SB Nation User Blog: ThundaPC

Defensive Measurements are as flawed as Gold Gloves - Raul Ibanez

ThundaPC — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:21:47 -0000

Per Geoff Baker, Raul Ibanez is not that bad at defense. Really! We swear....

"I have to say a number of things,'' he said. "Number one, with sabermetrics in general, it's a statistical probability thing,'' he said. "And the way they come up with the defensive measurements, or ratings, is flawed. It's as flawed as the Gold Gloves. One of the reasons is, they don't consider things like ballpark factors, defensive positioning or allignement for certain hitters.''

.......

He also feels that some of the people looking at the numbers have already figured him a below average defender in their minds and discount anything good that he does.

"Some of those biases that are pre-determined biases come into that mindset,'' he said. "Those are things that I'm going to have to continue to battle throughout my career. But if you go around the game, and you ask the players, you ask quality major league scouts, you ask managers, they'll tell you I'm the type of player they want on their team.''

Obviously, the Phillies thought enough of Ibanez's outfield defense to make him an everyday fielder and pay big bucks for it.

"And if you look at the list of teams bidding for me, the ones that were the most serious tended to be in the National League,'' he said. "They didn't seem to have a problem with me playing the field.''

Yea, yea, I know....what do you expect him to say? Still, kudos to Geoff Baker for getting Ibanez to talk about his defense. Also mentioned is that Raul has a friend in Kansas City who is deeply into sabermetrics.

Wonder if we can get Raul to see those GIFs?

Soooo.....he was too fat?

ThundaPC — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:16:05 -0000

Larry LaRue with "Silva needs to carry his weight, but first he needs to lose it"

Silva was ‘El Buffalo’ in spring training. By the end of the year, the coaching staff was calling him ‘The Rhino.’ It wasn’t with affection.

One year into their contract, however, the Mariners sent Silva home to Minnesota this winter with a nutrition guide, a workout regimen and an order: get in shape. That means losing weight and building muscle.

Instead of finding out who wants to "knock out Ichiro" maybe we should find out why Silva got fatter after signing his contract....

Tony Blengino and the M's new Statistical Department

ThundaPC — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:52:03 -0000

Mariners plan department devoted to statistical analysis

Geoff Baker provides some juicy new info.

The department will fall under the auspices of Tony Blengino, a longtime baseball stats analyst and a special assistant to new Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik. Details of the department's mandate and size are still to be worked out, but the move could vault the Mariners from their perceived Stone Age approach to stats to one in which they're seen as one of the game's more progressive franchises.

"We want to take all the information at our disposal and combine it with our scouting," Blengino said Friday.

........

"I'm not going to say it's a bad approach ... " Blengino said of the current consultant route. "But the idea is to have as much in-house information as you can get."

Blengino said the team has yet to contact (Mat) Olkin about reviewing his mandate for next year.

"I've always had that statistical information in addition to scouting," said Blengino, a former baseball stats writer for RotoWire, whose first job out of college was as a CPA. "It's an aspect I brought to Jack when we were in Milwaukee together. That's where my core is. That's where I started."

......

"I can't imagine there are any teams that don't pay heed to some form of statistical analysis," Blengino said. "We have to take great care to make sure we do it right."

So basically,

Jack Zduriencik = Mr. Scouting and Tony Blengino = Mr. Stathead.

How's that for a 1-2 punch?

100 Wins given away to Major League Teams

ThundaPC — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:37:56 -0000

....thanks to........

Slumpbuster Inc. Gives Away 100 Wins to Major League Teams

"We have a very good team. It's like we need to concentrate a little more. We need to do the little things. Today, maybe if I make better pitches, we win the game. Something is not working right now, but we're going to get better." Carlos Silva on April 7th, 2008

** Major League Testimonials below. For those that missed out, see what Slump-Buster Inc. could've done for you! **

(Disclaimer: The below text contains actual excerpts from Associated Press which are found at ESPN.com)

=======================1st Half=======================

- WIN #1: Texas Rangers [04/01/08]

Hamilton hit the next fastball he saw from the All-Star closer for a stunning, two-run homer in the ninth, sending Texas to a flip-flopping, 5-4 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night.

The Mariners were 75-0 last year when leading after eight innings, thanks to Putz. They are 1-1 this year in that situation, thanks to Hamilton.

"That was fun," Hamilton said, smiling.

- WIN #5: Baltimore Orioles [04/07/08]

Orioles complete first four-game sweep of Mariners since '99

Aubrey Huff homered to break an eighth-inning tie, Baltimore beat Seattle 5-4 Monday to remain atop the AL East at 5-1.

"As a team, as a whole, we're playing great baseball right now," Huff said. "I know it's early, but we just swept a pretty good team over there. So obviously we're feeling pretty good, and we just want to keep up the momentum."

"We're going to win the World Series this year," Kevin Millar said. "I told you guys that in spring training."

- WIN #9: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim [04/18/08]

Torii Hunter plays through discomfort from wreck, saves Angels with catch

"That was sweet, man," Hunter said. "You can't beat taking a home run away. That probably could have been the game-winner, so I'm pretty excited about that -- winning the game with my glove. Things started off pretty rough today and it was pretty frustrating, so I went out there and tried to take it out on them in the game."

"I haven't had an accident in 15 years. Then I come to L.A.," said Hunter, who signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Angels in November. "I tried to treat myself a couple of weeks ago, and look what happened. The air bags didn't even deploy. You know, I'm kind of disappointed that I got rear-ended in a Bentley, and they didn't deploy. I won't feel safe in that no more."

- WIN #16: Cleveland Indians [05/01/08]

Cabrera snaps slump, knocks Indians by Mariners in 11th

Cabrera broke an 0-for-14 slump with a two-out, bases-loaded single in the 11th inning to lift Cleveland over the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Thursday night.

Asdrubal Cabrera wins it with his first career walk-off hit.

"I was calm, looking for a pitch over the plate," Cabrera said through first-base coach Luis Rivera, who served as interpreter for the 22-year-old switch-hitting infielder from Venezuela. "I got a good fastball to hit."

- WIN #19: New York Yankees [05/04/08]

After getting swept at home by Detroit last week, the New York Yankees dusted themselves off and answered immediately: three easy wins over Seattle.

"We're giving away the games," Beltre said.

- WIN #30: Detroit Tigers [05/22/08]

Tigers' offense explodes past Mariners to finish sweep

"This is the type of thing that will remind us that we are a good team," Inge said. "We just need to relax and play."

"We'd been playing terrible baseball coming into this series, so it helps to get a sweep," Bonderman said. "I threw the ball pretty well, and the guys got some hits for me."

- WIN #33: New York Yankees (again) [05/25/08]

The Yankees (25-25) are at .500 for the first time since May 10.

"It's been an important little run for us," manager Joe Girardi said, "these five games to get us back to .500."

- WIN #37: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (again) [06/02/08]

Even lethargic, Ervin Santana was dominant.

Despite feeling listless and drained all night, Santana didn't show it with his pitches. The Los Angeles Angels' right-hander pitched into the eighth inning, barely missing out on a second consecutive complete game in the Angels 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.

"I did not have my best stuff tonight," Santana said. "I just felt like I had no energy. Everything, [I had] no energy."

- WIN #45: Washington Nationals (heheh, suckers!) [06/15/08]

The Nationals swept their first three-game series since last September and handed the Mariners their seventh consecutive home loss. It is the longest home losing streak for the Mariners since they lost eight straight in 1996 at the Kingdome.

"This is way bigger than I thought my first home run would ever be," said Casto, who grew up a Mariners fan. "It's a great feeling. The sweep's a bigger deal for us, playing well on the road and getting three from these guys."

The Nationals, who have won three straight games for the first time since a four-game winning streak April 27 to May 1, took a 1-0 lead in the first on a ground-out RBI by Flores.

- WIN #51: Toronto Blue Jays [06/30/08]

Halladay holds Mariners to four hits, throws 10th career shutout

The performance was a quick turnaround for Halladay, who was battered for nine hits and a season-high five earned runs against Cincinnati last week. During his side session between starts, Halladay worked on his mechanics and found a groove with his pitches.

It carried over into Monday.

"We did a few things mechanically and I felt good with it and I felt a little more together," Halladay said. "Before I was kind of scrambling for those things."

Halladay knew it was going to be a good night when he was warming up in the bullpen. Manager Cito Gaston turned to his coaches in the early innings and stated that maybe just one run would be enough on this night.

- WIN #57: Kansas City Royals [07/11/08]

Luke Hochevar called it the best outing of his young career. He had to be at his best to beat Felix Hernandez.

"You could say the light came on with my approach and my pitch-ability tonight," Hochevar said.

"After a couple of rough outings, the way you get your confidence back, the way you get back on the saddle is by trusting your talent," Hochevar said. "I trusted my stuff. I was aggressive in the strike zone. I think my main adjustment was pitching to both sides of the plate and moving the ball around, not staying in one location, like I did my previous start.

"The thing I'm more pleased with is the adjustment I made and what I learned from the adjustment I made. It proves to be priceless in my process of getting better every day."

- WIN #58: Kansas City Royals (again) [07/12/08]

Mark Grudzielanek's milestone hit was a faded memory by the time David DeJesus did what no Royals player had done in more than three years.

"I kind of fist-pumped a little too early," DeJesus said. "I saw Ichiro [Suzuki] go back to the wall and I was like, 'oh geez, its not going to leave.' Then it went out and I was like, all right."

DeJesus' game-ending homer was the first by a Royal since Alberto Castillo on April 19, 2005, against Cleveland.

"That was my first ever walk-off hit of any kind at any level," DeJesus said. "Once I got in there the guys were punching and banging the heck out of me. It was fun seeing all those guys around home plate. It was pretty cool."

Left-hander Horacio Ramirez (1-0), who was with the Mariners last year, pitched 2 1-3 perfect innings of relief for the win.

=======================2nd Half=======================

- WIN #60: Cleveland Indians (again) [07/20/08]

Cliff Lee left something behind in New York during a chaotic All-Star trip: command of his fastball.

So what? He still has a nasty curve and a few other outstanding off-speed pitches.

"Surprise, surprise! It's The General Cliff Lee!" fellow Indians All-Star Grady Sizemore announced in a mock Southern accent, "Dukes of Hazard" style.

He also became the first Indians pitcher to yield at least 11 hits in a complete-game win since Charles Nagy, who gave up 13 against Baltimore on June 17, 1992, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"I was missing with my fastball quite a bit over the plate today," Lee said. "Whatever. I'll take that outing every time."

- WIN #63: Boston Red Sox [07/23/08]

Can't win on the road. Top sluggers are out. Soaring Yankees are next.

Come visit Seattle, everyone's cure-all.

The Red Sox entered the series having lost eight of 11 on the road, leaving manager Terry Francona to say he was perplexed. They flew home for the latest showdown with New York after their first three-game sweep on the road this season.

"Since I've been with the Red Sox, we don't play well in Seattle. So this was a big series for us," Lowell said.

- WIN #68: Baltimore Orioles (again) [08/01/08]

Garrett Olson tried something new Friday night, wearing a titanium-laced necklace for the first time.

He's planning on wearing it again after this outing.

Olson, making his 26th career start and first against Seattle, had never gone longer than seven innings before Baltimore's seventh win in eight games against the Mariners.

Olson's effort came after an afternoon trip to a vendor in downtown Seattle that sells the titanium necklaces that have become popular in professional sports. The manufacturer claims it helps improve circulation and reduces stress on muscles.

- WIN #73: Tampa Bay Rays [08/10/08]

Add another achievement to the Tampa Bay Rays' remarkable season: the return of outfielder Rocco Baldelli.

Oh, and that franchise-record 71st victory was pretty significant too.

"I've said it before, there were times I didn't know if I was going to be playing anymore. I honestly didn't know," Baldelli said after going 1-for-4. "There were some scary times too. Those are all behind me now, hopefully. I came out of it feeling good and I'm just really, really happy now."

- WIN #77: Minnesota Twins [08/17/08]

This is why the Minnesota Twins were willing to give Joe Nathan so much money. Their choice not to trade him has proven to be prescient -- and particularly beneficial for this pennant race.

Earning his 33rd save with four pressure-filled outs against the free-swinging Seattle Mariners, Nathan helped the Twins hang on for a too-close-for-comfort 11-8 victory and a three-game sweep by leaving the bases loaded in the eighth and the ninth.

"Wow! I grew a beard there in that game," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said, having a hard time believing his team had swept the series.

- WIN #79: Chicago White Sox [08/19/08]

Richard gets 1st career win as ChiSox hold on to one-game Central lead

He was 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA in three starts in his first callup, but he's looking like a different pitcher this time. He threw a scoreless inning of relief at Oakland on Sunday after being recalled two days earlier and dominated the miserable Mariners.

"We were hitting the ball good, but he was making pitches, too," Miguel Cairo said. "He pitched good."

- WIN #81: Oakland Athletics [08/21/08]

Greg Smith and Brad Ziegler are rookies, yet they are already in step with the rest of the American League.

They love facing the Seattle Mariners.

Smith (6-12), one of the 10 rookies on Oakland's current roster, is 1-0 with 12 scoreless innings in two starts against the Mariners. He's 5-12 with a 4.08 ERA against everyone else. He had six consecutive losses from June 30.

"I can't put my finger on it. If I could, I'd patent it," the 24-year-old said of his mini-mastery of the Mariners. "Maybe it's a lineup thing."

Yeah, maybe.

- WIN #85: Texas Rangers (again) [09/03/08]

Nippert pitched seven innings to win as a starter for the first time in nearly three years, and the Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners for only their third 1-0 victory in 15 seasons at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Considering that Texas starters entered with the majors' second-highest ERA (5.33), and that Nippert had allowed 10 runs over 9 1/3 innings in losing his first two starts in place of injured Vicente Padilla, it was certainly an unexpected outcome.

It was the first 1-0 victory for Texas at home since beating Toronto on Aug. 25, 2000.

- WIN #90: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (yet again) [09/13/08]

K-Rod bests Thigpen, sets record for saves in a season with 58

"I knew it was going to be a really special moment, the way the fans cheered for me when I was coming in. It was amazing," Rodriguez said. "I haven't felt like this since we won the World Series."

"I felt like he was right next to me," Rodriguez said. "He's with me every day. I would give up anything to have him right next to me and enjoy this moment. But I've got to deal with it.

"I know he's happy and proud of me right now."

- WIN #95: Kansas City Royals (yet again) [09/18/08]

Royals complete first four-game sweep of Mariners in 19 years

Kansas City rolled through a weak part of its schedule, putting together its best run in five years.

"The guys are having a lot of fun right now," manager Trey Hillman said. "It's an atmosphere we'd like to have around here all the time. There's just nothing better than a win. There's just no other way to say it."

- WIN #98: Oakland Athletics (again) [09/21/08]

The A's had gone 26 series since their last sweep, their longest stretch in three years.

- WIN #100: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (of course) [09/24/08]

"I'm lucky to be a part of it," Teixeira added.

Everyone's lucky to be a part of this historical achievement. We'd like to take a moment to thank all the Major League teams for coming to us for all their winning needs.

Yea, Yea, we suck. We know. Shutup.

ThundaPC — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:28:46 -0000

Yea, Yea, we suck. We know. Shutup.

[Schedule] Mariners' Home Opener...on April 14, 2009

ThundaPC — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:23:18 -0000

Looks like we got our 2009 schedule.

Highlights:

- Opening Series is against the Minnesota Twins for four games starting April 6th.
- We have a series against San Francisco Giants for the weekend of May 22-24. That's the only NL team we face in May. Huh?
- Our usual 6 San Diego games are all in June and within 2 weeks of each other.
- Predictably our Interleague games will be against the NL West.
- First game @NYY is June 30th.
- There are 4 straight Monday off-days in September.
- Games vs. The Rays: April, August, September.

Yeah, so...we're not losing 100 games this season.

ThundaPC — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:53:03 -0000

Just took 2 of 3 from the Yankees, the only team left on the schedule that's "fighting" for a playoff spot.

Only 20 games left in the season. Only 7 wins are needed to avoid losing 100 games....or 14 losses to clinch 100 loss season. The rest of the schedule sees the following:

Texas (2 games): Probably the most legitimate competitor, but still only 2 more games and they're worst than the Yankees.

LAnaheim (8 games): You'd think we would have a tough time against this team but they're going to clinch the division by the time they reach us, which means they're going to spend more time keeping their players as healthy as possible than anything.

Kansas City (4 games): 18-28 since the All-Star Break. They kinda suck.

Oakland (6 games): 14-33 since the All-Star Break (worst in the majors). Boy, they really suck.

Pretty good schedule for winning, crappy schedule for losing. If that's not enough:

1) More starts by the potential new 1-2 punch in Felix and Morrow.
2) More starts by competent back-end rotation starters in RRS, Feierabend.
3) Limited starts by the Trio of Sucktitude in Silva, Washburn, and Batista due to injuries/suckage.
4) Beltre's luck progressing to the mean.
5) Raul's still flipping out.

Hard to see less than 7 wins out of this bunch the rest of the way. The historical embarassment of losing 100-games would've been interesting but the chances of that happening are getting slimmer and slimmer.

9/6: Open Game Thread (Part 2)

ThundaPC — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 02:44:41 -0000

Wow. What a ballgame. The excitement is killing me.

Words from Jeff: "I have to go to a wedding, so I don't anticipate being around very much the rest of the weekend. Which is probably just as well, because I don't think I want anything to overwrite my memory of yesterday any time soon. Nothing against RRS, but if by some miracle it were declared that the season ended this morning, I wouldn't complain."

Rowland-Smith is doing okay. Valbuena (2B) just made a sweet play to save the inning. Yuni just lucked his way into 2nd base after being caught in a rundown.

Armstrong says it's time to rebuild

ThundaPC — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:45:24 -0000

Dave @ USS Mariner found this little nugget in the LA Times:

I don't think the Angels have anything we can't catch up to," he said from the West's basement, "but after thinking it was going to happen this year I'm not predicting it's going to happen next year.

"It's not going to be a quick fix, because we're going to have to grind through some of these contracts we've obligated ourselves to. Our attendance is going to go down in connection with our performance, and as chief operating officer here it's my job to be fiscally and financially responsible, so you're not going to see the Mariners go out and commit high dollars to free agents. We want to get back as quickly as we can, but we want to build something that will endure. If you don't build a strong foundation in a market our size, you're going to have some volatile swings in your record."

Volatile? After winning 116 games in 2001 and establishing baseball's best record over a four-year span through 2003, "we fell off the table in 2004 and we've been trying to fight our way back," Armstrong said.

Sounds like they're going to rock & roll this offseason.

Trade Ichiro; Keep Raul Ibanez

ThundaPC — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:20:27 -0000

Welcome back, Geoff Baker....

First off, M's fans have to stop kidding themselves. This team is not going to contend in 2009. It is going to be broken up. Once you do that, Ichiro becomes replaceable. Do you really want to be on the hook for the bulk of $90 million to a mid-30s singles hitter who's no longer a sure thing to his .300 most months of every season?
Me neither.

I thought the best time to trade Ichiro was last year. The team took a chance, hoping it was going to contend moving forward. The chance didn't work out. I won't crucify them for their hope. But this is getting serious. As good as Ichiro is, it doesn't justify a non-contending team keeping him around strictly for marketing purposes.

Ichiro is not what Jason Giambi was to the Oakland A's seven years ago. He's not a guy who's going to carry his team on his back, rally the troops around him. He's a dedicated professional. But for me, not the kind of guy you spend your franchise money on. Not now. Maybe in 2001. Or in 2002. But today, in 2008, we've seen the best of what Ichiro has to offer. And it is not enough for this team.

You want a guy who can hit and bring some leadership intangibles to the table? For a reasonable price? The M's already have one in Raul Ibanez. He's not going to carry this team on his back either, but he can do some good -- on and off the field -- at a more manageable price than Ichiro can. As a DH next season. Or even a first baseman. Preferably as a DH.

There's that guy who though trading Adam Jones for a veteran relief pitcher for the 2007 stretch-run was a good idea again.