Two years into a five-year, $64 million contract, Adrian Beltre has produced a .262 average, 44 home runs, and 176 RBIs. However, after the All Star break in 2006, Beltre slugged .552 with a whopping 18 home runs. Does this strong second half bode well for a turn-around in 2007, or will Mariners fans have to deal with 'A-Drain' once again? This blog intends to follow the 2007 season for Adrian Beltre, and the Seattle Mariners, and promises to hold no punches.
My, the Mariners are a lousy team (Fire Mike Hargrove)
Published 4/22/2007 by true_slicky | E-mail this post
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Mariners lost the last game of a three-game sweep to the Los Angeles Angels 6-1 this afternoon.
Is it too late to change my preseason predictions, or to wipe them from cyberspace? Sigh...
Look, it's not as if we knew the team was toast with Jeff Weaver taking the mound to stave off a three-game sweep. We knew that wasn't going to happen. Instead, what I'd prefer to address is the lackluster spirit manager Mike Hargrove brings to the team, and how his history of ineptitude raises questions about whether he's the right fit to manage the Mariners- or indeed any major league ballclub.
Hargrove has an inflated resume due to the success of the Cleveland Indians of the 1990s, a success brought about by the front office long-term planning by general manager John Hart and owner Richard Jacobs. Largely stocked with such home-grown talent as Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, and Charles Nagy, as well as assisted with a new revenue stream due to a consistently sold-out home stadium, the Cleveland Indians were one of baseball's greatest success stories of the 1990s. Mike Hargrove was a beneficiary of this success, and somehow his ability to watch from the dugout as the on-field product dominated opponents became confused with "genius" and "leadership skills." Shockingly, this managerial leadership and genius resulted in the playoff success of absolutely nothing, and despite five consecutive first-place finishes but always coming up short, Hargrove was sent packing.
Mike brought his successfully padded resume to Baltimore where its promises of good fortune convinced Orioles owner Peter Angelos to reward Mike with a multi-year contract. Mike responded with four years of managerial incompetence, somehow avoiding the in-season firings that befell managers that have fared even better. Under his watch, the Orioles committed two collapses of historical proportions, a 10-27 finish of the last month of the 2001 season, and a 6-32 limp towards the end of the 2002 season, which still didn't prevent Hargrove from returning in 2003. (These horrendous finishes did, however, bring forth the initial "fire Mike Hargrove" on-line petition, a sentiment that has since been shared by fans on the opposite coast.) After one final 71-91 record and fourth-place finish, Hargrove was relieved of managerial duty of a once-proud franchise struggling to regain respectability, as the Orioles front office realized respectability will never occur with Hargrove at the helm.
Unfortunately, to the relief of absolutely none of the Mariners fans in the Pacific Northwest, Hargrove's reward for treading water in the American League East for four years was to be handed the reigns of the Seattle Mariners, who in his first season as manager in 2005, were only four years removed from the historic 116-win season of 2001. Under his "guidance" the M's promptly lost 93 games and finished in fourth place, and followed that season with a ten-game improvement but another fourth-place finish last season. The fact reamins that, as it stands, Hargrove has more consecutive fourth-place finishes (with the AL West resulting in last place finishes for the M's) then he did first-place finishes during his heyday with the Cleveland Indians. I'm sure Hargrove has been standing in the dugout during the debacle of last week's consecutive three-game sweeps, thinking to himself "But Belle, Lofton & Co. made it look so easy! Where's Carlos Baerga when you need him?"
It might seem alarmist to be dogging on Hargrove all ready after only fourteen games, but it should be stated that Hargrove should not even have be allowed to return to crush the hopes of Mariners fans for another season. There was animated discussion over at ussmariner.com at the end of last season, and the managers of that website were very confident that Hargrove wouldn't return. When I suggested that the front office was so out of touch that they would have Hargrove return to finish out his contract, and was criticized for making such suggestions, I warned that I hoped they weren't over-inflating my sense of optimism. Sadly, I proved to be correct, and I take no pride in that. One can only hope that rather than tantalize Mariners fans with a good three-quarter season before collapsing over the last quarter, the 5-9 start can be a sign that this year's version of the Mariners will suffer from a whole season of Hargrovitis...
The fact is plan and simple: Hargrove is not a good manager for this team. He is the complete opposite of Lou Pinella, and I don't mean just temperment-wise. He is absolutely clueless of how to manage the Mariners. Hargrove seems determined to rely on the big bats of Beltre and Sexson to generate the runs necessary to support a below league-average pitching staff. While that style may have worked for a line-up anchored by Albert Belle in Jacobs Field, the Mariners play half of their games at Safeco Field, the second hardest stadium to score runs in besides PETCO Park in San Diego. The M's line-up is anchored by their lead-off batter, Ichiro Suzuki, but rather than build an offense that revolves around getting on-base and running wild, throwing the other teams' pitchers off rhythm, the M's under Hargrove are entranced too much by the prospect of the three-run home-run. That is not the game they should be playing. Instead, the speedy game the Mariners should be playing has resulted in all of one stolen base (out of four attempts) so far this season.
Consider this past week. In three different games, Mariners batters hit two three-run home runs and a grand slam in the late innings of ballgames, none of which either tied the game or put them in the lead. So much for relying on the three-run home-run. Admittedly, Hargrove can't be blamed for the fact that the games are out of reach by Mariners bats at that point. That's more at fault of the M's front office for throwing money at washed-up dreck to build a pitching rotation (perhaps the most important piece of a competitive team) around.
So then why rail on Hargrove for the hopes of the big bomb that will get his team to sniff closer at games that would otherwise have the Mariners blown out? Although he can have no control over his starting pitchers' skill set, he is responsible for the team's strategy. And at times his strategy is jaw-droppingly inane. Let's take last Tuesday's loss to the Twins. In the top of the eighth inning with two outs, two runners on, and two runs all ready in, Hargrove had the infielders move in for a play at the plate. The next batter, Michael Cuddyer, promptly lined a single right at the spot in shallow center field where second baseman Jose Lopez normally would be, but wasn't, because of the decision to focus on a play at the plate. The score at the time? 9-2. The two runners knocked in by Cuddyer completed the scoring in an 11-2 Twins victory.
Why move in for a play at the plate when you're losing by seven runs? If it's a 2-1 nail biter, I understand. But when you're getting creamed, does playing for a run even matter? Not only does it make no sense, but it could backfire, as it did, and make the bleeding worse...
Or consider today's ballgame. Yes, the Angels jumped out to another early lead, 3-0, after three innings. Yes, Jeff Weaver was his typical lousy self, giving up seven hits and throwing 68 pitches. But why did Hargrove have such a quick hook with Weaver? He really couldn't have expected more than what he got from Weaver after three innings, could he? I mean, in Saturday's game Hargrove was patient enough to permit Horacio Ramirez walk six Angels over four innings, allowing the Angels to become very patient and wait for the better pitches to hit. Which they did. In spades. But with his flip-flop in strategy today, Hargrove puts a good amount of pressure on the Mariners' bullpen, just before they head to a two-game series against the Rangers in Arlington, where a sufficently rested bullpen is going to be all but necessary.
Sigh. Hargrove is completely clueless when it comes to managing the Mariners....
If you're looking for any moral victories, Adrian Beltre hit his third home-run of the season to help the team avoid a shutout. A year ago to this date, Beltre was still homerless, and the M's were getting shut-out for the third time. Today's home-run kept the number of shutouts tossed against the M's so far at one- Rich Harden's dominant performance in the third game.
At least the M's are scoring runs in their string of losses. They got that going for them....
Is it too late to change my preseason predictions, or to wipe them from cyberspace? Sigh...
Look, it's not as if we knew the team was toast with Jeff Weaver taking the mound to stave off a three-game sweep. We knew that wasn't going to happen. Instead, what I'd prefer to address is the lackluster spirit manager Mike Hargrove brings to the team, and how his history of ineptitude raises questions about whether he's the right fit to manage the Mariners- or indeed any major league ballclub.
Hargrove has an inflated resume due to the success of the Cleveland Indians of the 1990s, a success brought about by the front office long-term planning by general manager John Hart and owner Richard Jacobs. Largely stocked with such home-grown talent as Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, and Charles Nagy, as well as assisted with a new revenue stream due to a consistently sold-out home stadium, the Cleveland Indians were one of baseball's greatest success stories of the 1990s. Mike Hargrove was a beneficiary of this success, and somehow his ability to watch from the dugout as the on-field product dominated opponents became confused with "genius" and "leadership skills." Shockingly, this managerial leadership and genius resulted in the playoff success of absolutely nothing, and despite five consecutive first-place finishes but always coming up short, Hargrove was sent packing.
Mike brought his successfully padded resume to Baltimore where its promises of good fortune convinced Orioles owner Peter Angelos to reward Mike with a multi-year contract. Mike responded with four years of managerial incompetence, somehow avoiding the in-season firings that befell managers that have fared even better. Under his watch, the Orioles committed two collapses of historical proportions, a 10-27 finish of the last month of the 2001 season, and a 6-32 limp towards the end of the 2002 season, which still didn't prevent Hargrove from returning in 2003. (These horrendous finishes did, however, bring forth the initial "fire Mike Hargrove" on-line petition, a sentiment that has since been shared by fans on the opposite coast.) After one final 71-91 record and fourth-place finish, Hargrove was relieved of managerial duty of a once-proud franchise struggling to regain respectability, as the Orioles front office realized respectability will never occur with Hargrove at the helm.
Unfortunately, to the relief of absolutely none of the Mariners fans in the Pacific Northwest, Hargrove's reward for treading water in the American League East for four years was to be handed the reigns of the Seattle Mariners, who in his first season as manager in 2005, were only four years removed from the historic 116-win season of 2001. Under his "guidance" the M's promptly lost 93 games and finished in fourth place, and followed that season with a ten-game improvement but another fourth-place finish last season. The fact reamins that, as it stands, Hargrove has more consecutive fourth-place finishes (with the AL West resulting in last place finishes for the M's) then he did first-place finishes during his heyday with the Cleveland Indians. I'm sure Hargrove has been standing in the dugout during the debacle of last week's consecutive three-game sweeps, thinking to himself "But Belle, Lofton & Co. made it look so easy! Where's Carlos Baerga when you need him?"
It might seem alarmist to be dogging on Hargrove all ready after only fourteen games, but it should be stated that Hargrove should not even have be allowed to return to crush the hopes of Mariners fans for another season. There was animated discussion over at ussmariner.com at the end of last season, and the managers of that website were very confident that Hargrove wouldn't return. When I suggested that the front office was so out of touch that they would have Hargrove return to finish out his contract, and was criticized for making such suggestions, I warned that I hoped they weren't over-inflating my sense of optimism. Sadly, I proved to be correct, and I take no pride in that. One can only hope that rather than tantalize Mariners fans with a good three-quarter season before collapsing over the last quarter, the 5-9 start can be a sign that this year's version of the Mariners will suffer from a whole season of Hargrovitis...
The fact is plan and simple: Hargrove is not a good manager for this team. He is the complete opposite of Lou Pinella, and I don't mean just temperment-wise. He is absolutely clueless of how to manage the Mariners. Hargrove seems determined to rely on the big bats of Beltre and Sexson to generate the runs necessary to support a below league-average pitching staff. While that style may have worked for a line-up anchored by Albert Belle in Jacobs Field, the Mariners play half of their games at Safeco Field, the second hardest stadium to score runs in besides PETCO Park in San Diego. The M's line-up is anchored by their lead-off batter, Ichiro Suzuki, but rather than build an offense that revolves around getting on-base and running wild, throwing the other teams' pitchers off rhythm, the M's under Hargrove are entranced too much by the prospect of the three-run home-run. That is not the game they should be playing. Instead, the speedy game the Mariners should be playing has resulted in all of one stolen base (out of four attempts) so far this season.
Consider this past week. In three different games, Mariners batters hit two three-run home runs and a grand slam in the late innings of ballgames, none of which either tied the game or put them in the lead. So much for relying on the three-run home-run. Admittedly, Hargrove can't be blamed for the fact that the games are out of reach by Mariners bats at that point. That's more at fault of the M's front office for throwing money at washed-up dreck to build a pitching rotation (perhaps the most important piece of a competitive team) around.
So then why rail on Hargrove for the hopes of the big bomb that will get his team to sniff closer at games that would otherwise have the Mariners blown out? Although he can have no control over his starting pitchers' skill set, he is responsible for the team's strategy. And at times his strategy is jaw-droppingly inane. Let's take last Tuesday's loss to the Twins. In the top of the eighth inning with two outs, two runners on, and two runs all ready in, Hargrove had the infielders move in for a play at the plate. The next batter, Michael Cuddyer, promptly lined a single right at the spot in shallow center field where second baseman Jose Lopez normally would be, but wasn't, because of the decision to focus on a play at the plate. The score at the time? 9-2. The two runners knocked in by Cuddyer completed the scoring in an 11-2 Twins victory.
Why move in for a play at the plate when you're losing by seven runs? If it's a 2-1 nail biter, I understand. But when you're getting creamed, does playing for a run even matter? Not only does it make no sense, but it could backfire, as it did, and make the bleeding worse...
Or consider today's ballgame. Yes, the Angels jumped out to another early lead, 3-0, after three innings. Yes, Jeff Weaver was his typical lousy self, giving up seven hits and throwing 68 pitches. But why did Hargrove have such a quick hook with Weaver? He really couldn't have expected more than what he got from Weaver after three innings, could he? I mean, in Saturday's game Hargrove was patient enough to permit Horacio Ramirez walk six Angels over four innings, allowing the Angels to become very patient and wait for the better pitches to hit. Which they did. In spades. But with his flip-flop in strategy today, Hargrove puts a good amount of pressure on the Mariners' bullpen, just before they head to a two-game series against the Rangers in Arlington, where a sufficently rested bullpen is going to be all but necessary.
Sigh. Hargrove is completely clueless when it comes to managing the Mariners....
If you're looking for any moral victories, Adrian Beltre hit his third home-run of the season to help the team avoid a shutout. A year ago to this date, Beltre was still homerless, and the M's were getting shut-out for the third time. Today's home-run kept the number of shutouts tossed against the M's so far at one- Rich Harden's dominant performance in the third game.
At least the M's are scoring runs in their string of losses. They got that going for them....
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