I think Peguero was one game away from a bus trip to Tacoma.....and he came up WAY big. Way to go kid.
I do believe that he was a goner if he had pulled another ofer. He didn't....and didn't in a way big way.
However, I'm not sure this is a really good thing right now.
If you toss him a mistake down and over the plate you may as well just go into your nuclear attack drill mode and curl up in a little ball, whining as you go.
But...throw it up and in and you make the kid look REALLY bad.
Pretty soon he's going to see nothing but high heat. Pretty soon starts tonight, I bet.
So, we probably get to watch a bunch of Peguero flameout nights. Right now, since winning today (and not just next year) counts for much more than we thought it might, I really prefer Carp.
Fate doomed Carp. A couple hours short of his call up and a bunch of LF time, Peguero goes all Willie Stargell on Shields.
And Cust might actually look like Cust.
If I'm Carp, I think I just said "Drats!", or stronger words to that effect.
PROPS TO 8 RUNS IN 3 INNINGS. They say that in low-scoring games, each play means more, so your excitement level is higher.
But I will take as many 8-run games as you want to give me, amigo. I don't care if the M's win 50 blowouts in a row - I'll wallow in the 51st just as much. :- )
I grew up on the Big Red Machine. They'd mulch another hapless opponent 7-2 on Monday Night Baseball, and I couldn't wait for the stats in the paper the next day. "Let's see, if we can get Geronimo's average above .300, we'll have 6 of the top 15 batting averages..."
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PROPS TO SCORING FIRST. Felix gave up a double in the first, then a walk, and the M's were a BABIP away from laboring with a deficit to James Shields. I was annoyed...
Looked up a little later and the Rays still had 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors while the M's had 8 runs, 7 hits (IIRC) and 0 errors.
I enjoy the games muuucccccchhhhhh more when the M's have a slight lead. The game's a bit of a chore when they're behind. So the first run of the game is bigger to me than to most chumps.
The first eight runs of the game will do as a change of pace.
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PROPS TO CARLOS PEGUERO, who went 428 feet to the off field, something that few RIGHT hand hitters can do.
Run down the list of longest 2011 home runs, and you'll see a Who's Who of the guys with the most home runs. Fielder, Upton, Braun, Howard, Bautista, Bruce, those are the kinda names that pack the Longest HR leaderboards.
Peguero has true Adam Dunn raw power, with Walter Jones power and Tiger Woods wrist hinge. If he can ever hit .230 in the bigs, he's GOING to hit 30+ homers. Hey, for that matter, he's on pace for 30-35 prorated now.
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SLOPS TO PEGUERO's PLATE COVERAGE. He dropped that mobile CG of his down and got 420' worth of power almost off the ground. Amazing to see a tape measure shot off the shoetops. Somebody slap meh.
But on his strikeout, the super-slo-mo showed the pitch going over his bat ... well inside the pine tar. He is blinkin' lucky he DIDN'T make contact.
He can move the CG down, he can move it out, but he can't move it up or in. Eric Wedge says that in BP, Peguero looks rock-solid. But we'd like to ask Wedge how in the world Carlos Peguero is ever going to get to anything remotely up and in.
Didn't say Wedge was crazy. Said we'd like to ask him.
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PROPS TO OPPORTUNITY FIRE. Baker reported that, after Monday's game, Zduriencik was entering Wedge's office to discuss roster moves.
We fancy that Wedge passed on a Carp move. We fancy also that Wedge called Peguero in and told him you're our guy, man, go out and show us what you can do. We fancy that Peguero, smilin' and dialin', dialed up a coupla Back Leg Specials.
If Peguero goes on to hit .230 with 30 dongs prorated, it will be a Wedge masterstroke. Even if he doesn't, it's a smile-inducing "Go Get 'Em Kid" from the sarge.
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PROPS TO ADAM KENNEDY. The last few days they've been showing Kennedy's hits on super-slo-mo. The label on the bat rotates a full 180 degrees within just a few feet of swing.
Lately it's ridiculous; Kennedy rolls the bat over so much that his backswing now sometimes hits the ground behind him. Maybe he's getting unconscious positive reinforcement from all the hits?
The line drives zing off the natural shape of his swing "capping" the incoming energy and getting over the top of the ball. The grounders pick up pace on the dirt and bound through for hits. The fly balls hit panes of glass and parachute down wayyyyy in front of the OF's.
And I'm likin' it. Rauuuuul Lite. THAT is what I call a SCRUB, Jack. :- )
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SLOPS TO JAMES SHIELDS' ERA. After the 4th homer and 8th run, Shields watched it fly out, then put hands on knees and assumed retching position (yes, really).
He came up empty, so spent the night nauseated at the sight of his bloated postgame 2.77 ERA.
One time Larry Bird missed two shots at the end of a game to lose it, and an enemy player said in the postgame, "It was like watching the sun rise in the west."
The M's offense dancing with James Shields .... and Gimli-tossing him into a nest of Uruk-hai?
I'll take it.
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PROPS TO HOUSE MONEY. The Mariners missed David Price, they crushed James Shields, and now get three games to play with --- > having already won 5 games on the 10-game homestand.
Man, you'd think this team was good or something.
Comments
I don't know what to think about Peguero. The book on him coming out of the minors was that he could hit the FB but was completely overmatched by good breaking stuff. So teams have been throwing him a lot of bendy pitches...and he's been striking out, yes, but he's also been hitting some of them out of the park. If they adjust and start throwing more fastballs, it might be playing right into his strength. If teams want to go up and in on him, the starter better have good command, 'cause he might hit one OUT of Safeco if he gets a FB up and it catches too much plate.
I still think he's likely to flame out but...wouldn't it be wild if the M's could cobble together a LF platoon with Peguero and Halman? Lots of K's and a .sub 230 BA...but you might be able to get 35 HR's as well. Heck, it's a lot better than the empty .230 they've been getting from the Langerhans kind of guys.