fanning two in two innings of work. Why Melvin elected to put Hasegawa into the game in the ninth inning is beyond me; he'd already pitched two games in a row, and Putz' stamina shouldn't be a concern, as he'd only thrown 22 pitches and has a history as a starting pitcher. It was just another one of those strange decisions that have no impact on the outcome of the game that Melvin likes to make.
How long will it be until we can start making arguments based on the numbers of some of our bench hitters? For example, in 31 at bats Jolbert Cabrera has been an out machine while whiffing a third of the time, whereas Dave Hansen has been significantly more impressive than our starting 1B. Ben Davis hasn't done a single thing good since the year began, and Wee Willie has hit like Darin Erstad (notice the theme?) without the hustle or Gold Glove defense. Only Hansen could really be considered a surprise, I guess - Davis has had about three good months since he arrived, we already know that Willie can't hit, and Cabrera's difficulty is reminiscent of the pre-2003 Jolbert, who was distinctly mediocre. Is it time to call for Olerud to be benched for a handful of games, to see what Dave can do? Ordinarily, I wouldn't like the thought of taking a .363 OBP out of the lineup, but Hansen is hot, and we're reaching the point at which it is no longer permissable to say "it's still early". However, don't confuse this with "play Hansen against tough lefties", because that works to nobody's benefit and would only hurt everyone's feelings.
Once again, not a good day for Joel. Nine hits in six innings? Bad. Five runs in six innings? Bad (two of them were unearned, but scored because of Pineiro's own mistake that was miraculously ruled as an error by the Safeco scorekeeper). One strikeout and two walks in six innings? Bad. It's not that he was having control problems - he threw 65% strikes - but perhaps he was getting a little too much of the plate. If someone would volunteer to go through his game logs from the past two years and compare the number of strikes Joel threw, that'd be great, but I'm batting a headache and connection troubles that would drive a lesser man to suicide. Regardless of however that turns out, what we have to go on is that Pineiro is allowing nearly a run per inning, which is what happens when you're putting more than two guys on base per frame. The home runs and extra-base hits in general are up, despite Joel becoming more of a groundball pitcher since last year. There have been rumblings that his velocity is off, and while I'm still cautiously optimistic, I can't help but think of Dr.'s Lewis and Yocum.
I need to cut it off here. Freddy's on the hill tonight to face Brad Radke, as opposite forces meet - we've hit Radke pretty well recently, but we've given Garcia next to no support at the same time. Something's got to give (hey, that could be our team slogan).
My connection's being sporadic, so this will probably be shorter than usual, but anyway...
One of the problems inherent in having an old roster is that it takes longer for the players to recover from exhaustion. In this case, a 16-inning game the night before. The Twins, on the other hand, are a bunch of kids (comparitively), and they came out and played a solid ballgame. It's never good when you get shut down by a guy with a limited repertoire and a Franklinesque ability to strike hitters out, but credit Silva for pitching well.
Ichiro is officially coming alive. Look at his numbers in the last five games:
.385/.407/.577
...including his first triple and homer of the year. But has the rest of the offense responded? The team has scored 22 runs over that span, but one of the games went to sixteen innings...it comes out to an average of 3.81 runs per nine-inning game, which is actually slightly below the team average in the previous 22 games. Even so, a successful Mariners team certainly involves a successful Ichiro, so seeing his line leave Darin Erstad's and approach Juan Pierre's is still nice to see. He's not hitting for power yet, but only Ibanez and Boone are, so it would be foolish to chastise Ichiro when Edgar's still sitting on one home run himself.
Apparently, a four-run deficit is large enough for Melvin to throw up his hands and give a young pitcher some playing time. JJ Putz entered in the seventh inning and proceeded to breeze through the Twins, allowing a hit and fanning two in two innings of work. Why Melvin elected to put Hasegawa into the game in the ninth inning is beyond me; he'd already pitched two games in a row, and Putz' stamina shouldn't be a concern, as he'd only thrown 22 pitches and has a history as a starting pitcher. It was just another one of those strange decisions that have no impact on the outcome of the game that Melvin likes to make.
How long will it be until we can start making arguments based on the numbers of some of our bench hitters? For example, in 31 at bats Jolbert Cabrera has been an out machine while whiffing a third of the time, whereas Dave Hansen has been significantly more impressive than our starting 1B. Ben Davis hasn't done a single thing good since the year began, and Wee Willie has hit like Darin Erstad (notice the theme?) without the hustle or Gold Glove defense. Only Hansen could really be considered a surprise, I guess - Davis has had about three good months since he arrived, we already know that Willie can't hit, and Cabrera's difficulty is reminiscent of the pre-2003 Jolbert, who was distinctly mediocre. Is it time to call for Olerud to be benched for a handful of games, to see what Dave can do? Ordinarily, I wouldn't like the thought of taking a .363 OBP out of the lineup, but Hansen is hot, and we're reaching the point at which it is no longer permissable to say "it's still early". However, don't confuse this with "play Hansen against tough lefties", because that works to nobody's benefit and would only hurt everyone's feelings.
Once again, not a good day for Joel. Nine hits in six innings? Bad. Five runs in six innings? Bad (two of them were unearned, but scored because of Pineiro's own mistake that was miraculously ruled as an error by the Safeco scorekeeper). One strikeout and two walks in six innings? Bad. It's not that he was having control problems - he threw 65% strikes - but perhaps he was getting a little too much of the plate. If someone would volunteer to go through his game logs from the past two years and compare the number of strikes Joel threw, that'd be great, but I'm batting a headache and connection troubles that would drive a lesser man to suicide. Regardless of however that turns out, what we have to go on is that Pineiro is allowing nearly a run per inning, which is what happens when you're putting more than two guys on base per frame. The home runs and extra-base hits in general are up, despite Joel becoming more of a groundball pitcher since last year. There have been rumblings that his velocity is off, and while I'm still cautiously optimistic, I can't help but think of Dr.'s Lewis and Yocum.
I need to cut it off here. Freddy's on the hill tonight to face Brad Radke, as opposite forces meet - we've hit Radke pretty well recently, but we've given Garcia next to no support at the same time. Something's got to give (hey, that could be our team slogan).
Some of you may be Ken Griffey fans. If this is the case, some of the guys over at Top Mariner forum set up a website: Bring Griffey Home. There's also a petition to sign.
I am vehemently opposed to trading for Griffey, myself, so this is the only endorsement I'll provide for these sites. A few of you may be interested, though, so check 'em out.
I am vehemently opposed to trading for Griffey, myself, so this is the only endorsement I'll provide for these sites. A few of you may be interested, though, so check 'em out.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Minor League Wrap-Up:
Bobby Madritsch was brilliant as Tacoma defeated Edmonton, 2-1. Randy Williams threw two shutout innings for his first save, and Jamal Strong had two hits from the leadoff spot. Notables:
Bobby Madritsch: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Jamal Strong: 2-4, 1 double
Jose Lopez: 1-2, 1 homer, 1 BB
Justin Leone: 1-3
Bucky Jacobsen: 1-3, 1 BB
Ramon Santiago: 0-3 (.179)
No Texas League games today.
Inland Empire beat Stockton, 7-1. Bobby Livingston got his fourth win of the year, going six strong, and Ryan Rowland-Smith picked up the three-inning save. Notables:
Bobby Livingston: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Rene Rivera: 1-4
Juan Gonzalez: 1-4, 1 double, 1 BB
Hyung Cho: 1-5
TJ Bohn: 1-3, 1 homer, 1 BB
Wisconsin fell 9-8 to Beloit. Jason Mackintosh was the unfortunate loser, allowing three unearned runs in 0.1 innings in relief of starter Nibaldo Acosta. Wisconsin made four errors, two of which went to Adam Jones, who's really struggling in the field so far. Notables:
Adam Jones: 1-4, 1 double, 1 BB
Josh Womack: 0-6
Josh Ellison? : 2-4, 2 BB
Recap of tonight's game will come in the morning.
Bobby Madritsch was brilliant as Tacoma defeated Edmonton, 2-1. Randy Williams threw two shutout innings for his first save, and Jamal Strong had two hits from the leadoff spot. Notables:
Bobby Madritsch: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Jamal Strong: 2-4, 1 double
Jose Lopez: 1-2, 1 homer, 1 BB
Justin Leone: 1-3
Bucky Jacobsen: 1-3, 1 BB
Ramon Santiago: 0-3 (.179)
No Texas League games today.
Inland Empire beat Stockton, 7-1. Bobby Livingston got his fourth win of the year, going six strong, and Ryan Rowland-Smith picked up the three-inning save. Notables:
Bobby Livingston: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Rene Rivera: 1-4
Juan Gonzalez: 1-4, 1 double, 1 BB
Hyung Cho: 1-5
TJ Bohn: 1-3, 1 homer, 1 BB
Wisconsin fell 9-8 to Beloit. Jason Mackintosh was the unfortunate loser, allowing three unearned runs in 0.1 innings in relief of starter Nibaldo Acosta. Wisconsin made four errors, two of which went to Adam Jones, who's really struggling in the field so far. Notables:
Adam Jones: 1-4, 1 double, 1 BB
Josh Womack: 0-6
Josh Ellison? : 2-4, 2 BB
Recap of tonight's game will come in the morning.
10-16
It sure is a good thing we kept Putz around, isn't it?
Had we sent Putz down and brought up a Santiago/Lopez/Lopez/Leone, then we'd be left with a very thin bullpen, as everyone else threw yesterday. In related news, Luis Ugueto got hurt yesterday, meaning that we can all relax in knowing that he won't be promoted any time soon.
Yesterday, Bob Melvin employed a new tactic: hang on until the other team has nobody left. Ron Gardenhire, Corey Koskie, and Torii Hunter all had to leave for a variety of reasons (two, anyway), but the Twins had Michael Cuddyer and Michael Ryan on the bench, so perhaps we should have tried to win the normal way. Minnesota has had tremendous position player depth for a few years, now, and given their pitching needs, you'd think that the two of us would have consummated a deal by now. But teams rarely trade prospects for prospects, so perhaps it's not as strange as situation as you'd think. It wouldn't hurt to inquire about Cuddyer and Justin Morneau, though, if just for kicks.
When I read box scores of these kinds of games, one of the dumb little thrills I get is seeing which starters went hitless. Yesterday, we had a quartet: Shannon Stewart, Jacque Jones, Henry Blanco, and Rich Aurilia. Blanco was the worst, as he was the only starter not to reach base. Amazingly, he only stranded one baserunner all game long. Remember when his OPS was 1.409? Yeah, neither do I. The bizarre Bad Catcher Small Sample Size Bonanza seems to be coming to an end.
It's funny; having won three of four games, the last being a dramatic extra-innings game that wasn't ended by Raul Ibanez, spirits are improving. There was genuine enthusiasm at Safeco last night, and Raul's 4th inning homer got them on their feet. There was still a decent contingent hanging around when Winn scored the winning run, and the remaining spectators shouted their approval once Marty Foster's baffling "Safe! Out! Safe!" call was sorted out. But we were one ruling away from potentially losing the game. Corey Koskie was safe at home in the top of the ninth, and his run would have given Minnesota a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, where Olerud failed to take advantage of a bases loaded opportunity. A loss because of a blown save by our only reliable reliever would have been a killer, so it will be interesting to see if the team feeds off its recent luck, or if it returns to its losing ways.
You knew it was coming. Bob Melvin, it's time to learn the Dos and Don'ts of bullpen management. Do bring in a supposedly re-energized Rafael Soriano to pitch a few extra frames and save the bullpen. Don't remove Soriano after two batters in favor of a lefty specialist, who will be pitching to a left-handed batter with a history of hitting southpaws better than right-handers. Clearly, Melvin has no use for actual numbers when confronted with a situation easily resolved by "playing the matchups". Bringing in Myers to face someone like Jacque Jones is fine, but bringing him in to face Doug Mientkiewicz, who has a reverse platoon split, is not. Fortunately, Myers escaped by getting a groundout and a pickoff.
Raul Ibanez' arm may not be that strong, but it's been accurate so far. He already has five assists - that's one more than we got from all of our left fielders last year - after picking up two more yesterday. Given how he's been hitting, Raul's earned some immunity from criticism that is better allocated towards Rich Aurilia, who's taking over the role of 2004 Jeff Cirillo. He's got a paltry .216/.274/.278 line to go along with some shaky defense, and it probably won't be long before fans start calling for the front office to ignore National League players altogether (I know, I know, Bret Boone...). No, I don't think that Aurilia is this bad - like Randy Winn, it's just been a conspicuously slow start on a team full of slow starters - but he needs to start hitting a few RBI doubles before management glances at Jose Lopez' early numbers at AAA and rushes him more than they already have. Should Aurilia get benched for any length of time, I promise you that the alternative will be considerably worse, as this organization's middle infield depth is a textbook example of "Quantity, not Quality". It's bad enough that they'd consider bringing up Ramon Santiago or Mickey Lopez for the bench; do you really want to see either of them get 100 AB's in a brief starting role?
No, you shouldn't worry about Edgar. Forget about those four strikeouts. He's still getting on base, and as he starts turning some of those doubles into homers (they'll come), he'll settle into one of those grooves that only Edgar can find. While I don't think that context really has a significant effect on individual production (e.g. who a guy is hitting in front of, or behind), the Mariners' collective offensive ineptitude certainly can't be helping matters, and I fully expect Edgar to catch fire one of these days. The odds of that happening before he pulls a muscle are a little cloudier, though.
Quinton McCracken only has 11 at bats, and is on pace to finish with less than 70. So far this year, Quinton has entered games to do what Quinton does best: pinch-run. While having a terrible bench is a problem, I have to commend Melvin for using it infrequently, and we can only hope that perhaps he's noticed its lack of talent as well. During the summer months we're going to run into some situations where depth is a necessity, but early indications suggest that maybe, just maybe, we'll dip into our AAA account if we need to plug a hole. This doesn't include shortstop, of course, where Wee Willie Bloomquist is the obvious favorite to grab the starting job if/when Aurilia finds himself doing something else, but an injury to Dave Hansen could lead to Bucky Jacobsen or AJ Zapp getting promoted. There are worse things than that.
It looks like Randy Winn and Ichiro are showing signs of life. Since April 25th, Winn has hit .409/.519/.545, and Ichiro has eight hits in the last four games. It'd be real neat if that .712 team OPS would rise a little bit.
Pineiro vs. Silva tonight. We're going to need Joel to throw at least six innings, but preferably seven or more, with the condition of our bullpen. There's no way Bob Melvin will feel good about bringing JJ Putz into a game unless we're comfortably ahead or behind.
It sure is a good thing we kept Putz around, isn't it?
Had we sent Putz down and brought up a Santiago/Lopez/Lopez/Leone, then we'd be left with a very thin bullpen, as everyone else threw yesterday. In related news, Luis Ugueto got hurt yesterday, meaning that we can all relax in knowing that he won't be promoted any time soon.
Yesterday, Bob Melvin employed a new tactic: hang on until the other team has nobody left. Ron Gardenhire, Corey Koskie, and Torii Hunter all had to leave for a variety of reasons (two, anyway), but the Twins had Michael Cuddyer and Michael Ryan on the bench, so perhaps we should have tried to win the normal way. Minnesota has had tremendous position player depth for a few years, now, and given their pitching needs, you'd think that the two of us would have consummated a deal by now. But teams rarely trade prospects for prospects, so perhaps it's not as strange as situation as you'd think. It wouldn't hurt to inquire about Cuddyer and Justin Morneau, though, if just for kicks.
When I read box scores of these kinds of games, one of the dumb little thrills I get is seeing which starters went hitless. Yesterday, we had a quartet: Shannon Stewart, Jacque Jones, Henry Blanco, and Rich Aurilia. Blanco was the worst, as he was the only starter not to reach base. Amazingly, he only stranded one baserunner all game long. Remember when his OPS was 1.409? Yeah, neither do I. The bizarre Bad Catcher Small Sample Size Bonanza seems to be coming to an end.
It's funny; having won three of four games, the last being a dramatic extra-innings game that wasn't ended by Raul Ibanez, spirits are improving. There was genuine enthusiasm at Safeco last night, and Raul's 4th inning homer got them on their feet. There was still a decent contingent hanging around when Winn scored the winning run, and the remaining spectators shouted their approval once Marty Foster's baffling "Safe! Out! Safe!" call was sorted out. But we were one ruling away from potentially losing the game. Corey Koskie was safe at home in the top of the ninth, and his run would have given Minnesota a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, where Olerud failed to take advantage of a bases loaded opportunity. A loss because of a blown save by our only reliable reliever would have been a killer, so it will be interesting to see if the team feeds off its recent luck, or if it returns to its losing ways.
You knew it was coming. Bob Melvin, it's time to learn the Dos and Don'ts of bullpen management. Do bring in a supposedly re-energized Rafael Soriano to pitch a few extra frames and save the bullpen. Don't remove Soriano after two batters in favor of a lefty specialist, who will be pitching to a left-handed batter with a history of hitting southpaws better than right-handers. Clearly, Melvin has no use for actual numbers when confronted with a situation easily resolved by "playing the matchups". Bringing in Myers to face someone like Jacque Jones is fine, but bringing him in to face Doug Mientkiewicz, who has a reverse platoon split, is not. Fortunately, Myers escaped by getting a groundout and a pickoff.
Raul Ibanez' arm may not be that strong, but it's been accurate so far. He already has five assists - that's one more than we got from all of our left fielders last year - after picking up two more yesterday. Given how he's been hitting, Raul's earned some immunity from criticism that is better allocated towards Rich Aurilia, who's taking over the role of 2004 Jeff Cirillo. He's got a paltry .216/.274/.278 line to go along with some shaky defense, and it probably won't be long before fans start calling for the front office to ignore National League players altogether (I know, I know, Bret Boone...). No, I don't think that Aurilia is this bad - like Randy Winn, it's just been a conspicuously slow start on a team full of slow starters - but he needs to start hitting a few RBI doubles before management glances at Jose Lopez' early numbers at AAA and rushes him more than they already have. Should Aurilia get benched for any length of time, I promise you that the alternative will be considerably worse, as this organization's middle infield depth is a textbook example of "Quantity, not Quality". It's bad enough that they'd consider bringing up Ramon Santiago or Mickey Lopez for the bench; do you really want to see either of them get 100 AB's in a brief starting role?
No, you shouldn't worry about Edgar. Forget about those four strikeouts. He's still getting on base, and as he starts turning some of those doubles into homers (they'll come), he'll settle into one of those grooves that only Edgar can find. While I don't think that context really has a significant effect on individual production (e.g. who a guy is hitting in front of, or behind), the Mariners' collective offensive ineptitude certainly can't be helping matters, and I fully expect Edgar to catch fire one of these days. The odds of that happening before he pulls a muscle are a little cloudier, though.
Quinton McCracken only has 11 at bats, and is on pace to finish with less than 70. So far this year, Quinton has entered games to do what Quinton does best: pinch-run. While having a terrible bench is a problem, I have to commend Melvin for using it infrequently, and we can only hope that perhaps he's noticed its lack of talent as well. During the summer months we're going to run into some situations where depth is a necessity, but early indications suggest that maybe, just maybe, we'll dip into our AAA account if we need to plug a hole. This doesn't include shortstop, of course, where Wee Willie Bloomquist is the obvious favorite to grab the starting job if/when Aurilia finds himself doing something else, but an injury to Dave Hansen could lead to Bucky Jacobsen or AJ Zapp getting promoted. There are worse things than that.
It looks like Randy Winn and Ichiro are showing signs of life. Since April 25th, Winn has hit .409/.519/.545, and Ichiro has eight hits in the last four games. It'd be real neat if that .712 team OPS would rise a little bit.
Pineiro vs. Silva tonight. We're going to need Joel to throw at least six innings, but preferably seven or more, with the condition of our bullpen. There's no way Bob Melvin will feel good about bringing JJ Putz into a game unless we're comfortably ahead or behind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)