The Impact Of The Veteran Leaders And Power Bats So Far
A sentiment I’ve heard around the Mariners blogosphere lately is that Raul Ibanez and Michael Morse have been a boon for the Mariners quest to score more runs. Most of this sentiment comes from distrust of advanced defensive stats, which is a totally defensible opinion. We know less about accurately measuring defense than offense, that much is certain. This leads to the argument seems to be that a run scored is a bit more valuable than a run saved, because it’s harder to score runs than it is to prevent them. I do believe that a run scored is slightly more important than a run saved, because I do believe it is a little bit harder to score runs than it is to prevent them.
With that being said, if you’re going to be absolutely awful on defense, then you had better be a really, really good hitter. So far, that just hasn’t been the case for either of the Mariners’ outfield statues. Below the jump is a table of numbers!
WSU Baseball: 4 Cougar Players Drafted
The 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft has wrapped up, and 4 Cougars heard their names called. Currently being on vacation, all I’ve got for you guys is the press releases sent to me by WSU Athletic Communications.
Congratulations to all the Cougars drafted! Once a Coug, always a Coug.
Pick 181: Jason Monda, OF – Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies selected Washington State’s Jason Monda in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Friday.
Monda was selected as an outfielder by the NL East club. A junior from Olympia, Wash., Monda also spent time at first base, designated hitter and pitcher in the 2013 for the Cougars. He was the 181st player selected overall.
The left-hander hitting Monda batted .294 with a seven home runs and 40 RBI. His dingers tied Yale Rosen for the team lead and his RBI were tops on the Cougars.
Monda is the eighth Cougar to be selected by the Phillies all-time joining outfielder Joe Urbon (17th round, 1989), right-handed pitcher Jason Valley (27th, 1994), right-handed pitcher Kyle Kawabata (30th, 1995), left-handed pitcher Todd Meldahl (15th, 2000), outfielder Jay Miller (17th, 2006), first baseman Jim Murphy (17th, 2008) and left-handed pitcher Matt Way (fifth, 2009) Murphy is currently playing in the Eastern League (AA) for the Phillies’ affiliate, the Reading Fightin Phils. Way is pitching in independent league baseball.
Pick 416: J.D. Leckenby, RHP – NY Mets
Washington State junior right-handed pitcher J.D. Leckenby was the New York Mets’ 14th round selection in the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Saturday.
Leckenby, the 10th pick of the round and 416th overall, has been a versatile arm for the Cougars during his three years in Pullman. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen as a freshman and recorded a 2.28 ERA in 18 appearances. In 2012, he won four games in 14 starts. During the 2013 campaign, he moved back to relief and contributed two wins and a team-leading six saves in 25 appearances.
The Buhl, Idaho native is the fourth Cougar to be selected by the Mets all-time. Others include pitcher Dan Frisella (third round, 1966 June Secondary Phase), pitcher Mark Crandall (39th round, 1967) and shortstop Jason King (21st round, 1990). Frisella, a member of the Washington State Athletics Hall of Fame, made his MLB debut with the Mets in 1967 and played 10 seasons at the big league level.
Pick 527: Adam Nelubowich, 3B/OF – Houston Astros
Washington State redshirt-junior Adam Nelubowich was selected by the Houston Astros in the 18th round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Saturday.
Nelubowich, who spent time in the outfield and at third base for the Cougars in 2013, was selected as a third baseman by the Astros. He was the first pick of the round and the 527th player drafted overall.
The Stony Plain, Alberta native batted .299 with a team-leading 14 doubles last spring. He added three triples, three home runs and 34 RBI. He was the only Cougar to have his name in the batting order for all-55 games in 2013.
Nelubowich is the third Washington State player drafted in 2013 joining Jason Monda (sixth round, Philadelphia) and J.D. Leckenby (14th round, New York Mets). He is the fifth Cougar drafted by the Astros all-time and the first since the Astros moved to the American League.
Other Cougars drafted by the Astros include pitcher Steve Quealey (18t round, 1979), pitcher Guy Normand (13th round, 1986), pitcher Mark Small (17th round, 1989) and catcher Kevin Scott (32nd round, 1989). Small pitched in 16 MLB games for the Astros in 1996.
Pick 774: Trace Tam Sing, SS – Kansas City Royals
Washington State redshirt-sophomore Trace Tam Sing was the 26th round selection of the Kansas City Royals during the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Saturday.
Tam Sing started 52 of the Cougars’ 55 games in 2013 and played in 53 overall. He batted .280 with 14 extra-base hits, 17 RBI and added four stolen bases, primarily from the No. 9 spot in the lineup. The Bellevue, Wash., native started as a freshman before missing 2012 due to injury.
He was the eighth player selected in the round and the 774th overall. Tam Sing is the sixth Washington State player to be drafted by the Royals all-time. He joins catcher James Hannah (13th round, 1968), first baseman Phil Westendorf (fifth round, 1977), second baseman Mike Miller (sixth round, 1983), pitcher Chris Sheehan (27th round, 1992) and catcher Brady Everett (15th round, 2005). Everett was the first played drafted by an MLB team in the Donnie Marbut era.
Just Another Example Of Why I Don’t Watch The NBA
Before we get started, and then abruptly finish, let me say that this summer will be a whole lot of these short posts from me. The weather is nice, I have two jobs, not a whole lot of time for long, thought out posts.
Okay. I hate the NBA. Anyone who knows me hears this probably like once a week, they all know my passionate hatred of anything NBA. I will say that it would be great to get the Sonics back in Seattle, but only because people who actually are fans deserve to have their team back.
I despise the NBA for a multitude of reasons, all of which could be their own 600 word posts on their own. But this one is simple. Look at how terribly the officials call traveling these days. I couldn’t wish for a better example than this one:
Look at that! The last time the ball touches the ground is 2-3 feet before the three point line! I count at least 4-5 steps without a dribble. Absolutely pathetic. The NBA is essentially one gigantic joke to me at this point, with a flaming pile of poop for a punch line.
I’ll stick to my college basketball, thank you very much.
Kendrys Morales Is Pretty Good You Guys
After going 3-5 with a double this afternoon, Kendrys Morales raised his season line to an impressive .301/.375/.484, making him the first Mariner who started a season on the opening day roster to be hitting over .300 as late as May 27 since 2010. If you’re wondering, it was Ichiro, who was hitting .335 in 2010 to last hold those honors. While it’s pretty bad to think a team could go two-plus years without having a .300 hitter by the time June rolled around, I’m not looking to be negative about woes of Mariners past. No, instead, it’s time to talk about how awesome Kendrys Morales has been thus far.
Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus: Friends Forever
Well I guess it’s more of a big brother, little brother kind of relationship. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you call it, this stuff will never stop being funny.
Elvis Andrus, the Rangers shortstop, basically treats his relationship with Adrian Beltre like one huge joke, and we love him for that.
Here is Andrus touching Beltre’s head to get a reaction, because Beltre hates having his head touched. Everyone knows that if you hate having something done to you, your little brother is going to do that thing like ALL THE TIME.
The Beltre reaction here is what makes it. The missed kick, the failed first attempt to throw his glove, then the removal of and actual throwing of the glove. It’s gold, and I love every single frame of it.
Then we’ve got something that apparently happens often, Andrus running in front of Beltre to disrupt him while he’s trying to catch a pop fly.
Look at that childlike look of joy on Andrus’ face as he runs in, this might be his favorite part of playing baseball, annoying Adrian Beltre.
I think the best part of these is the huge grin Elvis has on his face while he’s running in to piss off Beltre. He’s just like, “Yeah, this shit is gonna annoy him so much. It’s gonna be the best.”
Then of course there’s the Beltre death stare that follows. Classic.
As much as these moments are thanks to Elvis Andrus, they wouldn’t be complete without Beltre’s hilarious reactions, one of the biggest reasons we should all love Adrian Beltre.
This may be the only thing about the Rangers I ever like.
Ryan Divish broke the news today that the Mariners have banished Jesus Montero to Tacoma, and will be recalling Jesus Sucre to take his place on the roster. The move should come as little surprise, as Jesus Montero clearly is not Eric Wedge’s first choice at catcher; Montero has started just 10 of the the last 18 games. For a guy that’s supposed to be a core player whose value is tied mostly to his bat, that’s just not an acceptable amount of playing time. Of course, he hasn’t earned that playing time, hitting just .208/.264/.327 with less than one full regular human handful of home runs. In the short-term, Kelly Shoppach will take over the starting duties with Jesus Sucre grabbing the backup job.
Don’t Panic About Joe Saunders Quite Yet
There’s no nice way to put this. Joe Saunders has been pretty terrible this year. He has a 6.15 ERA. He’s nearly been as bad by FIP and xFIP, at 5.41 and 4.98 respectively. He’s walked one more batter than he’s struck out. So yeah, he’s been bad. It seems as though one of the things that has fans scratching their heads is how good he can be at home, and how absolutely terrible he is on the road. I don’t think there’s anything weird about the massive gap in results, though. Sure, he hasn’t pitched exactly the same on the road as he has at home, but he’s not quite as different as you might think.
