2017 Seattle Mariners regular season thread

[Thepeelsessions]

And watching Gamel's sweet, compact swing from the left side, tell me he doesn't remind people a little of George Brett and Tony Gwynn? He has a long, long ways to go, but the swing is there.

He actually does remind me of Brett. Identical swing and stance. It's still baffling that Gamel was traded for two farm pitchers, Jio Orozco and Juan De Paula, who have yet to make their Yankee debuts. Orozco is pitching a 4+ ERA in AA ball and De Paula hasn't even posted this year. So far, it's been a major steal for the Mariners.

 

[Bobblehead]

And watching Gamel's sweet, compact swing from the left side, tell me he doesn't remind people a little of George Brett and Tony Gwynn? He has a long, long ways to go, but the swing is there.

He actually does remind me of Brett. Identical swing and stance. It's still baffling that Gamel was traded for two farm pitchers, Jio Orozco and Juan De Paula, who have yet to make their Yankee debuts. Orozco is pitching a 4+ ERA in AA ball and De Paula hasn't even posted this year. So far, it's been a major steal for the Mariners.

Well if he can hit almost like George.. awesome. I don't get M's games so I haven't seen him hit, but the guy just keeps racking them up. I'm very excited about the next days when Segura comes back and we have a full line up. I suppose Dyson and the other kid will platoon depending on the pitcher.

Good news, we signed 10 or 11 top draft picks.. White will be going to Everett.. Carlson, unsigned but they said it's due to him being in the playoff's.

 

[sutz]

Unlike Motter, Gamel seems to be managing to handle the adjustments people make against him. Motter has had a couple of promising at-bats lately, he's still ice cold. I suspect when Segura gets back, Motter might be Zunina'd down to Tacoma. Needs to learn how to handle those outside pitches.

Gamel has been working 1st Base lately, so he could go into platoon with Valencia if one of them cools off. While some folks were dissing on Val earlier in the season, he's coming back to his career numbers, so that might not be advised. But it's starting to look like we have 4-5 outfielders with speed and some pop at the plate. Gamel looks like a solid team player, willing to do what it takes. Motter may have the heart, and I love the kid, but he needs to learn to handle that low and away pitch if he's gonna stay in the bigs.

Regardless of W/L records, I hope we're not selling this summer at the deadline. I don't have a lot of faith that Felix will retain his all-star form when he gets back, but he should be a solid #2-3 for us going forward. Kuma can eat up innings if he gets healthy. Hate to recite the old Mariners line about "things are looking up" but the fact we survived this far at around .500 says something about how much of fighters they are. At least they aren't eliminated by the all star break.

 

[sutz]

Big series against the Tigers starts tonight.

Looks like Felix is scheduled for Fri start against Houston. Maybe Kuma over the weekend. Segura a few games away.

 

[hawkfan68]

The Mariners don't play well against their division rivals. The A's, Rangers, Angels, and the Astros have their number. Until they turn that around, it will be an uphill battle. Even before Felix was injured he wasn't pitching all that well, now Paxton is pitching awfully, Kuma was wildly inconsistent as well. Hopefully they turn it around but won't be surprised if they don't. The irony is the pitching is now the M's Achilles heel.

 

[Bobblehead]

So when do they move MikeZ to the #5 or 6 spot?

 

[Sports Hernia]

So when do they move MikeZ to the #5 or 6 spot?

Don't mess with what's working.

 

[West TX Hawk]

So when do they move MikeZ to the #5 or 6 spot?

Don't mess with what's working.

He's been so impressive this last month that if he keeps driving in runs like he is and hitting 430 foot bombs, Servais may have no choice to at least move him up to 6th and drop Seager or Valencia.

What's been exciting is the whole offense is really coming together which is breeding legitimate hope for the season when the pitching gets fully healthy. If 2 or 3 guys have off nights, 3 others step up-that's the sign of a good hitting team.

And not to be lost in the mix, but great respect to Dyson who has been on an absolute tear this month also. His swing has become much more compact and he's been spraying the ball all over the field and even showing a little power at times. 2nd in the league in steals too.

 

[Bobblehead]

So when do they move MikeZ to the #5 or 6 spot?

Don't mess with what's working.

Yeah, besides, for some reason at that spot, there's always seems to be someone on base to drive in.. you do all remember how infuriating it was to watch him come up and take a dump with the bases always seemingly filled with runners.

Detroit writer, just compared him to Johnny Bench.

 

[sutz]

Well, the TV guys last night were comparing Z to Mike Piazza.

Dyson gets better results when they know Z is hitting behind him. He gets better ABs, because they want to get him out and not have Z up there with Dyson on. So he either gets more balls to hit, or more walks if they try to tease him with pitches off the plate. And Z's effectiveness goes up with Dyson on base distracting the pitcher.

Yeah, if it's working don't try to fix it.

I don't know how long Z's streak will last, but I hope it goes into October. :mrgreen:

 

[Bobblehead]

Well, the TV guys last night were comparing Z to Mike Piazza.

Dyson gets better results when they know Z is hitting behind him. He gets better ABs, because they want to get him out and not have Z up there with Dyson on. So he either gets more balls to hit, or more walks if they try to tease him with pitches off the plate. And Z's effectiveness goes up with Dyson on base distracting the pitcher.

Yeah, if it's working don't try to fix it.

I don't know how long Z's streak will last, but I hope it goes into October. :mrgreen:

Bench.. Piazza.. OK I'll go with either.

Nice thing about Z's batting is, it's minimalist features, basically, does a Longoria type stance and just stands there.. loose and ready to unload. The error factor is minimal and it should be a repeatable swing. The important factor is not thinking about it..like golf. I hit great and in a heart beat it's gone as soon as I try to figure out what I'm doing.

 

[sutz]

Well, the TV guys last night were comparing Z to Mike Piazza.

Dyson gets better results when they know Z is hitting behind him. He gets better ABs, because they want to get him out and not have Z up there with Dyson on. So he either gets more balls to hit, or more walks if they try to tease him with pitches off the plate. And Z's effectiveness goes up with Dyson on base distracting the pitcher.

Yeah, if it's working don't try to fix it.

I don't know how long Z's streak will last, but I hope it goes into October. :mrgreen:

Bench.. Piazza.. OK I'll go with either.

Nice thing about Z's batting is, it's minimalist features, basically, does a Longoria type stance and just stands there.. loose and ready to unload. The error factor is minimal and it should be a repeatable swing. The important factor is not thinking about it..like golf. I hit great and in a heart beat it's gone as soon as I try to figure out what I'm doing.

I think the key is that a catcher that can hit with power and average is kind of rare around the league. Most teams are happy if their catcher can hit above the Mendoza line. If he can maintain some semblance of his current hot streak, we have a gem.

I heard an interesting comment last night on the broadcast. Apparently, they moved Z about 6 inches back off the plate, and that somehow gave him a better view of the plate and helped him avoid swinging at the bad low and outside pitches. I remember one AB back before he was sent down where he struck out on 5 pitches, not one of which was anywhere near the zone and 4 of which bounced in the opposite batter's box. At least it seems that has been rectified. That AB last night was pretty classic and should be on the highlight reels for a while. He saw about 8 pitches, fouling several off, and ended up lining one into the bullpen in left center field for a 2 run homer. If he can make decent contact, he has the power to make some noise.

 

[Bobblehead]

Was thinking about typical lineups around the league.. basically, you have all your high average, power hitters up front with a rabbit at the top of the order. I guess it's been working well.

However..

M's have a unique situation with their personal.

We have several leadoff and #2 hitters, type players.
Gamel
Dyson
Heredia
M Hanniger

So why not use that?

So it would be like
Segura
Hanniger
Cano
Cruz
Seager/Zunino
Dyson/Gamel
Heredia/Gamel
Zunino/Seager
Volencia.

Just thinking that way, when the big boys are done clearing the bases..(cano, Cruz)
We just reload in the middle of the lineup with the higher OBP players and let the rally continue with the other big boys.. Zunino and Volencia to clean up the bases again.

Slow day today....

 

[Hawkscanner]

When Segura comes back, things will sure get interesting with the lineup (that's for sure). I mean, check it out these stats ...

With last night's performance, Mike Zunino is now hitting .385 with 8 HR's ... a .431 OBP ... and .885 SLG% for the month of June.

Danny Valencia has a .297 batting average with a .807 OPS for the month of June.

Jarrod Dyson has a .342 batting average with a .842 OPS since 5/23.

And now you add Segura back into that mix -- a guy who on the year has a .341 batting average and an .852 OPS. He's been batting lead-off all year (of course), but I mean, do you REALLY want to mess with Ben Gamel and take him out of that spot?

Ben Gamel (for the month of June) has an incredible .403 batting average ... with a .915 OPS.

The problem for me with Gamel in the leadoff spot is that traditionally, the classic leadoff hitter is a guy who has some speed and can steal you some bases. He sets the table for everyone else. That's not really Gamel's game. That's far more Segura -- who has both speed and power. I'd LOVE to take advantage of Gamel's bat ... AND to also Mike Zunino and the kind of hitting he's been displaying lately, so was wondering -- how about this kind of lineup?

1] Segura (R)
2] Hanniger (R)
3] Cano (L)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Dyson (L)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Gamel (L)

Why drop Gamel all the way to the #9 hole? Well ... this is an idea that's been played with before. Instead of thinking of him as the #9 hitter -- the last hitter in the lineup -- think of him rather as a 2nd leadoff hitter. Gamel gets protection with Segura hitting right in front of him ... and Valencia gets better pitches to hit with Gamel right in front of him. Zunino in the 6th hole means that Seager probably see better pitches to hit. AND ... this lineup gives you more of that Right Handed Hitter ... followed by Left Handed Hitter ... followed by Right Hitter ... etc. that you'd ideally like to see.

Segura coming back is a real nice problem to have. It'll be really interesting to see what the M's choose to do.

 

[West TX Hawk]

When Segura comes back, things will sure get interesting with the lineup (that's for sure). I mean, check it out these stats ...

With last night's performance, Mike Zunino is now hitting .385 with 8 HR's ... a .431 OBP ... and .885 SLG% for the month of June.

Danny Valencia has a .297 batting average with a .807 OPS for the month of June.

Jarrod Dyson has a .342 batting average with a .842 OPS since 5/23.

And now you add Segura back into that mix -- a guy who on the year has a .341 batting average and an .852 OPS. He's been batting lead-off all year (of course), but I mean, do you REALLY want to mess with Ben Gamel and take him out of that spot?

Ben Gamel (for the month of June) has an incredible .403 batting average ... with a .915 OPS.

The problem for me with Gamel in the leadoff spot is that traditionally, the classic leadoff hitter is a guy who has some speed and can steal you some bases. He sets the table for everyone else. That's not really Gamel's game. That's far more Segura -- who has both speed and power. I'd LOVE to take advantage of Gamel's bat ... AND to also Mike Zunino and the kind of hitting he's been displaying lately, so was wondering -- how about this kind of lineup?

1] Segura (R)
2] Hanniger (R)
3] Cano (R)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Dyson (L)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Gamel (L)

Why drop Gamel all the way to the #9 hole? Well ... this is an idea that's been played with before. Instead of thinking of him as the #9 hitter -- the last hitter in the lineup -- think of him rather as a 2nd leadoff hitter. Gamel gets protection with Segura hitting right in front of him ... and Valencia gets better pitches to hit with Gamel right in front of him. Zunino in the 6th hole means that Seager probably see better pitches to hit. AND ... this lineup gives you more of that Right Handed Hitter ... followed by Left Handed Hitter ... followed by Right Hitter ... etc. that you'd ideally like to see.

Segura coming back is a real nice problem to have. It'll be really interesting to see what the M's choose to do.

Some interesting ideas and nice analysis Hawkscanner. I agree with you on moving up Zunino to 6th but with Gamel you need to keep him 1st or 2nd. I understand your argument but If he bats 9th he gets just 3 ABs a game instead of 4. Our top hitters simply need 4 ABs a game. The bottom of our lineup has improved to the point there are few weaknesses and you can't really pitch around anybody when Segura is back.

 

[Bobblehead]

When Segura comes back, things will sure get interesting with the lineup (that's for sure). I mean, check it out these stats ...

With last night's performance, Mike Zunino is now hitting .385 with 8 HR's ... a .431 OBP ... and .885 SLG% for the month of June.

Danny Valencia has a .297 batting average with a .807 OPS for the month of June.

Jarrod Dyson has a .342 batting average with a .842 OPS since 5/23.

And now you add Segura back into that mix -- a guy who on the year has a .341 batting average and an .852 OPS. He's been batting lead-off all year (of course), but I mean, do you REALLY want to mess with Ben Gamel and take him out of that spot?

Ben Gamel (for the month of June) has an incredible .403 batting average ... with a .915 OPS.

The problem for me with Gamel in the leadoff spot is that traditionally, the classic leadoff hitter is a guy who has some speed and can steal you some bases. He sets the table for everyone else. That's not really Gamel's game. That's far more Segura -- who has both speed and power. I'd LOVE to take advantage of Gamel's bat ... AND to also Mike Zunino and the kind of hitting he's been displaying lately, so was wondering -- how about this kind of lineup?

1] Segura (R)
2] Hanniger (R)
3] Cano (R)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Dyson (L)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Gamel (L)

Why drop Gamel all the way to the #9 hole? Well ... this is an idea that's been played with before. Instead of thinking of him as the #9 hitter -- the last hitter in the lineup -- think of him rather as a 2nd leadoff hitter. Gamel gets protection with Segura hitting right in front of him ... and Valencia gets better pitches to hit with Gamel right in front of him. Zunino in the 6th hole means that Seager probably see better pitches to hit. AND ... this lineup gives you more of that Right Handed Hitter ... followed by Left Handed Hitter ... followed by Right Hitter ... etc. that you'd ideally like to see.

Segura coming back is a real nice problem to have. It'll be really interesting to see what the M's choose to do.

Some interesting ideas and nice analysis Hawkscanner. I agree with you on moving up Zunino to 6th but with Gamel you need to keep him 1st or 2nd. I understand your argument but If he bats 9th he gets just 3 ABs a game instead of 4. Our top hitters simply need 4 ABs a game. The bottom of our lineup has improved to the point there are few weaknesses and you can't really pitch around anybody when Segura is back.

... and yet, I don't think you can move Haniger out either.. there really is only one solution.

 

[XxXdragonXxX]

I was recently reading this article on optimizing your lineup by the "new" book. Relevent here.

https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/ ... -lineup-by

Based on this maybe Gamel should be in the 5 hole?

 

[Hawkscanner]

When Segura comes back, things will sure get interesting with the lineup (that's for sure). I mean, check it out these stats ...

With last night's performance, Mike Zunino is now hitting .385 with 8 HR's ... a .431 OBP ... and .885 SLG% for the month of June.

Danny Valencia has a .297 batting average with a .807 OPS for the month of June.

Jarrod Dyson has a .342 batting average with a .842 OPS since 5/23.

And now you add Segura back into that mix -- a guy who on the year has a .341 batting average and an .852 OPS. He's been batting lead-off all year (of course), but I mean, do you REALLY want to mess with Ben Gamel and take him out of that spot?

Ben Gamel (for the month of June) has an incredible .403 batting average ... with a .915 OPS.

The problem for me with Gamel in the leadoff spot is that traditionally, the classic leadoff hitter is a guy who has some speed and can steal you some bases. He sets the table for everyone else. That's not really Gamel's game. That's far more Segura -- who has both speed and power. I'd LOVE to take advantage of Gamel's bat ... AND to also Mike Zunino and the kind of hitting he's been displaying lately, so was wondering -- how about this kind of lineup?

1] Segura (R)
2] Hanniger (R)
3] Cano (R)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Dyson (L)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Gamel (L)

Why drop Gamel all the way to the #9 hole? Well ... this is an idea that's been played with before. Instead of thinking of him as the #9 hitter -- the last hitter in the lineup -- think of him rather as a 2nd leadoff hitter. Gamel gets protection with Segura hitting right in front of him ... and Valencia gets better pitches to hit with Gamel right in front of him. Zunino in the 6th hole means that Seager probably see better pitches to hit. AND ... this lineup gives you more of that Right Handed Hitter ... followed by Left Handed Hitter ... followed by Right Hitter ... etc. that you'd ideally like to see.

Segura coming back is a real nice problem to have. It'll be really interesting to see what the M's choose to do.

Some interesting ideas and nice analysis Hawkscanner. I agree with you on moving up Zunino to 6th but with Gamel you need to keep him 1st or 2nd. I understand your argument but If he bats 9th he gets just 3 ABs a game instead of 4. Our top hitters simply need 4 ABs a game. The bottom of our lineup has improved to the point there are few weaknesses and you can't really pitch around anybody when Segura is back.

Alright, I get what you're saying ... and agree that ideally you'd like to get Gamel as many AB's as possible -- especially given how much he's getting on base. Just thinking out loud here ... given that, what about this kind of a tweak then?

1] Segura (R)
2] Gamel (L)
3] Cano (R)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Haniger (R)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Dyson (L)

You lose a little bit of the Right, Left, Right, Left, etc. thing ... BUT, with this lineup, you could potentially take advantage of Dyson's speed (he has 17 SB's this season) as that 2nd Leadoff guy. Dyson would certainly get better pitches to hit with Segura right behind him. AND you give protection to Zunino with Haniger in the 7th hole right behind him. Like Bobblehead is saying, I'm a bit squeamish over the idea of moving Haniger out of the #2 spot as well ... BUT, I honestly see him as a star in the making and think that he'd handle it well. Thoughts?

 

[getnasty]

When Segura comes back, things will sure get interesting with the lineup (that's for sure). I mean, check it out these stats ...

With last night's performance, Mike Zunino is now hitting .385 with 8 HR's ... a .431 OBP ... and .885 SLG% for the month of June.

Danny Valencia has a .297 batting average with a .807 OPS for the month of June.

Jarrod Dyson has a .342 batting average with a .842 OPS since 5/23.

And now you add Segura back into that mix -- a guy who on the year has a .341 batting average and an .852 OPS. He's been batting lead-off all year (of course), but I mean, do you REALLY want to mess with Ben Gamel and take him out of that spot?

Ben Gamel (for the month of June) has an incredible .403 batting average ... with a .915 OPS.

The problem for me with Gamel in the leadoff spot is that traditionally, the classic leadoff hitter is a guy who has some speed and can steal you some bases. He sets the table for everyone else. That's not really Gamel's game. That's far more Segura -- who has both speed and power. I'd LOVE to take advantage of Gamel's bat ... AND to also Mike Zunino and the kind of hitting he's been displaying lately, so was wondering -- how about this kind of lineup?

1] Segura (R)
2] Hanniger (R)
3] Cano (R)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Dyson (L)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Gamel (L)

Why drop Gamel all the way to the #9 hole? Well ... this is an idea that's been played with before. Instead of thinking of him as the #9 hitter -- the last hitter in the lineup -- think of him rather as a 2nd leadoff hitter. Gamel gets protection with Segura hitting right in front of him ... and Valencia gets better pitches to hit with Gamel right in front of him. Zunino in the 6th hole means that Seager probably see better pitches to hit. AND ... this lineup gives you more of that Right Handed Hitter ... followed by Left Handed Hitter ... followed by Right Hitter ... etc. that you'd ideally like to see.

Segura coming back is a real nice problem to have. It'll be really interesting to see what the M's choose to do.

Some interesting ideas and nice analysis Hawkscanner. I agree with you on moving up Zunino to 6th but with Gamel you need to keep him 1st or 2nd. I understand your argument but If he bats 9th he gets just 3 ABs a game instead of 4. Our top hitters simply need 4 ABs a game. The bottom of our lineup has improved to the point there are few weaknesses and you can't really pitch around anybody when Segura is back.

Alright, I get what you're saying ... and agree that ideally you'd like to get Gamel as many AB's as possible -- especially given how much he's getting on base. Just thinking out loud here ... given that, what about this kind of a tweak then?

1] Segura (R)
2] Gamel (L)
3] Cano (R)
4] Cruz (R)
5] Seager (L)
6] Zunino (R)
7] Haniger (R)
8] Valencia (R)
9] Dyson (L)

You lose a little bit of the Right, Left, Right, Left, etc. thing ... BUT, with this lineup, you could potentially take advantage of Dyson's speed (he has 17 SB's this season) as that 2nd Leadoff guy. Dyson would certainly get better pitches to hit with Segura right behind him. AND you give protection to Zunino with Haniger in the 7th hole right behind him. Like Bobblehead is saying, I'm a bit squeamish over the idea of moving Haniger out of the #2 spot as well ... BUT, I honestly see him as a star in the making and think that he'd handle it well. Thoughts?

Love it and that's what I would go with too, good problem to have with the line up right now. Just hope the changes don't mess with what Gamel and Zunino got going at the moment. The big 3 didn't get a hit last night and we still scored 6runs, I bet that hasn't happened in awhile.

 

[sutz]

Gamel can steal bases. He just doesn't try it very often.