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KTE: Seattle Mariners (June 23-25)

Gwreck Jun 22 2008 05:48 PM

Think the Mets have had a rough 2008? It could be a lot worse. Meet your 2008 Seattle Mariners... Recently: On June 16, the Mariners fired General Manager Bill Bavasi. Bavasi replaced Pat Gillick, who was the GM during Seattle's big years in the late 90s and early 00s. Bavasi proceeded to oversee 4 crappy and 1 encouraging seasons (last year, when the Mariners went 88-74 and finished second in the AL west to the Angels). Bavasi's unfortunate moves include the 4 year, $50 million deal to Richie Sexson; 5 year, $64 million deal to Adrian Beltre, and trading for Jose Vidro from the Nationals. Bavasi also traded key prospect Adam Jones in the offseason to the Orioles for the underperforming and already-once-DLed Erik Bedard. Bavasi has been replaced by interim GM Lee Pelekoudas. Three days later, on June 19, the Mariners fired manager John McLaren. McLaren took over in July 2007 when Mike Hargrove abruptly resigned in the middle of the season. Apparently one of the reasons that Bavasi was fired as a reluctance to let McLaren go, and a reluctance to trade Erik Bedard, who may well now be [url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&page=rumblings]on the market[/url]. McLaren was replaced by Jim Riggleman, who had managed the Padres for two years, during their great firesale of the early 90s. Riggleman also managed the Cubs from 95-99, when he had only 1 winning season, when the Cubs took the Wildcard in '98. A couple of [url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mariners/story/394177.html]juicy quotes[/url] from anonymous Mariners coaches tells more of the story about the problems with the Mariners: ]Coach A: “You’ve got players in that clubhouse who should be team leaders – guys like Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre, Erik Bedard, even Ichiro – who care only about themselves,” one coach said. “When your best players are hitting 50-60 points below their career averages and won’t take extra batting practice, what message does that send? “You had kids at the park six hours before a game to work with (former hitting coach) Jeff Pentland one-on-one in the cage, and you had Beltre, who’d never do it. Pretty soon, the younger guys weren’t doing it, either.” “You had pitchers complaining about having to throw to (catcher) Kenji Johjima all spring, then saw him get a three-year contract extension in April,” the coach said. “You had guys watch Felix (Hernandez) work his (butt) off in camp and watched Bedard do the minimum – and Bedard was the opening-day starter.” Coach B: “Arthur Rhodes started sitting on the bench when players were taking extra hitting, extra infield drills, and shouting, ‘Where’s Richie? Anyone seen Richie Sexson?’ because Sexson was never there,” he said. “Then Bedard started setting his own pitch counts, and sitting in the clubhouse during games he didn’t start. Mac tried dealing with that – we all did. How do you make the highest-paid players on your team work harder if they decide they’re not going to?” This Season: The Mariners have a 26-49 record, worst in the majors, and are 19.5 games out of first place. The season is clearly over for them and with plenty of expiring contracts (Sexson, Vidro, Willie Blomquist, Raul Ibanez) their best hope is for a better 2009. Recent Games: The Mariners are wrapping up their interleague tour against the NL East, getting swept by the Nationals and losing 2 of 3 to the Marlins at home, and then losing 2 of 3 in Atlanta. All-Time: The Mets are 1-5 against the Mariners all-time, their worst record against any opponent. They lost 2 of 3 to the Mariners at Shea in 2003 and were swept by the Mariners at Safeco Field in 2005. The highlight of that series for the Mets was a spectacular catch by David Wright (link is [url=http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/multimedia/tp_archive.jsp?c_id=nym&ym=200506]here, scroll down to June 18[/url]), one that is terribly overlooked, especially given the underserving pub that a catch by a certain shortstop also playing in New York gets. Just remember: Wright had to dive into the stands to catch the ball; the other guy caught the ball first, then (unnecessarily?) dove into the stands. Pitching Matchups: Monday: Felix Hernandez (R) vs. Johan Santana. Hernandez (6-5, 2.87, 91Ks in 103 1/3 innings) has won his last 4 starts. The Mets should stack their lineup with lefties on Monday, as Hernandez has a .357 BAA for lefties but only .270 for righties. This is Hernandez' fourth big-league season and he's still only 22 years old. This marquee pitching matchup is an ESPN game for the out-of-towners. Tuesday: Miguel Batista (R) vs. Oliver Perez. Batista (R) was starting games but then got pushed into the closer role temporarily. Batista is 3-9, 6.26 ERA (13 starts, 6 relief apperances). He blew 2 saves and is now back in the rotation with Brandon Morrow taking back the job as fill-in for the disabled JJ Putz. Batista is also a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Eyes_of_the_Law]noted author.[/url] Wednesday: R.A. Dickey (R) vs. John Maine. Erik Bedard's spot in the rotation but it's expected that Dickey will make the start instaed. Dickey is a knuckleballer who was a former 1st round draft pick of the Rangers. It was discovered early in his career that he is missing a key ligament in his elbow, and to keep his career going, Charlie Hough (the Rangers pitching coach at the time) tought Dickey the knuckleball. Dickey perfected the knuckleball in the minors and was the 2007 Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year. He has been up and down between AAA and the majors so far this year. Dickey's numbers: 1-3, 5.77 ERA in 34 1/3 innings. (8 relief apperances and 3 starts). 39 H, 14 BB, 24 Ks. An interesting article by Alan Schwartz of the NY Times on Dickey is [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/sports/baseball/27dickey.html]here[/url]. Mariners Lineup: C Jeff Clement (L) / C Kenji Johjima (R) Johjima (2-17-.218, .259 OBP) was the starter (and got a 3 year contract extension in April) but has been terrible. Clement was called up a week ago (after spending 2 weeks in May before getting sent back down) and will apparently be getting most of the starts with Johjima relegated to a backup and DH role. Clement's AAA stats this year: 14 homers-43 RBIs-.337. 1B Richie Sexson (R)] Sexson (9-23-.213, .298 OBP.) has been so bad that the Mariners have apparently [url=http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080618&content_id=2954769&vkey=news_sea&fext=.jsp&c_id=sea]considered cutting him[/url] but that hasn't happened. Recently, he's lost some time to Miguel Cairo (!). Sexson hasn't had an extra base hit since May 24. 2B Jose Lopez (R) 5-39-.290, .304 OBP. 3B Adrian Beltre (R) Beltre has been somewhat of a disappointment since he signed with the Mariners, unable to duplicate the numbers he had with the Dodgers. 14-33-.340, .314 OBP. SS Yuniesky Betancourt (R) 3-25-.285, .293 OBP. Yes, that OBP is right. He has 4 walks this season in 264 plate appearances. LF Raul Ibanez (L) Their best position player not named Ichiro. Slightly better average and OBP hitting against lefties but all the power comes hitting against righties. 8-44-.279, .344 OBP. CF Jeremy Reed (L) Reed (2-6-.295, .362 OBP) was called up a month ago and was only playing part-time; he recently moved to CF in a position switch with Ichiro and is now playing full-time. RF Ichiro Suzuki (L) Ichiro recently moved back to right field after playing a year and a half in center. His numbers (3-19-.288, .350 OBP) are slightly down this year. 32 for 34 in steals. Wlademir Balentin (sent back to AAA) and Brad Wilkerson (cut in May) had played RF for most of the season. Mariners Bench: Jose Vidro IF (S) Vidro (5-34-.216, .264 OBP) is the usual DH. Miguel Cairo IF (R) Cairo (0-7-.182, .276 OBP in 66 ABs) was filling in at third for Beltre recently and got some starts at first as well. Willie Bloomquist IF/OF (R) 0-4-.258, .364 OBP. Bloomquist has some speed (8 for 10 in steals). Jaime Burke C (R) Burke (1-3-.213, .288 OBP) was the backup to Johjima before Clement was called up and is now being carried as a useless third catcher. (Where have we seen that before?) Mariners Bullpen: The 'pen is possibly the only bright spot for the team. JJ Putz was the best closer in baseball in 2007 but is currently on the DL for the second time this year. Brandon Morrow (R), filling in as closer while Putz was/is out, and doing a great job to boot. 0-1, 0.90 ERA in 20 IP. 12 H, 7 BB, 30 Ks. 2 saves in 2 opportunities. Rest of the pen: Roy Corcoran (R): 0-0, 3.68 ERA in 14 2/3 innings. 16 H, 8 BB, 10 K. Sean Green (R): 1-2, 3.24 ERA in 41 2/3 innings. 37 H, 18 BB, 41 K. Arthur Rhodes (L): 2-0, 4.50 ERA in 12 Innings. 13 H, 8 BB, 14 K. Ryan Rowland-Smith (L): 1-1, 2.95 ERA in 36 2/3 Innings. 30 H, 17 BB, 29 K. Mark Lowe (R): 1-3, 4.83 ERA in 31 2/3 innings. 36 H, 19 BB 29 K. Who's Hurt: Adrian Beltre has a brusied left index finger but will probably be back for this series. Closer JJ Putz is out with an injured elbow. He was on the DL at the start of the season with a rib injury and apparently came back too soon and was overcompensating. Replacement closer Brandon Morrow has been having back spasms but is expected to return for this series. Erik Bedard was removed from Friday's start in Atlanta during the fourth inning with back spasms and will possibly miss his scheduled start on Wednesday. Ex-Mets: Miguel Cairo Sam Perlozzo (3B) and Mel Stottelmyre (Pitching) are both on the Mariners coaching staff. Ex-Mariners: None Essential Mariners Blog: http://ussmariner.com/ Mariner Moose: Quite possibly the best mascot in the majors not named Mr. Met, the Mariner Moose is also one of my favorites. Remember the "Griffey in '96" presidential campaign? The [url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=KF8KV5tG448]Moose[/url] was his running mate. The Moose also is well-known for [url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=pyMCUNImbZc]running over Coco Crisp with an ATV[/url].

bmfc1 Jun 22 2008 05:51 PM

Great KTE. FYI: the Monday game isn't on ESPN: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/broadcasts/national.jsp#espn

themetfairy Jun 22 2008 05:56 PM

Nice job Gwreck!

metirish Jun 22 2008 05:57 PM

Best KTE of the year , lots of good info and some funny bits. Nice work.

Gwreck Jun 22 2008 05:58 PM

Thanks. ESPN told me [url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/schedules]otherwise[/url] re: the tv schedule. That sucks.

Fman99 Jun 22 2008 06:01 PM

Well done. I went back and watched that catch Wright made in '05. Impressive.

SteveJRogers Jun 22 2008 06:15 PM Re: KTE: Seattle Mariners (June 23-25)

Gwreck wrote: and Mel Stottelmyre (Pitching) are both on the Now THERE'S an under-reported story here in the North East! Thought he was still in "retirement" Who did he replace on McLaren's staff I wonder?

Gwreck Jun 22 2008 06:34 PM

Nobody. They fired McLaren, not the coaches.

soupcan Jun 22 2008 06:42 PM

Holy thorough KTE Batman!

SteveJRogers Jun 22 2008 06:53 PM

Gwreck wrote: Nobody. They fired McLaren, not the coaches. I'm sorry, I meant I looked on the Mariners site, he was brought in this season, so who did McLaren have last year is the question.

Gwreck Jun 22 2008 06:55 PM

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Chaves]Rafael Chaves[/url], who is now the AAA pitching coach for the MFYs.

Elster88 Jun 22 2008 09:44 PM

How to steal Ichiro off this team?

Gwreck Jun 22 2008 10:03 PM

Elster88 wrote: How to steal Ichiro off this team? No chance.

TransMonk Jun 23 2008 10:49 AM Re: KTE: Seattle Mariners (June 23-25)

Gwreck wrote: This marquee pitching matchup is an ESPN game for the out-of-towners. My listings are giving me D'bags/Red Sox on ESPN tonight. Although, next Monday it looks like Mets/Cards are on ESPN.

metsguyinmichigan Jun 23 2008 11:18 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 23 2008 11:38 AM

Great KTE. And a series with the sinking M's could be just what a surging Mets team could use! Of course, I thought that before the Padres series, too.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 23 2008 11:32 AM

Yeah. If the Mets had won three of four against the Padres, as they should have, they'd only be a half-game out now.

attgig Jun 23 2008 12:09 PM

great kte. looking forward to the pitching matchup tonight.

AG/DC Jun 23 2008 12:12 PM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Yeah. If the Mets had won three of four against the Padres, as they should have, they'd only be a half-game out now. Under Willie Randolph, no doubt.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 23 2008 12:16 PM

Probably.

AG/DC Jun 24 2008 08:31 AM

There have been some big free-agent grabs between the Mets and the Mariners (Olerud, Cameron) but not really any high-profile direct tranacting. New York Mets purchased Doc Medich from the Seattle Mariners on September 26, 1977. New York Mets selected Rick Baldwin in free agent draft on December 5, 1977. New York Mets sold Wayne Twitchell to the Seattle Mariners on August 19, 1979. New York Mets traded Gene Walter to the Seattle Mariners for Edwin Nuñez on July 11, 1988. New York Mets traded Reggie Dobie to the Seattle Mariners for Chuck Carr on November 20, 1988. New York Mets traded Brian Givens to the Seattle Mariners for Mario Diaz on June 19, 1990. Seattle Mariners claimed Eric Gunderson of the New York Mets on waivers on August 4, 1995. New York Mets traded Blas Minor to the Seattle Mariners for Randy Vickers on June 9, 1996. New York Mets traded Lindsay Gulin to the Seattle Mariners for Rick Wilkins on May 12, 1998. New York Mets traded Butch Huskey to the Seattle Mariners for Lesli Brea on December 4, 1998. New York Mets traded Allen Watson to the Seattle Mariners for Justin Dunning and Mac Suzuki on June 18, 1999. New York Mets traded Rey Sanchez to the Seattle Mariners for Kenny Kelly on July 29, 2003.

AG/DC Jun 24 2008 08:48 AM

And a heckuva blog at Lookout Landing: Some, um, vitriol over there as well. CARLOS BELTRAN I WILL FIND YOU I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL APPREHEND YOU AND I WILL DO THINGS TO YOU THAT NO HUMAN HAS EVER DONE TO ANOTHER I WILL DO THEM WITH A BLOWTORCH AND A CORKSCREW AND A JAGGED METAL SHOELACE SOMEHOW YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY AND I WILL NOT BE HAPPY BUT YOU WILL BE LESS HAPPY ON ACCOUNT OF I WILL MOTHERFUCKING KILL YOU KILL YOU

Benjamin Grimm Jun 24 2008 08:54 AM

Wow. Makes cleon seem rational.

AG/DC Jun 24 2008 09:01 AM

It's tough over there. Their posititon is that Felix is all they've got.