GrizBiz
Well-known member
Surprise, surprise...the M's have finally started playing baseball! They've won six of the last eight games, three consecutive series and are clawing their way toward .500. At 24-31, they still have a way to go but things are looking up. Tough to tell if the past ten days are indicative of what we can expect to see from here on out but at least I don't have a completely hopeless feeling at the beginning of each game.
Questions that should be answered over the next few weeks:
Ibanez? Holy cow, he's hitting almost .500 (19 for 42) since May 24. He'll certainly fall back to earth a bit but if he can hit .300 and drive in some runs it will be a big bonus.
How will Hargrove get Ibanez his bats in road inter-league play games? Reed has been slumping, so I expect to see Winn in center and Ibanez in left a lot for the upcoming Florida and Washington series. With those dominant pitchers that the Marlins trot out there, we have to have Ibanez in the lineup. The Nationals can score runs in bunches, so we'll need him there too.
Piniero - can he string together a couple of good starts in a row? He was up to 92 mph again in his last start and if he can keep his fastball up there, he could return to form. The M's desparately need him to do that.
Meche - will Borders be able to help him avoid the big inning, cut down on his walks and get back to striking people out? The guy has the stuff of a staff ace but just can't seem to put it together inning after inning. Rumors have him on the trade block. My nightmare? Watching the Braves trade for him and wring a Cy Young performance out of him for the rest of the year.
Beltre. Hmmm...will the series against the Marlins be his coming out party in a Seattle uniform? No "adjusting to a different league" excuse here - he's got a history of performing well against each of the three pitchers that the M's will face this week in Florida.
Sexson. Are there any M's fans that don't like this guy? He's still striking out too much but his OPS is around .900, so he's gettng on base more often than Ichiro and he's on pace to hit 35-40 HR's and drive in 120 runs.
Draft tomorrow. M's have the third overall pick and most expect them to grab Tolowizki, a short stop that is supposed to be very close to major league ready. If Arizona or KC dropthe ball on Gordon or Upton, I imagine the M's will grab either one of them. Upton has been compared to a combination of A-Rod and Griffey, so you can't pass on him. He's a high schooler, so he'll be in the minors for a few years. Gordon is a left handed power hitter with three years of college behind him. He plays third base at Nebraska but the M's would probably convert him to left field. A left handed corner outfielder with power is something the M's could really use. Others mentioned in the Seattle press include USC catcher Jeff Clement, Stanford outfielder John Mayberry Jr and Witchita State pitcher Mike Pelfrey.
Whatever happens, it should be an interesting week in M-ville.
Questions that should be answered over the next few weeks:
Ibanez? Holy cow, he's hitting almost .500 (19 for 42) since May 24. He'll certainly fall back to earth a bit but if he can hit .300 and drive in some runs it will be a big bonus.
How will Hargrove get Ibanez his bats in road inter-league play games? Reed has been slumping, so I expect to see Winn in center and Ibanez in left a lot for the upcoming Florida and Washington series. With those dominant pitchers that the Marlins trot out there, we have to have Ibanez in the lineup. The Nationals can score runs in bunches, so we'll need him there too.
Piniero - can he string together a couple of good starts in a row? He was up to 92 mph again in his last start and if he can keep his fastball up there, he could return to form. The M's desparately need him to do that.
Meche - will Borders be able to help him avoid the big inning, cut down on his walks and get back to striking people out? The guy has the stuff of a staff ace but just can't seem to put it together inning after inning. Rumors have him on the trade block. My nightmare? Watching the Braves trade for him and wring a Cy Young performance out of him for the rest of the year.
Beltre. Hmmm...will the series against the Marlins be his coming out party in a Seattle uniform? No "adjusting to a different league" excuse here - he's got a history of performing well against each of the three pitchers that the M's will face this week in Florida.
Sexson. Are there any M's fans that don't like this guy? He's still striking out too much but his OPS is around .900, so he's gettng on base more often than Ichiro and he's on pace to hit 35-40 HR's and drive in 120 runs.
Draft tomorrow. M's have the third overall pick and most expect them to grab Tolowizki, a short stop that is supposed to be very close to major league ready. If Arizona or KC dropthe ball on Gordon or Upton, I imagine the M's will grab either one of them. Upton has been compared to a combination of A-Rod and Griffey, so you can't pass on him. He's a high schooler, so he'll be in the minors for a few years. Gordon is a left handed power hitter with three years of college behind him. He plays third base at Nebraska but the M's would probably convert him to left field. A left handed corner outfielder with power is something the M's could really use. Others mentioned in the Seattle press include USC catcher Jeff Clement, Stanford outfielder John Mayberry Jr and Witchita State pitcher Mike Pelfrey.
Whatever happens, it should be an interesting week in M-ville.
