seattlepi.com Mariners blog: September 2004 Archives

	SEPTEMBER 29, 2004

Why pitch Baek?

From today's Mariners Notebook:

Cha Seung Baek, who threw eight shutout innings against Texas his last time out, is still experiencing a bit of discomfort in his elbow. Before his last start, he got two extra days of rest.

I just read the game notes for tonight's game and it lists Baek as the probable starter for Friday's matchup against Texas.

Why is Baek pitching if he is still experiencing discomfort in his elbow? Couldn't they find somebody else, perhaps Ron Villone or Matt Thornton, to start in his place? Hasn't this team had enough major injuries to its pitchers?

Posted by Mike Thompson at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (179)

More on Ichiro's hits

Here is a breakdown of Ichiro's 254 hits, courtesy of the Mariners:

Type of hit
Single - 217
Double - 24
Triple - 5
Home Run - 8

Location
P-6, C-3, 1B-8, 2B-11, 3B-9, SS-15, LF-62, CF-71, RF-69

By inning
1-51, 2-12, 3-36, 4-21, 5-23, 6-24, 7-28, 8-31, 9-20, extra innings-8

By number of outs
0-117, 1-67, 2-70

Hits vs. other teams
1. Anaheim - 34
2. Oakland - 29
3. Texas - 20
3. Toronto - 20
5. Minnesota - 18

Hits by ballpark
1. Safeco - 111
2. Angel Stadium - 25
3. Network Associates - 18
4. Comerica Park - 13
5. Skydome - 13

By pitcher
1. Barry Zito - 7
2. Tim Hudson - 6
2. C.C. Sabathia - 6
2. Aaron Sele - 6
5. Ryan Drese, Kevin Gregg, Terry Mulholland, Mark Redman, Nate Robertson - 5
* Ichiro has gotten hits off of 124 different pitchers

Posted by Mike Thompson at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Japanese media

We've noticed a huge spike in Mariners-related traffic coming from Japan, mostly through our partnership with Jungle City.

For those who don't know, the Japanese media and fans are going crazy over Ichiro's pursuit of George Sisler's record.

MLB.com has an article today talking about the Japanese media. Since there are more than 30 print writers covering Ichiro right now, they have decided to only have a couple of reporters ask questions and then share the results with the group. And no, they would never think of keeping the best quotes for themselves. It is definitely a change from the days when Ichiro couldn't even walk down the street without being bombarded by people.

Posted by Mike Thompson at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)

	SEPTEMBER 28, 2004

Dobbs vs. Cabrera

In today's Mariners Notebook, Bob Melvin says, "In the games we're playing against our own division, Cabrera is a better option."

He also states, "If we were playing anybody but the teams that we're playing, Dobbs would be out there right now a lot."

Well, let's take a look at the numbers shall we? Here are Cabrera's numbers this year against teams in the AL West:

          AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS
vs. ANA  .262  .289  .310  .599
vs. OAK  .167  .259  .167  .426
vs. TEX  .225  .267  .325  .592

Cabrera is has also posted a meager .194/.247/.250 line in September.

Is that really much of a better option than Greg Dobbs? And if the Mariners really needed another left-hander off the bench, why didn't they bring A.J. Zapp up?

Posted by Mike Thompson at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (173)

	SEPTEMBER 27, 2004

On the tube

Thursday's game against Oakland has been picked up by Fox Sports Northwest. It has a 12:30 p.m. start time.

Posted by Mike Thompson at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (47)

	SEPTEMBER 24, 2004

What about Bob?

Both John Hickey and Jim Moore have come out in support of keeping Bob Melvin as manager for the 2005 season.

Regular readers of this blog already know my thoughts on the matter. Now, I want to know what you think.

Vote: Should Bob Melvin be fired?

Posted by Mike Thompson at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (285)

SEPTEMBER 22, 2004

Spiezio sighting

Scott Spiezio finally had a good night at the plate last night, going 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs.

Some interesting notes:
· These were his first hits since August 27.
· The four RBIs were more than he had from July 7 through September 20.
· The two hits may be enough to keep him above the Mendoza line this year. A hitless night could have dropped him to .201.
· Spiezio's horrible .624 OPS is still 30 points higher than Willie Bloomquist and 25 higher than Dan Wilson.

Posted by Mike Thompson at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (258)

SEPTEMBER 09, 2004

Break time

Updates will be sparse for the next 10 days since I'll be on vacation.

Posted by Mike Thompson at 11:46 AM | Permalink

Even more reasons Melvin needs to go

I'm left shaking my head again after reading this tidbit in today's Mariners Notebook:

With the Mariners playing nothing but contenders the rest of the way (Boston, Oakland, Anaheim and Texas), Bob Melvin said that will limit the amount of playing time his rookies will get.

This team needs to look to the future. Who cares whether you are playing a contender or not? Jeremy Reed and Greg Dobbs should be in the lineup nearly every day for the rest of the season.

Plus, it's not like Willie Bloomquist and Scott Spiezio are going to do any better (you could probably guess that I think playing Bloomquist at first base is about the most idiotic thing we've seen all year -- a first baseman with a .314 slugging percentage).

With Bucky Jacobsen out for the season, why not play Ibanez at first, Reed in center, Winn in left, Dobbs at third and Edgar at DH?

Posted by Mike Thompson at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (889)

SEPTEMBER 06, 2004

Roster moves

Pitcher Aaron Taylor, infielder Greg Dobbs, infielder Mickey Lopez and outfielder Jeremy Reed will be joining the Mariners.

To make room for Lopez and Reed on the 40-man roster, Eddie Guardado and Joel Piniero were moved to the 60-day disabled list.

Posted by Mike Thompson at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (314)

SEPTEMBER 03, 2004

Rohn wins award

Tacoma Rainiers manager Dan Rohn has been named 2004 PCL Manager of the Year. He also won the award in 2001.

This is Rohn's fourth year with the Rainiers and seventh in the Mariners organization.

As mentioned in the link above, Rohn has had to deal with 130 transactions involving 61 players so far this year.

Posted by Mike Thompson at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (256)

Zapp follow-up

I mentioned A.J. Zapp's strikeouts and home runs yesterday. Last night, Zapp broke the PCL record for strikeouts in a season. He followed it up with another home run and his 101st RBI.

Posted by Mike Thompson at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (39)

SEPTEMBER 02, 2004

Zapp goes deep

A.J. Zapp hit a 505-foot blast at Cheney Stadium last night, the longest home run ever to be hit there (fourth item in story).

Zapp now possesses a .294/.367/.528 line for the Rainiers. He also has 28 home runs and 98 RBIs. However, the Mariners don't like that the first baseman has struck out 174 times in 489 at-bats (ignoring that power hitters often strikeout more).

Posted by Mike Thompson at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (92)

Not everyone impressed with Ichiro

Dayn Perry of FoxSports.com (and BaseballProspectus.com) writes that Ichiro is merely a good player, not a great one. And certainly not an MVP.

Perry's key points about Ichiro:
· lacks power for a corner outfielder
· infield hits don't drive in runs
· career on-base percentage is .382, but mostly all from batting average
· his defensive prowess is wasted in right field and would be suited better in center
· his stolen bases don't really mean much
· his VORP this year is "only" 13th in the league
· he didn't deserve to win the AL MVP in 2001

Posted by Mike Thompson at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (159)

SEPTEMBER 01, 2004

Today's tidbits

What an August for Ichiro
· 56 hits (career best month, M's record, most since 1938)
· .463 average (career best month)
· .492 on-base (career best month)
· .636 slugging (career best month)
· hit four home runs after only having four the entire season coming into the month
· has 35 more hits than anybody in the majors
· now fourth in VORP in the AL, trailing only Melvin Mora, Carlos Guillen and Vladimir Guerrero

Ron Villone, pitching MVP?
"For my money, Ron Villone is this team's pitching MVP," Melvin said. "Whatever we've needed him to do, he's done."

I'm not entirely sure how a guy that has a 4.37 ERA and 11.3 VORP can be your pitching MVP.

Here are pitchers with similar numbers (85-110 innings, 8-15 VORP, split season between starting rotation and bullpen): John Halama, Rob Bell, Terry Mulholland and Dennis Reyes. Not exactly an MVP crowd, is it?

Then again, his prime competition has been hurt (Eddie Guardado - 17.7 VORP, Joel Pineiro - 20.5 VORP) or traded (Freddy Garcia - 35.2 VORP).

Welcome back
I'd like to give a warm welcome back to the Mariners Optimist. Previously, the Optimist had quit blogging on May 20 and vowed to return only after the Mariners won five straight games.

Posted by Mike Thompson at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (173)


Home \| Site Map \| About the P-I \| Contact Us \| P-I Jobs \| Home Delivery


101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820 Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com ©1996-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Terms of Service/Privacy Policy