2018 Seattle Mariners regular season thread

[avengerboater]

I can’t argue with your Seager rant, he does play great defense most of the time. He has 41 rbis which I find amazing as crappy as he’s looked at the plate. He needs to want to adjust to the shift and hit the ball the other way. He needs to get away from the dead pull every pitch mentality.

It's due to his HR's. His OPS is actually 2nd worst in the lineup at .695, behind only Dee (.664), which is terrible if you factor in the fact that Dee never hits home-runs or much more than singles and the games he's missed this year. Take those into account and Seager is statistically THE worst hitter in our everyday lineup. Yet, he's batting 5th and guys like Heredia, Gamel, Healy, Span, and even Zunino (.724 OPS) are batting way behind him.

There's been quite a few clutch situations this year where Seager has come up not only empty, but looking completely baffled at the plate.

I’m all for dropping him in the lineup until he learns to hit the ball the other way.

Unfortunately, we have no better option at 3rd base. The drop off between him and Romine is astronomical. Too bad they let Taylor Motter go, he could've probably been serviceable at 3rd, has speed, and could at least bunt guys over.

I just realized something: the error by Kyle in top 3rd inning directly led to the Sox' next FIVE runs. It was bases loaded at the time, if he had fielded that ground ball cleanly, he could've stepped on 3rd and threw to 1st for an inning-ending double play. But instead, 2 runs scored, then next up BOOM----3 run home run to make it 6-3 Sox.

In all my life, I've never seen one error resulting in 5 runs before. Yikes.

 

[Crizilla]

SPAN!!!

Dipoto is out general managing Servais' managing.

Servais put span in. Servais is loved by the players.

He's a likable guy for sure I just think Dipoto is the brains behind this team. Anyone catch how pissed Dipoto was during the 3rd inning? He was talking to Dave and Mike and pretty much just got up and left. Seemed like he had enough of all the craziness and was just like "ok this is unacceptable I can't talk friendly with you guys while our team is crapping themselves". I wonder what he went and did after that. Maybe relayed a message to Scott? Thought about making another deal or trade? He's always up to something.

 

[Shanegotyou11]

I can’t argue with your Seager rant, he does play great defense most of the time. He has 41 rbis which I find amazing as crappy as he’s looked at the plate. He needs to want to adjust to the shift and hit the ball the other way. He needs to get away from the dead pull every pitch mentality.

It's due to his HR's. His OPS is actually 2nd worst in the lineup at .695, behind only Dee (.664), which is terrible if you factor in the fact that Dee never hits home-runs or much more than singles and the games he's missed this year. Take those into account and Seager is statistically THE worst hitter in our everyday lineup. Yet, he's batting 5th and guys like Heredia, Gamel, Healy, Span, and even Zunino (.724 OPS) are batting way behind him.

There's been quite a few clutch situations this year where Seager has come up not only empty, but looking completely baffled at the plate.

I’m all for dropping him in the lineup until he learns to hit the ball the other way.

Unfortunately, we have no better option at 3rd base. The drop off between him and Romine is astronomical. Too bad they let Taylor Motter go, he could've probably been serviceable at 3rd, has speed, and could at least bunt guys over.

I just realized something: the error by Kyle in top 3rd inning directly led to the Sox' next FIVE runs. It was bases loaded at the time, if he had fielded that ground ball cleanly, he could've stepped on 3rd and threw to 1st for an inning-ending double play. But instead, 2 runs scored, then next up BOOM----3 run home run to make it 6-3 Sox.

In all my life, I've never seen one error resulting in 5 runs before. Yikes.

Twylor was a cancer. Glad he is gone.

 

[getnasty]

Kyle Seagar with end up with the same numbers he always does at the end of the year. He's just a real hot and cold kind of player.

 

[Bobblehead]

I can’t argue with your Seager rant, he does play great defense most of the time. He has 41 rbis which I find amazing as crappy as he’s looked at the plate. He needs to want to adjust to the shift and hit the ball the other way. He needs to get away from the dead pull every pitch mentality.

It's due to his HR's. His OPS is actually 2nd worst in the lineup at .695, behind only Dee (.664), which is terrible if you factor in the fact that Dee never hits home-runs or much more than singles and the games he's missed this year. Take those into account and Seager is statistically THE worst hitter in our everyday lineup. Yet, he's batting 5th and guys like Heredia, Gamel, Healy, Span, and even Zunino (.724 OPS) are batting way behind him.

There's been quite a few clutch situations this year where Seager has come up not only empty, but looking completely baffled at the plate.

I’m all for dropping him in the lineup until he learns to hit the ball the other way.

Unfortunately, we have no better option at 3rd base. The drop off between him and Romine is astronomical. Too bad they let Taylor Motter go, he could've probably been serviceable at 3rd, has speed, and could at least bunt guys over.

I just realized something: the error by Kyle in top 3rd inning directly led to the Sox' next FIVE runs. It was bases loaded at the time, if he had fielded that ground ball cleanly, he could've stepped on 3rd and threw to 1st for an inning-ending double play. But instead, 2 runs scored, then next up BOOM----3 run home run to make it 6-3 Sox.

In all my life, I've never seen one error resulting in 5 runs before. Yikes.

I"m really hoping they convert that White kid they drafted to 3rd base, I think he'd be awesome, he knows defense.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

Third inning was a disaster. Never interview Dipoto again lol! They kept interviewing him as the team basically melted down. I give him props for staying calm and answering questions during that inning.

Span is clutch, I think he is a .400 pinch hitter. He is exactly what a playoff team needs.

Paxton's bad line doesn't reflect how he pitched. Most pitchers can't overcome that many blunders.

 

[Ruminator]

I seem to recall a year or two ago beating BoSox (I think it was) in a game only to face a very pissed off team the next day who proceeded to dictate and dominate the rest of the series. That ring a bell? In any case, the Ms have a chance to finish the series as a defining "we have arrived" moment -- similar to when Seahawks beat Bears in OT 23-17 in Chicago back in 2012. Thus, I'm kind of hoping we come out all pissed off and dictate and dominate things. Use anything as motivation. Yesterday's ugly third inning, MLB putting Houston in the AL West, Ms long playoff drought... there are plenty of things.

 

[sutz]

Don't forget. Game today is at 5:00pm on Fox, not root. :irishdrinkers:

One of the funnest things about last night was seeing Ryan Roland-Smith get run out of the Maple Grove. Apparently the fans thought he was bad mojo. :laugh:

 

[Hawk-Lock]

I'm not sure how everyone else feels about this, but with expectations growing, why not go after the WS this season. The window is small and who knows if we can replicate this 3-4 years from now. Going into the season expectations were low. A month ago expectations were to make the WC. With expectations higher than ever, I would love to see the team set their sights on the WS.

To do that, I think we need to add a big time arm, similar to what Houston did last year at the deadline by acquiring Verlander. As much as I love Paxton, if you measure him against all of the AL playoff teams #1 pitchers, he probably ranks at the bottom. Personally, I'd take Kluber, Severino, Verlander, and Sale over him. Not sure we can add an ace to the staff, but if we could get a 1B to compliment Paxton I think it could put us over the top. Got to think guys like Hamels, Archer, Fulmer, or any of the Giants pitchers (Cueto, MadBum) will be available. I look at our pitching staff, and it looks great for a long regular season, but not sure it's built for a playoff series.

 

[avengerboater]

I'm not sure how everyone else feels about this, but with expectations growing, why not go after the WS this season. The window is small and who knows if we can replicate this 3-4 years from now. Going into the season expectations were low. A month ago expectations were to make the WC. With expectations higher than ever, I would love to see the team set their sights on the WS.

To do that, I think we need to add a big time arm, similar to what Houston did last year at the deadline by acquiring Verlander. As much as I love Paxton, if you measure him against all of the AL playoff teams #1 pitchers, he probably ranks at the bottom. Personally, I'd take Kluber, Severino, Verlander, and Sale over him. Not sure we can add an ace to the staff, but if we could get a 1B to compliment Paxton I think it could put us over the top. Got to think guys like Hamels, Archer, Fulmer, or any of the Giants pitchers (Cueto, MadBum) will be available. I look at our pitching staff, and it looks great for a long regular season, but not sure it's built for a playoff series.

This was my exact sentiment a couple weeks ago. Everyone on Twitter was saying "Oh, if we go .500 the rest of the season we'll have 88/89/90 wins...etc" and we'll make the WC! I said, why settle for the WC where 1 game can determine your playoff fate? As we can see from yesterday's game, anything can happen in one flukey inning that can throw the entire game out of whack. Why not go for the Division? We can hang with Houston and who knows what happens down the stretch? Forget hoping to "go .500" the rest of the season, let's keep racking up wins and get deep into the playoffs!

But then, that's when our rotation's flaws comes into play. Everyone knows all you really need to succeed in the playoffs is a strong 1-3 guy in the rotation. If you have a good 4 and 5 guy, that would be tremendous help. I have no confidence trotting out Pax, Gonzales, Felix vs the All-World rotation from Houston, and the Red Sox' rotation is pretty damn good too. NYY can use another starting arm, but their offense more than makes up for it.

I agree that we definitely need another ace-quality arm if we are to seriously contend in the playoffs. Problem is, we have next to nothing to offer those teams who are selling at the trade deadline. Depending on where we are in the standings at that time, I'm not sure if we can compete with the likes of NYY, Cleveland, BoSox in acquiring a starting pitcher. I was surprised that we were able to get Colome and Span, but apparently the Rays wanted to dump salary with Span and Colome was struggling at the time. Maybe we can get Archer from the Rays since he's somewhat injured right now and the M's and Rays are like the Hawks and Vikings when it comes to acquiring former players. Hamels is another possibility, but he's on the wrong side of 30 and would want a long term contract. The M's are one of the teams NOT on his 20-team no-trade clause list, though.

Maybe we can package Seager, Leake, a bullpen arm, and whoever else they want in our depleted farm for one of those arms plus a 3rd baseman. Maybe even throw Cano in there, LOL.

I really do hope we make it deep into the playoffs so Felix can experience pitching in the playoffs before he is no longer with the M's.

 

[Shanegotyou11]

I love how seattle is and the state is backing mariners again. Its fun!

 

[Sports Hernia]

I love how seattle is and the state is backing mariners again. Its fun!

Winning is much funner than losing! 8)

 

[Hawk-Lock]

I'm not sure how everyone else feels about this, but with expectations growing, why not go after the WS this season. The window is small and who knows if we can replicate this 3-4 years from now. Going into the season expectations were low. A month ago expectations were to make the WC. With expectations higher than ever, I would love to see the team set their sights on the WS.

To do that, I think we need to add a big time arm, similar to what Houston did last year at the deadline by acquiring Verlander. As much as I love Paxton, if you measure him against all of the AL playoff teams #1 pitchers, he probably ranks at the bottom. Personally, I'd take Kluber, Severino, Verlander, and Sale over him. Not sure we can add an ace to the staff, but if we could get a 1B to compliment Paxton I think it could put us over the top. Got to think guys like Hamels, Archer, Fulmer, or any of the Giants pitchers (Cueto, MadBum) will be available. I look at our pitching staff, and it looks great for a long regular season, but not sure it's built for a playoff series.

This was my exact sentiment a couple weeks ago. Everyone on Twitter was saying "Oh, if we go .500 the rest of the season we'll have 88/89/90 wins...etc" and we'll make the WC! I said, why settle for the WC where 1 game can determine your playoff fate? As we can see from yesterday's game, anything can happen in one flukey inning that can throw the entire game out of whack. Why not go for the Division? We can hang with Houston and who knows what happens down the stretch? Forget hoping to "go .500" the rest of the season, let's keep racking up wins and get deep into the playoffs!

But then, that's when our rotation's flaws comes into play. Everyone knows all you really need to succeed in the playoffs is a strong 1-3 guy in the rotation. If you have a good 4 and 5 guy, that would be tremendous help. I have no confidence trotting out Pax, Gonzales, Felix vs the All-World rotation from Houston, and the Red Sox' rotation is pretty damn good too. NYY can use another starting arm, but their offense more than makes up for it.

I agree that we definitely need another ace-quality arm if we are to seriously contend in the playoffs. Problem is, we have next to nothing to offer those teams who are selling at the trade deadline. Depending on where we are in the standings at that time, I'm not sure if we can compete with the likes of NYY, Cleveland, BoSox in acquiring a starting pitcher. I was surprised that we were able to get Colome and Span, but apparently the Rays wanted to dump salary with Span and Colome was struggling at the time. Maybe we can get Archer from the Rays since he's somewhat injured right now and the M's and Rays are like the Hawks and Vikings when it comes to acquiring former players. Hamels is another possibility, but he's on the wrong side of 30 and would want a long term contract. The M's are one of the teams NOT on his 20-team no-trade clause list, though.

Maybe we can package Seager, Leake, a bullpen arm, and whoever else they want in our depleted farm for one of those arms plus a 3rd baseman. Maybe even throw Cano in there, LOL.

I really do hope we make it deep into the playoffs so Felix can experience pitching in the playoffs before he is no longer with the M's.

Agreed with pretty much everything you said. Our rotation is strong because the back end of our rotation is better than most, but when playoffs start it is all about 1-3. Like I mentioned before, Paxton likely ranks last among the AL playoff aces. As bad as Seager has been, moving him isn't happening. We don't have an adequate backup 3B. We don't have a lot of trade chips, but I'm fine dealing any of our starting pitchers not named Paxton or Marco. The farm system is already depleted, I'm fine totally gutting it if we have to. Dealing one of the OF's not named Haniger is also an option. If someone is willing to take Cano, go ahead, but doubt anyone will want him after the PED's, not to mention his contract is absurd.

Playoffs is all about pitching, just not sure we have the rotation to compete with a team like the Astros or Red Sox. We need a really great pitcher to slot right behind Paxton.

 

[avengerboater]

Agreed with pretty much everything you said. Our rotation is strong because the back end of our rotation is better than most, but when playoffs start it is all about 1-3. Like I mentioned before, Paxton likely ranks last among the AL playoff aces. As bad as Seager has been, moving him isn't happening. We don't have an adequate backup 3B. We don't have a lot of trade chips, but I'm fine dealing any of our starting pitchers not named Paxton or Marco. The farm system is already depleted, I'm fine totally gutting it if we have to. Dealing one of the OF's not named Haniger is also an option. If someone is willing to take Cano, go ahead, but doubt anyone will want him after the PED's, not to mention his contract is absurd.

Playoffs is all about pitching, just not sure we have the rotation to compete with a team like the Astros or Red Sox. We need a really great pitcher to slot right behind Paxton.

:ditto:

I feel you on the Paxton isn't a legit #1 shut-down ace. I think he's more of a "1b" compared to the other aces in the MLB. He is no where near as dominant as Felix back in his prime, but few pitchers are.

I'm kinda having the same thoughts of going "all in" on this season if we're still in contention come July 31st. Maybe we can offer to pay part of Cano's salary as an incentive? Haha.

 

[SmokinHawk]

Rather enjoying the junkball duel at the moment. LeBlanc is an icy cool dude.

 

[m0ng0]

Love watching knuckleballers, LeBlanc however is on fire

 

[Hawk-Lock]

Is LeBlanc the real deal? I keep waiting for him to regress but he hasn't. I think they just said he has now retired the last 17 batters.

 

[Seahaaaawks]

Let him finish the inning Servais... he is pitching a gem...

 

[Maulbert]

21 games over .500 for the first time in 15 YEARS.

 

[avengerboater]

Something is happening here you guys.... Something is happening.

Is this the real life....?