Lookout Landing

 











AB: 543 (573)
2B: 29 (35)
3B: 2 (5)
HR: 20 (21)
HBP: 3 (3)
BB:  52 (53)
K: 98 (97)
SB: 1 (0)
CS: 1 (0)
GB%: 43 (42)

BA: .276 (.291)
OBP: .343 (.351)
SLG: .447 (.480)
IsoPa: .067 (.060)
IsoPo: .172 (.188)

The evolution of the average stathead's opinion of Raul Ibanez:

• This guy's never going to turn into anything. Good luck in KC, you nobody.
• Raul Ibanez is an underrated player. The fact that he plays for a bad team is the only reason why no one knows who he is.
• What a dumb contract. $13.25m over three years for an aging corner outfielder coming off a down season? Seattle is stupid. Raul's almost finished.
  
• Raul Ibanez is an underrated player. There aren't too many guys who're a better fit for their park. The fact that he plays for a bad team is the only reason why no one knows who he is.
• Could his defense be any worse? Unbelievable that they're still letting him take the field. What with the shoddy glovework and all, Raul's barely a passable player at this point.

So many problems would be solved if the Mariners would just make Raul their DH. I want to like him. I really do. For four years now he's done a lot of good work for us at the plate. But for me, as long as he's playing left field, he's only going to be a source of constant displeasure, the sort that I can't just turn off when we're up to bat. It's like putting a fresh taco bar on wheels in a cafeteria with a slanty floor. You want the tacos, because they're delicious, but the whole time all you can think about is how annoying it is that the thing keeps rolling out of control. "WHO PUT WHEELS ON THE GOD DAMN TACO BAR?!" you scream at nobody. Who, indeed.

(Yes, I get the irony that I'm comparing a left fielder who sucks because he's stationary to a taco bar that sucks because it isn't, but it's the first thing that came to mind and there's no turning back.)

The community foresees a bit of a drop-off here, as it thinks Raul will regress back to his ~2005 level. The magnitude of the drop-off is about 10-15 runs, according to my scratch paper calculations. He'd still be a reasonable hitter, but not a guy who can carry the offense or supply the kind of punch this lineup so desperately needs. Anyone feel like telling Jeff Clement to hurry up? We could sure use the manifestation of his offensive potential right about now.