Washington center Matthew Bryan-Amaning talks with our Bob Sherwin about the best taunt from a fan, whether he would rock old-school short shorts and the surprising comfort food the Londoner prefers.
What good lead-in to the story by Thiel. (And missing Baylor’s point total by one point ain’t bad either.)
Regarding Softy. At the very beginning of the post game call-in show last night, he thunders that HOLT MUST GO!!! But, in the very next sentence or two, he says to his broadcast partners that “I think we all can agree there are several guys on the defensive side of the ball we won’t miss next year.” So which is it, Softy? I have a tough time believing Holt is as incompetent as the angry, mouth-foaming mob claims he is.
headoutofsand on
Nice lead-in by Thiel, and missing Baylor’s point total by only one point ain’t bad, either.
Regarding Softy: At the beginning of last night’s post game call-in show, he thunders that “HOLT MUST GO!” But in the very next sentence or two, he says to his broadcast colleagues, “I think we can all agree there are several guys on the defense we won’t miss next year.” So which is it, Softy? I have a tough time believing Holt is as incompetent as the angry mob of mouth foamers claim he is.
1coolguy on
Unbelievable performance by Price – WOW!
Conversely, why is Holt still in his position??? Triple 7 (777) is supposed to be an airplane, NOT a yardage given up figure!
Anytime a coach underperforms Willingham, it’s simply time to go.
Airmerz on
The points were the second-most in school history (not that it matters). We gave up 72 to Cal in 1921.
blackhook on
Nice reporting Art – it was one of the greatest games i’ve ever seen. Too bad for the Huskies but the program has still come a long way to even be *very* competitive in this game – when almost no one thought we would be.
And you almost called the score exactly …was it on kjr?, you called 70-50 …pretty damn close!
it was at the beginning of the 3rd after the price-to-kearse TD, when polk thought it would be a good idea to run over to the baylor sideline and do a heisman pose.
baylor players are quoted after the game saying this really pissed them off and they promptly swung the game back in their favor.
Art Thiel on
Missed that. If true, it was stupid. But I think Baylor was going to swing things even absent the inspiration.
Basic research? This guy wouldn’t know research if it landed in his lap.
This is a damaging article and Rudman should be ashamed. Comparing his body type to his father’s is cheap and shows how little you actually know about the two (and for what it’s worth 5’11” 275 versus 6’3″ 245 is NOT “generally similar”).
And the fact that you compare Russel Branyan to Prince Fielder is laughable. If Branyan can hit 16 HR in Safeco, Fielder can hit 20 easily. That comparison should be a reason FOR wanting to get him here.
Bill Bavasi was horrible at many things, the worst of which was his failure to get a legitimate left handed power hitter – there simply is no data available to show how a hitter like Prince Fielder will fare in Safeco.
You want gap hitters rather than a slugger? Please. How is a gap hitter going to protect anyone in the lineup. Guys like Ackley, Smoak, Guti and Ichiro are enough gap hitters – this lineup needs a power threat to make them all better.
Your headline grabbing, thoughtless journalism is better suited to Fox News. Shameful.
SorryMarinerdMike on
You must have missed the part that Steve Rudman was once the Director of Research for ESPN, so I think he knows how to reference something.
As for saying there is no data to show how a left-handed hitter will fare, look at the fact that no left-handed power hitters want to come here. Griffey and A-Rod have stated that they were afraid of Safeco. What exactly do you think makes it such a pitchers field? It isn’t Phiten sending a beam of energy to the mound.
Also, your argument that we need more power hitters isn’t wrong, Steve is just saying it probably isn’t going to happen anytime soon as long as Safeco stays as it is.
I understand you don’t like someone saying something poor about your team, but face it, no star player wants to play for a losing team that plays in a tough-to-hit stadium.
SorrySorryMarindMike on
So he definitely knows how to skew numbers (ignoring Fielder’s dominant hand) to prove his point. Rather than proving a point based on numbers.
Yes, very sorry on
Um. I yeah, I know I certainly missed it. I’ve never heard of him. This failure to do basic research may have something to do with him not holding that post any longer, don’t you suppose?
Or, did ESPN pay EVEN less than this gig, which I have to assume pays almost nothing.
Pete Vuckovich on
Where is the proof that no left-handed power hitters want to come here? Who have we made competitive offers to and spurned us? This is completely baseless. There have been a number of left-handed power hitters who have signed here over the years. I don’t care what his old position was, he clearly doesn’t understand basic concepts about Safeco and his argument is lazy at best.
Branyfan on
Mike 1 of those 2 u mentioned[Fielder,Branyan] went into 2011,14th all time in h.r.frequency,with a tater every 14.6 at bats.Hint.It wasn’t Fielder
Pete Vuckovich on
Possibly the dumbest article I’ve ever read. Shameful, awful writing. It doesn’t take more than a basic knowledge of the Mariners and Safeco to know what kind of hitters it is damaging to. Left-handed power hitters don’t have a problem here. If you’re allowed to post another article on this site then the person who runs it is doing a disservice to it’s readers. There’s plenty of truth to reasons why Fielder wouldn’t want to come here – poor lineup protection, switching leagues, distance from home, not a contender – but the ballpark really isn’t one of them, and you made that the focal point – hence, trash article.
Pixeldawg13 on
“. If you’re allowed to post another article on this site then the person who runs it is doing a disservice to it’s readers.”
*snort*
Rudman is one of the two whose site this is–it’s very likely he’ll continue to post here. And at least he, unlike you, knows the difference between possessive its and contraction it’s.
Reticulo on
Yeah, I have to completely agree with these other comments. This column missed the most important fact: Safeco actually does NOT hurt left handed hitters. If we were thinking about signing Josh Hamilton, this column would have some value. But we are not— so it does not.
Also, even the slightest bit of research should have thrown up some warning signs. Even without considering the FACT that Safeco does not hurt left handers’ power numbers, just take a look at average home runs at parks last year. Even considering the Ms terrible offense, great pitching, and negative effect on RIGHT handed hitters, Safeco was in the top half of home runs per park.
Jeffrey on
Why is everyone acting like this has never been said before? A quick Google will tell you that hitters don’t like this park. When was the last time we had a power hitter be successful here since the steroids era ended?
Pete Vuckovich on
Russell Branyan?
Thetaming on
Also, please provide this easy google search that proves hitters don’t like Safeco. Quotes, etc. Since it’s easy.
clarknova on
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ok, wait… So, Prince Fielder couldn’t hit 4 more home runs in Safeco than Russell Branyan in 2009?! Are you mental?! This is too stupid to be “damaging” or “shameful”. It’s HILARIOUS. I’m ignoring the handedness idiocy, which has been covered ad nauseum here. Miller Park Dimensions: 332-L, 390-LC, 400-C, 381-RC, 325-R… Safeco Field Dimensions: 331-L, 390-LC, 405-C,
387-RC, 327-R. Totally bro… Prince fielder would be SHUT DOWN by that extra 5 feet in dead center and those two feet in right. Killer point. I’m laughing too hard to check his hit chart, but I’ll bet ALL of his home runs in Miller Park would have been out in Safeco. They’re almost the same park! “It’s not the Egg McMuffin of hitting meccas”?! What does that even mean?! Egg McMuffins taste like a ham flavored kitchen sponge? Is that a real metaphor?! PFFFT!!! Jeff Cirillo? Seriously? Jeff FREAKING Cirillo! Do you think that perhaps the crappy hitting statistics could have anything to do with some of the worst offensive teams in the history of the sport, and PERHAPS that could be because most of the players weren’t very good? It’s nice to see you’re aware that the 2001 Mariners played at Safeco. The “gap hitting” 2001 mariners you refer to had 4 20+ home run hitters. Boone hit 37. The 2011 Milwaukee Brewers, with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, and Rickie Weeks hit 14 more home runs as a team than the 2001 Mariners did. Dude, if you’re Prince Fielder and “your business is the long ball” and you’re looking for 8+ years at 23-25 million a year, you’re freaking SET! Baseball contracts are guaranteed and he would NOT hit less home runs at Safeco! Holy crap dude! WOW! You know, there’s a pretty good chance the Mariners do get outbid, and, there’s a really strong chance that Seattle is not the 1st choice for a Florida native… I’ve accepted that. I still check every day for news, and actually… I appreciate the utter nonsense in this article. I needed a laugh. Especially when I got to the Richie Sexson/Cecil Fielder comp. SO retarded.
Robert mitchell on
Yeah but Branyan missed the final 5 weeks in 2009,with a herniated disc in his back.And lead the Mariners in ding dongs after they re aquired him in 2010,with 15 in 57 games[205 at bats]
Marcusderen on
Well put.
thiswritersucks on
Took the words right off of my keyboard, this article is ‘funny’ bad.
clarknova on
Okay. The research has been done. According to Rick Randall on Twitter using a hit tracker- Safeco Field would have cost Prince Fielder a total of 6 home runs over the past three seasons. Two a year. At home. Maybe. It’s pretty well common knowledge that Safeco is detrimental to right handed pull power hitters. Like the examples above. The former “Director of Research at ESPN”, ladies and gentlemen!
Bobdavis on
All of these are right handed hitters moron. Lefties do ok here.
David Jubb on
I’m not going to say that this article is an embarrassment to sports journalism or anything of that nature…but I’m so tired of hearing people compare Fielder’s potential in Safeco Field to former RIGHT HANDED sluggers like Sexson and Beltre. Safeco’s short right field porched was designed SPECIFICALLY with the left-handed power bat of Ken Griffey Jr! Could the fences be moved in a bit, yes! Did Griffey and A-Rod mention this, yes. Is the thick humid air of Safeco a hinderance to a length that a ball could travel otherwise….yes. These things aren’t the points the author of this article is trying to make that he should be trying to make if he’s to compare Fielder to Mariners of the past.
Branyfan on
It’s not the dimensions at Safeco.It’s the heavy damp air,especially at night when most of the games played there.But you guys r right,it wouldn’t affect Fielder much with his power.And not to compare Branyan with Prince,which is silly but Russell is 14th all time in h.r.frequency,with a tater every 14.9 at bats and still doesn’t have 3,000 at bats.
togiola on
I’m blaming google here. I searched Prince Fielder under news. This is not news. There are some stats, but they were incorrectly applied. So there is no news and nothing worth reading.
This “news” website should truly be embarassed to have this “article” associated with it. Total garbage.
Hmmmm … and what do all those power hitters who came to the Mariners have in common? (Hint: They all bat from one side of the plate, and that side of the plate might be the opposite side of Fielder …)
Tian Biao on
Seriously folks don’t you think it’s odd that players like Kotchman (l) and Beltre (r), to name just two recent examples, are so bad at Safeco, and so good when they play in another ballpark?
Dosomeresearch on
Yea because Safeco Field gives people serious eye conditions when they come here and they decide that they aren’t going to get it checked out by a doctor until after they have left. Kotchman said that during his season in Seattle his vision was like “looking through a dirty windshield”. After the season he went to a doctor and the doctor said he had a eye condition that required surgery. He had the surgery and then batted 3.50 for the Rays. Yea, Safeco Field had something to do with that.
Dosomeresearch on
.350 my bad :)
Branyfan on
Kotchman is a singles hitting 1st sacker.See how quick another club signs him.Dime a dozen Judy hitter.Great glove though.
40 Comments
What good lead-in to the story by Thiel. (And missing Baylor’s point total by one point ain’t bad either.)
Regarding Softy. At the very beginning of the post game call-in show last night, he thunders that HOLT MUST GO!!! But, in the very next sentence or two, he says to his broadcast partners that “I think we all can agree there are several guys on the defensive side of the ball we won’t miss next year.” So which is it, Softy? I have a tough time believing Holt is as incompetent as the angry, mouth-foaming mob claims he is.
Nice lead-in by Thiel, and missing Baylor’s point total by only one point ain’t bad, either.
Regarding Softy: At the beginning of last night’s post game call-in show, he thunders that “HOLT MUST GO!” But in the very next sentence or two, he says to his broadcast colleagues, “I think we can all agree there are several guys on the defense we won’t miss next year.” So which is it, Softy? I have a tough time believing Holt is as incompetent as the angry mob of mouth foamers claim he is.
Unbelievable performance by Price – WOW!
Conversely, why is Holt still in his position??? Triple 7 (777) is supposed to be an airplane, NOT a yardage given up figure!
Anytime a coach underperforms Willingham, it’s simply time to go.
The points were the second-most in school history (not that it matters). We gave up 72 to Cal in 1921.
Nice reporting Art – it was one of the greatest games i’ve ever seen. Too bad for the Huskies but the program has still come a long way to even be *very* competitive in this game – when almost no one thought we would be.
And you almost called the score exactly …was it on kjr?, you called 70-50 …pretty damn close!
polk’s fumble wasn’t the turning point.
it was at the beginning of the 3rd after the price-to-kearse TD, when polk thought it would be a good idea to run over to the baylor sideline and do a heisman pose.
baylor players are quoted after the game saying this really pissed them off and they promptly swung the game back in their favor.
Missed that. If true, it was stupid. But I think Baylor was going to swing things even absent the inspiration.
baylor outscored washington 43-14 after his pose.
Basic research? This guy wouldn’t know research if it landed in his lap.
This is a damaging article and Rudman should be ashamed. Comparing his body type to his father’s is cheap and shows how little you actually know about the two (and for what it’s worth 5’11” 275 versus 6’3″ 245 is NOT “generally similar”).
And the fact that you compare Russel Branyan to Prince Fielder is laughable. If Branyan can hit 16 HR in Safeco, Fielder can hit 20 easily. That comparison should be a reason FOR wanting to get him here.
Bill Bavasi was horrible at many things, the worst of which was his failure to get a legitimate left handed power hitter – there simply is no data available to show how a hitter like Prince Fielder will fare in Safeco.
You want gap hitters rather than a slugger? Please. How is a gap hitter going to protect anyone in the lineup. Guys like Ackley, Smoak, Guti and Ichiro are enough gap hitters – this lineup needs a power threat to make them all better.
Your headline grabbing, thoughtless journalism is better suited to Fox News. Shameful.
You must have missed the part that Steve Rudman was once the Director of Research for ESPN, so I think he knows how to reference something.
As for saying there is no data to show how a left-handed hitter will fare, look at the fact that no left-handed power hitters want to come here. Griffey and A-Rod have stated that they were afraid of Safeco. What exactly do you think makes it such a pitchers field? It isn’t Phiten sending a beam of energy to the mound.
Also, your argument that we need more power hitters isn’t wrong, Steve is just saying it probably isn’t going to happen anytime soon as long as Safeco stays as it is.
I understand you don’t like someone saying something poor about your team, but face it, no star player wants to play for a losing team that plays in a tough-to-hit stadium.
So he definitely knows how to skew numbers (ignoring Fielder’s dominant hand) to prove his point. Rather than proving a point based on numbers.
Um. I yeah, I know I certainly missed it. I’ve never heard of him. This failure to do basic research may have something to do with him not holding that post any longer, don’t you suppose?
Or, did ESPN pay EVEN less than this gig, which I have to assume pays almost nothing.
Where is the proof that no left-handed power hitters want to come here? Who have we made competitive offers to and spurned us? This is completely baseless. There have been a number of left-handed power hitters who have signed here over the years. I don’t care what his old position was, he clearly doesn’t understand basic concepts about Safeco and his argument is lazy at best.
Mike 1 of those 2 u mentioned[Fielder,Branyan] went into 2011,14th all time in h.r.frequency,with a tater every 14.6 at bats.Hint.It wasn’t Fielder
Possibly the dumbest article I’ve ever read. Shameful, awful writing. It doesn’t take more than a basic knowledge of the Mariners and Safeco to know what kind of hitters it is damaging to. Left-handed power hitters don’t have a problem here. If you’re allowed to post another article on this site then the person who runs it is doing a disservice to it’s readers. There’s plenty of truth to reasons why Fielder wouldn’t want to come here – poor lineup protection, switching leagues, distance from home, not a contender – but the ballpark really isn’t one of them, and you made that the focal point – hence, trash article.
“. If you’re allowed to post another article on this site then the person who runs it is doing a disservice to it’s readers.”
*snort*
Rudman is one of the two whose site this is–it’s very likely he’ll continue to post here. And at least he, unlike you, knows the difference between possessive its and contraction it’s.
Yeah, I have to completely agree with these other comments. This column missed the most important fact: Safeco actually does NOT hurt left handed hitters. If we were thinking about signing Josh Hamilton, this column would have some value. But we are not— so it does not.
Also, even the slightest bit of research should have thrown up some warning signs. Even without considering the FACT that Safeco does not hurt left handers’ power numbers, just take a look at average home runs at parks last year. Even considering the Ms terrible offense, great pitching, and negative effect on RIGHT handed hitters, Safeco was in the top half of home runs per park.
Why is everyone acting like this has never been said before? A quick Google will tell you that hitters don’t like this park. When was the last time we had a power hitter be successful here since the steroids era ended?
Russell Branyan?
Also, please provide this easy google search that proves hitters don’t like Safeco. Quotes, etc. Since it’s easy.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ok, wait… So, Prince Fielder couldn’t hit 4 more home runs in Safeco than Russell Branyan in 2009?! Are you mental?! This is too stupid to be “damaging” or “shameful”. It’s HILARIOUS. I’m ignoring the handedness idiocy, which has been covered ad nauseum here. Miller Park Dimensions: 332-L, 390-LC, 400-C, 381-RC, 325-R… Safeco Field Dimensions: 331-L, 390-LC, 405-C,
387-RC, 327-R. Totally bro… Prince fielder would be SHUT DOWN by that extra 5 feet in dead center and those two feet in right. Killer point. I’m laughing too hard to check his hit chart, but I’ll bet ALL of his home runs in Miller Park would have been out in Safeco. They’re almost the same park! “It’s not the Egg McMuffin of hitting meccas”?! What does that even mean?! Egg McMuffins taste like a ham flavored kitchen sponge? Is that a real metaphor?! PFFFT!!! Jeff Cirillo? Seriously? Jeff FREAKING Cirillo! Do you think that perhaps the crappy hitting statistics could have anything to do with some of the worst offensive teams in the history of the sport, and PERHAPS that could be because most of the players weren’t very good? It’s nice to see you’re aware that the 2001 Mariners played at Safeco. The “gap hitting” 2001 mariners you refer to had 4 20+ home run hitters. Boone hit 37. The 2011 Milwaukee Brewers, with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, and Rickie Weeks hit 14 more home runs as a team than the 2001 Mariners did. Dude, if you’re Prince Fielder and “your business is the long ball” and you’re looking for 8+ years at 23-25 million a year, you’re freaking SET! Baseball contracts are guaranteed and he would NOT hit less home runs at Safeco! Holy crap dude! WOW! You know, there’s a pretty good chance the Mariners do get outbid, and, there’s a really strong chance that Seattle is not the 1st choice for a Florida native… I’ve accepted that. I still check every day for news, and actually… I appreciate the utter nonsense in this article. I needed a laugh. Especially when I got to the Richie Sexson/Cecil Fielder comp. SO retarded.
Yeah but Branyan missed the final 5 weeks in 2009,with a herniated disc in his back.And lead the Mariners in ding dongs after they re aquired him in 2010,with 15 in 57 games[205 at bats]
Well put.
Took the words right off of my keyboard, this article is ‘funny’ bad.
Okay. The research has been done. According to Rick Randall on Twitter using a hit tracker- Safeco Field would have cost Prince Fielder a total of 6 home runs over the past three seasons. Two a year. At home. Maybe. It’s pretty well common knowledge that Safeco is detrimental to right handed pull power hitters. Like the examples above. The former “Director of Research at ESPN”, ladies and gentlemen!
All of these are right handed hitters moron. Lefties do ok here.
I’m not going to say that this article is an embarrassment to sports journalism or anything of that nature…but I’m so tired of hearing people compare Fielder’s potential in Safeco Field to former RIGHT HANDED sluggers like Sexson and Beltre. Safeco’s short right field porched was designed SPECIFICALLY with the left-handed power bat of Ken Griffey Jr! Could the fences be moved in a bit, yes! Did Griffey and A-Rod mention this, yes. Is the thick humid air of Safeco a hinderance to a length that a ball could travel otherwise….yes. These things aren’t the points the author of this article is trying to make that he should be trying to make if he’s to compare Fielder to Mariners of the past.
It’s not the dimensions at Safeco.It’s the heavy damp air,especially at night when most of the games played there.But you guys r right,it wouldn’t affect Fielder much with his power.And not to compare Branyan with Prince,which is silly but Russell is 14th all time in h.r.frequency,with a tater every 14.9 at bats and still doesn’t have 3,000 at bats.
I’m blaming google here. I searched Prince Fielder under news. This is not news. There are some stats, but they were incorrectly applied. So there is no news and nothing worth reading.
This “news” website should truly be embarassed to have this “article” associated with it. Total garbage.
Hmmmm … and what do all those power hitters who came to the Mariners have in common? (Hint: They all bat from one side of the plate, and that side of the plate might be the opposite side of Fielder …)
Seriously folks don’t you think it’s odd that players like Kotchman (l) and Beltre (r), to name just two recent examples, are so bad at Safeco, and so good when they play in another ballpark?
Yea because Safeco Field gives people serious eye conditions when they come here and they decide that they aren’t going to get it checked out by a doctor until after they have left. Kotchman said that during his season in Seattle his vision was like “looking through a dirty windshield”. After the season he went to a doctor and the doctor said he had a eye condition that required surgery. He had the surgery and then batted 3.50 for the Rays. Yea, Safeco Field had something to do with that.
.350 my bad :)
Kotchman is a singles hitting 1st sacker.See how quick another club signs him.Dime a dozen Judy hitter.Great glove though.