Series Thread: July 9-12: In Safeco Field, Trout fishes for YOU!

[blstoker]

Anytime this team has a chance for some positive momentum they just lay an egg.

I find that extremely insulting on behalf of eggs everywhere

 

[Tapey]

Yea, why not?

 

[Itsmytime]

How many fucking chances is this team going to waste.

 

[SeattleCoug]

Guy throws 5 breaking balls in the dirt and throws a 6th and Cano still swings. Adjustments is such a foreign concept to this team

 

[cezero]

710 ESPN just tweeted that LMC said the "biggest disappointment" for the M's in the first half is the bullpen.

so many jokes can be made out of that.

 

[SeattleCoug]

This game is an appropriate way to end the first game

 

[WizardHawk]

Came back in from mowing the yard in time to see the 9th run cross the plate. Watched the first two innings so I guess I saw the only parts of it worth watching?

We find ourselves in the all too familiar territory of once again being at the all-star break and being far more interested in the count down to football season than baseball.

 

[cezero]

This game is an appropriate way to end the first game

i'll be very surprised if they don't follow up their amazing first half with a bottom 2 AL performance for the rest of the year

clearly one of the worst teams in baseball

 

[NWinAZ]

 

[SeattleCoug]

This game is an appropriate way to end the first half[/QUOTE]

oops. oh well

 

[wazzu31]

This team sure looks like the pitching and defense Jack always talked about. What's the use of spending big money on a power bat if you just put together one of the worst defensive teams in baseball.

 

[Anointed One]

710 ESPN just tweeted that LMC said the "biggest disappointment" for the M's in the first half is the bullpen.

so many jokes can be made out of that.

Are you kidding me? Is he trying to divert the fact that he's a hitting coach at heart and his offense was almost dead last in MLB?

 

[NWinAZ]

Geoff Baker ‏@GeoffBakerTIMES 14m14 minutes ago

As unfortunate as death of Nintendo chief Satoru Iawata was at age 55, has little impact on #Mariners ops. Howard Lincoln calls their shots.

 

[Anointed One]

Why send Farq down and keep Rollins? Rollins has absolutely stunk... He has a 12.46 era... Hopefully Farq was sent down to get some extra work during the break so he or someone else can replace Rollins after the break...

 

[SeattleCoug]

Geoff Baker ‏@GeoffBakerTIMES 14m14 minutes ago

As unfortunate as death of Nintendo chief Satoru Iawata was at age 55, has little impact on #Mariners ops. Howard Lincoln calls their shots.

Don't worry Lincoln put himself on the hot seat. Oh wait it's not 2008 anymore. It's been 7 plus years of piss poor results. How's that seat Howie? N ice and comfy I bet.

 

[unlvmariners]

Why send Farq down and keep Rollins? Rollins has absolutely stunk... He has a 12.46 era... Hopefully Farq was sent down to get some extra work during the break so he or someone else can replace Rollins after the break...

I believe Rollins is a rule 5 guy. So he has to stay on the 25 man roster or they have to send him back to his former team.

 

[AceKeptic]

How many fucking chances is this team going to waste.

That's just the typical thing about these guys. They get a little bit behind early on, and they just QUIT.

I was just surprised that it took so long for Taijuan-on to give up. I actually expected three straight innings of coughing up runs.

 

[Anointed One]

I believe Rollins is a rule 5 guy. So he has to stay on the 25 man roster or they have to send him back to his former team.

Probably a good thing, no?

 

[NWinAZ]

 

[NWinAZ]

Mariners Interested In Jason Frasor
By Steve Adams [July 14, 2015 at 5:08pm CDT]
The Mariners are “taking a hard look” at right-hander Jason Frasor, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Frasor became a free agent earlier this week after he was designated for assignment by the Royals and opted for free agency.

As Dutton writes, manager Lloyd McClendon recently expressed displeasure with the performance of his team’s right-handed relievers. McClendon noted that much attention is paid to the club’s anemic offense, but the team had offensive struggles in 2014 as well. A lack of quality right-handed relief options, in McClendon’s estimation, has been a significant detriment to the team’s success. “In my opinion, the biggest disappointment to date has been the right-handers we’ve had to shift in and out of our bullpen to try to bridge the gap,” said McClendon.

Seattle has indeed seen its shares of struggles in the bullpen. Danny Farquhar, Tom Wilhelmsen, Yoervis Medina and Dominic Leone were standout performers in 2014, but neither has performed well in 2015. The 28-year-old Farquhar’s velocity and strikeout rates have plummeted, while his walk and home run rates have both soared. The result has been a 6.23 ERA — more than three full runs higher than his 2.66 mark from 2015. Wilhelmsen’s ERA has more than doubled, though it’s at least worth noting that his strikeout and walk rates have improved; he, however, has been plagued by a BABIP north of .400 and a fluky strand rate. Medina and Leone have both been traded this season after their own struggles. None of the four is presently in the Major Leagues.

Also of note regarding the Mariners’ bullpen struggles is the collapse of 2014 closer Fernando Rodney. The veteran has long had control issues, but in his best years they’ve been masked somewhat by a hefty strikeout rate. That hasn’t been the case for Rodney this season, as he’s posted a dreadful 5.50 ERA with just 7.0 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. The 38-year-old has also been more homer-prone than usual.

Overall, the Mariners have received a collective 3.81 ERA from their bullpen, which ranks just 22nd in the Majors. Sabermetrics don’t paint any rosier of a picture, as FIP (3.81), xFIP (3.85) and SIERA (3.54) all feel that the production has been mediocre, at best, relative to the rest of the bullpens in the league. Rookie Carson Smith, journeyman Mark Lowe and lefties Joe Beimel and Charlie Furbush, however, have delivered strong to excellent bottom-line results.

Of course, Frasor would hardly represent a guaranteed cure for the Mariners’ bullpen troubles. Although the 37-year-old worked to an excellent 1.54 ERA in 23 1/3 innings with the Royals, he also issued 15 walks (13 unintentional) in that time and posted the lowest K/9 rate (6.9) of his career. Additionally, given his track record, one would imagine that there will be a number of clubs to show interest in the veteran right-hander, whose brush with midseason free agency seems unlikely to be lengthy in nature.