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.389 (7/18) with an OBP over .400 with a HR (!) since going Royal Rumble in the dugout. We should have started fighting each other a long time ago.

My Dad had a saying when a guy got hot all of a sudden.."trade the bum"

11/26 (.423) since the fight after a 3 hit day today.

Figgins is 20/49 (.408) with an OBP of .469 since the fight. His BA has risen from .229 to .251.

Ichiro is batting .301 during the same time span. Combined, they've posted a .392 OBP since July 24, the day Figgs returned to the line-up. The Mariners run production since? 2.6 runs per game. Our 1-2 hitters are getting on base, but the middle of this line-up is MIA. Not that this is breaking news, or anything, but it's kind of hit home even moreso now that Figgins is doing what we signed him to do and we're still unable to score runs.

Yeah. Figgs has been killing the ball. It's almost to the point now where I'm shocked if Figgins DOESN'T get a hit.

Hurts that Gutz has all but fallen off of the map completely with his bat, which is a shame. Nobody else is really worth mentioned either. We just gotta hope that Smoak and Saunders can continue to develop.

I don't see us trading and/or signing a big-time bat within the next few years.

I really couldnt care less if Figgins hits well the last two months because he wasnt there when they needed him. What is the plan there, they certainly arent waiting 2 years for Ackley to be ready to take over at 2nd. I dont see how Lopez and Figgins will both be on the opening day roster for 2011.

On a totally unrelated subject Brandon Morrow adds insult to injury with a freaking masterpiece against the Rays. Great.

Morrow has been pretty garbage this season though. Still; Brilliant performance. 17 K's is crazy.

As for Figgins; My point was more-so that it gives me hope that he can continue good hitting through to next season and just blame his early struggles on a change of scenary. We will see. I say get rid of Lopez, move Figgins to 3B, and throw Ackley out there at 2B. Smoak at 1B, Saunders in LF.

Bay_Areas_Finest wrote:Morrow has been pretty garbage this season though. Still; Brilliant performance. 17 K's is crazy.

As for Figgins; My point was more-so that it gives me hope that he can continue good hitting through to next season and just blame his early struggles on a change of scenary. We will see. I say get rid of Lopez, move Figgins to 3B, and throw Ackley out there at 2B. Smoak at 1B, Saunders in LF.

I do like your plans for next year with Smoak, Ackley.....maybe the 3rd baseman from Rice.

As for Morrow he's 9-6 which would be the best record on this team. I personally would have drafted Lincicum instead of Morrow but i can see getting rid of him is probably going to be another bonehead move.

As for Wak leaving they should have made it a package deal with Jack Z. He made one good move in bringing in Guttie the rest have been lousy.

jumanji wrote:As for Wak leaving they should have made it a package deal with Jack Z. He made one good move in bringing in Guttie the rest have been lousy.

Really? You don't think the Lee trade[s] were good? You didn't agree with the extension given to Felix? Adding Aardsma/Branyan last year for nothing were bad ideas?

Z's made some errors, but let's not get ahead of ourselves by looking at immediate results and thinking the process is a complete failure. People probably made a mistake thinking Z was the best GM in the game after one season, and it's similarly flawed to want to fire him after a followup season that was less than stellar.

For the most part, Z's added some decent pieces and his administration has drafted well. All while facing the certainties of lowered payrolls and a roster with some salary commitments he just would not have made. He deserves the chance to see this thing through...

You're probably right, the frustration level right now is pretty high. First off i thought letting go Branyan to start with wasnt a great move and now that he's back i cant get all that excited about it either. He did make a great move bringing in Guttierez and as much as i did like the Smoak deal it's sort of wait and see.

What i didnt like was thinking guys like Griffey, Bradley and Sweeney were somehow the answer, obviously they arent.

You mentioned the drafting of players. The whole world knew they were going to pick Ackley, who else can we hang our hats on?

Ackley was a no brainer, but guys like Franklin seem to be decent finds.

This season has been extremely tough, and I'd be lying if I didn't think similarly negative thoughts about Z when I saw Wak got fired. Really, this has been an atrocious year where we've been riddled with horribly awful luck.

I didn't expect to see Bradley completely tank while Silva would go on to pitch over his head in a park that wasn't NEARLY as pitcher friendly as SafeCo. Or see Kotchman hit so far below league average. Or RRS to be the worst pitcher in baseball. Or have Branyan come back and really be a non-factor. Or Figgins to stop hitting. Or Jack Wilson's defense range to fall off a cliff.

Moves like Griffey, Sweeney, etc. did seem like mistakes at the time, and for the most part the results were as expected. But even the gambles that seemed reasonable at the time just haven't paid off.

Last year we got lucky, this year we were extremely unlucky...I think Z deserved a little more time, where the pressure to "win now" isn't beating him down, to show what kind of club he can build.

Figgins slumped at the end of '09, and it carried over into this year. I'm just hoping he can finish strong this year, and carry it over to 2011. And to be honest, with Smoak demoted and Saunders hurt, tracking Figgins production right now is the only interesting thing about the Mariners on a non Felix or Vargas start.

.407 BA, .475 OBP after a 2 hit, 1 BB game yesterday

TTown wrote:Figgins slumped at the end of '09, and it carried over into this year. I'm just hoping he can finish strong this year, and carry it over to 2011. And to be honest, with Smoak demoted and Saunders hurt, tracking Figgins production right now is the only interesting thing about the Mariners on a non Felix or Vargas start.

.407 BA, .475 OBP after a 2 hit, 1 BB game yesterday

I'm sour on Figgins and i dont know it that is going to change. A lot of guys can hit when you're 20 games out, where was he when they needed him?

The most intriguing thing right now for me is the developement of the starters and probably Michael Saunders. Add to that Smoak and Ackley at Tacoma and the amateur draft next June.

I can't argue Figgins was terrible April-June, but I guess I feel that all those years of productivity with a bunch of really good Angel teams shows that he can hit when it counts. I'm very much hoping his horrible start as a Mariner was an aberration. I could be wrong.

Sweezo wrote:

jumanji wrote:As for Wak leaving they should have made it a package deal with Jack Z. He made one good move in bringing in Guttie the rest have been lousy.

Really? You don't think the Lee trade[s] were good? You didn't agree with the extension given to Felix? Adding Aardsma/Branyan last year for nothing were bad ideas?

Z's made some errors, but let's not get ahead of ourselves by looking at immediate results and thinking the process is a complete failure. People probably made a mistake thinking Z was the best GM in the game after one season, and it's similarly flawed to want to fire him after a followup season that was less than stellar.

For the most part, Z's added some decent pieces and his administration has drafted well. All while facing the certainties of lowered payrolls and a roster with some salary commitments he just would not have made. He deserves the chance to see this thing through...

All the moves that Z made looked good on paper. This is the part of the game that I want to see if he is a good GM. MAke the right moves for the future of the team, not just win now moves like we have done every year. Sadly I think this franchise is in dire need of a clean sweep.

Pretty funny how Aardsma also remembers how to pitch just as Figgins remembers how to pitch. Come on, fellas, you couldn't start this sooner?

Oh well.


EDIT: Oh yeah, and Felix is still a God.

I'm hoping the Braves, seeing the need for a 3B now that Chipper's season/career appears to be over, revisit any interest they had in Figgins. If the Braves would simply assume responsibility for the whole contract I'd call it a successful swap. If we have to eat part of the contract, however, I don't know that I see the point.

Despite his struggled Figgins does have value at the plate; if the Braves pay 3/4 of his salary...that still means we have millions of dollars we are paying that player while having to find some way to replace him.

Sure, I expect Ackley to take over at 2B sooner rather than later, but what's the plan at 3B? I'm thinking it's less and less likely by the day that Lopez' option is picked up.

Similarly, I wonder if you look at finding a taker for Jack Wilson in the offseason. He's not that expensive, but Josh Wilson seems to provide the exact same value at a fraction of the cost. There's always teams desperate for SS...surely someone can be convinced his mediocre defensive season was an aberration and that he's a worthwile gamble if he stays healthy.

They'll maybe get that future 3rd baseman in next years draft so my guess is Lopez and Figgins will be out fairly soon.

Another close one tonight, they ever hear of blowing a team out once in awhile.

Our recent non-shitty play means we only have to go 18-28 the rest of the way to avoid 100 losses. We've won two straight series and a Vargas or Felix win today or tomorrow makes it three.

A big fat 0 for 6 last night for Figgy. What is the reluctance with moving this guy? I find it hard to believe a contender wouldnt take him even if we do eat some salary.

Dustin Ackley i think has proven he can hit AAA pitching very well and there really is no reason not to get him up here on Sept 1.