OK, we need to go 60-14 the rest of the way to hit 95 wins

[TTown]

............... what?

We begin tonight @ LAA.

[Zyme]

red hot and rolling, get it going!!!

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

....Well, atleast Ichiro had a sweet double.

[Sweezo]

Looks like more of the same tonight. Although Smoak just killed a change-up into the stands in center field. If anyone missed it, that at bat was everything you need to see to be a fan of the Lee trade. What a great swing...

[TTown]

Smoak's shot was awesome. Get this man some protection.

[TTown]

Smoak's a triple away from the cycle tonight. Double and scored in the 2nd, RBI single in 4th, solo HR in the 6th.

[King_James6]

Smoak is the next Tex. Switch hitting 1B with Power

[Sweezo]

Anyone wonder at this point if Figgins can be moved in the offseason? His contract was seen as a bargain by a lot of people, and he's been so absolutely terrible I'm wondering if the team's wondering if he's someone to keep around or not. He doesn't hit, his defense is maybe average, and he has zero power.

Smoak's a triple away from the cycle tonight. Double and scored in the 2nd, RBI single in 4th, solo HR in the 6th.

The best part? All three base hits were hit with authority.

[Ex-hippie]

Anyone wonder at this point if Figgins can be moved in the offseason? His contract was seen as a bargain by a lot of people, and he's been so absolutely terrible I'm wondering if the team's wondering if he's someone to keep around or not. He doesn't hit, his defense is maybe average, and he has zero power.

I'm wondering if he has devolved into something of a super-expensive Willie Bloomquist. If nothing else, the team should hang onto Jose Lopez (always a bit unfairly maligned in my view) until they see something from Figgins.

I have no idea why it is that even moves that look like surefire winners, like the Figgins signing and the Bradley-Silva trade, so routinely blow up in this team's face. Which is why I'm tempering my enthusiasm about both Smoak and Ackley these days.

[Sweezo]

While Figgins has been a disappointment, seeing Silva get wins in Chicago has been gut-wrenching. I don't care if he's getting lucky on balls in play or not, he still has decent numbers and is getting results. Even if he comes crashing to earth HARD that half season of non-sucking is probably better than anything we'll get out of that trade.

I know Bradley is a sunk cost, but after this season the team simply can't hand him a LF/DH slot next season. He's either bench fodder or a candidate to be moved to whomever while we pay his whole damn salary.

And Figgins just bobbled a ball and took an error. What a piece of ****.

[TTown]

Figgs is owed 27 mil over the next 3 years. I think he needs to finish hot/start 2011 on fire for even the Yanks or BoSox to take on that kind of salary for an aging lead-off guy. I still say if we were looking for a hitter for that #2 hole, Z should have slightly overpaid for Johnny Damon for 2 years. Ah well. Hopefully he bounces back next year. If Smoak keeps improving/Branyan's back holds up, we could actually benefit from him getting on base in '11.

I don't get the Jose Lopez hate at all, especially all those years he was at 2nd. He's not perfect at anything he does, but he gave us .272/25/96 last year at second freaking base. What do the masses want? I wonder how much hate he'd get thrown his way if he had a Major League-caliber team around him and he didn't have to bat 4th. Bat the man at 6th or 7th on a real team or give him a bit of protection and he's a borderline All Star. At least once this series w/ LAA he had Casey Kotchman hitting behind him. Yeah, that'll get it done.

Here's my crazy idea: both these guys are .30 to .40 points off their usual BAs. Why not switch them back to their actual positions and see how going to their comfort zones helps their offense? Hell, something's going to have to be done regardless, considering Ackley's coming up the pipes real soon. You either have to trade Lopez (since I don't think Figgs is tradeable at the moment...) and put Figgens at 3rd to insert Ackley, or you have to move Figgins to 3rd and put Lopez at DH. But then he'd be sharing time with Branyan... geez. What a mess. I guess you kind of have to trade Lopez and pray the returns are worth it. Maybe we can get an actual catcher for the first time in... well, a really, really long time.

[Sweezo]

Well...I do understand the Lopez "hate," as his range at 2B was not good and he is/was a complete hacker at the plate. His batting average is hollow since a base hit is really the only way he's going to get on base. He's prone to mental lapses in the field, likes to hit pop-ups on first pitches when he needs to work a count, and certainly doesn't seem to be in the best physical condition he possibly could be. '

In short, he is what he is...basically an average 2B/3B who, if he approached the game differently, could be one of the best 2B/3B in the league. But he never will...he's a known quantity at this point.

He's also simply not a good enough hitter to be put at one of the prime offensive slots [1B/DH]. He doesn't have enough power and/or doesn't get on base enough to be at one of those positions.

As for Lopez' offense...I think he's going to hit in the second half. His numbers were awful in April/March, then got better in May, then better in June. July's still a work in progress though. The more innings he gets at 3B, the less he's probably thinking about his defense.

When I look at Lopez, I see a player who I think should be much better than he is. So watching him be simply average is just frustrating. When a player with middling talent fails to make an impact on this club, it's not as big a deal to me.

[jumanji]

I'd be ok with moving Lopez and or Figgins at the trade deadline and putting Ackley at second, the sooner the better.

[Ex-hippie]

Well...I do understand the Lopez "hate," as his range at 2B was not good and he is/was a complete hacker at the plate. His batting average is hollow since a base hit is really the only way he's going to get on base. He's prone to mental lapses in the field, likes to hit pop-ups on first pitches when he needs to work a count, and certainly doesn't seem to be in the best physical condition he possibly could be. '

In short, he is what he is...basically an average 2B/3B who, if he approached the game differently, could be one of the best 2B/3B in the league. But he never will...he's a known quantity at this point.

Even so, he produces well for what the team pays him. Well, not so far this season, but he normally does. But for the time being, he's the less bad of the team's two options at third base. If there needs to be "hate" for a player who seems like he should be better, let it go out to the guy making $36 million over the next 4 years, not the one making $6 million over the next 2 years.

[Sweezo]

If Lopez was putting up offensive numbers on par with his career average right now, I'd be thrilled. His defense at 3B has actually been pretty good [my only issues with his defense are with him at 2B], which perhaps makes sense as his range isn't great but he's got a decent throwing arm...attributes that bode well for a 3B but not a 2B.

If I had the option of putting Lopez at 3B next year [for half of Figgins' yearly salary] and Ackley at 2B, and just striking Figgin's contract from the books, I'd be pretty happy with that. Lopez' offensive numbers haven't been good, but it would seem odd that he'd take a nosedive at this point in his career. I wonder if he's just been unlucky...he's not striking out or walking any more than he has through his career, his GB/FB ratio is in line with what he's done the last two seasons at the plate. But his BaBIP and XBH% numbers are way low.

Is he just having bad luck this year? Lopez seems like he might be a decent candidate to bounce back offensively.

For the most part, I am fine with Lopez. He has a role on this team, and I wouldn't move him just for the sake of doing so. As a 3B or a trade chip, I think he is an asset on this team. But as a1B/DH/2B or bench player, I don't see him as an impact player. You could say the exact same thing for his predecessor [Beltre] or, really, any other player in the league. Some people aren't good fits at certain defense positions.

And yes, I would say I hate Chone Figgins [Note: I used quotation/hash marks when I said 'hate' for Lopez...Chone doesn't get that privilege]. If someone asked me to sum up all that's gone wrong with the M's 2010 season, all I would do is point to Chone. Whereas Lopez doesn't have the same numbers offensively, he doesn't look any different at the plate. Chone, however, looks awful up there.

[Sweezo]

And now it looks like Chone mouthed off to Wak after being benched for not paying any goddamn attention while out on the field, and Branyan tried to kill Chone. Then Lopez and Branyan got into it when Lopez was trying to play leader and stop Branyan. Awesome.

So the team sucks and now they're blowing up at each other during the game. Last year was all about the team overperforming and supposedly good chemistry in the dugout. This year, the team sucks, and the clubhouse is having issues. Go figure.

[jumanji]

This stuff usually happens when you're losing so it isnt any big surprise. This is going to be interesting because in a situation where a name player is disgruntled and your manager is not getting the job done the skipper usually is the one to go. Something tells me this time will be differant. Let's try to get rid of Figgins and get Ackley in there at 2nd (ready or not).

[TTown]

I would love, love, love, to trade Figgins, but honestly, I can't think of a single team who would take that contract on for his minimal production level. I maintain that he's going to have to start 2011 on a very, very good note in order to peak anyone's interest.

[Ex-hippie]

I would love, love, love, to trade Figgins, but honestly, I can't think of a single team who would take that contract on for his minimal production level. I maintain that he's going to have to start 2011 on a very, very good note in order to peak anyone's interest.

Which is going to be hard, if things work out ideally and Ackley is the starting second baseman while Lopez holds down third.

Ah, who am I kidding, things never work out ideally with this team. Figgins will be in that lineup somewhere.

[jumanji]

See where the Twins scored 19 runs monday night. Are the M's capable of doing that in a whole week? Where did this organization go wrong as far as hitters go?