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Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 08:11:03 pm
I wanted to get this up quickly and I'll add more to it later. But manager John McLaren said that Jeff Clement will start Thursday night's game against Cleveland at catcher. McLaren is going to sit struggling starter Kenji Johjima for the next two games to try and get him to relax a little. Johjima was clearly not pleased, saying that sitting has never helped him get out of a slump and that it would only make him put more pressure on himself to do better. I'll post more on this later. I have to write my game story.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 5 comments
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 04:35:47 pm
Ok, sorry we're coming in a little late but I'm working on getting some pictures up here and they're taking forever to download. But we'll start with the updates now and get them going, since I have three stories to write for tomorrow's paper... GAME THOUGHTS: 9:40 -- Not sure why Mac didn't let Clement pinch hit for Pepe, who looked awful as expected. But Clement replaced Joh and is catching now, he should bat next inning. 9:18 --- WLADDY!!!! That was opposite field. I never saw Wilkerson pull a ball that far. That home run just snapped Cliff Lee's streak of scoreless innings at 27. 9:03 --- Well, I've been sitting here trying to sum up what Cha Seung is doing out on the mound. And the best thing I can write: "It's utterly gross to watch." R.A. Dickey is probably watching this in the clubhouse at Cheney just shaking his head sadly. 8:31 --- Good hustle by Wlad to get his first hit of the season. The Mariners had a good chance to get some runs, but come up short. 7:46 --- Snydro, I talked to all parties involved. Here's a few quotes. Clement: You just have to stay within yourself and do what has made you successful. Obviously, we both got off to pretty good starts at the Triple A level and when you come here, try not to do any more than that. You just stay within yourself on a daily basis. It’s a game of failure and take the good with the bad. You try to maointain that balance." Balentien: I've been waiting for the opportunity now I just have to earn it. I never thought I was going to get called up so early in the year. I'm just going to go out and play hard and do the best I can and hopefully win some more ball games." Norton: Of course, I'd like to be in the big leagues somewhere. I don't aspire to go to Triple A. If no one does claim me, that's another bridge we have to cross. If there's any interest in me or interest in going back to Tacoma, we'll discuss it. McLaren:Norton's kind of a victim of circumstance. He mirrors Vidro so much, and we feel like we needed the protection with Burke as the extra catcher when we DH Clement. We need pinch-runner every night, with so many guys who need pinch-running for. We're not going to pinch hit for that many guys, so we felt like this was the way we needed to go. They're smart kids. We sing praises, and it's hard not to talk about some of our guys, because we're so high on them and they're so well-thought of. All we ask them to do is to be themselves and go out and play hard and play smart. That's what we want them to do, use their talent, and I know they will.
7:35 --- And Grady Sizemore with a lead-off home run off of Washburn. I wasn't living here back then, but how bad was it when Sizemore decided to play baseball instead of going to the Huskies. UW fans could have the same thing happens when some team tries to sign Jake Locker after his season with the Bellingham Belles. 7:26 --- John McGrath wrote the other day that Jose Vidro had one of the worst swings he'd ever seen in his baseball watching career. After watching Vidro try and hit a pitch above his head, McGrath will have to make the swing from last week the second worst swing in his lifetime.
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 01:17:15 pm
It's official outfielder Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement have been called up from Triple A Tacoma and will be in uniform tonight. To make room for those two players, outfielder Brad Wilkerson and bench player Greg Norton have been designated for assignment, according to the Mariners media relations. Wilkerson was not in the clubhouse today, while Norton was just told by general manager Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren. I'm still not certain why they designated Norton instead of Miguel Cairo, which is pretty much the consensus for the media here. Norton was hitting .438 as you will read below and he seemed to be an offensive threat. Maybe Cairo has some compromising photos of somebody in the Mariners front office to keep him on this team. And as for Vidro, they still seem to hold out belief that he will hit again, particularly after last night. Here's the official release from the Mariners....
Categories: General
• 10 comments
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 12:55:47 pm
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. It appears that last night's coincidental sitting out of Jeff Clement and Wlad Balentien in the Rainiers was more than just that. Yes, that's right the Seattle Mariners are making a move with the roster because Brad Wilkerson's locker has been cleaned out of the visitors clubhouse. The name plate is gone and no remnants of him are around. That means at least one player could be coming, but rumor around the stadium is that it's two players, both Clement and Wlad. We have received no official word yet. But Wilkerson is gone and most likely designated for assingment. Here's how you could work it, Wlad could come in and start tonight in right because Cleveland is starting lefty Cliff Lee. Clement could go tomorrow against the right-hander the Indians are sending out. Still if they add two guys, that means another spot must be opened up. That could either come by designating another player for assignment, or placing player on the disabled list.
Categories: Answers to your questions
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 04:42:08 pm
I hate having too many posts in a row because it makes it tough for people to comment, but I though I'd break it up somewhat. But we'll get the game posts going now. And I'll even toss in some links along the way to read between innings. GAME UPDATES START HERE: Sure, she called me just the other day to tell me she was pleased. Actually Snydro, the conditions of the restraining order don't allow contact of any sort and a 100-foot barrier between her and .... I told her to quit stalking me. 9:52 -- "PUT ME IN COACH I'M READY TO PLAY TODAY!!!!" My God, My God, that's, that's Miguel Cairo's music! And he's in to pinch run for Sexson, whou doubled off the wall. Cairo actually ran faster out to second than Sexson did on his double. 9:43 -- ADRIAN BELTRE!!!! 3-run homer on an 0-1 pitch off of closer Rafale Betancourt --- about a foot over the wall. The Mariners have a lead. 9:34 -- As for the Balentien and Clement not starting, maybe it's something, maybe it's nothing, but it allows you guys to dream. Another thing you to have consider --- they don't have to be called up at the same time. I realistically think that Clement will be called up first. Because he's ready right now, but they may wait on Balentien until his knee is completely healthy at this point. 9:24 -- Silva in trouble, not sure why Mac didn't go with the lefty-lefty matchup and bring in Rhodes to face Delluci, maybe Rhodes wasn't warm enough. But Athur's in now and it's tied after a soft grounder to first. 9:07 -- Sorry for the lapse, I'm still going, "hmmmm" about those two sitting. Usually, guys like that don't sit unless they've been told to by the big club. Of course, Wlad just came off injury and Clement is a catcher and so he gets days off, but its funny that on a day when McLaren says they'll be up "sooner than later" those two sits out of the game. Hmmmmmmm. 8:40 --- Here's the Rainiers lineup for tonight Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 8:35 --- Brad Wilkerson with his third hit, on that note, neither Jeff Clement or Wlad Balentien are supposedly in tonight's lineup for the Rainiers ... hmmmmmmmm. 8:30 -- It appears that John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar are improving in their rehab. 8:22 --- Jose Vidro with another double RBI, he's responding to Mac's little ulitmatum. Richie, er, not so much. 8:12 --- Brad Wilkerson with a leaping catch. He's doing it all. Who gave him a Red Bull before the game. 8:03 --- Mark it down at 8:03 EST Brad Wilkerson got two hits in a row in one game. No, I'm not making this up. And for the second straight time this game, after Wilkerson gets a hit, Joh gets him out with a double play. 7:55 --- Jose Vidro with an RBI double. That's not a typo. And his average is now above his weight of 200 (listed weight I might add there). 7:51 -- If you haven't noticed, I'm going by local time. No, I can't predict the future. * Here's the LA Times game story from last night's game in which Oakland drubbed the Angels. 7:38 --- Alight, we pick it up in the second inning after Brad Wilkerson just pulled a ball relatively hard through the right side for a hit. And it pushes him up over .200, to .204 but not over his weight 205. In the first inning, Richie came up clutch in his old stadium, with a ground ball to first with bases loaded. You see he gets cheers on the road for not getting hits. That's why he plays better. Silva gave up two doubles but got out of it with just a run, but sometimes with this Mariners offense, it's like pregnancy, once is all it takes.
Categories: Game Updates
• 8 comments
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 04:29:28 pm
Here's a link to our front page today, it's a pretty cool design with all of the slumping hitters. Alright, before we get to the game thoughts, I thought I'd post a few notes and such since I didn't have time to before the game started. * John McLaren was even a little more candid about the situation with Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement, saying "they'll be here sooner, than later." Here's some more of his comments: When asked if the decision comes down to service time, i.e. the "Super 2" rule or waiting til May 7th for both players to fall under the service time to start their free agent clock a year sooner. "None. I never heard the words to be honest with you." When and if the duo is called up, will they play every day or will they do what Adam Jones did last season? "I think it's a little different circumstances. They’ll play if we brought them up. Last year, we had three guys (Guillen, Ichiro and Ibanez) that were everyday players all of them having good years. We brought Adam up and out of necessity and just mixed him in whenever we could. It’s a little different now, we have guys that are struggling, if we bring them up we’re going to play them." On how long he can wait on some of the slumping guys? "We’re monitoring it, we’ve talked about it. I’m trying to be fair to give people the benefit of the doubt, with that said we’ve got several guys around the .200 mark and they need to pick it up in a hurry. I’m not going to put a time frame on it." If the players that are struggling realize that they need to pick it up or be benched? "They’re professionals and I think they realize it . I brought it up in the meeting the other day, I said 'We've been very fair with you people. We want you to keep working hard. We haven’t lost confidence in you, but there will be a point when we think of other options. I think one month is a very fair yardstick to use and we’ve done that. We’re right at that now and they need to pick it up.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 1 comment
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 08:21:06 am
My first visit to Cleveland has been all I hoped it would be and more. Actually that's a lie. But it hasn't been bad. I got up and walked basically the better part of two miles trying to find a coffee shop not named Starbucks to no real avail, until I ducked into a downtown mall and found Caribou Coffee where FSN's Brad Adam and Mariners' media relations guru Tim Hevly were also getting some coffee. Before I forget, a belated and big thanks to Doug Pacey for handling Sunday for me. I'm sure the Kansas grad prefers Stadium girls softball and Class 2A track, but he came up clutch for me like Mario Chalmers in the title game. One thing I will tell you is that it's f-f-freezing here. According to Google weather it's 42 degrees but it feels colder than that. That is not good for the Mariners, who struggle to produce runs in warm weather. * Here's Darrin Beene's "Up Next" preview of the series. On a side note, as you know I normally don't link to other local papers often, but the P-I's John Hickey met with McLaren after Sunday's fiasco in his office and got a expletive-laced tirade. AND NOW OUR NEW DAILY FEATURE: CLEMENT AND WLAD WATCH 2008! Anyway, here's last night's game story from my boy Grant Clark, in it you will find that WLAD BALENTIEN SLUGGED THREE HOME RUNS IN ONE GAME! Not to be outdone, Jeff Clement went 3-for-4 to up his average to .397 this season. Here's their official lines from last night and here's the box score. Jeff Clement 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, a base on balls and two runs scored. And I will mention that Jeremy Reed was 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and RBI and two base on balls. Charlton Jimerson and Bryan LaHair also both hit home runs. Also here's the Rainiers up to date statistics for the season.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 14 comments
Monday, April 28th, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 02:12:26 pm
 Musically speaking, I prefer Pearl Jam to pop. But my iPod ranges anywhere from Oasis to old school hip-hop and because I was born in Montana, I like me some country music. So what does this all mean you ask? Remember as the angry lady said, “this is Mariners Insider, not Divish Insider.” It’s because it seems I often find myself in the press box before games, or driving back to Tacoma after games with the song “Heart of the Matter” by Don Henley stuck in my head. Specifically, this lyric over and over: “The more I know, the less I understand Actually, it’s just the first part more than the second. Because what I’m finding out with this Mariners’ team is that “the more I know” about it, “the less I understand.” Specifically, “the more I know, the less I understand” about the decisions being made with the team, both in-game and roster-wise. When will somebody admit that Brad Wilkerson and Jose Vidro are unable to help this team in any way? Why did the Mariners spend $850,000 on Miguel Cairo and what exactly is his role with the team?, And how many games will they give away and fall behind in the AL West before somebody makes a decision to makes some changes. “This was not a good homestand,” manager John McLaren said after yesterday’s meltdown. Yeah, you think? I’m trying to find a phrase to sum up the recent six-game homestand in which the Mariners finished 2-4. Umm, let’s see … A hopeless mess? Nah, not harsh enough. A complete disaster? Sounds about right. No, I’m going to go a little different direction. I’m thinking it’s “A complete wake-up call for everybody and anybody that draws a paycheck from the Seattle Mariners organization.” Imagine anybody watching those last six games and still have the audacity to believe that the current team the Mariners have constructed could make it to the playoffs. I’d have a better chance of convincing Sophia Bush to move to Tacoma than convincing most die-hard Mariners fans that this team, right now, is good enough to make the playoffs. It’s a flawed line-up, a flawed roster and a flawed philosophy that to no real surprise leads to flawed baseball. There’s my rant. I have ideas of how to fix it, but that’s a far longer post. Hitting D-  Let’s see, Jose Vidro is hitting .195, Richie Sexson is hitting .207, Brad Wilkerson is hitting .189 and Kenji Johjima is hitting .197. That’s four guys, who usually bat 5-6-7-8 in the Mariners a daily order that are literally not hitting their weight. Need proof, according to the Mariners media guide Vidro weighs 200 pounds, Sexson is 240, Wilkerson is 205 and Johjima weighs 205. Maybe that’s a new theorem for Baseball Prospectus – Average/Weight ratio with Vidro a -5, Sexson -33, Wilkerson -16 and Joh is -8. The only reason that the Mariners don’t get an F is the production of Jose Lopez, who is hitting .314 with 17 RBI. Raul Ibanez has also been steady with a .300 average with 20 RBI. As for the rest, Ichiro is only hitting .257, but he’s starting to pick things up a little more and Yuni Betancourt is hitting a respectable .298, but his pitch selection in clutch situations leaves plenty to be desired and Adrian Beltre seems to try and cure the whole team’s offensive struggles in one at-bat. Starting pitching A-  Seattle’s big three Erik Bedard, Felix Hernandez and Carlos Silva all had quality outings for the Mariners, and even Jarrod Washburn wasn’t horrible. Miguel Batista gets a pass for getting hurt early in his start. Look, the starting pitching is the last concern for this team. It’s been the most consistent aspect of the team all season, even with Bedard’s injuries. Bullpen C  This grade could have been worse had it not been for Cha Seung Baek’s quality outing from the bullpen in long relief of an injured Batista. Baek showed that he can contribute once every two weeks when he’s used. As for his bullpen mates, J.J. Putz showed hints of his old self, which is a positive. But Mark Lowe, Arthur Rhodes, Sean Green and Brandon Morrow all had a few shaky moments. If Rhodes gets a few calls, from a Triple A umpire, working a big league game, he gets out of his one jam. Lowe seems to have moments where he looks dominant and times where he can’t find the zone. Morrow’s velocity is there, but at this point can you trust his command? Green leads the AL in appearances. This much use could be detrimental late in the season. Defense B Game decisions C  I liked the idea of McLaren benching Vidro for a few days and inserting Norton, who produced and helped the Mariners get a win. I was one of the people wondering about why Cha Seung was on the team and he looked better than I expected. I question leaving Felix out there a little bit on Sunday, but moreover I question bringing Morrow in instead, of getting Green ready, a guy who can get you double play, and isn’t going to walk many guys. I also liked Mac sticking up for his pitchers and getting tossed. It proved a point. Overall D
Categories: General
• 12 comments
Sunday, April 27th, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 01:20:30 pm
I will say that my recliner is a little more comfortable than the press box. 3:14 -- Snydro, Felix was at 115 pitches and scuffling a little. he'd walked a couple guys and gave up a cheap broken bat hit. 3:07 -- When the Mariners lose this game, they will look at the first three innings where they got only one run but had runners on every inning as the reason for it. 2:35 --- Another butchered ball by Jack Cust in left field and more improbably they give Wilkerson a hit on it, no word if the official scorekeeper's last name is Wilkerson as well. 2:25 --- Something to note, McLaren said that JJ Putz is available today despite throwing so many innings last night, but since the Mariners have an off-day tomorrow he'll have time to recover. And yes, Snydro22, Felix is dealing. I always hate missing his starts. 1:31 --- Nine straight strikes to strike out the side. Felix is dealing. Blowers made a good point, and its something we talked about in the press box in Oakland. Felix and Silva never allow the A's to work their game of drawing walks and prolonging at-bats and ballooning pitch counts by just flooding the strike zone. They throw strikes and aren't afraid of contact. If you notice, the A's have come out swinging in this game simply off of what Felix did to them in Oakland. 1:24 --- Greg Norton hits again, and Jose Vidro slips a little deeper onto the bench. Richie continues to struggle at home. It's almost all mental. The guy tries too hard at home to prove fans wrong. When he's on the road, he's just far more relaxed. 1:19 --- An interesting double for Lopez. But it shouldn't be surprising since Jack Cust is in left field. Basically Cust out there is like putting Jose Vidro out in left field. Cust is a really DH, but because they have Frank Thomas and Mike Sweeney, they are trying to hide Cust in left.
Categories: Game Updates
• 6 comments
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 01:04:26 pm
We're coming to you live from Casa De Divish - a disaster of epic proportions. Doug Pacey is giving me a day off as I prepare for my sojourn to Cleveland and New York next week. So like some of you, I'll be watching the game on FSN today. But I'll still be posting some thoughts from home. Doug is going to e-mail a few notes from the game and I'll post them since he doesn't have access to this blog for some reason. That will change in the future. If you look at today's line-up, Greg Norton is back in there at DH in place of Jose Vidro. This is something to keep an eye. It appears that McLaren is finally starting to lose some patience with non-producing players, which is something I'll be writing about for Tuesday. Anyway, Norton is in, Vidro is out. It makes the middle of line-up somewhat more dangerous. Doug also noted that both Batista and Silva are on schedule to make their next starts. Here's today's lineups.... Seattle
Categories: Game Updates
• 2 comments
Saturday, April 26th, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 06:38:44 pm
Well, we're coming live from Safeco, albeit a little delayed. We were plagued by some slow internet connections in the press box. They've rebooted the system and hopefully it's moving along a little faster. GAME UPDATES START HERE: 8:43 -- It's time for that music again.... 8:35 -- The switch-hitting DH comes up with a clutch double. No not Jose Vidro, Greg Norton. Norton has two doubles in the game. I got excited seeing Norton's name in the lineup earlier today. I really don't know why they didn't bring in a righthander to turn Norton around to the left side. He's got more pop from the right. But oh well, it helped the Ms. 8:13 -- Big strikeout for Arthur Rhodes. I know Dave8557 is going to be against taking Bedard out, but if a guy is laboring, he's laboring and you have to make the switch. I personally think the Mariners might be using Green just a little too much. And that's why his command has been a problem because he's already wearing down some. 7:45 -- As part of the Mariners program, I've got a young student from Olympia here at the game hanging out for an inning. And I'm going to have him write the update for the next inning.... HI i'm matt and i am from olympia! i get to be here for an inning and so far it's great!!! I like how the mariners are doing.. Theyre winning too! Greg Norton just singled home Adrian Beltre put the Mariners up by 3-0.  7:29 --- Took a little break to write my notebook for the paper. The Mariners grabbed a 2-0 lead on an RBI single from Ichiro in the third and possible the cheapest and weakest RBI single from Brad Wilkerson in the fourth. The ball barely went 90 feet, but when you're struggling like Wilkerson you'll take anything you can get. Also to note, normal first base coach Eddie Rodriguez is coaching third, while bench coach Jim Riggleman is coaching first. Sam Perlozzo, who normally coaches third has a torn meniscus in his left knee and is sitting on the bench. No word officially on how Perlozzo did it, but it looks like things will stay this way for the time being. 6:38 --- Not much going, but Bedard looks pretty solid. I haven't seen a fastball over 91 miles per hours, which is still about three to four miles per hour less than last year. Maybe its the effects of the hip?
Categories: Game Updates
• 9 comments
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 02:41:29 pm
I got to the field early, and got to see two groups of people on tours roll through, watch Rich Harden throw his simulated game - he didn't get hurt throwing - but you never know about showering or getting onto the team bus. Right now, Richie Sexson, Brad Wilkerson and Willie Bloomquist are taking extra batting practice. I don't see Jose Vidro. Maybe he doesn't think he needs it. I think there might be a few people that disagree. I didn't do it on my postgame blog, but last night as I sipped on a few cocktails and watched the replay on FSN (no, I'm not a glutton for punishment, I sat down and couldn't find the remote and refused to get up), but Cha Seung Baek should be commended for a solid outing. It was a tough situation and he kept the Mariners in the game when it could have gotten out of hand. If he pitched like that every time he stepped on the mound, he wouldn't be in the bullpen, he'd be in somebody's starting rotation, possibly even the Mariners. UPDATE: The roster move was made and Roy Corcoran was optioned to Triple A Tacoma. Corcoran appeared in eight games, allowing just two runs and eight hits. Links Below .... * The game notebook is about the signing of Kenji Johjima to a contract extension. * The Rainiers got a win last night, even though Ryan Feierabend missed his scheduled start with a sore arm. Jeff Clement had an RBI double. I think we'll do a Jeff Clement watch here every day till he gets called up. * Here's Susan Slusser's game story from the SF Chronicle. Elswhere in baseball.... * Angels DH/outfielder Garrett Anderson admits he is in a slump. And believes that they should move him out of the clean-up spot if it continues. * The Texas Rangers executives met yesterday to find a way to improve the team. Here's the story from the Dallas Morning News. * Here's the story from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram. Here's my solution to the Rangers problem. They need to invent a time machine and go back in time to the moment where Tom Hicks decides he's going to sign Alex Rodriguez for 252 million, and slap Hicks silly till he realizes what a bad idea it is. Sound simple doesn't it.
Categories: General
• 2 comments
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 12:57:57 am
From stevejulio: Is McLaren even able to stay awake until the 9th inning?? It seems to me that on Wednesday vs. the Orioles and Friday against the A's we were down 1 in the bottom of the 9th with Ichiro getting on to lead off the inning. He says Ichiro can steal 80 bases so why dont we steal and then have Lopez bunt him to third?? Then we can hit our trademark sac fly to tie it. Am I the only one thinking this?? No Stevejulio. Almost all of us were wondering what was going on. With the way Lopez was swinging you could have even did a hit-and-run. We actually asked McLaren about that. The whole situation was based on A's closer Huston Street's delivery to home. If Street was going to use the slide-step, which is used to keep a runner close, then Lopez was supposed to bunt. If Street did a slower delivery, Lopez was supposed to not bunt and perhaps see if Ichiro could swipe a bag. I understand this logic a little, but why not wait until Lopez got a strike, which allows Ichiro to work Street a little bit from first. But instead Lopez saw slide step immediately and tried to bunt an awful pitch. Having Lopez have to read that situation and make a decision doesn't seem like the best idea, especially for a player that isn't considered to be the best at thinking on his feet and focusing. Ichiro said after the game he thought that bunt was the right call. But then again, he seems to steal bases when he wants, not when the Mariners want. And that's a problem. Realistically, once Lopez botched the bunt, Ichiro probably should have tried to steal second while Raul was up to give the Mariners best hitter a chance to tie the game. As for the eighth and Yuni's double play, it clearly galled McLaren. This team seems to rely on the sac fly so much - AL league leading 13 - they couldn't get one when they need it most. Yuni is still a young player and prone to getting caught up in the moment. But if he ever expects to make the leap into one of the game's better shortstop, he needs to learn to focus and figure out the strikezone. It's the little things that are killing the Mariners, and McLaren admitted it. “Until we do some small things, it’s going to be hard for us to put long winning streaks together, because we let other teams off the hook,” McLaren said. It's not quite this .... But maybe that's what the Mariners need to hear from their manager. Because the nice guy isn't working. And the team has lost three straight.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 5 comments
Friday, April 25th, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 07:12:32 pm
Another crisp night at Safeco Field, and I'm trying to get some blog thoughts on the Johjima signing, along with my game notebook and other stuff. But I will still be offering up my thoughts for whatever they're worth. GAME UPDATES START HERE: Ok, if I'm Bob Geren I'm not too happy with Dan Brown. THere's no science Wilkerson comes in hitting .174 with four RBI and hasn't played in a week. -- you can't walk him, oh well, good for the Mariners..... or not, Yuni in a 6-4-3 DP, I was an inning off. 9:38 --- Lopez with his fourth hit of the night. Who would have predicted he'd be their leading hitter coming out of spring? 9:15 -- So who agreed with Mac pinch hitting Wilkerson for Bloomquist against a guy throwing 98. Let's see Wilkerson hasn't played in a week and he's asked to come off the bench cold to hit a guy throwing BBs. Who thought he was going to get a hit? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? 9:09 -- Jose Vidro with a sac fly. Look, I'm all for situational hitting but sometimes a sac fly with bases loaded isn't the greatest thing in the world, espeically when you're down multiple runs. 8:50 -- pretty nondescript affair for the Mariners. Cha Seung once he was directed to the mound has actually been all right. But it appears, the Mariners who came in hitting over .300 against the lefties, are going to make Dana Eveland, who was born in Olympia, look like a Cy Young contender. 8:02 -- I guess it's not Batista's back. He has a mild groin strain and will be re-examined tomorrow. 7:49 -- Hmm, it appears that Jose Vidro and Frank Thomas have slightly different hitting styles and results. But the Mariners do a good job of getting at least one run in the first inning. And now it appears Batista is hurt. You could see him mouth the words "My back hurts." on the television screen. We now have Cha Seung Baek entering the game to pitch. Um, Cha Seung the field is over that way. 7:33 -- Wow, so Batista shakes off his Steve Blass disease to get out of the inning with only two runs scored. He did throw 43 pitches. No word as if Cha Seung actually had cobwebs on his arm, but he did have to be shown where the mound in the bullpen was because it had been so long. 7:25 -- Well, you know how Cha Seung Baek hasn't pitched in like two weeks, that could be changing in a little bit, since Batista can't throw a strike. He just walked in a run and he's at 27 pitches and only one out. HERE'S THE LINEUPS: Seattle
Categories: Game Updates
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Posted by Ryan Divish @ 05:41:38 pm
 For Kenji, according to the AP, it means eight million a year over the next three years. On the surface it also appears that Jeff Clement is not going to be the everyday catcher of the future. And I guess on some level that's correct. Does it mean that Clement is not part of the Mariners immediate plans? Not hardly. During the press conference, general manager Bill Bavasi maintained Clement's importance to the Mariners. "This doesn’t change Jeff’s track to the big leagues much, because Jeff’s track to the big leagues is more with his bat than with his glove," Bavasi said. And on some level, he's correct. It's not as if the media or Mariners fans are crying out for Clement to be on the team because of his superior or receiving skills. Because those are still a work in progress as today's column by John McGrath talks about. But good enough for the Mariners catching coordinator Roger Hansen to believe he's ready. No the real reason everyone wants to see Clement in a Mariners uniform is because of that disgustingly perfect and frighteningly compact left-handed swing that seems made for Safeco Field. I've advocated Clement to be in Seattle more as a DH. As a catcher, he's still pretty green and could you imagine him catching against the Angels? With Johjima under contract for the next three years, Clement can still be a viable contributor to the Mariners with his bat alone, or could it be at another position? Clement has been resistant to such talk and actually uses it as a motivator for his catchign work. But Bavasi didn't rule it out. "I would guess at some point along the way, because of Jeff’s bat and if Kenji plays the way he can, Jeff is going to get exposed to another position at some point also," Bavasi said. "But we are not giving up on him as a catcher. A lefthanded catcher that can hit with power is hard to find." After the press conference, I asked Bavasi if he had any particular position he might want to try Clement at, perhaps first base, and he offered this. "Don’t overplay that," he said. "This guy’s a catcher, he’s going to catch and catch well, but if Kenji is still tearing it up and Jeff’s bat is forcing him into the big league, we’re going to have call some sort of audible and somebody is going to have to look at another position and it might Jeff, it might be Kenji, or it might be both." But if you were thinking short term, the only viable position for Clement would be DH right now. And Bavasi hinted that. "Luckily for us, we have the DH and we can play with that a little," he said. Now using a catcher/DH platoon isn't completely unheard of. The Twins did this at times with Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond. But there is one caveat - you'd need one extra guy whould could catch in a pinch. Because if something were to happen to your starting catcher and you would either have to move your DH to catcher and then lose the DH and have the pitcher bat, or you go to your emergency catcher. "You gotta carry a utitilty guy that has enough to go behind the plate if needed," Bavasi said. "We’ve already talked about it. You have to have it." Could the Mariners bring up Clement and still carry Jamie Burke? That seems a bit much, but none of their other utility players have ever strapped on the catchers' gear other than Mike Morse, who said he could do it, but he's hurt. So what does it all mean? Well, it means Johjima is the catcher for now, Clement is the Rainers catcher for now, but probably the Mariners DH in about a week or two.
Categories: General
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Posted by Darrin Beene @ 01:25:55 pm
The Mariners announced today they have agreed to terms with catcher Kenji Johjima on a three-year contract extension. Johjima, who was eligible for free agency at the end of this season, is now signed through 2011. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. "As an organization, we view quality Major League catching as a scarce commodity," general manager Bill Bavasi said in a statement released by the team. "This extension allows us to feel very comfortable with our catching depth for the foreseeable future." Johjima, 31, ranked third in hits (139), fourth in average (.287), doubles (29) and RBI (61) and fifth in home runs (14) in 2007 among American League catchers. He threw out 39.5 percent of runners attempting to steal, the second best rate in the AL in 2007. He's off to slow start this year, hitting .200 with no home runs and five RBI entering Friday's game. Johjima has caught 2,444.1 innings over the past three seasons, third-most in the majors behind Jason Kendall (2579.1) and Russell Martin (2,446). "Joh is a durable, intelligent catcher," Mariners manager John McLaren said, "and he's still improving his game. It is a very tough adjustment to switch leagues from Japan, and he has done an outstanding job adapting his game to the U.S." In 299 Major League games with Seattle, Johjima is a career .283 hitter. On April 15 vs. Kansas City, he recorded his 1,500th career hit combined between 11 seasons in Japan and three seasons with the Mariners.
Categories: Answers to your questions
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Thursday, April 24th, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 07:19:38 pm
I'm actually working on another post while I'm doing this one. So forgive me if the updates aren't as exact. But I'm going to do my best to keep up. Game thoughts start here: 10:01 -- Oh my God, I hear the music, "Put me in coach, I'm ready to plaaayy, todaaaay!!" It's Miguel Cairo. He's pinch running for Joh. But he barely gets to stretch his legs as Bloomquist grounds out on the first pitch. 9:52 -- Brian Roberts with a solo shot off of Sean Green. That's not easy to do, considering that Green had only given up four home runs in 111 innings pitched. Roberts is a really good player, I really don't see him being on the Orioles after the trade deadline. 9:43 -- I don't know why Trembley brought in a lefty to face Ichiro. If there's one player that doesn't apply to its him. He hits .324 against righties, and .353 against lefties. And hits .327 against releivers, with most of his RBI coming off them. 9:38 -- Now Snydro, it isn't quite that bad, especially because Ichiro just went yard. 9:29 -- Ah, what might have been. Adam Jones makes the Mariners pay witha double to left-center that was almost a grand slame. Coming into the game, Jones was 0-for-5 in his career with the bases loaded. 9:16 -- Here's an interesting note, Casey Moser was the umpire for the Rainiers opening series this season. 9:08 -- Arthur Lee Rhodes is in a bit of a bind here. I can't remember the last time a Mariners pitcher got Roberts and Mora out back-to-back. Silva did it once yesterday. And now Arthur's in even more trouble, having basically loaded the bases with the latest walk to Markakis. And Mac with a little detour to discuss his feelings with home plate umpire Casey Moser, and Mr. Rhodes has a few words as well. And Mac has been tossed by Moser. He gets a standing ovation from the sparse crowd. I will say that several of Rhodes pitches were close and the pitch tracker on MLB has them as looking basically like strikes. 8:50 -- From BigSeahawkLoser: Barring a miracle, I don't think Washburn's going past 5 tonight. And we have a winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!! Washburn's line --- 5 IP, 2 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts. He threw 97 pitches, with 53 strikes. 8:41 -- This game is dragging along quite slowly. And let's just say it's a wee bit cold here at Safeco Field. I'm going to guess that's the big reason for the lack of people at the game. Announced attendance was 16,727, but it's more like 12,000. I don't think attendace will be a problem tomorrow night with it being Ichiro bobblehead night. Is it ever going to be spring in the Puget Sound? My guess is sometime around July. 8:21 -- Maybe that's not a good indication for your DH, is when you are that surprised that he drove in a runs. Washburn gets out of a little bit of a jam there. It should be a crime punishable by law to give up a hit to Brandon Fahey. 8:10 --- It's typical, the other post I'm working on is why Jose Vidro shouldn't be the Mariners DH any longer, and wouldn't you know he gets a huge double in that inning. But that doesn't mean I'll be changing my opinion for one second. Good inning for the M's. Not much hitting, but aggressive base running, McLaren said earlier in the day about the need to just get baserunners by any means necessary. I don’t care how we get on base. Base on balls, base hits, you name it. It puts pressure on the other team. We put the game in motion. We just haven’t had many opportunities. I really don’t think there’s one reason…we’re in one of those cycles where we’re not hitting - McLaren before the game. 7:53--- Washburn gets out of a serious jam, making some tough pitches in some tough situations. You know, I don't want to fault Joh for the throwing error. Jones was being overaggressive and an on-target throw probably gets him. But you also have the No. 9 hitter up, sometimes the easy outs are your best friends. Still, Washburn showed some moxie that inning. 7:34 --- Adrian Beltre with a funk blast (I'll admit that I don't know where the Mariners got that from). I realize it was 3-2, but Adam Loewen just can't center a ball at the knees and not expected it get hit hard. At least it shut up the 60 or so friends and family that are sitting below the press box for a while. Loewen hails north of Seattle in Surrey, BC. From the baseball rulebook --- I think he made a motion naturally associated with his delivery. 7:23 -- That was a balk on Adam Loewen. The replays show the knee on his front leg crossing his body. More and more lefties balk on their moves to first - Andy Petitte is the worst - but no ump has the stones to call it. And the Orioles give the Ms a break, by running themselves out of the inning. Washburn gets out of a jam with the strike'em out, throw'em out DP. The last time O's starter Adam Loewen faced the MAriners, he made it 4 2/3 innings allwoing four runs and four hits, while walking three and striking out four. As a team, the Mariners are hitting .297 against lefties, which is a bonus. Here's the lineups Orioles Mariners
Categories: Answers to your questions
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Posted by Ryan Divish @ 03:54:38 pm
I'm up here early at Safeco trying to get some early bloggin in. A programming note of sorts - Doug Pacey is up here with me kinding of seeing how this is done - he'll be covering the game on Sunday for me as I prepare to head to scenic Cleveland. He'll be able to blog anything of any importance or breaking news. I'll probably be watching the game on TV like the rest of you, so I may offer some game thoughts as well. Let's get to some linkage, since I've been slacking in that department a little. * Frome the News Tribune, your newspaper for the South Sound. * Here's the game notebook that deals with Mike Morse's shoulder injury. * Here's a story from our tech writer Bill Hutchens about some advances at Safeco for people who can access the wireless network at the game. * Nick Markakis said he wasn't fazed by his high number of strikeouts before yesterday's game, and he even had two in the game, but he also hit the game-winning home run. * Ken Griffey Jr. hit homer 597 today. Let's check around the AL West.... * UPDATE 4:56 - the Angels won again, knocking off the Red Sox with a comeback win. * Vlad Guerrero made an adjustment in his stance and it's starting to pay off. Let's head over the Oakland A's, who signed Frank Thomas as their every day DH, much to the chagrin of some Mariners fans, who would rather jam a hot poker in their eye than see another Jose Vidro at-bat. The A's also signed Giants cast off Rajai Davis as well. And you know what? Both players contributed in their win earlier today. And we'll check on the slumping Texas Rangers. And they somehow find a new and disappointing way to lose. * President Nolan Ryan isn't going to overeact at this point.
Categories: Game Updates
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Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 10:21:51 pm
Ok, really quick before I start writing my game story. It was nothing serious with Silva. He felt a slight pinching in the area on the outside of his right thigh. There was no major discomfort, but it was bothersome enough that it made Silva a little afraid to push off the mound. And when he doesn't do that, his pitches stay up. He said that was the problem he had in the sixth inning a reason why he started getting hard. "It was more mental," he said. "I was afraid to push off." He told Mel Stottlemyre about after the sixth and they were watching him closely and they finally decided it was best to pull him after he was favoring it a little in the seventh. "I said let me finish this inning and he said there’s no reason," Silva said I "don’t want you to get hurt, I think that was smart thing." Someone asked Silva if he was going to make his next start, and he got his pitcher's mound glare and said emphatically, "I will make my next start." That guy could play for my team any time.
Categories: Answers to your questions
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Posted by Ryan Divish @ 07:03:42 pm
A crisp early evening here at Safeco Field. They have the roof open because the sun is out. Is it ever going to get to be spring here in the Puget Sound? GAME THOUGHTS START HERE: 9:37 --- You know how there are moments in a game, when you could say, man this player would be perfect sub for this moment, well, Raul, gets a lead-off single and they don't have a pinch runner to use, because Cairo can't play the outfield and Bloomquist is already in the game. But if you had Jimerson or Reed on the roster instead of Cairo you could put them in and possibly steal a base to get into scoring poistion. Raul seriously has a two-foot lead off of first. And that was a classic at-bat for Vidro. Paging Jeff Clement, Paging Jeff Clement you have a telephone call. 9:33 --- the man with the straightest bill in all of baseball - former Mariner George Sherrill - comes into shut the door on his old team. 9:24 -- Wow Snydro firing off a rant in the comment section. I do agree with some of that sentiment. The Mariners seem to be lacking an identity as a team. Raul is a leader but in his quiet way. Guillen brought a certain level of charisma and possible insanity to the clubhouse that had a positive effect. Maybe he was crazy, but it was a good crazy. JJ, Silva and Felix are all pitchers so that leaves them unable to be a complete leaders of the team. There is a certain edge lacking on this team. They have too many nice guys. They need a few, well, it rhymes with "glass bowls." Not necessarily to the media or fans, but about winning and losing. Guys that simply will not allow certain things to transpire. They need some "glass bowls" when it comes to losing, and not standing for it. They need guys that will get in the face of others when they mess up and make people accountable. 9:06 -- did you know that Daniel Cabrera has a 41-49 lifetime record because right now the Mariners are making him look like Cy Young winner. 8:58 -- Nice job by Sean Green. He's wasn't exactly warm when he got the call to come in. Silva was only at 84 pitches, and had made it to the seventh in every one of his previous starts, so it wasn't as if Green was out getting ready when called upon. 8:45 --- OK this is not good, Silva left the game with an injury of some sort. The stadium television feed showed him pointing toward his right thigh. I'm not sure, when it happened exactly. Maybe when he jumped up and caught that comebacker, or something else. The official word is that he left with tightness in his right thigh. Silva went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. Because Silva left injured, SEan Green got as long as he wanted to warm up. 8:20 -- Would Wilkerson have caught that ball of Mora's bat? Probably not, but maybe since he's played out there before, he gets a better jump on it. But Bloomquist has better speed. This is the price you having a bench guy out there on a regular basis. We're now back to a whole new ballgame. 8:17 -- Unlike my shoddy defensive play in the press box, the Mariners come up with some big defensive plays in the fifth to keep the O's off the board. Raul did a nice job on getting the ball in and a decent relay by Yuni, but the best aspect of the play was Joh fielding the short hop, blocking the plate and making the tag all in a second. You know we watched the catchers work on this for hours upon hours in spring training with coordinator Roger Hansen all over them about doing it right every time. It goes to show that practicing something as mind numbing as that pays dividends in the season. 8:06 -- Alright I just about got hit in the melon with a foul ball off the bat of Kenji Johjima. I made an attempt to catch it but it had a lot of backspin and it bounced off my hands. Here's a picture of it.  Jose Vidro drives in a run with a fielder's choice. But honestly, you have your DH up with bases loaded and the possiblity of a grand slam didn't even enter my mind or anyone elses, there's something wrong with that situation. 7:49 -- Apparently the Orioles don't care much for home plate umpire Brian Runge's strikezone. Nick Markakis and Luke Scott have had plenty to say after being rung up on pitches they felt were low or inside. Now Orioles manager Dave Trembley is also speaking with Runge. To be fair, Runge's zone is a little big, and that will only favor Silva. 7:27 --- The Mariners are off to a good start tonight, that's just solid baseball to get the run. Ichiro leads off, steals second (not a great jump), Lopez moves him to third and Raul scores him with a sac fly. 7:16 --- Happy 29th birthday to today's starter Carlos Silva. His first inning was fairly smooth and his sinker looks to be moving pretty well tonight. Here's tonight's lineups MARINERS
Categories: Game Updates
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Posted by Ryan Divish @ 05:26:16 pm
Even with the surgery to Mike Morse,manager John McLaren said he will continue to use a platoon in right field. As of now, that duty will fall to Willie Bloomquist, who will start today in right because Brad Wilkerson has been bothered by a tight left hamstring. But will also start tomorrow and Friday as Seattle will face left-handed pitchers.  Wilkerson's status is considered day-to-day. And he said he hopes to play tomorrow, but that doesn't seem likely since Baltimore will start lefty Adam Loewen tomorrow. McLaren didn't exactly say that Bloomquist would be the right-hander in the platoon with Wilkerson permanently, but the Mariners don't have any other options on the 25-man roster. Greg Norton has played right field about 40 times in his career, but he's a little shaky out there. If the Mariners were to go 11-man pitching staff or make a move with one of the other bench players (not likely) they could call up somebody. Charlton Jimerson is no longer on the 40-man roster so there would have to be maneuvering to call him up. That leaves Jeremy Reed and Wlad Balentien as possible candidates. Balentien is still nursing the sore knee and couldn't come up. And Reed is out because he's left-handed. So it looks like Bloomquist will be playing more than usual - which makes some fans happy, and some fans cringe. Here's a random question.... What's the difference between Wilkerson and Reed at this point? If you had to choose between Reed or Wilkerson, who would you take? Let's break them down...  or  Hitting: Reed is hitting .276 with the Rainiers. Last year he hit .300 with Tacoma, and in 775 major league at-bats, he's a .253 hitter. It's not great, but at this point it's better than what Wilkerson is doing. The free-agent signee is hitting .178. And I can only remember maybe one or two balls he's hit with any authority. Reed doesn't have much power, but he'll hit from gap to gap and he can bunt a little bit. Wilkerson is supposed to have more power than Reed, but we obviously haven't seen it this season. Defense: This isn't even close, Reed is far better than Wilkerson defensively. He's got better range, a better arm (Wilkerson's two 22-hoppers to home against the Angels were hardly impressive), and Reed is an aggressive outfielder that can make the tough catch, and would simply get to more balls than Wilkerson could hope to. Running: Again this isn't close either. Reed is a good baserunner. He doesn't possess overwhelming speed like Jimerson, but he isn't a tortoise on the basepaths. And he runs the bases with intelligence and fearlessness, you could use him in hit-and-runs, and he could even pick up an occasional steal. Intangibles:By all accounts, and from what I've seen, Wilkerson is good guy that is a tireless worker. He's always taking extra BP and looking at video trying to get out of this slump. But maybe it is just not going to happen. As for Reed, it seems as though his attitude last year after he was sent down and while he was in Tacoma last season, soured opinions in the Mariners front office. Reed could be surly and standoffish last season. Admittedly, he didn't want to be there, but who does? It was a shock for him that I think took a year for him to get over. This season, he seems to be more willing to accept his fate and make the best of it. Basically the Mariners signed a broke down version of an outfielder they already have. Who would you rather have?
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 03:35:48 pm
As I wandered around the clubhouse on Tuesday, several writers wondered aloud where Mike Morse was at. He's never one not to be in the clubhouse getting some extra work, or in this case doing extensive rehab. And now we have the answer - Morse had surgery on his injured left shoulder on Tuesday and is out for the next six months. The Seattle Mariners issued the following medical update on outfielder Mike Morse today: Morse, 26, left the game on Sunday, April 13 vs. the LA Angels after landing awkwardly on his left shoulder on a diving attempt to catch a fly ball in right field. An MRI revealed that he dislocated his left shoulder. I honestly don't know who Mike Morse wronged in his other life, because he simply can't get a break. Last year it was the broken bone in the hand that needed surgery, this year it's the shoulder. Bad things happening to a pretty good guy. Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 07:08:50 pm
 A tribute to former Mariner John Marzano. There was also a moment of silence before the game in Marzano's honor. GAME THOUGHTS START HERE 9:27 --- Well, here's Vidro's moment. The walk to Ibanez was intentional, but basically so was the walk to Beltre. If you noticed Guthrie really neer threw a ball in the strike zone that would allow Beltre to get his arms extended. Do you honestly think any team would make a similar move if Frank Thomas was in the box or Clement, who has legitimate home run power was coming up. Probably not. But Pepe Vidro comes up clutch with a huge single to right to give the Ms a lead. 9:10 --- From TMentz1: "Any hope Wilkerson will hit the DL and open up room for Balentien or Clement?" Well, Wilkerson has yet to avoid a stint on the DL in the last three seasons, so it is possible. Though a sore hamstring doesn't sound that bad. Balentien won't be called up for a few weeks. I talked with him yesterday, and the knee is pretty sore and swollen. HE hopes to play this weekend. But I know that the Mariners want to him proceed cautiously. If it was anything immediate, it would probably be Jimerson or Reed since they play outfield. I'm secretly hoping that Clement gets called up soon and Vidro is either benched or sent packing. 9:01 -- Felix has 110 pitches through seven. that's pretty respectable considering he had 58 in the first two innings. The home run to Huff was just a mistake he left out over the plate. Still, looking for some offense from Vidro, who's average will go below the Mendoza line with another empty at-bat. 8:40 --- First of all, I thought Kenji was safe at third, it was a bang-bang play, so not much you can do. Second of all, what the heck was Ramon Hernandez thinking. there's two outs, and that is such a low percentage play. I'm thinking manager Dave Trembley might have a little talk with him in the dugout. 8:31 -- Felix has really settled in and curtailed his pitch count a little. He's at 83 pitches trhough five. 8:11 --- Brad Wilkerson has left the game with a tight right hamstring. Willie Bloomquist has replaced him in right field. I know several fans aren't exactly saddened by the news that Wilkerson is coming out of the game. 7:59 --- From Dave 8557: Although Felix won't go 9 tonight, I hope they let him throw at least 120 pitches to equal or surpass his total from last start. That's how you slowly build stamina. There's some logic to that thinking indeed. Felix had a much better inning in terms of pitches. He went the breaking stuff quite heavily. I think he's having trouble locating his two-seam fastball. He only threw 11 pitches in that last inning and is up to 63 for the game. 7:49 --- Felx is at 52 pitches after two innings, at this rate he'll be lucky to go five innings. 7:42 --- A thing to note, Felix is suffering a bit of head cold and flu that Willie Bloomquist had last week, Putz, Beltre and a few others all have it as well. Felix is clearly laboring and he's kind of reverting into his old pouting ways of last year. It's strange because John McLaren spent part of the afternoon briefing talking about Felix's growing maturity and composure. 7:25 --- Not the best start for Felix, not just the run, but the number of pitches. He threw 28 pitches in the innning, so that's going to be an issue later on, and as he reads this, Dave 8557 cringes. Here's today's lineups.. Orioles Mariners UMPIRES
Categories: Game Updates
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Posted by Ryan Divish @ 05:23:26 pm
Just wrapped up the pregame chat with Mariners manager John McLaren. the highlights: It looks like Erik Bedard will soon be activated off the DL later this week. Bedard threw a bullpen session today and will throw one more on Thursday and start in Saturday's game. So the rotation will be Felix today, Silva on Wednesday, Washburn on Thursday, Batista on Friday and Bedard on Saturday. As for R.A. Dickey, who was demoted when J.J. Putz came off the DL, McLaren said the reason he was sent down instead of Roy Corcoran is so they can use Corcoran in relief until Bedard is officially activated. I really don't understand what they are doing with Dickey. I really thought he pitched well enough to stay up with the club. McLaren called him "versatile" which is true. You can spot start him, use him in middle innings, pitch him on back-to-back days, and even him in late innings if necessary. Not to mention he's a great clubhouse presence and a quality teammate. If I made the decisions, I would have designated Cha Seung Baek for assignment and take the chance to see if he clears waivers. He cleared waivers last year, and I think he might again this year. Perhaps somebody that's pitching starved like the Washington Nationals might grab him. But really, Baek hasn't proven much this season to make teams want him. He's pitched twice, once in relief and one start, neither of which were particuarly sharp. Now, he hasn't pitched in almost two weeks. Why keep him if he's not being used? What role is he filling at this point, other than space on the bullpen bench? Baek has none of the versatility Dickey has. Basically, Baek can really only spot start, or go long relief, and not much else. I'm not saying Baek couldn't be of value to the Mariners or to some other team. But right now he is doing little to help this team win games, whereas I think Dickey could. McLaren said we haven't seen the last of Dickey. Hopefully he returns sooner than later.
Posted by Darrin Beene @ 04:54:15 pm
The Mariners have activated right-handed pitcher J.J. Putz from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-handed pitcher R.A. Dickey to Triple-A Tacoma this afternoon. Putz missed 18 games spending time on the DL for the first time in his career. He was sidelined with mild costochondritis on his right side. Costochondritis is inflammation where cartilage attaches to a rib. Putz appeared in Seattle’s first two game. After recording a save on opening day, he gave up a game-winning home run to blow his first save opportunity since Aug. 1, 2007. Dickey, 33, appeared in two games since being recalled from Tacoma on April 14. He was 0-1, 6.43 in seven innings. The knuckleballer started the season at Tacoma where he was 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA (4 ER, 15.0 IP). During Putz's time on the disabled list, the bullpen combined to go 0-2, 5.54 ERA in 39 innings and was 4-for-5 in save opportunities.
Categories: Answers to your questions
• 2 comments
Monday, April 21st, 2008
Posted by Ryan Divish @ 01:31:10 pm
Ok so I wrote a post just like this last night in the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, but I was getting a little annoyed with the 40 or so junior high cheerleaders who were in the vicinity so I got up to move and managed to lose the post. It didn't make me too happy, but it made me far less happy to know that they were on my flight, and I didn't have my iPod. By the time I arrived, there was no possibility of a "thoughts at 1 a.m." post. So you're getting basically "a thoughts at 1 p.m." instead. Not a bad road trip all things considered. But had they blown that game yesterday it would have terrible. UPDATE: Just got done having lunch at the West End, and we watched the replay of the game on FSN, including the last inning. And I can't believe they didn't wring up Garrett Anderson on that check swing. It was so obviousl. Looking back on the trip, I have a few of my own questions that I'll try to answer myself... So does that mean Frank Thomas is the answer?Not really. John McGrath talks about it in his column today. But Thomas is a bit of a diva, who'll want to play every day without fail. Many people feel that the reason he was benched and then ultimately released is that Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi didn't want to be forced into paying any of Thomas' vast performance bonuses. And a large part of that may be true. But if Thomas was producing consistently, it would have forced the Blue Jays to keep him. I do think Thomas is on the downside of his career. But then again even his decline he hit .277 with 26 home runs and 95 RBI last season, that's a little more run production than Vidro is apt to give. Still, the Skydome, or whatever the hell they are calling that place today, is a far more hitter friendly for a right-handed power hitter than Safeco. He's hit just five home runs and one double in 129 plate appearances at Safeco. That isn't a horrible number but it isn't great. I'd rather give Jeff Clement a chance. He's hitting around .400. He knows how to work a count and he's seems a perfect hitter for Safeco. The Mariners are 10-10 is that good or bad at this point? Alright let's get to the links..... If you read just one story out |
