Lookout Landing

Woooooooo!

High Five!

Goose - May 13, 2008 reply

High five???

LOW FIVE!

WOOT!

Wilder. - May 13, 2008 reply

Bill Nye before he was the science guy...

I remember the old days of “Almost Live”

I've got those old episodes.

My dad taped em years ago. Great stuff.

And for those that don't...

King 5 still has the page they put up to promote the reunion show a few years ago. It has a few clips on there.

The Lame List was the greatest.

But of the sketches on that page, the Green River Dance is the best.

PositivePaul - May 14, 2008 reply

Wonderful.

I’ve almost given up on this year. Not the TEAM mind you, but this year. The sooner I can accept the fact that we mortgaged the future for the present, and yet the present still sucks, the happier I will be.

Once I accept the fact I can just watch the games because I love baseball, and not worry so much about individual wins and the standings.

BTW, if I had booted a ball twice in softball like Lopez did on that play, I’d STILL be getting shit from my teammates. That was more than a tad frustrating.

Uh... I gave up on this year over 10 days ago.

Get with the times.

I was busy this weekend.

Missing out on watching a few games took a toll on my pessimism.

We now indeed.

Hey Giants, you guys are a bunch of winners!

We’re going down!

I didn't see this one.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICA!!

That's the one!!

Basically the kids don't want to play baseball, so they are trying to lose on purpose

but every other team they play also wants to lose so they can go home and play video games. They keep winning until they are at the finals and they finally lose to Denver. Its a good episode, especially since we can relate this to the Mariners right now.

I'm so excited to play the Padres

For the outside chance that the game will go 45 innings

I'm excited to play the Padres

This could really be a pivotal series.

Strasburg is rooting for us to win

So he can stay in sunny SD with Jeff.

I will kidnap that motherfucker if I have to

I still think he's pitching today

and I just realized that SDSU isn’t in Chula Vista. I thought it was a hell of a lot farther away than it actually is.

I would move to San Diego just to watch a rotation with him and Peavy in it

Chris Young also doesn't suck.

Every time I go down there to visit one of my best friends

My wife asks why we don’t consider living there. She hates it when I always answer that Safeco Field is the only place I have front row seats.

Cause the weather sucks.

Hot = bad.

Llewdor - May 13, 2008 reply

A/C = wonderful invention

San Diego is not hot

Unless you consider 84 degrees, every day, all summer long to be hot, in which case anything south of the 45th parallel will be too hot. San Diego’s real problem is that it’s obscenely expensive. Stupid idyllic climate.

It's been SCORCHING this spring :(

like LA in August hot

That's crazy

but then again, it’s supposed to hit 90 in Portland on Friday and Saturday, so I guess crazy is relative.

90's in Seattle this weekend as well.

BULLSHIT

I gotta check the forecast.

Eyebrows - May 13, 2008 reply

ok 83

still pretty warm, but not 90s

Eyebrows - May 13, 2008 reply

I was pretty surprised too

it takes a pretty severe heat wave to get Seattle into the 90’s this time of year. 83’s about perfect.

I was just going by what they said on the news this morning.

I’d be surprised if it actually got that high though.

I do.

Llewdor - May 13, 2008 reply

It's gonna be the World Series of Suck.

Goose - May 13, 2008 reply

And my boss gave me tickets to the Friday game already!

Between home and first, 20 rows back! Plus I’m taking a hot girl. This is going to be awesome

(Crap, I meant for the June series)

NIce

I'm so glad I didn't spend a bunch of money to drive over there and see Edmonds play.

This team needs more Bocock.

This team needs Mocock?

Who doesn't want Mocock?

Fresno

They have bad taste.

(insert dead meme here)

That's what she said?

That'll work.

isn't insulting Fresno kinda redundant?

I have family in Fresno.

I hate that place with a fiery passion.

Sounds like they could use more Bocock in their lives

Or less Fresno.

I am petitioning to shorten "more Bocock" to simply "Mocock" or "Mo'cock"

I didn't want to risk Mocock overexposure

You have to be careful with funny.

I'm glad that sentence ended with the word "funny"

Cameron > Cuddy.

Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 13, 2008 reply

You are correct.

I chuckled.

Well played.

andrewgolfsalot - May 13, 2008 reply

We will keep saying this until you get it right.

13>CTB>Cameron>Cuddy

AZSEAfan - May 13, 2008 reply

No.

Cameron > 13 > CTB > Cuddy

Bea Arthur > Rue McClanahan > Betty White

oh, wait, I thought we were talking about the Golden Girls.

::Vomit::

I just got tired of seeing the exact same House discussion from yesterday

Let's talk about WNBA players then

I think that one 7 foot Russian chick is hot

If you're tired of seeing it

Tell JI to get it right.

I'm gonna pretend you're talking about baseball

so this is what I think you’re saying:
>

Eyebrows - May 13, 2008 reply

Mike Cameron and Michael Cuddyer?

You know what would improve our defense? A Gold Glove CF.

BRING BACK GRIFFEY!!!1111

I thank you for giving me the chance to post this again.

I can't see it but I'm going to assume it's the worst player in baseball picture

Ayup.

I still think he can't possibly be worse than Mike Morse

I know it's the truth

but that picture still makes me sad.

And why is that?

Because I don't want KGJ to be the worst player in baseball

even though empirically I know he is. It’s the death of a large part of my Mariner fandom from the 90’s.

It is pretty depressing to see what has become of him.

Nothing will ever take away from how awesome he used to be

This is true

and I’ve got enough saved video clips of that swing to last me several years. I just hope he has the good grace to go when he needs to go and not hang on for way longer than he should.

You could probably make the argument that he's already hung on too long

in light of all the injuries he’s had

Yeah, he probably has.

Everybody hangs on way longer than they should

I don’t think anyone deals with the realization that they’re old and bad very well.

Barry Bonds isn't playing

he could still play.

Griffey was that team for me when I was little.

It’s the death of a large part of my Mariner fandom from the 90’s.

EVERYONE’s Mariner fandom from the 90’s. Junior was our great hope, and I very literally grew up with him. I was four when he came up and six when I went to my first M’s game with him. My dad always used to tell me just to watch Griffey sometimes – not to even watch the game. He was that special of a player.

And I was there in ‘95 when he slid into home to send us to the ALCS. I remember not really knowing what was going on except that it was past my bedtime. It was probably three or four years before I realized how special that game really was. I have tons of ticket stubs littering my room, from Safeco, the Rose Bowl, Pauley, Qwest, Husky Stadium, you name it. I just wish I still had the stub from that game. One of the best days of my life, retroactively.

A huge part of me wants to see Junior hit a bomb off the Hit It Here Cafe wearing Mariners blue because it would bring back all those memories of 91-99 when he was the best player on the planet. Hell, why do you think that cafe is in right field, anyway? I’m grown enough now to know that he’s nothing more than a shell of the player we once saw, but I still want to see it anyway.

Bringing Griffey back has absolutely not baseball reasoning behind it. I know he’s a terrible defensive player (hell, he’s even starting to drop the ones he DOES get to, if last night is any evidence), and that he doesn’t hit well enough to be anything more than an ~average DH at age 38.

Maybe I’m being too sentimental, but I loved Griffey. He WAS the Mariners to me when I was little. If we’re not going to be good this year, I wouldn’t mind at all getting to see the Junior reunion tour. Even if he’s a disaster on the field, I’d still enjoy it. It would just be an everyday reminder of how awesome growing up right when the Mariners got good was.

Me too.

Insert sarcastic “surprised face” here.

Sorry, that comment was super emo

I just really liked Griffey and would love to see him finish his career here.

Providing we don’t break the bank and praying he’s not too much of a trainwreck.

I was agreeing with you.

"those memories of 91-99 when he was the best player on the planet."

Except for Barry Bonds

That would be a much awesomer farewell tour

Less Bonds, more tanking, dammit

needs less good

That's good.

Or wait, that’s bad?

Depends if it contains sodium benzoate.

Jed MC - May 13, 2008 reply

So more Griffey --> more tanking --> more Strasburg

right?

Yep

I fully endorse a Griffey trade as long as Clement/Wlad/Aumont/Ramirez/Triunfel do not leave us.

Clement especially.

Hence why I keep repeating

I’d be happy to send em Johnson or Feierabend. I’d also like it if we re-worked his contract, but if they spend the $16M and they weren’t gonna spend it on the roster otherwise, hell it’s not my money.

And are we at the point where we're mortally terrified

of Bavasi actually sending them Clement?

Well, if it happens I will be shocked

I’m definitely afraid of it happening, but it’s irrational.

Common mistake made by people up here.

I think BWAA made that mistake too.

Even if Barry Bonds WAS the best player on the planet

I have decided that he is an asshole and jerk so that in my Seattle-centric world, Junior can still be the best :(.

But Junior was really, really, really damn good, even if Bonds was better.

True enough

Also, we need to consider the "no chemical additives" + CF/LF factor

Barry’s peak as a player comes after he starts visiting Balco for cream and clear.

I'm only talking 1991-1999

Bonds is quite clearly the better player.

I'm with Graham on this

I wish people would stop thinking Barry got good all of a sudden in 2000.

He just became God-like all of a sudden right about then

He went from the best player of his generation

To the best player of all time.

You know, I never realized he's only hit fifty homers once

Not enough at bats.

Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 13, 2008 reply

Holy crap

2004 – 232 BB, 120 IBB, .609 OBP

45 homers in 373 at bats.

Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 13, 2008 reply

I still don't believe that number is real.

263 OPS+

and that isn’t even the highest of his career

22.23 RC/27

I know

2002 is a tick better.

...and Pac-Bell is murder on lefties.

buh?

(he owns the second best season)

He's fifty points clear of the third best mark of ALL-TIME for OBP in 2004

I will also argue that had it not been for WWII, Ted Williams may very well have eclipsed the .600 OBP mark at some point

Yup.

Although to be fair, it’s hard to do that when you get IBBed 120 times.

He did post OPS+s of 200

in 1992-93

165-170 OPS+ in CF isn't exactly jaking it.

Barry’s godfather’s peak in OPS is around 180, and he was more in the 165-175 range, like Griffey was at his peak.

Griffey's highest OPS+ was 171

Barry Bonds beat that 5 times between 91 and 99

Right, playing LF.

Position being played does make a difference when evaluating offensive contribution.

Legitimate question:

Could Bonds have been a plus defensive centerfielder?

With his tools, why the hell not

I’d say in his prime he could have easily been average to plus

was Griffey even?

some stats don’t think he was.

No he was not

I would say he was plus on sheer athleticism

until he started to slow down in the late 90s. Of course I can’t really back that up…

It's more or less cancelled out by baserunning

I dunno, man

Griffey’s OPS peak is comparable to Willie Mays, like I said. This is close to a Williams-DiMaggio discussion (except with Ted WIlliams being able to field and run, but still playing LF).

No, it isn't

But then I am not in the mood to talk about Jr’s defensive deficiencies today.

I just don't see it

Bonds absolutely kills him on OBP. His worst season over than stretch would rank as Griffey’s 4th best.

Williams was a better hitter than DiMaggio, which was my point.

And by “better” I mean “arguably the best hitter who never used cream and clear”.

...plus all the steals

exactly

since people thinking DiMaggio was better are also clearly wrong.

People actually think that?

morons?

Check the 1941 MVP voting.

Well, isn't the story that it was a close race

and that some sportswriter who hated Williams didn’t even put him on his ballot?

I think Williams’ personality killed him in those kinds of votes

wow, that's not analgous to today's world at all

Everyone who voted for that is dead so I don't expect them to be enlightened

People in NY do

Is DiMaggio's 56 game hit streak the most unbreakable record in baseball?

or is it Bond’s .609 OBP

you know what's a dumb debate?

most unbreakable record debates.

(not picking on you, your question is actually fine, it just sparked a memory)

Cy Youngs 511 wins!

Fernando Tatis’ 2 GS in one inning!

Fun fact:

My uncle did some stats research for a baseball org, possibly SABR. He found that in all sports, the 56 game hitting streak is the only time in any sport that a player was actually “Hot” and not just meeting his own probability. I hope I’m explaining that right, I hadn’t spoken with him about it for like 5 years.

CapSea - May 14, 2008 reply

Williams is one of the most underrated players ever.

That's incredible, given just how highly rated he is, BTW

This word, "underrated"?

I don’t think it means what you think it means.

People tend to undervalue how great his hitting was

because he missed 5 prime years and much of his value was tied up in OBP.

I think people undervalue those missed years

age 24, 25 and 26 seasons. Absolute giant years for an established hitter.

Which people?

I’m not trying to pick a fight, but Ted Williams is pretty much universally regarded as one of the, if not the, best hitters of all time.

When people say hitter, they tend to mean batting average.

He is often compared to Tony Gwynn and players like that. If the MSM believed he was one of the greatest offensive forces ever the debate would be between him and Ruth.

Yup

Also, the best regular season record from 1946-1950, the years we hear OMG TEH YANKEES AND DODGERS?

The Boston Red Sox. Led by… Ted WIlliams.

Underrated in that he

Was an amazing hitter, fighter pilot, Marlin fisherman and frozen head.

His latest years as a frozen head have been disappointing

but I tend to blame that on the leaking freon.

Williams' head needs more Futurama.

Jed MC - May 13, 2008 reply

He would rule at Blurmball

easily the third best hitter in baseball history

I think there's an arguement to be made

that he was a better hitter than Ruth.

I hate Babe Ruth's fucking comic book swing

at least he relaized that small ball was for retards

for that we can be forever greatful

I agree, there's an argument to be made.

I don’t believe it though.

Bonds – Ruth – Williams

I think Bonds' peak was far and away the best

but Williams was a lock for a ~.490 OBP well into his late 30s.

Second best if you don't count cream or clear

I’d say Williams at peak > Bonds. As a hitter.

Ignoring the PEDs

I’d disagree.

we get it

That being said, Bonds should win out on baserunning/fielding

and there’s pretty much a tie on “dickhead” factor.

Was Williams an ass to non-media people?

Jed MC - May 13, 2008 reply

Um, yup.

There’s the spitting incident. OTOH, he was a big guy for the Jimmy Fund. He was just kind of a jerk.

But do we really know how much roids helped him?

Bonds was already close to the best hitter of all-time before Roids. I don’t know, I’m not sure I believe Steroids can add 35 HR to your bat in one year. I don’t know.

BrettJMiller - May 13, 2008 reply

I don't think Bonds was close to the best hitter of all time before the PEDs

he wasn't

I think the roids made a pretty fucking huge difference.

Go find me other players who hit career peaks at age 36.

Even guys like Edgar Martinez, Patron Saint of the Late Career Peak, peaked at 32.

Ted Williams

.388/.526/.731 aged 38.

Hank Aaron

.327/.410/.669 aged 37
.301/.402/.643 aged 40

Williams:

.316/.451/.645 age 40

Nope, not his peak.

1941: 235 OPS+ in 143 games
1957: 233 OPS+ in 132 games

Just as good as his peak.

and the '57 season was the one I referenced.

Which you could argue was more impressive considering there was a much wider talent pool than there was in 1941.

it is more impressive

adjusted lines:
41 – .390/.537/.705
57 – .392/.529/.741

games played makes a difference

Also, check out the year before/year after for both years.

There’s no way you can say Williams in late 30’s = Williams in 20’s.

No I agree Bonds is unique in that aspect

but some of the greatest layers ever were fairly consistent into their late 30s/early40s.

Right, but consistent =! career peak

Esepcially when it’s going from 180-200 OPS+ to 220-250 in your late 30s.

THAT is why he’s not the best without PEDs.

I don't think anyone sane will disagree with you

Nobody is arguing that Bonds didn't take PEDs

and that those PEDs didn’t turn him into superman.

I can’t remember where I read it, but there was an article that played out the odds of a 37 year old man legitimately hitting 73 homers—and those odds were worse than having a LD% of .008

Hank Aaron?

best OPS+ years were in his mid/late 30s

beat me to it

Check his home/road splits in Atlanta for HRs

Basically, Hank Aaron went from a crappy HR park in Milwaukee to a good home run park in Atlanta.

If you look at his ROAD career, he peaks around the same time as everyone else… but his HOME career peaks late.

I say “park effects”.

which OPS+ adjusts for

Does it?

So OPS+ is adjusted perfectly for Safeco screwing righties and being OK for lefties? I thought it was a bit broad-brush for that.

Basically, I’m saying that Aaron figured out how to work his park to his advantage in his mid-late 30’s, and he couldn’t do that in his 20’s because County Stadium didn’t offer an advantage, and that if you put 25 year old Hank Aaron in the same park playing home games as 35 year old Hank Aaron for a couple of years, I think 25 year old Hank Aaron wins, and the road splits seem to bear that out.

Bill Dickey is another guy who started showing extreme home/road splits later in his career, FWIW… and it looks like he also got a boost from the park.

Last Fan Of Jose Lopez - May 13, 2008 reply

Behind Lopez?

Exactly

Lou Gehrig seems surprisingly underrated as well.

CapSea - May 14, 2008 reply

I'm six months older than Junior

Every time he’d do something amazing, I’d think “he’s (insert age at time of awesome thing), I’m (same age), and I work in a financial services company. What the hell did I do wrong?

All I want out of a Junior return is the Crash Davis “one more day in the sun”. Especially if this season keeps up the way it’s going – I will unashamedly give in to unabashed sentimentality for the rest of the summer if the M’s still blow and Griffey’s in town.

Right now, I'm the same way with Felix

right down to being about six months older than he is.

You know what f'ing sucks?

Being a few days older than Player A.

PositivePaul - May 13, 2008 reply

Griffey's older than Player A

so it can’t suck that bad…

My brother is a day younger than Sidney Crosby

And he’s finishing his sophomore year in college. Feels kind of weird.

Carlos Triunfel would be graduating high school next month

I'm depressed now

Most of the kids playing AAA ball nowadays were born in or around the year I graduated high school.

I'm feeling old over Strasburg :P

I remember when 8th greaders seemed like adults.

Those were the days

And when you would dress in your little league uniform and dream of playing in the big leagues one day.

I remember the first time I figured out how old I'd be in 2000

and my little 11 year old brain couldn’t fathom being 31.

I used to play that game

I still do this.

...
...
what?

Strasburg would be my peer

Also Tim Lincecum was a senior in high school when I was a freshman, and I was friends with seniors when I was a freshman. Also, he went to the rival high school, Liberty.

That's getting very close for me as well.

:(

when did KGJ start? and why?

Junior, Griffey or Jr are better.

I would be okay with GKGJ, perhaps

but I usually use Junior.

And in answer to the actual question, I have no idea.

It keeps making me think we are talking about Kevin Garnett

I keep reading it as KGB

He plays for Green Bay, not Cincy

He would also be useful

Next time Kason Gabbard throws “at” Richie, KGB can sack the pitcher

Kevin Garnett would be an awesome addition to this team

if Richie is a good 1B because he’s tall, imagine KG over there…

It started for me because I'm lazy

and KGJ is less characters than Junior. But I do actually prefer Junior.

Me as well

and yet I still want him on this team

DO IT NOW!

Why not?

We’ve got nothing to lose except more games and more money and more talent.

ralphie81 - May 13, 2008 reply

I'm okay with

a league average DH as long as we don’t give up too much for him. Add Griffey, subtract Vidro, that’s got to be worth a couple of wins, even if Griffey does suck in the outfield.

wysiwyg - May 13, 2008 reply

Wrong

You’re gonna pay out the ass for him. Why keep mortgaging the future

Brian Floyd - May 13, 2008 reply

If it only costs Johnson or a throw-away minor league arm

and next year’s option isn’t picked up, it’s an OK trade.

Honestly, I would even be OK with Feierabend at this point, I think