tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58775892011-04-21T18:50:20.999-07:00One Hundred SixteenFeaturing Mariners-related rants, raves, and analysis.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comBlogger641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1081482005257576672004-04-08T20:40:00.000-07:002004-04-09T05:52:01.950-07:00One last post before packing: I'm a little puzzled at some bloggers slamming Melvin for putting Myers out there in the ninth; yeah, a bad outcome, but here are the lines against lefties for the last three years:
Pitcher Average OBP SLG OPS-------- ------- ---- ---- ----Hasegawa .252 .326 .351 .677Myers .236 .326 .366 .692
Yup, Myers and Shiggy had an identical OBP Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1081470541431540162004-04-08T17:29:00.000-07:002004-04-08T17:41:03.326-07:00I was just starting to write a post about how great Freddie must have done (I was having to guess by the box score since I can't get MLB.tv to work at work either) when the wheels started coming off. I was okay with bringing in Myers to start the inning against Garrett Anderson. But then..did this really just happen? It's way too early in the season to be as depressed as I am.
If there is a Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1081441001953492782004-04-08T09:16:00.000-07:002004-04-08T09:27:47.263-07:00As we await Ichiro's alleged new found plate discipline, I found this over at Clutch Hits:
Darrell May pitches to Frank Thomas
Pitch 1: Foul
Pitch 2: Ball 1
Pitch 3: Ball 2
Pitch 4: Ball 3
Pitch 5: Foul
Pitch 6: Foul
Pitch 7: Foul
Pitch 8: Foul
Pitch 9: Foul
Pitch 10: Foul
Pitch 11: Foul
Pitch 12: Foul
Pitch 13: Foul
Pitch 14: Foul
Pitch 15: Foul
Pitch 16: Foul
Pitch 17: Ball 4
F. Thomas walkedKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1081315944256601012004-04-06T22:32:00.000-07:002004-04-06T22:39:54.623-07:00It was a glorious day for baseball, and not even a lopsided loss could ruin the excitement of opening day with the sun shining, the roof open, and playing hooky for a while.
I'm not going to get too hung up on losing one game, but it was hard to avoid two conclusions from the kickoff today.
First, Glaus can hit. I had read David Cameron's assessment of his budding power only a few hours beforeKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1081230987886030032004-04-05T22:56:00.000-07:002004-04-05T23:00:13.110-07:00On this opening-day eve, I want to congratulate my fellow bloggers and other M's fans on making it through an awfully tough off-season. There were no Bavasi-related suicides as far as we know, although blood pressure levels have been alarmingly high. But right now, I am happy and relaxed, for I will be attending the opening day game tomorrow. For the first time ever.
The forecast is for Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1081192083769218992004-04-05T12:08:00.000-07:002004-04-05T12:11:48.216-07:00I'm disappointed we didn't get Bradley, but according to Baseball America the Dodgers paid handsomely by giving up top prospect Frank Gutierrez and a PTBNL:
Gutierrez, 21, had a breakthrough of his own last year. Signed out of Venezuela in 2000, he homered six times in six games to open 2003 at high Class A Vero Beach. He hit .287/.350/.524 with 24 homers, 80 RBIs and 20 steals in 128 games Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1081183507872139712004-04-05T09:45:00.000-07:002004-04-05T09:54:02.936-07:00The M's picked up Jolbert Cabrera. As often happens, USSM has deconstructed this in a way that would be hard to improve on, but I do have three thoughts on the subject based on my recent experience in the MBSBL.
1) I drafted Cabrera in the next-to-last round of the MBSBL for the same reason the M's picked him up: the guy is a swiss army knife, eligible in the Diamond Mind program to play every Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1081039810271095352004-04-03T16:50:00.000-08:002004-04-03T16:53:52.496-08:00As is their custom, the Mariners deny they are interested in Milton Bradley.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1080933464931832962004-04-02T11:17:00.000-08:002004-04-02T11:21:25.186-08:00Welcome to the The Milton Bradley Link-o-rama:
Cleveland Plain Dealer (zip code required. easy.)
key quote: "I'm bitterly disappointed we've reached this point with Milton," said Shapiro.
More Cleveland Plain Dealer
key quote: Bradley has not had a great spring. He was sidelined early in camp with a strained oblique muscle and is hitting .216 (8-for-37).
Akron Beacon Journal
key quote: "Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1080663545531293932004-03-30T08:19:00.000-08:002004-03-30T09:04:56.860-08:00Tired of the debate over which spring-training overachiever will have the honor of riding the pine this season? Take a load off and check out Slate's analysis of MLB uniform changes . Highlights include the possible emergence of do-rags as a fashion accessory and this gem on the Met's new neon-inspired logo: the design equivalent of signing Mo Vaughn instead of Vlad Guerrero.
If you're Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1080346389307560322004-03-26T16:13:00.000-08:002004-03-26T16:16:40.216-08:00With the proliferation of all the new blogs, I don't read the Bremertonians as much as I used to. I just don't like fast-forwarding through all the hockey stuff. But sometimes they get it just right, and their sarcasm is top-notch. Check out what David wrote regarding tub-o-lard Frank Thomas tagging up on mechanically-challenged Randy Winn:
..opposing third-base coaches will have sore Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1080263251802979122004-03-25T17:07:00.000-08:002004-03-25T17:18:18.686-08:00It was pretty lonely posting in favor of the Cirillo-for-scrubs trade a few months back; most others in the 'sphere emphasized that we were wasting several roster spots on nobodies, while I was hopeful that somebody somewhere might be willing to pick up some salary on Jarvis or others that they would not have been willing to do for Jeffy C. Many pointed out that this line of reasoning requires Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1079629740032869472004-03-18T09:09:00.000-08:002004-03-18T09:12:19.623-08:00Sorry it's been so long since I rapped at ya, but between a week of vacation and a week of no-internet non-stop travel for work, it's been a gruel. Rumors of the M's renewed interest in Jason Kendall are most welcome given Ben Davis' horrendous Spring. This really did seem to be a theoretical area where the M's could outperform expectations--if first-half Ben showed for the whole year. Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1078184129406449722004-03-01T15:35:00.000-08:002004-03-01T15:38:25.826-08:00The AP floats up a substance-free little article on Spezio this morning, and regular readers of the puffed-up little sub-genre of journalism known Spring Training interviews will be pleased to hear that he's coming to town ready to play. There's more about music than baseball, although he mentions that he expects the transition to third to come easily since he played there throughout the minorsKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1077825231248664522004-02-26T11:53:00.000-08:002004-02-26T11:56:41.560-08:00The Ranger's Michael Young has decided to take one for the team and move to shortstop, making possible an easier transition for Soriano. My esteem for Young just leapt several notches. Young is one of the top players in the league at his position. The same cannot be said of Derek Jeter, who by all accounts plans on staying at shortstop despite the overwhelming evidence that the team would be Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1077085090782267792004-02-17T22:18:00.000-08:002004-02-17T22:20:49.843-08:00A few words on the A-Rod deal: Even my wife, who is about as casual a baseball fan as they come, thought it was outrageous. The Yankees have 110% of the M's attendance, 120% of our revenue (maybe), and twice our payroll not including luxury tax. This doesn't seem sustainable, but then again neither does the NCAA, the UN, General Motors, the Postal Service, or the WTO, and I suspect Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1076776839967223532004-02-14T08:40:00.000-08:002004-02-14T12:26:38.326-08:00The MBSBL continues to entertain and educate. I finally listened to Optimist and grabbed Podsednick at the end of round 10. He may not have been the best overall CF available (Finley and Everett, among several others, had a higher OPS), but Scott's got speed (43 swipes, caught 10 times), solid D, can play anywhere in the outfield, and .379 OBP. He was the best overall fit for my team and willKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1076434117053992732004-02-10T09:28:00.000-08:002004-02-10T09:31:05.653-08:00With this quote, David Andriesen admits the emperor has no clothes:
The team wanted a left-hander to use on a situational basis against left-handed hitters, but Villone hasn't done especially well against lefties.
I'm guessing that's about as critical as a mainstream reporter can get without risking the cold shoulder. Then this, regarding the Mariner's "pursuit" of Raul Mondesi:
After being Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1076378269644880572004-02-09T17:57:00.000-08:002004-02-10T09:09:00.856-08:00Ahhh, Villone. I know what most of you are thinking: What does the Kev-o-matic defense-independent pitcher analysis system have to say about this? Let's have a look.
Villone was rated #24 is strikeouts per 9 IP, with 7.71. Oh, and his ERA of 4.13 was better than Randy Johnson's. (Optimists should go find their happy place now, since the good news ends there.)
Are they gone? OK.
Villone Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1076116466935073802004-02-06T17:14:00.000-08:002004-02-06T22:52:47.043-08:00It sure has been nice to have the MBSBL to fall back on while the rest of the baseball world endures the most boring month of the year. The draft has been fun and thought-provoking, and more entertaining since the pace has picked up quite a bit. I built a little spreadsheet (where would the world be without Excel?) to track the available players.
Hitters I've sorted by position and OPS. Many Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-10759655847660842004-02-04T23:19:00.000-08:002004-02-05T10:20:16.436-08:00A hearty 116 welcome to Dead Reckoning, a new Mariners blog-about-blogs, that will, if he keeps it up, become a great place to scan for brief clips about who is posting what where. The P-I is also adding a similar feature to their well-regarded blog. If only David Cameron's pleas to Bavasi were as well-received as those to the blogosphere....Ah, well. Jeff Shaw, who posted the "worst bench in Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1075844399859411212004-02-03T13:39:00.000-08:002004-02-03T13:42:18.780-08:00I rag on Boras (which spell-checks to "Borax") and Pudge below for taking the money and running, so to speak, off to the baseball netherworld that is Detroit. I would be remiss, though if I didn't mention a recent example of a player doing the right thing, and putting personal happiness above income maximization. Kazuhiro Sasaki signed a contract today that will pay him $4-5 million less than Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1075742114239116602004-02-02T09:15:00.000-08:002004-02-02T09:18:48.530-08:00The Pudge deal with the Tigers is finally done. I-Rod is apparently content to finish off his career as the biggest, best-paid fish in the smallest baseball puddle. I continue to be amazed at Boras' ability to get players to focus on the dollars attached to a deal at the expense of all other considerations. Will he really be happier in Detroit for $40 million instead of Baltimore for $24? TheKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1075507386450672502004-01-30T16:03:00.000-08:002004-01-30T16:07:08.890-08:00It's a two-fer today, and both are issues that sabremetricians will appreciate.
The first is DIPS, or defense-independent pitching stats. I had first researched this when trying to build a case for why we shouldn't expect much from Hasegawa, then blogger ate my post and I boycotted the blog for a couple days to show them who's boss. But I digress. Go read Peter's fine Franklin-related Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1075339682366604512004-01-28T17:28:00.000-08:002004-01-28T18:02:32.996-08:00In the hyper-competitive world of M's blogging, it's tough to stand out, much less think of something to write that hasn't already been covered better, more thoughtfully, and with greater depth. Most days, then, I've been perfectly content to read, rather than write, about what's going on. Another blog (it would take me too long to cycle through the whole list and remember which one) has Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1074579489787697902004-01-19T22:18:00.000-08:002004-01-19T22:20:08.983-08:00This must have gotten lost with all the hubbub over Sasaki, so hold on to your hats, this looks like two good things in one day....the M's have apparently locked up Jo-el Pinero for three years at $14.5 Million. Joel has delivered several dominating performances which I have had the privilege of witnessing. Over the last three seasons (2003/2002/2001), here are his numbers:
avg: .241, .256, Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1074574707014326152004-01-19T20:58:00.000-08:002004-01-19T21:00:26.326-08:00Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! Sometimes after all the planning, all the analysis, all the back-and-forth over trade value, salaries, and improvement potential, what a team really needs is just some good luck. Thanks, Kaz. Mr. Bavasi: you've been handed a gift. Please don't squander it.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1073630355517949412004-01-08T22:39:00.000-08:002004-01-08T22:44:59.740-08:00Hello cruel world. Yeah, I've been off the bloggin' path for a couple of weeks. The M's blogosphere has been a dreary and depressing place, reflecting the sensibilities of the Mariners' most intense fans, and their continuing disappointment at a crappy victory-sapping off-season. I needed the time off since I was tired of just posting "this deal sucks." There are now a whole bunch of blogs Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1071869636476451322003-12-19T13:33:00.000-08:002003-12-19T13:34:11.106-08:00I haven't seen anyone else link to this, even though it's two days old, so here goes. ESPN's Rob Neyer agrees that Bavasi is a bumbler. Regarding the Omar-for-Carlos almost-trade, he writes:
There simply isn't any way to spin this positively for Seattle's new general manager, Bill Bavasi.
...
It's early in Bavasi's tenure, and we should probably give him a few more weeks before we decide he Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1071779439544080052003-12-18T12:30:00.000-08:002003-12-18T12:32:00.323-08:00Links are everywhere to the news that Ichiro has been re-signed to a four year deal that is likely north of $10MM/year. From a business perspective, this needs to be taken in the context of his non-baseball value. From a purely baseball perspective, I have to wonder...for just a little more, could we have had Vlad? I was not in favor throwing $16MM a year at Vlad while the Mariners had lots of Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1071634044910525082003-12-16T20:07:00.000-08:002003-12-16T20:16:47.506-08:00How sad is it that we have to hope our GM doesn't get what he wants!!!! I'm glad you're coming back, Carlos.
I had intended the post below to serve as a kind of coda, a beginning to 116 days of self-imposed silence as a prelude to enjoying baseball without the burdensome chore of worrying about winning. But the first good news in some time has pulled me out of my mental retirement; I swear, IKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1071519594503139162003-12-15T12:19:00.000-08:002003-12-15T12:24:04.286-08:00First of all, I want to thank the 1,000 of you who have visited 116 since I last updated a week ago. It's astonishing to me that there is this much interest, and I'm flattered and awed. Like others have written, the M's blogosphere has become a go-to source for timely and accurate analysis that simply does not exist elsewhere. USSM is the first place I go in the morning. And how about our Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1071419813210278632003-12-14T08:36:00.000-08:002003-12-15T12:33:25.640-08:00I was just starting to get a warm spot in my heart, despite a blogosphere that has lately been darker than Puget Sound at 4:45. Yes, I was please with a few developments.
1--Not mortgaging the team's future with a bloated just-cause-he's-Japanese contract for Matsui-2.
2--Signing Winn to a reasonable contract.
3--Improving the team by effectively swapping Rhodes for Guardado, without paying Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1071012746918142582003-12-09T15:32:00.000-08:002003-12-09T15:32:38.810-08:00The blogger beast just ate 800 words of analysis on the Jason Kendall contract (A word of warning to fellow bloggers: if your spell check is acting funny, copy your text to another file before your get too far, then log in again. Arrgh.) Bottom line, Kendall's contract is much, much worse than Cirillo's, and even if they took Sasaki too, any trade would have to include big-time $$$ to offset theKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1070950743043233012003-12-08T22:19:00.000-08:002003-12-08T22:30:02.720-08:00Matsui's going to the Mets. Check out this line from Newsday:
Plus, as Matsui didn't want to sign with the Yankees because of the presence of Hideki Matsui, he likely felt the same way about the Mariners with Ichiro Suzuki. Kaz Matsui enjoys media attention and didn't want to be overshadowed by a Japanese player more popular than him.
Looks like we missed out on the chance to sign a prima Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1070930312591840272003-12-08T16:38:00.000-08:002003-12-08T16:43:32.376-08:00Remember that night game in mid-September when the M's, BoSox, and A's all had ninth-inning comebacks, but we lost in extra innings and they both won? That was the night I ran back and forth between the M's game on TV and two different GameCast windows on my PC. That was the last time I held any hope for the 2003 series, and at the end of night, when it was clear the playoffs wouldn't happen, IKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1070461047327649642003-12-03T06:17:00.000-08:002003-12-03T06:17:37.810-08:00C'mon, now even the ski season I was looking forward to is in jeopardy!!!
I just re-read my last couple posts and sorry if they've been depressing. I did post something happy not too long ago (Quote: "one of the best baseball cities in the world"). And on a personal note, I'm lining up a business trip to Phoenix in March. Roger Angell wrote once about spring training in Arizona: it's a shame Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1070325891070074152003-12-01T16:44:00.000-08:002003-12-01T17:43:04.386-08:00This is where the action is. Too lazy to click? I'll save you the time: the link does not point to anywhere near Seattle, Washington.
The disappointment at being on the sidelines while other teams improve themselves is palpable. Just about every M's blog has hit the same theme, theme, theme, theme, theme. It sucks to watch the 2003 ALCS participants conduct a clinic on how to go to the worldKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1070094349520703802003-11-29T00:25:00.000-08:002003-11-29T00:28:17.563-08:00Well, the Schilling trade is going to happen. Schilling said of Epstein & Co.:
"They just have this deep-seated desire to hoist a World Series trophy in Boston."
Funny, nobody says that about our guys. This little vignette builds on Peter's post a week or so ago on the M's management philosophy--it's about filling seats, not winning games, specifically playoff games. The way to maximize the Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1069697921391896612003-11-24T10:18:00.000-08:002003-11-24T10:18:49.500-08:00As baseball blogs everywhere scratch the bottom of the barrel for content, I'm reminded that the off-season is a great time to get immersed in baseball's incredibly rich literature. Below is a review I wrote for Amazon a few years back of what continues to be my favorite baseball book, Jules Tygiel's Past Time. It's a collection of brief essays on the impact of baseball on American history, andKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1069442181107320262003-11-21T11:16:00.000-08:002003-11-21T11:16:28.506-08:00From the Lee Sinins newsletter, this has to be a first:
2) Yankees GM Brian Cashman says free agent RF Vladimir Guerrero's asking
price is too high for them to be interested.
I didn't think such a number existed.
Closer to home, I was thrilled to read at USS Mariner that Justin Leone was put on the 40-man roster. My sense is he was a late-bloomer type who needed an over-the-top performance Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1069369677123828512003-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:002003-11-20T15:21:33.893-08:00The Bavasi look-alike contest at USS Mariner has been cracking me up for two days now, especially the comment about how Peter Garrett has talent. Here's a new candidate: Yes, new Mariner and league-average OF Raul Ibanez! Theory #4: Bavasi thinks Ibanez looks like he did 10 years ago, and likes that. Is there a list somewhere of bald goateed oblong-headed veteran free agents with good "Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1069267063442712052003-11-19T10:37:00.000-08:002003-11-19T12:39:47.686-08:00I've been racking my brain (not to mention the stats server at ESPN) trying to figure out the Raul deal. He's no better than Winn by almost any measure. The reported contract is for $13M over 3 years ($4.33 per), a nice raise from $3M last year, especially since there are a bunch of league-average OFs on the market right now. Rest for Olerud? Possibly, but they both suck against lefties. Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1069262420885407012003-11-19T09:20:00.000-08:002003-11-19T09:20:27.636-08:00Raul: Bad.
Monorail: Good.
"There would be a Safeco Field station and a single track along Third Avenue South, south of Safeco. "Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1069229506910991952003-11-19T00:11:00.000-08:002003-11-19T00:11:53.683-08:00Roger Angell's annual review of the post-season is up over at the New Yorker. Stay with it; he gets back to the division series about halfway through.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1069225987176714852003-11-18T23:13:00.000-08:002003-11-18T23:21:06.003-08:00Looks like a couple of fellow M's bloggers didn't appreciate my post below, feeling that politics and baseball don't mix, etc. I'm afraid I must suggest that those who expect my commentary to be limited to OPS and the hot stove league should perhaps stop visiting. Like most of my readers, I am about more than baseball. I'll probably keep things at 95%+ baseball, as I have over the last two Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1069081359146428222003-11-17T07:02:00.000-08:002003-11-17T07:12:20.430-08:00"Little" Matsui announced this morning that he's coming to America. I actually get to scoop USS Mariner on this one since I'm up early and Derek's network is down. Hoooo-weee!
But I'm glad Derek took the time to blast Bill Singer from the Mets for being an obnoxious racist jerk. It is almost inconceivable in this day and age that anyone can rise to a position of prominence with so few Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1068658513328846192003-11-12T09:35:00.000-08:002003-11-12T09:35:18.133-08:00If you don't do anything else productive today, go subscribe to Lee Sinin's daily baseball mailing list. Lots of trade rumors, often a day or two before the major media. Today's email has about 15 different rumors, which I will summarize as follows. (Clearing throat.) The Yankees are interested in everybody. There. Some other tidbits:
Vlad Guerrero has been rumor-linked to the Orioles, but Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1068624578688564842003-11-12T00:09:00.000-08:002003-11-12T20:15:31.266-08:00For all the negativity around Gillick, the late-season collapse, and the skepticism about Bavasi, it may produce a moment of happiness if you remember that we are lucky to live in one of the best baseball cities in the world. If you are reading an obscure baseblog (I just made that up) like the humble One Hundred Sixteen, especially this far in advance of Spring Training, you, my friend, have a Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1068446485829514372003-11-09T22:41:00.000-08:002003-11-09T23:18:50.833-08:00I am pleased to announce a new link to the guys over at Sports and Bremertonians. Not just because of the plug, which I do appreciate, but because Chemical Tribe identified the most important thing to know about Bill Bavasi: forget Bone, this guy's a dead ringer for Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil. Peter is kind of a left-wing freak, but in a way that I think he wouldn't mind me saying that. I Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1068250955529802032003-11-07T16:22:00.000-08:002003-11-07T16:25:04.113-08:00Not to dwell too much on one aspect of Bavasi's career, but come on, signing Mo Vaughn had to look pretty good during the 98-99 offseason. Yes, there was lots of sniping with Red Sox management about his contract. Yes, he did a couple of dumb things like get a DWI (not convicted). But he was also A.L. MVP in 1995, and the fans loved Mo since he produced. Look at this. And this. And this.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1068236793003108992003-11-07T12:26:00.000-08:002003-11-07T15:22:13.943-08:00Wow. Lost my blogger account and just got it back. Others warned me that blogger is great, but it's free, and ultimately you get what you pay for.
So not much has happened in two weeks--only Edgar re-signing, four gold gloves awarded to the best defense in the majors, and yes, as of a few hours ago, a new GM*. I Googled far and wide for you, my faithful readers, to find more info on this Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1066927958436750072003-10-23T09:52:00.000-07:002003-10-23T10:07:13.483-07:00It's been awfully slow in the M's blogosphere the last week, with no improvement in sight until after the World Series. If you're really desperate for news, the Giants declined their option on former Mariner Jose Cruz Jr., sending him to the free agent market. At least one team thinks his stellar defense (game three of the division series excluded) plus .779 OPS is worth less than $3.7 million.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1066408322710218052003-10-17T09:32:00.000-07:002003-10-17T09:40:53.613-07:00There's a bar in Boston, and sometime in 2007 or 2008 a man will walk in, take a spot at the counter and order a beer. He'll take a look at what's on TV, it might be the Bruins or the Celtics or it might be the Red Sox struggling to stay above .500. He and the other patrons will sit in silence as the bartender wipes out a dirty glass. Then he'll say in a plaintive voice, to nobody in Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1066248764563188382003-10-15T13:12:00.000-07:002003-10-15T14:19:52.673-07:00After watching Nomar stink up the place for most of the playoffs, I thought it would be interesting to track the Red Sox' much-vaunted offense through the season.
Well, it was interesting, at least to me, even if their season might be over before most of you read this. A few observations:
--They had a helluva year. Team OPS was .851, 97 points higher than the M's.
--Ramirez has been the Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1066237780739675212003-10-15T10:09:00.000-07:002003-10-15T10:24:00.993-07:00After a relatively quiet couple of weeks, it looks like things are heating up on the GM search. The Tacoma Tribune seems to have the best local coverage, and is probably worth a daily look for news.
Paul Podesta is apparently very available, with this article making it sound like the hero of Moneyball has his bags packed. Here a quote from Beane:
"I think Paul's probably ready to step out Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1065680017376354822003-10-08T23:13:00.000-07:002003-10-09T00:17:19.780-07:00Anybody remember this? (apologies for the formatting):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
New York Yankees 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 5 6 0
Seattle Mariners 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 6 15Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1065563069067916262003-10-07T14:44:00.000-07:002003-10-07T15:12:16.836-07:00The A's-Red Sox series was exciting and fun, a fine salve for the wounds M's fans will be tending this off-season. How sad for the A's to have your season end with the bats on your shoulders. Lowe had some nasty stuff at the end last night, but the A's lost this one in game three. As good as the series was, I'm glad that someone else is as disappointed in the A's as I am. SI's Tom Verdicci Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1065502752682659922003-10-06T21:59:00.000-07:002003-10-06T21:59:12.036-07:00Derek over at USS Mariner is having a bad day. Go read his article on Edgar's possible last day, and drop him a line and tell him if you liked it. I read a lot of baseball books with artistic aspirations and this is one of the only pieces I can remember that nearly brought a tear to my eye.
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1065371508531281892003-10-05T09:31:00.000-07:002003-10-06T11:49:27.283-07:00If anyone deserved a break in the playoffs, it's the Boston Red Sox, but they did not deserve to win Saturday night. In a performance designed to make you wonder if they were betting against themselves, the A's committed three errors in the second, but most egregiously blew their chance to win the game with two boneheaded baserunning errors in the top of the sixth.
First Veritek blocks Byrnes Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1065211583617622592003-10-03T13:06:00.000-07:002003-10-05T09:02:27.880-07:00I'm doing a little background research on the possibility of Griffey returning to the M's. First, we need to acknowledge the emotions around this.
Stage One: Facing Rejection. Most of us were a little hurt when he left, creating more fodder for our metropolis-wide inferiority complex: first The Big Unit bolted. Then Shawn Kemp (This was back when I cared about the NBA, and I remember being madKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1065045595359972422003-10-01T14:59:00.000-07:002003-10-01T16:26:03.393-07:00I was going to try to go all day without commenting on Gillick stepping down, and was happy enough reading the USS Mariner's ticker-tape of commentary--then I came across John McGrath's column in the Tacoma Tribune that seriously proposes Gillick should be in the hall of fame. More on that in a sec.
The column starts with a recognition that this wasn't a great year for Gillick--the newly Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1064944135655618982003-09-30T10:48:00.000-07:002003-09-30T13:44:43.136-07:00Wow, lots of good stuff in the P-I today, especially Art Thiel's missive on where ownership went wrong , and why they're at risk for alienating their fan base. Thiel's point about baseball teams needing to be operated like churches, not as businesses, is well taken. And the point of a church isn't a good sermon, it's getting to heaven. If your pastor kept telling you heaven didn't exist, how Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877589.post-1064878714150605542003-09-29T16:33:00.000-07:002003-09-29T16:38:33.966-07:00If somebody published a blog and nobody read it, would it still exist?Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04935844526374159720noreply@blogger.com