Mariners Insider - Archives for: May 2008, 09

Friday, May 9th, 2008

GAME THOUGHTS: White Sox vs. Mariners, May 9th

Posted by Ryan Divish @ 07:34:38 pm

Let's get to it.
9:18 -- It's not the same when JJ comes in and has thunderstruck rocking and the Ms are down three runs.

9:06 -- Another loss is looming.....

Thome absolutely crushed that 3-2 pitch off of Silva.

8:45 -- Silva is at 91 pitches, but there doesn't appear to be too much activity in the bullpen.

8:37 -- Great play by Balentien. Do you honestly think Brad Wilkerson could have made that play.

8:14 -- That's typical Mariners luck, Sexson scalds a ball to center and Brian Anderson makes an unreal catch against the wall. He was running so fast you could hear him hit the wall all the way in the press box.

8:03 --- MY GOD, THEY'VE DONE IT, THEY'VE SCORED A RUN!!!!! thank you AJ Pierzynski and you're shoddy catching skills. The scoreless inning streak ends at 24

8 p.m. -- Game notebook is all filed, so we can get some game updates rolling. But its not like there's anybody out there on the net right now. I know if I wasn't covering the game, I'd probably be watching it in a bar or not at all. After all it is Friday.

Yes, the Mariners are down 3-0 after Silva had a momentary lapse of control, but today is a new day and I'm trying to remain more positive. It may only last a few innings, but who knows.

7:33 -- Not much going on early, but the Mariners have a runner on third with less than two outs thanks to some aggressive base running by Adrian Beltre. Richie comes to the plate and draws a very large round of applause -- that isn't a common thing.

Categories: General • 6 comments

Pregame Notes and Links: White Sox vs. Mariners, May 9th

Posted by Ryan Divish @ 05:27:55 pm

Sorry for no earlier posts, but I was up rather late last night trying to get find a way to put add beeps into my audio so I could post it on the blog, but I couldn't figure it out.

We know that Sexson has been fined and suspended for six games. He isn't speaking with media on the situation, having been advised by the players' union not to speak until after the appeal hearing.

As to when that will actually take place, no one is quite sure because it's a matter between major league baseball and the player's association so the Mariners have little to do with it. It happens independently of the Mariners.

Still, manager John McLaren said they have some evidence and some other information that was said after the melee that could help Sexson get his suspension reduced. As to what, McLaren wouldn't say. Sexson is in the lineup tonight.

Anyway, here's my game story from last night's debacle.

* Here's my game notebook that led with Jeff Clement and his hitting struggles.

Want to see how the opposing team's paper covered it?

* Here's Evan Grant's story from the Dallas Morning News.

* Jeff Wilson from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram, filed this story.

* This is interesting.... this blog posted transcripts of what Rangers announcer Tom Grieve said about Sexson during the fight.

Here's a sample...

As Sexson leaves the field: “If Kason Gabbard’s gonna hit anybody, he’s gonna hit one of their good hitters, he’s not gonna hit Richie Sexson… You got a chance to hit Ibanez, you got a chance to hit Beltre, two good hitters. You got a guy coming up there that can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat, and you think he’s gonna throw at him?”

* Rangers pitcher Kason Gabbard refused to talk about the situation last night after the game, but he talked today, and here's his comments.

* HEre's another story about the situation.

Elsewhere.....
* Jeremy Reed had three more hits for the Rainiers, but they lost to the Iowa Cubs.

* It appears that Brad Wilkerson has found work.

Here's today's lineups ...
Slumping Kenji Johjima was left out of the lineup and replaced with Jeff Clement so McLaren could get an extra left-handed bat in the lineup with Jose Vidro feeling better after missing the past few games with back spasms.

White Sox
Cabrera SS
Quentin LF
Thome DH
Konerko 1B
Dye RF
Pierzynski C
Crede 3B
Anderson CF
Uribe 2B
-----------
Contreras P

Mariners
Ichiro CF
Lopez 2B
Ibanez LF
Beltre 3B
Vidro DH
Sexson 1B
Clement C
BAlentien RF
Betancourt SS
------
Silva P

Categories: General • 1 comment

Tonight's pitching matchup

Posted by Darrin Beene @ 03:12:38 pm

Mariners: Carlos Silva (3-1, 4.20 ERA)

Last start: Picked up the loss in an 8-2 defeat to the New York Yankees. Threw a season-low three innings while giving up a season-high eight runs on 11 hits.

Against the White Sox: This is Silva’s 17th career start vs. the White Sox. He is 4-9 with a 5.55 ERA; the losses are the most against any team in his career.

Did you know? Silva has the longest current errorless streak among all active pitchers at 151 chances. He has not made an error since May 27, 2004.

White Sox: Jose Contreras (2-3, 4.08 ERA)

Last start: Threw the fifth complete game of his career but lost, 4-3, to the Toronto Blue Jays. Contreras, who threw a season-high 104 pitches, retired the last 16 batters.

Against the Mariners: This is Contreras’ fifth start vs. Seattle. He is 2-2 with a 4.18 ERA with an impressive 22-4 strikeout-walk ratio.

Did you know? Contreras has recorded at least 10 wins and made 30 starts in each of the last four seasons.

Categories: Answers to your questions

Sexson gets six-game suspension, fine

Posted by Darrin Beene @ 01:32:36 pm

Richie Sexson was suspended for six games and fined today by Major League Baseball after charging the mound and throwing his helmet at a Texas pitcher the previous night.

Bob Watson, baseball’s vice president in charge of discipline, cited Sexson for “violent and aggressive actions.”

Sexson asked the players’ association to appeal, and any suspension will be delayed until after a hearing.

Seattle’s Felix Hernandez and Texas’ Gerald Laird and Sidney Ponson also were fined.

Sexson charged the mound and flung his helmet at Rangers pitcher Kason Gabbard after the left-hander threw an eye-high pitch to him in the fourth inning of Seattle’s 5-0 loss. While benches cleared, no punches were thrown. Sexson was ejected.

Tensions began to build in the top half when Hernandez hit Ian Kinsler, who had homered in the second, in the back with a fastball. Kinsler turned toward Hernandez, who put his arms out then stared at Kinsler as the second baseman walked to first.

When benches cleared, Hernandez was restrained by three players, including former Mariners closer Eddie Guardado, now with Texas.

Categories: Answers to your questions

Transcript of Richie Sexson's interview

Posted by Ryan Divish @ 02:21:56 am

Here's the full transcript of Richie Sexson's postgame interview following last night's game in which he was ejected for charging the mound and throwing his helmet at Rangers' starter Kason Gabbard. It took Richie a while to come out for the interview. But he was very honest about the situation ...

Here's the complete transcript.

I understood the situation. There's a right and a wrong way to play the game. H it me below the shoulders and I'm fine with it. I was well aware of the fact that he's probably going to hit me and I go to first. But if you get up near the face that's when you start talking about careers and you start talking about family. There's a lot of stuff you can lose going up toward the head.

I'm sure it will turn into a he said, she said, and I wasn't throwing at him, but everybody in the ballpark knew what was going on. You get up it near the face or the head, nobody should deal with that. It's the wrong way to play baseball.

In the past he's always just put his head down and gone to first, so this was different?

I've played the game a pretty long time. I've been hit on purpose before, and it's been the right way. I go to first. You understand the game and you know how it works.

Their guy hit a two-run shot, we're not particularly playing well. Felix threw and inside fastball and caught him on the elbow. You know what's going to happen. They get two quick outs and I'm the guy up third. Hit me, I'm good with it. I'll go to first and understand that. But if you get up near my face, I'm not going to deal with that.
I'm 6-8, I mean what are we talking about here. This is a guy that can hit corners at will. I'm 6-8 and all of the sudden it's up that high? I'm a huge target, how hard is it to hit me in the back or the thigh? You get up around my face. It's not good.

What goes through your mind in that moment?

It's a rage. If that ball hits me in the face, what are we talking about here. Who knows what that could have led to. At that time you're so (expletive) off, you don't know what even exactly happens for the next five minutes. It's a rage at that point.

I know throwing the helmet was the wrong thing. It's a chicken (expletive) move. I know in the end it wasn't the right thing to do. I lost it right there. I kept on thinking about a lot of things.

The whole time I was walking up to the plate, I was saying I don't mind getting hit, just keep it down.

Last night, I missed the game. I was with my child at Children's Hospital. It's just a lot of (expletive) running through your head right there. So if you get up near my face, I'm not dealing with it.

I wouldn't have been angry if he kept the ball down. He knows where it's going, keep it down.

Did the team's recent woes also help fuel his anger?

I'm sure it all came to a head right there. It's no secret we haven't scored any runs for a while. It's no secret we haven't been living up to our potential.

Has he ever seen a team struggle like this offensively?

No I haven't. This team offensively, on paper we're way better than this.

Categories: General • 1 comment

Mariners Insider

Ryan Divish has been with The News Tribune since 2006, covering the Tacoma Rainiers and high school sports. Divish played baseball at Dickinson State University and also earned a journalism degree from the University of Montana. You will find news, observations, anecdotes, analysis and photographs on this blog. The purpose is to keep readers informed, but also give them a feel for the team and its players, and a place to go to read about baseball.
E-mail Ryan.

Larry LaRue, who has covered the Seattle Mariners and Major League Baseball for The News Tribune since 1988, is taking some time off for personal reasons.