Wednesday, January 23, 2013
2013 MARINERS SCAVENGER HUNT
So I saw this and thought a Mariners version absolutely had to be done. Wyatt Arndt and J. Bowman's Canucks-related version of the scavenger hunt had 48 items for 48 games. Can we list 162 items for 162 games before the season starts? I'll try. I'll take suggestions. I'll update this as I come up with more stuff. I don't think this list will be static until we have the Opening Day roster. These all pertain to things you would see on Mariners broadcasts (typically these will be via Root Sports) or on the field.
(*thanks to old blogmate Jeremy)
(**Jon Shields informed me that Major League Baseball has now banned this move)
(***thanks to longtime reader Paul)
(****thanks to Josh)
--- PLAYER SPECIFIC ---
Dustin Ackley
3) Three or more extra-base hits in a game for Ackley
13) Beavan gives up a grand slam
25) Trainers attend to Gutierrez on the field
[sadly, this occurred on April 22nd at Houston, the 21st game of the season]
Felix Hernandez
26) Felix Hernandez 15-strikeout game
27) Felix strikes out 20 or more in a game
28) Felix takes a no-hitter into the 8th
29) Felix takes a perfect game into the 7th
30) Felix doesn't make it past the 4th
31) Octopus: Felix gives up 8 earned runs or more
32) Root goes to the behind-the-plate camera when Felix has two strikes on a hitter (NOTE: I absolutely abhor when they do this)
Raul Ibanez
39) Montero guns down a runner at third base
41) Mariners player gets into the boxscore while wearing a number higher than Montero's 63
42) Montero steals a base*
43) Montero triples****
Michael Morse
49) Michael Morse grand slam
52) Multiple-error game for Morse
53) Morse fields a position on the left side of the infield at any point
54) Dave Sims gives some stupid nickname to Morse's home runs
Brendan Ryan
57) Brendan Ryan grand slam
58) Ryan multi-homer game
59) Ryan multi-hit game
Justin Smoak
74) Justin Smoak homers from both sides of the plate
75) Smoak game-winning homer (in the Mariners' final inning at bat)*
76) Smoak strikes out twice righthanded *and* twice lefthanded
88) Former Mariner records a save against the Mariners****
89) Wabash Cannonball: Mariners fall behind by 15 runs in a game
Pitcher tries the fake-to-third-then-throw-to-first move and manages to hang up the baserunner (I seem to remember Sean Green pulling this off a few years ago)**
--- MISCELLANEOUS HITTING ---
91) Same player "loses the handle" on his bat multiple times during a game, flinging it into the crowd ...
92) Home run toward leftfield corner ends up spilling someone's drink or food at Edgar's
93) Mariner hitter homers using a pink bat
95) Mariners hit into four or more double plays in a game
103) Mariners successfully execute a suicide squeeze bunt
[placeholder - I'll note that in the April 11th game against Texas, Brendan Ryan may have successfully executed the squeeze bunt, but Endy Chavez was tagged out on a very close play. Depending on whether "successfully" has to mean the runner scored, this may have met the requirement for Item 103.]
104) Mariners suicide squeeze bunt pushes across go-ahead run
113) Two players on the same team hit two or more homers apiece in one game****
114) Any player homers twice in the same inning****
159) Mariners player featured in a Mariners commercial is off the roster before the end of the season
160) Mariners have a double-digit winning streak****
161) Mariners have a double-digit losing streak****
162) Mariners complete a series sweep of three or more games against a team above .500
(*thanks to old blogmate Jeremy)
(**Jon Shields informed me that Major League Baseball has now banned this move)
(***thanks to longtime reader Paul)
(****thanks to Josh)
--- PLAYER SPECIFIC ---
Dustin Ackley
1) Ackley plays a position other than second base or DH
2) Ackley bats leadoff
3) Three or more extra-base hits in a game for Ackley
Robert Andino
4) Robert Andino triple
5) Andino multi-hit game
5) Andino multi-hit game
[accomplished April 18th vs. Detroit; he went 2-for-3]
6) Andino multi-steal game
Jason Bay
7) Jason Bay multi-hit game
[accomplished April 13th vs. Texas]
8) Bay multi-homer game
[accomplished April 13th vs. Texas]
8) Bay multi-homer game
9) Bay makes a start in centerfield
10) Root crew tells us anything specific about Trail, BC
[April 5th at Chicago -- mentions of the climate while Bay was trying to play ball in high school may qualify for this]
Blake Beavan
11) Blake Beavan throws eight innings in a start
12) Beavan scoreless outing of seven innings or longer
12) Beavan scoreless outing of seven innings or longer
13) Beavan gives up a grand slam
14) Beavan gives up multiple home runs in an inning
[happened April 5th at Chicago]
15) Opposing team bats around on Beavan
[happened April 5th at Chicago]
15) Opposing team bats around on Beavan
16) Root crew uses a nickname for Beavan
Carter Capps
17) Carter Capps strikes out the side
18) Capps hits two batters in the same inning
Endy Chavez
19) Endy Chavez home run
20) Chavez multi-hit game
20) Chavez multi-hit game
[accomplished April 18th vs. Detroit; he went 2-for-3]
Charlie Furbush
21) Charlie Furbush three-inning relief appearance
22) Furbush spikes two pitches to the backstop in the same inning
Franklin Gutierrez
23) Franklin Gutierrez gets multiple extra-base hits in a game
[accomplished April 5th at Chicago]
24) Gutierrez multi-steal game
25) Trainers attend to Gutierrez on the field
[sadly, this occurred on April 22nd at Houston, the 21st game of the season]
Felix Hernandez
26) Felix Hernandez 15-strikeout game
27) Felix strikes out 20 or more in a game
28) Felix takes a no-hitter into the 8th
29) Felix takes a perfect game into the 7th
30) Felix doesn't make it past the 4th
31) Octopus: Felix gives up 8 earned runs or more
33) Multiple home runs off Felix in the same inning
Raul Ibanez
34) Raul Ibanez enters the game as a defensive replacement***
35) Ibanez pinch-hit home run
Hisashi Iwakuma
36) Hisashi Iwakuma complete game
Brandon Maurer
37) Brandon Maurer scoreless outing of seven innings or longer
Jesus Montero
38) Jesus Montero guns down a runner at second base39) Montero guns down a runner at third base
40) Montero holds onto the ball after a collision at the plate
41) Mariners player gets into the boxscore while wearing a number higher than Montero's 63
42) Montero steals a base*
43) Montero triples****
[accomplished May 1st vs. Baltimore]
44) Montero scores from second base with less than two out
[accomplished April 14th vs. Texas, with one out]
45) Montero scores from first base on a play not involving a home run
[accomplished April 14th vs. Texas, with one out]
45) Montero scores from first base on a play not involving a home run
Kendrys Morales
46) Kendrys Morales either hits for the cycle or finishes a triple short
47) Morales homers from both sides of the plate in a game
48) Morales grand slam
48) Morales grand slam
49) Michael Morse grand slam
50) Morse multi-homer game
[accomplished April 2nd at Oakland]
51) Morse three-homer game
[accomplished April 2nd at Oakland]
51) Morse three-homer game
52) Multiple-error game for Morse
53) Morse fields a position on the left side of the infield at any point
54) Dave Sims gives some stupid nickname to Morse's home runs
[if Twitter counts, Sims on April 2nd after the game referred to Morse Code Bombs]
Stephen Pryor
55) Pryor strikes out the side
56) Stephen Pryor hits two batters in the same inning
Brendan Ryan
57) Brendan Ryan grand slam
58) Ryan multi-homer game
[accomplished April 5th at Chicago]
60) Ryan error results in runs scoring (we can tweak this to mean "in the same inning" or "on the same play")
[April 17th vs. Detroit -- Ryan committed an error to put the leadoff hitter aboard in the top of the 5th. Two hitters later, that runner scored from third on a double-play ball]
60) Ryan error results in runs scoring (we can tweak this to mean "in the same inning" or "on the same play")
[April 17th vs. Detroit -- Ryan committed an error to put the leadoff hitter aboard in the top of the 5th. Two hitters later, that runner scored from third on a double-play ball]
Joe Saunders
61) Joe Saunders scoreless outing of seven innings or longer
[on April 13th vs. Texas, Joe Saunders threw seven innings and left the game with a 1-1 score, though the one run was unearned due to a Brendan Ryan error]
62) Joe Saunders records double-digit strikeouts in a game
[on April 13th vs. Texas, Joe Saunders threw seven innings and left the game with a 1-1 score, though the one run was unearned due to a Brendan Ryan error]
62) Joe Saunders records double-digit strikeouts in a game
Michael Saunders
63) Michael Saunders gets multiple extra-base hits in a game
64) Michael Saunders multi-steal game
65) Root crew tells us anything specific about Victoria, BC
65) Root crew tells us anything specific about Victoria, BC
Kyle Seager
66) Kyle Seager three-homer game
Kelly Shoppach
67) Kelly Shoppach grand slam
68) Shoppach multi-homer game
68) Shoppach multi-homer game
69) Shoppach triple
70) Shoppach steals a base
70) Shoppach steals a base
71) Shoppach guns down a runner at second base
[accomplished April 10th vs. Houston]
72) Shoppach guns down a runner at third base
[accomplished April 10th vs. Houston]
72) Shoppach guns down a runner at third base
73) Shoppach holds onto the ball after a collision at the plate
74) Justin Smoak homers from both sides of the plate
75) Smoak game-winning homer (in the Mariners' final inning at bat)*
76) Smoak strikes out twice righthanded *and* twice lefthanded
Tom Wilhelmsen
77) Tom Wilhelmsen records consecutive saves that are both 1-2-3 innings
[run of four straight 1-2-3 saves -- April 8th vs. Houston, April 12th and 14th vs. Texas, and April 18th vs. Detroit]
78) Wilhelmsen allows a grand slam
[run of four straight 1-2-3 saves -- April 8th vs. Houston, April 12th and 14th vs. Texas, and April 18th vs. Detroit]
78) Wilhelmsen allows a grand slam
79) Wilhelmsen fails to record an out
--- MISCELLANEOUS PITCHING ---
80) Pitcher picks off a runner at any base other than first
81) Mariner pitcher hits a home run
82) Mariner position player pitches
83) Mariner starting pitcher fails to get through the first inning
[April 9th -- Brandon Maurer, 2/3 inning vs. Houston]
84) Mariner pitcher surrenders bases-loaded walk
[April 16th vs. Detroit, done by Bobby LaFromboise]
85) Any Mariner pitcher picks off multiple runners in a game
86) Complete-game shutout by any Mariner
87) Erik Bedard takes the loss in a Mariner win
88) Former Mariner records a save against the Mariners****
89) Wabash Cannonball: Mariners fall behind by 15 runs in a game
90) Either team throws a no-hitter
--- MISCELLANEOUS HITTING ---
91) Same player "loses the handle" on his bat multiple times during a game, flinging it into the crowd ...
[Jason Bay against Oakland on Mother's Day, May 12]
94) Mariner hitter pop-bunts into a double play95) Mariners hit into four or more double plays in a game
[happened April 25th vs. Angels]
96) Mariners hit into triple play
97) Save some runs for tomorrow: Mariners take a lead of 15 runs at any point
98) Mariners homer is overturned via video review
99) Mariners extra-base hit overturned into home run after video review
100) Mariners home run off a foul pole (fair pole, whatever)
99) Mariners extra-base hit overturned into home run after video review
100) Mariners home run off a foul pole (fair pole, whatever)
101) Mariner hitter works a bases-loaded walk
[accomplished by Justin Smoak, April 2nd at Oakland]
102) Mariner hitter hits inside-the-park home run
103) Mariners successfully execute a suicide squeeze bunt
[placeholder - I'll note that in the April 11th game against Texas, Brendan Ryan may have successfully executed the squeeze bunt, but Endy Chavez was tagged out on a very close play. Depending on whether "successfully" has to mean the runner scored, this may have met the requirement for Item 103.]
104) Mariners suicide squeeze bunt pushes across go-ahead run
105) Mariner hitters combine for a home-run cycle (solo shot, 2-run, 3-run, and grand slam)
106) Mariners leadoff home run (first inning)
[accomplished by Franklin Gutierrez, April 3rd at Oakland and April 5th at Chicago]
107) Mariner hitter rings ball off the Hit It Here Cafe
108) Mariners beat Astros by ten or more runs
107) Mariner hitter rings ball off the Hit It Here Cafe
109) Mariners score double-digit runs against the Yankees
110) Golden sombrero: Mariner hitter strikes out four times in a nine-inning game
111) Someone other than Gutierrez or Saunders bats leadoff
[April 10 vs. Houston -- after Michael Saunders injured himself on a catch at the rightfield wall in the top of the 1st, Jason Bay hit leadoff. Having Wedge submit a lineup card before the game without Gutierrez or Saunders at leadoff may better fulfill this item]
[April 12 vs. Texas -- lineup card submitted with Endy Chavez hitting leadoff, definitely meeting the spirit of the item]
[April 12 vs. Texas -- lineup card submitted with Endy Chavez hitting leadoff, definitely meeting the spirit of the item]
112) Mariner hitter fouls ball off himself and either falls to the ground or has to walk it off
114) Any player homers twice in the same inning****
115) Yuniesky Betancourt gets a base hit at Safeco Field****
116) Ground-rule double after ball lodges itself in the tarp at Safeco Field
--- MISCELLANEOUS DEFENSE ---
117) Mariners turn four or more double plays in a game
118) Mariners turn triple play
118) Mariners turn triple play
119) Rundown play where four or more fielders touch the ball
120) Ball bounces off an outfielder and over the wall for a home run (Canseco style)****
121) Mariner fielder turns unassisted double play
122) Mariner fielder turns unassisted triple play
122) Mariner fielder turns unassisted triple play
--- MISCELLANEOUS GAME-ENDING METHODS ---
123) Mariners win on walk-off sacrifice fly
124) Mariners win on walk-off walk
125) Either team wins on walk-off balk
124) Mariners win on walk-off walk
125) Either team wins on walk-off balk
126) Walk-off hit by a former Mariner****
--- ROOT CREW/BROADCAST ---
127) Any reference to "man sauce" (it's a reference related to hot wings, people) on the Root broadcast. Usually this requires Rick Rizzs and Jay Buhner or Dan Wilson, which would usually mean Dave Sims has another gig that day.
128) Any mention is made of an upcoming arena for the Sonics
129) Mike Blowers makes any reference to Spanaway
130) Jay Buhner says something ill about the teal jerseys
129) Mike Blowers makes any reference to Spanaway
130) Jay Buhner says something ill about the teal jerseys
131) They tell the story of the cow in Lou Piniella's office in Peoria
132) Hitter strikes out, then pitch tracker graphic accidentally shows zero pitches having been thrown (no dots in the box)
133) Root runs a replay too long and misses a pitch
134) Root runs a replay too long and misses a ball in play
133) Root runs a replay too long and misses a pitch
134) Root runs a replay too long and misses a ball in play
135) Any part of a dance routine by the groundskeepers gets onto the Root broadcast (no, I'm not a fan; it rips off the Yankees)
136) Mariners Junior Broadcaster inadvertently says his/her favorite Mariner is Ichiro
136) Mariners Junior Broadcaster inadvertently says his/her favorite Mariner is Ichiro
137) Fan spills a beer, captured by Root (I decided "spills beer on camera" might imply that a camera needed beer to physically be spilled upon it)
[April 10th vs. Astros -- fan catches foul ball with his beer cup, then chugs it without removing the ball. I decided to count this as meeting the criteria for Item 137]
138) Root shows a ceremonial first pitch that reaches the backstop
139) Fan-made sign containing mild innuendo makes it onto the Root broadcast
139) Fan-made sign containing mild innuendo makes it onto the Root broadcast
140) The phrase "butcher boy" is used (this will result in me throwing something across the room)
141) Wayward profanity is caught by one of the on-field microphones and is audible on the Root broadcast
142) Root airs rain-delay programming not involving baseball, football, basketball, hockey, or soccer
143) Root adds someone new to their on-air staff (Aaron Goldsmith would not count)
143) Root adds someone new to their on-air staff (Aaron Goldsmith would not count)
144) A mention of "that wouldn't have been a homer last year"
145) Mike Blowers is correct on a home run prediction****
146) San Pedro de Macoris is mentioned
--- MISCELLANEOUS IN-GAME ---
147) A baserunner passes another baserunner
148) Rain delay occurs at Safeco Field: roof has a mechanical failure and is stuck open
149) Ball in play hit by either team takes a wayward bounce off any of the three bags or the pitcher's rubber
150) Ball in play hits a baserunner
151) Ball in play hits the pitcher, but the play results in an out or outs
150) Ball in play hits a baserunner
151) Ball in play hits the pitcher, but the play results in an out or outs
152) Fan at Safeco Field interferes with a Mariner fielder trying to catch a ball in play (no, I don't actually want this to happen)
153) Power outage occurs at Safeco Field, delaying the game
154) Player gets traded during the game
155) Game is scoreless heading into extra innings
156) Mariner player wearing a rally cap
157) Mariner Moose falls
--- MISCELLANEOUS MISCELLANEOUS ---
158) New Safeco Field LED video board malfunctions
159) Mariners player featured in a Mariners commercial is off the roster before the end of the season
160) Mariners have a double-digit winning streak****
161) Mariners have a double-digit losing streak****
162) Mariners complete a series sweep of three or more games against a team above .500
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Friday, April 06, 2012
2012 RICK RIZZS LAZY/ANNOYING NICKNAME LIST
The Mariners open up stateside tonight. One thing I find unbearable about the Mariners' radio broadcasts are the nicknames that Rick Rizzs chooses for the players. Usually he just adds a -y suffix, which is incredibly lazy and quite frankly I think it emasculates the players (a bit) rather than make for a playful nickname. Basically I heard a radio broadcast and heard way too much of Miggy and Figgy during the game and wanted to put a fist through my radio. Really, this goes back quite a ways since I remember being pissed off over names like Cammy and Nelly and Shiggy.
Anyway, here's the roster for the second opening night, in crappy Rizzs-like nickname format. I made up most of these in the "spirit" of Rizzs nicknames, but the ones Rizzs actually uses are noted.
Blake Beavan - Blakey, Beavey
Steve Delabar - Stevie, Delly, Barry
Felix Hernandez - King (consensus), Kingy, Licksy, Herny, Dezy
Hisashi Iwakuma - Hisashiy, Koomy
Brandon League - Brandy, Leaguey
Lucas Luetge - Lukey (confusing if used due to Lueke), Luetgey
Kevin Millwood - Kevy, Milly, Woody
Hector Noesi - Hecty, Noesiy
Erasmo Ramirez - Erasmy, Rammy, Rezzie
George Sherrill - Georgy, Sherry
Jason Vargas - Jasey, Vargy
Tom Wilhelmsen - Tommy, Willy, Helmy
John Jaso - Johnny, Jasey, Jasoy
Jesus Montero - Jesusy, Zeusy, Monty
Miguel Olivo - Miggy (Rizzs staple), Miguely, Oly, Olivoy
Dustin Ackley - Dusty, Ackleyy
Chone Figgins - Choney, Figgy (Rizzs staple)
Munenori Kawasaki - Mooney (Rizzs is using this), Munenoriy, Kowy, Kawasakiy, Saky/Saki
Alex Liddi - Alexy, Lexy, Liddiy
Brendan Ryan - Brendy, Ryany
Kyle Seager - Kylie, Seagy, Seagery
Justin Smoak - Justiny, Smoaky (Rizzs might occasionally use this one)
Michael Saunders - Mikey, Saundy, Saundersy
Ichiro Suzuki - Ichi (Rizzs staple), Suzy, Suzuki, Zooky
Casper Wells - Caspy, Spury, Wellsy
Ugh. Lazy hockey nicknames are bad, but they're not this bad.
Anyway, here's the roster for the second opening night, in crappy Rizzs-like nickname format. I made up most of these in the "spirit" of Rizzs nicknames, but the ones Rizzs actually uses are noted.
Blake Beavan - Blakey, Beavey
Steve Delabar - Stevie, Delly, Barry
Felix Hernandez - King (consensus), Kingy, Licksy, Herny, Dezy
Hisashi Iwakuma - Hisashiy, Koomy
Brandon League - Brandy, Leaguey
Lucas Luetge - Lukey (confusing if used due to Lueke), Luetgey
Kevin Millwood - Kevy, Milly, Woody
Hector Noesi - Hecty, Noesiy
Erasmo Ramirez - Erasmy, Rammy, Rezzie
George Sherrill - Georgy, Sherry
Jason Vargas - Jasey, Vargy
Tom Wilhelmsen - Tommy, Willy, Helmy
John Jaso - Johnny, Jasey, Jasoy
Jesus Montero - Jesusy, Zeusy, Monty
Miguel Olivo - Miggy (Rizzs staple), Miguely, Oly, Olivoy
Dustin Ackley - Dusty, Ackleyy
Chone Figgins - Choney, Figgy (Rizzs staple)
Munenori Kawasaki - Mooney (Rizzs is using this), Munenoriy, Kowy, Kawasakiy, Saky/Saki
Alex Liddi - Alexy, Lexy, Liddiy
Brendan Ryan - Brendy, Ryany
Kyle Seager - Kylie, Seagy, Seagery
Justin Smoak - Justiny, Smoaky (Rizzs might occasionally use this one)
Michael Saunders - Mikey, Saundy, Saundersy
Ichiro Suzuki - Ichi (Rizzs staple), Suzy, Suzuki, Zooky
Casper Wells - Caspy, Spury, Wellsy
Ugh. Lazy hockey nicknames are bad, but they're not this bad.
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Friday, February 17, 2012
SOON...?
Anyway, yesterday was a day I didn't think would happen for a long time. They've still got a long way to go, but i'm pretty sure this is the best shot we'll get to bring back the NBA and get the NHL. For the record, I'll never turn my back on the Canucks (they've given me too many good memories while the Seattle teams have been awful or left town), but will more than gladly root for a second team for every game except the six or so per year when they face Vancouver.
What a time this is.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
BASEBALL FLYOVER 2012
Going through referrer logs the past few years, it appears some of the most searched things on this site were the Google Earth screengrabs I did long ago of the 30 ballparks. Obviously, a bunch of them were outdated. Not to mention, some good folks out there have done 3D models of some of the ballparks. Go figure.
Note on a couple of the ballparks: apparently there isn’t any updated imagery in Google Earth for Target Field. What shows up is a parking lot. Google Maps tends to get updated imagery before Google Earth, however. As for the new Marlins ballpark, all the imagery shows a stadium that’s about 50% built.
Anyway, it was fun when I made the original post in 2006, so nearly six years later, here’s another...
Just like last time, I tried to get an oblique perspective and I oriented the perspective to north.
Enjoy.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Again, thanks to Google Earth along with the good folks (mouseover for credits) that bring us the imagery and the 3D models of the ballparks.
Note on a couple of the ballparks: apparently there isn’t any updated imagery in Google Earth for Target Field. What shows up is a parking lot. Google Maps tends to get updated imagery before Google Earth, however. As for the new Marlins ballpark, all the imagery shows a stadium that’s about 50% built.
Anyway, it was fun when I made the original post in 2006, so nearly six years later, here’s another...
Just like last time, I tried to get an oblique perspective and I oriented the perspective to north.
Enjoy.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL West
AL Central
AL East
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL West
NL Central
NL East
Again, thanks to Google Earth along with the good folks (mouseover for credits) that bring us the imagery and the 3D models of the ballparks.
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
CANUCK CHARTS
I'm not sure when exactly I decided to do this. After every Canuck game, I have this Excel chart. I use the NHL.com event sheet and toss in all the goals, assists, and points for the players. When I'm going through every couple days and filling in a game at a time, it's not bad. When I dug back and did the 2006-07 season, it was a bit of a chore. I haven't brought myself to do the 2007-08 season since that was such a drag of a season [UPDATE -- 2007-08 chart finished 23 Mar 2013].
I've been wanting to post something like this for a while, but hadn't gotten around to it.
[update 10 May 2013 -- posted 2012-13 version of chart]
Anyway...
Chart of the Canucks' 2006-07 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2007-08 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2008-09 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2009-10 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2010-11 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2011-12 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2012-13 season
Enjoy.
I've been wanting to post something like this for a while, but hadn't gotten around to it.
[update 10 May 2013 -- posted 2012-13 version of chart]
Anyway...
Chart of the Canucks' 2006-07 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2007-08 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2008-09 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2009-10 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2010-11 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2011-12 season
Chart of the Canucks' 2012-13 season
Enjoy.
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REFERRER LOG RESPONSE
Something appeared in the referrer logs that I found different enough to warrant a response. Basically there are Bing and Google searches asking what happened to Steve Sandmeyer at KJR. As someone who has listened to KJR with a pretty good deal of regularity since the Kemp and Payton years -- and who's been listening pretty regularly in the last couple months -- here is what I was able to get out of the radio broadcasts around that time.
Steve Sandmeyer was let go by KJR in mid-December after over a decade at the station, and I think six years with Mitch Levy and the 6-10am show. Just this past Tuesday and Wednesday, Sandmeyer guest-hosted the Brock & Salk show at 710ESPN. He filled in for Mike Salk, who was away for the birth of a new baby daughter. Sandmeyer was fortunate enough to get the first couple weekdays after the Pineda trade to be back on the air. In my opinion, if Sandmeyer's foot is already in the door, 710 should either bump the Mike and Mike slot and put Steve in it (pair him with someone if needed) or have him run the Mariners' postgame show.
***UPDATE (25 Jan 2013) - with the format change of 1090-AM (formerly KPTK progressive talk) to sports talk, Steve Sandmeyer now hosts the 3-6pm show on 1090 The Fan Seattle with radio veteran Bill Swartz. Sandmeyer's show is the lone local show on 1090, with CBS Sports Radio more than likely trying to push their national identity as a full-bore national sports radio network.
Additionally, "Hot Shot" Scott Soden was also let go by KJR just after the new year. He first got to KJR in 1995, then was a main part of the crew for the T-Man, Rob Tepper. After the T-Man had stepped away from radio, Hot Shot was brought back to the air by Mike Gastineau, who had him along for the 3-7pm show. After being let go by KJR, Hot Shot has since done four podcasts, posted at HotShotScott.com.
***UPDATE (25 Jan 2013) - possibly related to Sandmeyer taking the #1 gig at the new 1090 The Fan, Hot Shot is now taking fill-in gigs at 710 ESPN. He still posts podcasts every few days at his website, and his co-host on the podcasts is Stephen Kilbreath.
As for KJR's on-air lineup, they cut Dick Fain's Live at 5 show to 5:30am. Fain (who himself was laid off from KJR for a short time) pretty much stays in the studio with Mitch Levy during his 6-10am show. Dave "Softy" Mahler remains from 10am-1pm. Ian Furness (with Jason Puckett) remains at 1-3pm. Mike Gastineau is now joined by Elise Woodward for the 3-7pm show. The timeslot from 7-10pm is now taken by a syndicated Fox Sports Radio show with the T-Man and Rob Dibble. Dibble does the show from Los Angeles, while Tepper does it from the Northwest. Fox Sports Radio wanted Tepper to move to LA, but T-Man insisted on staying in Seattle or he wouldn't take the job. The T-Man/Dibble show probably will get pre-empted 70-plus times during the baseball season if KJR runs another season of Baseball's Best Postgame Show.
***UPDATE (25 Jan 2013) - T-Man pulled out of the FSR show after a couple weeks because he felt they were making pretty bad radio (this was on an appearance on Softy's show). He regretted bailing on the contract, but ultimately felt it wasn't going to work. Amy Van Dyken ended up being paired with Dibble, and Tepper felt they made for a better show than if it was Dibble and Tepper. However, looking back at this, KJR ended up selling the whole "local representation" thing when they axed the night show and said "oh, T-Man is on the night show, don't worry," but ultimately ended up with nothing. "Live and local" lost three hours of local, five nights a week.
KJR made a big positive move when they were able to acquire the 102.9-FM frequency, but the on-air staff moves are a reminder of the state of the economy and the state of the radio business.
Steve Sandmeyer was let go by KJR in mid-December after over a decade at the station, and I think six years with Mitch Levy and the 6-10am show. Just this past Tuesday and Wednesday, Sandmeyer guest-hosted the Brock & Salk show at 710ESPN. He filled in for Mike Salk, who was away for the birth of a new baby daughter. Sandmeyer was fortunate enough to get the first couple weekdays after the Pineda trade to be back on the air. In my opinion, if Sandmeyer's foot is already in the door, 710 should either bump the Mike and Mike slot and put Steve in it (pair him with someone if needed) or have him run the Mariners' postgame show.
***UPDATE (25 Jan 2013) - with the format change of 1090-AM (formerly KPTK progressive talk) to sports talk, Steve Sandmeyer now hosts the 3-6pm show on 1090 The Fan Seattle with radio veteran Bill Swartz. Sandmeyer's show is the lone local show on 1090, with CBS Sports Radio more than likely trying to push their national identity as a full-bore national sports radio network.
Additionally, "Hot Shot" Scott Soden was also let go by KJR just after the new year. He first got to KJR in 1995, then was a main part of the crew for the T-Man, Rob Tepper. After the T-Man had stepped away from radio, Hot Shot was brought back to the air by Mike Gastineau, who had him along for the 3-7pm show. After being let go by KJR, Hot Shot has since done four podcasts, posted at HotShotScott.com.
***UPDATE (25 Jan 2013) - possibly related to Sandmeyer taking the #1 gig at the new 1090 The Fan, Hot Shot is now taking fill-in gigs at 710 ESPN. He still posts podcasts every few days at his website, and his co-host on the podcasts is Stephen Kilbreath.
As for KJR's on-air lineup, they cut Dick Fain's Live at 5 show to 5:30am. Fain (who himself was laid off from KJR for a short time) pretty much stays in the studio with Mitch Levy during his 6-10am show. Dave "Softy" Mahler remains from 10am-1pm. Ian Furness (with Jason Puckett) remains at 1-3pm. Mike Gastineau is now joined by Elise Woodward for the 3-7pm show. The timeslot from 7-10pm is now taken by a syndicated Fox Sports Radio show with the T-Man and Rob Dibble. Dibble does the show from Los Angeles, while Tepper does it from the Northwest. Fox Sports Radio wanted Tepper to move to LA, but T-Man insisted on staying in Seattle or he wouldn't take the job. The T-Man/Dibble show probably will get pre-empted 70-plus times during the baseball season if KJR runs another season of Baseball's Best Postgame Show.
***UPDATE (25 Jan 2013) - T-Man pulled out of the FSR show after a couple weeks because he felt they were making pretty bad radio (this was on an appearance on Softy's show). He regretted bailing on the contract, but ultimately felt it wasn't going to work. Amy Van Dyken ended up being paired with Dibble, and Tepper felt they made for a better show than if it was Dibble and Tepper. However, looking back at this, KJR ended up selling the whole "local representation" thing when they axed the night show and said "oh, T-Man is on the night show, don't worry," but ultimately ended up with nothing. "Live and local" lost three hours of local, five nights a week.
KJR made a big positive move when they were able to acquire the 102.9-FM frequency, but the on-air staff moves are a reminder of the state of the economy and the state of the radio business.
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
I won't say I'm going to get back onto the horse with Sports and B's or anything. There's no way it'll be what it was. The most updated page on this blog over the past two years has been the Mariners' uniform number page, which I'll plan to update for as long as I can (the numbers are frozen from the final day of the 2011 season until Opening Day 2012, by the way). That said, I still feel I have stuff to say about sports even if I may not have time to rattle off huge multi-paragraph blog posts.
I've sworn off Twitter in every other aspect of life, but now I might finally have found a use for it. In short, I might finally start posting stuff. Follow me on Twitter @dsportsandbrems.
On the off chance someone still has this blog in their RSS feeds, thanks. I hope you've been well.
I've sworn off Twitter in every other aspect of life, but now I might finally have found a use for it. In short, I might finally start posting stuff. Follow me on Twitter @dsportsandbrems.
On the off chance someone still has this blog in their RSS feeds, thanks. I hope you've been well.
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
GAME 102: WHITE SOX 6, MARINERS 5
[box]
What a weird game. Surely anyone who saw that Jason Vargas and Mark Buehrle were the starting pitchers in this game figured it'd all be over in around 2.5 hours, maybe less. As Mariner fans, we all saw the brilliant game where Jarrod Washburn and Buehrle had it all done in under two hours. That was awesome stuff. In this game, however, Vargas wasn't vintage Vargas and Buehrle wasn't vintage Buehrle, that's for sure. Neither pitcher lasted past the fifth inning, and Vargas didn't make it through the fifth. Both pitchers threw too many pitches and got too few outs. I'd like to see this matchup again some other time and hope it all works out better. Would I be saying this if the Mariners managed to win this game? Probably not.
-- the starting pitching will be discussed at the end of the post
-- as for the bullpen, Jamey Wright was the first guy summoned. He entered the fifth inning with the bases empty and a 5-5 tie. He got a lineout from Carlos Quentin and a groundout from AJ Pierzynski. In the sixth, he allowed only a Gordon Beckham walk. In the seventh, he walked Juan Pierre to lead off. Pierre then stole second and went to third on an Alexei Ramirez bunt. Brandon League was brought in from the bullpen and allowed a second-pitch single to Rios, driving in Pierre easily and capping the game's scoring with the White Sox ahead 6-5. League then got lucky and got a two-fer as Rios was caught stealing, and League got a groundout from Paul Konerko to end the inning. In the eighth, League threw a 1-2-3 inning.
-- the bullpen rest bulletin: Wright and League threw in this game. Going into Thursday's game, Brian Sweeney will have a day of rest (but probably won't get game action), Chris Seddon and David Aardsma will have three days of rest, and Garrett Olson will have four days of rest.
-- now, the scoring. In the first, Ichiro led off with a single, then went to second on a Figgins bunt single. Franklin Gutierrez singled to score Ichiro to make it 1-0 and move Figgins to second. A fielder's choice from Russell Branyan erased Gutierrez and put Figgins on third. On a double steal, Figgins stole home to make it 2-0 and Branyan stole second and went to third on a throwing error. Justin Smoak, watching all this unfold from the batters box, finally hit a deep-enough fly ball to score Branyan and make it 3-0. In the second, Ichiro singled with two out, then came home on a Figgins homer that traveled over the bullpen past the leftfield wall to make it 5-1 and cap the Mariners' scoring.
-- now, the blown chances. In the fourth, Jack Wilson walked with one out, then went to second on an error on an Ichiro grounder. Figgins and Gutierrez then flew out to end the inning. In the fifth, Branyan led off with a single and went to third two outs later on a Josh Wilson single. Michael Saunders flew out to end the inning. In the seventh, Smoak singled off Matt Thornton with two out, went to second on a Josh Bard single, then went to third when Josh Wilson took a fastball off his arm, loading the bases. Saunders again flew out to end the inning.
-- now, the Ichiro/Figgins stat. The duo had two hits and two runs apiece, just about the most ideal thing for the Mariners, who nonetheless lost. The Mariners are now 12-7 when both players score and 17-30 when both collect hits.
Gameballs
1) Chone Figgins
He's the first gameball if for no other reason than that he homered and stole home plate in the same game. He also got two hits. He got aboard on a bunt in the first to push Ichiro to second, got to second himself on the Franklin Gutierrez RBI single, then stole home on a double steal with Russell Branyan (huh?) to put the Mariners ahead 2-0. In the second, Ichiro was on first and Figgins cranked a ball just over the bullpen beyond the leftfield wall to make it 5-1. Is Figgins' slugging percentage now greater than his on-base percetnage as a result? Well, absolutely not. He's got an on-base percentage of .333 and a slugging percentage of .284. Dude draws walks more often than he gets extra-base hits -- what are ya gonna do? Maybe he should incite more scuffles in the dugout or something. Some more nice team-bonding moments arising from confrontations and tension. If there's no drama in terms of on-field action (since you're going to lose every night), how about at least having some drama off the field?
2) Josh Bard
How often is a Mariner catcher going to rack up three hits in a ballgame? Not often. Thus, here lands Bard in the number-two gameball spot. He doubled with two out in the first after the bases had already emptied and the Mariners had scored three times for an early 3-0 lead. In the third, Bard singled once again with the bases empty and two out. In the seventh, Bard singled with two out to push Justin Smoak to second. I bet you it'll take five or six more games for the Mariner catchers to rack up another three hits at the plate. I was the guy bitching about having a light-hitting catcher when Dan Wilson was in town, so you can imagine how much this current catching tandem is just killing me. At least Dan Wilson could block the ball like nobody's business. Johnson can't block to save his own life, though part of that may be because of his hip surgeries, but if he needs to work himself back into form after these surgeries, isn't there a better place to get that done in a starting role with the Major League club?
3) Ichiro
The Mariners' leadoff hitter, rightfielder, and money man went 2-for-5 in the game, scoring twice. This pushes him to 129-for-419 (.308) on the season and puts him on pace to finish the season with 205 hits, which isn't bad unless you were expecting way more, like I was. Maybe this will end the slump. I have the feeling it won't end the slump immediately, but any time Ichiro gets multiple hits in a game, it's a good thing. It also means whoever's hitting behind him has some opportunities to move or score runners, and tonight that was Figgins, and Figgins did well. It's almost more of a prototypical example of how this team thought it was going to win this season. Ichiro singled to lead off the game, then singled with two out and the bases empty in the second. He ended up scoring on the Figgins home run that made it 5-1 and unfortunately capped the Mariners' scoring in the second inning. How do you like that -- the one time the Mariners are able to score early and often, they end up blowing a four-run lead. Awesome.
Goat
Jason Vargas
Well, Mister Vargas just wasn't himself in this game, and it's pretty bad he had a 5-1 lead and let it slip away. He's due for a bad start every now and again, especially since we didn't expect him to be this solid of a starting pitcher this quickly (I knocked on wood while typing this, hoping he doesn't pull a Ryan Rowland-Smith next year). Normally I'd say I wanted more innings out of Vargas in this game because the bullpen needed some rest after Rowland-Smith threw last night. However, Rowland-Smith was left out there to rot (and eat innings) and Brian Sweeney ate the remainder of the innings, preserving the rest of the bullpen. Jamey Wright and Brandon League threw in this game and probably won't appear on Thursday. Thus, unless Doug Fister throws a complete game, it's almost a sure thing that we'll see some combination of Garrett Olson and David Aardsma. Out of his 20 starts this season, Vargas has had three starts in which he averaged more than 20 pitches per inning, this start being one of them. He lost one of those starts, and the team split his no-decisions in the other two starts.
Pauley. Garcia. Thursday night.
What a weird game. Surely anyone who saw that Jason Vargas and Mark Buehrle were the starting pitchers in this game figured it'd all be over in around 2.5 hours, maybe less. As Mariner fans, we all saw the brilliant game where Jarrod Washburn and Buehrle had it all done in under two hours. That was awesome stuff. In this game, however, Vargas wasn't vintage Vargas and Buehrle wasn't vintage Buehrle, that's for sure. Neither pitcher lasted past the fifth inning, and Vargas didn't make it through the fifth. Both pitchers threw too many pitches and got too few outs. I'd like to see this matchup again some other time and hope it all works out better. Would I be saying this if the Mariners managed to win this game? Probably not.
-- the starting pitching will be discussed at the end of the post
-- as for the bullpen, Jamey Wright was the first guy summoned. He entered the fifth inning with the bases empty and a 5-5 tie. He got a lineout from Carlos Quentin and a groundout from AJ Pierzynski. In the sixth, he allowed only a Gordon Beckham walk. In the seventh, he walked Juan Pierre to lead off. Pierre then stole second and went to third on an Alexei Ramirez bunt. Brandon League was brought in from the bullpen and allowed a second-pitch single to Rios, driving in Pierre easily and capping the game's scoring with the White Sox ahead 6-5. League then got lucky and got a two-fer as Rios was caught stealing, and League got a groundout from Paul Konerko to end the inning. In the eighth, League threw a 1-2-3 inning.
-- the bullpen rest bulletin: Wright and League threw in this game. Going into Thursday's game, Brian Sweeney will have a day of rest (but probably won't get game action), Chris Seddon and David Aardsma will have three days of rest, and Garrett Olson will have four days of rest.
-- now, the scoring. In the first, Ichiro led off with a single, then went to second on a Figgins bunt single. Franklin Gutierrez singled to score Ichiro to make it 1-0 and move Figgins to second. A fielder's choice from Russell Branyan erased Gutierrez and put Figgins on third. On a double steal, Figgins stole home to make it 2-0 and Branyan stole second and went to third on a throwing error. Justin Smoak, watching all this unfold from the batters box, finally hit a deep-enough fly ball to score Branyan and make it 3-0. In the second, Ichiro singled with two out, then came home on a Figgins homer that traveled over the bullpen past the leftfield wall to make it 5-1 and cap the Mariners' scoring.
-- now, the blown chances. In the fourth, Jack Wilson walked with one out, then went to second on an error on an Ichiro grounder. Figgins and Gutierrez then flew out to end the inning. In the fifth, Branyan led off with a single and went to third two outs later on a Josh Wilson single. Michael Saunders flew out to end the inning. In the seventh, Smoak singled off Matt Thornton with two out, went to second on a Josh Bard single, then went to third when Josh Wilson took a fastball off his arm, loading the bases. Saunders again flew out to end the inning.
-- now, the Ichiro/Figgins stat. The duo had two hits and two runs apiece, just about the most ideal thing for the Mariners, who nonetheless lost. The Mariners are now 12-7 when both players score and 17-30 when both collect hits.
Gameballs
1) Chone Figgins
He's the first gameball if for no other reason than that he homered and stole home plate in the same game. He also got two hits. He got aboard on a bunt in the first to push Ichiro to second, got to second himself on the Franklin Gutierrez RBI single, then stole home on a double steal with Russell Branyan (huh?) to put the Mariners ahead 2-0. In the second, Ichiro was on first and Figgins cranked a ball just over the bullpen beyond the leftfield wall to make it 5-1. Is Figgins' slugging percentage now greater than his on-base percetnage as a result? Well, absolutely not. He's got an on-base percentage of .333 and a slugging percentage of .284. Dude draws walks more often than he gets extra-base hits -- what are ya gonna do? Maybe he should incite more scuffles in the dugout or something. Some more nice team-bonding moments arising from confrontations and tension. If there's no drama in terms of on-field action (since you're going to lose every night), how about at least having some drama off the field?
2) Josh Bard
How often is a Mariner catcher going to rack up three hits in a ballgame? Not often. Thus, here lands Bard in the number-two gameball spot. He doubled with two out in the first after the bases had already emptied and the Mariners had scored three times for an early 3-0 lead. In the third, Bard singled once again with the bases empty and two out. In the seventh, Bard singled with two out to push Justin Smoak to second. I bet you it'll take five or six more games for the Mariner catchers to rack up another three hits at the plate. I was the guy bitching about having a light-hitting catcher when Dan Wilson was in town, so you can imagine how much this current catching tandem is just killing me. At least Dan Wilson could block the ball like nobody's business. Johnson can't block to save his own life, though part of that may be because of his hip surgeries, but if he needs to work himself back into form after these surgeries, isn't there a better place to get that done in a starting role with the Major League club?
3) Ichiro
The Mariners' leadoff hitter, rightfielder, and money man went 2-for-5 in the game, scoring twice. This pushes him to 129-for-419 (.308) on the season and puts him on pace to finish the season with 205 hits, which isn't bad unless you were expecting way more, like I was. Maybe this will end the slump. I have the feeling it won't end the slump immediately, but any time Ichiro gets multiple hits in a game, it's a good thing. It also means whoever's hitting behind him has some opportunities to move or score runners, and tonight that was Figgins, and Figgins did well. It's almost more of a prototypical example of how this team thought it was going to win this season. Ichiro singled to lead off the game, then singled with two out and the bases empty in the second. He ended up scoring on the Figgins home run that made it 5-1 and unfortunately capped the Mariners' scoring in the second inning. How do you like that -- the one time the Mariners are able to score early and often, they end up blowing a four-run lead. Awesome.
Goat
Jason Vargas
Well, Mister Vargas just wasn't himself in this game, and it's pretty bad he had a 5-1 lead and let it slip away. He's due for a bad start every now and again, especially since we didn't expect him to be this solid of a starting pitcher this quickly (I knocked on wood while typing this, hoping he doesn't pull a Ryan Rowland-Smith next year). Normally I'd say I wanted more innings out of Vargas in this game because the bullpen needed some rest after Rowland-Smith threw last night. However, Rowland-Smith was left out there to rot (and eat innings) and Brian Sweeney ate the remainder of the innings, preserving the rest of the bullpen. Jamey Wright and Brandon League threw in this game and probably won't appear on Thursday. Thus, unless Doug Fister throws a complete game, it's almost a sure thing that we'll see some combination of Garrett Olson and David Aardsma. Out of his 20 starts this season, Vargas has had three starts in which he averaged more than 20 pitches per inning, this start being one of them. He lost one of those starts, and the team split his no-decisions in the other two starts.
Pauley. Garcia. Thursday night.
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