Home Opening Series

[Bulltalk]

I must say, the Mariners do this ceremonial stuff well.

That is all for now.

[Bulltalk]

We're starting to look like the last two years. Always one hit away from doing any kind of damage.

[Sweezo]

They keep hitting balls hard but they're just foul or don't carry because 'hey, Safeco' or they hit the ground and roll into Cespedes glove. Frustrating.

[Bulltalk]

I have faith in these players coming to the plate:

--Ichiro
--Seager
--Ackley
--Montero

I have almost no faith in anyone else.

I'm fading fast on Figgens again at the plate, Olivo is Olivo, Ryan is Ryan, getting concerned about Smoak, Saunders is going to have to show me more soon, very soon. When Carp returns, I think we're going to have to consider benching Figgens to get more pop in the lineup.

You gotta feel for Felix. No, he wasn't real sharp tonight; but he battled his way through 7 innings and only gave up 2 runs. I'll take that every day of the week, and twice on Sundays. Precisely zero run support. What's new? Ugh!

[Sweezo]

Saunders is going to have to show me more soon, very soon.

Saunders has been one of a handful of players who's hit the ball with any authority. If that long flyball was just a couple feet over he has a pretty impressive home run and his line looks a whole lot better. And I think he was robbed of a double or two in Texas. He's so close to being a productive everyday player...

I too am tiring of Smoak. He sported a .226/.313/.382 career line entering tonight...over 920 plate appearances. Sure he's only 25 years old but he's putting up the same disappointing stat line every year. At some point I want to see some signs of growth...where's the power? Where's the ability to hit something other that a weakly hit groundball to a corner infielder? He's not going to be the second coming of Pujols, but would a .275 BA and 25 HR be out of the question? Maybe Rich Poythress will turn it on in AA this year and earn another promotion...

Figgins? Disappointing results tonight, but he saw 25 pitches over 4 at bats. He's about the only guy on the roster who's regularly working counts right now. His defense in LF has been pretty good [with the exception of a bobble charging a ball tonight]. Also, that GIDP came on a damn good pitch...I was surprised he even made contact.

Who hasn't been working counts? Ackley. He's turned into a hackmaster this year, flailing at pitches out of the zone that he used to take. I don't think there's a player that's disappointed me more so far this season. If this is the product of a coach urging a more aggressive approach at the plate, then that coach needs to be fired and banned from the game. Some things don't need to be tinkered with.

Olivo needs to take a seat. There's no reason to play him; the combination of bad plate discipline, minimal contact rates, and inability to keep pitches in front of him behind the plate is cringe worthy. Jaso was more productive in one game than Olivo's been all year, and Montero looked better behind the plate because he can actually keep a ball from getting passed him. I can live with Montero's issues throwing baserunners out...

As for Carp? He looked terrible in the spring. I think he needs to stay in AAA as long as possible until he hits his way back to Seattle if the plan is to push him into the OF. But if the team wants to stick him at DH and put Montero behind the plate? By all means...

[TTown]

our home openers have sucked the last few years.

[TTown]

rapid fire opinions:

i said i'd give figgins april to prove he's not finished, and i'll stand by that. batting average isn't awful. i'd like for that OBP to rise considerably. walk more, fella.

i guess i don't understand why olivo plays. he can't hit, he can't get on base, and he can't defend his position. we have two younger catchers, one of whom may or may not be the future at the position for us, who aren't playing catcher right now. didn't olivo sign a two year deal, this being the final year? isn't he turning 35 this year? what single reason is there to play him? what part of his zero production + inability to fit into our long term plans does wedge find so appealing?

what's up with casper wells? olivo has racked up nearly 40 ab's, casper has 4?

smoak's slow start is disappointing. i'm willing to give him the year, unlike, say, figgins, to show what he's got, but .194 through 9 games isn't what you wanted to see.

i thought felix looked bored last year. i still think that this year. then again, he's started against the a's three times.

power isn't everything, but damn, would it be nice to have. every single one of our stinking runs is a chore to produce. story of the season... again!

[Slats]

Jesus has arrived!

[Sweezo]

So far, so good for Noesi. He's working in the mid-90's and the results are better. Haven't started watching the game until now so I guess I'll see how his command looks.

Jesus has arrived!

Ohhhh...he just tried to throw a runner out at second base. Ha. Well...that's going to be a work in progress.

[TTown]

this was the michael pineda trade taking the a's behind the shed and having its way with them. noesi + montero for the win!

[Sweezo]

this was the michael pineda trade taking the a's behind the shed and having its way with them. noesi + montero for the win!

Noesi's performance was a breath of fresh air. We now have a two game sample size for him: One a disastrous performance at Texas, and one a masterful performance in Seattle against Oakland. Which is the better indicator of his true talent level? No idea, but I'm certainly more intrigued about him right now than I was after the Texas game. What kind of future do the M's have with a potential future starting rotation of Felix/Paxton/Hultzen/Walker/Noesi?

[TTown]

now that the euphoria of the almighty 'w' has passed, let me rant.

miguel olivo dh'd last night??

i dare any poster on this forum to come up with one legitimate reason as to why allowing that man to dh is an acceptable managerial move. i'm speechless. absolutely speechless.

big game for beavan today, imo. i thought he was excellent down in arlington.

[TTown]

mariners take the series.

beavan pitched well.

smoak went yard.

ryan hit his 13th career home run. good for him.