Olympia Time

History, politics, people of Oly WA

Category: baseball (Page 2 of 4)

Mariners “phony right wing family values” and sports punks

October 3, 2007 / / 0 Comments

I couldn’t help but think artistdogboy was going a bit over the edge describing his reason why the Mariners suck:

One thing really bugs me about the Seattle Mariners. It’s not the bad trades; bad draft choices, signing of washed up free agents, lack luster starting pitching, bullpen meltdowns, non-production of slugger Richie Sexson or retaining ineffective general managers.

It’s the phony rightwing family values image promoted by Mariner management that permeate every decision and move the club makes.

The annoying happy talk pre game code of conduct announcement you hear when you entering the ballpark is indicative of the problem.

Then again, this kind of makes sense:

What surprises me is most of the attendees at the park go along with it like the bunch of no nothing johnny come lately Seattle baseball fans that they are. They’re more interested, most of the time. in getting the god dam wave started then paying attention to what’s happen on the field of play.

Most of what he’s getting at was pointed at strongly by Steven Wells earlier this summer.

We do need more sports punks in the United States. More people that take sports seriously not just as a consumer, but as a fan. Sports have fans, products have consumers.

I do agree that Mariners management is fine with fans sitting back, paying $17 for third level seats and way to much for beer. Eventually, I think we’ll get to this step, but maybe first tackling what artistdogboy is talking about.

Campillo suspended, a price too heavy

September 22, 2007 / / 0 Comments

Even though I’m not much for watching Mariners lately (too many MLS, EPL, World Cup and Eufa Champions League games recorded), I did watch the few innings that Jorge pitched a couple of days ago. So, I was watching when he flattened Vlad the Destroyer with an inside pitch which resulted in his four game suspension. Crap.

I’m just noting the suspension and that this guy has very little luck when called up to the big team. Two years ago he suffered a near career ending injury while pitching his first major league start and now this. I also agree with John Hickey of the PI that the punishment was too severe.

Its easier to suspend a long reliever with no track record than one of the top five hitters in the league on a play off team, I guess.

Although, there is something to be said about the LaRussa rule that may have been in effect during the game. Johjima had been hit earlier in the game, so it might have been up to Campillo to hit back.

These aren’t your daddy’s Cardinals
Tony LaRussa’s World Series Ethics

How not to spread baseball worldwide

September 15, 2007 / / 0 Comments

Following the (hopefully temporary) closure of the Puerto Rican winter league, MLB is fighting back claims in a shocked shocked way that there will be a shortage of players for the other Latin American winter leagues this year.

While there might not be a shortage of players per-se for the winter leagues, there will likely be a shortage of quality, veteran all-stars for the leagues to use. Most MLB teams will hold back their Ivan Rodriquez types, who had been able to play for their home nation clubs in years past.

If the winter leagues in Latin America essentially become player development leagues, in the same way that their summer leagues and practically every single minor league in the U.S. and Canada, you’re going to see more winter leagues go the same way at the Puerto Rican league.

That already seems to be happening. In addition to a change in the draft status of the island, PR baseball is requesting even more involvement by MLB:

Bernier also proposes the establishment of four specialized baseball schools in different regions of the island. Ceiba, Caguas, Salinas and Manati are the proposed sites for academies. According to Bernier, Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, who is from Manati, has offered his support to the school in his hometown.

Baseball Griddle framed the failure of the league (founded in 1938) as a financial one. While that may technically be true, sinking attendances probably have a lot to do with the lack of a product on the field. If all of the really good PR players are being held back by their MLB clubs, what’s the point of the league and of being a fan?

What you’re likely to see with the PR winter league (and eventually every other Latin winter league) will be the same thing that happened to the Venezuelan Summer League recently and the Mexican Summer league back in the 1950s. MLB will, in some way, step in and take over the league as a player development system. Local owners may stay in place, but player contracts and the product on the field will be controlled by MLB clubs.

This will be good for MLB. Player development throughout Latin American will be streamlined. The problem of not having a non-USA/Canadian draft will be settled by simply controlling all other baseball outlets. Heck, they might even implement a hemisphere wide draft eventually.

This will not be good for baseball. The indigenous fanbase throughout Latin American will be destroyed. As we’ve seen in PR, and throughout the minor leagues (before the advent of silly promotion, family entertainment minor league baseball) people will not turn out for an inferior on field product that is not designed to win on the field, but rather to develop players for the next level.

On Jorge Campillo

September 8, 2007 / / 0 Comments

I know many of you have been wondering when I was going to write something about the promotion of the Mexican junkballer to the big team. So, here it is.

During spring training and into the regular season, I was tracking Jorge. He seemed to have a his ups and down: going from an explosion of an outing (couldn’t seem to find an out) to finally settling into a groove. Towards the end of the summer in Tacoma, he even dropped down below a 3.00 ERA.

And, now that the Mariners season is just about gone (not much a chance for a post season) they finally bring up Jorge. He missed most of the fight, and as a long reliever, he won’t have much of a chance to contribute. Maybe he can use this opportunity to fight for a starting spot next year.

Going to see Griffey on Sunday

June 19, 2007 / / 0 Comments

For the last few weeks I’ve been referring to this Sunday as “going to see Griffey.” I’ve asked several of the people I know that also regularly go to Mariners games whether they’re “going to see Griffey.”

At least one is going to see him on the day we’re going up. She bought tickets in center field so she can be near him.

I remember exactly when I heard that he was leaving, I was working at a bank at the time, just before I’d graduated college as was headed back to being a reporter. I was setting up an employee event at a golf club, and I heard it over the radio. The folks there drug out a boom box and set it up so we could listen to the coverage.

Since then, my memories of the Mariners have been colored by the absence of Griffey. 2001 happened despite not having Griffey (or A-Rod or Randy Johnson).

Our falling down the stairs since then has been paralleled by Griffey’s own trip down the stairs.

Jorge may get his start

May 27, 2007 / / 0 Comments

With starters dropping like flies in Seattle (Weaver gone, Ramirez down), the Ms look like they’re going to call up a new starter any time now. From the M’s own scouting page on Tuesday’s game against the Angels:

Mariners: While the Mariners have yet to announce who will replace Horacio Ramirez, who went on the disabled list on Friday with left shoulder tendinitis, Campillo is a leading candidate. He went seven innings for Triple-A Tacoma in a no-decision on Thursday against Las Vegas, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five. The 29-year-old Campillo, who made his Major League debut Sept. 26, 2006, with Seattle, is 2-4 with a 3.90 ERA in 10 starts with Tacoma. He has walked 19 and struck out 42 in 62 1/3 innings.

Detect-o-vision provided the link, and their readers provide a comment:

I don’t think there will be a big difference between Campillo and Feierbend right now, and I can’t wait to see Feier pitch in the big leagues. However, Jorge’s window of opportunity to prove himself with this organization is very, very small so I hope he gets the call. If he doesn’t start next Tuesday, he won’t get another chance with the M’s ever again unless a third guy goes down this year.

Which is right, I hope he gets his chance now. And, if he’s gas arm Jorge, then I’ll settle for that when he’s released. But, its better he gets his chance as a starter now and we just really find out what he’s worth.

You might have noticed that I haven’t written all that much since the first few weeks of the season about our friend Campillo, but its mostly been because when I have noticed him, its been gas arm time, which isn’t very encouraging. But, he has had some quality starts. Let’s hope one of those comes on Tuesday.

This week in Oly and I’ve been away

May 14, 2007 / / 0 Comments

I’ve been not really busy lately, but rather not blogging until this weekend, when I’ve posted a bit, just not here. In Olympia, they’ll be talking with the downtown association.

One post over at Washblog about PFDs, one post over at WD about folks back in DC fighting about Montana.

I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about baseball, pushed by a series of Robert Whiting essays over at Japan Times. My thinking right now is that there should be three major leagues: MLB, Pan-Latin and Pan-Asia. Economically speaking, Pan-Latin is unlikely to happen, there just isn’t enough money to pay for it right now.

Pan-Asian, though seems to make a lot of sense economically. Plenty of income, but from what Whiting points out, tons of organizational problems with the premier Japanese league to keep it from happening.

Baseball Economic Roundtable on Latin/Asian Major Leagues

May 3, 2007 / / 0 Comments

Roger Noll, a smart guy from down at Stanford, took part in a roundtable discussion at the Biz of Baseball blog, and had an interesting thing to say during the open topic segment:

Baseball has not yet found an effective way to exploit business opportunities internationally. The same can be said of other American pro sports, but baseball probably has the largest unrealized potential for international play. In the immediate future, the greatest opportunity is for a genuine baseball World Cup among national teams, featuring mainly players from Major League Baseball. But in a decade or so, rising incomes in Latin America and Asia could make “major leagues” (with some teams equivalent in quality to MLB) feasible there, in which case an international club championship, like the Champions League in European soccer, also would become attractive. Does MLB have the entrepreneurial capability to take the lead on these issues? Based on its feeble attempt at a baseball world championship in the spring of 2006, baseball seems in danger of missing these opportunities.

The major question for me is whether these leagues will be created home grown, like a new Pan-Asian circuit being born out of the current Japanese/South Korean/Taiwan leagues or whether MLB will just expand into these markets. Personally, I’m hoping for the homegrown option with a Euro cup like competition between the leagues.

Because MLB is already so ingrained with the Latin leagues, I’m much less hopeful for a homegrown option there, even though I think it would be great.

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