Peabody: Life, Friends Baseball

Various players and coaches are sick, the Major League roster members have now taken a three day hiatus from baseball and possibly more. Time will tell how long until they recover.

Baseball at the major league level is a game played for six months, with a day off here and there, some travel, but a life from bed to kitchen to park and back again. Hours of work every day prior to game time, play the game, unwind, sleep, eat, start all over again at noon or so.

The Cal Ripken consecutive game record is a remarkable achievement. I doubt if he ever went to Japan during the regular season.

At one level the team’s executives think the trip was bonzo and a huge success. The sound of Kaching! had to go off in your ear when you read that last sentence, because it was a disaster from a baseball perspective. Chuck loved it though, said it was about time we did it. He’s got to be going, “Sa-weeeeeet, money train is secure!!”

Alex Liddi is from Italy and there IS baseball there. Greg Halman, rest in peace, was from Holland. I wonder if there is a trip to Italy coming up or the Netherlands?

Maybe I’m missing the point? You think? Maybe not, maybe I’m on to something. We could be the United Nations of Baseball. The team would travel from Venezuela to Amsterdam and back. Chuck and Howard could troll for investors, the team could play 1/2 of their games in Europe, South America, Japan or maybe just 1/2 in Japan.

I wonder how that would fit into the stadium agreement between the Mariners and the Stadium commission, that represents us who paid for the stadium? I wonder if the recent trip is copacetic with that agreement? Somebody in the faithful 39 should read that for me as I’m more into the baseball part of this journey.

Trips like this last one, totally interrupt the train that began in Spring training and runs out to October’s first week and hopefully later. They have absolutely nothing to do with that process. It instead stops the process, sickens the players, risks injury.

How come no Japanese teams come here? Is it because nobody would pay to see it? What do you think? Is it because they don’t care to come as it is meaningless? Tell me what you think.

Four runs in two games projects to 324 runs for the year.

Mike Carp on the dl. Dave Cameron, the self promoting semi-gas bag of USS Mariner has declared war on Carp, ran a silly line after game one and before game two. Claimed that Wedge had removed him from lineup, for bad defense. Was already on dl.

Jason Vargas pitched as well as he ever has, and as well as he ever will. Shawn Kelley and Steve Delabar gave up home runs as did George Sherrill sandwiched between those two, any way you say it 4-1 loss.

Justin Smoak DID give the Ms a brief lead in top of seventh with his first home run of the year. Big Jesus got his first Mariner hit and Olivo collected the third and final hit.

Sherrill became the voice of the players after the game with this quote as captured by Geoff Baker of Times, “The Mariners still were down only one run when Kelley left but Sherrill looked like a guy who wasn’t done spring training yet.

Sherrill gave up the homer to Reddick, then a bullet line drive to center for a single and an ensuing single ripped into right field.

“It was just bad pitches,” Sherrill said. “They seemed to be up.”

Sherrill said he hung a slider to Reddick but thought it was a “pop up” coming off the bat, only to land in the first row of seats. But the other pitches, he admitted, were ripped hard.

“I hate to say it but it still feels like spring training to me,” Sherrill said. “It’s kind of weird playing real games and then going back to playing spring training games again. It’s no excuse, I’ve still got to get better. But I’ve still got a little ways to go to get better.”

Sherrill says the fact he’s yet to go back-to-back in spring training games, largely due to stiffness he still feels in his elbow at times, is keeping him from being fully ready.

“You’ve still got to be prepared>,” he said. “And I wasn’t.>”

Sherrill says he isn’t worried yet, “but you still don’t like giving up a lot of lasers. I’ve got to clean that up.”

Art Thiel sticking close to the M’s executives posted this in SPNW, “And 20 years ago, billionaire Hiroshi Yamauchi became the first Japanese to become majority owner of an MLB franchise when he helped buy the Mariners for $125 million. The hope was he would see his team play for the first time. But he did not attend, and CEO Howard Lincoln said Yamauchi didn’t have to give a reason.

“It was time we came, and we’re glad we did,” said team president Chuck Armstrong this week. “People have been wonderful, and I ‘m glad we went up north to visit in the disaster zone. It’s been tremendous.”

I strongly suspect that Thiel did not read Armstrong Sherrill’s words to Chuck. There is a significant chasm between the players and the team’s management as to this trip. In the old days, saying things like Sherrill did would get you traded to the Yankees as happened to Jeff Nelson. Not sure if the Yankees want Sherrill, could be the Tigers, this time. They got Armando Benitez back from the Nelson trade who pitched for 15 games for the Ms and they let him go. The next year Benitez saved 47 games for Florida. While in Seattle in 2004 Eddie Guardado was the man and he had 18 saves and JJ Putz had 10 saves. So baseball was not important to M’s management even in 2003. PR was.

Don’t be surprised if Sherrill is somewhere else soon.

The Ms return to Arizona tomorrow or today late. Can’t imagine that the people on the trip will do anything productive the next day or so, due to the travel issues.

The lineup is worrisome as is the starting rotation after Felix and the bullpen is too. I saw nothing in watching baseball in the early morning that would make me think the M’s door will be beaten down for Chone Figgins.

Wonder if Wedge developed a taste for Sake, over there. He’s got to be stressed now.

M’s win, 3-1 in eleventh inning, Felix and various relievers great and good enough.

Dustin Ackley WAS the story, 438 foot home run to dead center to put the Ms up in fourth inning. As strung together a couple of hits to tie it up culminated by Kurt Suzuki’s double in the bottom of fourth.

In top of eleventh Brendan Ryan jumped on a tumbling curve ball, belly high and drove it into the gap in left center to lead off the inning. Chone Figgins, in the one slot, sacrificed him to third base. Ackley then lined a shot into centerfield to plate Ryan with go ahead run. Ackley then stole second, barely ahead of the Suzuki’s throw and Ichiro getting his fourth hit of the day drove him in, for the final score of the day increasing the lead to 3-1. Which was final score.

Brandon League narrowly avoided a line shot to the chops in the bottom of the inning and got the save. Tom Wilhelmsen with the win in relief of Felix Hernandez who threw well.

Almost immediately the game feed was dumped so that we could watch Mariners All access with Jen Mueller in Tokyo, with a new supply of marbles in her mouth. That was probably unfair, but am I the only one who catches the watery inflection when she speaks?

Switched to ESPN C-Team who reported on the game with Xavier Fernandez pitching well and Ichiro with the game winning RBI. So much for the news that’s fit to air.

Ichiro four for five ties an opening day record of Ken Griffey, Jr. Two infield hits and two short line drives and ONE nice rbi. As a three hole hitter, his goal should be to drive in one hundred, so ninety nine to go. He has to average .617 rbis per game, so he’s ahead of the curve. I did not detect anything new in his swing today, despite spring training pronouncements. Same guy getting on first base with small hits. Historically, he gets an rbi every four hits, so today’s game is on pace. To get one hundred rbis he needs four hundred hits.

Ichiro twice batted with men on base. Chone Figgins singled in the sixth and Ichiro promptly hit an one hundred and thirty foot single to center field moving Figgins to second and Smoak and Montero got nothing done. Then in eleventh with Ackley on second Ichiro drove him in. So, two hits with guys on base, one rbi. That is just fine. Traditionally, in the first situation, he might be expected to drive the ball into the gap and he will have further opportunities to do that.

Middle of order has been asleep in Japan so far, if we see Wedgie move Olivo up to four hole, read that as a panic move on his part.

Season starting in silly disarray. Exhibition games, visits to Army bases, interviews, helicopter flights, terrible baseball and charades. Two real games in next two days, then seventeen hours back on flight, some more spring training and then the remainder of the 160 game schedule. Surely it should be clear to even the most casual of Mariner fans that the executive management’s agenda is not headed with with the objective of developing a great team. There is so much “noise” surrounding this team that I actually feel some compassion for Wedge as he navigates through this turgid sea avoiding floaters and mines.

The past two years of Mariner baseball have been two of the worst seasons in Major League baseball history. I have struggled with how to describe what lays before us this year and give reasons to watch and to be excited, yet not soft soap everybody as most of the beat writers have done so far.

If one takes a bit of a long view, as this is a rebuild, it might be best to make some observations about who will be here a year from now, which will take us away from all the baloney and subterfuge about guys on contracts. So I’m going to look at it that way and walk through the line up.

Miguel Olivo is the starter this year and John Jaso the backup per se, with big Jesus Montero getting OJT for a few games here and there. Honestly, I can’t believe that Olivo will be back next year. Jaso is young enough and talented to stick as a back up, not a lot of juice though. If Montero can catch at all, he’s the guy, if not there will be somebody else doing the everyday playing there.

At first base, the team PR machine and Eric Wedge and Jack Zduriencik have anointed Justin Smoak not only as the first baseman, but the number four hitter. He had a bad, bad year from hell last year, family tragedy, thumb issue, broken nose. The mantra is he’s a switch hitting stud. Well they’re saying that, because he’s the only thing of substance from the Cliff Lee deal. He’s really struggled through his first two years, except for last April and two Septembers against call ups. From 10-11 his line drive percentage slid from 21% to 17%. As a switch hitter his splits as a right handed hitter are very different. He lifts the ball more left handed and hits a lot of line drives right handed, strikes out much more often left handed and walks more too.

Here is the problem, it would be great to jump on the band wagon with everybody else, but its not really clear yet and it seems like this could be a make or break year for him. Carp hit fourth last year and earned the right to do so and is probably a better first baseman.

Dustin Ackley playing second base. Looks good to me. He’s a good hitter, lets see him put some numbers up. He could be very special, or just good. Good is fine.

At third base, Chone Figgins will not be here next spring, can’t be. Kyle Seager showed a lot more juice than anybody suspected was in the package this spring. That they are cluttering up his world with this financial issue is stupid. Vinnie Catricala and Alex Liddi had great springs and Catricala looked very, very good. Liddi might be the safety net for Justin Smoak. Nothing wrong with a little competition, and all three would be good here next year.

Brendan Ryan might be the new Jack Wilson, hoping to ride the injury train back to middle America away from this rodeo. Kawasaki probably can play every day, not sure about how he survives offensively. Shortstop seems like a big void looking down the road. The bloom seems to have come off Nick Franklin’s rose a bit and Carlos Triunfel makes you remember that Jose Lopez came up as a short stop.

Left field is Mike Carp land. Think Raul Ibanez. He should hit and play hard, .280 25 dingers. That would probably work next year too.

Center field Michael Saunders and Casper Wells. The starting bell is ringing and let’s see about Saunders. Wells will do fine wherever they play him. Best outfield arm on the team, and he’s got lots of power. How he can’t start for this team this year is a travesty. Next year in right field maybe.

Ichiro is in right field and batting third. The emperor has no clothes on, whisper, whisper, pass it on.

Designated hitter is Jesus Montero. Let’s go to ripping big fellow. If he could catch, then Carp as dh and who knows in left field.

Mark Mclemore deja vu all over again position: Chone Figgins. Were Mark Mclemore still able to play, it would be good to see him this year and next.

Starting pitching/rotation survivors for next year: Felix and Beavan.

Reliever survivors: League and Wilhelmsen…who knows.

In a rebuilding thing sometimes guys show up and after a year or so get moved to another position, Ryan Braun is an example of that as his B.J. Upton and Craig Biggio. Seager, Ackley and Montero fit into that category. Don’t be surprised at seeing them moved about.

Once this trip is over, it will be time to start getting excited.

Below is a list of young men playing college baseball this spring.

1. Andy Smith Liberty University
2. Tyler Baumgartner Bellevue CC
3. Kyle Doucette Olympic Community College (OCC)
4. Josh Kreifels OCC
5. Allen Hewey OCC
6. Spencer Hansen OCC
7. Ian Hollis OCC
8. Chris Uzell OCC
9. Josh Herrera OCC
10. Jordan Halstead OCC
11. Josh DeVaughn OCC
12. Brandon Bancroft OCC
13. Chris Harrel OCC OCC
14. T. J. Reitan Shoreline CC
15. Zane Minder Lower Columbia CC
16. Steffen Jeffcoat Pierce CC
17. Danny Orr Everett CC
18. Joe Stevic Linfield
19. Curtis Wildung PLU
20. Nick Benish GFU
21. Dan Jewette Truman
22. Zak Smit Grandview
23. Caleb Brown Washington
24. Brett Bielec Central Washington
25. Casey Bielec Central Washington
26. Ryan Skoubo Tacoma CC
27. Randy Button Central Washington
28. Rico Lemay SWOCC
29. Brad Fairweather Hawaii-Hilo
30. Casey Bohlman Hawaii-Hilo
31. Nate Roberts Seattle U
32. Brian Gustafson Tacoma CC
33. Joe Valley – Klahowya Yakima Valley CC

With lots of help from the loyal thirty nine readers, the list is updated. If I still missed someone, please pick me up.

I may have missed somebody, but it was not intentional. There are three levels of baseball that those 19 young men are playing in the list above. Division I baseball, Division III baseball and Community College baseball. All of them are great to watch. Without a doubt it is great baseball to follow.

As an interesting note there are more kids from this county playing college baseball than any other sport. Olympic College as a program has been getting better and better the past few years. The 1981 team led by George Minder of North Kitsap and his .370 average made a great run at a state championship. On that team were other North Kitsap players John Valley, Cody Carlsen, Jeff Elldridge, and Dennis Williams of Central Kitsap and Alan Muyskens of South Kitsap. It has been done before and there is talent to do it again. Go out and watch the current squad.

All of these young men play for teams that if you go and watch will bring you a great value and a high quality of baseball.

Its worthy of your time.

So as we get closer to the opening day of baseball, it is time to review the teams in the division and look at them through the prism of position by position comparisons. Today catchers.

The last two years have seen new players come into the mix to start as well as split time at three of the teams in the division, a veritable fifty-two card pick up. Last year in a spat induced shakeup the Angels shipped off Mike Napoli to Toronto only to see him flipped immediately to Texas, where he had one of the greatest offensive years any catcher has had in the last fifty years, comparable to the wind aided performance of Mike Piazza in 1997 with the Dodgers. Napoli shared time with Yorvit Torrealba, ex-Mariner and a few other guys that are since gone and that arrangement will continue. Defensively he threw well and Torrealba is an ok backup, that won’t kill the team either way.

Jeff Mathis was probably the Angels primary guy and he’s gone, and like Napoli he’s off to Toronto. The Angels traded for Chris Iannetta from the Rockies. Offensively an upgrade with a good onbag and good power he does not throw particularly well. Also Hank Conger received his baptism last year and had mixed results at the age of 22, having seen him play since his high school days, I would not be surprised to see him improve significantly this year.

The A’s cut former number one pick Landon Powell this week and seem ready to go with Kurt Suzuki as the primary player and Anthony Recker as his back up. Recker is a long time minor leaguer who had a great offensive year at Sacramento last summer. Suzuki achieved a career high of 14 home runs last year, but seemed to suffer the workload as his batting average plummeted for the fourth straight year. In 2008 when he arrived as a starter Suzuki was thought to have a gun throwing out thirty seven percent of base runners, the last three years though that has fallen off significantly to sit at just below league average. Recker is a great big guy 6’2 242 pounds that does not figure to play that much.

Last year Miquel Olivo led the Mariners with 19 homers and 62 rbis, with an onbag of .253 and a slug of .388. He throws ok, but is the worst receiver in the American League. Other than Boston, whose stats are skewed by the presence of knucklballer Tim Wakefield, Olivo led the league in the combined total of passed balls and wild pitches, the differentiation being a scorekeeper’s call. A veritable colander. To that mix was added John Jaso from the Rays and Jesus Montero. Montero is the every day dh and reportedly will catch a game or so a week and when manager Wedge can stand it no longer, Jaso will play.

Wedge has made positive remarks about Montero as a catcher. Let your own eyes tell the story.

In the Seattle Times this afternoon resident blogger Larry Stone takes huge exception to an article written about Ichiro and his entitled air and his absurd amount of influence in the clubhouse. Jon Heyman of CBSSports is the author of the article and is generally acknowledged as the premier baseball writer in the business, assuming the role from Peter Gammonsm now the tame monkey of MLB.com.

Stone describes it as a “venomous piece” and goes on to pooh-pooh the article, saying the problems with Ichiro are “honestly” in the past. Maybe he says, there was some friction in the clubhouse in the past, but if he comes back it should be on the merits of his performance and what it would cost to have him back.

Here is the thing, Stone’s acknowledgment of some friction, while decrying that Ichiro has influence with owner Hiroshi Yamauchi are the first words from him about any issues, friction or influence, whatever. Which makes you wonder, if he’s been in the clubhouse or did not feel able to write about it?

Heyman’s piece is consistent with what I have been told by people involved at one time or another in the last ten years. He notes the recent break down in his game and does note that current management say there is nothing but good things from Ichiro as Zduriencik says that was before his watch.

Heyman’s main point is the future for the Mariners does not include Ichiro, while Stone is unable to see that, thinking it is objective to suggest that it is a decision based on merits and cost. Ichiro is now batting third for the Ms, he’s 38 and weighs 160 pounds. He has had phenomenal aspects to his career. Most three hitters are called successful when they drive in 100 runs, something that $18 million might buy in the open market, not a .635 OPS.

Here are both pieces, Heyman’s first:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/jon-heyman/17974682/if-mariners-know-whats-good-for-them-this-should-be-ichiros-last-year

Now Stone’s:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2017818784_baseball_america_and_forbes_ra.html

Art Thiel has a wonderful story this morning about the impending trip commencing with the flight westward that takes forever. It is insightful in many ways and the first in a series.

http://mariners.sportspressnw.com/2012/03/thiel-nintendoball-part-i-mariners-oddness/

There is a quaint old book written by Mark Twain entitled “A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court” which like most of his work stands the time since it was written. The most fun part of the story is the setting, in that an American Hank is transported to Arthurian England from late nineteenth century Connecticut. Hank has knowledge and wisdom born upon twelve hundred years of history and the technology of the Industrial Revolution. As a Connecticut Yankee he is sincere, but woefully naive and almost blind to both politics, religion and tradition and it overcomes him ultimately as he can not believe those things important.

It is a wonderful book to read and a great old movie too. It bears relevance as you consider the Mariner’s history over the last dozen years and what is in store for the team. Americans are ignorant or naive about Japan and Japanese baseball. While Japanese baseball fans follow American baseball their interest is in their own game. I don’t see a Japanese franchise in MLB, and frankly I would not be surprised to see the current ownership to sell the team and the linkage to Mr. Yamauchi be dissolved.

There is a story in the Times today by Geoff Baker who has feet on the ground in Japan that is well done and describes a country that is almost as different to Seattle as medieval London.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2017814660_tokyo_awaits_arrival_of_the_ma.html

Japan is a very modern country technologically and a country that loves and reveres baseball and Ichiro too. As in America business and business owners are very important. Unlike America as Thiel points out Hiroshi Yamauchi, is not a public persona, at any time since the controlling acquisition of the Mariners. Instead we see and hear from his former counsel, attorney Howard Lincoln.

Without a doubt the Mariners under his direct management are viable economically. One wishes to be a fly on the wall and hear what Lincoln has said to Yamauchi regarding the team and winning baseball…

The sense is that maybe nothing has been said as it is not the issue. Mr. Yamauchi certainly must be told of the status of his investment. What glimpses of Yamauchi in a couple of interviews that are very dated suggest he is not a baseball fan, here there or anywhere.

Ichiro has been a singular and special player since the 2001 season. In a world of gems, perhaps not the largest one, but unique and special none the less. He and Hideki Matsui have been the two most spectacular imports from Japanese baseball and while neither of them could be described as the best players during their time here, both have been All Stars and both have played in a lot of post season baseball. Matsui has been a grand player in World Series baseball. Is he a better player than Ichiro? That would probably cause a huge flurry of argument and the question is not really important, but I would say he is more like a traditional American player and is easier to fit into most American team’s notions of how to structure a lineup. Since 2002 the Mariners have not been contenders and despite Ichiro’s play he has not been able to carry them to playoff baseball. It is probably an unfair burden to place upon him as the Mariner rosters from 2003 on were not capable of winning baseball despite him being at his best.

I have written often about the lack of commitment to baseball that the Mariners have shown in the last many years and I have laid that at the feet of the executives, Lincoln and Armstrong. The roster as it comes together has more promise than in more than twenty years, the years 95-01 being promise realized. It also looks like a roster made by committee and not really given over to rebuild. The biggest and largest change from 2011 opening day is the starting rotation is down several notches. Missing are Erik Bedard, Michael Pineda and Doug Fister and still here are Felix Hernandez and Jason Vargas and newcomers are Hector Noesi, Kevin Millwood and Blake Beavan.

Fister was a very good pitcher last year and we traded him away for not much that plays into this year’s team. Pineda for Montero and Noesi, time will tell. Bedard to Red Sox for nothing on the roster, so moving on Vargas is a guy that needs to locate and never seems to quite get there. Millwood can pitch, but for thirty four starts? Noesi did not miss a lot of bats last year, nor did Beavan. It should be possible for them to progress. Maybe, maybe not. Lots of good stuff on the farm.

Four games in Japan, two count and then back to spring training.

The good news is that Felix is in the best shape of his life and throwing very, berry good.

Kevin Millwood is too and that is the story, film at 11.

Iwakuna still has no velocity and is apparently in the bullpen. Beavan is ok.

I know lots of you do not follow the Mariners after June or so most years and off the early parts of the past few years you have an impression of Jason Vargas that he’s pretty good. He got lit up yesterday like a mobile home in Millington, Tennessee in a tornado. That is what happens to him in most July, August and September. If he’s the number two guy, it’s going to be a long year.

Vargas is not very good, I hope that means that they’ll plug in Ramirez, which might be what they do for Iwakuna, but they’ll run Vargas out there for sure. The painful thing is there are alternatives.

There is a whole bunch of spin and ducking and dodging about this and it is sort of baseball and really sets the background feel for baseball’s ownership.

To refresh your memory Bernie Madoff is the convicted thief and perpetrator of the biggest fraud in US history as he used a Ponzi scheme to bilk investors of over $18 billion. Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz owners of the Mets by agreeing to the $162 million settlement admitted that they had knowledge of and benefited from Madoff’s actions. Wilpon said, “I guess I can smile now.” $18 billion is chump change next to the $7 trillion the Fed gave to some Wall Street houses a few years ago, but it is way more than Willie Sutton ever pulled out of a vault.

I was happy this morning when Les Schwab fixed my flat for free. I suppose I need to set my bar higher so I can feel good about having to fork over $162 million and to branded a thief.

The Dodgers are still in the woods over bankruptcy, divorce, Rupert Murdoch and Bud Selig. Used to be that being named in a divorce was something to avoid.

Bud Selig got to be the commissioner by parlaying his fortune as a used car salesman to steal the Pilots from Seattle and then the rest his history.

$162 million is not quite as big as the Yankees payroll, but its more than the Met’s this year. Whenever you read or hear the cry of the owners in baseball about virtually anything, rest assured that their hands are in or about to be in somebody else’s wallet.