[Schuxu]

Hopefully there will be much more of this the coming years

[6-pak-abs]

Schuxu, on 30 April 2012 - 05:25 AM, said:

Hopefully there will be much more of this the coming years

With all four of those guys involved.

[Schuxu]

6-pak-abs, on 30 April 2012 - 07:57 AM, said:

With all four of those guys involved.

That is exactly the point I wanted to make

[DaddyO]

6-pak-abs, on 30 April 2012 - 07:57 AM, said:

With all four of those guys involved.

Hey, 6-pak, just noticed you hail from White Salmon. Say hello to my sister, who has lived in Hood River since 1980. I've been across the bridge a few times, for about a year my ill-fated venture into sales in the early '90's included from Vancouver, WA out I-84 as far as The Dalles.

[DocMilo]

.187 .238 .320

That is Smoak's line at the moment. How long until it's determined that he needs to go to Tacoma and right the ship? There is nothing I would like to see more than Smoak hitting, but there is work that needs to be done and I think Liddi is showing that he deserves his shot.

[DaddyO]

DocMilo, on 30 April 2012 - 10:13 AM, said:

.187 .238 .320

That is Smoak's line at the moment. How long until it's determined that he needs to go to Tacoma and right the ship? There is nothing I would like to see more than Smoak hitting, but there is work that needs to be done and I think Liddi is showing that he deserves his shot.

Smoak's situation is a tough one. Certainly Wedge has to consider his boss's (Jack Zduriencik) prestige when making decision on how he handles Justin. I'm not saying Wedge's handling is dicatated by Jack, just that Wedge would definitely be sensitive to the implications of a possible demotion. While it's possible that Z and Wedge are in constant consultation on the subject, that may not be the case. But I can certainly see how his poor start to the season would bring matter to a head sooner rather than later.

Is a demotion warranted? Boy, absent these complicating factors you gotta believe it might be. It's clear that Smoak has not been and is not now an immediate impact player the way we hoped. It remains to be seen whether he can make the adjustments necessary to create and sustain the status of impact bat. It sure looked like it early last year, but once the league figured out how to pitch him he just hasn't adjusted.

As you suggest, Doc, the Mariners are not without options at first base. If it turns out Justin is a bust, Liddi very well might be an acceptable solution. The thing is, Liddi has still to prove his lasting value as well. At this time last year it was Smoak who was the rage. The good news is that we no longer need any one young player to come through. But we do need three or four of them to become impact bats and a couple of more to be at least league average.

It's funny, but even Dustin Ackley has not been immune from underperforming his promise. We want the youth to succeed so badly because the M's have staked the season on them. And like most young players, their performance blows hot and cold with long stretches of frustration. We might have to wait a year or two more than we had hoped before we see the full fruit of our team's transformation.

Anyway, all this said. I hear ya.

This post has been edited by DaddyO: 30 April 2012 - 12:26 PM

[DocMilo]

DaddyO, on 30 April 2012 - 12:24 PM, said:

It's funny, but even Dustin Ackley has not been immune from underperforming his promise. We want the youth to succeed so badly because the M's have staked the season on them. And like most young players, their performance blows hot and cold with long stretches of frustration. We might have to wait a year or two more than we had hoped before we see the full fruit of our team's transformation.

Anyway, all this said. I hear ya.

I think it's only fair to not expect anything from this team for this year and next. 2014 is when this team should really arrive. Anything on top of that is just icing on the cake.

Sure, Ackley hasn't been what he was in Tacoma, yet. But he's not putting up the Smoak line of .187 .238 .320 right now either. It's way too early to even talk the "bust" label with Smoak. He was rushed in Texas, then again in Seattle because of the "trade" and I just don't think he's been given the chance to earn his callup. He's not walking and not clubbing homers. He's not putting up Carlos Pena numbers at first with a sub .200 BA.

Well, maybe I should stop the sending him to Tacoma talk. How about just moving him out of the 4 spot for a couple of games.

[Jokestar]

DocMilo, on 30 April 2012 - 02:33 PM, said:

I think it's only fair to not expect anything from this team for this year and next. 2014 is when this team should really arrive. Anything on top of that is just icing on the cake.

Sure, Ackley hasn't been what he was in Tacoma, yet. But he's not putting up the Smoak line of .187 .238 .320 right now either. It's way too early to even talk the "bust" label with Smoak. He was rushed in Texas, then again in Seattle because of the "trade" and I just don't think he's been given the chance to earn his callup. He's not walking and not clubbing homers. He's not putting up Carlos Pena numbers at first with a sub .200 BA.

Well, maybe I should stop the sending him to Tacoma talk. How about just moving him out of the 4 spot for a couple of games.

I agree with you about moving Smoak out of cleanup. I don't know if the 4 hole is a good spot for him. I like him batting 5 or 6. Ackley can't replace him because he's not a 4 hitter. Carp is on the DL. Montero is heir apparent, but, he's only 22...maybe too young to have that amount of pressure put on him this early. That, to me, leaves Liddi, a good hitter with pop. Plus he can handle both 1st and 3rd. I think he has the poise to handle the pressure. A moto of Liddi, Montero and then Smoak could work well and give Smoak a chance to relax and regain some confidence.

[DocMilo]

Jokestar, on 30 April 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

I agree with you about moving Smoak out of cleanup. I don't know if the 4 hole is a good spot for him. I like him batting 5 or 6. Ackley can't replace him because he's not a 4 hitter. Carp is on the DL. Montero is heir apparent, but, he's only 22...maybe too young to have that amount of pressure put on him this early. That, to me, leaves Liddi, a good hitter with pop. Plus he can handle both 1st and 3rd. I think he has the poise to handle the pressure. A moto of Liddi, Montero and then Smoak could work well and give Smoak a chance to relax and regain some confidence.

Carp should be in Tampa today with Olivo down. Still, Carp being lefty means 3 lefties in a row at 2, 3 and 4 vs lefties. So possibly Carp hitting 4th vs righties and Liddi vs lefties. Tacoma was off last night so there was no pulling Carp out of a game to give us any clues. Being that the game was on the left coast, you would thing it should have been easy enough to get Carp a ticket to Tampa last night, too.

[Shaggy]

You called it Doc. This was reported on MLB.com at 12:30 ET today.

Quote

ST. PETERSBURG -- Outfielder Mike Carp, who has been on the disabled list since Opening Day with a sprained right shoulder, is rejoining the Mariners in Florida on Tuesday to take the roster spot created by catcher Miguel Olivo's injury.

MLB link

This post has been edited by Shaggy: 01 May 2012 - 11:27 AM