...... M's 4
Chris Chambliss' age-27 season landed him #5 in the MVP voting
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=== Michael Saunders ===
Is swinging the bat very well. He seems to be grooving in his stroke, the one in which his bat stops at the 1B foul line and the the one in which he finishes with his belt buckle pointed at the shortstop. He is swinging that way more and more often, and looking more and more natural as he does it.
His OPS+ is slightly above 100, and he's on pace for almost 3.0 WAR. Do you remember center field last season?
| Player | WAR |
| Guti (92 games) |
+1.1 |
| Saunders | -0.5 |
| Langerhans | -0.7 |
| Trayvon | -0.9 |
| Total | -1.0 |
Gutierrez was nominally credited with 1.1 WAR, but don't let that mislead you. His OBP was .261 -- think about that, now -- and his SLG was .273 also. UZR credited him with +15 defensive runs in half a season, so the aggregate looked like things were okay there.
If a stat tells you that a .534 OPS center fielder is a decent player, that's an idictment of the stat. Seriously. Franklin Gutierrez 2011 calls into question the statistic of WAR. ... I don't say it's the end of the discussion, of course. But if you look at a .261 OBP singles hitter, and go "well, he's got a decent WAR," check your blog pass at the door amigo.
Anyway: in 2010 and 2011 the Mariners were a laughingstock offensively, literally posting 1906-type offensive numbers, and lest you forget, a big part of that was the steaming dinosaur tar pit in center field.
Saunders is on pace for nearly 3.0 WAR. Keep it in perspective. Center field is fixed. He says gingerly.
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Michael Saunders was never going to hit .300. His game is going to be a .240 average with 25 homers and real good speed. He's a weird player. Just forget his batting average, as far as wanting to see it look like Ackley's, we mean.
His swing looks real good, we predict hot streaks going forward, and if it's my club Michael Saunders is my center fielder.
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=== Miguel Olivo ===
We notice that Montero and Jaso were right back in there after Olivo's entitlement start, first day back.
Jaso helped create Ervin Santana's pain, with two walks and four real tough AB's. Montero caught a good game but was rubbish in the batter's box. It was 5 men he left on base, if anybody's counting. Even one good at-bat and the M's probably win.
Point is: seismo's that Wedge is willing to re-think the team captaincies. Baby steps, Marge, baby steps.
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=== Justin Smoak ===
Chris Chambliss came up with a swing key that I hadn't heard of before - replant the front foot early. Exaggeratedly early.
It has worked wonders for Smoak. He almost hesitates now on 92 MPH fastballs, waiting for them to arrive. And the HR he smacked was on an offspeed pitch. He read the pitch calmly, and then simply swatted it into the Safeco porch out there.
You remember how Edgar used to keep his head wayyyyy back, almost rocking on his back leg as the ball arrived? Smoak's been doing that for about a week now.
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He swatted the HR .... and then his gimp around 1B made me sad. Jeff Sullivan pointed out that Smoak never, that is never, hits the ball 400 feet any more. He can't plant the back toe.
Ah well. Mickey Mantle used to get both his legs taped from hip to ankle like a mummy, and he limped through the second half of his career. They "monitored that day-to-day," too. This is hardcore baseball, dudes.
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Smoak isn't a 300/30/100 hitter at this point -- the legs are holding him back -- but Chambliss' cute little foot plant trick has Smoak out of the doldrums. He can participate in the rallies now.
If anybody even cares about the rallies. Is 2012 on, or what?
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Bah humbug,
Dr D