Chapow wrote:

Storts wrote:

Chapow wrote:I wonder how many GM's have a strategy for "getting quality" when 80% of the starting rotation goes down repeatedly and for extended periods?

You mean like when Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Shoemaker and Tropeano all go down at once?

The one team the M's can't use the excuse of pitching injuries against is the Angels. Rotation decimated, top bullpen pieces also injured. Trout out for 2 months. Yet still kept themselves around - with some great pickups. Dipoto is an awful GM and no doubt people will realise this soon enough. Servais just a yes man

To be honest, I don't know. I don't pay close enough attention to other teams to know what their injury situation is.

But that sounds awfully similar to what the M's have gone through this season who have also kept themselves around and are, in fact, still in contention for a wild card spot, just behind the Angels.

And yet, Dipoto is awful and Servais is just a yes man while the Angels have done an admirable job apparently.

The Angels are only just starting to recover from the absolutely horrendous state that Dipoto left the farm and franchise in. He decimated the farm system as he has been doing to the Mariners already. His drafting is atrocious, high floor low ceiling picks - the cupboard was completely bare when he left, and it's taken a couple of drafts from Eppler and some exceptional bargain basement pick ups to turn it back around into a somewhat competitive team, albeit still with a huge number of flaws. I fully expect some time down the line for you to realise Dipoto is doing the same thing to your system and when the window for winning closes it will be a long recovery.

Servais is absolutely just a yes man.

Storts wrote:

Chapow wrote:

Storts wrote:

Chapow wrote:I wonder how many GM's have a strategy for "getting quality" when 80% of the starting rotation goes down repeatedly and for extended periods?

You mean like when Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, Shoemaker and Tropeano all go down at once?

The one team the M's can't use the excuse of pitching injuries against is the Angels. Rotation decimated, top bullpen pieces also injured. Trout out for 2 months. Yet still kept themselves around - with some great pickups. Dipoto is an awful GM and no doubt people will realise this soon enough. Servais just a yes man

To be honest, I don't know. I don't pay close enough attention to other teams to know what their injury situation is.

But that sounds awfully similar to what the M's have gone through this season who have also kept themselves around and are, in fact, still in contention for a wild card spot, just behind the Angels.

And yet, Dipoto is awful and Servais is just a yes man while the Angels have done an admirable job apparently.

The Angels are only just starting to recover from the absolutely horrendous state that Dipoto left the farm and franchise in. He decimated the farm system as he has been doing to the Mariners already. His drafting is atrocious, high floor low ceiling picks - the cupboard was completely bare when he left, and it's taken a couple of drafts from Eppler and some exceptional bargain basement pick ups to turn it back around into a somewhat competitive team, albeit still with a huge number of flaws. I fully expect some time down the line for you to realise Dipoto is doing the same thing to your system and when the window for winning closes it will be a long recovery.

Servais is absolutely just a yes man.

Not sure how much I believe that. The Angels were hamstrung by the owners love for aging superstars. How much are they paying Josh Hamilton still? Pujols has an ungodly huge contract. Their pitching staff got old too, Jered Weaver, Wilson being old and gone is hurting them today

Good news, though! The M's are guaranteed not to lose any games tonight.

If course, they could still drop in the standings.

Minnesota and Tampa lose, so far a good day for the Mariners.

The M's have been piss poor in selecting GMs and Jerry DiPoto is no exception. He seems better because his predecessor was terrible. Jack Z looked better because of the GM he replaced was terrible.....the song goes on and on and on.....

Pat Gillick (orchestrator of the Blue Jays and Phillies WS teams) is the only good GM the Mariners have ever had. I'd like to think that DiPoto will be the second, but, he is hamstringing the team by trusting in Servais and not figuring out a solution to the pitching issues.

Threedee wrote:Pat Gillick (orchestrator of the Blue Jays and Phillies WS teams) is the only good GM the Mariners have ever had. I'd like to think that DiPoto will be the second, but, he is hamstringing the team by trusting in Servais and not figuring out a solution to the pitching issues.

Agreed. Gillick was the only good GM the Mariners had thus far. DiPoto resigned from the Angels but essentially he was driven out of the org because he couldn't get along with the manager - Mike S. I think he's very weak in identifying top pitching talent. That's the problem the M's are currently facing. He has done nothing to fix it even when he had the chance to do so. It's not like there hasn't been time to fix the issues during the season. He's not doing enough there and that is what is biting the M's now.

hawkfan68 wrote:

Threedee wrote:Pat Gillick (orchestrator of the Blue Jays and Phillies WS teams) is the only good GM the Mariners have ever had. I'd like to think that DiPoto will be the second, but, he is hamstringing the team by trusting in Servais and not figuring out a solution to the pitching issues.

Agreed. Gillick was the only good GM the Mariners had thus far. DiPoto resigned from the Angels but essentially he was driven out of the org because he couldn't get along with the manager - Mike S. I think he's very weak in identifying top pitching talent. That's the problem the M's are currently facing. He has done nothing to fix it even when he had the chance to do so. It's not like there hasn't been time to fix the issues during the season. He's not doing enough there and that is what is biting the M's now.

Actually, I think he was driven out because he wiped out the farm system and put the Angels with a bunch of older players and nothing to fall back on, once they are past their prime.

I wouldn't write the final chapter on Dipoto yet. No one could've predicted injuries to the entire rotation. Servais though, is just a puppet and lacks any apparent emotion.

Very nice win today. 1 game back. I figured the bats would get going on the road. Let's see if they can keep it going this weekend.

Wish the ms had won those 2 angela games they choked away. 0.5 games behind right now but those 2 wins would have made a big difference.

Welcome back Mitch!

Damn we need to play the Rays every day.

Rays are going to go after Cruz ... hard this off season. Cruz just puts a hurt on that team way to much.

Bobblehead wrote:Damn we need to play the Rays every day.

Rays are going to go after Cruz ... hard this off season. Cruz just puts a hurt on that team way to much.

5-0 v. TB this year. We've got their number. And fortunately we have Cruz one more year next season to do damage against them.

What an awesome comeback game by Haniger. Great to see. Let's see if Gallardo can give us 4 half decent innings tomorrow and the bats can score 7 again to get the sweep. Just 1/2 game back of Minn/LA.

To show the difference in our offense on the road, take a look at the last 11 home/away games:

Last 11 Away games total runs scored: 60
Avg per game: 5.45
Record: 8-3--.727

Last 11 Home games total runs scored: 43
Avg per game: 3.9
Record: 4-7--.364

I don't have the total season numbers, but obviously the struggles at home on offense lately are a major issue. It would be wise for Servais then to reserve his scheduled off days for starters in the lineup to only certain road games and not at home (Zunino the exception). To make a real run at the WC, the bats have to come alive and often at home. There shouldn't be this much of a disparity-even at Safeco.

Well, can't blame that on the pitching.

Gallardo certainly has been pitching a lot better than earlier this year.
He suprises me and did a good job today until obviously tired in the 7th

Albers looks really solid with his 2nd nice start. That was a good pickup. Just a shame we can't have someone better than Gonzales in the rotation tomorrow.

It's incredible with all the injuries this team keeps fighting on. If they can win this series and Baltimore they'll be in decent shape even if they lose at NY. 1 game back now with 36 to play.

Bobblehead wrote:Ichiro was pretty good, he didn't climb the walls like Griffy or Cameron could but still was a great defender and players didn't run on him.

He had a power arm from the outfield--would put the ball right where the defender needed it to lay down the tag--to the fricken millimeter.

So, pitcher Erasmo Ramirez outhits Jean Segura tonight.

Nice win with several comebacks and clutch hitting. 4 lead changes, IIRC. Diaz with a 4 out save.

Bad side, Cano left the game with hamstring, Servais said he's day to day. Travel day tomorrow, next game Fri night in NY.

Another road series win to keep pace. 1 game back. Great to see the bats come alive late and jump on ATL's pen.

For the weekend series at NY, Miranda v. Sabathia, Gallardo v. Gray and Albers v. Tanaka.

I'll admit that the 4 game sweep by the Angels at home took a bit of the wind out of my sails personally. And yet, here this team incredibly is still hanging around, just 1 game back of the 2nd Wild Card ... with FOUR OF FIVE of your projected opening day starters on the DL!?! Seriously, you can't make this stuff up! Amazing. LOL!

Big, Big series coming up here with the Yankees. The M's CANNOT afford to have the same kind of results as last time losing 3 of 4 at home. At Yankee Stadium this time with a duct taped together rotation? Woof. We'll see.

If they can just keep hanging around until that time, I'm personally circling Sept 8th - 10th there on the calendar. That could be this team's chance to get some revenge and snatch that 2nd Wild Card Spot back -- IF they keep up the pace they've been on. AND, for the record, for the month of August they are 11-10. Should be getting Felix and Paxton back soon, so just need to keep treading water.

6-2 since that 5 game losing streak. Now 22-11 in 1 run games. Best in MLB. Rags well in the mix now too. This is why I don't think we need 162 games to decide things. Shorten it just a little bit and make the wild card round a series.

Why on Earth did Servais go to Phelps instead of Vincent in the 8th with a 1-0 lead? Makes zero sense. Vincent has been one of the best setupmen in the game. Bad move Servais.

But what a clutch win! Alonso goes deep off Chapman and the pen was stellar otherwise.

Way to go Alonso.. been looking good lately.

West TX Hawk wrote:Why on Earth did Servais go to Phelps instead of Vincent in the 8th with a 1-0 lead? Makes zero sense. Vincent has been one of the best setupmen in the game. Bad move Servais.

But what a clutch win! Alonso goes deep off Chapman and the pen was stellar otherwise.

Alonso hit a 100mph fastball out on that pitch. That's real impressive.

Nice defense so far mariners.

Oh only 5 errors. I think the Texas little leaguers can play better than that.

Seahaaaawks wrote:Nice defense so far mariners.

Oh only 5 errors. I think the Texas little leaguers can play better than that.

Just pathetic. Were they partying too hard in NYC last night? 3 errors by Segura. I feel bad for Albers- trying to pitch around the horrid defense is impossible.

Yah I feel bad for him to. Hard to win when your playing 1 vs 9

Albers wasn't that bad. No gloves, no bats. He was alone out there.

West TX Hawk wrote:

Seahaaaawks wrote:Nice defense so far mariners.

Oh only 5 errors. I think the Texas little leaguers can play better than that.

Just pathetic. Were they partying too hard in NYC last night? 3 errors by Segura. I feel bad for Albers- trying to pitch around the horrid defense is impossible.

Thats why Segura was OF in Arizona.

Someone tell me why we traded one of our better prospects for Marco Gonzales? He is yet to even make it 5 innings. I didn't understand the trade when it happened, and I still don't get it. At the time when we traded for him, did we think he was that much better than what we had in Gavilgio, Bergman and Moore? I'm not saying we should have stuck it out with those guys, but we should have gotten a starter that could help us win now.

Still plenty of game left.

Hawk-Lock wrote:Someone tell me why we traded one of our better prospects for Marco Gonzales? He is yet to even make it 5 innings. I didn't understand the trade when it happened, and I still don't get it. At the time when we traded for him, did we think he was that much better than what we had in Gavilgio, Bergman and Moore? I'm not saying we should have stuck it out with those guys, but we should have gotten a starter that could help us win now.

Still plenty of game left.

DiPoto has a tendency to overvalue his trade targets. Not all, but some. Karns, Vogelbach, Gallardo, Gonzales are all great examples.

Thepeelsessions wrote:

Hawk-Lock wrote:Someone tell me why we traded one of our better prospects for Marco Gonzales? He is yet to even make it 5 innings. I didn't understand the trade when it happened, and I still don't get it. At the time when we traded for him, did we think he was that much better than what we had in Gavilgio, Bergman and Moore? I'm not saying we should have stuck it out with those guys, but we should have gotten a starter that could help us win now.

Still plenty of game left.

DiPoto has a tendency to overvalue his trade targets. Not all, but some. Karns, Vogelbach, Gallardo, Gonzales are all great examples.

Very true unfortunately.

I don't ever want to see Gonzales pitch for the Mariners again. He is a classic AAAA pitcher and not major league quality. Evey outing has been a disaster.

Servais needs a quicker hook on all the SP from here on out. With Sept callups, we'll have plenty of reinforcements in the pen. We can't afford to spot the other team 5 runs every outing.

Well, that was pathetic.

Some comments/questions...

1. Why is Segura still leading off? He's like 0 for August. He's dropped 50 BA points since the all-star break.

2. Gee, do you think that after 2 pathetic K's, maybe Haniger should have batted for Valencia in the 9th?

3. I'll have to check, but I'm pretty sure the M's haven't won a game this year when they score less than 1 run.

4. Ramirez actually did well, just a couple of mistakes. The M's Felixed him.

No competitive fire in this team.

Cano looks like he doesn't care about baseball. Doesn't even look like he is trying. Good thing we signed him to a 10 year deal...

Seattle makes a trade with St. Louis for RHP Mike Leake.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2050 ... -cardinals

This move should have been made 2 weeks ago when Paxton and Felix went down. Looks like he's been horrible since the all-star break but at least he gives us a hope for a better start.

they're close to being done. The pitching is just not there. I wouldn't expect anything special in a playoff series anyway

Oh good the Angels get Justin Upton and the Astros got Verlander. Sooooo yeah. Astros already won the division. Angels just got better. Mariners stayed mediocre

Seahaaaawks wrote:Oh good the Angels get Justin Upton and the Astros got Verlander. Sooooo yeah. Astros already won the division. Angels just got better. Mariners stayed mediocre

Astros gave up a few nice prospects but they got Detroit to pay $8mil a year to offset the massive salary. It's a shame Dipoto wasn’t able to pull of such a move.

I am curious and hopeful with Leake's start tomorrow. He's been very durable, having made at least 30 starts a year since '12. Hopefully he can rebound from the very poor second half he's had.

I really like the trade for Mike Leake, he is a great pitcher. He was the #2 guy behind Cueto for years in Cinci. He has the potential to be the #2 guy behind Paxton for the next few years. Yes I wish we acquired him a couple weeks ago, but maybe he wasn't on the market then. If he was, then that was a mistake by Dipoto not to go for him. Earlier in the year, he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, not sure what has happened to him the last month. Either way, I'm excited for him to join the rotation. Dipoto basically got a head start on an offseason priority. When we made the trade, one of the radio broadcasts was comparing him to Miley. Anyone who follows MLB (not the Mariners, but MLB), knows that Leake and Miley aren't even in the same category. Miley hasn't been good in years, and has been a back of the rotation starter. Leake is a guy who you can feel confident about when he takes the mound. I'm curious and excited to see what he can do tonight.

I'm not sure about the prospects Houston gave up, but I'm not sure we had the players to get Verlander. As bad as the M's have been, they still have some hope, but obviously they need to start winning now. Sweep the A's and then we will go from there. I think this move is more about next year than it is this year, if Dipoto truly wanted to win now he would have made a deal for someone like Leake a month ago.

Looks like Leake will fit right in. He has the go out and give up a couple of cheap runs in the first down.

sutz wrote:Looks like Leake will fit right in. He has the go out and give up a couple of cheap runs in the first down.

Leake pitched 7 strong innings and gave up only 2 runs and only walked 1 to get the win. Highly impressive. He's been consistent his entire career and is a great pickup for the next few seasons.

First time since July a Mariner starter has pitched 7 innings actually...isn't that just sad?

West TX Hawk wrote:

sutz wrote:Looks like Leake will fit right in. He has the go out and give up a couple of cheap runs in the first down.

Leake pitched 7 strong innings and gave up only 2 runs and only walked 1 to get the win. Highly impressive. He's been consistent his entire career and is a great pickup for the next few seasons.

First time since July a Mariner starter has pitched 7 innings actually...isn't that just sad?

Yeah, Leake turned it around well. Great outing. Overall, a decent game, though I my blood pressure could have used a couple of more runs for insurance.

Casey Lawrence should never pitch in a close game.

>can't get a hit to win the game
>put pressure on other teams pitcher and catcher to win it for us

The Mariner way. We world series now.

Crizilla wrote:>can't get a hit to win the game
>put pressure on other teams pitcher and catcher to win it for us

The Mariner way. We world series now.

Not complaining... although I desperately want to

Hawk-Lock wrote:Casey Lawrence should never pitch.

Fixed.

Id rather see Chooch out there again.

Sweep the A's, and then try to win both series against the Astros and Angels and we are right back in this. The problem is that the Twins are hot right now, we need them to slow down a little.