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Lookout Landing

Series Preview: Detroit Tigers @ Seattle Mariners

Seattle: 16-28
Detroit: 25-19

MARINERS Δ Ms TIGERS EDGE
HITTING (wOBA)
-42.7 (29th) -1.0 18.9 (7th) Detroit
FIELDING (?) 19.3 (4th) 2.0 10.9 (12th) Seattle
ROTATION (tRA)
0.2 (17th) 1.8 -13.4 (26th) Seattle
BULLPEN (tRA)
-2.8 (22nd) 0.0 10.5 (6th) Detroit
OVERALL(RAA)
-26.0 (22nd) 2.8 26.9 (10th) DETROIT






 

Two game series are kind of neat as a change from the usual three and occasional four game variety, but they lose whatever luster they have from being an oddity when three of your last four series have been two gamers. How I long for a nice four game series, or longer. You know what makes sense? The five game series that they use in the minors. Make each team go through their entire rotation. It would also cut travel expenses almost in half and allow us fans to develop more rivalries with other teams and players because we would become more familiar with other teams playing them for five games at a time. This makes so much sense.

I was sitting here drinking a Diet Snapple that I got for free when I noticed the "Made from the Best Stuff on Earth" tagline. I checked the ingredient list but didn't see "Franklin Gutierrez" so I am now less convinced that Snapple is an honest organization when it comes to PR.

Also, I just realized that I took the Snapple from the sidewalk promoter without second thought. I have also done this plenty of times with free Monsters that are routinely given out after games at Qwest Field. Someone could bottle poison and kill a lot of people so as long as they were savvy with labeling. I wonder if this Snapple is actually poison. If so, I hope it kills me before the Mariner game starts. No offense to Doug, but I don't want a Doug Fister start to be the last thing my consciousness experiences.

Tue May 26, 19:10: Doug Fister vs. Justin Verlander

Wed May 27, 12:40: Jason Vargas* vs. Jeremy Bonderman

This two-game series is nearly on the same days, is at the same times and involves the same two starting pitchers on our end as the Blue Jays two game set that began this home stand. That might be the most interesting thing about this series or either of its' participants. 

Two opposing righties almost certainly means we get to see more Griffey this series. The feelings I used to have about Mike Sweeney this season have now been transferred, virus-like, to Griffey. I don't think I would even enjoy Griffey succeeding at this juncture. I just want him to go away. Hit the 60-day DL, Griff. You can hang around the team still. I don't care about that and actually would prefer that you stay in that capacity. Just stop playing. Stop playing him, Wak.

Doug Fister Jason Vargas
Pitch%SpKBBGB
Fastball 58% 88 20 60 50
Change 21% 81 40 80 65
Curve 10% 75 55 25 70
Sinker 6% 89 35 55 65
Slider 5% 83 40 80 55
Overall -- -- 20 65 60
Pitch%SpKBBGB
Fastball 52% 87 40 35 35
Change 20% 80 80 70 40
Sinker 17% 85 40 40 40
Slider 7% 82 20 30 50
Overall -- -- 50 40 30
Justin Verlander Jeremy Bonderman
Pitch%SpKBBGB
Fastball 64% 95 80 75 35
Curve 17% 80 45 50 55
Change 14% 84 70 55 35
Overall -- -- 70 70 40
Pitch%SpKBBGB
Fastball 60% 91 35 65 75
Slider 27% 83 75 55 30
Change 9% 84 35 20 35
Overall -- -- 75 60 65

0 recs  |  69 comments

Comments

Wrong days, Matthew.

Unless the tickets in my pocket for tonight’s game are lying to me.

Fine.

Blame the tickets and act like your pockets are TOTALLY innocent.

I'm actually blaming the Snapple.

Or the Valium.

Or the poison.
I'm always skeptical when they list an ingredient as natural flavor.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element and has a slightly sweet flavor.
Shit, it's only Tuesday?

This is going to be a long week

Tuesday is the most useless day in the week.
Especially since Lost is over.
Stay on topic douchebag.

Sorry.

I'm pretty sure Doug would take offense to that comment

Then again, I’m not Doug and he seems like a pretty chill kid.

Besides, he’s the least-hated Mariner on the team! Even less so than TBSOE. I mean, DTFT.

Note:

Today’s lineup is my favorite of all time

Ichiro
Figgins
Guti
Bradley (DH)
Lopez
Kotch
Bard
Wilson
Saunders (LF)

So we've gone from the worst lineup all season to potentially the best?
Bout damn time
Way to make my next post look silly Matthew

Fly Condor fly!

We could switch Bard and Lopez and I wouldn't complain.

Isn’t that scary?

I love this lineup

We’re going to score 6+ runs!
Either that or we’re getting no-hit.

Definitely time to experiment with Chone

And move him like 6th in order to try to create a second top of the order kind of feel, if he starts batting well

If he starts batting well,

we want him right there in the #2 spot, it is really important. If he keeps sucking then he should move down.

Of course Saunders gets his first ABs in forever against Verlander

Looks like a ready-made excuse by Wak to bench Saunders if he goes o-fer…

When you said Griffey would probably play, I was praying that finally, Wak would get the lineup right.

This lineup actually makes me excited.

Woohoo

Although with our luck Fister will regress like a motherfucker tonight

Golly, this game might be watchable!
An end to my self induced Grifflent bondage would be nice

but please please please Condor/Islets in left and Battleship at DH.

In fairness I think Griffey stopped playing a while ago
I think he stopped caring a while ago.

You can still be marched out to the field to make an appearance, and if you get lucky and hit the ball it’s a bonus, but I think it’s really more or less he stopped caring.

Out of all the unlikely bad things happening this season, I don't think it can top the one unlikely good thing that I never thought I'd say:

Its Fister Day!

Yay Fisty!

Leading the league in ERA.

Even though his FIP is 3.10, and his xFIP is 4.26…… and his BABIP is .231……

Just gotta keep on Fistin'!
Don't stop Fistin'?
His xFIP isn't all that unimpressive considering what we thought he was going to do this year.

But mostly through this crappy season, he’s been one of my favorite players to watch and honestly jumped into my top 5 favorite Mariners based on how deep he’s going into games and going long stretches of either retiring batters or carrying no-hitters into the 6th inning. He’s made the games somewhat exciting.

Plus, there was that horribly awkward incident where he tried to high-five Bradley

I think it was Bradley, at least. And then Figgins.

So awkward. So white.

I smile whenever I replay that .gif in my head.

Between Monday and Friday (afternoon) we have a night game and a day game.

Yay, scheduling…

And Sunday's was a day game.

From 4pm Sunday through 4pm Friday, a full five day stretch, the Mariners play two games

It's the only way they can hope to stay put in the standings.
I'm just happy that this odd schedule means that I get to see King Felix on Sunday.
I like how Snapple's always used that tagline...

put only just started using real sugar. So High Fructose Corn Syrup was the best stuff on earth, but isn’t anymore? Preeeeety sure it never was.

No Miguel Cabrera or Austin Jackson, correct?

That should help a little – at least in the case of Cabrera

I believe Jackson's back, but he isn't very good
I don't think its fair to say he's not very good.

Its fair to say he has played way above his head with an unsustainable BABIP, but while his BABIP has dropped in May, he’s also cut his strikeouts down from 32% to 23%. And he’s fared much better against righties than lefties.. he’s an okay player.

Damn it, I hate to disagree with Jeff Sullivan, but I guess I have a Lookout Landing death wish today.

He has a .468 BABIP

Dropping him to even .340 lowers his average to .245. He complements this average with little power and mediocre discipline.

He could and should develop into something better, but right now, he’s not special.

He's all that's standing the way of Michael Saunders' AL ROY

Well unless Hellickson or Santana get called up and do awesome.

Wade Davis? Neftali Feliz? Matusz? Brignac?

Not that any of them are doing great, but neither is Saunders.

Hush you...
He's gotten off to a good defensive start according to UZR and everything combined he's been worth 1.9 WAR.

Yes, WAR thats been aided by an absolutely ridiculous BABIP and he doesn’t approach being the all-star level player he could look like to some people, but he has had a BABIP under .340 just once in his minor league career (over 60 games) Zips may have him at a .340 RoS but I think he’s capable of .360 which puts his overall season at a respectable batting average, speed, and defense. He could easily end up a 2.5+ win player this year.

ZIPs also has him hitting with a .262/.317/.363 line with said BABIP of close to .340

And even though he’s had a BABIP under .340 once in his MiLB career he didn’t really start hitting consistently for average until recently, even then that was BABIP aided.

And that was sort of a brain fart dumb moment by me.

Of course, he still would have well north of .340 if he went .340 the rest of the year. So yeah, duh on my part.

Minor league BABIP doesn't mean much

Minor league defenses are terrible.

Outfield full of Brad Nelsons!
I think what I was mainly getting at was that at this point in this season Austin Jacksons doing the "better to be lucky than good thing"

And if I had to face Austin Jackson or Chone Figgins today, I’d rather go with against the struggling hitter even though Figgins is the better player.

Oh Why oh why!?!?

Why am I so excited for the game tonight? For some reason I keep wanting to believe, but then I keep getting let down. I guess I still recall being something like 13.5 games out in August and finishing in first.

You're excited because...

Well, Bradley (DH and in the 4 spot), Saunders, and Bard. And Fister!

He could be delusional.
I think, as Mariners fans, we have to be.

Otherwise we’d be crazy and bitter, more so than we are now.

Definitely like Bradley as DH and Saunders in LF
Yeah, this is what I've been waiting for.

So, uh, Wak, don’t just do it once in a row, okay?

Part of me wonders if this lineup is Z making an executive decision though.

I really hope it is Wak’s lineup and not the lineup of someone above him.

It's Wak's lineup.
Please suck big time Verlander
Bonderman is really K:75 BB:60 GB:65?

Wow, I didn’t know he was that good. That’s about as good (or maybe better) than Verlander at 70/70/40.

He didn't really throw enough in 2008 or 2009 for his suckiness to drag down his numbers
Ah, I see

So, this is sort of a weighted average of the past few years? He was very good in 2006 and pretty good in 2007, and though he’s been bad since, he didn’t pitch enough innings for it to have much of an effect on his weighted score? Makes sense.

I'm calling a sweep
Fister the most unknown very good young pitcher in MLB

the guy hasn’t given up more than 3 runs in any game…talk about consistent. Too bad the bats aren’t picking him up, he should be at 7 wins easy

Calling Doug Fister "very good" is a hell of stretch

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