Tag Archives: Fister

July … sorta made me cry

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July Tid-Bits
  • 17 will get you 20 – the 17 game losing streak gave the M’s a 6-20 mark for the month of July
  • Still last in nearly every major offensive category
  • And, even the pitching fell apart – 2nd highest ERA in the AL
  • -54 run differential for the month, -67 overall
AT THE PLATE
OK, we all know the sad story about the abysmal offense as a whole so, let’s focus on the successes, shall we?  Two Mariners batted .300+ in the month of July…
they would be: Dustin (.308) and Mike (.349) each with a triple and Dustin also led the team in doubles (8) and homers (3).
ON THE MOUND
Usually, we’ve at least got pitching to brag about.  Not this month.  The M’s starters combined for a 5-16 record.  Newbie, Blake Beavan performed the best of the rotation, posting a 1-2 record with a 3.03ERA.  Felix and Fister each had sub-4 ERA’s, but, for them not too stellar (poor Doug – 0-4 through really no fault of his own).  And then there’s Jason … who just flat out imploded in July.
IN THE PEN
Brandon only had 7 appearances in July – converting 3 of 4 save opportunities (one blown, but got the win) and posting a 1.79 ERA for the month.  He has recovered nicely from that rough patch in May, lowering his overall ERA to just a smidge over 3, while most of the other relievers saw their ERAs go the wrong direction in July.
OF BASE PATHS AND LEATHER WORKS
One offensive area the M’s excelled at in July – thievery!
Ichiro, Guti, Brendan and Chone combined for 22 stolen bases.
M’s had 27 total in July – tied for 3rd in the AL
JULY STARS
No question about the hitting star…
Dustin Ackley! (see above)
The pitcher is less clear, I’ll call it a tie between a couple “B’s”…
Brandon and Blake.  The closer helped the M’s to 4  of their 6 victories (3 saves and a win) and the rookie only notched one win (vs the Pads) but, showed a LOT of poise against some good to great teams –
Angels, Rangers and Red Sox.

DEPARTURES
It’s always sad to see guys go but, I understand the reasoning.  Best of luck to Doug Fister and David Pauley with the Tiggers and Erik Bedard with the Red Sox.  Here’s hoping they all pitch well, stay healthy and really contribute to their new teams – who both appear likely headed for post season play!

Definitely glad to turn the Calendar to August!

bye-bye David and Doug

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It was announced earlier this morning that the Mariners have acquired LHP Charlie Furbush, OF Casper Wells, INF Francisco Martinez and a PTBNL from Detroit for RHP’s Doug Fister and David Pauley

Jack Z was on with John Clayton on 710 ESPN and had the following to say about the players acquired…

FURBUSH
Most recently has pitched out of the Tiger bullpen but, has been a starter throughout college (LSU) and in pro-ball (moved very quickly in the minors from A to AAA).  His fastball is up to 93, good breaking ball and nice change up.  The M’s are going to give him a chance to start (will be on the 25-man and in uniform by Sunday) and the worst case is he’s a lefty out of the ‘pen.

WELLS
Have been seeking a right-handed hitter since …. forever.  He has hit well vs. left-handers, has a nice ratio of extra base hits, can run and throw and needs a chance to play.  Tough guy.

MARTINEZ
20 year old, 5-tool player currently playing in AA.  Very athletic with good size and the kind of frame to add weight.  Real upside, Tigers 4th best prospect at the start of the season – Tigers didn’t want to give him up – been talking for 2 weeks.

PTBNL
“a pretty significant part of the deal” – they like all the possibilites – to be named on or before Aug 20th
(some speculation I’ve read, is that the PTBNL may be one of the following who were signed by the Tigers last August 17th and can’t be traded for a year … 3B Nick Castellanos, RHP Chance Ruffin, LHP Drew Smyly) 

Also, Jack said David and Doug he personally wished them well in going to a contending team and told them they’d have a great time with Jim Leyland.  He felt it was a “good, old-fashioned” trade that was a win-win.

June Swoon…

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June Totals
  • 11 wins – 16 losses
  • 3.06 ERA – FIRST in the AL (and yet second to last in WINS)
  • 191.1 IP by the starters – FIRST in the MAJORS
  • .227 BA – LAST in the MAJORS
  • -4 run differential for the month, -14 overall
AT THE PLATE
Well, at least the pitchers hit pretty well during Interleague 😉
The offense as a whole continues to sputter – those whose batting average had started to creep up a bit in May either had significantly reduced playing time (Cust, Wilson) or started/continued to spiral downward (Ryan, Kennedy, Smoak) in June. What to make of Miggy – he only had 17 hits in the month of June and 8 of them were home runs.  The lone bright spot?  Dustin Ackley.  Called up and in the starting line up for the first time on June 17th vs. the Phillies, Dustin collected his first hit in his first at bat and has reached base safely in every game he has played since – 10 hits in 12 games, including 2 homers, 2 triples a double and 4 walks.  Welcome to the Show, Dustin.  Welcome to the Show.

ON THE MOUND
Overall, the starters continued their splendid ways…
Well, Felix and Michael had rough months going 3-3 and 1-3 respectively and Felix gave up 5 earned runs, twice!  And then there was Mr. Fister who continued to garner the least run support in the majors so his 0-3 record was in NO way reflective of his performance (7IP twice and 8IP three times while lowering his ERA 30 points).  Jason was only 2-2 but, those two wins were pretty spectacular – both complete game shutouts (one vs. the Phils and one vs. the Rays). And, saving the best for last, despite another paltry recore (1-2) he was nearly lights out in June. Unfortunately, just before the calendar turned to July, he was placed on the 15-day DL with a knee sprain.

IN THE PEN
Not a super stellar month, but…
Could very likely be due to lack of use. Only follows that the starting staff with the most innings in the majors for the month would also have the bullpen with the fewest innings.  They also posted the fewest walks per nine innings in the majors. Here’s to a little more use for the ‘pen – just enough to keep ’em sharp and the rotation fresh. 

OF BASE PATHS AND LEATHER WORKS
Dustin gets a gold star in this category as well…
His defense has been a very pleasant surprise.  He seems to have no problem turning the double-play – even with a runner bearing down on him.  Dustin’s base-running has been pretty flawless as well.  No one will forget his run from 3B to home plate on a wild pitch during an INTENTIONAL walk vs. the Marlins.Other than that, some great outfield catches and no real guffaws (well, if you don’t count Figgy, who leads teh team in errors) and some nifty double plays.

JUNE STARS
Erik Bedard  pitched 32 innings in June, struck out 33, allowed only 6 walks and 8 runs – but only posted a 1-2 record.  Most believe he has WAY exceeded expectations and is definitely in line for the Comeback Player of the Year.  Here’s hoping the DL stint will be short-lived (at least it’s not his arm/shoulder).
Dustin Ackley has been a breath of fresh air! Mostly, cuz he doesn’t act like a rookie at all. He is poised and confident at the plate, even when facing tough lefties (for which he is 6 of 8 with a homer, a triple, a double and a walk). And, in the field it is to the point everyone is really rooting for him to turn the most difficult of DP’s instead of fearing it.


Honorable Mention
Brandon League has gone 17.2 scoreless innings since that mid-May debacle and for June, he pitched 9.2 innings and allowed 7 hits and 1 walk. Way to bounce back, Brandon!

ST28 | vs. Rox

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Mariners 7 | Rockies 2

GOOD ENOUGH, TO GREAT
Mr. Fister wasn’t especially sharp, issuing THREE walks in his FOUR innings of work, but he didn’t allow any runs and earned the W.  He also had good things to say about how Olivo called the game. Laffey finally gave up a couple of runs and Pauley continued his strong spring and Wright kept his ERA invisible.

BATS LEAVE AZ HOT
Langerhans continued showing off his smoking hot bat with a THREE-run triple and Cust hit his 4th homer of the spring, a TWO-run shot.  Nice to see Olivo go 2 for 5 with a couple of RBI, coming back just in time.  And even the kids contributed, Poythress and Rodrigues each with a double.

NEWS AND NOTES

Congrats to Wilhelmson, Laffey and Lueke, all added to the roster.

Only THREE MORE DAYS!!!!!

ST23 | vs. Royals

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Mariners 8 | Royals 9

NOT THE TYPICAL PITCHING AND DEFENSE WE’VE SEEN
Fister struggled, Ring finally gave up a couple of runs and League continued his sad spring.  Wright was the only arm to escape unscathed.  Figgy and Josh both recorded errors.
L COLUMN DESPITE THE DOUBLE-DIGIT HITS
Including FOUR doubles and ONE home run (Saunders – who also had one of the doubles AND a stolen base)
NEWS AND NOTES

ST15 | vs. Cubbies

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Mariners 5 | Cubs 3

DOUG WAS HARDLY SHARP
giving up TWO runs and THREE walks but, he did get through 4.1 innings and the rest of the staff only gave up ONE more run.  Pauley issued ONE walk but, ended up striking out the side in his ONE inning of work.

RUN, RUN, RUN and CATCH
THREE stolen bases today and TWO double plays!

NEWS AND NOTES

ST10 | vs. Dodgers

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Mariners 9 | Dodgers 4

M’s BREAK OUT THE BATS!
THIRTEEN hits and NINE runs – yowsa!
Including a GRAND SLAM by … Alex Liddi!

PITCHING PROGRESS
Especially those named Fister, League and Cortes (Olson, not so much) and Pauley just continues his strong spring.

TWO ERRORS
much as I hate them, spring’s the time to make ’em – fix stuff when it doesn’t really count.  Besides, NINE runs makes up for TWO errors pretty well.

NEWS AND NOTES

ST5 | vs. Reds

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M’s 1 | Reds 3

MR FISTER NOT OFF TO A GREAT ST START
But, not horrible either.  And, the rest of the staff faired pretty well today, despite the loss.  One thing that stands out … ZERO walks.

THE OFFENSE ON THE OTHER HAND
looked a bit too much like 2010 – only one EBH and only five hits total.

NICE COUPLE OF DP’s THOUGH
Smoak to Wilson to Pauley AND Kazmar to Carp

NEWS AND NOTES
M’s sign 4th rounder, James Paxton | Seattle Times

Road Reflections | CHI, KC

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Chicago was about as bad as it gets…
Three games, three heart-breaking losses, all by one-run (in fact, all but one of the games on this road trip were decided by one run, and that one by two).  To twist the knife a bit more, two were walk-offs and one was in the 8th.  RRS continued to struggle, Doug and Jason continued to shine.  While the bullpen’s lapse was a bit concerning, the late surge by the offense in two of the three games was encouraging.  As for the “D”, despite a couple of errors, there were five DP’s turned.

Back on track in KC…
Felix took his first loss, but still put up a quality start (maybe not to “Felix quality”, but quality nonetheless).  Ian’s line wasn’t great, but the way in which he was able to escape self-induced trouble was pretty impressive.  RRS was on his way to a solid start, looking good for five innings, but couldn’t finish things in the 6th – apparently, April is not his month.  As for the rest of the pitching staff, right back up on that horse, er,  mound they got.  The pen as a whole pen recovered pretty darn well from their debacle on the South Side – pitching 8 scoreless innings in KC and the DA notched two more saves (of the one-run variety).  The offense, while certainly far from potent, showed a little spunk, especially in the last game, bunching some runs to go ahead early, losing the lead and then scratching out a run late to win.

Regarding Jose…
Something occurred to me the other day.  Many are concerned, understandably so, about the offense and there’s already be quite a lot of mention about Jose … his lack of patience, etc. This is nothing new and he’s typically a slow starter.  The thing that struck me was the lack of concern about something that many had a fair amount of trepidation about going into the season… how would he perform at his new position?  Well, so far, question answered – in spades!  He has not only performed adequately, he has embraced the change and seems very comfortable in his new home at the hot corner.  Considering the shoes he had to fill, this is excellent, if seldom mentioned, news.

Milty = Mr Happy…
Some good signs from MB … he was out of commission in Chicago, but back in action in KC and contributing.  Some nice gestures with the fans as well – like when he tried to toss a ball to a Mariner fan above the M’s dugout in KC, but a Royals fan interviened and caught the ball – he went into the dugout, got another ball and personally handed it to the fan.  Love it.

It’s official, the Mariners have entered…

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The bad news started this afternoon with the news that Cliff Lee was headed back to Seattle for rest/diagnosis/treatment of abdominal strain. Then, as the evening progressed into the game against the Reds, things continued to go down hill … fast.

So, in a matter of hours…

  • the M’s have lost one ace and one potential starter to injury for an unknown amount of time
  • Milton is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy
  • M’s lost another ST game (6th in-a-row)

Here’s hoping this too shall pass …
it’s only spring training …. right?

UPDATE:  Wak none too happy with the recent Milty tossings

UPDATE:  Hey, Wak’s reading my blog 🙂
from Kirby’s blog…

“What do they say? This too shall pass?” Wakamatsu said. “Hopefully.”