Playoff baseball finally begins!

Well, with a dramatic end to a long 163-game season- with the Chicago White Sox being the first team in major league history to win three must-win games against three different teams to secure the final postseason spot- the playoffs are finally here.

October baseball begins with the start to three League Division Series today.  Yovani Gallardo takes the hill at Citizens Bank Park against Cole Hamels and the Fightin’ Phils.  The four innings tossed by Gallardo last week was the first action since tearing a ligament in his leg May.  Gallardo’s injury may have been abbreviated, but a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings isn’t anything to scoff at.  (Also, is Gallardo the first pitcher in major league history to start a playoff game with no record on the season- no wins and no losses?  Elias?)  Still, unless Milwaukee can clone C.C. Sabathia four times, I don’t like their chances against Philly’s home-field advantage.  I say Phillies in four.

The Dodgers arrive at Wrigleyville for Game #2 of the day, pitting Joe Torre’s boys in blue against Lou Pinella’s Cubs- who seem to be everybody’s sentimental favorite- in a managerial rematch of the 2001 ALCS. This series should be the most epic of the first rounders, but I expect the Cubs to come out on top in five games, with Pinella exacting his revenge over Torre for that 2001 Seattle Mariner postseason flameout after 116 regular season wins.

And the final game pits the banged-up AL Wild Card-winning Boston Red Sox against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the County of Orange in the State of California in the Country of the United States, who- loathe I am to admit it- are a soundly dominant team and should be the favorite to win the American League pennant.  The Red Sox have done a pretty good job beating up on the Angels in the postseason recently, but this is a different Red Sox team- where’s Manny?- and I see the Angels having little problem sweeping the Red Sox in the first round.

The action starts at 3 pm Eastern/ 12 noon Pacific time….

Jose Vidro- A different type of designated hitter

The M’s have a “different” approach towards DH with Jose Vidro? You can say that again!

Miguel Batista

Why does he need to load the bases before getting the third out in the ninth inning of a game that the M’s are losing 4-0?

Seriously, why he is he still on the roster?  Does anyone have a clue?  Does he have naked pictures of Lee Paloukinados or something….?

Out of it by mid-May

Well, this is definitely an end to the Bill Bavasi era.  And it can’t but be admitted that his tenure is ultimately disappointing, considering his father Buzzy’s legacy as churning out champions, and Bill’s handiwork in building the 2002 World Series champion Angels.  (You have to wonder why Los Angeles hasn’t made it back to the Fall Classic despite throwing money at Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, and Gary Matthews Jr.  Maybe throwing a ton of money at Torii Hunter will be the ticket!)

While Bavasi should be given his pink slip, I don’t think its time to give up on McLaren yet.  How is a team possibly going to be able to win while recycling managers, and not allowing cohesion to be built?  And who would step in his place?  Would the M’s “brain trust”- I term I use loosely- want to hire a “name” manager in a PR move to draw the fans that are abandoning this team like rats on a sinking ship?  How’s Dusty Baker’s hiring in Cincinnati working out?  How would you rate Mike Hargrove’s term as Mariners skipper?  Dear god, can we just keep McLaren for no other reason than to avoid such disastrous- and expensive- hirings?

A manager can only go as far as the team that’s assembled.  The biggest mistake was believing this mediocre bunch would challenge for the division this year.  But we all knew this team was going to struggle.  Check out the Seth Kolloen post I linked to in this blog last December.  Bavasi thought the team was competitive despite raw numbers that showed being blown every two days by Weaver and HoRam- resulting in a hypothetical situation drawn up by Kolloen in which the M’s were 3-2 despite being outscored 20-3- indicated the need to focus on pitching in the off-season.  Such an egregious miscalculation indicates that Bavasi should never be allowed to evaluate, analyze, and make personnel decisions for a major league ball club ever again.

By playing half their games in a pitcher’s park, you don’t need to focus as much on building your staff.  The effects of Safeco will help make a good pitcher great, a mediocre pitcher good, and a lousy pitcher will be a lousy pitcher no matter what.  (The incredibly misjudgment of HoRam is another check against Bavasi’s GM abilities.)  Let’s not forget that despite his 6.20 ERA, Jeff Weaver led the league in shutouts (somehow the second time in his career he did that).  Only one was tossed at home- and that against Pittsburgh.  In the aggregate, the M’s pitching staff allowed a half-run lower at home (4.57) than on the road (4.98).  That’s saying something.

What’s that saying?  It’s pretty clear to anyone who’s been paying attention over the past decade: your home ballpark will depress your scoring.  Admittedly, the splits last season were slight- 4.8 runs cored at home versus 5 on the road- but all of the marks favor the offense on the road: batting average (.290 road, .283 at home), slugging (.432 road, .418 home), OPS (.769 road, .755 home), while on-base % stayed the same regardless of where the team played (.337).  So what does the front office do in the off-season to target improvements to the team’s line-up, helping to tailor the offense to overcome Safeco’s park factors?  Not a damn thing.  (And I’m including the signings of Wilkerson and Cairo, which only led to a violent slapping of my head when I heard the news.)  As I said after the Silva signing: “Oh, if only Silva can provide good defense in left field or was a slugging first baseman with 30-home run, .550-slugging percentage potential.”

One way to gauge the true test of a team’s ability is to look at the team’s Pythagorean Record, a won-loss record strictly weighted on runs scored vs. runs allowed and cancels out 10-0 blowouts versus 2-1 pitching gems (which have been on short supply this season thanks to the combination of allergic reactions to the strike zone and a sudden morphing of the team’s gloves from leather into cast iron).  Last year’s Pythagorean Record of 79-83 was nine wins off the actual total of 88 wins, and any decent GM should’ve realized that an offense being out scored by 22 runs simply can not compete in a division with the Angels and, as I suspected, the Athletics.  But the offense was neglected, and as a result we see the lousy resulting of having this season ended by mid-May.

The team was eleven games below .500 four years ago, the last season with Similin’ Bob Melvin in the dugout, and that team went on to lose 99 games.  It should be noted that Mevlin led an Arizona Diamondbacks team with a similar 79-83 Pythagorean Record to the NLCS last year, and is currently leading the best team in the majors.  I’m only slightly bitter.  Then again, going back to the point that a manager can only make do with what he’s given, the D-Back’s front office have made incredible assessments of young players and have developed a team made to win in their ball park.  (They have outscored the opposition by thirty runs at Chase Field, and fifty runs over all this season.)

So, let’s rid ourselves of Bavasi and take that yoke off around our neck.  Let’s keep McLaren and focusing on improving the on-field product to better gauge his abilities as a manager.  As for players, it makes sense to move as many as possible, but who could that be?  Richie’s performance and contract makes his value about nil- even if the Mariners ate his contract up, would it be worth it to move it for roster filler?  (No team in their right mind would get him in exchange for prospects or draft picks.  Too bad Bavasi is the Gm of Seattle and not other teams…)  Beltre has value- move him.  Raul has value- move him.  Even though the M’s signed Kenji to a three year contract for no other reason than to block Clement’s development, by signing him to a decent contract they’ve actually increased his trade value.  Move him.  And though it hurts, move JoLo and Yuni.

It’s time to trim the fat all the way to the bone.  And that means no signing Ken Griffey Jr. or Barry Bonds to offer any sort of “presence” in the line-up: that avenue would be exactly opposite of what the team needs to do.  There is no reason that a team with a $115-$120 million payroll should lose 100 games, so get rid of all those people and call up Adam Moore, Bryan LaHair, Carlos Triunfel, Greg Halman, etc. and have them play.  Sure they’ll be over-matched and the team will lose 100 games- but we’re going to reach that century mark anyway.  Plus, the best thing about slashing payroll is that ticket prices can be slashed as well, which should definitely be pursued by the front office priority number one as a PR mea culpa to their fans and curry favor with those who are offended by the stinking pile of poo that masquerades as the Mariners’ starting nine on a daily basis.

Speaking of playing like poo, the M’s-Rangers game is all ready under way, meaning that the team can get its daily loss out of the way earlier today….

Double-A check in: Diamond Jaxx beat Clayton Kerhsaw on way to 2-3 record

In preparation for tonight’s home opener at Pringles Park, the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx look to improve on their 2-3 record.  One of their wins included a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers’ Jacksonville Suns affiliate and their top pitching prospect Clayton Kershaw.  Against West Tenn, Kershaw pitched well enough to win, allowing two runs- one earned- while striking out four in three innings.  However, the four base runners allowed by Kershaw through two hits and two walks proved to be too much as  right hander Rich Dorman held the Suns to just one hit- and one unearned run- over six innings.

Hitting stars for the Jaxx so far in this young season include first baseman Thomas Hubbard- who has three of his four hits going for extra bases- and up-and-coming catching prospect Adam Moore who has a home run for one of his three hits.  Besides Dorman, starter Chris Jakubauskas also tossed five innings without allowing an unearned run, and striking out six while walking none.  Plus, for the Brandon Morrow watch, the 23 year old right hander has so far kept hitters against him scoreless as he seeks to work his way back to the big club, tossing 3/2 scoreless innings, although questions of control are raised as Morrow has allowed four walks.  Still, the six strikeouts he’s tallied to the two hits allowed showcase an overpowering presence by Morrow, making you feel sorry for any batters opposing him in the Southern League.

Tonight’s game kicks off a five-game series at home against the Huntsville Stars.  Go Jaxx!

Clutch two out base hit by…. Richie Sexson????

There is no denying that Richie Sexson’s 2007 season was perhaps the most putrid full-season by a Mariner batter.  Especially one signed to provide power as opposed to a no-hit, all-glove infielder.  And Richie’s numbers with runners on last year were infuriating, to say the least, as any Mariner fan who made himself hoarse by cursing Sexson’s name can attest to.  Richie’s numbers with runners on last year speak for themselves: a .187 average in 144 plate appearances with runners on, picking up 41 RBIs.  Numbers that are mirrored in situations with runners on and two outs: in 72 plate appearances, Richie hit .188 and knocked in 23 runs.

Richie’s 2007 season was so profoundly horrible, that it’s easy to forget the fact that Sexson hit .261 with 76 RBIs when runners were in scoring position a year before, and hit .264 with 35 RBIs with runners on and two outs.  Or the fact that he slugged five grand slams in 2006.  Luckily, the Tampa Bay Rays ignored that throughout his career Richie is a capable hitter with runners on, and his 14 grand slams to his name.  Twice in yesterday’s game, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon opted to walk Raul Ibanez to load the bases for Richie and Sexson obliged by taking a bases-loaded walk in the first at-bat, and dunking a soft line drive- not what we expect from one who can hit the ball a country mile, but so much preferable than a strikeout- for a two-run single that gave the M’s their final lead in the 6-5 victory, stopping their four-game skid.  With this single, Richie has now chalked up six RBIs in the ten at-bats he’s had with runners on so far this season, and gave the M’s their first one-run lead of the year.

Bedard pitched well enough to win, allowing five hits, four walks, and five runs- three earned- in six innings.  And you have to be impressed by the 1.2 scoreless innings tossed by Ryan Rowland-Smith for his first career save.  Nice to see a lefthanded reliever not getting lit up like a Christmas tree.  Toss in that dynamite block by Beltre, and a heads up play by Lopez who tagged an advanced on a pop-up to the Rays’ catcher- setting the stage for Raul’s second IBB- and it was a nice solid game by the M’s.  I was beginning to forget what those were like.

Today’s match-up pits two flyball pitchers against each other in Jarrod Washburn and Andy Sonnastine in what could be a hard-fought pitcher’s duel.  Washburn enters the game with an identical 10-3 record against the Rays that Bedard entered yesterday’s game with, a record that includes a 1.99 ERA at Tropicana Field and little trouble given him by any Rays batters, save a couple home runs hit by Carlos Pena.  Sonnastine, meanwhile, has won his only start against the M’s, allowing one run- a homer by Adrian Beltre- in seven innings.  This game is too close to find an edge, but the Rays just might pull this one out.

Has Eric O’Flaherty “lost his confidence?”

The numbers that Eric O’Flaherty has posted in his first five outings have been pretty atrocious: in less than three innings, Eric has allowed nine base runners, five of which have come around to score.  All seven of the hits he’s allowed have been against left-handed batters, for a .636 average and a 1.182 OPS.  Not exactly what you’d like to see from your left-handed specialist whose job it is to get left-handers out.

I argued against the Bedard-Jones trade when the rumors were reaching a fever peak during the off season.  Besides decimating the offense for a pitcher we’d have no guarantee for keeping long term (the seemingly prescient prediction of 3-2 and 2-1 scores seems utterly obvious), we would also be dealing reliable lefty set-up man George Sherrill, hoping that the 23-year old O’Flaherty could be slotted in Sherrill’s stead.  The night-and-day performances between the two pictures so far this year prove otherwise.  As much as it hurt watching Sherrill pick up three saves during the four-game Oriole sweep, it hurts even more when you realize that O’Flaherty has lowered his ERA in only one of his outings, a scoreless inning against the Orioles on Saturday that dropped his ERA six points.

Now McLaren is asking out loud whether O’Flaherty has lost his confidence, and whether he should just be utilized in low-pressure situation.  This is a profoundly negative turn of events at this point in the season, especially when it leaves Ryan Rowland-Smith, whose splits between right handerd (.804 OPS) and left handed batters (.762) are negligible, as the left-handed specialist.

Oh to have Sherrill back.  I still have a continued profound distrust of the Bedard-Jones trade, and a strong suspicion that the outcome will be a handful of negatives against the Mariners that cancel out any positives that Erik is able to bring to the pitcher’s mound.  Perhaps my stance can be broken if Bedard delivers a seven-inning, two-hit, no-run, 11-strikeout performance (but most importantly a win!) against the Rays.  Otherwise, if you were to ask me at this moment if I’d rather have George Sherrill or Erik Bedard on the Mariners’ roster, my answer would be in favor of Sherill.

So much for the Schedule Gods

The M’s and the Orioles were able to stay dry yesterday, but still Steve Trachsel somehow, and in some way, was able to beat the M’s and pick up his first career against Seattle, with the Orioles coming on top of a 7-4 score.  It definitely wasn’t Trachsel’s dominating command of the strike zone that did the M’s in- of the 83 pitches he threw going into the sixth inning, 43 were outside the strike zone.  Regardless of the expected mediocrity exhibited by the Orioles’ veteran starter, the Mariners were unable to get anything going, as Trachsel kept the Mariners to just six base runners in his near six innings of work.

Jarrod Washburn labored in his start yesterday as well, tossing 103 pitches in five innings.  But when he left the game, the M’s were down by just one run, 3-2, thanks to a two-run home-run blast by Adrian Beltre in the fourth inning.  However, a melt down by the M’s bullpen- four runs allowed in an inning a third by Cha Seung Baek and Ryan Rowland-Smith- did the Mariners in, despite a two-run moonshot by Richie Sexson in the ninth inning.  After Sexson’s blast, our friend George Sherrill entered the game to pick up his first save against his former team, coaxing two flyouts to close out the ballgame.

So there you have it.  Two two-run shots by the M’s big bats- Beltre and Sexson- and the M’s are unable to pull out a win.  That’s a bit troubling to say the least.  If the rest of the M’s offense can’t make anything happen against a washed-up veteran like Steve Trachsel, how are they expected to fare against young fireballer Adam Loewen, who is the Oriole’s less-dominating version of injury-ridden Rich Harden?

Miguel Batista takes his turn in the rotation, attempting to revert to the M’s string of strong starting pitching that marked the first three outings against Texas.  Its been nearly four years since Miguel made his last start against Baltimore, in which he coughed up seven runs in two innings.  Although Camden Yards slightly trends towards pitching, it’s not nearly as much of a pitcher’s park as Safeco.  Plus Batista has dropped all three of his decisions against the Orioles, allowing nearly two base runners an inning (50 in 26 innings)  with an ERA of 7.86 against Baltimore.  Kevin Millar has been efficient against Batista, knocking in ten RBIs on five hits in 24 at-bats, while all of Brian Roberts’ four hits off of Batista in 14 at-bats have gone for doubles.

In short, Batista has his work cut out for him, and any giddiness after the first series against the Rangers needs to be tempered.  I’m not high on the M’s chances in tonight’s ballgame, and assuming the weather cooperates and they’re able to get it in, I’m picking the Orioles to come out on top by a 8-3 score.

Seattle Mariners, baseball’s most juiced team?

First, it was the announcement that former right-fielder Jose Guillen had bought $20,000 worth of human growth steroids from 2003-05 on the same day that he signed a three-year contract with the Kansas City Royals. Then former first baseman David Segui has admitted to buying steroids from former Mets clubhouse attendant after being traded to New York in 1994.

While both instances occurred before either player was on a Mariners roster, it still needs to wonder whether they were using while playing in Seattle. In his first four years prior to joining the Mets, Segui was a career .263 hitter in major-league 387 games. He was hitting .329 when he was traded by the Mets to Montreal one year later, and was a .300 hitter for the rest of his career, reaching that mark along with 28 home runs and 123 RBIs in 233 games for the Mariners from 1998-99. As for Guillen, 2003-05 coincided with his “break through” years, finally delivering on seven years of promise by averaging 27 home runs and 89 RBIs during that span along with a .302 batting average. If Guillen did, indeed, stop using HGH after it was banned in 2005, that may explain the myriad of health problems that decimated his 2006 season with the Nationals.

Still, was Guillen using in the Mariners’ clubhouse in his comeback season last year?

Let’s not forget Jose Canseco’s accusations regarding Bret Boone, who morphed into a MVP candidate as he nearly doubled his home run totals (from 19 to 37) in his first season with the M’s.

As well as the list of Mariners minor leaguers suspended due to substance abuse violations- from Wellington Dotel to Jamal Strong and even Ryan Franklin- who were caught violating the league’s substance abuse policy and received suspensions.

Is the atmosphere in the Mariners’ clubhouse relatively accepting of substance abuse? If it is, it’s proof positive that so-called “performance enhancers” doesn’t translate into on-field success.

Bonds pleads Not Guilty

It’s not terribly surprising that Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty in last week’s court arraignment.  His arrogance has demonstrated for some time that he believes himself to be above all standards of decency, not to mention the law.  His plea sets up a showdown with the federal government, one that Bonds’ lawyers think they can win as they have publicly questioned the validity of the testimony by the witnesses that the feds have built their case on.

Bonds faces a maximum of 25 years for one charge of obstruction of justice and four counts of perjury dating back to statements he made in federal court during the 2003 BALCO case.  According to leaked testimony from that case, Bonds had said that he had “not knowingly” taken steroids when provided with “the Clear” and “the Cream” provided by his trainer, Greg Anderson, who has been held in jail this past year for contempt of court as he has refused to testify against Bond.

Don’t expect Bonds to receive the maximum prison sentence, but by refusing to plea bargain with the federal government as Marion Jones did- stripping her 2000 Olympic gold medals from her- Bonds has all but ensured himself that he will see the inside of a federal prison cell.  And such is the inglorious conclusion to a career tarnished with cheating charges, as we witnessed one of the most talented players in the game evolve into one of the most polarizing.  Although it’s too early to say that Bonds is, indeed, a criminal, it could be stated definitely that ‘criminal’ can be used to describe how Bonds has treated the game of baseball.