58-69

by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 24, 2006 11:40 PM PDT in Seattle Mariners Regular News

Binomially speaking, the odds of someone with a 12.1% strikeout rate coming in and fanning (at least) nine of 28 batters are 0.43%, or roughly once every 231 opportunities. That's just one example of how tonight's was one of the unlikeliest games we've seen in a long time.

Biggest Contribution: Jose Lopez, +15.0%
Biggest Suckfest: Kenji Johjima, -5.2%
Most Important At Bat: Sexson double, +12.3%
Most Important Pitch: Jeter single, -8.2%
Total Contribution by Pitcher(s): +30.7%
Total Contribution by Position Players: +19.3%

(What is this?)

I was out of the house and missed the whole game, so it's time for another edition of You Write The Recap! And don't skimp on me either, since between Jarrod's crazyass performance, Randy looking mortal, the outfield playing defense for once, and Putz striking out A-Rod to end the game, I know there's a lot of material there. And if for whatever reason nothing comes to mind, just say something about Chris Snelling, since that always seems to go over well.

Evidently the key to beating the Yankees is to put them up against pitchers you think'll get smoked. Considering how each team looked in the days leading up, I think taking this series was pretty much the last thing any of us expected. You talk about a sweet reward after a week and a half of some of the most miserable baseball you'll ever see.

Jake Woods and Curt Schilling tomorrow night at 7:05pm PDT, as the ridiculously one-sided pitching matchups continue for another day.

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By the way...

Julio Mateo before we noticed the new arm slot:

H%: 27.8
HR/FB%: 6.0
K%: 13.1
BB%: 5.7
GB%: 26.1
Strike%: 64.9

Julio Mateo after we noticed the new arm slot:

H%: 24.5
HR/FB%: 9.5
K%: 16.3
BB%: 8.2
GB%: 16.7
Strike%: 64.5

Slight uptick in strikeouts, but, man, I sure hope this starts looking better as he gets more comfortable with the new delivery, because the early results aren't too promising.

by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 24, 2006 11:52 PM PDT reply actions

Are you kidding me?

An extreme flyballer getting even MORE extreme???

I'd rather literally erase a roster spot for the rest of the year than have Mateo come in to pitch.

Free George Sherrill. And Dan Rohn.

by PositivePaul on Aug 25, 2006 12:03 AM PDT up reply actions

Well, I hate to say it...

...but we probably had our best OF defense in a long, long time. I know Bohn's bat isn't that awe-inspiring (in fact, to say it's 'underwhelming' is being generous), but I really liked that arrangement.

Definitely a night for Deanna to have thoroughly and rightfully swooned over J-Rod the Washburnator. A Southpaw showdown for the ages -- and the outcome wasn't what anyone would've expected. RJ's K total was lapped three times by Washburn. That's a very, very impressive feat, and I'm not sure if that's ever happened before.

And I'm happy that George got to pitch to more than one batter. That was cool.

I've definitely been on the fence with Ichiro in CF. He's earned the right of first refusal in my book (being a world-class superstar and all). I just really hope that he rediscovers the energy and joy that he had when he first came over here, and decides to stay in CF. I'm now over the fence -- I'm taking the side of those who really want Ichiro in CF. Tonight's game convinced me more than ever.

Eduardo's play at first, too, when he literally covered the bag to keep Cano from getting back on the pickoff throw from Johjima, was a huge heads-up play. Nice to have a 1B-man who actually has a freakin' brain.

Man, it was nice to actually take a series for a change. Games like this give me hope in the M's future. They played remarkably well today. I'll take it...

Free George Sherrill. And Dan Rohn.

by PositivePaul on Aug 25, 2006 12:01 AM PDT reply actions

Eh, nobody has the right to refusual in my book

Not Ichiro, not Albert Pujols, not anybody.

If I'm the manager, you don't play if you don't do something like that to help the team. The needs of the many, out weigh the needs of the few, or the one.

If I'm the manager and Ichiro says he isn't going to play centerfield and we're out of it, I'm benching him for the rest of the season till he decides he wants to.

And then if he still doesn't do it, I'm going to the GM and telling him he has two choices. He either fires me, or trades Ichiro. It's something that would probably get me fired, but I don't care at all for that type of attitude.

But nice to see that Ichiro isn't that sort of player.

Fire Mike Hargrove!

by Goose on Aug 25, 2006 12:28 AM PDT up reply actions

thats the only problem in pro baseball and b-ball

is that the managers/coaches hardly have that type of pull

I will come at you like a spider monkey

by Scruffy Lefty on Aug 25, 2006 8:36 AM PDT up reply actions

What?????

Ichiro isn't that sort of player. Ichiro refused, yes I said refused, to play CF over a dozen times.

by ppl4life on Aug 25, 2006 9:12 AM PDT up reply actions

Management 101

My understanding was that Ichiro and Hargrove had talked about him playing CF but were waiting for the right time to make the move. From a managerial standpoint, you get much farther if you make your subordinates part of the decision process. Management by edict just doesn't work long term. It's tempting to say that the manager is the manager and the players are paid to do what the manager wants, end of story. Reality rarely works that way. I think a big league manager's most important job is keeping the players happy and focused so they can perform. The tactical stuff comes second.

That said, I don't agree with Hargrove's style. It seems to me he's gone too far on the side of coddling the players and needs to light a fire under some people on occasion. Maybe that's why he liked Carl so much. Carl may have filled that role in the clubhouse.

As for Ichiro refusing to play CF, it's hard to know if it was hurting the team or not. If he doesn't feel he's mentally ready to play CF, but goes out there and makes 3 errors in a game, is that being a team player? While I love to bang on Hargrove for his questionable tactics, I think he handled this particular situation pretty well. Sending Ichiro to CF before Ichiro is ready risks destroying the confidence of an all-star for little gain. I'd rather see WFB's pop-gun arm in CF for the rest of the year and screw around with Ichiro's confidence.

by PDXTai on Aug 25, 2006 10:28 AM PDT up reply actions

That's kinda what I'm thinking here.

Indeed the players need to respect their manager. Ichiro's direct refusal to play CF when asked IMHO has a lot to do with:

a) his über-attention to his own abilities and self-awareness. If Ichiro's self-awareness is off, so goes his ability to play baseball. He needs to be in the zone, and he obsessively prepares himself to play every single day. I don't want to do anything that messes with this, and that's why (were I manager) I'd pretty much let Ichiro do whatever he feels like doing. He's someone I'd partner with moreso than try and boss around. Especially since (with Moyer gone now even MOREso) Ichiro is the face of the francise. If the M's lose Ichiro, imagine how much popularity they would lose (nevermind revenue).

b) his desire for respect. I really don't believe he respects Hargrove, and is really going to do whatever he can to silently disrespect him back. This is one of those things. The manager of the M's team has to earn Ichiro's trust. While it seems somewhat pathetic to make one player seemingly bigger than the team, Ichiro is the type of player that has to play for a manager he trusts and respects. That's why I'd advocate having Ichiro in on the next managerial selection committee, not unlike what Schilling did with Francona in Boston. And Schilling had just been traded to Boston -- Ichiro's the only important guy left from the 116 season (and will be the ONLY guy next year with Pineiro leaving at season's end).

You can criticize Ichiro for not being the best of team players. But then you'll have to criticize a lot of the 2004 Red Sox. He may come across as a prima donna to some people, but being an elite superstar in the game gives him the right in my book to do whatever the heck makes him most comfortable.

But when the environment is right for Ichiro -- a la the World Baseball Classic -- the team is a better team when he's happy. If I were him, too, I'd be pretty tired of being a superstar on a totally crappy, rudderless team. He's got to be as frustrated as Moyer at the very least.

Heck. No one can be happy in that clubhouse. Or, more rightfully, no one SHOULD be happy with how things are going with the team. Yeah, yeah, we beat the Yankees and won the series against them. That's great and all, but it doesn't take away from the fact that this season is now over from a playoffs standpoint. It's "Wait'll Next Year" yet again, and it's gotta affect every member of the team. Some folks are satisfied with earning a big paycheck, and others have better attitudes.

Free George Sherrill. And Dan Rohn.

by PositivePaul on Aug 25, 2006 11:00 AM PDT up reply actions

I own the Yankees.

I wrote a game recap on my blog, kind of, except that I literally spent half the game chatting with this guy who was a minor leaguer in the Phillies system in the early 90's, so I don't have a ton of notes per se. It was still a FREAKING AWESOME GAME and having Putz strike out A-Rod to end the game was perhaps the best possible way to end the series.

Marinerds - a different daily dose of baseblog.

by Deanna on Aug 25, 2006 1:36 AM PDT up reply actions

I got to see

the 3 runs in the 3rd, a couple of scoreless Yankee innings and Putz's 9th. The pitch to ARod was a high fastbal that he whiffed on. I wonder how he hurt his throat, hmmm.

Willie Bloomquist and Mike Hargrove suck

by Mariner John on Aug 25, 2006 12:14 AM PDT reply actions

I don't usually like to be a hater, but...

that was the dumbest, most immature, homophobic piece of crap ever. If you weren't a part of creating it, shame on you for linking to it. If you were, grow up.

by peterpeter on Aug 25, 2006 8:10 AM PDT up reply actions

dumb and immature, yes

but how is that at all homophobic? Get over yourself.

by Matthew on Aug 25, 2006 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions

hmmm......

how is that at all homophobic? really?

by peterpeter on Aug 30, 2006 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Hahaha

homosexual_rod

Ahahahaha!

It's the Dugout...it's a joke...relax...

NO WAY JOSE!

by WAB on Aug 25, 2006 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions

No I didn't make it.

Willie Bloomquist and Mike Hargrove suck

by Mariner John on Aug 25, 2006 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Yikes

Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Fire Mike Hargrove!

by Goose on Aug 25, 2006 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Breezes in the stands

I'd just like to say that it was nice to see Yankees batters looking as foolish at the plate as the Mariners batters usually do. Is that what would happen if any other member of the rotation had that much vaunted command that I've heard so much about? (or is it control; I just read about the difference for the first time the other day, and it hasn't settled into my brain yet)

And, from the "of course we win when random things happen to go our way" file, I was awfully amused by Willie's single that spun a good ten feet down the first base line. Obvious rationale for more at bats!

by Pilots4evah on Aug 25, 2006 1:32 AM PDT reply actions

Randy

He may have given up four runs in the first three innings, but he did finish the game. And he only faced two more than the minimum from the fourth through the eighth. Not old school Randy, but he settled down and saved the bullpen.

The Sporting Brews
Editorializing the Yankees (and the rest of baseball) since 2005.

by PinstripePowerhouse on Aug 25, 2006 7:55 AM PDT reply actions

Randy really does like facing the Mariners

Gone 8.0 innings in 3 of his last 4 starts against this team. Other than those, he went 7.0 innings and didn't allow a run. And he's 2-2 in those games.

by ThundaPC on Aug 25, 2006 8:34 AM PDT up reply actions

Most Important Thing

was that Snelling was facing the freak of all lefties and didn't look fazed AT ALL. Of course, Hargrove won't care.

I hate it when young lefty hitters are typecast the day that they hit the big leagues. For some it's justified (Choo) but in Snelling's case there is no reason at all to believe that he's a platoon player.

by PLU Tim on Aug 25, 2006 8:28 AM PDT reply actions

Good thing about youth

no respect for old guys! Now, if RJ had been wearing a Darth Vader mask out there on the mound...

by kva15 on Aug 25, 2006 12:09 PM PDT up reply actions

Typecast...

I hate it when young lefty hitters are typecast the day that they hit the big leagues.

Particularly when they hit left handers in the minors.

Grover would have sat Ichiro or Griffey against lefthanders if he was here when they came up.

by rtang on Aug 25, 2006 8:30 AM PDT reply actions

The problem with patience?

It seemed like the Yankees were a split second slow reacting to the ball all night. I'm not sure if they were hoping to work counts which meant that JWash could sneak his fastball by them or if it was just a matter of JWash locating well. It seemed everytime I looked up that JWash was ahead in the count. It also seemed like the Yankees would sit back until there were two strikes on them, then they all became Mariners. When Giambi swung at a ball that was in dirt I was thinking "when did the Yankees sign Carl Everett?".

It looked like the Yankees came in figuring they were the Yankees and we were the Mariners and they were going to score 35 runs in 3 games and go home. Heck, I thought the same thing before the series started. I'd feel sorry for the next team to play the Yanks, except it's the Angels so I figure they will split the 3 game series 3-3 with the Yanks winning 2 of 3 games and the Angels winning 2 of 3 brawls.

Go Mariners!

by PDXTai on Aug 25, 2006 8:38 AM PDT reply actions

Washburn isn't Joel

It's not an actual MIRACLE when he has a sharp game, though Jeff's K stats might indicate otherwise. We just haven't had that many well-pitched games paired with good defense and a bit of run scoring, so we forgot that it was possible! The OF played great (it better with Washburn on the mound), there were a few signs of intelligent life in the infield and at the plate (more than usual anyway), and Washburn had that vaunted "command" that gets talked about but is so rarely in evidence from M starting pitchers. A game just as satisfying as the game the night before was dismal...

rightly, in every age it is assumed we are witnessing the disappearance of the last traces of paradise... Cioran

by toonprivate on Aug 25, 2006 10:45 AM PDT reply actions