Add new comment

Your baseball card lineup was rather underwhelming last night. But Ackley's home run was the most impressive shot I ever witnessed by a left handed Mariner at Safeco. And a second baseman! A lefty Brett Boone plus! So I'm pumped.
But there are too many holes in this lineup, and when you are using your #2 hitter to sacrifice your leadoff hitter along to second in the middle of 5th inning (!), you are admitting you have little confidence in what you trotted out there (not to mention the confidence in your leadoff guy to steal a base against a right handed - something Halman later did).
That lineup look FLAWED last night. It was built on past achievements, not according to what a forward looking manager would do.
If we are going to contend this season, our lineup needs to start with Figgins, Ichiro, Ackley, Smoak, and then mix and match according to platoon advantages. Olivo needs to be dropped lower when facing right handers.
I understand baseball protocol says this can't be done overnight, but this team resembles to me the '77 Sonics, and needs a Lenny Wilkens to step in, arrange the pieces, and create a functioning unit. Right now, it reminds me of the Bob Hopkins reign: starting Paul Silas here, keeping Slick Watts as point guard there, and overall offering an incoherent mess.
Figgins is a Gus Williams, and needs to handed that job as ignitor. Ackley is a Dennis Johnson, and needs to be pushed up front. Kennedy is a Paul Silas, and needs to be the valuable bench piece. Ichiro: he can manage the offense with his bat and brains at the 2 hole the way JJohnson managed the Sonic offense from the small forward.
position.
Maybe you can put Ackley at the 2, but seriously, who is your 3 and 4 then? Are you really going to war with Kennedy as the fulcrum point of your offense? Have you looked at his numbers lately? Same with Olivo. Is he really going to bat 5 for you?
If Figgins fails at leadoff, then, I would accept all the I told you so's with as much grace as I could dredge up. We've hit he beach and making headway. But I can't see this team busting out of the .500 hedgerows we are stuck in, unless we try find a way to make Figgins the guy he was with the Angels. In other words, It's Northern France and Scioscia's old secret weapon could be ours: time to put Figgins out front, the way Ike let Patton free.