................
From 4:05 to 7:06 PST on April 24th, 2012, Michael Saunders reproduced the player that ran amok in the Cactus League. Like all wise U.S. presidents when signing nuclear treaties, you trust but verify. Okay, we don't roll with the Kim family, so here y'go amig-O:
.
=== First Double ===
ine, which in Safeco means he's at 108 wRC+. League average and then some: 8% extra, that is.
That despite the fact that his BABIP, .294, is badly lagging his line drive rate, .257. So Saunders has ALREADY been a 3.0 to 4.0 WAR player, theoretically, in the first 16 games of his new incarnation.
Not only that, he won the M's a ballgame.
Cheers,
Dr D
Well...Picture #3, anyway.
Saunders' position in that shot is about as perfect as it gets. Buckle stays centered and he on the ball all the way.
BTW, I love the left foot step toward the plate in #1. Down, through and driving gets you that. I think.
moe
He had the bases loaded and messed it up earlier, got the same situation later, and came through. The extra pressure the second time around didn't get to him. I'd desperately looking for guys who can take the pressure of producing runs for this lineup.
Saunders came through today. So did Liddi. Can we give Olivo some days off already?
~G
G,
The only thing that makes sense is 120 off days (barring injury) between here and the end of September for Olivo.
He's done. Done done. Turn me over because I'm done on this side done. In June of '11 he hit .189. In July he hit .188. In August he lit it up and smashed .275. In Sept./Oct. he was at .213. In May of '12 he's hit .161. He's hit a total of .208 over the past 5 months. Is there another current everyday catcher in the game so hopeless at the plate?
There is no real bounce. He's done.
We brought in Montero to catch. It's time Liddi must play. It's time.
It's just time.
...a realistic scenario for Olivo on ANY big league roster, not just Seattle's, is for him to gradually be phased out as Jr. Griffey was in 2010. He starts 5 days a week early...then 3 days a week with some pinch hits, then rarely...then he's DFAd. That's what is coming for Olivo...I think Wedge knows this. You ahve to treat vets with respect or you lose the clubhouse.
I second Olivo being done on both sides matter of fact he's so done he's charred....
If he were an above average MLB catcher I could stomach his lack of production at the plate. Moe you just bring to light something that shouldn't be ingored. Why doesn't Wedge play his other two catchers? Can you Moe or anyone else please give some ideas about why he still plays Olivo everyday? Thanks
BTW Mariners drafted Brett Lorin in 2008 one spot ahead of Alex Avila in the 5th round - That pick looked great last night and for the next 5-7 years for Detriot!
I agree you need to treat Vets with respect but comparing Griffey to Olivo isn't comparing apples to apples. Griffey was the face of the M's, Olivo is a rent a catcher on his second tour with Seattle. Wedge will not loose the clubhouse if he sits Olivo particularly when the players that play in front of him produce which they have and will. Sorry Ghost I can't buy what your selling on Olivo. I say he's done with spot catching duties against opponents lefties during a blue moon.
Can't agree Ghost.
Olivo gets $3.5m levels of respect from the M's this year. And another $750K next, even if we dump him.
Will Montero play less well because a non-productive player is released? Seager? Ichiro? Will Felix, a vet, perform more poorly and respect Wedge less?
I'm not buying it.
Happens all the time in the NFL and nobody says the lockerroom has been lost.
Wedge has given Olivo more than enough chance. He's been "respected!" Now we need to clear a position.
I'm not optimistic Wedge will do it, you understand. But he should.
That's respecting his team.
And this team is different than the one that went through the Junior good-will tour. This one is young and needs to play.
moe
Geoffy over at the Bakery was claiming that Liddi's offensive outburst shouldn't cost Smoaky PT. Exactly, it should cost Olivo. If Liddi is at 1B/DH/3B and hits, he plays, somewhere. Never should Olivo play DH. You might as well let the pitcher bat. Arguably, Miggie shouldn't (can't) catch either.
I am certainly not a professional athlete, but I know in my job I respect a boss who identifies individuals who are not pulling their weight and replaces them with someone who does.
If I was a MLB ballplayer, and I was working my butt off everyday, and I saw that the coach was making out lineup cards that HE KNEW were suboptimal just to not have someone throw a fit or start friction...well then I would wonder why I was grinding and trying so hard.
This is what is really upsetting to me with Wedge. He talks so much about "doing things the right way" and how "results finally matter" [except for Olivo]. I don't get it, and I hope and pray Jack Z isn't happy about it either. Because if Jack Z is OK with this, we have much bigger problems than Olivo.
Colorado Mariner eh? We seem to have quite the collection of those.
The M's are in Denver next month for a three game weekend series (May 18th-20th) and I know that a bunch of us are transplanted Mariner fans...
Anyone interested in getting some Rock Pile tickets and representing the away team?
- Ben.
I should be there at least a couple of the days. I'm buying tickets shortly - and Lonnie will be there too. We should definitely do a meet-up.
~Gordon
Planning on going rock pile sounds good to me.
I fear, is in the manager's office, reminding me more and more of Mike Hargrove.
I want to like Eric Wedge. I really do. I want to think that Z has the ability to identify managerial ability, too. I wonder if he isn't sitting on his hands right now, wondering how he can get himself out of this mess.
Wedge's tough-guy, jut-jawed presentation is looking more and more to me like a tired cliche that represents the neanderthal, inflexible,arrogant side of baseball that I think SABRmetrics originally revolted against.
The man's actions put the lie to his words and his in-game management style is best described as statuesque: He stands there and does nothing. Why in the freaking world does he trot Chone out to defend left field in the ninth inning of a one-run game? Don't you put your best defense on the field to protect the slim lead? Maybe Casper doesn't make that throw either, but he has a faaaaaaaaaaaaar better chance, right?
Anyhow, I'm beyond citing chapter and verse. You all know it and comment regularly on it. We need a Joe Maddon in here, or a Jim Leyland, and the sooner the better.
I was not saying that, were I in charge of the Mariners, I would keep playing Olivo. I was saying that given Wedge's proclivities, he may already have concluded that Olivo is basically toast and is just planning a slow deceleration to the stable for the aging pony. I have been griping about Olivo's ABs for weeks already...but this is Wedge's belief...he thinks the vets have to be given a longer leash to fail...he may be wrong...but that's what he thinks.
That's all I was saying.