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Sunday, August 14, 2005 |
Two Games
Sweep: Angels 7, Mariners 6
Thank you, Minnesota! But, Brendan...That error was committed by the little girl down the street. At least that is how it felt like I was throwing.Send them back to Little League. Or something.
Other 'n that... Kotch gets to stay on the team, apparently, with his fourth dinger in two weeks, and Vlad... well, we'll know about him after he retires, but is it too early to start thinking of Hall of Fame?
Never On A Sunday: Dodgers 2, Mets 1
I saw the postgame on this on ESPN, and Jayson Werth ran off the field as happy a man as ever left the baseball diamond. Left over from last year, indeed.
Comments:
How lucky for the Angels that they got to play the Mariners at a time when the Mariners have decided that winning games is only a secondary consideration. If the Mariners were focused on winning games right now, they wouldn't trundle Spiezio out as the starting DH. When you're not trying to win games it doesn't bother you to send a guy to the plate when there are runners on second and third who is hitting worse than Dean Chance.
I think it's wrong for the Mariners managment to field less than their best team when the Mariners are playing teams that are fighting for playoff spots. If the Mariners want to give Spiezio ABs to see if he can regain some semblance of his stroke, they should do so when they are not playing teams that are in dogfights for playoff spots.
I think it's wrong for the Mariners managment to field less than their best team when the Mariners are playing teams that are fighting for playoff spots. If the Mariners want to give Spiezio ABs to see if he can regain some semblance of his stroke, they should do so when they are not playing teams that are in dogfights for playoff spots.
Yeah, I was surprised to see Spiezio's name penciled into the lineup as well, something I mentioned for Saturday's game recap. Maybe the feeling was that hitting against his old team would somehow motivate him to focus more. If so, it didn't work; he didn't get one hit in the series, and his walk was only his fourth of the season.
Dean Chance (a good starting pitcher for the Angels and Twins in the 1960's before blowing out his arm at age 27) is generally regarded as the worst hitter of all time. Since there was no DH at that time, Chance logged almost 600 ABs in his 10 year career. Among players who recorded at least 300 ABs, there is no one worse than Dean Chance.
Below is a comparison of Dean Chance's career hitting line and Spiezio's 2005 season to date:
PLAYER .... AVG ... OBP ... SLG ... OPS
Chance ... .066 ... .113 ... .069 ... .183
Spiezio ... .044 ... .122 ... .133 ... .177
Right now Spiezio is worse than the worst hitter in the history of baseball.
But I suppose it's not fair to compare the worst year out of Spiezio's career with the average for the worst hitter in baseball. So let's compare Spiezio's worst season with some worst seasons. Let's assume that with the added playing time Spiezio gets to 100 ABs, but maintains his current averages (doesn't seem like a bad assumption at this point). So let's compare Spiezio with the worst season for a non-pitcher getting at least 100 PAs.
PLAYER ......... YEAR ... AVG ...OBP ... SLG ... OPS
Ed Connolly ... 1931 ... .075 ... .131 ... .086 ... .217
Scott Spiezio ..... 2005 ... .044 ... .122 ... .133 ... .177
Below is a comparison of Dean Chance's career hitting line and Spiezio's 2005 season to date:
PLAYER .... AVG ... OBP ... SLG ... OPS
Chance ... .066 ... .113 ... .069 ... .183
Spiezio ... .044 ... .122 ... .133 ... .177
Right now Spiezio is worse than the worst hitter in the history of baseball.
But I suppose it's not fair to compare the worst year out of Spiezio's career with the average for the worst hitter in baseball. So let's compare Spiezio's worst season with some worst seasons. Let's assume that with the added playing time Spiezio gets to 100 ABs, but maintains his current averages (doesn't seem like a bad assumption at this point). So let's compare Spiezio with the worst season for a non-pitcher getting at least 100 PAs.
PLAYER ......... YEAR ... AVG ...OBP ... SLG ... OPS
Ed Connolly ... 1931 ... .075 ... .131 ... .086 ... .217
Scott Spiezio ..... 2005 ... .044 ... .122 ... .133 ... .177
Last year Bob Melvin was bound and determined not to lose 100 games, and to do right by the rest of the AL West. As a result the M's lost 99 games, and pitcher Bobby Madritsch injured his shoulder and is still on the DL.
The A's have an easier schedule than the Halos going forward, and they just got to take a few whacks at Kansas City's corpse. If they want a playoff spot, they can earn it. The Mariners have no obligation to anyone whatsoever. Trotting out Scott Spiezio is absurd, but then the A's are competitive in large part because of the idiocy of vast swathes of major league baseball; they can't complain when such stupidity works against their interests.
The A's have an easier schedule than the Halos going forward, and they just got to take a few whacks at Kansas City's corpse. If they want a playoff spot, they can earn it. The Mariners have no obligation to anyone whatsoever. Trotting out Scott Spiezio is absurd, but then the A's are competitive in large part because of the idiocy of vast swathes of major league baseball; they can't complain when such stupidity works against their interests.
A caveat to start - I'm writing this aa a Mariners fan.
I have no problem with any team declaring a season essentially lost, and reworking the roster by dumping vets and promoting young players. Even though that strategy may weaken the team in the short run, making the schedule easier for second half oppontents, it's a legitimate effort to build for the future.
I do have a problem with a team in such a situation deliberately fielding a team it knows is less than optimal when playing teams that are seriously contending for a playoff spot. In the situation at hand, playing Spiezio at DH mocks the game. The Ms were roundly booed for putting Spiezio on the field Sunday, and rightly so. Even the most fleeting Mariners fans were insulted by the Mariners decision to put Spiezio in the lineup, and to keep him out there when the situation called for a PH.
If the team doesn't care enough to try it's best to win, why should fans care about the team? IMHO - the Mariners are operating in a very dangerous area here, and are on the verge of alienating a chunk of that baseline fan support who basically support the team through thick and thin, as long as they believe the team is at least trying.
I have no problem with any team declaring a season essentially lost, and reworking the roster by dumping vets and promoting young players. Even though that strategy may weaken the team in the short run, making the schedule easier for second half oppontents, it's a legitimate effort to build for the future.
I do have a problem with a team in such a situation deliberately fielding a team it knows is less than optimal when playing teams that are seriously contending for a playoff spot. In the situation at hand, playing Spiezio at DH mocks the game. The Ms were roundly booed for putting Spiezio on the field Sunday, and rightly so. Even the most fleeting Mariners fans were insulted by the Mariners decision to put Spiezio in the lineup, and to keep him out there when the situation called for a PH.
If the team doesn't care enough to try it's best to win, why should fans care about the team? IMHO - the Mariners are operating in a very dangerous area here, and are on the verge of alienating a chunk of that baseline fan support who basically support the team through thick and thin, as long as they believe the team is at least trying.
I have no inside knowledge about the inner workings of the Mariner front office despite my geographical proximity to the team, but I would be willing to bet that Scott was in the lineup with the hope (rather than the expectation) that he would do something to spark some interest by the Angels in acquring him. I think the team did much the same with Boone before they cut ties with him.
Stan from Tacoma
Stan from Tacoma
# posted by 
: 8/15/2005 09:28:00 AM
: 8/15/2005 09:28:00 AM
Stephen,
Playing Sandfrog (as they call him on the M's boards) is inexplicable. But as you noted, those who are most directly injured are the Mariners' fans and players. If the A's want to complain, they need to get in line.
Stan,
No one, not even Brian Sabean, is dumb enough to trade for a $3 mil/year 0.057 hitter who has a good three games. (Now if Spiezio had a good three weeks against the Giants, Sabean would be all over him.)
Playing Sandfrog (as they call him on the M's boards) is inexplicable. But as you noted, those who are most directly injured are the Mariners' fans and players. If the A's want to complain, they need to get in line.
Stan,
No one, not even Brian Sabean, is dumb enough to trade for a $3 mil/year 0.057 hitter who has a good three games. (Now if Spiezio had a good three weeks against the Giants, Sabean would be all over him.)
I fully realize that no team is going to pick up Spiezio's salary and I am sure Bavasi is as well. That said, if Scott had a decent series perhaps the Angels would be willing to consider picking him up for the minimum. McPherson is still out, Anderson is injured, so I assume Figgins will have to be in the outfield for Finley and/or Anderson. If Scott showed that he could swing the bat it would possible for the Angels to go in that direction. I am not an Angels fan, but I think they are going to need to add an infield bat to win the division.
# posted by : 8/15/2005 10:51:00 PM
: 8/15/2005 10:51:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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