Series Preview: Seattle Mariners @ Anaheim Angels

by Matthew on May 28, 2010 11:31 AM PDT in Seattle Mariners Previews

Seattle: 18-28
Anaheim: 23-26

	MARINERS	Δ Ms	ANGELS	EDGE
HITTING (wOBA)	-40.6(29th)	2.1	-22.2 (25th)	Anaheim
FIELDING (UZR)	11.9 (7th)	--	-16.3 (28th)	Seattle
ROTATION (tRA)	1.1 (18th)	0.9	-13.0 (25th)	Seattle
BULLPEN (tRA)	-1.7 (21st)	1.1	-11.1 (27th)	Seattle
OVERALL(RAA)	-21.7 (23rd)	4.1	-62.6 (27th)	SEATTLE

Wooo! A sweep! If we keep it going and take all three in Anaheim, we would claw to within a half game of the Angels. That isn't as absurd a suggestion as it might seem given each team's actual production to date. The Mariners are unlucky to be where they are; the Angels have been bad.

Possibly even more impressive than a two game sweep of the Tigers, the Mariners improved in every category over that span. Hooray for no red! Sort of. I have switched the fielding rating back to just UZR when it had been an average of UZR and DRS. There seems to be something wonky with DRS numbers having a collective sum well above zero for the league and UZR now has a pretty decent sample size to work with when we're talking about entire teams. The Mariners UZR number is higher though this week than it previously was.

Fri May 28, 19:10: Cliff Lee* vs. Scott Kazmir*

Sat May 29, 13:10: Ian Snell vs. Jered Weaver

Sun May 30, 12:35: Felix Hernandez vs. Joe Saunders*

There's a chance that with the off days this week that Felix's start will get bumped up to Saturday and Doug Fister could take his Sunday spot, skipping Ian Snell in the turn through the rotation. It doesn't appear to be on the horizon, but it's certainly a feasible option for Wakamatsu.

Given the success of the lineup in the sweep over the Tigers, it saddens me to see two lefties on the docket. That makes it far less likely that we get to see either Michael Saunders or Ryan Langerhans in those games and the one righty we face is Jered Weaver who is pretty good.

Have you really looked at Cliff Lee's pitch profile below? He throws every pitch sans his curve for an extreme amount of strikes. And he uses that curveball to get grounders so it's not like it doesn't have its place either. Cliff Lee is wonderful. That he works fast, smiles a lot and is dreamy looking are like little pieces of Reese's mixed in with delicious ice cream.

Cliff Lee

Ian Snell

Felix Hernandez

Pitch	%	Sp	K	BB	GB
Fastball	59%	90	70	80	45
Change	14%	83	55	75	55
Sinker	12%	90	45	80	40
Curve	8%	76	55	50	75
Slider	6%	85	35	80	45
Overall	--	--	55	80	45

Pitch	%	Sp	K	BB	GB
Fastball	58%	92	55	35	35
Slider	26%	84	70	55	40
Change	14%	84	45	25	50
Overall	--	--	70	45	40

Pitch	%	Sp	K	BB	GB
Fastball	68%	94	75	60	75
Slider	12%	88	75	65	75
Curve	11%	83	55	45	65
Change	9%	87	70	70	80
Overall	--	--	75	65	80

Scott Kazmir

Jered Weaver

Joe Saunders

Pitch	%	Sp	K	BB	GB
Fastball	66%	91	80	65	30
Change	15%	79	55	40	25
Slider	14%	82	50	30	25
Overall	--	--	80	55	30

Pitch	%	Sp	K	BB	GB
Fastball	45%	90	65	45	20
Change	17%	81	80	80	45
Slider	14%	79	35	30	35
Sinker	13%	89	60	60	25
Curve	10%	73	45	80	30
Overall	--	--	70	65	20

Pitch	%	Sp	K	BB	GB
Fastball	55%	91	55	45	65
Change	19%	82	55	50	45
Curve	13%	77	25	25	35
Sinker	9%	89	30	65	65
Overall	--	--	35	35	65

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Comments

Finally! This week has crawled by with two off-days.

by Kenneth Arthur on May 28, 2010 11:38 AM PDT reply actions

Does anyone know if you can get Angels games in the bay?

I’d really like to watch Lee pitch for us before he gets traded/leaves in free agency for shiny things.

You can't be a catcher if you can't catch. Rob Johnson will henceforth be listed as a traffic cone on the roster.

by Drew_D on May 28, 2010 11:41 AM PDT reply actions

Meaning on extended/basic cable or broadcast tv, not through satellite or annoying mlb.tv

You can't be a catcher if you can't catch. Rob Johnson will henceforth be listed as a traffic cone on the roster.

by Drew_D on May 28, 2010 11:42 AM PDT up reply actions

Fox might show Saturday's game in the Bay Area.

Other than that, no. You need MLB.tv or Extra Innings.

by Teej on May 28, 2010 12:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Bah

More radio for me then. Thanks.

You can't be a catcher if you can't catch. Rob Johnson will henceforth be listed as a traffic cone on the roster.

by Drew_D on May 28, 2010 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Does San Diego get screwed out of these games on FSW?

It’s listed on the guide but I assume there’s some goddamned LA/San Diego blackout rule to screw us over, as per usual.

by lemonverbena on May 28, 2010 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions

I've seen two or three M's games on Fox in the past couple of years, but it's rare.

They usually go with a California team or Yankees-Red Sox. But this Saturday, the three Fox games are Mariners at Angels, Rangers at Twins and Cardinals at Cubs. Since we’re the only one with a California team, I’d guess there’s a decent chance Fox shows it everywhere in California. But that’s presuming that Fox isn’t out to ruin my life.

by Teej on May 28, 2010 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Right

But for tonight my channel guide lists M’s-Angels on FSW, but dollars to donuts the game won’t actually be shown.

by lemonverbena on May 28, 2010 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh, for tonight

I don’t get FSW, so I’m no help there.

by Teej on May 28, 2010 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions

You've explained this but I forgot

what exactly is the data set you’re using for the pitcher profiles? It’s several seasons’ worth, isn’t it? I ask because of Kazmir’s 80 rating on his fastball.

De Gutibus non disputandum est

by Bearskin Rugburn on May 28, 2010 11:47 AM PDT reply actions