LATEST STORIES FROM U.S.S. MARINER
The iPhone app is out: 2nd Guesser
October 19, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Hey, it’s time for naked promotion time, and a small part of why I haven’t been posting so much lately: you can now check out and buy the iPhone app that’s been in development for the last few months, built by my dad and I (mostly my dad, who has a couple of other...
Now, About Yusei Kikuchi
October 19, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Friday, I proposed Yusei Kikuchi as a player to look at should the Chapman bidding war get out of hand as expected. I’ve talked about him a little in the past, discussing the implications of his possible jump to the U.S., but I hadn’t profiled him to any length with regard...
About Aroldis Chapman
October 16, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Coming into the 2009 season, there were three pitchers in their early 20s that were singled out as having the talent to be MLB stars in the future: San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg, Nippon Ham’s Yu Darvish, and Holguín’s Aroldis Chapman. Strasburg, as we all know, went number...
There’s Just Not Much Going On
October 16, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Sorry for going a couple of days without posting, but really, what was there to say? News is pretty scarce about now, and I’ve got some other things to tend to at the moment. One of those things will produce something you guys are going to love next spring, by the way. I [.....
Arizona Fall League Kicks Off
October 13, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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The AFL kicks off today, just in time to make up for a couple of days without baseball. If you haven’t heard, the M’s have sent an impressive group of prospects to represent them in Peoria – Dustin Ackley, Phillippe Aumont, Josh Fields, Nick Hill, Anthony Varvaro...
Roster Construction Theory
October 12, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Before you ask, yes, the off-season plan post is coming. Patience.
Today, I want to spend a few minutes talking about a little bit of theory of roster construction that kind of gets lost when we begin to discuss the positives and negatives of certain moves. The concept is that of...
Sorry, Jason, We Don’t Want You
October 08, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Over the last few years, I’ve done an off-season series called “free agent land mines”, where I laid out players to avoid giving large contracts to who just weren’t going to be worth it. Because it was just that kind of organization, the M’s kept picking...
The Deciding Factor
October 07, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Yesterday, we looked at what the M’s needed to do this off-season in order to get themselves into a spot where they could line up in April and call themselves legitimate contenders. It’s not an easy path – they need to add a bunch of wins without a ton of money to...
The Foundation
October 06, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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As the M’s come up with their off-season plan of action, there’s one significant evaluation that has to take place, and be accurate, or the plan will not succeed. That most necessary step is an evaluation of what the team already has on hand and how competitive they could...
WAR and the 2009 Mariners
October 05, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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A few facts you’ve probably heard tossed around the last few days:
1. The Mariners won 85 games
2. The M’s were outscored by 52 runs
3. Their pythag record, based on the above run differential, was just 76-86.
People have extrapolated all kinds of things from those facts...
Awesome bordering on creepy
October 05, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Ichiro, on Griffey:
“You can’t forget about him,” Suzuki said through an interpreter. “I believe that even in this winter, in my sleep, he will appear in my dreams.
“To play together with that hero of mine, in the same uniform — and on top of that...
2010 Begins Today
October 05, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Yesterday was a lot of fun. But the business of winning baseball games is a cold, unfeeling thing, and yesterday is now over. Today is the beginning of an off-season of hard choices. 2009 is over, and while it was fun, the goal for 2010 should be to get better, not to [...]--
This...
A Great Day
October 04, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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One year ago, I got married. It was the best decision of my life. Today, I celebrated our first anniversary with my wife. We ate at the place we had our first date, exchanged gifts, did some alphabet photography, and watched The Amazing Race together. It was a great day. [...]--
This...
Game 162, Felix Appreciation Day!
October 04, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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I know the schedule says it’s “Kids Appreciation Day” but what have the little buggers done for the Mariners lately, huh? Maybe if we were talking about low-service time players, sure, but– it doesn’t matter!
And if Wak was holding Aardsma back yesterday...
Game 161, Rangers at Mariners
October 03, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Ryan Rowland-Smith!
RF-L Ichiro!
CF-R Gutierrez
2B-R Lopez
DH-L Griffey
3B-R Beltre
C-R Johjima
1B-L Carp
LF-L Saunders
SS-R Josh Wilson
Sooo, hidden here under the fold… it feels really weird to write this up, because most of my USSM posts have been watched and sometimes assisted...
Game 160, Rangers at Mariners
October 02, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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With a sweep we could pull into a tie for second. Who knew we’d have that to look forward to going into the final series? Of course, we’d also likely leave the realm of protected draft picks in the process, which doesn’t excite me. I’d take it, if it means an...
Attendance and Payroll
October 02, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Chuck Armstrong spoke with Geoff Baker yesterday, offering his thoughts on the M’s turnaround, the critics of the prior administration (including us, I’m sure), and how the team is going to go forward. Included in the article is this brief mention of attendance and payroll...
Game 159, A’s at Mariners
October 01, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Oh, vagaries of chance. Doug Fister, who starts tonight, is regarded as a surprise, a revelation, a top contender for next year’s rotation, depending on who you listen to. But if you start stacking him against the other rotation guys, well… it’s not that great. Fister...
Morrow and Hope
October 01, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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8 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts. Just a dominating performance that shows the kind of talent this kid has. This is the kind of game that makes you say “man, he’s on the verge of really being something.”
Oh, sorry, you think I’m talking about...
Game 158, A’s at Mariners
September 30, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Mortensen v Morrow.
Saunders in left, Hannahan at first. Johjima gets a turn behind the plate. Griffey DHs, so prepare for another night of will-he won’t-he commentary. If we’re really lucky, we’ll get to see Branyan pinch-hit. And Batista. Just to make things exciting...
Yusei Kikuchi: Next Japanese Import?
September 30, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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We are now a few weeks removed from the historic event of Ichiro recording his ninth consecutive season with two hundred or more hits. Aside from the usual bumps leading up to the milestone, these events have become commonplace, and so it’s strange to think now that we’re a decade...
Quantifying Chemistry
September 30, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Given the incentives that Ken Griffey Jr is going to obtain, the Mariners are going to pay him approximately $3.5 million for 2009. In addition, they’re paying Mike Sweeney $500,000 for the season, so their total expenditure on the DH position for the year was $4 million.
In...
Game 157, A’s at Mariners
September 29, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Felix Day. Oh how I love Felix Day.
Versus Trevor Cahill. Might be a fine, cold night to see some quality pitching.
RF-L Ichiro!
CF-R Gutierrez
2B-R Lopez
DH-L Griffey
3B-R Beltre
1B-L Carp
LF-R Hall
C-R Johnson
SS-R Josh Wilson
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This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright...
Get Thee To Safeco
September 29, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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Tonight, the M’s open their final home stand of the season. The last six games don’t mean a whole heck of a lot, but even still, let me encourage you to make it to Safeco Field this week. The reasons are numerous.
1. Felix is pitching tonight and Sunday. As much [...]...
The M’s Defense
September 29, 2009 by
U.S.S. Mariner
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My first post of the day over at FanGraphs is dedicated to looking at the M’s defense, which has been the best in baseball by a mile this year. No one’s even close. The M’s have been 84 runs above an average defensive club this year, which is why their mediocre pitching...
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