All-Time M's
and another one bustin' down the the door

.

At Slack they've got a roundtable going on the current Ms' best chances to set franchise records.  One point I hadn't noticed was that Ichiro's OBP was that Bone has a higher lifetime OBP than Ichiro, .359 to .355.  Considering the homers are 34 and RBI 106 per 162 games, to Ichiro's 7 HR and 46 RBI, it's hard to imagine just how the "intangibles' get Ichiro anywhere near Buhner.

Intangibles or not, Bone was a 2.5 WAR player (touching 3+ once or twice) and Ichiro racked up 5+ WAR like clockwork for 10 years.  That's because Ichiro chipped in +1.4 WAR per year defensively and on the bases.

Dr. D always insists on an intangible here: that great leadoff hitters are more effective than average against good pitching.  If nothing else, Justin Verlander and Nolan Ryan are ineffective at preventing stolen bases.  Therefore, the Mariners fan can, at minimum, hope for some "toughness" as Dee Gordon lays down his bunts, and Jean Segura dives into 2B headfirst, against the Astros' pitchers.   (Might Ichiro contribute a bit here too as he slaps grounders through the SS hole?)

......

Kyle Seager wants to take his game to the next level.  Welllllll.... K-Swag had a 133 OPS+ (.280/.360/.500) the year before last, 2016, before "regressing" to 107 last year (.250/.325/.450).  Dr. D will take either one from a pick-it infielder with that kinda glove, but sabermetrically we see 2016 as K-Swag's highwater mark.

Love the attitude.  Love the whole cample's attitude.  And Ichiro seems to be injecting some real life into it.

......

Will the M's start slow in April?  well, English teacher Detecto asks for a def of "slow."  Which a sked full of games against the Indians and Astros, a .500 April would be fine with us -- and would leave us in good shape besides.  However, getting flamethrown by both teams and it's another dreary June hoping for a hot streak.

......

Ichiro on Sunday:  for a first game, looked like he saw the pitches well, got ripped off (I thought anyway) on a 3-2 strike call, moved precisely like the old Ichiro.  FWIW.

......

Dr. D will believe Cano's leg injury is serious, if and when it is proven so.  However, it does underline how crowded the 1-9 is getting:  where do you put Boomstick?

Actually I put him in RF, put Haniger in LF, and let everybody else play cribbage in the traning room.

.......

You been watching 'Bach dominate this spring?  Here's a typical Vogelbach RBI single with the authoritative "crack" that beats the defense.  He's running a .478/.618/.857 line with a 1569 OPS and is anybody else having fun imagining that Moneyball argument between the 60-something scouts and Billy Beane?

I don't care if HQ does have Ryon Healy scheduled for 35 homers.  That's fine, and I think Healy's a good draw at the deck, but I platoon the two of them, with Vogelbach getting the vs. RHP jobshare.  Is Dr. D alone in this?

......

Gonzales against the White Sox, on TV right?  Siddown and watch this guy hit the mitt.

Comments

1

As have some others, for over a month now about preferring that Vogelbach getting significant time this year.  At this point, and it's not the numbers but how he's getting them (like OPPO field doubles when they shift), I'd give him the part of the jobshare that's as big as him and see about fitting some DH AB into the mix too.  I do like the idea of some Cruz in RF if 2 of the Ford/Healy/DigVug trio are in and hitting.  Productive sluggers outweigh the Ichiro, Heredia, Gamel trio, especially when weighing the point in the previous post about 20%less balls going into play in the current era.  It's time for Earl Weaver baseball.  I really want to see Heredia develop but am coming to terms with the probability that he'll never develop my favorite sub-tool, stealing.  

I'm going to attempt a Blowers impression and call 21 wins in April.  Is that slow?  Ok, I don't really think that's going to happen.  It would be funny if the drought ended with a wire to wire just like the team before it began.  I do think it's possible but I'm not open to wagering.  I've got a good feeling they'll outperform all the W/L predictions I've seen.  The question remains whether it will be by enough.

I want to say that I've seen more development here in the last 2 years than in a long time if ever.  Pitchers and hitters that actually improve is like sunlight finally coming out.  I'm not used to seeing this.  Please continue, it is a long summer.

High water mark for Seager?  Dropping the dreary April out of 2016 we saw .297/.375/.518 the rest of the way.  That's pretty much been about his ceiling all along and he did it for 5 months.  Better yet April 30th to Sep 28th .303/.380/.534   .914 over 133 games. 

2

Sold out hitting for power hitting last year.  Didn't work.

Hope he learned his lesson. 

3

Have been a big fan since the Cubs drafted him. Secretly hoped the M's would be the AL team he would get shipped to as a born DH, so needless to say was thrilled when it happened. All the guy does is control the zone and rake!

How painful this has been from the organization that gave Ackley, Smoak, Montero, Saunders, Yuni, JLo, Reed, etc... 1000's upon 1000's of AB's to show their stuff. Vogelbach tears every level of the minors limb from limb, gets a couple starts in a week and they pull the plug. Lots of wasted time in his career. Ah well, he's demanding AB's now. Happy to see him grab an opportunity!

4

Jim Presley '87 .247/.296/.433 OPS .729

Danny Valencia '17 .256/.314/.411 OPS .725

Edgar '87 AAA .329/.434/.473 OPS .907

Dan Vogelbach AAA .290/.388/.455 OPS .844

Not quite the same and it continued through '89 for Presley starting. 

5

the Vogelbach freeze out unfolds even half as well as the one you outline :) Sometimes you just sit and scratch your head wondering why a guy never gets a chance. Kinda like we did with Choo. That guy looked like the next Bobby Abreu and we shipped him off in record time. Now with Cruz hobbled I don't see how Vogelbach doesn't get a fair shake this April until Healy and Boomstick return. Ford can play second fiddle on this one even if it means losing him.

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