Mariners Pole

dhdawg

Go M's!

dnc said:

HFNY said:

Tough to make any definitive conclusions now but I am worried about Smoak, Almonte, and RF. Miller should probably end up hitting fine and Seager too but 1B can't be a relative offensive black-hole and neither can RF (another position that should be a big OPS spot).

Almonte is not likely to be very good. He just doesn't have the offensive tools to be successful outside of speed. It will be interesting to see if McLendon moves Ackley up to leadoff at some poont to get someone with some on base skills at the top of the lineup.

Almonte's defensive numbers look very good so far this year, but it's way way way too early to learn anything form those. Eyeball test he looks talented but still unpolished in center to me. But he uses his speed very well. His defense could be a real asset.

He might be a guy worth keeping around, but he's more of a #8 or 9 hitter than #1. On that note, it's probably time to move Zunino out of the 9 hole. He's still an OBP black hole but dude can mash.

Here's how I'd set the current lineup:

Versus righties:

LF Ackley
SS Miller
2B Cano
1B Smoak
DH Hart
3B Seager
C Zunino
RF Saunders/Morrison
CF Almonte

Versus lefties:

LF Ackley
SS Miller
2B Cano
DH Hart
3B Seager
1B Smoak
C Zunino
RF Romero I guess (honestly I don't think he's ready - I'd send him down but given the current roster if he's here he should play)
CF Almonte

That lineup is still very vulnerable against lefties. They really need a right handed or switch hitter who can slide into the two hole. It's too bad Nick Franklin doesn't fit the roster defensively, he'd be the perfect bat there.

agree to a point, ackley is finally having success in the 7/8 hole, why mess with it? maybe you can eventually move him up but I wouldn't do it yet. That guy is so mentally fragile

dnc

Go M's!

dhdawg said:

dnc said:

HFNY said:

Tough to make any definitive conclusions now but I am worried about Smoak, Almonte, and RF. Miller should probably end up hitting fine and Seager too but 1B can't be a relative offensive black-hole and neither can RF (another position that should be a big OPS spot).

Almonte is not likely to be very good. He just doesn't have the offensive tools to be successful outside of speed. It will be interesting to see if McLendon moves Ackley up to leadoff at some poont to get someone with some on base skills at the top of the lineup.

Almonte's defensive numbers look very good so far this year, but it's way way way too early to learn anything form those. Eyeball test he looks talented but still unpolished in center to me. But he uses his speed very well. His defense could be a real asset.

He might be a guy worth keeping around, but he's more of a #8 or 9 hitter than #1. On that note, it's probably time to move Zunino out of the 9 hole. He's still an OBP black hole but dude can mash.

Here's how I'd set the current lineup:

Versus righties:

LF Ackley
SS Miller
2B Cano
1B Smoak
DH Hart
3B Seager
C Zunino
RF Saunders/Morrison
CF Almonte

Versus lefties:

LF Ackley
SS Miller
2B Cano
DH Hart
3B Seager
1B Smoak
C Zunino
RF Romero I guess (honestly I don't think he's ready - I'd send him down but given the current roster if he's here he should play)
CF Almonte

That lineup is still very vulnerable against lefties. They really need a right handed or switch hitter who can slide into the two hole. It's too bad Nick Franklin doesn't fit the roster defensively, he'd be the perfect bat there.

agree to a point, ackley is finally having success in the 7/8 hole, why mess with it? maybe you can eventually move him up but I wouldn't do it yet. That guy is so mentally fragile

You might have a point. I just hate having an automatic out at the top of the lineup.

dhdawg

Go M's!

dnc said:

dhdawg said:

dnc said:

HFNY said:

Tough to make any definitive conclusions now but I am worried about Smoak, Almonte, and RF. Miller should probably end up hitting fine and Seager too but 1B can't be a relative offensive black-hole and neither can RF (another position that should be a big OPS spot).

Almonte is not likely to be very good. He just doesn't have the offensive tools to be successful outside of speed. It will be interesting to see if McLendon moves Ackley up to leadoff at some poont to get someone with some on base skills at the top of the lineup.

Almonte's defensive numbers look very good so far this year, but it's way way way too early to learn anything form those. Eyeball test he looks talented but still unpolished in center to me. But he uses his speed very well. His defense could be a real asset.

He might be a guy worth keeping around, but he's more of a #8 or 9 hitter than #1. On that note, it's probably time to move Zunino out of the 9 hole. He's still an OBP black hole but dude can mash.

Here's how I'd set the current lineup:

Versus righties:

LF Ackley
SS Miller
2B Cano
1B Smoak
DH Hart
3B Seager
C Zunino
RF Saunders/Morrison
CF Almonte

Versus lefties:

LF Ackley
SS Miller
2B Cano
DH Hart
3B Seager
1B Smoak
C Zunino
RF Romero I guess (honestly I don't think he's ready - I'd send him down but given the current roster if he's here he should play)
CF Almonte

That lineup is still very vulnerable against lefties. They really need a right handed or switch hitter who can slide into the two hole. It's too bad Nick Franklin doesn't fit the roster defensively, he'd be the perfect bat there.

agree to a point, ackley is finally having success in the 7/8 hole, why mess with it? maybe you can eventually move him up but I wouldn't do it yet. That guy is so mentally fragile

You might have a point. I just hate having an automatic out at the top of the lineup.

I agree, outside of ackley I don't see a true leadoff hitter on this team. Maybe if they find a spot for franklin he could hit leadoff although he strikes out way too much

dnc

Go M's!

dhdawg said:

dnc said:

dhdawg said:

dnc said:

HFNY said:

Tough to make any definitive conclusions now but I am worried about Smoak, Almonte, and RF. Miller should probably end up hitting fine and Seager too but 1B can't be a relative offensive black-hole and neither can RF (another position that should be a big OPS spot).

Almonte is not likely to be very good. He just doesn't have the offensive tools to be successful outside of speed. It will be interesting to see if McLendon moves Ackley up to leadoff at some poont to get someone with some on base skills at the top of the lineup.

Almonte's defensive numbers look very good so far this year, but it's way way way too early to learn anything form those. Eyeball test he looks talented but still unpolished in center to me. But he uses his speed very well. His defense could be a real asset.

He might be a guy worth keeping around, but he's more of a #8 or 9 hitter than #1. On that note, it's probably time to move Zunino out of the 9 hole. He's still an OBP black hole but dude can mash.

Here's how I'd set the current lineup:

Versus righties:

LF Ackley
SS Miller
2B Cano
1B Smoak
DH Hart
3B Seager
C Zunino
RF Saunders/Morrison
CF Almonte

Versus lefties:

LF Ackley
SS Miller
2B Cano
DH Hart
3B Seager
1B Smoak
C Zunino
RF Romero I guess (honestly I don't think he's ready - I'd send him down but given the current roster if he's here he should play)
CF Almonte

That lineup is still very vulnerable against lefties. They really need a right handed or switch hitter who can slide into the two hole. It's too bad Nick Franklin doesn't fit the roster defensively, he'd be the perfect bat there.

agree to a point, ackley is finally having success in the 7/8 hole, why mess with it? maybe you can eventually move him up but I wouldn't do it yet. That guy is so mentally fragile

You might have a point. I just hate having an automatic out at the top of the lineup.

I agree, outside of ackley I don't see a true leadoff hitter on this team. Maybe if they find a spot for franklin he could hit leadoff although he strikes out way too much

I think Franklin (and Ackley, to a lesser extent) is more of a prototypical two hole hitter. His pop might be a bit wasted at the top. Of course, the same is true of Miller.

Ackley's the closest thing to a natural leadoff guy on the roster, but the mental concerns are well taken.

CuntWaffle

End of April

Almonte sucks. He is a good outfielder because he is fast and he has power for a leadoff but he is going to be a career .225 hitter. Which is laughable for someone who is leading off. Sadly the Mariners don't have any better options.

RoadDawg55

All Star Break

Some of you guys are Mariner fan versions of doogs. I can't wait for May or June where they go 8-20 to end the season.

CuntWaffle

End of April

RoadDawg55 said:

Some of you guys are Mariner fan versions of doogs. I can't wait for May or June where they go 8-20 to end the season.

You are the one who picked "All Star Break".

[Deleted User]

End of April

All I have to say about this Mariners talk is this.

Die bitch. Did soccer just end for you? Looking for that other sport to carry you and your miserable life till soccer and softball start again? Find some other way to burn 5 hours of your life on a nightly basis. Good heavy, go to the woods, ride a bike, a horse, start woodworking, oil painting.

I hope Al Quieda blows up every park in the country (before the season starts of course), maybe then I don't have to hear about baseball and the mariners. I plug my eats and still can't stop the madness.

RoadDawg55

All Star Break

CuntWaffle said:

RoadDawg55 said:

Some of you guys are Mariner fan versions of doogs. I can't wait for May or June where they go 8-20 to end the season.

You are the one who picked "All Star Break".

I was being kind. With the second wild card, if you are hovering around .500 you are technically still in it. Until they are 20 games out, some will still be talking about them. The question was when will it end. If it were up to me, it would have never started.

Just wait until the Japanese fuck who had a career year last year comes back! Just wait until Walker comes back, has a 5.00 ERA, and blows out his elbow. Whether they are out by the end of May, June, July, or August is irrelevant. They suck and are even more of a waste of time then UW football during the Ty years.

Tequilla

Labor Day

Smoak is currently hitting .244/.320/.467 with 6 extra base hits in 12 games. I'd like to see him get his average up to .260-.270 and his on-base % up to .340-.350 or so. The power production so far isn't bad though - that would translate to 70+ for the season if he keeps that up - not a bad number at all.

One positive at having Ackley and Zunino currently towards the bottom of the order is that you aren't killing rallies like you have in the past as those guys are capable of producing. I do agree that Ackley is the closest thing to a lead-off hitter in the lineup. But you don't have to make the decision to make that move right now. If he keeps hitting in the .300 range into mid-May and Almonte continues to be a huge issue at the top of the order, then you can go ask Ackley if he's comfortable moving back into the leadoff spot. You'd hope that after a strong finish to last year and a strong start to this year he'd realize that he's a MLB hitter now and that where he is hitting in the lineup isn't a huge issue.

We don't know enough yet about Almonte as a hitter - although he doesn't look like more than a .250 or .260 hitter this year at best. He does take a walk though - so that helps him out a bit. Good defense in center given the quality of the pitching staff is important.

The team is one OF short right now. Romero isn't ready and should be getting more seasoning at Triple A. I'd really like to see the Mariners try to figure out a way to get Nick Franklin into the OF as his bat is too good to be sitting down in Triple A right now.