14-24, Quick Game Notes

Then, Snell could go back to the rotation (given that he worked today, he’s already in line for the start in five days), the roster would regain some of its initial flexibility, all the while without risking losing Colome or RRS to waiver claims.

Of course, logic will be eschewed yet again.

And I’m likely to get flamed, but “at the end of the day”, Griffey is Jack Z’s fault. Sure there was pressure to bring him back, but Z laid out the open invitation to return and Junior took it. He miscalculated that move and it was compounded by Sweeney forcing his way on the roster with Spring pyrite numbers. Z should have shown Griff the photo of him and Ichiro being carried off the field at the end of ‘09 and said, "This is the way to go out. Thanks for everything and don’t be a stranger."

I don’t blame Z for Griffey being old and terrible—that’s Griff’s fault—but I do fault him for giving him the platform on which to do so.

Also, holy cow, Ichiro is hitting .354? That guy is the Energizer bunny without the drum.

and as such can do no wrong. If Griffey were a bench coach I would be one of these fans. But since he’s still a player, I want nothing more to do with Ken Griffey Jr. He has officially exhausted any good will he built up by playing last year.

I’ve said it many times over the years, and I never thought I’d have to say it again, but I do not want a team full of nice guys who are beloved by the community. I want a team of competent baseball players. I don’t give two shits whether they’re nice or not.

Never really loved the guy (always more of an Edgar guy), but now I really, really can’t stand him. Makes me want to vomit when I see him waddle up to the plate.

Hyphen stays with the club and gives us a lefty out of the pen. Snell gives us depth in Tacoma and works on his command as a starter (no one is going to claim him with his salary and if they do hey, alright). Whoever is throwing well in Tacoma can come up and try to make it work up here.

The small ball theory is a good one given the players they have, but it also leaves them much more prone to letting the good hitable pitches go awry. It not only kills power, but it allows pichers to have more options in their favor when they need an out. I mean you can give in to the batter when you know his bat is less of a factor for him getting on base or over the wall. (he may not even swing)…..so you don’t have to worry so much about being behind in the count. Also the defense can play the pitcher equally along with the batter thus have more opportunity to get him out.
  The execution on offense is horrendous on this team, especially when playing small ball is your only option. You have to be fundamentally sound in base running, bunting, bat timing, and clutch hitting, for this style to be effective. It looks like Seattle has put the cart before the horse this season. The only thing that may be positive towards success of small ball may be the pitching staff.
  One other comment. The most important aspect of hitting, is picking up the ball (seeing the pitch early in the delivery). Without that you cannot control your timing, let alone get your bat on the ball. This is usually the issue when batters get into slumps but most good hitters can usually fix this…..It is really looking more and more that offensively we just don’t have the players that are going to get it done…I actually thought it might work, if we could execute, but it’s been a failure so far because we can’t score runs. I’m sorry to say, that without some power, this team is doomed.
  I guess I’m not saying much of anything new to the people in here, so I apologize for chiming in on old news that has probably already been discussed. I watch the team daily, and have played some organized ball. (not an expert, just like baseball)

Every day that Ken Griffey Jr. refuses to go away, he loses some of his fans. And I don’t think he’s gaining any new ones. At Griffey’s peak, we can assume that, I dunno, 99% of the Mariner fan base loved him. Where is that percentage now? Where would that percentage be in 2015 in a hypothetical reality in which Griffey’s still hanging on? Basically, how many Mariner fans will love Griffey forever? I’m trying so hard not to write means words, but Griffey is making it tough.

It’s time. Regress to the mean.