2023 Spring Training Thread

[NWinAZ]

 

[wazzu31]

More so his pitch count than innings

He strikes out so many batters ( 4-5-6 pitch at bats ) vs the hitter putting a ball in play for an out after a pitch or 2.
Therefore his pitch count is a tad higher by the time he gets to the 4-5th inning than most pitchers who 'pitch to contact'

I am always bashing on Marco, but he has a definite role with the club and is useful as an innings eater ( last year logged I think close to 175 innings or so ) which is pretty good modern day count. The years past benchmark was 200 innings + that is gone as is the complete game and complete game shutout for the most part. CG - CGSO

They just need to have a quicker hook on Marco and get him out of the games early on before he gives up his trademark 4-5 run inning.
Going to the bullpen early is similar to a war general bugling the retreat call ( something most managers just do not like to do )
Some pitchers warrant a closer look and Marco is definitely a guy to ALWAYS watch as he is very prone to the big inning syndrome.

I guess I could’ve said pitches but I do think they care more about innings than overall pitche cause not all pitches are equal. They go in with a plan of 5, 6 or 7 innings and only go down from there depending on how many pitches he tosses, let alone Gilbert who has had a horrendous month each of his seasons that I’m sure they would like to nip where it starts. Say they want 6 innings but after the 5th he is at 90, he won’t be going back out there.

I don’t think they need a quicker hook on Marco, he is where he needs to be in the rotation, as an innings eater. Even if his ERA is up around 5 his job is to eat innings and save the bullpen for the end of the year and to be replaced by mid season.

 

[wazzu31]

You have anything on O’Brien? Haven’t heard anything about him, he keeps popping up on prospects lists and strangely on the new MLB the Show (video game) he is better than a hell of a lot pitchers who are suppose to be vying for a spot sometime this season like Miller.

 

[NWinAZ]

You have anything on O’Brien? Haven’t heard anything about him, he keeps popping up on prospects lists and strangely on the new MLB the Show (video game) he is better than a hell of a lot pitchers who are suppose to be vying for a spot sometime this season like Miller.

This is about all I know about him which is nearly nothing. Local kid. I did here Sims I believe talk about his gramps and his gramma's brother being local stars back in the day. Both being drafted in basketball I believe and both being like 5'9". Both played baseball together as well in college. I know that should help...lol.

Riley O'Brien Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News

Riley O'Brien Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News

www.mlb.com

 

[NWinAZ]

 

[NWinAZ]

Mariners release Kole Calhoun, send Chris Clarke back to Cubs

Outfielder Kole Calhoun is back on the free agent market after opting out of his minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners, The Athletic reported Sunday.

www.yardbarker.com

 

[NWinAZ]

 

[MarinersBestFan]

Mr fragile ... made of glass

 

[NWinAZ]

 

[NWinAZ]

Mr fragile ... made of glass

Sad but true

 

[seahawksfan234]

I really like your first idea. While I in general like the whole little league day, I personally like it better how the Rainiers do it where they send discounts to all individual school districts, not just kids who are already playing baseball. I know we have talked about this before but the Mariners or any non NFL team should want massive discounts for families cause if a dad is bringing multiple kids to the game he is going to have to spend money on merchandise plus the cut they get from vendors.

I played in the late 90’s and that seems about right just for the league. But if you get to a certain level, you got to travel all over and play better teams in which tournaments (at least they used to) have different bat requirements depending, had to have multiple uniforms plus money for meals. I guess just depends on the levels, but either way IMO it was always the time consumption. I got 3 kids and it is hard as hell trying to get to all the pickup times so no idea how my parents pulled it off until my younger brother jumped up levels to where he was on my team.

Your last part I think is something to look into how much of it was volunteer based. I still think the umps are volunteers, but and for the little league I think it is voluntary, but all the clinics and stuff they want them to attend aren’t. Which is kind of money plus time. No idea how to fix it or make it better. I think having Julio should have a very positive effect on local baseball though because Griffey did

As I said I don't think it would ever happen, but allowing kids in free I think would be a great thing to help build life long fans and would be a erase a barrier for a lot of lower/middle income families to attend games. As to your second point, I'm also in complete agreement. For years a friend of mine worked for the Mariners and they'd give him club level seats for free all the time. For whatever reason I seemed to be the only one interested - he wasn't a close friend of mine, just someone who was in my frat, so it's not like he was doing it because he liked me a ton - and he'd sell me all four for $5 a pop when those tickets normally cost like $70 each. As a result I'd still end up spending a ton on food, alcohol, etc. so just getting me in the door ended up in me spending money I wouldn't have otherwise spent. Shit I wish he still worked for the Mariners because back then I'd be going to multiple games a week.

You're right about the expenses when you get to a certain level the cost gets higher. I was mostly focusing on the 8th grade and under level because I didn't play beyond that. Quite honestly I was pretty mediocre and never even bothered trying to play in high school and just focused on playing football which I was pretty good at.

Good point on Julio. I think having those young role models who make baseball cool is a crucial point. This is pretty ironic considering I'm such a big baseball fan, but I always felt playing the game was boring - maybe that's because "mediocre" is an understatement of my baseball skills - and I think mostly found interest in it because I was always trying to emulate the Seattle baseball stars I looked up to. Loved taking BP though, lol.

 

[seahawksfan234]

This will be the precursor to me throwing a fit if they don't spend a bunch of money in free agency next year. If anything this is even more reason to be upset about the offseason we had this year when per Divish it sounds like the Mariners had initial conversations with the top free agents and determined that they didn't want to pay what was necessary to land them.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Haven’t listened to 710 so I am wondering if they have brought that up. That is a lot profit for a team that says we need to live in reality with them being a smaller market team. On a positive note, they have enough money on profit alone to sign Ohtani and have money left over.

Another point is that the hype/demand for Mariners tickets didn't seriously kick up until they went on that winning streak in June. Meaning that their revenue will likely increase in 2023, leading to higher profits as I believe payroll for 2023 is only $15m more than it was in 2022.

If this ends up in us landing Ohtani, I'll stop bitching about them not spending and attribute it to them making the calculated decision that if they hold off this offseason, they can land Ohtani once he's a free agent. I don't know what the next free agent class looks like but if we're not big time buyers, it's going to be a slap in the face to the fans.

Given the fact that MLB franchises appreciate at on average roughly 10% per year, the team should reinvest that profit in the product on the field.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

sucks for sure - I hate seeing any athlete suffer an injury

But that's why you need a very athletic and quick footed 1b ( Not Ty France )

That was the worst footwork on trying to make a play I may have ever seen.

I see it 162x's a year. He's a below average 1B. Sucks he got hurt but putting your body in an awkward position can cause injury.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Mr fragile ... made of glass

That's a shame, at one point I recall people wondering if Haniger would ever play baseball again after all the setbacks he had from the testicle injury. Pretty sure he has had oblique problems in the past as well.

Unfortunately some people just have a genetic disposition to injuries it seems and there's only so much you can do to prevent it. One of my best friend's brother was a pitcher for Stanford who was projected to go in the first round, fell to the 16th after an elbow injury in college and had more injuries in the minors and just decided to hang up the cleats and start his career. Coincidentally, my friend has had a number of various athletic related injuries which indicates to me it's likely a genetic issue.

That's why I wasn't too upset that we didn't receive much for Kyle Lewis. I have a feeling his knee problems will end up lingering throughout his career.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

Hope they have a quick hook and replacement if/when Marco goes off the deep end.

 

[NWinAZ]

 

[NWinAZ]

 

[NWinAZ]

 

[NWinAZ]