I was watching the Mariners-Tigers game from a bar Saturday night while we waited to get into Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, aka "Orlando Bloom duels Computer Graphics", and I saw Mike Hargrove blow his stack at the umpires and get ejected, but since the TV had no sound or closed captions, I really had no idea what the heck was going on. Apparently the team in general was having issues with plate umpire Ted Barrett, starting with him calling Ichiro out on a third strike when Ichiro was pretty sure he hit the ball. However, what Hargrove was arguing over when we started watching the game was just a called third strike on Raul Ibanez.
Anyway, Roberto Petagine had an at-bat in the ninth inning, and I was actually commenting to my friends about how amazing it was to see him getting an at-bat, and it was a shame that he pretty much only saw action in situations like this, etc. Then I come home and see that Petagine has been DFA'ed.
What?
Oh yeah, and we called up a catcher from AA to take Johjima's place while Johjima flies back to Japan for a few days to see his wife and his new son. I guess it's great for Johjima, but this roster move makes no sense to me.
Today, despite wearing throw-back uniforms of the Seattle Pilots -- a team that embodied Seattle futility -- the team managed to scrape out at 3-2 win at the hands of Gil Meche, prompting Dave of USSM to write another "Gil Meche is smoke and mirrors" sort of article, which presents some interesting facts, but at the same time, I've always kind of liked Meche and would like to see him do well.
Unfortunately, I was getting killed at softball this afternoon instead of watching the Mariners, so I'm really glad there are some photos of the Pilots uniforms up on Yahoo. In particular, I like the ones of Ichiro and of Meche. I dig the high socks and the funky old hats.
The Seattle Times also has a funny article reminiscing about the Seattle Pilots.
Now we embark on a three-day break for the All-Star Game and all the associated fun. Tomorrow, of course, the festivities start with the Home Run Derby. I don't really care that much about the Derby, to be honest, but I'm rooting for David Wright or Ryan Howard to win it, if I have to choose someone. Also, the Phillies are worried about Ryan Howard screwing up his swing like Abreu supposedly did after his amazing performance in the Derby last year. However, to me, the most interesting part of the derby is that Ria Cortesio -- apparently the only female umpire in professional baseball right now -- will be working at the Derby. That's pretty cool; ever since reading Pam Postema's biography last year I've been hoping to see a female umpire reach the bigs someday. This isn't quite it, of course, but it's another good progression.
In theory, if I wasn't a complete slacker, I would have prepared the All-Cute Team to coincide with the All-Star Team this year, but it didn't really occur to me until right now that it's a good idea, so I guess it'll end up rearing its not-so-ugly head sometime in late August most likely.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Game Report: Mariners vs. Tigers - Lowe and Outside
I got to go to tonight's game with Paul from Nice Guys Finish Third and a friend of his. That was pretty cool. Paul is every bit as awesome in person as he is on his blog.
What was uncool was that it was apparently "Girls Night Out", which I wasn't actually aware of until we went in the gates and they handed me a pastel blue Mariners visor and didn't hand one to Paul or Mark. Then, through the course of the game, we were subjected to a whole ton of girly crap. First, a female announcer, which in itself isn't bad, but this one wasn't particularly inspiring, and it just felt weird to me since I think every M's game I've ever been to has had the same announcer. Second, there were these makeup tables at the stadium, with Mary Kay consultants (I think) and manicurists and stuff. DURING THE FREAKING GAME. It's like, "OMG! I think I'll go to Safeco to get a manicure!" Third, there was this "Mariners Makeover" intra-inning thing that they were showing in several installments -- a housewife with seven kids had won a contest for a makeover. So they took her shopping at the team store and picked out some new clothes for her, and took her to a spa, and she got her nails and hair and makeup done, and eventually they showed her at the game in the 7th inning being escorted around by the Mariner Moose, at which point Paul quipped, "She went through that entire thing just to get hit on by a moose?"
Honestly, I feel embarrassed to be female.
And don't even get me started on pink baseball caps.
To be fair, though, the last time I went through a makeover was probably around the same time Terry Mulholland pitched a no-hitter for the Phillies, so maybe I'm just missing out. Who knows.
Short version: Jeremy Bonderman totally owned the Mariners for the first eight innings, limiting them to three hits and no runs, and only in the ninth inning did they finally break up the shutout. The Tigers, on the other hand, got off to a good start and kept adding to their score, little by little. Curtis Granderson walked to lead off the game and scored on an Ordonez single after stealing second. Ordonez himself narrowly missed scoring in the 4th inning when Ichiro thwarted a sac fly attempt by firing the ball home in time. In the fifth, Chris Shelton scored a run after singling and stealing and being sacrificed home, and Craig Monroe hit a huge solo homer in the 7th. The game was at least semi-close up to then at 3-0, but Pineiro fell apart in the 8th. Polanco singled, Pudge Rodriguez singled, and Carlos Freaking Guillen doubled home Polanco; Mateo came out to pitch, but Marcus Thames doubled home Pudge and Guillen. Mark Lowe made his major-league debut for the Mariners having been called up from AA San Antonio this morning, and he had a fun time out there, loading the bases and then coming out of it without letting a run score. As mentioned, the Mariners pushed ahead one run in the 9th with a few singles off a tiring Jeremy Bonderman, so Joel Zumaya came out and showed me that his Coliseum radar readings weren't a fluke as he downed Richie and the game ended with the Mariners losing 6-1.
Honestly, what more do I need to add to that? Let's see.
First off. Mark Lowe was probably the highlight of the game (and I see that mlb.com agrees with me). In the late afternoon I made a comment to the "Lowe up" thread on Lookout Landing basically saying, "Hey, maybe it'll be a blowout so we'll see him pitch." (Un?) fortunately, there was a blowout, so we got to see him pitch. I was excited for him, since you could see him pacing back and forth in the bullpen from about the sixth inning onwards, as if he was like "I can't believe it! I'm in the big leagues! Gee, I want to go out there and pitch!" As described in the mlb.com article, he did go out there and inadvertantly load the bases, though it was all close defensive calls. Shelton's hit up the middle could have theoretically been gotten by Lopez or Betancourt. Inge's ground rule double might have been caught by Jeremy Reed if he was there instead of Shin-soo Choo. Granderson... okay, Granderson got hit by a pitch. After throwing 10 pitches, Mark Lowe had been thrown into the fire.
But what did he do? He struck out Placido Polanco, fielded a Pudge Rodriguez grounder back to the mound and got the force-out at home, and then struck out Magglio Ordonez on a change-up... and then ran into the dugout for the end of the inning and high-fived everyone in sight.
I honestly hadn't paid that much attention to Lowe before tonight, so it was really a pleasant surprise. It's exciting to see a new kid get called up like that, and the entire stadium really was up cheering him on. The first pitch he threw was a strike, and everyone was cheering, and it mostly didn't stop for the entire inning. Even if he gets sent down in a few days, it's got to be exciting to know that he came up and struck out two of the most potent hitters on what's arguably the best team in baseball right now.
Besides Lowe, I'm not sure what I feel like talking about. Craig Monroe's homer was CRUSHED. It went into the left field bleachers, completely skipping over the bullpen. They only called it 399 feet, but still.
Joel Zumaya defies radar guns. I was really interested in seeing whether his 101-103 readings in Oakland were a fluke, but no, he threw four pitches to Richie Sexson, and two were clocked at 99 and two at 100. Wow.
Shin-soo Choo is no Jeremy Reed, but 80% of the time he's adequate enough in center field. It's a little weird to see the way he reacts to the ball at first, almost like he's crouching down to track it and then gets a move on. There were definitely a few plays where a fielder with better range might have gotten to them, but all things considered, Choo wasn't really a liability out there.
Curtis Granderson's got some serious speed too. Though he was vaguely responsible for Carl Everett's "triple" in the 2nd inning, he was also responsible for a spectacular running catch of a Johjima almost-homer in the 8th. I blame the high socks.
Brandon Inge and Chris Shelton also had a high-socks great play in the 4th when Inge snagged a Beltre grounder along the line and in one swift motion fired it to first base. His aim was slightly off, but Shelton somehow managed to lean back into the catch without letting his foot off the bag.
And the real key to the Tigers, by the way, is that manager Jim Leyland also wears high socks. This is why the team is going to go far.
In the 9th inning, there were two outs with runners at first and second and Ibanez was up. He worked his way into a 2-2 count, and I was like, "Okay, Raul, just one more swing of the bat and Jeremy Bonderman can have his complete-game shutout. How do you feel about that?" He immediately singled to center to bring home the Mariners lone run.
Anyway, I need to get to sleep. It was a fun game, and good company. Hopefully I'll get down to Portland one of these days to hang out at a Beavers game with Paul.
And congrats to Conor Glassey, who is getting married today!
What was uncool was that it was apparently "Girls Night Out", which I wasn't actually aware of until we went in the gates and they handed me a pastel blue Mariners visor and didn't hand one to Paul or Mark. Then, through the course of the game, we were subjected to a whole ton of girly crap. First, a female announcer, which in itself isn't bad, but this one wasn't particularly inspiring, and it just felt weird to me since I think every M's game I've ever been to has had the same announcer. Second, there were these makeup tables at the stadium, with Mary Kay consultants (I think) and manicurists and stuff. DURING THE FREAKING GAME. It's like, "OMG! I think I'll go to Safeco to get a manicure!" Third, there was this "Mariners Makeover" intra-inning thing that they were showing in several installments -- a housewife with seven kids had won a contest for a makeover. So they took her shopping at the team store and picked out some new clothes for her, and took her to a spa, and she got her nails and hair and makeup done, and eventually they showed her at the game in the 7th inning being escorted around by the Mariner Moose, at which point Paul quipped, "She went through that entire thing just to get hit on by a moose?"
Honestly, I feel embarrassed to be female.
And don't even get me started on pink baseball caps.
To be fair, though, the last time I went through a makeover was probably around the same time Terry Mulholland pitched a no-hitter for the Phillies, so maybe I'm just missing out. Who knows.
Short version: Jeremy Bonderman totally owned the Mariners for the first eight innings, limiting them to three hits and no runs, and only in the ninth inning did they finally break up the shutout. The Tigers, on the other hand, got off to a good start and kept adding to their score, little by little. Curtis Granderson walked to lead off the game and scored on an Ordonez single after stealing second. Ordonez himself narrowly missed scoring in the 4th inning when Ichiro thwarted a sac fly attempt by firing the ball home in time. In the fifth, Chris Shelton scored a run after singling and stealing and being sacrificed home, and Craig Monroe hit a huge solo homer in the 7th. The game was at least semi-close up to then at 3-0, but Pineiro fell apart in the 8th. Polanco singled, Pudge Rodriguez singled, and Carlos Freaking Guillen doubled home Polanco; Mateo came out to pitch, but Marcus Thames doubled home Pudge and Guillen. Mark Lowe made his major-league debut for the Mariners having been called up from AA San Antonio this morning, and he had a fun time out there, loading the bases and then coming out of it without letting a run score. As mentioned, the Mariners pushed ahead one run in the 9th with a few singles off a tiring Jeremy Bonderman, so Joel Zumaya came out and showed me that his Coliseum radar readings weren't a fluke as he downed Richie and the game ended with the Mariners losing 6-1.
Honestly, what more do I need to add to that? Let's see.
First off. Mark Lowe was probably the highlight of the game (and I see that mlb.com agrees with me). In the late afternoon I made a comment to the "Lowe up" thread on Lookout Landing basically saying, "Hey, maybe it'll be a blowout so we'll see him pitch." (Un?) fortunately, there was a blowout, so we got to see him pitch. I was excited for him, since you could see him pacing back and forth in the bullpen from about the sixth inning onwards, as if he was like "I can't believe it! I'm in the big leagues! Gee, I want to go out there and pitch!" As described in the mlb.com article, he did go out there and inadvertantly load the bases, though it was all close defensive calls. Shelton's hit up the middle could have theoretically been gotten by Lopez or Betancourt. Inge's ground rule double might have been caught by Jeremy Reed if he was there instead of Shin-soo Choo. Granderson... okay, Granderson got hit by a pitch. After throwing 10 pitches, Mark Lowe had been thrown into the fire.
But what did he do? He struck out Placido Polanco, fielded a Pudge Rodriguez grounder back to the mound and got the force-out at home, and then struck out Magglio Ordonez on a change-up... and then ran into the dugout for the end of the inning and high-fived everyone in sight.
I honestly hadn't paid that much attention to Lowe before tonight, so it was really a pleasant surprise. It's exciting to see a new kid get called up like that, and the entire stadium really was up cheering him on. The first pitch he threw was a strike, and everyone was cheering, and it mostly didn't stop for the entire inning. Even if he gets sent down in a few days, it's got to be exciting to know that he came up and struck out two of the most potent hitters on what's arguably the best team in baseball right now.
Besides Lowe, I'm not sure what I feel like talking about. Craig Monroe's homer was CRUSHED. It went into the left field bleachers, completely skipping over the bullpen. They only called it 399 feet, but still.
Joel Zumaya defies radar guns. I was really interested in seeing whether his 101-103 readings in Oakland were a fluke, but no, he threw four pitches to Richie Sexson, and two were clocked at 99 and two at 100. Wow.
Shin-soo Choo is no Jeremy Reed, but 80% of the time he's adequate enough in center field. It's a little weird to see the way he reacts to the ball at first, almost like he's crouching down to track it and then gets a move on. There were definitely a few plays where a fielder with better range might have gotten to them, but all things considered, Choo wasn't really a liability out there.
Curtis Granderson's got some serious speed too. Though he was vaguely responsible for Carl Everett's "triple" in the 2nd inning, he was also responsible for a spectacular running catch of a Johjima almost-homer in the 8th. I blame the high socks.
Brandon Inge and Chris Shelton also had a high-socks great play in the 4th when Inge snagged a Beltre grounder along the line and in one swift motion fired it to first base. His aim was slightly off, but Shelton somehow managed to lean back into the catch without letting his foot off the bag.
And the real key to the Tigers, by the way, is that manager Jim Leyland also wears high socks. This is why the team is going to go far.
In the 9th inning, there were two outs with runners at first and second and Ibanez was up. He worked his way into a 2-2 count, and I was like, "Okay, Raul, just one more swing of the bat and Jeremy Bonderman can have his complete-game shutout. How do you feel about that?" He immediately singled to center to bring home the Mariners lone run.
Anyway, I need to get to sleep. It was a fun game, and good company. Hopefully I'll get down to Portland one of these days to hang out at a Beavers game with Paul.
And congrats to Conor Glassey, who is getting married today!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Friday Foto
Well, hey, just because it isn't the offseason doesn't mean I can't post one of these on an off day.
I went through my California trip pictures and resized a handful of them to put online. Yes, I'm sparing you the forty shots I took of Justin Verlander. No, I didn't get any of Nick Swisher. Yes, I really need a better camera. Just click on the army of Rich Harden clones to see the gallery.
How many Hardens does it take to light a change-up?
I'll be at tonight's Tigers-Mariners game. I have a vague fascination with Jeremy Bonderman, and he hasn't allowed more than 2 runs in a start since sometime in May. Joel Pineiro, on the other hand, hasn't allowed less than 4 runs in a start since he faced Kansas City.
Gomez said he'd run the baseball book club on Saturday since I can't make it, so if you were planning to attend, you should still do so.
I just booked plane tickets to go to Japan for the first half of September. Whee!
(morning edit: I'm still not going to say anything about the Fighters' last eleven games, but if you are in Japan, and don't tune in to today's Lions vs. Fighters game, you're really missing out. 1:30pm Japan time, Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. Tomoya Yagi.)
I went through my California trip pictures and resized a handful of them to put online. Yes, I'm sparing you the forty shots I took of Justin Verlander. No, I didn't get any of Nick Swisher. Yes, I really need a better camera. Just click on the army of Rich Harden clones to see the gallery.
How many Hardens does it take to light a change-up?
I'll be at tonight's Tigers-Mariners game. I have a vague fascination with Jeremy Bonderman, and he hasn't allowed more than 2 runs in a start since sometime in May. Joel Pineiro, on the other hand, hasn't allowed less than 4 runs in a start since he faced Kansas City.
Gomez said he'd run the baseball book club on Saturday since I can't make it, so if you were planning to attend, you should still do so.
I just booked plane tickets to go to Japan for the first half of September. Whee!
(morning edit: I'm still not going to say anything about the Fighters' last eleven games, but if you are in Japan, and don't tune in to today's Lions vs. Fighters game, you're really missing out. 1:30pm Japan time, Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. Tomoya Yagi.)
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Eddie's Gone
Eddie Guardado has been traded to Cincinnati for Travis Chick. Again, I have no idea what to say. Maybe he'll serve up less Guardingers in the NL. See USS Mariner or Lookout Landing for discussions.
And on a sadder note, and maybe not appropriate to include here but I keep forgetting to mention it: Sadaharu Oh takes time off for stomach surgery. Ganbare, Oh-kantoku.
I'd mention what the Nippon Ham Fighters have accomplished in the last two weeks but I'd undoubtedly jinx them again. At least Yagi and Takeda made the NPB All-Star team.
And on a sadder note, and maybe not appropriate to include here but I keep forgetting to mention it: Sadaharu Oh takes time off for stomach surgery. Ganbare, Oh-kantoku.
I'd mention what the Nippon Ham Fighters have accomplished in the last two weeks but I'd undoubtedly jinx them again. At least Yagi and Takeda made the NPB All-Star team.
Colon Blow
When I was a kid, back when I still watched TV, I really liked Saturday Night Live. It took me a while to realize that I didn't get some of the jokes, but I still had a lot of fun watching. My best friend and I even dressed up as Wayne and Garth for Halloween one year -- the year before the Wayne's World movie came out, even. (Before you ask: I was Garth.)
So it stands to reason that, while watching last night's "game", and despite knowing how one really pronounces Bartolo Colon's name, I was still reminded of one of the funnier commercials from the late 80's SNL stuff: Colon Blow.
[fade in on a guy in a living room watching the Twins-Royals game]
Announcer: Hold it! Are you really watching this crappy team play baseball?
Man: Sure, haven't you heard? Futility is really good for you.
Announcer: Well, there's sucky, and then there's real sucky. Try this.
[the TV suddenly changes to the Mariners-Angels game]
Man: Hmm.. Bartolo Colon. He's looking awfully fat. I hear he hasn't been pitching so great this year. Are you going to tell me the Mariners can't dent this pincushion?
Announcer: Take a guess: How many runs do you think the Mariners are going to score off Colon?
Man: Seven?
Announcer: Guess again.
Man: Five?
Announcer: A little lower.
Man: Four?
Announcer: Keep trying.
Man: Three?
Announcer: No, you'll have to do better than that.
Man: Two?
Announcer: We'll give you one more guess.
Man: One?
Announcer: Not even close. This team can't even score one freaking run off Fatty McAnaheim over there. To suck so much that you can't even beat a pitcher who hasn't won a game since last September takes such amazing depths of suckitude that you'd have to lose ninety games a year, every year for at least three years running.
Man: Wow! I think I get the picture! Colon Blow must be the most crushing defeat the team could endure at this point!
Announcer: And even better, it comes with a box of Quinlan Toast Crunch!
Man: Sweet!
Voiceover: Mariners baseball. What a blow.
So it stands to reason that, while watching last night's "game", and despite knowing how one really pronounces Bartolo Colon's name, I was still reminded of one of the funnier commercials from the late 80's SNL stuff: Colon Blow.
[fade in on a guy in a living room watching the Twins-Royals game]
Announcer: Hold it! Are you really watching this crappy team play baseball?
Man: Sure, haven't you heard? Futility is really good for you.
Announcer: Well, there's sucky, and then there's real sucky. Try this.
[the TV suddenly changes to the Mariners-Angels game]
Man: Hmm.. Bartolo Colon. He's looking awfully fat. I hear he hasn't been pitching so great this year. Are you going to tell me the Mariners can't dent this pincushion?
Announcer: Take a guess: How many runs do you think the Mariners are going to score off Colon?
Man: Seven?
Announcer: Guess again.
Man: Five?
Announcer: A little lower.
Man: Four?
Announcer: Keep trying.
Man: Three?
Announcer: No, you'll have to do better than that.
Man: Two?
Announcer: We'll give you one more guess.
Man: One?
Announcer: Not even close. This team can't even score one freaking run off Fatty McAnaheim over there. To suck so much that you can't even beat a pitcher who hasn't won a game since last September takes such amazing depths of suckitude that you'd have to lose ninety games a year, every year for at least three years running.
Man: Wow! I think I get the picture! Colon Blow must be the most crushing defeat the team could endure at this point!
Announcer: And even better, it comes with a box of Quinlan Toast Crunch!
Man: Sweet!
Voiceover: Mariners baseball. What a blow.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Game Report: Athletics vs. Tigers - Crosby, Steals, and Mash
Alright, I'm back in Seattle. I attended the A's-Tigers game this afternoon, though, which was pretty interesting.
Short version: Danny Haren and Justin Verlander were locked in a 1-1 tie for the first 7 innings of the game before giving way to their respective bullpens. Each of them had exactly one rocky inning -- for Verlander it was the first, where Kotsay led off with a single, advanced on a Thomas walk, and Payton hit a two-out RBI single. Verlander faced 20 batters in the next 6 innings. Haren didn't really have a rocky inning per se, but he gave up a solo home run to Vance Wilson in the 5th, which would have been a 2-run homer if Chris Shelton hadn't gotten himself caught stealing immediately before. Kiko Calero and Huston Street matched Joel Zumaya for two more scoreless innings, although the A's did manage 4 hits off Zumaya's 100mph heat. Ron Flores and Chad Gaudin managed the top of the 10th, and in the bottom of the 10th, against Fernando Rodney, Bobby Crosby and Frank Thomas walked, and Jay Payton singled in Crosby to immediately end the game as the A's won it, 2-1.
You know, I have to wonder whether games in Oakland are always really short, or what. My flight back home tonight was out of Oakland at 8:15pm, and the A's-Tigers game started at 2:05pm. With an average "Human Rain Delay" game in Seattle, and our generally inefficient pitching staff, I'd expect it to last at least 3 hours, but in Oakland, I was seriously worried there'd be another 2-hour game, and I'd have the choice of either spending 4 hours in the airport, or taking BART somewhere for an hour or something. Fact is, Danny Haren doesn't waste time, and neither does Justin Verlander.
Justin Verlander ponders his grip, while Magglio Ordonez assumes a new catching stance.
(Honestly, I took a bunch of warmup shots of Verlander, was looking for a good one to crop, then noticed Ordonez in the background of this one and thought it looked funny.)
Verlander's a machine, by the way. I'd never seen him throw before. He can throw 98 or 78 and it'll look exactly the same; in one inning he had Eric Chavez completely off balance and striking out on a 98 mph pitch, and immediately afterward he did the same exact thing to Frank Thomas with a 76 mph pitch.
Apparently Nick Swisher was sick today, which is why he didn't play. Get better, Swish!
Today, they asked what people would rather see highlights of - the Angels-Mariners massacre, the World Hot Dog Eating Contest, or the Germany-Italy World Cup game. Surprisingly, people chose the World Cup rather than Hot Dog Eating, though the hot dog contest was shown during a later inning anyway.
I think the reason the Tigers may win the World Series this year is that they have an abundance of guys wearing high socks on their team. Everyone knows that the real secret behind the 2005 White Sox was Joe Crede's high socks, so I think Brandon Inge has since stolen the socks and is hoarding the magic for himself. And Chris Shelton just looks like a classic first baseman in every way, from his build to his socks. Curtis Granderson also wisely wears the high socks for extra flair in the outfield.
Otherwise, it may be because Joel Zumaya is a radar-defying speed demon. His first four pitches when he came out, to Mark Ellis, were 100, 100, 103, and 99 mph, according to the radar guns at the Coliseum. That's just unreal. He kept up the velocity, too, with at least 15 of his pitches registering as being 100 mph. Yes, I'm doubting the gun, but I'm not doubting that Zumaya is a hard thrower.
The fifth inning, as I mentioned, was particularly lucky for Haren. Chris Shelton hit a clean single to center, and then he ended up getting caught stealing second, with a great shot from Kendall to Ellis. During Vance Wilson's at-bat, Haren threw a pitch that would have either been wild or a passed ball, but either way, it went to the backstop, which would have put Shelton on third, if he'd been at second, and then threw a second one that almost escaped Kendall. Then Vance Wilson hit that huge shot to left which bounced off the John Muir Health sign, right above the yellow line of the scoreboard, and the umpire made big circles with his arm, signalling that it was a home run. Had Shelton not gotten out at the point he did, it would have been 2-1 Tigers with one out at that point rather than 1-1 with two outs.
Frank Thomas, by the way, must be out to destroy a ton of bats. In the 6th inning he fouled off a ball and half of his bat on the way to a strikeout. In the eighth inning, the game was still tied 1-1 with two outs and runners on first and second. It was one of those moments everyone loves in baseball, where the entire game momentum can be decided with one swing. Thomas seemed to be timing Zumaya's heat -- I vaguely wondered whether he still had the bat speed to catch up with some of those fastballs. The count ran up to two balls and two strikes. The next ball sped across the plate, but must have been enough inside or outside to be called a ball. Then, a foul. Another foul. The noise got louder.
And then, Thomas popped up the ball and 65% of his bat into the infield. The bat didn't get to Carlos Guillen, but the ball did, and the game went tied into the 9th inning.
Me, I was personally hoping for a few more extra innings, to be honest. As I said, I brought my luggage and stuff to the game, stashing it in my friend's trunk. The break-even point on where it would not have been worth it to run back down to Fremont to get my stuff was about 5:45pm, since by the time I took BART back, I'd pretty much have to turn around immediately and head back up to the airport.
Of course, the game ended at 4:56pm. Go figure.
After the first half of the 10th, my friend was complaining he was cold -- and to be fair, we'd been sitting in the shade the entire game, where it was a bit windy and chilly, wearing jackets. We saw a few more people grab their stuff and leave the game from a few rows in front of us, so we went down there to sit in the sun for a bit to thaw. Fernando Rodney came out to pitch the bottom of the 10th, and I mentioned that he wouldn't sign my ticket when I was stalking players before the game (infact, the only player I managed to get was Kirk Saarloos), so he would obviously have a bad outing. Then I took off my jacket; I was wearing a Crosby #7 t-shirt. A bit later, Crosby walked.
"He's going to score," I said. "Why can't these guys make the game go slower for me?"
Chavez struck out, but just like in the first inning, Frank Thomas moved the runner into scoring position by taking a walk. So with Crosby on second and the Big Hurt on first, Jay Payton hit a single to right field. Magglio Ordonez ran in to charge the ball and get it on a bounce, and he fired it in to home plate, but the ball arrived about the same time Crosby did, and there was a collision at the plate and Vance Wilson dropped the ball anyway. And that was the game.
I have to admit, I really didn't fully experience the Coliseum, and I feel sort of stupid for that. I didn't really wander anywhere except the areas behind the infield on the first level. I should have probably at least checked out the eastside and westside lounges and whatnot, and maybe the bleachers. The problem is, once the game starts, I *never* leave my seat if I can help it. I also still didn't have the patience to wait for Saag's sausages -- today I got the fish'n'chips, which was actually really good, and great value for the money, so kudos to whoever on Athletics Nation recommended that to me.
And now I'm back here in Seattle. Watching fireworks from the plane as we were landing was pretty cool, though getting stuck in Fourth of July traffic trying to get home was not quite as cool. In theory, I'd like to go to the Angels game tomorrow, but I might have too much stuff to catch up on. I'm definitely stalking the Tigers again this weekend, though. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm beginning to actually believe they are as good as they seem, and such a far cry from what they were just a few short years ago.
Short version: Danny Haren and Justin Verlander were locked in a 1-1 tie for the first 7 innings of the game before giving way to their respective bullpens. Each of them had exactly one rocky inning -- for Verlander it was the first, where Kotsay led off with a single, advanced on a Thomas walk, and Payton hit a two-out RBI single. Verlander faced 20 batters in the next 6 innings. Haren didn't really have a rocky inning per se, but he gave up a solo home run to Vance Wilson in the 5th, which would have been a 2-run homer if Chris Shelton hadn't gotten himself caught stealing immediately before. Kiko Calero and Huston Street matched Joel Zumaya for two more scoreless innings, although the A's did manage 4 hits off Zumaya's 100mph heat. Ron Flores and Chad Gaudin managed the top of the 10th, and in the bottom of the 10th, against Fernando Rodney, Bobby Crosby and Frank Thomas walked, and Jay Payton singled in Crosby to immediately end the game as the A's won it, 2-1.
You know, I have to wonder whether games in Oakland are always really short, or what. My flight back home tonight was out of Oakland at 8:15pm, and the A's-Tigers game started at 2:05pm. With an average "Human Rain Delay" game in Seattle, and our generally inefficient pitching staff, I'd expect it to last at least 3 hours, but in Oakland, I was seriously worried there'd be another 2-hour game, and I'd have the choice of either spending 4 hours in the airport, or taking BART somewhere for an hour or something. Fact is, Danny Haren doesn't waste time, and neither does Justin Verlander.
Justin Verlander ponders his grip, while Magglio Ordonez assumes a new catching stance.
(Honestly, I took a bunch of warmup shots of Verlander, was looking for a good one to crop, then noticed Ordonez in the background of this one and thought it looked funny.)
Verlander's a machine, by the way. I'd never seen him throw before. He can throw 98 or 78 and it'll look exactly the same; in one inning he had Eric Chavez completely off balance and striking out on a 98 mph pitch, and immediately afterward he did the same exact thing to Frank Thomas with a 76 mph pitch.
Apparently Nick Swisher was sick today, which is why he didn't play. Get better, Swish!
Today, they asked what people would rather see highlights of - the Angels-Mariners massacre, the World Hot Dog Eating Contest, or the Germany-Italy World Cup game. Surprisingly, people chose the World Cup rather than Hot Dog Eating, though the hot dog contest was shown during a later inning anyway.
I think the reason the Tigers may win the World Series this year is that they have an abundance of guys wearing high socks on their team. Everyone knows that the real secret behind the 2005 White Sox was Joe Crede's high socks, so I think Brandon Inge has since stolen the socks and is hoarding the magic for himself. And Chris Shelton just looks like a classic first baseman in every way, from his build to his socks. Curtis Granderson also wisely wears the high socks for extra flair in the outfield.
Otherwise, it may be because Joel Zumaya is a radar-defying speed demon. His first four pitches when he came out, to Mark Ellis, were 100, 100, 103, and 99 mph, according to the radar guns at the Coliseum. That's just unreal. He kept up the velocity, too, with at least 15 of his pitches registering as being 100 mph. Yes, I'm doubting the gun, but I'm not doubting that Zumaya is a hard thrower.
The fifth inning, as I mentioned, was particularly lucky for Haren. Chris Shelton hit a clean single to center, and then he ended up getting caught stealing second, with a great shot from Kendall to Ellis. During Vance Wilson's at-bat, Haren threw a pitch that would have either been wild or a passed ball, but either way, it went to the backstop, which would have put Shelton on third, if he'd been at second, and then threw a second one that almost escaped Kendall. Then Vance Wilson hit that huge shot to left which bounced off the John Muir Health sign, right above the yellow line of the scoreboard, and the umpire made big circles with his arm, signalling that it was a home run. Had Shelton not gotten out at the point he did, it would have been 2-1 Tigers with one out at that point rather than 1-1 with two outs.
Frank Thomas, by the way, must be out to destroy a ton of bats. In the 6th inning he fouled off a ball and half of his bat on the way to a strikeout. In the eighth inning, the game was still tied 1-1 with two outs and runners on first and second. It was one of those moments everyone loves in baseball, where the entire game momentum can be decided with one swing. Thomas seemed to be timing Zumaya's heat -- I vaguely wondered whether he still had the bat speed to catch up with some of those fastballs. The count ran up to two balls and two strikes. The next ball sped across the plate, but must have been enough inside or outside to be called a ball. Then, a foul. Another foul. The noise got louder.
And then, Thomas popped up the ball and 65% of his bat into the infield. The bat didn't get to Carlos Guillen, but the ball did, and the game went tied into the 9th inning.
Me, I was personally hoping for a few more extra innings, to be honest. As I said, I brought my luggage and stuff to the game, stashing it in my friend's trunk. The break-even point on where it would not have been worth it to run back down to Fremont to get my stuff was about 5:45pm, since by the time I took BART back, I'd pretty much have to turn around immediately and head back up to the airport.
Of course, the game ended at 4:56pm. Go figure.
After the first half of the 10th, my friend was complaining he was cold -- and to be fair, we'd been sitting in the shade the entire game, where it was a bit windy and chilly, wearing jackets. We saw a few more people grab their stuff and leave the game from a few rows in front of us, so we went down there to sit in the sun for a bit to thaw. Fernando Rodney came out to pitch the bottom of the 10th, and I mentioned that he wouldn't sign my ticket when I was stalking players before the game (infact, the only player I managed to get was Kirk Saarloos), so he would obviously have a bad outing. Then I took off my jacket; I was wearing a Crosby #7 t-shirt. A bit later, Crosby walked.
"He's going to score," I said. "Why can't these guys make the game go slower for me?"
Chavez struck out, but just like in the first inning, Frank Thomas moved the runner into scoring position by taking a walk. So with Crosby on second and the Big Hurt on first, Jay Payton hit a single to right field. Magglio Ordonez ran in to charge the ball and get it on a bounce, and he fired it in to home plate, but the ball arrived about the same time Crosby did, and there was a collision at the plate and Vance Wilson dropped the ball anyway. And that was the game.
I have to admit, I really didn't fully experience the Coliseum, and I feel sort of stupid for that. I didn't really wander anywhere except the areas behind the infield on the first level. I should have probably at least checked out the eastside and westside lounges and whatnot, and maybe the bleachers. The problem is, once the game starts, I *never* leave my seat if I can help it. I also still didn't have the patience to wait for Saag's sausages -- today I got the fish'n'chips, which was actually really good, and great value for the money, so kudos to whoever on Athletics Nation recommended that to me.
And now I'm back here in Seattle. Watching fireworks from the plane as we were landing was pretty cool, though getting stuck in Fourth of July traffic trying to get home was not quite as cool. In theory, I'd like to go to the Angels game tomorrow, but I might have too much stuff to catch up on. I'm definitely stalking the Tigers again this weekend, though. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm beginning to actually believe they are as good as they seem, and such a far cry from what they were just a few short years ago.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Choo's Your Own Adventure
Jeremy Reed broke his thumb the other day, and the lucky contestant to take his place on Field of Fortune is apparently Shin-Soo Choo, who will be ducking out on the PCL All-Star game to spend time up in the Show instead.
You know, when I gleefully mentioned that Jered Weaver was ousting his big brother from the Angels pitching staff, it didn't occur to me that his next start in the majors was going to be against none other than King Felix Hernandez. Sadly, Weaver Fever hit Seattle and he burned the team down as the Mariners lost the game 7-1.
I didn't pay much attention to any baseball today, as I was watching two of my friends get married on a roller coaster in Santa Cruz. No, really. I'd say how the ceremony was, only we were all screaming too loudly after we went down the first hill to hear most of it. The cool part was, the reception was a barbecue back at the bride and groom's house, so I wore a Mariners t-shirt, making this the second straight wedding I attended where a baseball shirt was reasonable attire, although I'm not sure the last one counts, being as it was at the Metrodome. It still cracks me up when Laurel mentions wearing her "wedding jersey" to Twins games now.
You know, when I gleefully mentioned that Jered Weaver was ousting his big brother from the Angels pitching staff, it didn't occur to me that his next start in the majors was going to be against none other than King Felix Hernandez. Sadly, Weaver Fever hit Seattle and he burned the team down as the Mariners lost the game 7-1.
I didn't pay much attention to any baseball today, as I was watching two of my friends get married on a roller coaster in Santa Cruz. No, really. I'd say how the ceremony was, only we were all screaming too loudly after we went down the first hill to hear most of it. The cool part was, the reception was a barbecue back at the bride and groom's house, so I wore a Mariners t-shirt, making this the second straight wedding I attended where a baseball shirt was reasonable attire, although I'm not sure the last one counts, being as it was at the Metrodome. It still cracks me up when Laurel mentions wearing her "wedding jersey" to Twins games now.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Game Report: Athletics vs. Diamondbacks - Stuck in a Webb
Hey, so I'm in California. I haven't been paying attention to this weekend's Mariners games; all I know is that they had a great win yesterday and a stupid loss today. I send you over to Lookout Landing if you want to read some pretty funny recaps.
Me, I went down to the McAfee Coliseum today to take in the A's-Diamondbacks game. It sucked. I wore my Pirates Kendall #18 shirt, which earned me a "Hey! Look at you, you've got a shirt from when Jason Kendall could actually HIT!" from some guy in the stands.
Short version: Brandon Webb pitched a complete game, in which he basically owned the A's. Frank Thomas hit a solo home run. Byrnes scored a run in the 4th inning after walking, and things were in a 1-1 lock until the 9th inning, which Barry Zito still pitched despite having thrown 104 pitches already. Single. Double. Groundout. Intentional walk. Walk. Sac Fly. Finally, Huston, but it didn't matter as the A's lost it 3-1. Game, set, match, sweep. Mark Ellis was pretty awesome in the field, though.
It's okay, Jason. *I* know you can still hit. You don't have to glare at me.
This game was pretty frustrating for me, because I have Zito and Swisher on my fantasy team, and I think extremely highly of both of them, but Swisher has become Slumper The Elephant these last few days, and he had yet another 0-for-4 today with two strikeouts.
I was ready to cry when Zito came back out to pitch the 9th inning. Huston Street was warming up, and yet, for whatever reason, Macha left Zito out there to bake. He shouldn't have started the ninth, and if he did, he should have been pulled after that Johnson-Ellis-Zito error. If not, he definitely should have been pulled after Conor Jackson hit that low liner into the left-field corner for a double.
The only thing that's vaguely amusing about the ninth inning is that the A's won a game the other night when the Padres intentionally walked Eric Chavez, loading the bases, to get to Antonio Perez, who also walked, bringing in the go-ahead run. Today, they intentionally walked Johnny Estrada, loading the bases, to get to Shawn Green for a double play, who then... walked in the go-ahead run.
I'm not sure what was up with the home plate umpire, honestly. Maybe the sun got in his eyes. I saw him call a ball that bounced in the dirt a strike for Brandon Webb, and I also saw him call some obvious strikes balls for Barry Zito, which may explain why Zito had 5 walks and 3 strikeouts for the day. Swisher looked like he ducked back from an inside pitch that was a called third strike for him in the ninth inning.
Brandon Webb, by the way, is an insane groundball-generating machine, though I'm sure you all know that already. Byrnes and Green must have been getting pretty bored out there in the outfield -- out of 31 batters faced, 7 struck out, 15 grounded out to the infield, 4 popped out to left field, one walked, one blooped a single over Webb's head, one singled to left, one singled to right, and one was Frank Thomas's home run. In other words, only 7 balls left the infield, and only one of them was fieldable by someone besides left fielder Luis Gonzalez. Yow.
Poor Bobby Crosby. He wasn't charged with an error for it, but in the 7th inning, Luis Gonzalez hit a high fly ball to shortstop territory in left field, and as Swisher and Kotsay ran in as backups, Crosby waved them off... got ready to catch the ball... and it fell about 5 feet behind him. Oops. Maybe the sun got in his eyes too. At least he stole a base. I think he's the only A's player that ever does.
On the other hand, hot damn, Mark Ellis! He made a ton of plays where the ball would be on a low arc, looking like it was sure to land in shallow center, and Ellis would just dash back there and make the catch. One time, he even did it in a running leap. It was pretty cool.
My friend and I were having a conversation that went something like this, when Frank Thomas came up to bat in the second inning:
Me: "Whee, Frank Thomas. You know, he's available in my fantasy league."
Him: "Isn't he only able to play Util?"
Me: "Yeah, which makes him somewhat useless to me, because I'm carrying two catchers."
Him: "You should ditch one of your catchers and pick up Thomas."
Me: "Well, he does hit an awful lot of home runs. But my catchers are McCann and Mauer--"
*THWACK*
Frank Thomas chose that moment to launch a home run into the corridor near the scoreboards behind the left field wall. Everyone stood and cheered, including us.
Me: "See, didn't I just say he hits a lot of home runs?"
Him: "Uh, weren't you just saying he was useless?"
Me: "Useless to ME! TO ME!"
Bobby Crosby, who I have dropped from my team, but my friend still has on his, came up next and struck out.
Him: "Crosby! You're useless!"
Anyway, aside from the ridiculously short game, and the fact that I got sunburnt as red as Bobby Kielty's hair, I did have a good time getting to see the Oakland Coliseum for the first time. We had pretty fabulous seats a few rows back from the A's dugout, bought only an hour before the game. I got to admire Mount Davis, and see batting practice, though I wasn't able to corner any players to sign stuff, sadly. It was pretty weird seeing Bob Melvin out there. Also, the Diamondback uniforms are really stupid.
I didn't walk around that much of the stands -- saw a bunch of interesting food places right behind home plate. There was such a long line for sausages at Saag's that I ended up getting a pulled pork sandwich at a stand near that. It was really good, and only $6.
The only thing that really, really, REALLY pissed me off is that I couldn't buy a Swisher number t-shirt, because they were completely sold out.
I'll be back there on Tuesday for the Tigers-A's game, Haren vs. Verlander. Should be fun.
Me, I went down to the McAfee Coliseum today to take in the A's-Diamondbacks game. It sucked. I wore my Pirates Kendall #18 shirt, which earned me a "Hey! Look at you, you've got a shirt from when Jason Kendall could actually HIT!" from some guy in the stands.
Short version: Brandon Webb pitched a complete game, in which he basically owned the A's. Frank Thomas hit a solo home run. Byrnes scored a run in the 4th inning after walking, and things were in a 1-1 lock until the 9th inning, which Barry Zito still pitched despite having thrown 104 pitches already. Single. Double. Groundout. Intentional walk. Walk. Sac Fly. Finally, Huston, but it didn't matter as the A's lost it 3-1. Game, set, match, sweep. Mark Ellis was pretty awesome in the field, though.
It's okay, Jason. *I* know you can still hit. You don't have to glare at me.
This game was pretty frustrating for me, because I have Zito and Swisher on my fantasy team, and I think extremely highly of both of them, but Swisher has become Slumper The Elephant these last few days, and he had yet another 0-for-4 today with two strikeouts.
I was ready to cry when Zito came back out to pitch the 9th inning. Huston Street was warming up, and yet, for whatever reason, Macha left Zito out there to bake. He shouldn't have started the ninth, and if he did, he should have been pulled after that Johnson-Ellis-Zito error. If not, he definitely should have been pulled after Conor Jackson hit that low liner into the left-field corner for a double.
The only thing that's vaguely amusing about the ninth inning is that the A's won a game the other night when the Padres intentionally walked Eric Chavez, loading the bases, to get to Antonio Perez, who also walked, bringing in the go-ahead run. Today, they intentionally walked Johnny Estrada, loading the bases, to get to Shawn Green for a double play, who then... walked in the go-ahead run.
I'm not sure what was up with the home plate umpire, honestly. Maybe the sun got in his eyes. I saw him call a ball that bounced in the dirt a strike for Brandon Webb, and I also saw him call some obvious strikes balls for Barry Zito, which may explain why Zito had 5 walks and 3 strikeouts for the day. Swisher looked like he ducked back from an inside pitch that was a called third strike for him in the ninth inning.
Brandon Webb, by the way, is an insane groundball-generating machine, though I'm sure you all know that already. Byrnes and Green must have been getting pretty bored out there in the outfield -- out of 31 batters faced, 7 struck out, 15 grounded out to the infield, 4 popped out to left field, one walked, one blooped a single over Webb's head, one singled to left, one singled to right, and one was Frank Thomas's home run. In other words, only 7 balls left the infield, and only one of them was fieldable by someone besides left fielder Luis Gonzalez. Yow.
Poor Bobby Crosby. He wasn't charged with an error for it, but in the 7th inning, Luis Gonzalez hit a high fly ball to shortstop territory in left field, and as Swisher and Kotsay ran in as backups, Crosby waved them off... got ready to catch the ball... and it fell about 5 feet behind him. Oops. Maybe the sun got in his eyes too. At least he stole a base. I think he's the only A's player that ever does.
On the other hand, hot damn, Mark Ellis! He made a ton of plays where the ball would be on a low arc, looking like it was sure to land in shallow center, and Ellis would just dash back there and make the catch. One time, he even did it in a running leap. It was pretty cool.
My friend and I were having a conversation that went something like this, when Frank Thomas came up to bat in the second inning:
Me: "Whee, Frank Thomas. You know, he's available in my fantasy league."
Him: "Isn't he only able to play Util?"
Me: "Yeah, which makes him somewhat useless to me, because I'm carrying two catchers."
Him: "You should ditch one of your catchers and pick up Thomas."
Me: "Well, he does hit an awful lot of home runs. But my catchers are McCann and Mauer--"
*THWACK*
Frank Thomas chose that moment to launch a home run into the corridor near the scoreboards behind the left field wall. Everyone stood and cheered, including us.
Me: "See, didn't I just say he hits a lot of home runs?"
Him: "Uh, weren't you just saying he was useless?"
Me: "Useless to ME! TO ME!"
Bobby Crosby, who I have dropped from my team, but my friend still has on his, came up next and struck out.
Him: "Crosby! You're useless!"
Anyway, aside from the ridiculously short game, and the fact that I got sunburnt as red as Bobby Kielty's hair, I did have a good time getting to see the Oakland Coliseum for the first time. We had pretty fabulous seats a few rows back from the A's dugout, bought only an hour before the game. I got to admire Mount Davis, and see batting practice, though I wasn't able to corner any players to sign stuff, sadly. It was pretty weird seeing Bob Melvin out there. Also, the Diamondback uniforms are really stupid.
I didn't walk around that much of the stands -- saw a bunch of interesting food places right behind home plate. There was such a long line for sausages at Saag's that I ended up getting a pulled pork sandwich at a stand near that. It was really good, and only $6.
The only thing that really, really, REALLY pissed me off is that I couldn't buy a Swisher number t-shirt, because they were completely sold out.
I'll be back there on Tuesday for the Tigers-A's game, Haren vs. Verlander. Should be fun.
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