Seattle: 35-34
San Diego: 30-38
| MARINERS | PADRES | EDGE | |
| HITTING (wOBA) |
-52.8 (29th) |
-32.3 (25th) | SDN |
| FIELDING (UZR) |
18.1 (6th) |
-11.7 (23rd) | SEA |
| ROTATION (pRAA) |
12.5 (10th) | -8.7 (19th) | SEA |
| BULLPEN (pRAA) |
-8.2 (23rd) | 1.7 (14th) | SDN |
| OVERALL(RAA) |
-30.4 | -51.0 | Seattle |
Our defensive numbers took a huge upswing this weekend, following a week of playing Ken Griffey in left field. Adrian Beltre is on pace for about a 3-win season despite sporting a .293 wOBA. Man our defense is great. Or rather, was great. Endy Chavez was a big part of that outstanding defense and subbing his innings for Balentien is certainly going to knock us down a few pegs. At least falling down from 6th best in the league still leaves us as good.
The offense gained about eight runs over average in the sweep over Arizona, which is a nice step in at least a passable direction. Seriously, this offense has been horrid but if Beltre (.395 wOBA) and Griffey (.364 wOBA) can continue their hot Junes and Johjima returns, the 1-7 for this lineup, everyone not named Yuni or Lopez, actually make up a slightly above average unit. And even Lopez is showing some signs of at least being a power threat again.
Game 1: Garrett Olson* vs. Chad Gaudin
Game 2: Brandon Morrow vs. Josh Geer
Game 3: Jarrod Washburn* vs. Wade LeBlanc*
We faced both Gaudin and Geer last week, so I am not going to bother covering them again. Wade LeBlanc has had just a smattering of Major League experience to date, but the 24-year-old has shown some moderate promise in Triple-A. The issue for him is translating his 11+% swinging strike rate in Portland to San Diego. So far it hasn't in the slightest with ~400 pitches in the big leagues resulting in a missed bat rate around 6.8%. Unsurprisingly, that has damaged his ability to generate strikeouts and his walks have suffered as well. Frankly, since LeBlanc's fastball is clocked at an average of around 85-86 mph, I have an extremely hard time believing that he's ever going to miss bats at that level up here.
Midas Touch Golden Elixir
Dogfish Head Brewery. Milton, DE
"Midas Touch Golden Elixir is a beverage based on the residue found on the drinking vessels in King Midas' tomb. Our recipe highlights the known ingredients of barley, white Muscat grapes, honey and saffron. Somewhere between a beer, wine and mead, this smooth, dry ale will please with Chardonnay or I.P.A. drinker alike."
Although it holds a somewhat muted aroma, the flavor is really smooth and matches the description of a sort of meadish beer.
0 recs | 107 comments
Two Griffey bombs this series.
Including one 30 park no doubter. You heard it here.
CapSea - June 23, 2009
you should print up business cards
pdb - June 23, 2009
Because I sell it?
CapSea - June 23, 2009
Halfway there.
CapSea - June 23, 2009
Mead is disgusting.
thewyrm - June 23, 2009
After a childhood of reading northern epic poetry
I was crushed to discover this to be true.
Bearskin Rugburn - June 23, 2009
Yeah...
What an awful high school.
Makes me want to drink a delicious fermented honey drink just thinking about them.
Sidi - June 23, 2009
It doesn't have enough acid
Mead always tastes flat because of the lack of acid. I wonder if you added some lemon juice if it might taste better?
I think this one might taste better because of the acid from the muscat grapes.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
I don't get you being adamant about there being a chardonnay for everyone
and then saying mead always tastes flat.
If you are going to insist on other people being open-minded about chardonnays, it seems to me that you should reciprocate with meads.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
It's simply the chemistry I was talking about... poorly...
As you increase the acid (to a point), you get the spritz on the tongue that most people find appealing. Acid tends to heighten flavors, and most people find it appealing.
Some people probably enjoy the flatness of mead. I only use the term flat, because that’s the carry over term that gets used with wine. I didn’t mean to imply that flat = bad. Flat is just the term I use for the opposite of spritz to differentiate the way the beverages feel in the mouth. There are a lot of people that enjoy higher pH wine (and other beverages), and think the wines I like are thin and too acidic. It’s a personal preference.
I imagine some of it is a conditioning thing. Most Americans grew up drinking things like soda and fruit juices that have a lower pH. That makes drinks with the higher pH’s taste weird to them. I was hoping with my post to explain why mead would taste disgusting to some one (as the original poster stated). Re-reading it, I think I came off as sounding like it would be disgusting to everyone. That’s not what I meant to imply though.
The reason I said that there is a chardonnay for everyone is because chardonnay is made in so many different styles. There are the thin, low pH screamers that I enjoy all the way up to the higher pH, fat, chardonnays coming out of California.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
Not everyone likes wine.
Aaron Campeau - June 23, 2009
This is true
If you like white wine at all though, I can probably find a chardonnay that you will enjoy.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
Ok.
The way it was phrased and the comment it was replying to made me see it in the other tone. As a dismissal of all meads as an inadequate beverage.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
I haven't had enough mead to know
Does it come in a range of styles? All the mead I’ve ever had has been fairly similar. I assume you could make some variations depending on the kind of honey and yeast you used, but that wouldn’t be that major. It seems like you’d have to start adding other ingredients to really make a difference, but how far can you stray until it’s no longer mead?
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
Mead comes in a staggeringly vast array of flavors and styles.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
Any favorites?
My wife will kill me (I already spend too much money on wine and beer), but mead and sake are two things I’ve wanted to learn about.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
I'm not a huge drinker of it, so cannot really give out any favorites.
But I’ve had everything from mead bittered with hops, spiced with GoP, made fiery with chilis to sweetened with fruits. Nothing particular to recommend, but there are a wide array of choices.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
Is the chili mead the one they have at Uber?
I’ve always been tempted but never been brave enough to go through with it.
Aaron Campeau - June 23, 2009
Among another, yes, I have had that one.
It tastes very much like chili
Matthew - June 23, 2009
I'll have to try it next time I'm there.
Aaron Campeau - June 23, 2009
I made some mead in college
It tasted bland. Then when I made some the second time I added an acid blend that I bought from a wine store. Then it tasted delicious.
Andersean - June 23, 2009
Thank God we're missing Kevin Correia this time
seattlebruin - June 23, 2009
Of course, the real countdown this week is for when
Dead Snow arrives in a theater near me.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
I'm so looking forward to this
Also Moon opens next Friday in Seattle.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
Also loved by those who like neither chardonnay nor IPA
Kirsten Schlewitz - June 23, 2009
You don't like any chardonnay?
There are so many styles, I assume there is one for every body. Unless you don’t like white wine, there is probably a chardonnay for you.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
I haven't found one.
msb - June 23, 2009
What kind of white wines do you like?
Give me an idea of the white wines you like, and I can point you in the right direction.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Sauvignon blanc, Viognier ...
msb - June 23, 2009
I'm going to make an assumption that the Pinot's are domestic
Domestic Pinot Gris and Blanc tend to be fairly dry and high in acid (Alsatian examples from France can be much thicker and sometimes off-dry). Sauvignon Blanc is also usually very high in acid. That leads me to think you want examples of Chardonnay that are more acidic. You want ones that did not go through Malolactic fermentation.
Chablis from France is always a good bet, but some off them can be less fruity than Americans like. Cheaper and fruitier ones can be found in the Macon in France. But you’ll have to ask the salesmen if it was oaked and/or went through Malolactic (some producers there do it and some don’t). New Zealand and Australia can also be good bets if you look for the words INOX or Unoaked on the bottle.
If you really like Viognier, search out Novellum Chardonnay. It’s an unoaked chardonnay but the use the lees of Viognier to give it the floral charcterstics of Viognier.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
Yeah...
not a big fan of oak. The White Burgundies work because the soil is quite different from California- chalky. I’m a fan of Olivier Morin’s White Burgundy from Chitry, for instance.
eponymous_coward - June 23, 2009
Hmmm...
This is probably too dry for you then…
But let me introduce you to this. I don’t drink a lot of whites, but oh my goodness is this fantastic!
PositivePaul - June 23, 2009
I have a hard time developing strong feelings about white wine
one way or the other. It’s like disliking or raving about rice.
Bearskin Rugburn - June 23, 2009
I've found a couple good whites lately
I find that the drier they are the more I like them, which is odd because I’m not crazy about the drier red wines. Montinore makes some really nice and not too expensive whites.
pdb - June 23, 2009
I was the same way for a long time
But then I had a wine that just punched me in the face and changed the way I think of them forever.
The same thing happened with beer when I had a friend’s home brew for the first time.
arbeck77 - June 23, 2009
Midas Touch was a bit too wild for me.
I enjoyed the first few sips, but I couldn’t finish it.
Teej - June 23, 2009
Is it too thick?
Fin - June 23, 2009
It's a pretty viscous brew.
Aaron Campeau - June 23, 2009
I like the honeyedness.
Kirsten Schlewitz - June 23, 2009
Is it sold around here at all?
Fin - June 23, 2009
It's pretty easy to get, yes
Graham MacAree - June 23, 2009
Broad distribution
see here
Kirsten Schlewitz - June 23, 2009
I have seen it at
Bottleworks, Pike Street Beer and Wine, Broadway Market QFC, Ballard Market, Greenwood Market, Whole Foods and every now and then at the Ballard Fred Meyer.
Aaron Campeau - June 23, 2009
I enjoy it but it's definitely not for everyone
and it’s one of the only non-Imperial stouts I can think of that I can’t drink more than one of in a sitting.
Aaron Campeau - June 23, 2009
Wilson Valdez was released today
Any reason not to replace one of Wilson/Woodward with him? His hitting may be a touch worse, but at least he’d actually bring a bit of defensive value.
Fuckmikereilly - June 23, 2009
I blame Wilson Valdez for Yuniesky Betancourt
Graham MacAree - June 23, 2009
Wait, we're playing the Padres again?
Poochie - June 23, 2009
Like you couldn't feel the hatred bubbling up all day yesterday
RIVAL TIME BEEYOTCHES
pdb - June 23, 2009
It seems like we are always playing the Padres because our team is just as boring as theirs.
Just in less tacky uniforms.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
I think the camo jersey is pretty bad ass.
Fin - June 23, 2009
I saw two Reds games this weekend.
You want a boring team? Go there and watch them. And they play in a boring stadium, to boot. In a boring city. It’s the borefecta.
pdb - June 23, 2009
Maybe it's just that baseball is really boring
Matthew - June 23, 2009
Not as boring as soccer though.
Fin - June 23, 2009
Yeah, comparisons between sports always spark enlightening topics.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
Someone had to say it
Jeff Sullivan - June 23, 2009
I just didn't think it would be him.
Poochie - June 23, 2009
Are you being sarcastic?
Matthew - June 23, 2009
I don't even know anymore. >:(
Poochie - June 23, 2009
Is that sarcasm?
Matthew - June 23, 2009
Wizzle wozzle
Poochie - June 23, 2009
I'm just going to keep on replying with random phrases from the Simpsons
Poochie - June 23, 2009
That's because you are so smrt.
Jed MC - June 23, 2009
There's three ways to do this: the right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way
patsfan - June 23, 2009
Yes, yes it is.
Good thing we don’t waste hours and hours every day watching and talking about it anyways…….err, oops.
OlSalty - June 23, 2009
I use my comp sci degree to write code that automatically writes all my baseball posts for me
based on pre-set phrases and a random number generator.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
He's not even joking
Graham MacAree - June 23, 2009
Was this part of the code?
Jeff Sullivan - June 23, 2009
Commenting is how I kill time at work in between writing other code that does my more of my job for me.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
When is hockey season?
Kirsten Schlewitz - June 23, 2009
SEA!
Robert - June 23, 2009
TTLE CASCADIANS NHL TEAM?
Faux - June 23, 2009
Yes please.
Kirsten Schlewitz - June 23, 2009
I actually like that name almost as much as the metropolitans
Robert - June 23, 2009
Finally, we find a common ground.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
(I hope if that did happen our mascot would be a salmon)
Matthew - June 23, 2009
I want Viky the Volcano
Robert - June 23, 2009
Orca
InSpokane - June 23, 2009
I'm holding off becoming a Canucks fan in hopes that Seattle gets a franchise.
JLProck - June 23, 2009
I thought they play in a hitter's park though.
Fin - June 23, 2009
They do but that doesn't make it an interesting park from a fan's perspective
All I could think of at GABP was what a missed opportunity the whole thing is. It’s not close enough to the river to allow the occasional park-clearing river-splashing HR; the concessions were pedestrian at best and they ran out of TWO kinds of mustard AND ketchup at two of the concession stands. In the 5th inning. And the whole thing has a vaguely institutional feeling that just screams “I COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!!!!”.
But I did see a bunt turn into a triple thanks to shambolic White Sox throwing errors, so that’s something. And I saw Hank Aaron, Muhammad Ali, and Bill Cosby. And then I got really drunk on crappy beer. All in all an entertaining weekend.
pdb - June 23, 2009
Drayer, last time out:
“I hate the Padres. Hate ’em! Have hated them since the day I was born. Can hardly stand to share a facility with them in Peoria. If there were only 6 games a year I could attend it would be the six against these clowns. I wake up every morning and ask myself, “What can I do today to help beat the Padres?”"
msb - June 23, 2009
They should do anyway with the fabricated rivalries
but keep Yankees/Mets eetc. in tact.
Poochie - June 23, 2009
I just think their should only be one "rival" series a season
Will never happen because of the revenue these series bring in. But for the teams where the natural rival doesn’t mean much, it will limit seeing the same team over and over again.
Fuckmikereilly - June 23, 2009
I bet you'd see your false natural rival less if you only played the once ever 3-6 years like the rest of the other-leaguers
Poochie - June 23, 2009
Yeah because the Cubs and White Sox would totally be OK with playing each other 1/3 as much as they would be otherwise
seattlebruin - June 23, 2009
I understand the sentiment,
but six games against the Padres every year is like a Christmas gift from Bud Selig. If you thought this team was really contending this year, you’d be thankful that your M’s were playing the boring old Pads, because wins against them count just as much as wins against NY or Boston.
kidlondon - June 23, 2009
Except the Padres don't figure to suck forever
seattlebruin - June 23, 2009
e.g. imagine if our natural rival was the Royals or something
seattlebruin - June 23, 2009
Or the Rays
God that team is so bad
Graham MacAree - June 23, 2009
Dude they've lost 100 games in 11 of 12 seasons in existence, they're bound to regress
seattlebruin - June 23, 2009
To be fair, Dayton Moore doesn't run the Rays
seattlebruin - June 23, 2009
Having Dayton Moore choose players for your team...
Is like having Charlie Brown choose your X-mas tree.
kidlondon - June 23, 2009
I could've sworn we got two wins for each time we beat the Red Sox
Kirsten Schlewitz - June 23, 2009
No, that's just a win for us and a loss for Red Sox fans
Which makes it feel like two wins
Graham MacAree - June 23, 2009
No that's the tickets costing twice as much
Poochie - June 23, 2009
What are the chances Beltre stays?
…And at what price?
spittle8 - June 23, 2009
Small. Very small.
Matthew - June 23, 2009
Realistically, him staying might not be a good thing either
Poochie - June 23, 2009
Only if we're talking short-term-waiting-for-the-FA-market-to-return contract
and he’s not likely to take one of those here.
Aaron Campeau - June 23, 2009
How much can he really expect to get?
How many GMs consider fielding statistics beyond fielding percentage? His bat has been terrible this year, how many teams are likely to offer him a fat contract?
spittle8 - June 23, 2009
What do you consider a fat contract?
CapSea - June 23, 2009
How many GMs consider fielding statistics beyond fielding percentage?
28 of them
Graham MacAree - June 24, 2009
Also scouts exist
Graham MacAree - June 24, 2009
Which begs the question "which two don't?"
Kenny Williams… and ?
seattlebruin - June 24, 2009
Ruben Amaro Jr.?
Aaron Campeau - June 24, 2009
I think it's fairly obvious that for some time offense has been exaggerated in its value
relative to defense. I’d be surprised to see Beltre get more than ~8 mil for 2 years considering his offensive woes this season. I haven’t been keeping up with the sport much but I can’t think of a good reference for this situation.
spittle8 - June 24, 2009
You're crazy.
Aaron Campeau - June 24, 2009
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