Edgar is God, Ichiro will devour your soul

Be careful what you wish for

2004-04-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

1-7

Headline: MARINER'S WORST START IN FRANCHISE HISTORY

Think that got Lincoln's attention? Well let's give the microphone to his identical twin, AKA Bill “I eat off of Howard’s left buttcheek” Bavasi:

"Everyone wants to get off to a good start and it's disappointing," he said prior to Wednesday's game. "I don't know these guys all that well, but am confident that no one is more disturbed by the record than the players. "None of us are going to panic, but we are going to be angry and real disturbed and look at things a lot more closely. We're not going to have panic set in, but we have to keep plugging away."

Translation: “I’m clueless, sides’ I ain’t doing shit until Howard barks at me.”

Bavasi, you tool. I guess we should have known that you didn’t know these guys that well! In fact, from what I’ve seen of your work so far it seems you don’t know THE MAJORITY of major-league baseball players all that well!!! You took McCracken over Colbrun????? What psuedo alter-universe are you living in, if I may ask???

NEWSFLASH BAVASI: M's CAN'T PLAY small ball anymore. They don't have the defense to do it.

You, Howard, and Melvin, ripped on Cameron for striking out too much with runners on base. The thing is without his phenomenal defense your no longer in the position to scratch runs in the first place. Ironic, eh? Did you know that not only is Cameron the best defensive player in the game, but he is also the most underrated offensive player as well? Oh wait, I forgot!! You “DON’T KNOW THESE GUYS ALL THAT WELL”!!! I apologize. Keep doing what you do, I could care less at this point. You WILL reap what you sow. All three of you stooges.

If the worst start in franchise history doesn’t get you clowns motivated, then I guess were just going to have to suck it up some more!!!!!

Let’s recap:

That’s 1-7!!!!!

I’m speechless. I’m absolutely baffled at how bad the M’s have performed. Sure the defense is still solid compared to an average major-league team, but that’s not the point. This is a team that LIVED on great defense. Pitchers can no longer attack hitters with confidence. The team can't play behind because it has NO power. The bullpen is weaker. Our manager is mentally impaired. Both catchers BLOW, and Wilson not only can’t hit, now he cant even throw ON TOP OF IT, making him suck at a level that I can’t even comprehend. Oh right, and I forgot to mention the bench, which is possibly the worst in major-league history!! HURAAAAY!!!

I knew they’d be worse this year, but 1 and 7???? It looks like I owe Joe Sheenan an apology! Oh, and what’s that, did I just hear the other manager from a REAL contender sympathize with us??? That makes two out of two now. Pathetic.

This team is struggling to climb out of their collective graves. The players are getting NO LOVE from the front office. Its a classic case of cause and effect: The Mariners are dying. Theres NO LIFE out there.

Its becoming painfully clear that its time for some change, and I for one, am all for it.

I’m not saying that I hope the Mariners keep losing. I’m just saying that, without a significant move (or twenty), the Mariners WILL keep losing.

I’m sorry Edgar, I really am… it wasn’t supposed to end like this…

M's RALLY!!!!!

2004-04-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

HAHAHAHAHAH WE FINALLY WIN!!!!!!!!

AGH, so torn... losses stir up Front Office.... force change.... but Its A WIN!!!!!

Winn made a nice defensive play!!!!

YEAHHHHHH!!!!!!

Are you kidding me???

2004-04-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

"That's happened to them a couple of times in this series,'' Oakland manager Ken Macha said. "Last night, Dan Wilson smoked the ball (with two on and no one out) and we got a double play out of it. Sometimes that happens”

How sad is this? The manager of our hated “rivals”, the A’s, is feeling sorry for us.

Well, I think its safe to say that we’ve established ourselves as a pathetic baseball team. Its time for Ichiro, Boone or Edgar to step up, and I don’t mean on the field. We need a hitter. THEY are the untouchables. THEY should let it be known.

We’re lining up for our sixth straight loss. But what the hell… I’m going to take a page from the Mariner Optimist and try to look at the positive.

Imagine Howard’s face after he picks up a copy of the Monday PI:

HEADLINE: M's WORST START IN FRANCHISE HISTORY

Imagine the shadow of failure that crosses his face as he realizes he has single-handedly destroyed the most promising sports franchise in Seattle history. "OH NO!! Yamauchi is gonna have my ass!!!!"

As much as these losses pain my soul, the thought of Howard sweating gives me a warm feeling in my stomach. I hope we lose every game in April, if that’s what it takes to change things in Seattle.

Time to VENT

2004-04-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

M's aren't winning 90 games. Don't kid yourselves.

We were a team built on pitching and defense. Now we have a contact hitting team with weak defense at two critical positions (Center and short). We can't hit with Anaheim and we can no longer pitch with Oakland without the sick defense defensive edge we used to have on the league. By losing Cameron AND Guillen the Front Office removed the final two blocks of the great 2001 team that will set the whole motherfukin' kingdom falling.

You can't really believe that this is a championship team. OPEN YOUR EYES!! The team is old and passive. Theres no energy. No spunk. There's no personality or talent to compensate for it beyond Ichiro, Boone, Edgar, Soriano and Garcia. Dare I say it is a team that is becoming BORING AS HELL to watch (gasp...)!!

The manager CAN'T manage his players, is not a leader by any definition of the word, and on top of that, makes numerous bumbling moves during the course of a baseball game that induce hardcore Mariner fans into non-stop head-slapping mode. Keep in mind that the team is relying on a 41 year old man to be its biggest run producer. Its also relying on a 35 year old second baseman to repeat one of the two greatest seasons of his career. Its relying on fluke seasons to repeat and bad seasons to rebound. It doesn't have a bench, or rather, would probably be better off without one. It has given a contract to an old corner outfielder with a decent stick and absolutely no defensive assets that no other team in baseball would be willing to take on, much less trade for. It has a front office that values personality over talent, sweeping generalizations over statistics, and 'experienced' veterans past their prime over players of the future. Its a team built around mysticism.

Eventually the Mariners are going to have to suck in order for Lincoln to get it in his egotistical head that he IS NOT god and realize that he doesn't hold some sort of magical potion leftover from the 2001 season.

Its time for some change and it might as well be this year.

Its time Garcia

2004-04-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

Salvage the series!!!! WAKE US UP!!!!!

Mariners look sloppy out there.

Whats wrong with Ichiro? Ichiro looks like he's JUST taking pitches not SELECTING pitches to hit. If this was the new approach that they were working on they should just let Ichiro swing. But I'll give him a couple more games before making a big thread about it.

Cmon M's... Lets show some life out there!!!

DOUBLE WAMMY

2004-04-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

I was discouraged by what little of the game I saw yesterday, and since I had some extra time this morning, I decided to search for some positives by rewatching the game via MLB.com.

GODDAMN those Angels have some thunder!!!! ARGH..Remind me never to rewatch a hopeless loss again. ALL of our weaknesses were FULLY exposed. It wasn't pretty.

The downgraded defense: It just looks worse after seeing the whole thing. Ibanez missed a double that I am absolutely sure that Winn would have caught, and also muffed a ball in the top of the eight causing a run to score. Winn doesn't get anywhere near the jumps that Cameron gets. Aurilia didn't get to a ball off Eckstein's bat in the first inning that Guillen would of (I saw that too ALTRSH1918), he missed an easy double play (also in the first inning), and couldn't catch Ichiro's assist.

Bob Melvin: He made a horrible call to run Wilson on Bloomquist's 0-2 count with two outs. He also clearly gave up the game too early after Glaus's blast that made it 5-1. Who came out of the bullpen after Julio Mateo? None other than Jarvis and Villone. BOTH were punished immediately, setting the game out of reach.

The catcher position and the bench: Its just our luck that in the bottom of the eigth we start an improbable rally that dies the second Wilson comes up to bat. Wilson is no longer a major-league player. THis Japanese blogger just saw him swing late on a breaking pitch!! I'm also seriously starting to doubt his perceived pitch calling ability.

Power: The double by Aurilia in the eighth was the hardest hit ball of the entire game.

Our overall Depth: Speizio gets injured and Willie Bloomquist is our best option at third?? What wrong with starting Justin Leone(minor league player of the year in 2003)? What are Jarvis and Villone doing on a team with great minor league pitching? How can a bench be so expensive, and not have one above-average hitter???

Of course all of these faults can be pointed to the Front Office. Get this: Bavasi doesn't think Minor League Stats mean anything when projecting a player's future performance. That probably explains the Guillen trade for a toolsy Santiago (who can't hit). When he was with the Dodger Organization he was completely oblivious of park factors and was puzzled when minor leaguers would put up bad stats at Dodger Stadium (maybe has something to do with his belief that minor league stats are useless). In an interview he seadwanted to build a team around speed and veteran leadership, and believes that there is something special about experience that can't be reflected in raw statistics. UGH... Is there no God????

I'm gonna try to keep my cool though, its still early and yes, anything can happen. I believe that management will do whatever it takes to keep us 'competitive' to keep the soccer moms in thier seats. Look for them to pull the trigger on a big bat before we fall out of contention.

7pm today: Its time for some redemption.

SHUT THESE BITCHES DOWN Joel!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW

2004-04-06T23:23:00.000-07:00

HOLY SHIT the M's just got punished...

I know its only one game, but we looked completely overmatched out there..

What kills me is that I thought Moyer pitched well and he STILL got touched for eight runs!@!
Ibanez is every bit as bad defensively as advertised, and Winn was getting some funky jumps on the ball. Even Aurilia was shaky. I knew it was a concern during the offseason, but seeing is believing-this is a SIGNIFICANTLY worse defensive team than last year.

The Angels can MASH, the A's look significantly improved, and the M's seriously seem like a team that is destined for third place.

Of course this is only one game, and its entirely possible that I am, once again, overreacting. The mariners still have a long ways to go. If luck (and a big bat wouldn't hurt) graces them, they have a chance to steal the division. So enjoy the run while it lasts, cause under this Front Office, its not going to get any better.

GO M's!!!!! Win one for EDGAR!!!

Clutch this

2004-04-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

Clutch hitting doesn’t exist? I don’t buy it.

In my opinion Billy Beane was just as ill advised when he wrote off the postseason as a crapshoot as Gillick was when he dismissed Paul Depodesta as a GM candidate. I find a hard time believing that there aren’t players that rise to the occasion. Were the late nineties Yankees really just lucky in winning consecutive pennant titles? Mathematically, what are the chances of something like that happening?? They don’t seem high to me. Just because you don’t understand it, or can’t explain it, doesn’t mean its luck. I’m a firm believer that Clutch hitting DOES exist, which is why I was so happy when I discovered that Keith Woolner of Baseball Prospectus was taking a stab at the impossible.

The only problem I have with this analysis is that it aids sluggers with, well… high SLG percentages. The top clutch hitters on that list look eerily similar to the list of the OPS leaders in the Majors. A guy like Jim Thome could go 3-3 with a walk and 3HRs 7RBIs in a 10-2 win over the Brewers and it would drastically raise his “clutch” line, even though the Phillies could have probably won the game without them. Whereas if a guy like Ichiro (I know, I might as well make this site the official Ichiro Fan Club) went 1-5 but drove in two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game, his “clutch” line would GREATLY suffer for that effort. Which seems like a more clutch performance to you?

Its not only that though. There are multiple times in a game where as a baseball fan, you can FEEL the momentum of the game shift. It may be a great catch by Cameron that sets Piniero into “unhittable stud” mode, or a hard battled single from Edgar that sets a cruising pitcher off of his kilter. There are times in a baseball game where you feel that a trigger has been set off. To be able to calculate Clutch hitting, we need to be able to define that trigger.

But that shit is not going to be easy, and its certainly not as simple as calculating how well you hit in games that your team won. I mean, of course your sluggers are more likely to have performed well on those days- whereas in losses its more likely that they contributed less. That’s true for all baseball players, and is magnified more with guys that that have a high OPS. You can’t REALLY evaluate Clutch hitting until you figure out offensive synergy, which I hope some egghead out there can uncover someday.

Well that’s about it,

Peace and love!

None of us are Perfect

2004-04-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

Don’t get me wrong, BP is great site for baseball analysis and I have a lot of respect for the hard work that they’ve put into that site, but I’m getting tired of this crap. According to Joe Sheenan the Mariners are the ninth best (or should I say sixth worst) team in the AL. Naturally we are behind behind the sabermetric darlings (the Toronto Blue Jays) and supposedly, and I quote, “There's a big dropoff between the #5 and #6 teams.” The teams that come in sixth through eigth? The Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox, and the Baltimore “I hope we can repeat” Orioles. Cmon don’t openly hate on a respectable baseball site, a healthy Mariners team is better than 4-8 on that list. I seriously hope BP isn’t taking a Neyer-like ‘Holier than thou’ stance when dealing with organizations that openly reject statistical analysis. Sure the Mariners could be better if they made smart acquisitions in the offseason, but lets try to real and look at things with a wider perspective.
For a more fair assessment of the Mariners chances next year, check this great review done by Dan Werr.

OH YO!!!! Did you hear about this???? At 24 he hit .321/.421/.501, ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!!!! Sure he may be hurt by Safeco’s dimensions, but even so he is still a SICK player!!! THIS is the time to pull the trigger. No more excuses!!! When a player of his quality is available for THAT price you fucking jump on it without hesitation!!!! Of course this is the Seattle mariners, and our Front Office IS infested with whitey (who seem to be genetically programmed to fear the black man), but I am pretty confident that Lincoln is getting worried enough that his trigger-finger is starting to loosen up. Let’s hope that Lincoln’s admiration for Bradley’s abilities overrides any concerns he has about his personality. Besides, I think Bradley could learn a thing or two hanging around a class-act like Edgar Martinez.

Oh… by the way, I just remembered that I received an IM from a certain Chicago Cub blogger that I wasn’t around for. I apologize if I’ve accidentally deleted any emails or missed a few IMs (I promise you it was done unintentionally). Though I may not be as polite as my Japanese brethren, I still treat people with great respect (asides from the Mariner FO that is), and love listening to anything my fellow Mariner fan or Ichiro fanboy/girls have to say.

Check it Out

2004-04-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

Here’s Robert Whiting, author of The Meaning of Ichiro, interviewing Ichiro. It’s pretty old, but its good shit nonetheless.

No, I don’t have anything to say. Just READ bitches, READ!!!

Yes you can have too many Boones

2004-03-29T00:38:00.000-08:00

None of you should be surprised about the hard-on Lincoln has for Aaron Boone. He’s just so nice and so damn family friendly; and being Bret’s brother just makes him an absolute lock to start third next year. We WILL sign him to a 3-year $18million deal. The FO will advertise him as a threat for 30 homers, and with the retirement of Edgar and possibly Olerud, Aaron will bat fifth behind Brett. Then they’ll come up with a cute family slogan like “The Boom Boom Boone brothers” or “Boonie Bashers” or something of that sort.

Of course, like many Mariner signings of late, this signing would make absolutely NO SENSE from a baseball point of view. What we should do is go after Delgado or Sexton, and sign Aaron as a utility player. But sigh… common sense is beyond the Front Office. Its gonna happen friends. And there’s nothing you can do about it. You should of seen it coming the moment the Yankees signed him to a one-year deal.

First of all they will overpay, because they’ll put more emphasis on his 2003 stats in Cincinnati, rather than his stats since he became a Yankee. Its sucks that Aaron Boone got injured!! He could have put up mediocre numbers at Yankee stadium for the 2004 season, and maybe then the FO wouldn’t overrate his power. According to The Bill James Handbook the Great American Ballpark has a 111 average factor for RHB and a 144!!!!! homerun factor (remember that 100 is considered neutral) over the past two years. In comparison Safeco field is 95 for RHB average and 80 for RHB power. For those of you paying attention that means its nearly twice as hard to hit a homerun at Safeco!!

Overpaying an aging RH pull-hitter with a .267/.327/.453 line (with 400 AB’s in a drastic hitter’s park), should not be a priority for a “World Series Contending” team. At Safeco Aaron Boone would be Cameron without the high OBP. It could get ugly.

Let me update myself

2004-03-29T00:33:00.000-08:00

It looks like Melvin is starting to lay off of the Buddha smoke.
You know what? As “safe” as Bob Melvin managed last year, he’s starting to tinker with things and take some chances. Combined that with his ability to take critism and admit mistakes, and he may end up being a pretty sharp manager in the future. Sure criticizing Davis and batting Ibanez fourth were mistakes, but at least he’s starting to hold his own.

I swear, Molitor is the best acquisition of the offseason. Does anybody remember the last time a batting coach was so involved with the players?? From the vibe of things, I’m getting the sense that he has really made a difference for guys like Ichiro and Olerud.

We feel your pain Bobby.
“I don't know if I'm impatient or what? But I do know I'm capable of pitching in the bigs right now and it's just so frustrating not being there. It's like trade me or play me, I don't want to end up rotting in the minors.”
Seriously. I’m not gonna waste energy ranting. It’s time to play them or trade them for some bats.

Speaking of trades, I’m completely down for a heavy dose of some Ken Griffey Jr!!!! That is if the Reds cover the deferred payments, we KEEP the lefty-mashing Winn as our fourth outfielder (turn him into our Super-Sub), and we don’t have to give up Nageotte, Blackey or Felix. Hell, if this was possible I’d be willing to give up four or five major-league ready pitchers. Don’t expect anything to happen though.

You know somethings wrong with the world when the cool level-headed Olympia Mariner starts losing it.

Oh and as for Ichiro, that’s 7 walks and counting…

Edgar is God

2004-03-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

I’m starting to get the feeling that other Mariner bloggers don’t take me seriously and my main audience consists of fellow Ichiro fanboys (yes I am aware of my fanboy tendencies in case you were wondering). What has led me to believe this is the fact that practically ALL of the emails I’ve received concerning this blog are complaining about the lack of Ichiro updates. I even received a couple of emails that suggested I focus only on Ichiro and one that suggested I drop the title “EDGAR IS GOD” and change it to “ICHIRO IS GOD”.

NOT happening. EDGAR IS GOD will remain the official title of the blog (Note: Ichiro will devour your soul was shamelessly added as a method of increasing my hit total). Its true that I’ve been an Ichiro fan since he busted on the scene in 1994 and have followed him throughout his eight-year dominance of the Japanese leagues. I’ve seen him for power, I’ve seen him hit for insane averages, I’ve seen him put up monster OBP’s, and I’ve seen him win seven consecutive batting titles, seven consecutive gold gloves, seven consecutive best nine (silver sluggers), three MVP awards, and post a career .450 average with RISP along the way. After watching him over the past decade I’m convinced that there is absolutely nothing beyond this man’s capabilities. He can do anything he wants. This year he says he’s going for OBP. Its gonna happen.

Still, Ichiro is no Edgar. Edgar is the classiest players in the history of baseball. One of the greatest hitters I’ve ever seen and also one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen. I guarantee that if you visited Safeco during the offseason you would have seen Edgar busting his ass off. Sure Griffey and Alex were more talented, but Edgar’s great work ethic is what has allowed him remain as one the greatest hitters of his era and all the while he has remained humble and loyal to the fans. The last time I checked it was Edgar that hit .571 in the division series against the Yankees. Edgar was the one that belted that grand slam in Game 4 and knocked in Joey Cora and Griffey with his now legendary double that saved baseball in Seattle. Edgar’s been a great baseball player and a great person for his entire career. The man IS the Mariners. Hell, Edgar IS Seattle as far as I’m concerned. Its an absolute shame that the Front Office hasn’t treated him with the respect and the big bat that he deserves.

Now about the lack of Ichiro updates… PATIENCE BITCHES!!!! You WILL get your Ichiro fix!! Just keep your wigs on and don’t resort to crack! I will post anything I deem worthwhile from the Japanese press (although that happens to be very little). From here on out I’ll try to cater to my main audience and post on a more consistent basis. In addition all Ichiro interviews WILL BE translated and posted. Just Chill.

For now here’s a preview of an Ichiro vs Matsui television special that aired a while back:

“Even though I don’t want to swing, I end up swinging. There are times when its (the results) good and times when its bad. It happens to be one of my strong points, so its something I can’t afford to lose. However, I need to control it. That’s the hard part. When I’m doing well, I’m reacting well. But I start to feel that I can hit anything, and end up swinging (at bad pitches). When that happens I break down. I need to be patient (have self-control). There are some important elements for me: I must aggressively go after my pitch; I have to have the ability to hit the pitch I decide to swing at, and also have enough self-restraint to ‘not swing’ (at a bad pitch). Without a combination of the two, my true ability will not surface.”

As soon as I get the video in the mail I’ll post some highlights. Your not going to believe the depth behind Ichiro’s swing. Supposedly when he is in a slump, he can find the key to escaping it through a weak pop-up or groundout. The battle from there is strictly a mental one. Ya, I know… Absolutely zenlike.

Should be here in a week or two, so stay tuned...

And you thought I was gassing you

2004-03-14T04:51:00.000-08:00

SHAME BITCHES, SHAME!!!!!

THE NEW ICHIRO: Ichiro, who has played in six of the first eight games, has 16 plate appearances.
Not once has he swung at a first pitch.
It's remarkable, given Ichiro's penchant for aggressive behavior at the plate, slashing at the first good thing he sees.
"Ichiro continues to be very good at taking so many pitches," Melvin said. "He could have been 1-for-3 today, but he took a walk and that got him to 1-for-2. If he keeps this up, you'll see him on base quite a bit more.
"It's a difficult thing for him to do, but he's still aggressive."
Melvin predicts once word gets around that Ichiro is laying off first pitches and taking more walks, the pitchers will respond by throwing him more strikes, trying to keep him off base.
"And that's ultimately going to give Ichiro more good pitches to hit," Melvin said.
Ichiro continues to work the count in spring games, a request made of him before camp opened. "He's been very successful being aggressive," Melvin said. "But if he starts taking pitches and getting walks, he's going to see better pitches. You don't want to walk him - he's probably the best baserunner in the league. And if pitchers realize he'll take pitches, he might have a season like his first year here."

People are starting to catch on. Ichiro is going to have a HUGE year. Just you watch.

4 walks and counting…

Bad man with an evil plan

2004-03-14T04:42:00.000-08:00

Yo… you know what? To be fair I don’t HATE Bavasi or Melvin. Yes, they are stupid. Yes, they are becoming the joke of the baseball community. But Bavasi and Melvin can’t help it that they’re dumb. Although they have NO BUSINESS being key factors on a contending baseball team, I can’t hate these men for their shortcomings. They are just puppets. The problem is greater than them. The real problem revolves around an evil man named Howard.

He’s power-hungry, he’s money-grubbing and he loves getting his ego stroked (I SMELL WHITEY!!!!!!!). He must be in control of everything within the organization at all times. And he just can’t get enough of those hollow Yesmen. Lincoln must be reaffirmed of his greatness at every corner of the Mariners’ organization; be it players(Ibanez), the manager(Melvin), or the front office(Bavasi). If Lincoln likes you he’ll hire you, if he thinks he can control you he’ll hire you. Credentials are unimportant. He doesn’t want to be challenged. He doesn’t want stars. He doesn’t want intelligent or innovative people. With talent comes personality, and that is something Lincoln just can not and will not deal with. He’s the reason Lou left to Tampa. HE has to be the dominant personality, HE has to set the blueprints, HE has to be the Seattle Mariners. This is just a business from his perspective. His main goal is to stay 'competitive' with the lowest possible payroll in order to continue milking the people of Seattle of their hard-earned money. Lincoln is not a romantic, he’s not a man out to represent the people, and his main priority certainly isn’t winning ballgames.

Let’s get this straight: I don’t hate the Yankees, and I don’t hate Steinbrenner. George does what it takes to win. He may be a power-hungry control freak, but he does everything in his power to win. He may be an asshole who sticks his nose into everyones’ business, but he’s still smart enough to stick with guys like Brian Cashman and Joe Torre. He has his biases, but when it comes down to it, he knows what’s best for the team. He hires the best people and he puts all of his money back into his team. I don’t think anybody would be complaining if “The Boss” was running things in Seattle. Hate all you want but the man is good for baseball. And the Yankees are good for baseball. Is there anything better than beating the Yankees? Would ’95 have been as sweet if we were playing the Baltimore Orioles? I don’t think so.

Ok I’m straying away from my point… Basically what I’m trying to say is that Lincoln is nothing more than a dickhead with a Sugardaddy backing him up. This is a bad bad man with selfish motives. He is the center of evil in the universe. Keep your children distant from him at all times.

Sometimes no news is a good thing

2004-03-14T04:16:00.000-08:00

It’s been a while since I’ve updated myself on some Mariner news since all it does is cause stress and a bruised forehead from excessive head bashing against my computer monitor. But sadly I can only stay away for so long until I come crawling back for more.

I just so happened to stumble on this massive heap of horse manure.

AAAAAAAAA!!!!! I should kept my head turned. Raul batting fourth??? NO NO NO NO!!! that just wont do admiral. Ibanez’ PETCOTA projection for next year is an abysmal .264/.324/.431 line. I don’t think Ibanez will do THAT bad, but DAMN!!! Do YOU want this chump batting FOURTH??? If this is really how this is going down, our cleanup hitter will be significantly worse than the Yankees #8 hitter next year!! HURRAAAAYY!!!

The justification for this move boggles my mind.

“The right-left-right breakdown will make it difficult for opposing managers to keep trotting relief specialists out there.
He hit 42 homers and drove in 193 runs the past two seasons for Kansas City, numbers that would fit well for any No. 4 hitter. Martinez's power numbers aren't as good as Ibanez's the past two seasons -- 39 homers and 157 RBIs.”
"Going lefty-righty makes the lineup more functional," said Melvin, who has been trying out a number of combinations.
"But using Ibanez fourth gives us four guys swifter than Edgar in front of him. It means our cleanup hitter will be fifth instead of fourth."

If you haven’t picked up on it already, I HATE this move. Edgar isn’t going to see a good pitch all year. You also take away Boone’s protection by moving Ibanez behind him. I mean, why would you give Boone a good pitch to hit when Ibanez is coming up to bat? Remember how bad Boone did when Edgar wasn’t around (most of 2002)??? Just leave it to Melvin to handicap our two most potent hitters.

OH SWEET JESUS THAT’S NOT ALL THOUGH!!!
Rich Aurilia batted sixth yesterday. But the plan is for Aurilia to hit second against left-handed starting pitchers, with Winn deep in the order, possibly ninth to put some speed in front of Ichiro. Beyond the fifth spot, Melvin has said he would like to have switch-hitting Scott Spiezio sixth, splitting up Martinez and John Olerud.
While this would break up the lefty-righty pattern, Melvin could pick it up again with Aurilia hitting eighth behind Olerud.
"It lines up as a pretty good order when you have two guys who have produced runs like Olerud and Aurilia hitting that far down," Melvin said.

Even Japanese managers don’t take the righty-lefty switch this serious. Shouldn’t the best hitters be in the heart of order regardless of which hand they hold their chopsticks with????
Winn batting ninth again left-handed pitching despite the fact that he has hit .314/.368/.491 against them over the past three years??? Olerud in the seven hole??? As bad of a year Olerud had, he still posted a .372OBP.

In other news Melvin is developing a crush on Santiago.

Santiago was 2-for-3. He's 8-for-15 this spring, making a case as an extra infielder. "Has he made an out yet?" Melvin joked.

Melvin has just moved into my “Top three Mariners I love to hate” list:

1. Lincoln
2. Bavasi
3. Melvin

Dum Dum Pants

2004-03-08T02:12:00.000-08:00

Oh dear.

I usually try to avoid the horror that is a Finnigan article, but when I saw the word ‘Griffey’ and the word ‘Reunion’ in the same heading I had to pinch myself to check that I wasn’t having a nightmare…

Nope. It’s been posted on the web for the past hour and it has that legitimate Finny signature. It’s for real.

“A deal could take several forms. In the most obvious scenario, the Mariners would take on all Griffey's money and give an outfielder back, probably Randy Winn.”

It’s finally happened.

This chipmunk has gone TOO FAR!!!!!

Bobby Bobby bobby… Aahhh~~ where to start..

If Griffey was available on the open market would you give him a $66.5 million contract over five years???? Are you aware that Guerrero (an elite slugger in his prime who happens to NOT be crippled and NOT 34 years old and counting) just signed with Anaheim to a similar deal??????? Wouldn’t you agree that if the Mariners were to do this they would lose some of that payroll flexibility that you always love to be preaching about?? If the Mariner’s brass is THAT desperate for a big bat, why didn’t they simply overpay for a younger, more productive, less fragile, slugging shortstop, like oh… Tejada for instance????? Besides why pay the full price to obtain Griffey when NO ONE ELSE IN BASEBALL is willing to trade for him at a $3-5million a year price cut??????? No, seriously Bobby, lay off of the crack!!

BAH!!! Tis’ hopeless. Nevermind… Just make yourself productive and nibble on some peanuts or something.

Someone please stop the insanity. If the world was just, and if Karma really existed, Bobby would return to his previous life a small mammal and Peter White would take his place on the Seattle Times.

Note: This blogger would support a Griffey deal if it was $5-7 million dollar a year over the next 5 years.

A Change Gon’ Come

2004-03-08T02:02:00.000-08:00

In his first five spring at-bats, Ichiro Suzuki has taken the first pitch in each, and been ahead in the count in all but one. Taking more pitches, working the pitch count, is something he's been asked to do more.

Hitting coach Paul Molitor, who goes into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this year, spent some time chatting with Akira Ohgi, a longtime manager in Japan. Coincidentally, Ohgi, who was Ichiro's first manager in Japan with Orix, is entering Japan's version of the Hall of Fame this year, and the two men compared notes. ...

Here's something from heraldnet.com:
Now batting third: The lineup for today's game against the Padres will feature a look that Melvin has promised: Ichiro Suzuki batting third.
"There is no reason not to take that assignment," Suzuki said through an interpreter. "I will welcome it."
Melvin said before spring training that he would experiment with different lineups, and this will be his most drastic departure from the norm. All he wants is for Suzuki to be himself.
"I'd tell him, 'Don't change your game,' " Melvin said. "He has the ability to, but I don't want him to."
Batting third isn't unfamiliar territory for Suzuki.
Lou Piniella shook up his lineup early in the 2002 season and batted him third in three games in Baltimore, and Suzuki responded with a 4-for-5 game his first time out.
"I'm sure he's up for the task," Melvin said.
Suzuki was clicking in the leadoff spot Friday with a triple in his first at-bat, plus a walk and a towering fly out to right field.
"His last time up, if it's in the middle of the season, he probably takes that pitch out of the ballpark," Melvin said. "He had three very good at-bats in basically his first start after getting just one at-bat yesterday (in the charity game against the Padres). In watching him take his at-bats right now, he seems like he's taking a few more pitches. He hasn't swung at a first pitch yet."

I know its only five AB’s. I know this is just a bunch of horse doo doo that’s piled up over the weekend. But if you’ve been keeping up-to-date with me over the past week, you’d know that the only thing holding Ichiro back from his true potential is his own mindset.

Also if you’ve read the interviews you’d see that there are some signs of change. Don’t let Ichiro fool you. He wants to bad third VERY badly. He stressed the importance of having three years in the majors before establishing yourself (even before this year). He’s been working on refining his mechanics in the offseason, and it looks like he’s taking Molitor’s advice seriously. (LOVE that Japanese-American HOF connection that’s going down with Molitor and Ohgi-san, Simply PIMPTASTIC!!)

I don’t want to come off like a Japanese groupie, but I have to get this off my chest. And I don’t want any of you bitches taking any credit!!

Here goes…

Ichiro is going to have the greatest year of his baseball career in 2004.

Mark it down.

The Real Ichiro

2004-03-05T05:26:00.000-08:00

This is pretty long interview, if you click on the link you can download the magazine and flip through the pictures.

“Three years (in the majors) was one of my biggest goals, so I have a sense of accomplishment. After three years you start coming into your own. Since this is a place where the strongest survive, you can only start asserting (or expressing yourself) yourself after you’ve established a respectable record. This isn’t only in baseball; it is the foundation of a competitive world. In my mind the cutoff point is three years. I have always thought that in order for me to be able to say something, and in order for me to be able to trigger a change, or for people to feel content with me batting third, I would have needed three years to prove myself.”

Last year when Ichiro suffered a huge slump during the second half he remembered something a veteran player told him in 1994 during his Orix Blue Wave days (he had over 200 hits that year which had never been done before).

“He pestered me the entire year. I remember him riding me all year ‘Don’t think you’ve got it all made after just one year,’ to the point where I wanted him to shut the hell up! But its something I’m greatly thankful for now. You can’t prove yourself after just one year; he taught me that that it takes a minimum of three years. At the time I thought he was annoying. But when someone criticizes you during the good times, you learn to appreciate it later on. There are plenty of people that will surround you when things are going well, there are very few people that are willing to (constructively) criticize though.”

Ichiro is the third person in history to have three straight years of 200+ hits.

“There is absolutely no way that things will start getting easier in the fourth year. I’ll have more responsibilities (as a player) and more pressure (to perform). Of course, this is something I’m looking forward to (desire). If I don’t keep the mindset of always looking forward and staying positive, I won’t be able to maintain the status quo; if I try to force a balance I will end up deteriorating. It is especially important for me to maintain my mental strength throughout the season, so I don’t breakdown physically. Some players that have been playing for over ten years start to lose the love of the game and only value it (baseball) as a way of making money. I must never lose my love of baseball. As long as I have that with me I can maintain my stamina and continue to fine-tune my mechanics.”

SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!!!!!! I’ve just realized that this is a whopping 70 pages long!! You WISH I had that much love for you bitches!!! Strictly quotes from here on…

“Just as I am a measuring stick, so is Matsui.”

“It’s not about talent, it’s all about the results.”

“Just having potential isn’t good enough. Take advice from others but make it into your own. Have your own purpose, your own ideas, and form yourself. Those that are strong have their own shape.”

“It is important to have a listening ear, but what’s even more important is how you digest that knowledge. When the results don’t come can you control your emotions? This is the key to success.”

“I don’t want to train just for self-complacency, I must understand my body.”

“American players rely on their superior athletic abilities and power. If they played with their heads a little more, there is no way I could compete with them. Players that use their heads have an endless amount of potential/possibilities. I’d like to remain as that type of a player. I hope I can have some influence on the younger players.”

“Last year I felt so much pressure and anger near the end of the year, that I felt nauseated and short of breath. Until that point I was always playing for myself, but then I started carrying too much on my shoulders. I know now that as long as I play up to my own satisfaction, the fans will be pleased with me. If I’m not having fun, the fans won’t be having fun. I understand that now. I want to hold this feeling with me for the rest of my playing days.”

“My ultimate goal is to win the World Series, but we need to win the division first.”

On earning his big contract: “I think much of it has to do with the fans wanting to come watch me. If the fans aren’t interested in you, your value as a player goes down. Of course contributing to the team is the #1 priority, but as baseball players we should do more. We need to leave a positive influence on people. I think its an extremely important to have charm as an individual, not just a ballplayer.”

Give it up..

2004-03-03T09:49:00.000-08:00

For MIKE MOTHAFUKIN CAMERON!!!!!

I knew he was a great centerfielder. I knew he saved more runs last year than any other defensive player in baseball. But I had no idea how hard he worked to earn this reputation.

He has always been unselfish and you could tell he loved to just play the game. He’s one of those rare breeds of players that aren’t all about the money.

"Oakland was fiery about it," he said. "But I couldn't do that. I mean, it crossed my mind, but I said, 'You know what? I never would have felt as comfortable as possible doing that.' We love to play baseball, but some things are close to the heart."

Be honest, you don’t hate Ibanez.

You’re just suffering from Cameron-withdrawal.

Best of luck to Cammy in New York!! I hope he tears the cover off the ball, and continues to prove the Lincolns of the world that he is the defensive Houdini of his time!

I need a new angle

2004-03-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

This is probably the fifth article mentioning the homerun contest between Ichiro and Boone.

Oh wait! But this article further elaborates on the legendary one-pitch battle! Apparently before the contest, all the players in spring training immediately stopped whatever they were doing to get a glimpse of this historic spectacle!! It seems the outcome was just a fulfillment of prophecy as most new better than to put their money on Boonie. Ichiro was clearly the favorite!

Well of course you all know the outcome, but let us clear up a few things… Boone not only pounded his bat on the cage in frustration after getting his ass thoroughly waxed by Ichiro, but I think we caught him blushing. And of course how else could Ichiro respond to such a ridiculous scene then to laugh down at his defeated adversary.

Oh and that quote by Melvin? Silly us, we got it wrong the first time. “It was a battle of pride. But nobody in baseball can beat Ichiro. Even at Safeco he hits them with ease.”

I think we get the point. Ichiro is a better homerun hitter than Boone. We understand. Yes, Ichiro OWNS Boone. Sure Boone hit 96 homerun in the past three years, sure he’s been in the heart of the Mariners’ lineup for the past three years, but LOOK!! He lost to Ichiro in batting practice!!! Boone couldn’t hold Ichiro’s jockstrap!!!! ICHIRO ROCKS!!!!!!!

Please excuse me while I smash my head against the monitor.

PROPS

2004-03-01T23:07:00.000-08:00

If you want to read some material from a real writer, check out Peter over at Mariner Musings. If you haven’t already bookmarked his site, do so IMMEDIATELY bitches!!! Theres some serious quality over there. He also helped jump-start my blog by giving me a shout-out, so he gets extra props!

I’d also like to thank Chris over at At Least the Red Sox have 1918! This blog is one of my favorites. They keep a unique comedic, yet realistic view on things with that dash of pessimism that we all can’t get enough of. YES Howard ‘The Duck’ Lincoln! Nice Touch. LOL

Well, I had never heard of the Morris Day in the Time, but I have to admit that their mere existence is pure comedy!! But did they just refer to themselves as the Prince and the Revolutions of Mariner Blogs??? I get the analogy but there are some problems with this. Prince is softbatch. He has womanly qualities. He frequently posed nude on some cd covers when neither sexes were curious in the first place. Don’t get me wrong! I love the man’s music. Rasberry Beret and When Dove’s Cry are two of my favorite all-time pop songs, and his legacy as a song writer is undeniable. That being said Prince is an artist in purest sense of the word, i.e., he’s completely gay.

Prince isn't the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of Sports and B. They are more like the Wu-tang Clan of the blog world. They are aggressive, brutally honest, bitter, dirty, consistently on-point, and never pull punches. Well.. that is, asides for their tendency to overuse the word “frick”. I can safely say that I loathe this word more than any other word not in the English dictionary. I have a dedicated Christian friend that replaces the Big Four Letter Words with this word “frick”, and it’s a true test of my patience. “I forgot my homework!! Frick~” or “Aw man~ that frickin pisses me off~”. Seriously.. if he wasn’t such a nice guy, I’d immediately slap him any time he attempted to utter the word. Still, I forgive Sports and B since they helped me jump start this blog. Besides, I think I understand why they are censoring themselves… Sports and B is for the children!!

Ichiro

2004-03-01T22:59:00.000-08:00

It’s not much, but check it out.
Ichiro’s obsession with hits still lives large.

Interviewer: How’s your condition?

Ichiro: It’s the same. I’ve done all I can do in Japan. Now it’s just time to see how I can fit that into a game situation.

Interviewer: Will you accept the offer to go in the (Japanese) Hall of Fame?

Ichiro: Of course. I see no reason to decline. It's an honor. When I became a professional player I never thought I’d reach 2000 hits.

Interviewer: This year Shinjo is returning to Nipon Ham, and he’s been the center of attention..

Ichiro: Well I don’t know much about him since he was in the other league, but I think Sasaki should be the main attraction. The numbers he put up aren’t even close, and he should be by far the best among returning (Japanese) players. Sasaki’s forkball will be a huge threat (for hitters), especially when you take into consideration the fact that Japanese baseballs create have more friction (rougher). Baseballs over here are more slippery so the drop is completely different.

Interviewer: Suppose you were to return to Japan. Do you think your experience in the majors would benefit you?

Ichiro: When your in Japan you always have the support of others. Plenty of people are willing to comfort you and give you advice. But over here you have to do everything by yourself. People are still willing to support you, but you still feel a great deal of isolation. You learn to develop the strength to overcome the hard times by yourself.

Interviewer: It gives you a new appreciation for Nomo.

Ichiro: He has thick skin. What I think is most amazing about Nomo is that he was once told he wasn’t good enough. He was actually sent down to the minors and worked himself back up.

Interviewer: This year 60 hits will be your first goal.

Ichiro: That’s true. When you set short-term goals, it makes it easier. If you set your goal too far into the future and end up coming short, you’re stricken with a sense of frustration/failure.

Good Ol' Howard and Bill

2004-02-29T21:59:00.000-08:00

Say what you will about the Mariners' brass, but DAMN do they know how to market their team!

"I once asked my wife, Grace, if I really was a money-grubbing, soulless leach and she said, 'Yes,' but she smiled."

HA! At least this man is self-aware!

Lincoln also provides a couple gems in a recent MLB.com interview:

"If we can provide meaningful baseball entertainment through September, or at least most of the way, I think our fans will come back."

MLB.com: Would you vote to put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame?

Lincoln: Well, I don't have a vote. Let's just say that I don't like people that lie, and leave it at that.

Earlier in the article: "Not getting into the playoffs in unacceptable and our No. 1 objective is to get into the World Series and win it."

"The proof of the pudding is that we spend every dime we can get our hands on. All of the profits ownership has made the past four years has gone back into the franchise.."

For those of you that subscribe to Baseball Prospectus: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Expecting Ibanez to have a breakout season that somehow prolongs through his mid-thirties like he's some Superhero that defies human logic, speaks volumes for the stupidity that is Mariners management. So is expecting Winn to somehow magically transform into a defensive player of Erstad's caliber. The fact that this is what its going to take to justify Ibanez’ contract, seriously scares me.

But hey, funnier things have happened.

Patience is the key

2004-02-29T21:45:00.000-08:00

In this article, Ichiro addreses the Japanese press about his upcoming season. Nothing much here. It notes that after last year, Ichiro broke Isao Harimoto's record of hitting .300 in 8 consecutive seasons. It also mentions that if Ichiro can get 200 hits this season he will be the first to do so in four consecutive major league seasons.

Personally, I'd rather have Ichiro become more patient at the plate and hit .350 with an OBP of .450 or so than having him to focus on getting 200 hits every year. For him to do this he's going to have to change his mindset. Japanese baseball is painfully primative as far as how they play the game and how they evaluate talent. OBP is simply NOT very valued, and on some "baseball analytical" sites, SLG percentages aren't even calculated. Which brings us to this article.

Here are some quotes:

Ichiro on Aurilia: "I don't know much about Aurilia, but I know he had 200 hits in 2001. (What'd I say??!!)

Ichiro on chasing the record for 4-consecutive year of 200hits or more: "If players of the new era don't break old records and exceed the 'play' of players in the past, the game isn't progressing. I think doing something that no one has done before holds a great meaning, and I think something we have to do as the new torch-bearers of the game. But for now, I won't say anything about 200(hits)."

Molitor on Ichiro: "Yesterday I talked to him about what he wants to do. If I understand what he's thinking, it'll be easier to help him. He has a phenomenal eye and his batting mechanics are excellent. We talked about the need for him to select his pitches a bit more."

Remember back in 2001 how he used to foul off balls during full counts to get a chance to get a hit??? That needs to change. I hope Molitor will be aggresive about helping Ichiro change his approach at the plate. He's probably the only hitting coach of the past three years that Ichiro has any respect for.

For more on Ichiro's obsession with 200 hits, check out this Tribnet article.

"About the time I reached 180 hits, I began feeling a pressure that was like butterflies in my stomach. I wasn't sick, but I wanted us to win and I wanted 200 hits," Ichiro said.

"As a hitter, I'd had 200 hits each of my first two seasons, and I wanted to accomplish it again. I wasn't sure it could happen, but I wanted it."

"It's a team sport, and the team must come first," said Ichiro, who had 212 hits last season. "But at the plate it's an individual game, too. If we got to the World Series and I had 190 hits, there would be people who said I'd had a bad year."

World to Ichiro: Asides from the casual fanboy, no one will hate you if you get only 190 hits this year. In fact if that meant meant 100 more walks and you had those 190 hits in 550 ABs and posted an unhumanly .344/.475/.460 line, trust me, no one with an ounce of brain power would be critisizing you of having a bad year. Its all good Ichiro. Don't focus on 200 hits, just focus on being the best hitter you can be.

Choose your pitch, the hits will come. Take what they give you, your only human.

Please son, for the good of humanity.. take a walk.

The Ichiro Insider

2004-02-29T18:57:00.002-08:00

The Japanese media is more or less littered with a bunch of Ichiro fanboys. For what its worth, I apologize on their part. You have to understand, the Japanese view of the Mariners is pretty much "Ichiro and the scrubs that follow him", so don't expect too many insightful articles to surface in the future. If you thought the Times was full of fluff pieces, you ain't seen nothing yet!!!
For good or worse I'll put my superior translating skills to use and post anything interesting from the Ichiro Board that isn't in the PI or the Times.

For those of you wondering what Ichiro did during the offseason. Look no further. Ichiro was working on hitting inside pitches during batting practice. His main objective was to be able to hit the ball well enough when a pitcher tries to jam him inside. After thirty minutes of hitting, Ichiro hit only four grounders.

Boone and Ichiro had a mini-Homerun contest yesterday. Boone challenged Ichiro to a one-swing homerun contest. Ichiro quickly blasted a shot that cleared right field, Boone responded by hitting a week grounder. Apparently Boone playfully kicked the batting cage in frustration.

Box Melvin's comment: "They weren't betting money, it was more for bragging rights. Even at Safeco, there aren't that many players that can't beat Ichiro."

Ichiro replied with a blank face: "It was nothing. I practiced over in Japan. I'm not losing to Boone."

LOL

YOROSHIKU ONEGAISHIMASU BITCHES!!!!

2004-02-29T18:38:00.000-08:00

I'd like to dedicate this blog to the many frustrated and relentlessly dedicated fans of the Mariner nation.

I speak Japanese and will provide you with some insider info on the Mariners from the Japanese media (Ichiro mostly).

You may find a drastic mix of positivity and negativity blended into my day-to-day posts, but don't worry I don't do crack!! I just happen to be a very moody character.

Email me at : tarolistic@hotmail.com if your interesting in joining in on the action. My ultimate goal is to turn this into a Sports and Bremerton style blog based strictly on Mariners' commentary.

Well that's enough about me, time for some hardcore blogging!