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May 16, 2005

G37: Mariners 5, Red Sox 4

What will Manny Ramirez do with the ball he hit for his 400th career home run? "I don't know, probably put it on eBay. I could see how much I could get. Probably $200."

Ramirez is the 13th player to reach 400 before his 33rd birthday. He hit it in his 5,695th at-bat. Only Mark McGwire (4,726), Babe Ruth (4,854), Killebrew (5,300) and Jim Thome (5,416) got there faster. ... But shouldn't plate appearances be the measure instead of at-bats?

Ramirez has a lifetime batting average of .314 with his 400 home runs and 1,304 RBI. The only five players with 400/1,300 and a higher average? Ted Williams (.344), Babe Ruth (.342), Lou Gehrig (.340), Stan Musial (.331) and Jimmie Foxx (.325). And Foxx is the only righthanded hitter on that short list.

I forgot to set my VCR yesterday, so I missed out of watching the game today, but it sounded several of the 11 hits Tim Wakefield allowed in seven innings were bloops and infield grounders. Five of the hits came in Seattle's four-run second inning. Following along on Gameday, it also looked like many of the Sox's fly outs were quite deep, including Ortiz in the 5th (right before Manny hit #400), Millar in the 7th and Ramirez in the 9th.

Stats about how a player has done against a certain team are usually pretty worthless -- especially a player with a long career -- but I did find it interesting that Wakefield has not beaten the Mariners since July 29, 1997. In that time, he has made five starts and had 10 relief appearances. The last time he got credit for a victory in Seattle was June 1, 1996.

Tony Massarotti on Trot Nixon: "[H]e has an undisclosed leg injury that is clearly affecting his ability to run. What is not known is the severity of the problem, though Nixon acknowledged yesterday he will need surgery after the season." Nixon says he hurt himself during the May 8 doubleheader but says that it is not related to last year's quadriceps problems.

Bronson Arroyo will drop his suspension appeal tomorrow, but because Boston has off-days on Thursday and Monday, they just skip his rotation spot. ... John Olerud went 3-for-4 as a DH on Saturday in an extended spring training game. ... David Wells is scheduled to throw on the side today and could be activated for a Wednesday start in place of Jeremi Gonzalez.

In Oakland:
Monday: Bronson Arroyo (2.91) / Kirk Saarloos (5.09), 10:00
Tuesday: Matt Clement (3.06) / Barry Zito (5.54), 10:00
Wednesday Jeremi Gonzalez (7.71) / Keiichi Yabu (2.55), 3:35

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