Yes, today is one of those Turn Back the Clock Days at the ball park, with Oakland and Seattle donning uniforms from the past and, in this case, having an Elvis impersonator singing the National Anthem.
At least we think it’s an impersonator.
The lineup, meanwhile, is much the same as last night’s, although Carlos Peguero isn’t playing today – John Jaso is the DH, Ichiro is back in right field. Jesus Montero may be available to pinch hit, but he’s still not cleared to start – not after experierncing dizziness taking ground balls.
It’s the final game before the All-Star break, and the chance for Seattle to take this series and go into that break with the momentum of two consecutive wins.
Here’s the lineup vs. veteran RHP Bartolo Colo:
Dustin Ackley 2B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Michael Saunders CF
John Jaso DH
Kyle Seager 3B
Casper Wells LF
Justin Smoak 1B
Miguel Olivo C
Brendan Ryan SS
Felix Hernandez RHP
Watching Peguero swing last night it’s easy to see why he isn’t playing today. He swung at just about every pitch he saw. Throw back days i.e. another jersey for MLB to sell for $120
I’m starting the “Get rid of Douchbag Dave Henderson campaign”. I’m really tired of his obvious bias/jealousy of today’s players especially Ichiro, who I’m not a big fan of myself. This is gonna be a rough one as I’m not in a position to fire him but I am curious if any of the other 10 people who read this blog(For the record I do like Larry and his comments) have an opinion?
× Flag comment
Henderson and Blowers are OK. It’s Sims that has to go.
× Flag comment
No, it’s (un)Fairly (aka Mr Obvious) who needs to go!
× Flag comment
We suck.
× Flag comment
Blowers is the only regular that is even mediocre to me, although he’s a company hack. They’re all going to be company hacks since they work for the team though. Sims isn’t terrible IMO. I don’t listen to the radio so Rizzs might be alright, haven’t heard him in years. Heard Henderson for the first time the other night and he was GOD AWFUL!
P.S. I think Valle and Buhner are pretty god when they fill in.
× Flag comment
Fairly has been TERRIBLE for the last 15 years at least. Mr. Obvious is a perfect name for him.
What moves can this team really make over the break, besides getting rid of Bilbo and Ichirold which we all know won’t happen? I would have no problem with replacing Smoak with Carp but, is Carp ready to come back yet? He went 3-5 with 2 doubles and a homer on Sunday but, he has only played a few games since coming back. Also, Smoak at least has a couple of doubles the past few games which is a better sign. Does Montero need to go down? I think we wait until he can play again and give him a few more games. Ackley? He seemed to look better batting leadoff again. Hopefully, Guti being back after the break will help. Ryan? He seems to be slowly raising his average. If he could just hit a fairly consistent .240-.250 I would be happy with that for now. We have nothing better to replace him with now IMO. Mune is a weak hitter as well and he is not the defensive player Ryan is. Franklin’s not ready to come up yet.
× Flag comment
We suck X2!
Rizz is the only one worth a dang.
× Flag comment
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/whats-going-on-at-safeco-field/
Figured I’d post this again for anyone that thinks Safeco only affects the M’s!
× Flag comment
Shannon Dreyer is suggesting replacing Smoak with Liddi.
× Flag comment
Good article on Smoak here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrybrewer/2018646341_brewer10.html
× Flag comment
Pretty good article. I’m not ready to give up on Smoak but, I think he needs to go to AAA. Either now or when Carp is ready to come up, unless Smoak starts the second half on fire.
× Flag comment
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2018652654_all-star_notes_matt_wieters_on.html#continue
Some thoughts about Smoak and Safeco.
× Flag comment
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2018619672_a_pep_talk_from_eric_wedge_on.html#continue
Another good article about M’s struggles at Safeco! Smoak’s OPS goes from .717 on the road, still not as good as you would expect from a power hitting first baseman, to .470 at home. It seems like from his body language that Safeco affects him mentally more than some of the other players. It theoretically shouldn’t hurt his numbers as much as some of the other players since he bats from the left most of the time. Just my observation, though it’s not necessarily backed up by statistics. Kyle Seager doesn’t seem to have bad body language at home and bats left-handed but, he has the worst home-road OPS split of any player with significant playing time, .526 to .914
× Flag comment
BTW, apparently MLB has shut down from 7/09 through 7/12!
× Flag comment
Smoak, Ackley, Montero and Seager IMO are considered the core of the team. They are all 25 or younger which gives them time to adjust. In Smoaks case time is running out, however I would argue that sending him down to the minors isn’t gonna fix what ails him. I would also say the same thing for Ackley and Montero. The pitching at AAA is just that so they won’t see the quality breaking stuff they are all struggling to hit. Seager seems to me the guy who is making adjustments and I feel he’s gonna figure it out at home. They all need to figure out how to make the adjustments needed to be successful at this level. What this team is missing is a veteran presence in the club house. Somebody who has the respect of the clubhouse and success at the MLB level. Sadly Ichiro should be able to fill that roll but seems incapable or unwilling. If he were then his $18 mil in salary would be justified.
× Flag comment