Saturday, May 29, 2004
THIS IS A HOCKEY TOWN
Detroit, Michigan is not Hockeytown.
Every Canadian city is Hockeytown. Calgary, Alberta, Canada is Hockeytown right now. As David said, the Saddledome crowd was nuts. One thing that I have to do in my lifetime is to attend a Stanley Cup playoff game in Canada. But I'll probably settle for a Nashville Predators game in 2004-2005 for the time being. However, that's not here or now.
Having a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals is great. This is Canada's game, not America's game, although ESPN has forcefed us these promos since October that hockey was "made in America." Screw them.
On a sidenote, did anybody see the report Al Morganti did on Sportscenter before Game 3 with the Tampa Bay Lightning Ice Girls? The Ice Girls were playing beach hockey. That's right, beach hockey.
Barry Melrose after the report:
"The only way that piece could have been better would have been if they had played shirts and skins."
Anyways, I finally saw "Miracle". It's a great movie. Kurt Russell was incredible as Herb Brooks.
Game 4 on Monday night in the Saddledome. BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN...
Every Canadian city is Hockeytown. Calgary, Alberta, Canada is Hockeytown right now. As David said, the Saddledome crowd was nuts. One thing that I have to do in my lifetime is to attend a Stanley Cup playoff game in Canada. But I'll probably settle for a Nashville Predators game in 2004-2005 for the time being. However, that's not here or now.
Having a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals is great. This is Canada's game, not America's game, although ESPN has forcefed us these promos since October that hockey was "made in America." Screw them.
On a sidenote, did anybody see the report Al Morganti did on Sportscenter before Game 3 with the Tampa Bay Lightning Ice Girls? The Ice Girls were playing beach hockey. That's right, beach hockey.
Barry Melrose after the report:
"The only way that piece could have been better would have been if they had played shirts and skins."
Anyways, I finally saw "Miracle". It's a great movie. Kurt Russell was incredible as Herb Brooks.
Game 4 on Monday night in the Saddledome. BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN...
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PROJECT DIVERSIONS!!
Know what's great? When you have a project due in four days, and you should be in the computer lab getting it done, but you're at home messing with the sidebar on your weblog. So instead of running an erosion model for Skagit County, I'm learning that some of the stuff I'm putting on the sidebar needs way more than 30 pixels' worth of height. It's purely trial-and-error. I don't know much about the ol' HTML, but I'm learning bits and pieces every few weeks, and usually by accident.
My other project excuses -- Mariner game, Stanley Cup Finals Game 3 (the Saddledome was NUTS), and the last few minutes of NBA Finals Game 5. Fred Hoiberg (known in a past life as the mayor of Ames, Iowa) looks eerily like my dad.
Just hoping to maybe visually add something to the site, but if any of y'all see that it takes five years to load the site (I doubt it, because I think the text loads first), then I'll do something about it.
For the logos that are too small right now, if you're actually trying to use something down there, mouse over it and the description will pop up in a tooltip.
My other project excuses -- Mariner game, Stanley Cup Finals Game 3 (the Saddledome was NUTS), and the last few minutes of NBA Finals Game 5. Fred Hoiberg (known in a past life as the mayor of Ames, Iowa) looks eerily like my dad.
Just hoping to maybe visually add something to the site, but if any of y'all see that it takes five years to load the site (I doubt it, because I think the text loads first), then I'll do something about it.
For the logos that are too small right now, if you're actually trying to use something down there, mouse over it and the description will pop up in a tooltip.
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SINGLE STEAL
The Mariners waited for Freddy Garcia to have one of his suspect and slightly disturbing outings to get him some meaningful run support, as the Mariners stole a game in a series in which they probably should have been swept.
The Mariners showed a hacktastic offensive game plan earlier this year against Tim Hudson, and it failed miserably. They've used it a couple other times (though I can't name a particular instance), with mixed results. Today, the Mariners use of hacktasticism seemed to work, and with Tim Wakefield throwing butterflies on the mound, it probably was the right plan to go with.
The Mariners scored all five of their runs in the second and third innings. They sent eight batters to the plate in the 2nd and six batters in the 3rd.
Pitchers per batter in the 2nd and 3rd innings...
2nd: Boone 1, Olerud 3, Hansen 2, Aurilia 1, Wilson 1, Ichiro 2, Winn 4, Spiezio 3; 17-pitch inning
3rd: Ibanez 2, Boone 2, Olerud 2, Hansen 9 (snuck in there), Aurilia 2, Wilson 3; 20-pitch inning
Quick math says the average number of pitches per batter was 2.64, but if you take out Dave Hansen's outlier, you get 2.15.
Of course, these second and third innings saw the Mariners get seven of their hits (one homer, three doubles, three singles) and score their five runs with the benefit of an error and no benefit of any walks.
Offensively, that was pretty much it for the Mariners. Though the point is moot, the Mariners still had the bases loaded with nobody out with the score 3-0 in the second, and the top of the lineup popped out (Ichiro), struck out (Randy Winn), and flew out (Scott Spiezio). That's poor, kids. In the 4th, the Mariners had Ichiro on third with one out, and he didn't score. Tim Wakefield then found his groove until he walked two straight with two out in the 7th, and threw a ball that Jason Varitek (not personal catcher Doug Mirabelli at that point) let by him. Dave Hansen was intentionally walked and Wakefield was pulled. The Boston bullpen did allow four baserunners over the final two innings, but a double play and some assorted machinations of Mariner futility made sure nobody else scored.
Now we get to Freddy. The first part of his outing reminded me of the outing Joel Pineiro had yesterday. One difference was that Freddy slipped up an inning earlier than Joel did. Freddy looked pretty good in the first three innings, and seemed like he was almost in the zone. However, in the 4th, he gave up the two-run homer to Manny Ramirez (off the Sports Authority sign above the Monster), and then poured some lighter fluid on the fire, allowing a double (Brian Daubach) and a single (Kevin Millar). The next two hitters grounded out, though one run came across. The Mariners still led 5-3. The flurry of hits against Garcia coincided with the fact that the Boston lineup was facing Freddy the second time through (sans Johnny Damon).
Freddy got two quick outs in the 5th, but then ran into some trouble, in the form of a walk (Mark Bellhorn), a double (David Ortiz), and another walk (Manny Ramirez). I'm fairly sure it was this inning in which Freddy was showing some of the mental vulnerability that he really hasn't shown since last year. He was getting squeezed on a few calls (though I think he was getting some himself), and at one point, he had a very 2003-like moment with Dan Wilson; you know, the moment where Dan Wilson has put down about five signs and Freddy keeps shaking him off, then Dan comes out to the mound and Freddy looks ticked off? That moment appeared in the game today, and Freddy's show of frustration was exhibited in the form of throwing the ball up in the air to himself.
I was talking with Jeremy (you know, the other Bremertonian) yesterday, and he used a very repeatable phrase for the Mariners, though I can't remember the exact context. The phrase: Even when they win, they lose. How does that apply here? Well, the Mariners won in Boston where not many teams have won this year. They beat the knuckleballer, and that's not always easy to do. Eddie Guardado recorded the first opponents' save in Fenway in 2004. So how do the Mariners lose today? If Freddy has now opened the lid that suppressed all the mental struggles that he was having last year, it's no stretch to say that this could screw the Mariners in the trade market. This could be yet another brutal turning point in a horrible year for the Mariners. Of course, Freddy could pitch three complete games in a row and this could mean nothing. Freddy could also realize that if he's letting his mind get the best of him this year, it's not going to help him on the free-agent market next winter. But the bottom line is, if he starts sucking and falls into a black hole, no one's going to want to trade anything of worth Seattle's way for the big Venezuelan.
Yes, the Mariners can't have everything go right. Even in an outing where the bullpen threw 3 1/3 shutout innings (2 hits), what happened on the mound in the bottoms of the 5th and 6th innings could be yet another black eye on the Mariners' 2004 season.
Gameball: Mike Myers. He struck out Johnny Damon with a man (Freddy's) on second and two out in the 6th. He struck out all three batters he faced (13 pitches). Yep, a gameball to Myers from someone who believes that nothing good can come out of bringing in Myers out of the pen at Fenway. Lastly, the postgame celebration tonight is at Komrade's. It's a Communist party.
Goat: Scott Spiezio. As the number 3 hitter in the Mariner lineup today, Speez went 0-for-6, striking out once and stranding six runners. Holy hell, that's bad. John Olerud's average crawled up to .270 today, but Scott Spiezio's average has sunk to .247. Remember when he came off the DL and was doing pretty well to start off? Looks like that's gone down in flames.
The Mariners are probably hoping for a rainout or they might schedule a mysterious early-morning charter flight to avoid playing the game tomorrow. Why?
Franklin. Schilling. Tomorrow.
The Mariners showed a hacktastic offensive game plan earlier this year against Tim Hudson, and it failed miserably. They've used it a couple other times (though I can't name a particular instance), with mixed results. Today, the Mariners use of hacktasticism seemed to work, and with Tim Wakefield throwing butterflies on the mound, it probably was the right plan to go with.
The Mariners scored all five of their runs in the second and third innings. They sent eight batters to the plate in the 2nd and six batters in the 3rd.
Pitchers per batter in the 2nd and 3rd innings...
2nd: Boone 1, Olerud 3, Hansen 2, Aurilia 1, Wilson 1, Ichiro 2, Winn 4, Spiezio 3; 17-pitch inning
3rd: Ibanez 2, Boone 2, Olerud 2, Hansen 9 (snuck in there), Aurilia 2, Wilson 3; 20-pitch inning
Quick math says the average number of pitches per batter was 2.64, but if you take out Dave Hansen's outlier, you get 2.15.
Of course, these second and third innings saw the Mariners get seven of their hits (one homer, three doubles, three singles) and score their five runs with the benefit of an error and no benefit of any walks.
Offensively, that was pretty much it for the Mariners. Though the point is moot, the Mariners still had the bases loaded with nobody out with the score 3-0 in the second, and the top of the lineup popped out (Ichiro), struck out (Randy Winn), and flew out (Scott Spiezio). That's poor, kids. In the 4th, the Mariners had Ichiro on third with one out, and he didn't score. Tim Wakefield then found his groove until he walked two straight with two out in the 7th, and threw a ball that Jason Varitek (not personal catcher Doug Mirabelli at that point) let by him. Dave Hansen was intentionally walked and Wakefield was pulled. The Boston bullpen did allow four baserunners over the final two innings, but a double play and some assorted machinations of Mariner futility made sure nobody else scored.
Now we get to Freddy. The first part of his outing reminded me of the outing Joel Pineiro had yesterday. One difference was that Freddy slipped up an inning earlier than Joel did. Freddy looked pretty good in the first three innings, and seemed like he was almost in the zone. However, in the 4th, he gave up the two-run homer to Manny Ramirez (off the Sports Authority sign above the Monster), and then poured some lighter fluid on the fire, allowing a double (Brian Daubach) and a single (Kevin Millar). The next two hitters grounded out, though one run came across. The Mariners still led 5-3. The flurry of hits against Garcia coincided with the fact that the Boston lineup was facing Freddy the second time through (sans Johnny Damon).
Freddy got two quick outs in the 5th, but then ran into some trouble, in the form of a walk (Mark Bellhorn), a double (David Ortiz), and another walk (Manny Ramirez). I'm fairly sure it was this inning in which Freddy was showing some of the mental vulnerability that he really hasn't shown since last year. He was getting squeezed on a few calls (though I think he was getting some himself), and at one point, he had a very 2003-like moment with Dan Wilson; you know, the moment where Dan Wilson has put down about five signs and Freddy keeps shaking him off, then Dan comes out to the mound and Freddy looks ticked off? That moment appeared in the game today, and Freddy's show of frustration was exhibited in the form of throwing the ball up in the air to himself.
I was talking with Jeremy (you know, the other Bremertonian) yesterday, and he used a very repeatable phrase for the Mariners, though I can't remember the exact context. The phrase: Even when they win, they lose. How does that apply here? Well, the Mariners won in Boston where not many teams have won this year. They beat the knuckleballer, and that's not always easy to do. Eddie Guardado recorded the first opponents' save in Fenway in 2004. So how do the Mariners lose today? If Freddy has now opened the lid that suppressed all the mental struggles that he was having last year, it's no stretch to say that this could screw the Mariners in the trade market. This could be yet another brutal turning point in a horrible year for the Mariners. Of course, Freddy could pitch three complete games in a row and this could mean nothing. Freddy could also realize that if he's letting his mind get the best of him this year, it's not going to help him on the free-agent market next winter. But the bottom line is, if he starts sucking and falls into a black hole, no one's going to want to trade anything of worth Seattle's way for the big Venezuelan.
Yes, the Mariners can't have everything go right. Even in an outing where the bullpen threw 3 1/3 shutout innings (2 hits), what happened on the mound in the bottoms of the 5th and 6th innings could be yet another black eye on the Mariners' 2004 season.
Gameball: Mike Myers. He struck out Johnny Damon with a man (Freddy's) on second and two out in the 6th. He struck out all three batters he faced (13 pitches). Yep, a gameball to Myers from someone who believes that nothing good can come out of bringing in Myers out of the pen at Fenway. Lastly, the postgame celebration tonight is at Komrade's. It's a Communist party.
Goat: Scott Spiezio. As the number 3 hitter in the Mariner lineup today, Speez went 0-for-6, striking out once and stranding six runners. Holy hell, that's bad. John Olerud's average crawled up to .270 today, but Scott Spiezio's average has sunk to .247. Remember when he came off the DL and was doing pretty well to start off? Looks like that's gone down in flames.
The Mariners are probably hoping for a rainout or they might schedule a mysterious early-morning charter flight to avoid playing the game tomorrow. Why?
Franklin. Schilling. Tomorrow.
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Friday, May 28, 2004
INDECISION CLOUDS MY VISION
You see, I'm somewhere in between. My life is falling to pieces. Somebody put me together.
No, my life isn't falling to pieces. But the Seattle Mariners are.
Tonight's line by Pedro Martinez, who is now 13-0 against the Mariners:
7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 9 SO, 112 P
This wasn't the dominating Pedro we're used to. But this is still Pedro Martinez. His 13-0 record against the M's is simply unbelievable. Keep in mind that since the streak started, he's faced Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Edgar Martinez. Tip your hat to the One Man Jerri Curl Revival Man.
Anyways, wasn't that grand slam by David Ortiz fun?
The game was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes due to a threat of rain. Hell, it was only delaying the inevitable. But of course, we have our moron of a manager making an ass out of himself (again).
``I don't know what the radar looks like, but it certainly seemed like the game could have got going,'' Seattle manager Bob Melvin said. ``But that's up to the powers that be that are in control of that. ... I'm sure there's thought of not wanting to have Pedro go out there and then having to wait for a while, but I don't know.''
Shut up, Bob. Your team is 17-30.
You might surprise yourself.
What, surprises from the Mariners? Since when?
No, my life isn't falling to pieces. But the Seattle Mariners are.
Tonight's line by Pedro Martinez, who is now 13-0 against the Mariners:
7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 9 SO, 112 P
This wasn't the dominating Pedro we're used to. But this is still Pedro Martinez. His 13-0 record against the M's is simply unbelievable. Keep in mind that since the streak started, he's faced Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Edgar Martinez. Tip your hat to the One Man Jerri Curl Revival Man.
Anyways, wasn't that grand slam by David Ortiz fun?
The game was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes due to a threat of rain. Hell, it was only delaying the inevitable. But of course, we have our moron of a manager making an ass out of himself (again).
``I don't know what the radar looks like, but it certainly seemed like the game could have got going,'' Seattle manager Bob Melvin said. ``But that's up to the powers that be that are in control of that. ... I'm sure there's thought of not wanting to have Pedro go out there and then having to wait for a while, but I don't know.''
Shut up, Bob. Your team is 17-30.
You might surprise yourself.
What, surprises from the Mariners? Since when?
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POLARIZE
In a way, you could say that it was a tale of two games for the Mariners tonight. There was the first part of the game where it seemed a lot of things were going right -- Pedro wasn't himself all night, the Mariners scratched some runs together and scored first, and Joel Pineiro was whiffing guys. Then there was the second part -- Joel slipped up and paid for it. He rebounded, but the Mariners put three runners in scoring position the rest of the way after the Red Sox took the lead, and two of those runners were on base with two out in the 9th.
It started out gingerly enough for the Mariners, other than the first inning looking like Pedro was going to be the usual versus-Mariners Pedro. Then Joel came out for his half of the first and matched Pedro pitch for pitch. Encouraging it was. Bret Boone homered into the Monster seats to get the Mariners an early lead, only to have Joel serve one up to Manny Ramirez in the latter half of the 2nd inning.
Randy Winn doubled to lead off the third and was moved to third in what was called a "great at-bat" by Dave Niehaus and Ron Fairly, and though Ichiro did foul off five pitches in the at-bat, is it wrong to expect more out of Ichiro in that situation than a grounder to the right side to move the runner to third? That's what a Willie Bloomquist or a Ramon Santiago-type player should be doing, not a player that so badly wants his 200 hits a year and has the capability of piling them up. Anyway, I felt Dave and Ron overrated the at-bat. Scott Spiezio hit a sufficiently deep fly ball to score Winn to get the Mariners the lead again, by a 2-1 margin at this point.
Joel had a good stretch through the third and fourth, striking out four and retiring every hitter except for a Johnny Damon walk. Things looked good for the Mariners (in a game where Pedro was throwing, anyway), and they looked even better when Rich Aurilia led off by belting a pitch out of the yard that got too much of the plate. Add a Winn double and an Ichiro single, and the Mariners had a 4-1 lead. Spiezio was then beaned, and a double steal put two in scoring position for Edgar with an 0-1 count and one out. He would whiff, and then Raul Ibanez would pop out to Kevin Youkilis in foul territory. Anti-clutchitude by both Edgar and Ibanez there.
As the bottom of the 5th was unfolding, only one sentence ran through my mind: Joel done lost his mind. Whether he mentally lost himself is open to debate, but the results sure aren't. It didn't seem too bad after Kevins Millar and Youkilis hit back-to-back doubles, and it seemed Joel might get out of it after whiffing Pokey Reese. After all, Joel didn't let the second inning go to hell after Manny homered, right? Two walks to load the bases would follow, with David Ortiz golfing one on the first pitch over the wall in right for a grand slam. Game. Over. Ichiro probably needed an extra foot or two to snatch that ball out of the air, but it's over and done now. The Red Sox now led 6-4.
As a result of blowing up with two outs in the 5th, Joel's line suffered greatly. He gave up six runs on six hits, walking three and striking out nine in 6 1/3 innings (104 pitches). I think a stat I saw during the game said Joel had a 2.05 ERA in his last three starts with a .205 opponents' batting average (numbers were easy to remember), but he had gone 0-3 in those three starts.
What happens if you're the Mariners and you give Pedro the lead that he didn't already have, in the 5th? Well, first he gives up a couple singles because he isn't himself tonight, but then he sets down your next six hitters in a row, including the top third of your lineup in the 7th. And since the Red Sox improved their bullpen and added Keith Foulke this year, it's basically all over but the shouting.
Gameball: John Olerud. 2-for-4. His average his quietly (as if it'd be loudly) crept up to .269.
Goat: Edgar. 0-for-4 striking out twice and stranding two. Ouch, Papi. Ouch.
If someone asked you before the season started what you thought Joel Pineiro's record would be on June 1st, how many of you would have said 1-6? Anybody? Bueller?
It's matinee ball tomorrow!! What better way to prepare for Curt Schilling on Sunday than with a steady diet of knuckleballs on Saturday?
Garcia. Wakefield. A little over twelve hours.
It started out gingerly enough for the Mariners, other than the first inning looking like Pedro was going to be the usual versus-Mariners Pedro. Then Joel came out for his half of the first and matched Pedro pitch for pitch. Encouraging it was. Bret Boone homered into the Monster seats to get the Mariners an early lead, only to have Joel serve one up to Manny Ramirez in the latter half of the 2nd inning.
Randy Winn doubled to lead off the third and was moved to third in what was called a "great at-bat" by Dave Niehaus and Ron Fairly, and though Ichiro did foul off five pitches in the at-bat, is it wrong to expect more out of Ichiro in that situation than a grounder to the right side to move the runner to third? That's what a Willie Bloomquist or a Ramon Santiago-type player should be doing, not a player that so badly wants his 200 hits a year and has the capability of piling them up. Anyway, I felt Dave and Ron overrated the at-bat. Scott Spiezio hit a sufficiently deep fly ball to score Winn to get the Mariners the lead again, by a 2-1 margin at this point.
Joel had a good stretch through the third and fourth, striking out four and retiring every hitter except for a Johnny Damon walk. Things looked good for the Mariners (in a game where Pedro was throwing, anyway), and they looked even better when Rich Aurilia led off by belting a pitch out of the yard that got too much of the plate. Add a Winn double and an Ichiro single, and the Mariners had a 4-1 lead. Spiezio was then beaned, and a double steal put two in scoring position for Edgar with an 0-1 count and one out. He would whiff, and then Raul Ibanez would pop out to Kevin Youkilis in foul territory. Anti-clutchitude by both Edgar and Ibanez there.
As the bottom of the 5th was unfolding, only one sentence ran through my mind: Joel done lost his mind. Whether he mentally lost himself is open to debate, but the results sure aren't. It didn't seem too bad after Kevins Millar and Youkilis hit back-to-back doubles, and it seemed Joel might get out of it after whiffing Pokey Reese. After all, Joel didn't let the second inning go to hell after Manny homered, right? Two walks to load the bases would follow, with David Ortiz golfing one on the first pitch over the wall in right for a grand slam. Game. Over. Ichiro probably needed an extra foot or two to snatch that ball out of the air, but it's over and done now. The Red Sox now led 6-4.
As a result of blowing up with two outs in the 5th, Joel's line suffered greatly. He gave up six runs on six hits, walking three and striking out nine in 6 1/3 innings (104 pitches). I think a stat I saw during the game said Joel had a 2.05 ERA in his last three starts with a .205 opponents' batting average (numbers were easy to remember), but he had gone 0-3 in those three starts.
What happens if you're the Mariners and you give Pedro the lead that he didn't already have, in the 5th? Well, first he gives up a couple singles because he isn't himself tonight, but then he sets down your next six hitters in a row, including the top third of your lineup in the 7th. And since the Red Sox improved their bullpen and added Keith Foulke this year, it's basically all over but the shouting.
Gameball: John Olerud. 2-for-4. His average his quietly (as if it'd be loudly) crept up to .269.
Goat: Edgar. 0-for-4 striking out twice and stranding two. Ouch, Papi. Ouch.
If someone asked you before the season started what you thought Joel Pineiro's record would be on June 1st, how many of you would have said 1-6? Anybody? Bueller?
It's matinee ball tomorrow!! What better way to prepare for Curt Schilling on Sunday than with a steady diet of knuckleballs on Saturday?
Garcia. Wakefield. A little over twelve hours.
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SHORTIES
Just a couple quick ones...
-- Scott Miller thinks it all through and says the Mariners have the second-worst bullpen in the Majors, with only the opposing bullpen from last night being worse.
-- Raul Mondesi says he's going to be an Angel. Time will tell, but Mike Scioscia said "Raul can play center field. He would create a lot more depth that we have and you'd be able to have better options with matchups (emphasis by David)." I don't know if it's just me, but Raul Mondesi doesn't strike me as the most agile guy, especially as a centerfielder. But if they do put him in centerfield, the Angels would have three of the most powerful outfield arms in the Majors with Jose Guillen, Mondesi, and Vlad Guerrero.
-- The Rambling Hockey Fangirl is an Avalanche fan and all, but even a Canuck fan like myself will link forth to this fun little effort. She is doing a school project, and the survey has to do with the sweaters (jerseys, whatever you prefer) of the Vancouver Canucks. Take a short second out of your day and maybe even share a laugh while helping someone get something done for school.
Pedro in t-minus 110 minutes.
-- Scott Miller thinks it all through and says the Mariners have the second-worst bullpen in the Majors, with only the opposing bullpen from last night being worse.
-- Raul Mondesi says he's going to be an Angel. Time will tell, but Mike Scioscia said "Raul can play center field. He would create a lot more depth that we have and you'd be able to have better options with matchups (emphasis by David)." I don't know if it's just me, but Raul Mondesi doesn't strike me as the most agile guy, especially as a centerfielder. But if they do put him in centerfield, the Angels would have three of the most powerful outfield arms in the Majors with Jose Guillen, Mondesi, and Vlad Guerrero.
-- The Rambling Hockey Fangirl is an Avalanche fan and all, but even a Canuck fan like myself will link forth to this fun little effort. She is doing a school project, and the survey has to do with the sweaters (jerseys, whatever you prefer) of the Vancouver Canucks. Take a short second out of your day and maybe even share a laugh while helping someone get something done for school.
Pedro in t-minus 110 minutes.
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REFERRER LOG MADNESS
A while ago I may or may not have been complaining about our referrer logs on the Sitemeter being totally useless and showing that all of our hits were referred from "unknown," which I knew wasn't true. I logged in to our little Sitemeter editor and it turns out I didn't paste the Javascript version of the code into the template. My bad.
But now, we can see where we're getting hits from, and that's a good thing. So when I'm strapped for content, I can just go to the referrer logs and rip apart one of the Google searches. For this post, we'll be tearing apart a search of [mariners suck] (not a phrase search). To the person that was hoping I'd dissect the search for naked pictures of Petr Sykora of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, sorry.
The first link I saw was one in the Seahawks fan page Seahawks.net. Poster and Seahawks.net editor-in-chief dfarrar777 has a nice little Marinerspeak-to-English translation thing here...
A tidbit from some Seattle Weekly dude...
[Edit ~9:23a -- Resolution for me: italicize the block quotes because it helps differentiate better...]
But now, we can see where we're getting hits from, and that's a good thing. So when I'm strapped for content, I can just go to the referrer logs and rip apart one of the Google searches. For this post, we'll be tearing apart a search of [mariners suck] (not a phrase search). To the person that was hoping I'd dissect the search for naked pictures of Petr Sykora of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, sorry.
The first link I saw was one in the Seahawks fan page Seahawks.net. Poster and Seahawks.net editor-in-chief dfarrar777 has a nice little Marinerspeak-to-English translation thing here...
- MarinerSpeak - "We're looking at a big bat, but it's not wise to play our hand just yet. There are several options we're looking at."
English - "We want you to think that we're looking at Carlos Beltran or Magglio Ordonez...yes, we think you're that stupid. We're actually thinking about trading the entire Tacoma pitching staff for Rondell White."
MarinerSpeak - "The 2004 payroll will be in the neighborhood of $95 million plus..."
English - "...minus cost-of living increases and the annual interest on all Executive Mutual Funds, not to mention the salaries of our 12 GMs. Should come in at about $80 million for players. SUCKERS!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
MarinerSpeak - "Quinton McCracken needs more at-bats."
English - "Quinton McCracken needs more at-bats."
(...this one doesn't make sense either way).
MarinerSpeak - "We still think we can turn this season around. We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't expend every effort to field a winning team."
English - "Wait until attendance drops below 25k per game, then trade the whole %&*@! team for spare parts! Howie needs a new boat!" [emphasis by David for enhanced readability]
A tidbit from some Seattle Weekly dude...
- ...Over 27 innings of play, [Mariner fans] stood to clap and cheer in Pavlovian fashion only when the lighted scoreboards asked for noise or when that furry idiot Moose implored them, plaintively, "louder." Even after security guards confiscated our cowbell (after all, who in Seattle would bring a noisemaking device to a sporting event?), my Yankees-fanatic friends and I outyelled, out-cheered, and outclassed the game sitters around us.
[...]
But the most bizarre moment came on Sunday, when a group of KGB goons hired by Mariners management to promote "enjoyment" demanded that fans wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "Yankees Suck" disrobe because, after all, "suck" is such a dirty, dirty word. The pathetic M's fans meekly accepted this suspension of their First Amendment rights in the name of a "good time"--truly unbelievable.
- "We may lead the league in ejections from the ballpark, but not because fans are misbehaving more here but because we don't tolerate much. This is about appropriate behavior. We have a code of conduct, a policy for language on clothing and banners and signs. Our feeling was this was not promoting what we want." [emphasis added by David, who asks, "what about what the FANS want? They paid for your damn stadium and the tickets to get in the place...ugh!!]
- "I thought the stadium was publicly funded ... They [the security guards] had me up against the bullpen fence. I made it very clear that I was taking the shirt off under protest. I was shocked that they made me change my shirt right there, and by then there was like 20 people standing around. As a person and season-ticket holder, I was humiliated. I didn't deserve to be treated that way."
[Edit ~9:23a -- Resolution for me: italicize the block quotes because it helps differentiate better...]
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IT'S NOT SPORTSCENTRE
It's much too late, and I'm directing you to this page. I'll note that you'll have to go through a little mostly painless registration format to see any of the clips, but one of the clips is a ~22 minute interview with recently fired Canuck GM Brian Burke on the Off the Record with Michael Landsberg show. Landsberg seems like a sort of Jim Rome/Max Kellerman cross, mixed with a third guy who I'm having trouble placing right now. Landsberg throws a ton of questions at him, and they touch on the NHL labor situation, the tension toward the Vancouver brass, Todd Bertuzzi, relations with the media, and a whole glut of other things, because the interview is about 22 minutes long. Anyway, if you have a flagging interest and have the patience to register for one minute, you can reap the rewards of 22 minutes of Brian Burke in a one-on-one interview.
Two tidbits I remember him saying...
-- about 80% of the Canuck season ticketholders (total 17k) say that if there is a labor stoppage and everything gets settled the right way, they will come back
-- he is for suspending players that cross the line, and said that if there were no suspensions (I'm thinking no-contact league), that they wouldn't have a product to sell
As for the post time...I guess I'm just losing my frigging mind.
Two tidbits I remember him saying...
-- about 80% of the Canuck season ticketholders (total 17k) say that if there is a labor stoppage and everything gets settled the right way, they will come back
-- he is for suspending players that cross the line, and said that if there were no suspensions (I'm thinking no-contact league), that they wouldn't have a product to sell
As for the post time...I guess I'm just losing my frigging mind.
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TRIBAL COUNCIL
What to think of Gil Meche now? I'd have to dig to get Jeremy's over/under on the inevitable Gil Meche 60-day DL stint, but after while you just wonder whether Gil just doesn't have it or if something else is wrong.
It took Gil Meche twenty-nine pitches to get through the first inning. The Indians sent ten hitters to the plate, and three of the hitters drove in runs. Ichiro even overran a ball in rightfield for good measure, though from what it looks like on the log (I'll admit, I didn't see a lick of this game), no error there would have probably just postponed the inevitable. Matt Lawton bookended the inning with outs, of course meaning that seven of the other eight hitters reached base. Anyway, this first inning from hell usually reserved for Joel Pineiro did in Gil Meche, though he gave some false hope with a 1-2-3 2nd inning.
As somewhat of a result, the offense was playing a step behind all night. In the early stages of the Mariner run-scoring, the Indians had an answer to almost every offensive tally by the Mariners. After scoring in their halves of innings, the Mariners were down 4-1, 6-3, 8-4, and 8-5.
About the offense...
In the 3rd, it took three singles to generate a run. In the 4th, it was another three singles (3rd was an RBI knock), followed by a groundout, a walk, and an RBI groundout. In the 5th: single, groundout, groundout, walk, single (run scored). Luckily the Mariners' 5th run was a homer by Edgar. The offense, in a word -- BORRRRRRRIIIIING!!!!
Gil Meche was pulled in the 4th with one out after having thrown 69 pitches. Julio Mateo came in and predictably scored Meche's runner (this Mariner Bullpen Inherited Runner Scored brought to you by the Suquamish Clearwater Casino. Get Away and Play). In a way that was quite fitting, Mateo set down his next eight batters after allowing Jody Gerut (Meche's runner) to score. What a brutal line out of Meche: 3 1/3 innings, 8 runs, 10 hits, 3 walks. And to think Bob Melvin is more enamored with showing off Ron Villone's "versatility" as a starter rather than bringing up any number of minor-league arms...ugh.
Gameball: Edgar. 3-for-5, driving in two, and hitting the homer. It makes the one looking strikeout a little easier to take.
Goat: Raul Ibanez. Watch as the sudden offensive spike of Raul Ibanez crashes back to earth with an 0-for-4 showing, stranding two runners and tossing in an error for good measure. Apparently that's Raul's 4th error of the year, and I think I had him tagged at about 13 or 15 before the season. That said, it's his 4th error of the year, and those are only the ones that have "counted," per se. All those balls he didn't get to, or all those balls he completely missed but didn't touch (i.e., balls that are errors, but aren't "errors") don't count toward those four. Once again, it's time to look at his stats, and look at the numbers of 3 years, $13.25M and see which numbers don't fit.
Yeah, Raul's an easy target. I guess I could have gone with Meche. The last three weeks, I've been giving starting pitchers who have come out and stunk it up a break because the Mariners have had the last four Mondays off (the arms can have a little bit more leeway toward work with the weekly rest day). They don't get Monday off this time, and now Melvin has to hope that no Julio Mateo-ready roles come up for at least tomorrow and maybe Saturday. Basically, Meche has thrown a monkeywrench into an already feeble front half (or is it everyone but Guardado?) of the bullpen.
Pineiro. Pedro. Tomorrow.
[Edit ~1:13a -- That last paragraph of Meche-blame was added.]
It took Gil Meche twenty-nine pitches to get through the first inning. The Indians sent ten hitters to the plate, and three of the hitters drove in runs. Ichiro even overran a ball in rightfield for good measure, though from what it looks like on the log (I'll admit, I didn't see a lick of this game), no error there would have probably just postponed the inevitable. Matt Lawton bookended the inning with outs, of course meaning that seven of the other eight hitters reached base. Anyway, this first inning from hell usually reserved for Joel Pineiro did in Gil Meche, though he gave some false hope with a 1-2-3 2nd inning.
As somewhat of a result, the offense was playing a step behind all night. In the early stages of the Mariner run-scoring, the Indians had an answer to almost every offensive tally by the Mariners. After scoring in their halves of innings, the Mariners were down 4-1, 6-3, 8-4, and 8-5.
About the offense...
In the 3rd, it took three singles to generate a run. In the 4th, it was another three singles (3rd was an RBI knock), followed by a groundout, a walk, and an RBI groundout. In the 5th: single, groundout, groundout, walk, single (run scored). Luckily the Mariners' 5th run was a homer by Edgar. The offense, in a word -- BORRRRRRRIIIIING!!!!
Gil Meche was pulled in the 4th with one out after having thrown 69 pitches. Julio Mateo came in and predictably scored Meche's runner (this Mariner Bullpen Inherited Runner Scored brought to you by the Suquamish Clearwater Casino. Get Away and Play). In a way that was quite fitting, Mateo set down his next eight batters after allowing Jody Gerut (Meche's runner) to score. What a brutal line out of Meche: 3 1/3 innings, 8 runs, 10 hits, 3 walks. And to think Bob Melvin is more enamored with showing off Ron Villone's "versatility" as a starter rather than bringing up any number of minor-league arms...ugh.
Gameball: Edgar. 3-for-5, driving in two, and hitting the homer. It makes the one looking strikeout a little easier to take.
Goat: Raul Ibanez. Watch as the sudden offensive spike of Raul Ibanez crashes back to earth with an 0-for-4 showing, stranding two runners and tossing in an error for good measure. Apparently that's Raul's 4th error of the year, and I think I had him tagged at about 13 or 15 before the season. That said, it's his 4th error of the year, and those are only the ones that have "counted," per se. All those balls he didn't get to, or all those balls he completely missed but didn't touch (i.e., balls that are errors, but aren't "errors") don't count toward those four. Once again, it's time to look at his stats, and look at the numbers of 3 years, $13.25M and see which numbers don't fit.
Yeah, Raul's an easy target. I guess I could have gone with Meche. The last three weeks, I've been giving starting pitchers who have come out and stunk it up a break because the Mariners have had the last four Mondays off (the arms can have a little bit more leeway toward work with the weekly rest day). They don't get Monday off this time, and now Melvin has to hope that no Julio Mateo-ready roles come up for at least tomorrow and maybe Saturday. Basically, Meche has thrown a monkeywrench into an already feeble front half (or is it everyone but Guardado?) of the bullpen.
Pineiro. Pedro. Tomorrow.
[Edit ~1:13a -- That last paragraph of Meche-blame was added.]
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Thursday, May 27, 2004
PEDRO
Pedro Martinez vs the Seattle Mariners (1998-current)
April 11, 1998
Red Sox 5, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(2-0) 9 2 0 0 0 2 12
May 12, 1999
Red Sox 9, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(7-1) 8 4 1 2 2 1 15
August 14, 1999
Red Sox 13, Mariners 2
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(17-3) 4 3 1 1 1 1 6
September 4, 1999
Red Sox 4, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(20-4) 8 2 0 0 0 3 15
***April 4, 2000***
Red Sox 2, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(1-0) 7 2 0 0 0 2 11
***August 2, 2000***
Red Sox 5, Mariners 2
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(13-3) 9 5 0 2 2 2 7
September 4, 2000
Red Sox 5, Mariners 1
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(16-4) 8 6 1 1 1 1 11
May 1, 2001
Red Sox 2, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(3-0) 8 3 0 0 0 4 12
***May 12, 2002***
Red Sox 10, Mariners 4
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(5-0) 8 4 0 1 1 3 12
May 18, 2002
Red Sox 4, Mariners 1
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(6-0) 8 6 1 1 1 0 9
August 16, 2003
Red Sox 5, Mariners 1
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(9-3) 7 3 0 1 1 3 7
August 25, 2003
Red Sox 8, Mariners 1
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(10-3) 6 6 0 1 1 2 4
(*** --- games that I attended)
12 games
11 starts
12-0 (1-0 in relief 8/14/99)
90.0 IP
2 CG
10 ER
46 H
4 HR
26 BB
121 K
1.00 ERA
0.78 WHIP
.152 BA
Current Mariners vs Pedro
Bret Boone
3-for-13, .231 BA
Edgar Martinez
3-for-21, .143 BA
Ichiro
4-for-16, .250 BA
And for a cheap pop, Rule V was 0-for-2 in his one and only game against Pedro (5/12/02).
(Thanks to Retrosheet.org for the info)
Oh...
Pedro. Pineiro. Friday night at Fenway.
Does anybody see this lineup beating Pedro?
April 11, 1998
Red Sox 5, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(2-0) 9 2 0 0 0 2 12
May 12, 1999
Red Sox 9, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(7-1) 8 4 1 2 2 1 15
August 14, 1999
Red Sox 13, Mariners 2
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(17-3) 4 3 1 1 1 1 6
September 4, 1999
Red Sox 4, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(20-4) 8 2 0 0 0 3 15
***April 4, 2000***
Red Sox 2, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(1-0) 7 2 0 0 0 2 11
***August 2, 2000***
Red Sox 5, Mariners 2
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(13-3) 9 5 0 2 2 2 7
September 4, 2000
Red Sox 5, Mariners 1
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
P. Martinez W(16-4) 8 6 1 1 1 1 11
May 1, 2001
Red Sox 2, Mariners 0
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(3-0) 8 3 0 0 0 4 12
***May 12, 2002***
Red Sox 10, Mariners 4
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(5-0) 8 4 0 1 1 3 12
May 18, 2002
Red Sox 4, Mariners 1
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(6-0) 8 6 1 1 1 0 9
August 16, 2003
Red Sox 5, Mariners 1
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(9-3) 7 3 0 1 1 3 7
August 25, 2003
Red Sox 8, Mariners 1
...................... IP H HR R ER BB K
Martinez W(10-3) 6 6 0 1 1 2 4
(*** --- games that I attended)
12 games
11 starts
12-0 (1-0 in relief 8/14/99)
90.0 IP
2 CG
10 ER
46 H
4 HR
26 BB
121 K
1.00 ERA
0.78 WHIP
.152 BA
Current Mariners vs Pedro
Bret Boone
3-for-13, .231 BA
Edgar Martinez
3-for-21, .143 BA
Ichiro
4-for-16, .250 BA
And for a cheap pop, Rule V was 0-for-2 in his one and only game against Pedro (5/12/02).
(Thanks to Retrosheet.org for the info)
Oh...
Pedro. Pineiro. Friday night at Fenway.
Does anybody see this lineup beating Pedro?
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RADIO RADIO
Little Rock radio just got a lot worse.
Before Monday, KLEC was Lick 106.3, one of two rock stations in Little Rock. Now, KLEC is Cool Oldies 106.3. Yes, an OLDIES station.
Now the only rock station in Little Rock is The Edge 100.3. Unfortunately, the signal from that station is terrible so I hardly ever listen to The Edge. And it's a Clear Channel station.
Basically, it's more Launch for me. Radio is dying. What a crying shame.
Before Monday, KLEC was Lick 106.3, one of two rock stations in Little Rock. Now, KLEC is Cool Oldies 106.3. Yes, an OLDIES station.
Now the only rock station in Little Rock is The Edge 100.3. Unfortunately, the signal from that station is terrible so I hardly ever listen to The Edge. And it's a Clear Channel station.
Basically, it's more Launch for me. Radio is dying. What a crying shame.
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Wednesday, May 26, 2004
HOSE THEM DOWN
Three straight? Wins? My mind is trained to think that the Mariners' two wins in this series (which they've now won) have more to do with how badly Cleveland sucks rather than with how good Seattle might be.
The Mariners got a winning combination tonight thanks to (solo) homers from Raul Ibanez, Ichiro, and Edgar, a solid start from Jamie Moyer, and the shutdown ability of Eddie Guardado. Folks, if you saw the end of the Mariner game tonight and don't think Eddie Guardado is the best pitcher out of that Mariner bullpen, you should probably take NyQuil until you do.
Offensively it started out in a boring way, as Mariner fans were treated to the first run being scored on an Edgar RBI groundout in the 3rd. Yay. That third inning saw a 2nd-and-3rd-with-nobody-out situation, with Willie Whiff-Whiff (not boom-boom, that's for sure) and Raul Ibanez (I don't care what he's done the past few days, he shall have no nickname that doesn't have the word "sucks" accompanying it somehow) accounting for the non-Edgar outs. In the 5th, Ichiro singled in Randy Winn (on third after a triple) with one out. That made it 2-0, which was when the homers started, with a Jolbert Cabrera 2-run double sandwiched in there.
The Mariners had a 6-0 lead before Jamie Moyer gave up his only run. He retired the first ten batters he faced. In the 4th inning, the Indians had runners on the corners with one out, and since I didn't see the play, I'm going to guess that Victor Martinez hit a fly ball that Ichiro might have trapped or that Jody Gerut for some reason thought he could take second on. Either way, Gerut was forced out at second and Omar Vizquel didn't try coming home from third. Moyer got Casey Blake to fly out after he beaned Travis Hafner (Steve Sandmeyer's preseason rookie of the year pick for 2003). The troubles of the 4th were Jamie's only turbulence until Casey Blake connected for the solo shot in the 7th, but by then it was a miniscule one-run dent in a six-run lead, now five.
Looks like JJ Putz needs some more serum to get that mucho suckage bug venom out of his bloodstream. He succumbed to it tonight. Victor Martinez homered on the first pitch, prompting Kevin Cremin to dig up all the names of everyone named Martinez playing in the big leagues right now (there's seven). I'll have to admit, it is kinda weird looking in the game logs and seeing "Martinez homered" twice and for different teams in the same inning. After Victor went yard, Travis Hafner hit what I can only describe as a "freeeeeeeekin' shot" a few rows into the bleachers just to the left of the arboretum-like display in centerfield. Putz then walked Casey Blake on four pitches and allowed a Lou Merloni (do they still call that guy the Mayor?) single before Bob Melvin pulled him in favor of...Eddie Guardado? Two days in a row? Everyday Eddie? We can question Bob Melvin's rationale as to whether he's actually wanting to use Eddie or if he feels he's pressured into using him (other arms burned), but right now, I guess we can't argue with the results. In the worst-case scenario, Eddie is making Bob Melvin's dumb luck look really good right now. Eddie threw three balls out of 14 pitches, getting behind in the count only once (1-0 to Matt Lawton). He struck out the side...WITH AUTHORITY (Marv)!!!
Hey, eleven more of these, and they'll be back to .500!! Wake me then...the eleventh win would be on the 9th of June, by my calculation (i.e., quick look at calendar).
Gameball: Ichiro. If you go 4-for-5 and your name isn't Raul Ibanez or Willie Bloomquist, I have a hard time not giving you a gameball. Ichiro has reached base in 24 straight games.
Goat: Willie Bloomquist. I missed you, Willie!! 1-for-5 with a hat trick, stranding six. If it weren't for that one hit, it'd be perfect. Port Orchard-area residents have probably littered the streets with Stihl trucker hats in honor of Willie Whiff-Whiff striking out three times.
Short non-sports diversion here, but I would like to share with you a site that has many clips of probably my favorite cartoon ever, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force (currently airing Mon-Thu at midnight on the Cartoon Network). I'll leave you with this clip and this clip (a new birthday song featuring Zakk Wylde and "Geddy Lee").
Meche. Westbrook. Tomorrow.
[Edit ~8:55p -- Earlier clarification in the Moyer paragraph that his only early troubles were in the 4th.]
The Mariners got a winning combination tonight thanks to (solo) homers from Raul Ibanez, Ichiro, and Edgar, a solid start from Jamie Moyer, and the shutdown ability of Eddie Guardado. Folks, if you saw the end of the Mariner game tonight and don't think Eddie Guardado is the best pitcher out of that Mariner bullpen, you should probably take NyQuil until you do.
Offensively it started out in a boring way, as Mariner fans were treated to the first run being scored on an Edgar RBI groundout in the 3rd. Yay. That third inning saw a 2nd-and-3rd-with-nobody-out situation, with Willie Whiff-Whiff (not boom-boom, that's for sure) and Raul Ibanez (I don't care what he's done the past few days, he shall have no nickname that doesn't have the word "sucks" accompanying it somehow) accounting for the non-Edgar outs. In the 5th, Ichiro singled in Randy Winn (on third after a triple) with one out. That made it 2-0, which was when the homers started, with a Jolbert Cabrera 2-run double sandwiched in there.
The Mariners had a 6-0 lead before Jamie Moyer gave up his only run. He retired the first ten batters he faced. In the 4th inning, the Indians had runners on the corners with one out, and since I didn't see the play, I'm going to guess that Victor Martinez hit a fly ball that Ichiro might have trapped or that Jody Gerut for some reason thought he could take second on. Either way, Gerut was forced out at second and Omar Vizquel didn't try coming home from third. Moyer got Casey Blake to fly out after he beaned Travis Hafner (Steve Sandmeyer's preseason rookie of the year pick for 2003). The troubles of the 4th were Jamie's only turbulence until Casey Blake connected for the solo shot in the 7th, but by then it was a miniscule one-run dent in a six-run lead, now five.
Looks like JJ Putz needs some more serum to get that mucho suckage bug venom out of his bloodstream. He succumbed to it tonight. Victor Martinez homered on the first pitch, prompting Kevin Cremin to dig up all the names of everyone named Martinez playing in the big leagues right now (there's seven). I'll have to admit, it is kinda weird looking in the game logs and seeing "Martinez homered" twice and for different teams in the same inning. After Victor went yard, Travis Hafner hit what I can only describe as a "freeeeeeeekin' shot" a few rows into the bleachers just to the left of the arboretum-like display in centerfield. Putz then walked Casey Blake on four pitches and allowed a Lou Merloni (do they still call that guy the Mayor?) single before Bob Melvin pulled him in favor of...Eddie Guardado? Two days in a row? Everyday Eddie? We can question Bob Melvin's rationale as to whether he's actually wanting to use Eddie or if he feels he's pressured into using him (other arms burned), but right now, I guess we can't argue with the results. In the worst-case scenario, Eddie is making Bob Melvin's dumb luck look really good right now. Eddie threw three balls out of 14 pitches, getting behind in the count only once (1-0 to Matt Lawton). He struck out the side...WITH AUTHORITY (Marv)!!!
Hey, eleven more of these, and they'll be back to .500!! Wake me then...the eleventh win would be on the 9th of June, by my calculation (i.e., quick look at calendar).
Gameball: Ichiro. If you go 4-for-5 and your name isn't Raul Ibanez or Willie Bloomquist, I have a hard time not giving you a gameball. Ichiro has reached base in 24 straight games.
Goat: Willie Bloomquist. I missed you, Willie!! 1-for-5 with a hat trick, stranding six. If it weren't for that one hit, it'd be perfect. Port Orchard-area residents have probably littered the streets with Stihl trucker hats in honor of Willie Whiff-Whiff striking out three times.
Short non-sports diversion here, but I would like to share with you a site that has many clips of probably my favorite cartoon ever, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force (currently airing Mon-Thu at midnight on the Cartoon Network). I'll leave you with this clip and this clip (a new birthday song featuring Zakk Wylde and "Geddy Lee").
Meche. Westbrook. Tomorrow.
[Edit ~8:55p -- Earlier clarification in the Moyer paragraph that his only early troubles were in the 4th.]
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YOU KNOW IT!
I could be sitting on my ass doing nothing today. But what the hell, I figured I'd make a trip to the local library to do this post. Why? Because dammit, I think some of you miss my posts. So here I am once again, Every Other Day Jeremy.
I got some notes, notes, and notes...
---Andy Roddick is ousted at the French Open. Poor guy. He loses Mandy Moore AND is ousted in the second round of the French Open. Oh what do I care? It's tennis and he'll recover in no time. Ashlee Simpson is available, Andy.
---As previously reported in the blogosphere, the Seattle Mariners are a boring team. I bring this up because I was watching part of the Oakland-Boston game last night on ESPN2 (during the intermission reports of Game 1 Flames/Lightning). The Red Sox are just a fun team. You can hate their stupid curse. You can hate some of their fans. But man, I tell ya, guys like David Ortiz are just fun to watch. Name one Mariner that you could describe as "fun". Eddie Guardado maybe, but he only gets to pitch once every 10 days. It just seems like it anyway.
The point being, THIS TEAM IS BORING AS HELL. Hell, the most excitement I have seen out of this team all season was last night when Raul Ibanez clapped his hands as he ran out of the box in the 12th inning when he drove in Randy Winn. What did I do? I did the sarcastic 80's clap. Clap...clap...clap!
---The Calgary Flames just took it to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Lightning are a good club, but for the good of hockey, the Cup needs to head up North.
Jarome Iginla is just doing what David and I have known for a while. HE'S DAMN GOOD. Iginla is a fun player to watch, no doubt about it. Just imagine if the Flames would have dealt him a few years ago. Oh, and those people who still like to consider Peter Forsberg as the best player in the world can shove it. Jarome Iginla is the best player in the world. I will not argue this.
---WHAT IN THE HELL IS CHRIS BERMAN DOING AT THE STANLEY CUP FINALS AGAIN?
---Former Ottawa Senators coach Jacques Martin is the new head coach of the Florida Panthers. Good move for the Panthers. However, hiring Mike Keenan as the general manager is not a good move at all. Keenan is scum. Why is he still able to be employed in the National Hockey League? I wouldn't hire him as my janitor, much less as a general manager. When you win, you lose. That's the deal here in South Florida.
---Tonight is the NBA Draft Lottery, which should be much more interesting than the Eastern Conference Finals, which resumes tonight in Detroit. I remember the NBA Draft Lottery as an event that I would never miss out on growing up. Every season, on a late May sunday afternoon, NBC would air the lottery at halftime of one of the games. Good times indeed.
For the first time in the 20-year history of the draft lottery, Portland and Utah will take part. That's simply unbelievable if you think about it. One thing that is for sure is that the expansion Charlotte Bobcats will have the 4th pick overall. The Sonics have a 0.9 chance of winning the lottery and the Blazers are at 0.6.
This year's draft has 94 early entry candidates, which does not include Bremerton's Marvin Williams. He decided to go to Chapel Hill for at least one season. Can't go wrong with being coached by Roy Williams. Sure beats being coached by Bernie fricking Bickerstaff (he's the Charlotte head coach).
---In music news, Phish will call it quits after their summer tour. I hate this band, so this is good news. However, look for a reunion in about 5 years when VH1 brings back "Bands Reunited". Other bands/groups scheduled to be on the show include Savage Garden and Extreme. And for the second time, Nuno Bettencourt will make VH1 piss themselves.
That's all for today.
Enjoy yourself.
I got some notes, notes, and notes...
---Andy Roddick is ousted at the French Open. Poor guy. He loses Mandy Moore AND is ousted in the second round of the French Open. Oh what do I care? It's tennis and he'll recover in no time. Ashlee Simpson is available, Andy.
---As previously reported in the blogosphere, the Seattle Mariners are a boring team. I bring this up because I was watching part of the Oakland-Boston game last night on ESPN2 (during the intermission reports of Game 1 Flames/Lightning). The Red Sox are just a fun team. You can hate their stupid curse. You can hate some of their fans. But man, I tell ya, guys like David Ortiz are just fun to watch. Name one Mariner that you could describe as "fun". Eddie Guardado maybe, but he only gets to pitch once every 10 days. It just seems like it anyway.
The point being, THIS TEAM IS BORING AS HELL. Hell, the most excitement I have seen out of this team all season was last night when Raul Ibanez clapped his hands as he ran out of the box in the 12th inning when he drove in Randy Winn. What did I do? I did the sarcastic 80's clap. Clap...clap...clap!
---The Calgary Flames just took it to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Lightning are a good club, but for the good of hockey, the Cup needs to head up North.
Jarome Iginla is just doing what David and I have known for a while. HE'S DAMN GOOD. Iginla is a fun player to watch, no doubt about it. Just imagine if the Flames would have dealt him a few years ago. Oh, and those people who still like to consider Peter Forsberg as the best player in the world can shove it. Jarome Iginla is the best player in the world. I will not argue this.
---WHAT IN THE HELL IS CHRIS BERMAN DOING AT THE STANLEY CUP FINALS AGAIN?
---Former Ottawa Senators coach Jacques Martin is the new head coach of the Florida Panthers. Good move for the Panthers. However, hiring Mike Keenan as the general manager is not a good move at all. Keenan is scum. Why is he still able to be employed in the National Hockey League? I wouldn't hire him as my janitor, much less as a general manager. When you win, you lose. That's the deal here in South Florida.
---Tonight is the NBA Draft Lottery, which should be much more interesting than the Eastern Conference Finals, which resumes tonight in Detroit. I remember the NBA Draft Lottery as an event that I would never miss out on growing up. Every season, on a late May sunday afternoon, NBC would air the lottery at halftime of one of the games. Good times indeed.
For the first time in the 20-year history of the draft lottery, Portland and Utah will take part. That's simply unbelievable if you think about it. One thing that is for sure is that the expansion Charlotte Bobcats will have the 4th pick overall. The Sonics have a 0.9 chance of winning the lottery and the Blazers are at 0.6.
This year's draft has 94 early entry candidates, which does not include Bremerton's Marvin Williams. He decided to go to Chapel Hill for at least one season. Can't go wrong with being coached by Roy Williams. Sure beats being coached by Bernie fricking Bickerstaff (he's the Charlotte head coach).
---In music news, Phish will call it quits after their summer tour. I hate this band, so this is good news. However, look for a reunion in about 5 years when VH1 brings back "Bands Reunited". Other bands/groups scheduled to be on the show include Savage Garden and Extreme. And for the second time, Nuno Bettencourt will make VH1 piss themselves.
That's all for today.
Enjoy yourself.
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DAMN SCHOOLWORK
That's why I didn't have a recap up yesterday. That coupled with the fact that I thought the game was at 7. I also had Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on. Calgary was up to their usual stuff; capitalizing on turnovers and getting pucks in off deflections.
As for the Mariners, I was talking to my dad on the phone during the 12th. To me, it looked like Raul Ibanez had no business swinging at that ball because it was a slider down and way outside. Hell, he nearly fell over hitting it and trying to run down the line.
That said, six scoreless innings out of the bullpen has to count for something. And when the Mariners got the lead in the 12th, did anyone out there have the feeling it was over when Eddie Guardado came out to the mound? I sort of did, especially with the part of the lineup that was coming up against him.
Gameball: Shigetoshi Hasegawa. Somebody didn't suck! Two hitless innings, striking out two.
Goat: Dan Wilson. Somebody DID suck! 0-for-5, striking out twice and stranding six.
Maybe there's a correlation here. Does Dan Wilson have to suck for Shig to pitch well? Which would you rather have?
Moyer. Sabathia. Tonight.
As for the Mariners, I was talking to my dad on the phone during the 12th. To me, it looked like Raul Ibanez had no business swinging at that ball because it was a slider down and way outside. Hell, he nearly fell over hitting it and trying to run down the line.
That said, six scoreless innings out of the bullpen has to count for something. And when the Mariners got the lead in the 12th, did anyone out there have the feeling it was over when Eddie Guardado came out to the mound? I sort of did, especially with the part of the lineup that was coming up against him.
Gameball: Shigetoshi Hasegawa. Somebody didn't suck! Two hitless innings, striking out two.
Goat: Dan Wilson. Somebody DID suck! 0-for-5, striking out twice and stranding six.
Maybe there's a correlation here. Does Dan Wilson have to suck for Shig to pitch well? Which would you rather have?
Moyer. Sabathia. Tonight.
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Tuesday, May 25, 2004
PARADE OF LOSERS
Bill Simmons nails it once again. Watch him take his hacks at the Cold Pizza 15 Most Tortured Sports Cities in America list. They summoned him because Boston is number five for some reason.
The guy from Boston didn't even put his city in his top 10 for this list, yet it makes the top five in the Cold Pizza "list." Ridiculous. At least Bill Simmons isn't dumb enough to forget about the Patriots' two Super Bowl rings in three years. Yeah, those Boston sports fans have really suffered lately.
- Cold Pizza ended up naming Boston fifth. Out of everybody. Even ahead of Minneapolis, Cincy, Washington and Seattle. You would think those two Super Bowl titles in the last three years would have factored into the voting ... apparently not. But I wasn't about to glorify such abject stupidity with a column. I would rather have Jayson Williams show me his shotgun collection.
[...]
7. Seattle
Imagine watching those Kemp-Payton teams never reach their full potential? Griffey, A-Rod and the Unit skipping town on a potential dynasty? The Seahawks finishing 8-8 for 20 straight years? This city made one Finals in the last 25 years ... and it was against MJ's Bulls team that finished 72-10. Thank you and please drive through. I feel terrible for these fans. When Hasselbeck threw that interception in Lambeau, that was the first thing I thought: "Not again!"
The guy from Boston didn't even put his city in his top 10 for this list, yet it makes the top five in the Cold Pizza "list." Ridiculous. At least Bill Simmons isn't dumb enough to forget about the Patriots' two Super Bowl rings in three years. Yeah, those Boston sports fans have really suffered lately.
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LUNCHTIME
Small tidbits from today as I take a short break from a project (finally past the data acquisition stage, I think) that's due Wednesday of next week, and that's worth 40% of my grade...
-- You know, if the Mariners are thinking about grabbing a decent currently injured free-agent with some pop, they should fire their general manager (okay, maybe that won't happen) and go after Richie Sexson. The article says he's seeking a second opinion, but the first opinion is for season ending surgery on the ol' non-throwing labrum. I've just made some swinging motions with my arms here in the GIS lab and have concluded that yes, the front shoulder for a right-handed hitter would probably be vital to his success. It's not like Sexson has a ton of roots in Arizona, right? The guy's only been playing down there for not even two months (not counting spring training, where the Diamondbacks take their team north...to Phoenix from Tucson).
-- If my priorities are in line with respect to life in general, I shouldn't watch Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals (CGY/TB) tonight at 5pm. If I convince myself that I need a break, though... Let's just say that I'd have to leave the lab for dinner, right? Riiiight??
-- The Internet Hockey Database has a fun little feature that I will demonstrate right now, called the Player Encoder. Let's say if I want to reference a bunch of guys like Jarome Iginla, Markus Naslund, Hakan Loob, Craig Conroy, Orland Kurtenbach, Pat LaFontaine, Jeff Beukeboom, Craig MacTavish, Dave Babych, and Trevor Linden, this thing will pull up all their player pages in the database. It's great. It's fun. It's a good time. Hey, it worked!
-- Charlie McCarthy's Power Rankings are in...the Mariners have jumped up a spot to 26th!! Celebrate good times, come on!! Arizona and Colorado jumped out of the bottom five, and were replaced by Montreal and Cleveland.
-- Is that Byung-Hyun Kim-to-Seattle rumor still floating around? I hope not, because this realignment doesn't have anything to do with divisions and team-switching.
-- Casey Kotchman struck out last night. For the first time in 48 career plate appearances. Dude's a stud.
-- Get this: I was trying to take a nap last night which eventually went a couple hours too long. But in the infancy stages of the nap, I had the Detroit/Indiana NBA East Final Game 2 on. What better thing to fall asleep to, right? Anyway, I'm lying there almost asleep, and I hear all this woo-hooing next door that I could hear through the cinderblock walls. Someone's actually watching this game? Attentively? Not falling asleep? I know there were some clutch shots involved, but I'm led to believe someone actually appreciated a game that ended up with a 72-67 final score. I can't live with that.
-- Lastly, I know I questioned the move of Norv Turner getting hired as head coach of the Raiders. I'm not sure what to think of them picking up Kerry Collins, though it probably means that Rich Gannon could be out the door.
Enjoy your day, y'all, much in the same way as I am about to enjoy my lunch.
-- You know, if the Mariners are thinking about grabbing a decent currently injured free-agent with some pop, they should fire their general manager (okay, maybe that won't happen) and go after Richie Sexson. The article says he's seeking a second opinion, but the first opinion is for season ending surgery on the ol' non-throwing labrum. I've just made some swinging motions with my arms here in the GIS lab and have concluded that yes, the front shoulder for a right-handed hitter would probably be vital to his success. It's not like Sexson has a ton of roots in Arizona, right? The guy's only been playing down there for not even two months (not counting spring training, where the Diamondbacks take their team north...to Phoenix from Tucson).
-- If my priorities are in line with respect to life in general, I shouldn't watch Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals (CGY/TB) tonight at 5pm. If I convince myself that I need a break, though... Let's just say that I'd have to leave the lab for dinner, right? Riiiight??
-- The Internet Hockey Database has a fun little feature that I will demonstrate right now, called the Player Encoder. Let's say if I want to reference a bunch of guys like Jarome Iginla, Markus Naslund, Hakan Loob, Craig Conroy, Orland Kurtenbach, Pat LaFontaine, Jeff Beukeboom, Craig MacTavish, Dave Babych, and Trevor Linden, this thing will pull up all their player pages in the database. It's great. It's fun. It's a good time. Hey, it worked!
-- Charlie McCarthy's Power Rankings are in...the Mariners have jumped up a spot to 26th!! Celebrate good times, come on!! Arizona and Colorado jumped out of the bottom five, and were replaced by Montreal and Cleveland.
-- Is that Byung-Hyun Kim-to-Seattle rumor still floating around? I hope not, because this realignment doesn't have anything to do with divisions and team-switching.
-- Casey Kotchman struck out last night. For the first time in 48 career plate appearances. Dude's a stud.
-- Get this: I was trying to take a nap last night which eventually went a couple hours too long. But in the infancy stages of the nap, I had the Detroit/Indiana NBA East Final Game 2 on. What better thing to fall asleep to, right? Anyway, I'm lying there almost asleep, and I hear all this woo-hooing next door that I could hear through the cinderblock walls. Someone's actually watching this game? Attentively? Not falling asleep? I know there were some clutch shots involved, but I'm led to believe someone actually appreciated a game that ended up with a 72-67 final score. I can't live with that.
-- Lastly, I know I questioned the move of Norv Turner getting hired as head coach of the Raiders. I'm not sure what to think of them picking up Kerry Collins, though it probably means that Rich Gannon could be out the door.
Enjoy your day, y'all, much in the same way as I am about to enjoy my lunch.
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Monday, May 24, 2004
TRIANNUAL
Jay Glaser of SportsLine is setting the waiting period to evaluate NFL draft classes at three years.
So looking at it now, how was the Seahawks' 2001 draft class? You might be surprised.
Still, I've been waiting with baited breath for the 2004 Seahawk season ever since Al Harris scampered into the end zone last January. Here's to a Super Bowl run and a parade down a rainy 4th Avenue (if they win the Super Bowl, we at least have to be realistic with the weather) in downtown Seattle next February.
So looking at it now, how was the Seahawks' 2001 draft class? You might be surprised.
- The Seattle Seahawks had the best first round for who they drafted and who they didn't. What am I talking about, you ask? The room was split between Koren Robinson and David Terrell. The Niners swapped first-rounders with the Seahawks to take Andre Carter. The Bears then took Terrell at No. 8, which allowed the Seahawks to come to agreement on Robinson, a Pro Bowl-caliber talent. Later in the round, they got an immediate starter in Steve Hutchinson, who played in the Pro Bowl this past season. DB Ken Lucas came in Round 2 and has started every year since. LB Orlando Huff came in Round 4 and he has started nine games the past two seasons. They got another starter in big ol' Pork Chop Womack with a compensatory pick all the way down at No. 128, then at 140 picked up a Pro Bowl special teams ace in WR Alex Bannister.
Hold your applause, kids, because there's more. This was also the year Seattle traded their third-round pick and swapped No. 10 for No. 17 with Green Bay for Matt Hasselbeck, a Pro Bowl player this past year. Great job by the Seahawks' personnel department; they had the best draft from start to finish.
Still, I've been waiting with baited breath for the 2004 Seahawk season ever since Al Harris scampered into the end zone last January. Here's to a Super Bowl run and a parade down a rainy 4th Avenue (if they win the Super Bowl, we at least have to be realistic with the weather) in downtown Seattle next February.
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POOL SHARKS
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some results from the Santa Clara international swim meet yesterday...
-- Tara Kirk: champion, 100 breaststroke; champion, 200 breaststroke
-- Dana Kirk: champion, 200 butterfly
-- Nathan Adrian: 25th, 100 freestyle
-- Justin Adrian: 26th (Nathan +0.08), 100 freestyle
Olympic trials for swimming are in July.
Knight pride!!
-- Tara Kirk: champion, 100 breaststroke; champion, 200 breaststroke
-- Dana Kirk: champion, 200 butterfly
-- Nathan Adrian: 25th, 100 freestyle
-- Justin Adrian: 26th (Nathan +0.08), 100 freestyle
Olympic trials for swimming are in July.
Knight pride!!
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I'M WIDE AWAKE...
...but I'm not sleeping.
Today's Every 5-6 days Post brought to you by Darigold.
---It's May 24 and it's sad to think that my baseball team is done. Done, done, and done. Now, most of the blogosphere, including David and I, didn't have too much hope to begin with. But did anybody see this coming? I don't think so.
15-28 on May 24 is unacceptable. But this is the price an organization pays when they don't go out and improve the ballclub. There's a reason why Anaheim is in first place.
Will Bob Melvin get canned for this bad start? No. Then again, he's not the biggest problem either. As I've said many times, Bill Bavasi has ruined my enthusiasm for this ballclub. And that's not easy to do.
---If there's one thing I miss about the internet, it's that I can't listen to KJR's "Baseball's Best Postgame Show". I'm stuck with watching the Northwest Sports Report on my Fox Sports digital channels. Rick Rizzs and Dave Valle need to be taught a lesson. THIS TEAM SUCKS, GUYS!!! After last Thursday's shellacking of the Orioles, these clowns have the nerve to say "this could be the start of something good", "this is what the Mariners needed", etc. Yeah, this is what the Mariners needed...FALSE HOPE! Last Thursday's 11-0 victory full of False Hope is brought to you by SBC. (Screw you SBC!!!)
The only time I can even stand to watch the NWSR is when Kerry Sayers is on. Yessssssssir!
---Watching the NWSR like I have the last week and a half, I've watched the live Bob Melvin postgame interviews. Melvin looks like Jeffrey from the 1980s Canadian childrens TV show "Today's Special". If somebody were to have stolen Melvin's hat during that press conference, he would have froze. I can't make this stuff up.
---IGINLA! ST. LOUIS! KIPRUSOFF! KHABIBULIN! IT'S THE STANLEY CUP FINALS BABY!!! A Stanley Cup Finals that about 500 people will watch total in the States. That figure includes David and I of course. Anyways, I would like to see the Flames win, just because the Cup would be in Canada. But the Lightning are damn good. Either way, this is going to be a fun series.
---Again, the Black Eyed Peas NBA Playoffs promos are more exciting than the playoffs themsevles. LET'S GET IT STARTED (that means more of Stacey's ass shaking, of course.)
I gotta run for now...
Hopefully I'll post again in a day or two. I'm like Eddie Guardado, I'M EVERY OTHER DAY (OR 5-6 DAYS) JEREMY!
Today's Every 5-6 days Post brought to you by Darigold.
---It's May 24 and it's sad to think that my baseball team is done. Done, done, and done. Now, most of the blogosphere, including David and I, didn't have too much hope to begin with. But did anybody see this coming? I don't think so.
15-28 on May 24 is unacceptable. But this is the price an organization pays when they don't go out and improve the ballclub. There's a reason why Anaheim is in first place.
Will Bob Melvin get canned for this bad start? No. Then again, he's not the biggest problem either. As I've said many times, Bill Bavasi has ruined my enthusiasm for this ballclub. And that's not easy to do.
---If there's one thing I miss about the internet, it's that I can't listen to KJR's "Baseball's Best Postgame Show". I'm stuck with watching the Northwest Sports Report on my Fox Sports digital channels. Rick Rizzs and Dave Valle need to be taught a lesson. THIS TEAM SUCKS, GUYS!!! After last Thursday's shellacking of the Orioles, these clowns have the nerve to say "this could be the start of something good", "this is what the Mariners needed", etc. Yeah, this is what the Mariners needed...FALSE HOPE! Last Thursday's 11-0 victory full of False Hope is brought to you by SBC. (Screw you SBC!!!)
The only time I can even stand to watch the NWSR is when Kerry Sayers is on. Yessssssssir!
---Watching the NWSR like I have the last week and a half, I've watched the live Bob Melvin postgame interviews. Melvin looks like Jeffrey from the 1980s Canadian childrens TV show "Today's Special". If somebody were to have stolen Melvin's hat during that press conference, he would have froze. I can't make this stuff up.
---IGINLA! ST. LOUIS! KIPRUSOFF! KHABIBULIN! IT'S THE STANLEY CUP FINALS BABY!!! A Stanley Cup Finals that about 500 people will watch total in the States. That figure includes David and I of course. Anyways, I would like to see the Flames win, just because the Cup would be in Canada. But the Lightning are damn good. Either way, this is going to be a fun series.
---Again, the Black Eyed Peas NBA Playoffs promos are more exciting than the playoffs themsevles. LET'S GET IT STARTED (that means more of Stacey's ass shaking, of course.)
I gotta run for now...
Hopefully I'll post again in a day or two. I'm like Eddie Guardado, I'M EVERY OTHER DAY (OR 5-6 DAYS) JEREMY!
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CYCLICAL
Win one, lose two. That's how it seems to be shaping up. Carry that across an entire season, and the Mariners should finish slightly better than 54-108.
A loss today would have dropped the Mariners below .333, but much like the last few times, the Mariners stood above the mark.
This one's gonna be short, but I'll try to touch on the few main points.
-- Freddy didn't have the sharpest outing, as shown on the stat sheet with his four walks. At one point, Dan Wilson had to come out to the mound, and it more than likely calmed Freddy down. When Wilson came out, I thought Freddy was going to fall off the wagon like he would have last year (Depending on what part of last year you pick). This year, that doesn't appear to be the case.
-- John Olerud? Homered? At the Safe? Perish the thought!!
-- Seven singles, one double (Raul Ibanez), one homer (John Olerud). I'd feel more comfortable if the extra-base hits involved Edgar and Bret Boone.
-- JJ Putz walks Carlos Guillen and takes a ball to his ankle from Ivan Rodriguez...then Melvin brings in Eddie Guardado to get the final six outs??!!?!! What's gotten into his head?!! The game's on the line and Melvin puts in his best bullpen arm (though it had to happen after Putz was knocked out)??!! Wouldn't you know it, it worked!! Is it a stretch to say that if Eddie was used early in the 8th on Saturday, the Mariners would have taken two of three in the series?
-- I wasn't at the Perkins restaurant at I-90 here in Ellensburg for the throng of Pasco folk coming back from seeing Jeremy Bonderman give up three runs over seven innings and lose. Was there a throng of Pasco folk? I hope most of them would have had the chance to take Monday off and stay overnight in Seattle; long drive, you know.
Gameball: John Olerud. 1-for-2 with the home run and a walk. Nice to have John Olerud actually do something. Let's lock him in the video room more often.
Goat: Randy Winn. 0-for-3, stranding one. He's hitting .224. Great. Grand. Wonderful.
Franklin. Davis. Tomorrow.
A loss today would have dropped the Mariners below .333, but much like the last few times, the Mariners stood above the mark.
This one's gonna be short, but I'll try to touch on the few main points.
-- Freddy didn't have the sharpest outing, as shown on the stat sheet with his four walks. At one point, Dan Wilson had to come out to the mound, and it more than likely calmed Freddy down. When Wilson came out, I thought Freddy was going to fall off the wagon like he would have last year (Depending on what part of last year you pick). This year, that doesn't appear to be the case.
-- John Olerud? Homered? At the Safe? Perish the thought!!
-- Seven singles, one double (Raul Ibanez), one homer (John Olerud). I'd feel more comfortable if the extra-base hits involved Edgar and Bret Boone.
-- JJ Putz walks Carlos Guillen and takes a ball to his ankle from Ivan Rodriguez...then Melvin brings in Eddie Guardado to get the final six outs??!!?!! What's gotten into his head?!! The game's on the line and Melvin puts in his best bullpen arm (though it had to happen after Putz was knocked out)??!! Wouldn't you know it, it worked!! Is it a stretch to say that if Eddie was used early in the 8th on Saturday, the Mariners would have taken two of three in the series?
-- I wasn't at the Perkins restaurant at I-90 here in Ellensburg for the throng of Pasco folk coming back from seeing Jeremy Bonderman give up three runs over seven innings and lose. Was there a throng of Pasco folk? I hope most of them would have had the chance to take Monday off and stay overnight in Seattle; long drive, you know.
Gameball: John Olerud. 1-for-2 with the home run and a walk. Nice to have John Olerud actually do something. Let's lock him in the video room more often.
Goat: Randy Winn. 0-for-3, stranding one. He's hitting .224. Great. Grand. Wonderful.
Franklin. Davis. Tomorrow.