Rangers/mariners
- Thread starter NIEM36
- Start date
Just played Texas again....had them last night too. Just too many bats and Seattle offense is so hit and miss....more miss. I think Seattle may get a win or two with Hernandez and Pineda coming up. Fister is decent at home, but just doesn't get much run support most of the time. BOL!!!
pass for me...
Pregame Notes: Wedge delivers a classic line
After once again discussing at length the Mariners hitting problems and what to do about them, he said this:
Preach Brother Wedge, preach on.
The absence of Justin Smoak in the lineup was planned by Wedge. He wanted to get him some rest, and it makes sense to do it against right-hander Colby Lewis since the switch-hitting Smoak is struggling from the left-side of the plate.
"It's weird cause last year, I struggled from the right side, this year its the left," Smoak said. "I guess that's baseball."
Smoak is hitting just .206 (43-for-209) left-handed. Of course, the sample size is far smaller from the right-side where he is hitting .283 with just 92 at-bats.
But Smoak admits he's just uncomfortable at the plate right now. It's evident in some of the fastballs, he's getting and not hitting.
There was a 3-1 count of recent memory where Smoak was looking fastball, got fastball and fouled it back.
"Yeah, I'm just kind of in between on fastballs right now," he said. "It wasn't like that earlier. Now I'm in between on fastballs and out in front on offspeed pitches. That's not a real good situation."
Pregame Notes: Wedge delivers a classic line
After once again discussing at length the Mariners hitting problems and what to do about them, he said this:
Preach Brother Wedge, preach on.
The absence of Justin Smoak in the lineup was planned by Wedge. He wanted to get him some rest, and it makes sense to do it against right-hander Colby Lewis since the switch-hitting Smoak is struggling from the left-side of the plate.
"It's weird cause last year, I struggled from the right side, this year its the left," Smoak said. "I guess that's baseball."
Smoak is hitting just .206 (43-for-209) left-handed. Of course, the sample size is far smaller from the right-side where he is hitting .283 with just 92 at-bats.
But Smoak admits he's just uncomfortable at the plate right now. It's evident in some of the fastballs, he's getting and not hitting.
There was a 3-1 count of recent memory where Smoak was looking fastball, got fastball and fouled it back.
"Yeah, I'm just kind of in between on fastballs right now," he said. "It wasn't like that earlier. Now I'm in between on fastballs and out in front on offspeed pitches. That's not a real good situation."
Mariners try to snap their losing streak
Nothing like a mid-July day that looks like November to excite the boys of summer, and the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers have been out early working on fundamentals and hitting.
Clearly, the Mariners need it more.
A six-game losing sstreak has had many in the media writing the Mariners off for the season, and with each loss to the Rangers, Seattle falls deeper into the American League West. What could have been a series in which they climbed closer now feels like a launching pad for Texas.
The Rangers and, to a lesser degree, the Angels, have the talent to put strong runs together. The Mariners don't, even with their pitching. They simply don't have the offense to sustain a winning streak.
Tonight, they'll try to end a losing streak. If not, they'll lose their 50th game.
Here's the lineup against RHP Colby Lewis:
Ichiro RF
Brendan Ryan SS
Dustin Ackley 2B
Miguel Olivo C
Adam Kennedy 1B
Jack Cust DH
Franklin Gutierrez CF
Kyle Seager 3B
Carlos Peguero LF
Doug Fister P
Nothing like a mid-July day that looks like November to excite the boys of summer, and the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers have been out early working on fundamentals and hitting.
Clearly, the Mariners need it more.
A six-game losing sstreak has had many in the media writing the Mariners off for the season, and with each loss to the Rangers, Seattle falls deeper into the American League West. What could have been a series in which they climbed closer now feels like a launching pad for Texas.
The Rangers and, to a lesser degree, the Angels, have the talent to put strong runs together. The Mariners don't, even with their pitching. They simply don't have the offense to sustain a winning streak.
Tonight, they'll try to end a losing streak. If not, they'll lose their 50th game.
Here's the lineup against RHP Colby Lewis:
Ichiro RF
Brendan Ryan SS
Dustin Ackley 2B
Miguel Olivo C
Adam Kennedy 1B
Jack Cust DH
Franklin Gutierrez CF
Kyle Seager 3B
Carlos Peguero LF
Doug Fister P
Rangers lineup responding to Scott Coolbaugh
When Scott Coolbaugh took over as Rangers hitting instructor on June 8, the club was hitting .264 and averaging 4.7 runs per game.
Since then: They are hitting .289 and averaging 5.5 runs per game.
Coincidence?
The Rangers think not.
"He's just a good fit," said 2B Ian Kinsler, who has seen tremendous improvement under Coolbaugh. "You give him feedback and you take feedback. He understands our lingo. I want a hitting coach who will slap me in the face - who will tell me the truth. He does that. And you listen."
Kinsler's offensive numbers have improved significantly under Coolbaugh. He was hitting .233 at the time Coolbaugh replaced Thad Bosley, but is hitting .281 since. His OBP has jumped from .356 to .389 and has slugging percentage has gone from .407 to .526.
And if you factor in that Coolbaugh was merely an observer for the first week or so on the job, the jump is even larger. He began Friday hitting .297 with a .408 OBP and .574 slugging percentage.
"I saw some things in that first week that I didn't like," manager Ron Washington said. "We were getting real big with our swings again and taking an all-or-nothing approach. Maybe it took him a minute to get through, but we have been reaping the benefits ever since. I've been really happy with the job he has done."
Once again, Kinsler is at the top of the lineup. Here's the full lineup the Rangers are sending out against RHP Doug Fister:
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
LF Josh Hamilton
3B Adrian Beltre
DH Michael Young
RF Nelson Cruz
1B Mitch Moreland
C Yorvit Torrealba
CF Craig Gentry
When Scott Coolbaugh took over as Rangers hitting instructor on June 8, the club was hitting .264 and averaging 4.7 runs per game.
Since then: They are hitting .289 and averaging 5.5 runs per game.
Coincidence?
The Rangers think not.
"He's just a good fit," said 2B Ian Kinsler, who has seen tremendous improvement under Coolbaugh. "You give him feedback and you take feedback. He understands our lingo. I want a hitting coach who will slap me in the face - who will tell me the truth. He does that. And you listen."
Kinsler's offensive numbers have improved significantly under Coolbaugh. He was hitting .233 at the time Coolbaugh replaced Thad Bosley, but is hitting .281 since. His OBP has jumped from .356 to .389 and has slugging percentage has gone from .407 to .526.
And if you factor in that Coolbaugh was merely an observer for the first week or so on the job, the jump is even larger. He began Friday hitting .297 with a .408 OBP and .574 slugging percentage.
"I saw some things in that first week that I didn't like," manager Ron Washington said. "We were getting real big with our swings again and taking an all-or-nothing approach. Maybe it took him a minute to get through, but we have been reaping the benefits ever since. I've been really happy with the job he has done."
Once again, Kinsler is at the top of the lineup. Here's the full lineup the Rangers are sending out against RHP Doug Fister:
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
LF Josh Hamilton
3B Adrian Beltre
DH Michael Young
RF Nelson Cruz
1B Mitch Moreland
C Yorvit Torrealba
CF Craig Gentry
Seattle may get some runs off Lewis tonight, but don't see them outscoring Texas when it's all said and done here.
