Anyone didn't see the statement I made couple minutes ago, here we go.
I take my words back to boo Bradley. I hereby declare that I will never boo Bradley ever again. As a consequence of violation of the statement, I will let Robert rape my favorite parent.
This is what he looks like when he commands his curve
has a good change up and faces a meh lineup at Safeco. Which is to say, you can expect him to do this several times in a season, but don’t count on it any given night. He can have everything going for him but if he’s up against one of the ALE teams he’ll still get lit up.
But with Aardsma as your closer, it isn’t a stretch to think that he could walk two guys and let one hit it out, which puts you in a tight spot. Good call Wak!
I was thinking about that when he pitch ran. Byrnes pitch ran for the DH. Does that prevent him from going into the field? If it doesn’t prevent him from playing the field, then could Bradley have been moved to DH?
Ikkyu is apparently quite instrumental to Ichiro's success.
He thanks him along with Yumiko (the wife) for “support.” I remember him saying “I’d like to thank my wife, Yumiko, and my dog…” after the 262-hit season. It made me laugh.
I remember they asked him how important his hitting streak was or something
He said something like “It is important… I should have invited my wife Yumiko and my dog Ikkyu to see me hit. I guess that shows you how important it is to me.”
I should be writing the paper I have due tomorrow.
Instead I just watched the video on the Mariners site of the Bradley home run, about ten times. I watched it again just after typing that out and am resisting the urge to watch it yet another time.
So many good things. The drive-by high-five of Brumley as he passed, the strange clap in the air before he high-fived Lopez, the way Fister is just kind of hanging there, waiting to be acknowledged, while Mike Sweeney, capitalizing on Bradley’s own momentary hesitation, grabs him off-center and hits him in the face with his bicep. Everything about it. Wonderful.
And Matthew’s gif of Bradley smiling in the postgame? Icing on the cake.
Doug Fister looked really, really good. He gave up a few deep fly balls, but hey, I guess you might as well utilize your environment. Great command, even struck out a few. Just a surprisingly awesome job.
Dr. Elliot Reid: [back in Free Clinic] All right, now repeat after me…
Mr. Keck: [to Turk] “You can’t decide for me, that’s not your duty.”
Dr. Elliot Reid: And are they both trying not to laugh at the word “duty”?
Mr. Keck: [J.D. and Turk try to hold their giggles back]
Point being a portion of the “silent majority” of readers at USSM and LL are probably silent because of some underlying baseball bias, or perhaps disdain for the sabermetrically inclined.
Doesn’t Google have a algorithm which would pull up the most likely searches for you? Like, since you’ve Googled “Lookout Landing” before, its programing says "Well, chances are good when he types ‘loo…’ he wants ‘lookout landing’.
So I was at the game and early on a beer vendor walked around and said "I've got bottles, you know, in case you want to send a message to Milton Bradley!"
Fuck that guy.
Milton Bradley is like sex with a beautiful woman. Rob Johnson is like being raped by an evil wookie.
Common sense would make you go, “Oh, this guy has been harassed and had problems in other cities, let’s try and support him and maybe things will be different.” Instead, it’s “Oh this guy gets harassed and becomes a problem everywhere, lets heckle him.”
But yeah, it took a stunning throw to nail him, and I guess I should defer to Ichiro and Figgins on the basepaths. They’re probably better at this than I am.
But wouldn’t he have made it anyway if the ball had gotten away from Suzuki? Seemed like he jumped earlier than he needed to.
I couldn't believe how perfect that throw was until I saw the replay
He cartwheeled to catch the ball and then delivered a laser right to the third baseman’s glove in the best possible position to tag the runner without moving. It was impressive.
even with the remarkable stop it took a perfect throw to get Figgins. I haven’t seen Suzuki play that much, but I guess the average AL catcher air mails the ball half the time after making a stop like that, in which case, score.
He does get overlooked because he has played with a generally sub-par team over his career, but I really like his skill set. His athleticism behind the plate really gets my attention (and gets Figgins at third too, apparently, even though I missed that because I was working).
Suzuki's 2008 and 2009 were worth 2.7 and 2.8 WAR respectively.
In short, he produces at about the same level Kenji did before getting raped of his job by Rob fucking Johnson. In other words, best Mariners catcher of all time. I am a fan of Kurt Suzuki. Except he’s an A. Fuck that shit.
Over the stretch of a full season, this works out to about 1.9 WAR. This is with inconsistent playing time and despite the nagging injuries that allowed Johnson to get playing time in the first place.
Was Kenji ever going to be 2006 good again? Probably not. But he was far better in 2009 than a lot of people seem to realize, and certainly far superior to Rob Johnson.
But a league average catcher (2.0 WAR) would be valuable. That’s less than a full win off his ‘06 and ’07 seasons, and I’m willing to bet the injuries had something to do with it. I don’t think Kenji dropped off the cliff you seem to be implying by saying he “was not producing at nearly that level” (emphasis added for obvious reasons).
In '07 and '06, Kenji had 210 and 242 PA's respectively in 142 and 147 starts.
In other words, a full season is about twice the 258 PA’s. He played 71 games in ‘09 (to Rob Johnson’s 80—he only put up 0.3 WAR >=( ). Multiply either his PA’s by two or his starts by two and you get up to his actual full season length. “Full season for catchers” is actually pretty short given the standards Joh set.
Bradley was treated to a post-game beer shower, customary for Mariners players who were here last season. Not something Bradley is associated with all that often.
This one was about as festive as it gets, from what I’m told. An icy bath that didn’t stop.
Bradley is a serious guy. A player as intense as they come. But he told us on the weekend how much he appreciated being here, with this team, and I know, despite his stoic demeanor afterwards, that he had to enjoy what happened post-game tonight.
“We have fun every day,‘’ Bradley said. "That’s the one thing that makes it easy to come here every day. Guys are great. Top-to-bottom, that’s a part of this organization. And that’s something that I really can’t say I’ve had my entire career. I just feel like I’m in such a better place.’’
Fister High Fiving Milton after saving his win in the bottom of the 8th, next to Felix hugging Gutz for saving his win in the bottom of the 9th. (In case anyone was curious about what I would like to see).
54-108!
RunningFool - April 13, 2010
This annoys more than Rob Johnson now.
Please quit it for the love of God.
Ef the yankees - April 13, 2010
Agreed
insidetheparker - April 13, 2010
Not Running.
Matt Erickson - April 13, 2010
Sorry, won't happen again.
Didn’t realize it was annoying. I’m kinda socially retarded.
RunningFool - April 13, 2010
There's a floor!
Bicycle Rider - April 13, 2010
There is no floor
bamfor - April 13, 2010
Milton Bradley involved in another incident.
Making himself a Seattle Super Hero.
ThundaPC - April 13, 2010
Take that, Cubs fans!
lailaihei - April 13, 2010
The chart layout looks strangely different...
I think i like it.
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
That's Fangraphs' WE chart.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - April 14, 2010
Pretty sure he's referring to the fact that the line results in a win.
harkening - April 14, 2010
Man, I am dense.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - April 14, 2010
WE'RE THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD
Dewey N - April 13, 2010
Easily.
Teej - April 13, 2010
Anyone didn't see the statement I made couple minutes ago, here we go.
I take my words back to boo Bradley. I hereby declare that I will never boo Bradley ever again. As a consequence of violation of the statement, I will let Robert rape my favorite parent.
Ef the yankees - April 13, 2010
Like he wasn't planning to anyway.
Jeff Nye - April 13, 2010
Who, Robert?
Or me?
Ef the yankees - April 13, 2010
From booing Bradley*
I can ever write right.
Ef the yankees - April 13, 2010
DAMN
*Can’t
Ef the yankees - April 13, 2010
How about instead you just don't boo good players for no reason?
CapSea - April 13, 2010
I will not.
Especially Bradley.
Ef the yankees - April 13, 2010
Can we still boo urns?
Janic - April 13, 2010
Knock yourself out
Eyeball Kid - April 13, 2010
I was saying Boo-yrnes
Rollo Tomasi - April 13, 2010
I'm glad you've seen the error in your ways.
sanford_and_son - April 13, 2010
I still hate you and find you stupid
Especially since you have such little conviction that your opinion does a complete reversal with one home run
Corco - April 13, 2010
I am stupid, what can I say.
I am also very forgetful. Hate me as much as you want.
Ef the yankees - April 13, 2010
Your decision not to boo Milton Bradley is as arbitrary as your decision to boo him
Which tells me you didn’t really hate Milton Bradley in the first place, so why boo him?
That was stupid so I still hate you and hope you literally run into Milton at Safeway during the offseason and he responds in kind.
Corco - April 13, 2010
Rec'd for being both logical and full of hate.
MT Olson - April 14, 2010
Fister's performance
Can someone with more baseball smarts than me tell me if he was as awesome as he looked?
Is this just what he looks like when he doesn’t walk anyone? It seemed like quite the performance.
Snuffleupagus - April 13, 2010
Yes, he pitched awesome
He threw a lot of strikes and made good use of a pitcher friendly park.
He did hang a few changeups, but it looks like for the most part he had the hitters fooled.
Allen Wu - April 13, 2010
He was doing pretty good.
Spotted everything well. I’m not sure how much of that is “Oakland Sucks”, but it’s still something.
The Typical Idiot Fan - April 13, 2010
He was really good for being Doug Fister.
Teej - April 13, 2010
It was by far the best I've seen him pitch.
Aaron Campeau - April 13, 2010
He was pitching against Oakland thought.
EnglishMariner - April 14, 2010
This is what he looks like when he commands his curve
has a good change up and faces a meh lineup at Safeco. Which is to say, you can expect him to do this several times in a season, but don’t count on it any given night. He can have everything going for him but if he’s up against one of the ALE teams he’ll still get lit up.
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
Not necessarily.
He did pretty much shut out the Yankees last season.
Hopefulmsfan - April 14, 2010
"pretty much shut out"
is a weird way to say 3 runs allowed
And then he got lit up by them a couple of weeks later. I remember vividly, I was there with one of my Yankee fan friends.
appleshampoo - April 14, 2010
The A's offense sucks (yes, I know I'm a buzzkill) but Fister pitched well.
He threw strikes and let the defense and ballpark help him, which is exactly how he’ll find success.
Jeff Nye - April 13, 2010
Err, reply fail.
Jeff Nye - April 13, 2010
Bradley's smile during the postgame interview
Big thanks to Don275
Matthew - April 13, 2010
Fucking amazing.
Teej - April 13, 2010
Matthew, you are the best.
TrustBaseball - April 13, 2010
Don275 you are the best, Matthew is second.
TrustBaseball - April 13, 2010
I am terrified of this man
OlSalty - April 13, 2010
I want to invite him over for game night.
Teej - April 13, 2010
Milton Bradley game night. Hmmm.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
Oh God I'm sorry.
Total accident. I hate name puns with a passion.
Teej - April 13, 2010
>=(
CapSea - April 13, 2010
Oh god I thought I was alone!
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
I seriously lol'd...
.. then felt ashamed.
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
No chatspeak
Matthew - April 13, 2010
Oh my God.
This is the best thing that’s ever happened.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
If ever there were a smile with an implicit "fuck all the haters"
that’s it.
JY - April 13, 2010
Put his head on this bitch
Teej - April 13, 2010
You're cooler than everyone ever.
royalcurve - April 13, 2010
Put a Bradley head on that shit and its perfect.
Awesome.
the other side - April 13, 2010
Holy fuck
OlSalty - April 13, 2010
Asked for
and delivered
Fin - April 13, 2010
Fucking perfect.
That just made my night.
the other side - April 13, 2010
That is beautiful.
thehemogoblin - April 13, 2010
I love you
Griffin Cooper - April 13, 2010
Thank you.
Teej - April 13, 2010
Beautiful.
JAH - April 13, 2010
Wow...this is blowing my mind!
Rich Langford - April 13, 2010
Aaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Eyeball Kid - April 13, 2010
Maybe if it isn't too much to ask, the mods could side-bar this pic for future use?
Fin - April 13, 2010
And is there any chance of a wallpaper-sized version?
Eyeball Kid - April 13, 2010
This has got to be the single greatest sports blog
Torrid - April 13, 2010
Has been for awhile...
Rock on!
hairofthedawg - April 14, 2010
I love checking this site every morning
To find shit like this. Amazing.
E-Lizz - April 14, 2010
Amen
EequalsMc2 - April 14, 2010
Fantastic.
Eyeball Kid - April 13, 2010
This is the look he gets on his face
Right before he beats the shit out of you. I like it.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
I love you
Ef the yankees - April 13, 2010
I'm scared...
Allen Wu - April 13, 2010
I can't stop watching this.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
Yeah I know it's hypnotic.
Allen Wu - April 13, 2010
I may actually have nightmares because of this...
It’s like the look Chuck Norris gives you before a roundhouse to the face…
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
I can't stop looking at this!
ThundaPC - April 13, 2010
Me neither. I've stared at it for five straight minutes.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
Same here... just something about that smile...
Wish my smile looked like that.
Allen Wu - April 13, 2010
Thanks Jeff.
Just kidding. Way to go Matthew, via Don275!!!
wyte_lightning - April 13, 2010
Best. GIF. EVER.
MFAN - April 13, 2010
Oh God. This is my new troll face image.
The Typical Idiot Fan - April 13, 2010
That's like a "Just For Men" commercial smile.
kentroyals5 - April 13, 2010
Not quite of Enzyte calibre.
HARRYP09 - April 13, 2010
I think the best part is how quick the smile goes away.
kentroyals5 - April 13, 2010
One of the best things ever
Gihyou - April 13, 2010
Imagine how much creepier it would look if you sped it up.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
Considering how much credit Jeff gets for Matthew's work
I see nothing wrong with Matthew receiving all these recs.
katal - April 13, 2010
Looks like I missed a hell of a game.
Milton!
royalcurve - April 13, 2010
Moi aussi.
but I had a really good dinner at Bizarro.
msb - April 13, 2010
Mmmm... Bizarro
jtopps - April 13, 2010
The blink after the smile is what does it for me.
Goose - April 13, 2010
Bradley smile >
lemonverbena - April 14, 2010
Where have I seen this before?
Janic - April 14, 2010
Okay, I dig it.
Two Rs and Two Ls - April 14, 2010
I imagine this is only the beginning.
ThundaPC - April 14, 2010
Wow, this is getting better and better.
marinerdan - April 14, 2010
Why is Bradley's hand white?
Eyebrows - April 14, 2010
From repeatedly slapping white ass.
EnglishMariner - April 14, 2010
"Some of Milton's biggest fans wish him a happy birthday before yesterday's game"
(From @TheRealMariners twitter feed)
Janic - April 15, 2010
Oh shit this is amazing.
E-Lizz - April 14, 2010
This is fantastic
BigR - April 14, 2010
This makes me really happy.
Because I was thinking of that smile in the same context when I first saw it.
JY - April 14, 2010
Fucking amazing.
JBell523 - April 14, 2010
It's the blink punctuating the smile that does it for me.
Wilder. - April 14, 2010
Shit.
Next time I will just go with a “what Goose said”.
Wilder. - April 14, 2010
A ballsier manager...
…would have put Byrnes in the field for the 9th inning.
AnotherAaron - April 13, 2010
Didn't he run for Sweeney?
I thought you couldn’t put a DH into the field.
themanleyman - April 13, 2010
You can but then you have to have the pitcher bat
Snowman1025 - April 13, 2010
You can
but lose the DH for the rest of the game.
AnotherAaron - April 13, 2010
Not true.
We’re the home team.
Coach Owens - April 13, 2010
Well done!
Brian Floyd - April 13, 2010
I don't get it? Enlighten me so I can rec this!
MFAN - April 13, 2010
This has been saved for posterity
Question?
hat tip Corco
PDXTai - April 14, 2010
I wish I had known about LL a couple of years ago.
seattle_since_81 - April 14, 2010
Likewise.
That thread was epically hilarious.
thebyron - April 14, 2010
I have no memory of reading that thread but have apparently rec'd one of the comments.
Eyeball Kid - April 14, 2010
That wasn't you, that was ningwers
seattlebruin - April 14, 2010
I am such a fucking idiot.
Eyeball Kid - April 14, 2010
It took a few responses to this comment to jog my memory.
Teej - April 13, 2010
Never leave us
seattlebruin - April 13, 2010
Triumph
royalcurve - April 13, 2010
We'd need to sign Nick Punto first
OlSalty - April 13, 2010
And have Mark Lowe play third base.
Fin - April 13, 2010
Ah good times.
Fin - April 13, 2010
I see
hence the ‘ballsiness’ of the move
Snuffleupagus - April 13, 2010
Yeah,
But with Aardsma as your closer, it isn’t a stretch to think that he could walk two guys and let one hit it out, which puts you in a tight spot. Good call Wak!
themanleyman - April 13, 2010
how would that have worked?
I was thinking about that when he pitch ran. Byrnes pitch ran for the DH. Does that prevent him from going into the field? If it doesn’t prevent him from playing the field, then could Bradley have been moved to DH?
Snuffleupagus - April 13, 2010
I may be wrong, but if he ran for the DH, he stays at DH. You can't switch a fielder and DH.
Putting Byrnes in the field would have caused us to lose the DH for the rest of the game. AKA The bottom of the 9th.
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
I kinda miss that Langerhans guy.
MFAN - April 13, 2010
Jeff Nye - April 13, 2010
Someone put an Ms hat on that.
JAH - April 13, 2010
I'm glad you can see past the fact that I suck at operating LL
to realize that that was supposed to be in the Milton Bradley pic subthread.
Jeff Nye - April 13, 2010
Okay I gotta stop watching that gif.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
I can't help it...
It’s like a train wreck.
With teeth.
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
I find myself trying to replicate it.
Just smiling randomly at my computer screen like an idiot.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
I thought I was the only one doing that.
Thanks.
the other side - April 13, 2010
I have been trying to replicate this smile also
And I’m pretty sure my coworkers think I’m about to go gleefully postal.
HititHere - April 14, 2010
I found doing this to random people at my college is extremely entertaining.
the other side - April 14, 2010
Fister and Bradley were awesome tonight, but so was Wilson.
His defense is adorable.
TrustBaseball - April 13, 2010
Bradley is OPSing .666 and Anderson had 6IP 6SO 6H...
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
tintin - April 13, 2010
This means...
When the Mariners win the World Series this year, the world will end!
Allen Wu - April 13, 2010
I think you're wrong.
It clearly means that the Mariners will win the World Series in 2012.
I Lick Squirrels - April 14, 2010
No it means Bradley will become beloved by all, be named World Series MVP, die, come back to life and give us all prison tattoos
Aaron Campeau - April 14, 2010
We need a .gif of Linda Blair right now...
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
Will this do?
Eyeball Kid - April 13, 2010
I accept this offering.
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
It looks strangely like Bobby Ayala and Ronald McDonald had a baby...
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
Okay...I can't take these anymore. You guys are too good at this.
Rich Langford - April 13, 2010
I didn't actually make this
Chances are if I post a .gif it came from the b3ta messageboard.
Scruffy, however, is too good at this.
Eyeball Kid - April 13, 2010
I love this more than life itself.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - April 14, 2010
Fister's incredible outing.
Milton’s home run. Milton’s creepy postgame smile. Fister trying to high five Milton. Great Fister/Milton night.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
I didn't catch the attempted high-five.
kentroyals5 - April 13, 2010
It was a success.
Awkwardly.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
Uhh M's postgame on gameday audio is going to get Rob Johnson's thoughts.
No thank you. Don’t ruin my night.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
He's a swell guy.
Listening to him talk almost convinces you to like him. Until you remember how he plays the game of baseball.
harkening - April 13, 2010
I'd sooner interview Ichiro's dog than Robo Rob.
Ichiro’s dog would at least have some insight.
JAH - April 13, 2010
I would love Ichiro's dog's thoughts.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
Roughly the equivalent of, "stay, stay"
Ikkyu informs both Ichiro’s contract situation and his baserunning (perhaps)
JY - April 13, 2010
Maybe Ikkyu should replace Brumely as our third base coach!
harkening - April 13, 2010
*Brumley
harkening - April 13, 2010
Obviously you don't know how the mind of a ninja dog works.
Coach Owens - April 13, 2010
Stay, but only when people are looking.
JY - April 13, 2010
Ikkyu is apparently quite instrumental to Ichiro's success.
He thanks him along with Yumiko (the wife) for “support.” I remember him saying “I’d like to thank my wife, Yumiko, and my dog…” after the 262-hit season. It made me laugh.
But never underestimate Ikkyu’s power.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Ikkyu teaches Ichiro how to hit
Allen Wu - April 13, 2010
I figured it was a fielding thing.
Taking great routes and first steps, that sprint that’s more lope, springing off the balls of the feet…
harkening - April 13, 2010
I actually sometimes would rather have the dog's autograph than Ichiro's
I’m hoping for just a paw print on my Ichiro poster.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
That would be awesome.
harkening - April 13, 2010
I'll get Ichiro's dog's autograph for you no problem
lemonverbena - April 14, 2010
Thanks.
E-Lizz - April 14, 2010
I remember they asked him how important his hitting streak was or something
He said something like “It is important… I should have invited my wife Yumiko and my dog Ikkyu to see me hit. I guess that shows you how important it is to me.”
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
LL needs a shrine to Ikkyu, the key to our success.
harkening - April 13, 2010
I'm one day hoping someone will create a website
Dedicated entirely to Ichiro quotes.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
Here's a start:
http://www.ussmariner.com/2008/05/29/ichiro-quotes-of-awesomeness/
harkening - April 13, 2010
Yes! I've read that a few times.
Whenever I need inspiration in anything in life, I read Ichiro quotes.
E-Lizz - April 13, 2010
Then I do hope you own a copy of Ichiro On Ichiro.
If you don’t, fix it.
harkening - April 13, 2010
This has a bunch.
http://llwiki.wikidot.com/ichiro
I was unaware there was a LL wiki. Such a noob.
thebyron - April 14, 2010
The comment about Dice-K is actually my favorite quote of all time.
In the history of quotes, ever.
E-Lizz - April 14, 2010
Where did Robo Rob come from?
Wouldn’t a robot catcher presumably be able to catch?
Mariner John - April 13, 2010
All his surgeries.
Six million dollar man reference and all that.
Personally, I’d like to call him Darth Rob. He’s more machine now than man, twisted and talentless.
harkening - April 13, 2010
If anybody is a Sith, it's Bradley.
JAH - April 13, 2010
Bradley is too awesome to be a Sith.
Unless it’s like Darth Revan, prodigal knight. So badass that he can swing both ways.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Except Vader could kill you from across the room.
Rob has no skills.
the other side - April 13, 2010
He could kill you from the other side of the room if he stood between you and an approaching fastball
Aaron Campeau - April 13, 2010
A fastball delivered by Doug Fister?
I think I’d survive.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Rob also catches Felix.
Who would immolate you with a glance.
JAH - April 13, 2010
Being burned alive by Felix would be an honor.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Rob Johnson:
Taking the catch out of catcher
gabe713 - April 14, 2010
I should be writing the paper I have due tomorrow.
Instead I just watched the video on the Mariners site of the Bradley home run, about ten times. I watched it again just after typing that out and am resisting the urge to watch it yet another time.
So many good things. The drive-by high-five of Brumley as he passed, the strange clap in the air before he high-fived Lopez, the way Fister is just kind of hanging there, waiting to be acknowledged, while Mike Sweeney, capitalizing on Bradley’s own momentary hesitation, grabs him off-center and hits him in the face with his bicep. Everything about it. Wonderful.
And Matthew’s gif of Bradley smiling in the postgame? Icing on the cake.
JY - April 13, 2010
I did the same exact thing
Glorious offensive nectar…it’s so much sweeter when you haven’t tasted it regularly.
Omerta - April 14, 2010
Hell of a game to be at.
Doug Fister looked really, really good. He gave up a few deep fly balls, but hey, I guess you might as well utilize your environment. Great command, even struck out a few. Just a surprisingly awesome job.
Griffin Cooper - April 13, 2010
It's Doug Fister.
Deep fly balls are part of the deal, you just have to hope most of them stay in the yard
seattlebruin - April 13, 2010
Safeco's the place to do it
Griffin Cooper - April 13, 2010
I am such a 13 year old...
because that statement made me laugh.
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
So the word "balls" makes you laugh no matter what the usage is?
Because that isn’t even funny context
Griffin Cooper - April 13, 2010
.
Dr. Elliot Reid: [back in Free Clinic] All right, now repeat after me…
Mr. Keck: [to Turk] “You can’t decide for me, that’s not your duty.”
Dr. Elliot Reid: And are they both trying not to laugh at the word “duty”?
Mr. Keck: [J.D. and Turk try to hold their giggles back]
JAH - April 13, 2010
I have an irrational love of scrubs.
Call it a character flaw. I dont care.
the other side - April 13, 2010
So do I. Let's not take this off topic though.
Griffin Cooper - April 13, 2010
So between Milton Bradley and Scrubs...
No thats a reach…
the other side - April 13, 2010
Woo Fisty!
Fin - April 13, 2010
Be right back booking hotel in Fister.
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
Hang on this one is better
Fin - April 13, 2010
Oh man, the last headline.
It kills me.
JAH - April 13, 2010
That's priceless...
Belom3 - April 13, 2010
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T DO AN IMAGE SEARCH
thebyron - April 14, 2010
If you type "lookout" into Google, the fourth auto-complete is "lookout landing"
seattlebruin - April 13, 2010
But if you type "uss" into Google...
… the first auto-complete is “uss mariner.”
srm07 - April 13, 2010
If you type "them" the first auto complete is Halos Heaven.
CapSea - April 13, 2010
And USS Mariner has been Google'd way more times than Lookout Landing
according to Google Trends.
Coach Owens - April 13, 2010
Weird
LL gets more comments per post…
eflegen - April 13, 2010
USSM doesn't have live updating comments
OlSalty - April 13, 2010
Also, our commenters are like 500% sexier.
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
And virile!
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
I think you meant viral
I know these Web 2.0 buzzwords are tough, but please try and work on them
Robert Lintott - April 14, 2010
No, no
He meant virile.
jwolf0 - April 14, 2010
Surprised face.gif
Robert Lintott - April 14, 2010
Only three of our commenters are sexy, though.
Jeff, Matthew and Jon.
Says so right at the bottom of the page.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Eyebrows doesn't need to advertise.
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
Angels fans are not sexy.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Don't tell Jeff.
CapSea - April 13, 2010
That was total bullshit anyways
OlSalty - April 13, 2010
This one is.
royalcurve - April 13, 2010
AWWW YEAH
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
WHY
Coach Owens - April 13, 2010
You've got those chambered and ready to go, huh?
JAH - April 13, 2010
Griffey homered?
CapSea - April 13, 2010
No, that's this gif
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
NONONONO
KILL IT WITH FIRE
Coach Owens - April 13, 2010
That's how my scout master said hello.
CapSea - April 13, 2010
Once it grabs you...you really can't stop.
the other side - April 13, 2010
JESUS
EequalsMc2 - April 14, 2010
I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at.
And I’m not sure I want to.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Welcome to LL!
There’s more where that came from.
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
So I've noticed over the last several months.
This one, though…I dunno, it’s just abstract enough to not be disturbing, and having it identified would take away the mystery.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Hugs!
royalcurve - April 13, 2010
What The Hell Is This!?
C-Nage - April 13, 2010
Mmmmm delicious ice.
Mariner John - April 13, 2010
That it's not a weird animal penis doesn't make it look any less like a weird animal penis
lemonverbena - April 14, 2010
People swarm Dave on Fangraphs far more often than they swarm Matthew.
It’s as if he’s the only Mariner blogger there, given the apparent perception of ridiculous homerism.
harkening - April 13, 2010
I'm pretty sure USSM has a readership that is 2 or 3 times LL's.
So it makes sense he’d get more searches.
CapSea - April 13, 2010
The great silent majority....
JY - April 13, 2010
Old people can't read fast enough to keep up with game threads.
CapSea - April 13, 2010
And can't stay awake long enough to see the end.
Coach Owens - April 13, 2010
My computer shits itself during reruns of Golden Girls.
Teej - April 13, 2010
Another thing I have in common with your computer!
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
Bea Arthur's voice is like my brown note.
Eyebrows - April 13, 2010
The haters who go onto comment on the Times and PI blogs about the stupid sabermetric community.
harkening - April 13, 2010
No, they just should be silent.
JY - April 13, 2010
Agreed.
Point being a portion of the “silent majority” of readers at USSM and LL are probably silent because of some underlying baseball bias, or perhaps disdain for the sabermetrically inclined.
harkening - April 13, 2010
I got that, I'm just being snarky.
JY - April 13, 2010
That's weird because if you type Loo the first is Lookout Landing.
Kirk - April 13, 2010
But if varies from person to person, right?
Doesn’t Google have a algorithm which would pull up the most likely searches for you? Like, since you’ve Googled “Lookout Landing” before, its programing says "Well, chances are good when he types ‘loo…’ he wants ‘lookout landing’.
jam0152 - April 14, 2010
On a night I learn Bedard and Lee could come back in before June, Milton Bradley made my week.
C-Nage - April 13, 2010
Bedard?
Did I miss something?
zeeehjee - April 13, 2010
Bullpen session on Friday
Brian Floyd - April 13, 2010
He's projected to be about 1-2 weeks behind Lee.
So if Lee is back in early-to-mid May, Bedard is back mid-to-late May.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Yes, and the news keeps on getting better, hopefully Lee gets his suspension repealed.
C-Nage - April 13, 2010
So when is Jeff going to change the tagline (not sure what to call it)
of the site to “Milton is ours and you can’t have him.”?
Coach Owens - April 13, 2010
I'd venture to guess never
royalcurve - April 13, 2010
Way to go out on a limb.
CapSea - April 13, 2010
Thanks!
royalcurve - April 13, 2010
=D
CapSea - April 13, 2010
Bah, who needs that good for nothing Felix?
The guy doesn’t even have a win this year.
Coach Owens - April 13, 2010
If we somehow retroactively trade Felix in 2005
Corco - April 13, 2010
How about trading him in 2005 for Jose Vidro and Brad Wilkerson?
OceanBird - April 13, 2010
I feel like flagging this, just for the bad memories.
rbr07 - April 14, 2010
How about: We have a Milton where our Silva was.
Rich Langford - April 13, 2010
Making a Milton out of a molehill.
?
thehemogoblin - April 13, 2010
So I was at the game and early on a beer vendor walked around and said "I've got bottles, you know, in case you want to send a message to Milton Bradley!"
Fuck that guy.
Milton Bradley is like sex with a beautiful woman. Rob Johnson is like being raped by an evil wookie.
SethGrandpa - April 13, 2010
You should have cunted him right in the fuck.
Eyeball Kid - April 13, 2010
I would report him to guest services.
He should be fired.
Aaron Campeau - April 13, 2010
I'd report him to Milton Bradley
Rich Langford - April 13, 2010
Milton would rape him like an evil wookie
Matt Erickson - April 14, 2010
Absolutely. That is outrageous.
royalcurve - April 13, 2010
Immediately.
The M’s would jump all over this too. This shouldn’t stand in our park.
JY - April 14, 2010
Honestly I would've, but I was too angry to think straight for a minute there.
By the time that crossed my mind he was long gone.
SethGrandpa - April 14, 2010
You should still report it
Just tell them what section you were sitting in and at what time and they can probably figure out who it was.
OlSalty - April 14, 2010
This is a great idea. And seems necessary.
royalcurve - April 14, 2010
It's shit like this that started stuff in Chicago.
the other side - April 13, 2010
And Cleveland.
rbr07 - April 14, 2010
I just don't get it.
Common sense would make you go, “Oh, this guy has been harassed and had problems in other cities, let’s try and support him and maybe things will be different.” Instead, it’s “Oh this guy gets harassed and becomes a problem everywhere, lets heckle him.”
Hopefulmsfan - April 14, 2010
Ignoring the poor choice Figgins made, Kurt Suzuki is awesome.
Teej - April 13, 2010
Not a poor choice!
Figgins makes it to 3rd like 95% of the time there.
Matthew - April 13, 2010
That was just way too athletic for a catcher.
the other side - April 13, 2010
Yeah.
Figgins got Doillied on that play.
JAH - April 13, 2010
Sure did!
Jeff Sullivan - April 14, 2010
I wonder what percentage of the time Rob Johnson makes that play
six? Lower?
seattlebruin - April 13, 2010
If it were Johnson, Figgins would make it all the way home.
RunningFool - April 13, 2010
That number you are looking for is 0%
Rob wouldn’t have gotten his glove within a foot of that.
the other side - April 13, 2010
I'd say roughly -1000 percent...give or take a point.
Rich Langford - April 13, 2010
Johnson turns catchable balls into "wild pitches"
So, yeah, I’m going with a zero percent average success rate for the Robo catcher on the Suzuki play.
short - April 14, 2010
I just wanted a run, dammit.
But yeah, it took a stunning throw to nail him, and I guess I should defer to Ichiro and Figgins on the basepaths. They’re probably better at this than I am.
But wouldn’t he have made it anyway if the ball had gotten away from Suzuki? Seemed like he jumped earlier than he needed to.
Teej - April 13, 2010
MLB Networks just showed a replay, and yeah, I'd bet on Figgins beating the tag every time.
Teej - April 13, 2010
I couldn't believe how perfect that throw was until I saw the replay
He cartwheeled to catch the ball and then delivered a laser right to the third baseman’s glove in the best possible position to tag the runner without moving. It was impressive.
Brian Floyd - April 13, 2010
The phrase I'm searching for is
“Holy fuck.”
thebyron - April 14, 2010
Getting to third would have been a big boost to getting a run scored
and it was more about the chance that anyone could catch that and not fall on his ass
Matthew - April 13, 2010
I agree with this. Very few catchers make that play look as easy as Suzuki did.
But, We won’t be sad to see Oakland leaving tomorrow to be sure
C-Nage - April 13, 2010
Absolutely
even with the remarkable stop it took a perfect throw to get Figgins. I haven’t seen Suzuki play that much, but I guess the average AL catcher air mails the ball half the time after making a stop like that, in which case, score.
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
He's a surprisingly good player, in my opinion.
He does get overlooked because he has played with a generally sub-par team over his career, but I really like his skill set. His athleticism behind the plate really gets my attention (and gets Figgins at third too, apparently, even though I missed that because I was working).
thehemogoblin - April 13, 2010
Suzuki's 2008 and 2009 were worth 2.7 and 2.8 WAR respectively.
In short, he produces at about the same level Kenji did before getting raped of his job by Rob fucking Johnson. In other words, best Mariners catcher of all time. I am a fan of Kurt Suzuki. Except he’s an A. Fuck that shit.
harkening - April 13, 2010
Kenji was not producing at nearly that level when he lost his job
Aaron Campeau - April 13, 2010
In 2009, Kenji was worth 0.9 WAR in 258 PA.
Over the stretch of a full season, this works out to about 1.9 WAR. This is with inconsistent playing time and despite the nagging injuries that allowed Johnson to get playing time in the first place.
Was Kenji ever going to be 2006 good again? Probably not. But he was far better in 2009 than a lot of people seem to realize, and certainly far superior to Rob Johnson.
harkening - April 14, 2010
I don't think anyone questions his superiority to Rob Johnson.
Aaron Campeau - April 14, 2010
No.
But a league average catcher (2.0 WAR) would be valuable. That’s less than a full win off his ‘06 and ’07 seasons, and I’m willing to bet the injuries had something to do with it. I don’t think Kenji dropped off the cliff you seem to be implying by saying he “was not producing at nearly that level” (emphasis added for obvious reasons).
harkening - April 14, 2010
Except the pitchers, apparently
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
A full catcher season is shorter than other position players
I’d say he was on pace for 1.5
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
In '07 and '06, Kenji had 210 and 242 PA's respectively in 142 and 147 starts.
In other words, a full season is about twice the 258 PA’s. He played 71 games in ‘09 (to Rob Johnson’s 80—he only put up 0.3 WAR >=( ). Multiply either his PA’s by two or his starts by two and you get up to his actual full season length. “Full season for catchers” is actually pretty short given the standards Joh set.
harkening - April 14, 2010
210 and 242 PA seems low.
Mariner John - April 14, 2010
Typo!
harkening - April 14, 2010
That's not right
513 and 542
Graham MacAree - April 14, 2010
Okay
but Joh was used way, way more than normal catchers and it seemed to take its toll. 120 games is a pretty standard catcher season.
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
It really bums me out that Suzuki plays for Oakland. I like watching him play more than I should.
Sec 108 - April 14, 2010
Milton's clearly been reading LL.
From the post interview: "If you keep working hard, talent is going to surpass bad luck."
aguay - April 13, 2010 via mobile
Much better answer than then one David Aardsma gave about him being lucky on his flyball rate.
Janic - April 13, 2010
From Geoff Baker
Link
JAH - April 14, 2010
Sounds hot
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
Fantastic.
I don’t know which I’m happier about, Bradley saying that or Snell smiling constantly. I could stand them both producing more though.
JY - April 14, 2010
Just saw the Bradley homer, am I mistaken or is the Funk Blast back!?
MFAN - April 14, 2010
Funk Blast is BACK.
I’m awaiting on confirmation of the music selection.
Two Rs and Two Ls - April 14, 2010
Consider it confirmed
BrettJMiller - April 14, 2010
Yes!
katal - April 14, 2010
Confirmed.
BrianL - April 14, 2010
Wow, seriously?! HELL YEAH!
I wonder why they did this?
EnglishMariner - April 14, 2010
Hell yeah
Jeff Sullivan - April 14, 2010
This is why white people and black people should not interact.
EnglishMariner - April 14, 2010
Especially tall, slender white people named Fister.
Matt Erickson - April 14, 2010
Tall white people named Doug.
E-Lizz - April 14, 2010
Can we still use the same water fountains?
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
This .gifs is an example of what it was like between me and one of my roommates for a while.
JY - April 14, 2010
Your roommate was that awkward, huh?
seattlebruin - April 14, 2010
He had to explain the expectation when he put his hand out like that.
Being white, I interpreted it as a handshake. I was mistaken.
JY - April 14, 2010
They call it "dap" or something.
waldo rojas - April 14, 2010
I'm learning!
JY - April 14, 2010
Oh, I was trying to insinuate that you were black and had a tall, skinny awkward white roommate
seattlebruin - April 14, 2010
I'm definitely the tall skinny awkward white one.
JY - April 14, 2010
What's funny is
Felix was way more excited, outwardly, about the homer than Fister was. Fister just looked a little less long in the face.
Bearskin Rugburn - April 14, 2010
I would like to see
Fister High Fiving Milton after saving his win in the bottom of the 8th, next to Felix hugging Gutz for saving his win in the bottom of the 9th. (In case anyone was curious about what I would like to see).
Attractive Nuisance - April 14, 2010
I mean bottom of the 8th.
Attractive Nuisance - April 14, 2010
Good Lord Fister, you don't flail into the handshake
Torrid - April 14, 2010
I like that Figgins puts out his hand for the high five before MR. Bradley (heavy on the Mister) does.
seattle_since_81 - April 14, 2010
Uh oh, I think Bradley just violated his parole in front of a cop.
Goose - April 14, 2010
I love how he just gives up after the second attempt.
Lazy good for nothing bum.
Coach Owens - April 14, 2010
Oh god. Watching this is painful
But I keep on watching.
E-Lizz - April 14, 2010
A little ironic after a night of pin-point control.
kentroyals5 - April 14, 2010
Of all people, Doug Fister should be doing fist bumps
seattlebruin - April 14, 2010
This was just a night of awesome gifs.
killer_ewok18 - April 14, 2010
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Lookout Landing to post a comment.