Another dissapointing loss for the Mariners. 4-2 was a better effort than what we've seen, and the bullpen didn't even allow a run. What went wrong this time...
Carlos Silva is now 3-2 after a great start to the season, and a not so nice last few starts. He let in all four ChiSock runs on eight hits and two walks. That isn't a terrible performce, but when you get two runs of support, it looks awful. The bullpen was almost perfect in two innings. Sean Green and JJ Putz each gave up one hit in an inning pitched each. Green had one strikeout. I doubt that they were playing Thunderstruck last night. I haven't heard that in a while, but when you've gone something like 1-9, your closer doesn't get too many chances.
Wlad Balentien was sort of a bright spot. He hit a homerun, showing his excellent power, and had one outfield assist, showing that his defensive abilities are inproving. He struck out once and left four men on base, and finished 1-4. Nice to see the power and fielding, but you can't be that productive when you leave four on. Jeff Clement's line looked alright. He caught last night, and went 1-3 with a walk, but struck out twice. His .154 AVG so far this season isn't that nice, but he's still learning. Ichiro's still getting closer to that .300 mark. He went 1-4 with a stolen base and scored the Mariners other one. Adrian Beltre stole his fifth of the season as well.
What can I say? It wasn't great, but atleast it was only a two run gap this time. There has to be a better effort put out there, or this ship wil continue to go down.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Felix Fined Too
I just finished on Richie Sexson's suspension, and when I went over to the Seattle PI's website, I noticed that King Felix was also hit with a fine.Back to the Caffeinated Confines post:
1. If you’re a key pitcher, especially the staff ace, and you are not the one actually throwing the pitch, do not get involved in the fight. Felix Hernandez–stay in the dugout.
No info on the fines for you as of yet, and those amounts may never be known. What exactly was Felix thinking out there? He's been having a great year, why do something stupid like that?
Poll Results: What's Your Opinion of the Kenji Johjima Extension?
Our latest poll brought in the highest total of votes ever for Mariners Central, 31. Here's how they went down.
What's Your Opinion of the Kenji Johjima Extension?
Great. Lock up a great catcher for a reasonable price. 4-12%
Terrible. Clement is ready and he shouldn't be blocked. 18-58%
Status Quo. 9-29%
Seems like not many of you liked the signing, or thought whatever. Personally, I was on the statas quo wagon. Right now I'm not going to complain, but we'll see a few months or years from now.
If you have any ideas for polls that you would like to see, hit me up at marinerscentral"at"gmail.com.
What's Your Opinion of the Kenji Johjima Extension?
Great. Lock up a great catcher for a reasonable price. 4-12%
Terrible. Clement is ready and he shouldn't be blocked. 18-58%
Status Quo. 9-29%
Seems like not many of you liked the signing, or thought whatever. Personally, I was on the statas quo wagon. Right now I'm not going to complain, but we'll see a few months or years from now.
If you have any ideas for polls that you would like to see, hit me up at marinerscentral"at"gmail.com.
Sexson Hitting the Pine, But Not Till Later
Richie Sexson was slapped with a six day suspension and fined an undisclosed amount for his actions in last night's bench clearing brawl. Sorry I didn't have this up earlier, it was started but not completed but I thought that I'd get in up.Sexson is appealing the suspension and is playing in tonight's game. Why do athletes have to appeal their suspensions? And it's only really in baseball. In hockey, your suspended and that's that. I'm not a huge NBA or NFL guy, but I think that you can appeal in that. The fine won't matter. It's like me seeing a nickle on the ground; I'll probably pick it up, but I don't need it. I probably shouldn't pick it up. The six day suspension won't make a huge difference, although he is in a contract year. The suspension could end up as a bit of the problem considering the potential 30 AB's or so that he'd miss, but it shouldn't matter too much.
Caffeinated Confines has a few rules for us to abide by for brawls. USS Mariner looks at Bryan LaHair, a left handed first baseman, and how he could be a replacement for Richie Sexson. I see him as a fit. I'd look at a replacement if it was more in the 10-15 day range for an absence, but for 6, I think that I'll have to pass this time.
Series Preview: CWS @ SEA, 5/9-11/08
Wanted to give you a heads up about the Mariners next series before the first game starts. Not much commentary from me this time though. I'll save that for my post game remarks.
May 9
CWS: Jose Contreras, RHP, 2-3, 4.08 ERA
SEA: Carlos Silva, RHP, 3-1, 4.20 ERA
Scouting Report
May 10
CWS: Javier Vazquez, RHP, 3-3, 3.30 ERA
SEA: Jarrod Washburn, LHP, 2-4, 4.81 ERA
Scouting Report
May 11
CWS: Gavin Floyd, RHP, 3-1, 2.50 ERA
SEA: Miguel Batista, RHP, 2-4, 5.66 ERA
Scouting Report
May 9
CWS: Jose Contreras, RHP, 2-3, 4.08 ERA
SEA: Carlos Silva, RHP, 3-1, 4.20 ERA
Scouting Report
May 10
CWS: Javier Vazquez, RHP, 3-3, 3.30 ERA
SEA: Jarrod Washburn, LHP, 2-4, 4.81 ERA
Scouting Report
May 11
CWS: Gavin Floyd, RHP, 3-1, 2.50 ERA
SEA: Miguel Batista, RHP, 2-4, 5.66 ERA
Scouting Report
Mentioned in MLBTR
As many of you may know, Mariners Central was mentioned in Cork Gaines' latest 'Baseball Blogs Weigh In' post over at MLBTR. Cork linked up my post about Ken Griffey Jr. and what it would take to acquire him.
Mariners Central speculates on some of the names that it might take to land Ken Griffey Jr., noting that the M's are not likely to part with either of their top two prospects, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
Glad to see that this blog is starting to go places. This link from MLBTR has brought visitors from all over the world. Right now at about 300 and counting. We are also looking at a record for votes in a poll as we are coming up on 30. Although some of the comments to the Jr. post weren't very nice, I would still like to thank MLBTR, Cork Gaines, and all those who commented on the post and voted in the polls for their supprt which is much appreciated. Keep on reading. I see biggish things in the future for this blog.
Mariners Central speculates on some of the names that it might take to land Ken Griffey Jr., noting that the M's are not likely to part with either of their top two prospects, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
Glad to see that this blog is starting to go places. This link from MLBTR has brought visitors from all over the world. Right now at about 300 and counting. We are also looking at a record for votes in a poll as we are coming up on 30. Although some of the comments to the Jr. post weren't very nice, I would still like to thank MLBTR, Cork Gaines, and all those who commented on the post and voted in the polls for their supprt which is much appreciated. Keep on reading. I see biggish things in the future for this blog.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
5/7 Game Thread
Time for a little play by play from me.
8:41 - Mariners down 2-0 going in to the top of the seventh inning.
8:45 - Bedard getting up over the 100 pitch mark. One on, one out.
8:53 - Bedard strikes out two to end the inning. His night in probably over with 109 pitches thrown. Mariners turn to try and get some offence going.
8:57 - Ibanez battles through six pitches for a walk
9:00 - Beltre battles through six pitches for a walk. (not a typo)
9:03 - Jeff Clement strikes out looking
9:10 - Wlad strikes out swinging to end the minimal Mariner threat
9:21 - Back from a break, Author Rhodes takes over for Bedard, gets two outs but know has walked the bases loaded.
9:27 - Sean Green replaces Aurthor Rhodes
9:32 - Green gets a flyout to right, ends the threat
9:36 - Padilla replaced by Benoit; Burke walks but Cairo (why is he still here) flies out
9:43 - Ichiro flies after a ten pitch AB. Nice work
9:46 - Jose Lopez flies out to end inning. Morrow coming in
9:57 - Catalanotto on second, two down
10:03 - Top of the ninth over, so am I. Hopefully the Mariners can pull out some runs...
8:41 - Mariners down 2-0 going in to the top of the seventh inning.
8:45 - Bedard getting up over the 100 pitch mark. One on, one out.
8:53 - Bedard strikes out two to end the inning. His night in probably over with 109 pitches thrown. Mariners turn to try and get some offence going.
8:57 - Ibanez battles through six pitches for a walk
9:00 - Beltre battles through six pitches for a walk. (not a typo)
9:03 - Jeff Clement strikes out looking
9:10 - Wlad strikes out swinging to end the minimal Mariner threat
9:21 - Back from a break, Author Rhodes takes over for Bedard, gets two outs but know has walked the bases loaded.
9:27 - Sean Green replaces Aurthor Rhodes
9:32 - Green gets a flyout to right, ends the threat
9:36 - Padilla replaced by Benoit; Burke walks but Cairo (why is he still here) flies out
9:43 - Ichiro flies after a ten pitch AB. Nice work
9:46 - Jose Lopez flies out to end inning. Morrow coming in
9:57 - Catalanotto on second, two down
10:03 - Top of the ninth over, so am I. Hopefully the Mariners can pull out some runs...
5/7 Ranier Watch
Time to look at a couple players making some noise in Tacoma.
Jeremy Reed-OF
AVG: .362 H: 42 2B: 8 3B: 1 HR: 5 RBI: 19 BB: 13 K: 11 SB: 6 OBP: 423 SLG: .578
Reed has played well so far this year, and probably will get a call-up some time or later. He is out of option.
Oswaldo Navarro-SS
AVG: .307 H: 24 R: 15 2B: 5 3B: 0 HR: 0 RBI: 9 BB: 12 K: 13 SB: 0 OBP: 411 SLG: .373
One of the Mariners underrated prospects, if he still is. Looks like a mostly career backup, but could get a chance sooner or later. If Yuni and Cairo fall, so if Yuni falls, he could be on his way up.
Ryan Feierabend-P
W-L: 3-1 ERA: 1.70 IP: 37 HR: 2 K: 27 BB: 10 AVG: .227
Feierabend is a guy that I've always liked, but never hasn't seemed to have gotten a chance. He's been dominating AAA for the last year plus now, and deserves a call-up.
RA Dickey-P
W-L: 1-4 ERA: 3.25 IP: 36 HR: 1 K: 21 BB: 5 AVG: .294
Dickey has gotten a couple shots, but the M's keep sending him down. I like him more than Baek, but maybe once he evens out the record and gets the AVG down he'll be back up here.
Jeremy Reed-OF
AVG: .362 H: 42 2B: 8 3B: 1 HR: 5 RBI: 19 BB: 13 K: 11 SB: 6 OBP: 423 SLG: .578
Reed has played well so far this year, and probably will get a call-up some time or later. He is out of option.
Oswaldo Navarro-SS
AVG: .307 H: 24 R: 15 2B: 5 3B: 0 HR: 0 RBI: 9 BB: 12 K: 13 SB: 0 OBP: 411 SLG: .373
One of the Mariners underrated prospects, if he still is. Looks like a mostly career backup, but could get a chance sooner or later. If Yuni and Cairo fall, so if Yuni falls, he could be on his way up.
Ryan Feierabend-P
W-L: 3-1 ERA: 1.70 IP: 37 HR: 2 K: 27 BB: 10 AVG: .227
Feierabend is a guy that I've always liked, but never hasn't seemed to have gotten a chance. He's been dominating AAA for the last year plus now, and deserves a call-up.
RA Dickey-P
W-L: 1-4 ERA: 3.25 IP: 36 HR: 1 K: 21 BB: 5 AVG: .294
Dickey has gotten a couple shots, but the M's keep sending him down. I like him more than Baek, but maybe once he evens out the record and gets the AVG down he'll be back up here.
The Nasty Attendences of Late
Barely getting over the 15,000 mark, which is great for a hockey game, or for the Florida Marlins, but for a Mariners team that was suppossed to be raking in the wins and putting bums in the seats are doing much of either. A little bit from the PI:
''You expect some ebb and flow,'' Armstrong said. ''The weather hasn't been good. We haven't played as well as we wanted. And this is the worst schedule ever.
How much effect will the whether have when you play in a stadium with a retractable roof? I guess the whether would have an effect on those travelling to the game, but it shouldn't be that significant.
''I'm optimistic, but when you see 15,000 against a division rival, yes, you are disappointed.''
Of course you should be dissapointed. If those are the lame crowds you'll pull in come September when the Angels come to town? I hope not. I see these points as an arguement for the fans who don't show up:
''You expect some ebb and flow,'' Armstrong said. ''The weather hasn't been good. We haven't played as well as we wanted. And this is the worst schedule ever.
How much effect will the whether have when you play in a stadium with a retractable roof? I guess the whether would have an effect on those travelling to the game, but it shouldn't be that significant.
''I'm optimistic, but when you see 15,000 against a division rival, yes, you are disappointed.''
Of course you should be dissapointed. If those are the lame crowds you'll pull in come September when the Angels come to town? I hope not. I see these points as an arguement for the fans who don't show up:
- When your team isn't doing very well, you probably don't want to go and watch that team. I understand that, but when everybpdy else thinks that you might want to pull out that fifty and go support your team.
- It is May and some people have jobs to do that might not allow them the oppurtunities to go to the games that they might have during the summer months.
- School. My excuse. It's still Spring and people still have to go to school. Homework and that garbage takes up more time than it should. Also those with kids in school will likely find it just as hard to get to the game as those in school for six hours a day learning stuff that they will probably never use.
Now that my points are out there, it's time for my points that the fans who show up will say.
- Support your team. Thirty bucks for a decent seat isn't bad. Four bucks for a Coke is.
- Get away for a few hours and hang with your buds at the ballpark.
- It's usually fun, and when there's nobody there you can sneak down to better seats!!
Atleast there will likely be more than 15,000 next Friday night seeing as it's JJ Putz Bobblehead night.
Junior and Seattle
Ken Griffey Jr. has been rumored to be traded for a while now, and the rumors of him returning to Seattle are heating up.
Personally, I've always like Griffey, as a player and as a person. He was a termendous player who would likely be chasing down Barry Bonds right now if it weren't for all of his injuries. Not to say that he was or is injury prone by any means, but when you break your wrist jumping in to a wall to make a catch, that shows who much you're willing to wisk for your team. That's the type of player Griffey was with Seattle and will always be.
Back to the trade rumors. The money could become an issue at one point. Jr. is owed $12.5M for this year, and has a $16.5M option for 2009 with a $4M buyout, which makes his option worth $12.5M (in a theory that I don't feel like explaining right now). The M's are throwing $16-something-M at Richie Sexson this year, I'm sure that they would spend that on one of the franchise's greatest players. Richie Sexson's contract comes off of the books, and Raul Ibanez and Jose Vidro will become free agents, although Vidro has a vesting option, giving the Mariners two places where Griffey could play easily. Or switch Wlad in to left and insert Griffey in to right.
What it's going to take to get Griffey over here is the biggest question. Would the Mariners give up Wladimir Balentien or Jeff Clement? I don't know. The Mariners would probably be hard pressed to part with their top prospects. Other than those two, guys like Phillipe Amount and Carlos Truinfel come to mind. Cha Seung Baek and Jeremy Reed apear to be extra parts, and are still young and have some potential, so maybe Baek, Reed and another high-ish level prospect would get the job done?
Would there be any liklihood of the Mariners sending Richie Sexson or Jose Vidro over to the Reds in a potential deal?
Personally, I've always like Griffey, as a player and as a person. He was a termendous player who would likely be chasing down Barry Bonds right now if it weren't for all of his injuries. Not to say that he was or is injury prone by any means, but when you break your wrist jumping in to a wall to make a catch, that shows who much you're willing to wisk for your team. That's the type of player Griffey was with Seattle and will always be.
Back to the trade rumors. The money could become an issue at one point. Jr. is owed $12.5M for this year, and has a $16.5M option for 2009 with a $4M buyout, which makes his option worth $12.5M (in a theory that I don't feel like explaining right now). The M's are throwing $16-something-M at Richie Sexson this year, I'm sure that they would spend that on one of the franchise's greatest players. Richie Sexson's contract comes off of the books, and Raul Ibanez and Jose Vidro will become free agents, although Vidro has a vesting option, giving the Mariners two places where Griffey could play easily. Or switch Wlad in to left and insert Griffey in to right.
What it's going to take to get Griffey over here is the biggest question. Would the Mariners give up Wladimir Balentien or Jeff Clement? I don't know. The Mariners would probably be hard pressed to part with their top prospects. Other than those two, guys like Phillipe Amount and Carlos Truinfel come to mind. Cha Seung Baek and Jeremy Reed apear to be extra parts, and are still young and have some potential, so maybe Baek, Reed and another high-ish level prospect would get the job done?
Would there be any liklihood of the Mariners sending Richie Sexson or Jose Vidro over to the Reds in a potential deal?
.......................
Yesternight's game was one worth forgetting. Miguel Batista would happily agree with that statement.
I'm having a hard time finding positive things from the last couple Mariners 'games'. Jose Lopez and Wladimir Balentien both had a couple of hits, and Wlad scored the Mariners only pathetic run. Ichiro stole number 13 of the season.
Cha Seung Baek comtinued to prove his imprtance to the club giving up four runs in 4.2 innings of 'work'. I don't see why he is here and RA Dickey isn't. It would make more sense to get rid of Baek and call up someone half way effective. On a positive note, Mark Lowe and RRS each pitched a scoreless inning. RRS looks like he has figured a little bit out as of late. What I mean is that he hasn't been as awful lately. The M's need to do better tonight. I expect more than the pitiful crowd of 15,818. Do we need to send 40,000 out there every night for the Mariners to win?
I'm having a hard time finding positive things from the last couple Mariners 'games'. Jose Lopez and Wladimir Balentien both had a couple of hits, and Wlad scored the Mariners only pathetic run. Ichiro stole number 13 of the season.
Cha Seung Baek comtinued to prove his imprtance to the club giving up four runs in 4.2 innings of 'work'. I don't see why he is here and RA Dickey isn't. It would make more sense to get rid of Baek and call up someone half way effective. On a positive note, Mark Lowe and RRS each pitched a scoreless inning. RRS looks like he has figured a little bit out as of late. What I mean is that he hasn't been as awful lately. The M's need to do better tonight. I expect more than the pitiful crowd of 15,818. Do we need to send 40,000 out there every night for the Mariners to win?
Monday, May 5, 2008
Slump Breaker
Now I can be happy! Maybe not as happy as Ichiro is, or Lookout Landing, but the final outcome is better than the last little while.Jarrod Washburn did what he needed to do, sort of, enough. You can't give him the wrong side of the (insert word here because I can't think of one right now) because he left the game due to an injury. He made it through six, enough for the win on 87 pitches, so seven innings had to have been in the equation had the injury not occurred. He let in three runs on four hits and struck out three. A pretty good night by Washburn standerds. The bullpen was great again. Sean Green pitched two scoreless, and JJ finished off the ninth, but didn't earn a save.
The bats decided to come out tonight. A couple in the first innings, and then a four spot in the third got the job done. I'll take them if they come in bunches. Wladimir Balentien hit his second homerun of the year, hitting in the nine spot for some reason. He finished the night off at 2-3 with three RBI and one strikout. Jeff Clement went hitless, again and struck out a couple of times. Richie Sexson hit number 301 and has picked up a little bit lately. Ichiro went 1-4 with a double. He didn't steal any bases tonight though. Joh even had a couple hits and a couple runs.
Overall the team showed up really nicely and made me feel proud to be a Mariners fan. I wouldn't expect them to choose Kevin Millwood to be their slump buster, but whatever works. The only complaint I have is that only 16,637 hauled their butts out to the game. That's it? How come there's all of these small crowds showing up lately? I guess that the M's are stil doing a long shot better than the Marlins.
Just keep it up!!
Norton Now a Brave
This one took me a couple minutes or hours to put up, but the Atlanta Braves have acquired Greg Norton from the Mariners for a player to be named or cash considerations. Nortan was DFA'd along with Brad Wilkerson five days(ish) ago.Unfortunate is a word I want to use but can't - I just did - because Norton didn't really deserve to get dropped, but at the same time he didn't prove that he would be more valuable than Wlad Balentien or Jeff Clemnt. Jason Churchill wants enough money to cover Jose Vidro's contract for 2008 to make this trade worth it. I have to say that I agree with him. Why is Miguel Cairo still here?
Maybe I Should be Negative More Often
A lovely picture of Ichiro from Spring Training (taken by me) to get me in a happy mood.It looks like the negativity from one of my latest posts has paid off. Not only did I get a mention in AngryBeltre (a solid M's blog btw), but the M's scored two runs in the first inning tonight! Maybe I should be negative more often.
I'm not a negative person, but when you have your aces on the mound and they only get one run of support each...wouldn't you be a little ticked off too? Hopefully Texas will give us a boost back up to the .500 mark.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Series Preview: 5/5-8/08
Time to take a look at the series ahead when the Rangers come to town.
May 5
TEX: Kevin Millwood, RHP, 2-2, 3.86 ERA
SEA: Jarrod Washburn, LHP, 1-4, 4.86 ERA
Scouting Report
Wash looks to clean up the mess by Seattle starters after this weekend. He could really use a good performance to get his mind set on excellence. I'm not seeing much of that 'contract year really good playing' yet. Manny's even turned it on. The bats have to come out and get more than one run. Four of five would be good. Three might even suffice. Washburn will also need to get fairly deep in to the game after five innings of bullpen work in Sunday's game.
May 6
TEX: Sidney Ponson, RHP, 1-0, 1.35 ERA
SEA: Miguel Batista, RHP, 2-3, 4.41 ERA
Scouting Report
The Mariners were rumored to be interested in Ponson a while back, but nothing turned out from it. Time to see what could have been. Same thing as I mentioned earlier: innings from the starter and runs from the batting order.
May 7
TEX: Vicente Padilla, RHP, 4-2, 3.50 ERA
SEA: Erik Bedard, LHP, 2-1, 1.82 ERA
Scouting Report
Mr. Erik will need to pick up the pieces from his last start and try again. His first loss as a Mariner was his only poor performance so far this season. He'll hope to rebound and pitch at the Cy Young level that he is capable of.
May 5
TEX: Kevin Millwood, RHP, 2-2, 3.86 ERA
SEA: Jarrod Washburn, LHP, 1-4, 4.86 ERA
Scouting Report
Wash looks to clean up the mess by Seattle starters after this weekend. He could really use a good performance to get his mind set on excellence. I'm not seeing much of that 'contract year really good playing' yet. Manny's even turned it on. The bats have to come out and get more than one run. Four of five would be good. Three might even suffice. Washburn will also need to get fairly deep in to the game after five innings of bullpen work in Sunday's game.
May 6
TEX: Sidney Ponson, RHP, 1-0, 1.35 ERA
SEA: Miguel Batista, RHP, 2-3, 4.41 ERA
Scouting Report
The Mariners were rumored to be interested in Ponson a while back, but nothing turned out from it. Time to see what could have been. Same thing as I mentioned earlier: innings from the starter and runs from the batting order.
May 7
TEX: Vicente Padilla, RHP, 4-2, 3.50 ERA
SEA: Erik Bedard, LHP, 2-1, 1.82 ERA
Scouting Report
Mr. Erik will need to pick up the pieces from his last start and try again. His first loss as a Mariner was his only poor performance so far this season. He'll hope to rebound and pitch at the Cy Young level that he is capable of.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
