#ryan langerhans

[bluejayhunter]

Ryan Langerhans Has His Own Hunting Show

I'm not sure if this is common knowledge, but I just found out that RYan Langerhans of the Toronto Blue Jays has his very own hunting show called "Buck Commander".

And apparently it's a pretty big deal as well; he's had several MLB players on the show, including Chipper Jones and Adam LaRoche, as well as country heavy hitters Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan. Not to mention, Willie from Duck Dynasty.

Here's a look at one of the videos below.

[oldtimefamilybaseball]

Seattle Mariners Trade No Runs, Some Strikeouts for More Runs, Tons of Strikeouts

In one fell swoop, the Seattle Mariners cut bait with the jack of all trades, Ryan Langerhans, and perennial bad boy, Milton Bradley to call up Carlos Peguero and Michael Wilson. Langerhans, for all his versatility, has hit .200/.326/.350 since joining the Mariners which, sadly, looks good in comparison to  Bradley's career .209/.298/.351 line with the team.  Did I mention that Bradley is earning $12 MM for his efforts this season?

While most Mariners fans will be excited by Carlos Peguero's call-up as he's hit 27 home runs since the beginning of last season and is still a very tender-aged 24, it's now Michael Wilson's time to shine. At 6'2", 245 lb, Wilson has been plying his all-or-nothing swing in the minors for ten years now, waiting for a Mariners team that is so bad on offense that they have no choice but to call him up.

(Image via Lookout Landing)

While everyone should know of my love of tiny, scrappy, do-gooders who play all over the field, I also have an affinity for monster-sized mashers who struggle to bend over to field the ball and either hit home runs or strike out. Sure, it's not the kind of baseball that I enjoy, but it's the Crash Davis archetype and a player that is usually of use to struggling teams, even in their single dimensionality (see my love affair with Big Country, Brad Eldred.) 

Sure, these moves won't turn the Mariners season around, and the Mariners will strike out roughly 15 times per ballgame, but they'll also score a handful of runs too. And that's more than they've done recently. It's always nice to see people who have yet to fail compared to players who have done little but in the past few seasons.

[geeoffsports-blog]

Mariners Breakdown, 3-2 win vs Blue Jays, 4/12/11

Mariners now 4-7.

Play of the Game: With the M's up 3-2 in the eighth, Blue Jay Jose Bautista hit a pop fly foul along the first base side. Justin Smoak made a very difficult running catch running away from the diamond, then turned around and threw a one hop strike to Miguel Olivo to easily nail down the runner trying to tag and score. That play ended the inning and preserved the win.

The Good: The M's finally scored early, posting all three runs in the third. Can't say enough about Pineda.

The Bad: Jay P Ricky Romero retired 14 straight Mariners after the third. Also, Miguel Olivo had another rough night when batting.

3 Stars: Michael Pineda. His fastball was 96-99 mph and unhittable, and his slider was deadly. He had many strikeouts and had 23 first pitch strikes against 28 batters. He ended up with 2 ER, but completely shut down the 3rd best offensive team in the American League.

2 Stars: Ryan Langerhans' 2 run HR in the 3rd kicked off the scoring and gave Pineda an early lead.

1 Star: Justin Smoak had another hit tonight, and his defensive play in the eighth was spectacular and saved the win.

Opposing Team Player of the Game: P Ricky Romero struck out 7 (?) and retired 14 straight after the 3rd inning.

Prediction for Next Game: I want the M's to sweep, and I think they are confident. Jason Vargas will outpitch Kyle Drabek and the M's will win 4-1.

[geeoffsports-blog]

Well this screws with my predictions for the M's season...

Jody Gerut announced his retirement from baseball today, so that's one less outfielder competing for the fourth outfield spot. Gabe Gross and Ryan Langerhans now have the chance to step up...

[geeoffsports-blog]

Mariners Preview 2011: Center Field

Once again, do we really need a preview for this position? Franklin Gutierrez, the 28 year old acquired in a trade from Cleveland two years ago, has been given the chance to become an everyday starter in center field and has taken advantage of it. He had his breakout season in 2009, batting .283 with 18 HRs and 70 RBIs, along with outstanding defense. He struggled a bit last year in the anemic offense called the Mariners, batting .245 with 12 HRs and 64 RBIs, but he increased his stolen base total to 25. His defense also continued to improve, as he led the league in many obscure defensive categories and had a perfect fielding percentage en route to his first Gold Glove. His defense was so widespread and perfect that the late Dave Niehaus (still seems weird to say that) nicknamed him "Death to Flying Things." After playing 153 and 152 games in the last two years, expect him to be the full time starter again, with no challenges to his position.

Since Gutierrez is the full time starter, the backup really is just whoever wins the position as the fourth outfielder. As I explained in my right field preview (http://geeoffsports.tumblr.com/post/3487452519/mariners-preview-2011-right-field), I expect Greg Halman to win this job over Ryan Langerhans.

Really though, this position is really about "Death to Flying Things." Franklin should return to career averages in the offensive categories, and will bat around .270 with a career-high 20 HRs. He will have about 70 RBIs, and have a career-high 30 SBs. He will either win the Gold Glove award or will narrowly lose it, but he will have another error-free year. Expect another solid year for Gutierrez as he returns to near-2009 stats.

[geeoffsports-blog]

Mariners Preview 2011: Right Field

Do I really need to do a preview here? When Ichiro is on the roster, consistency will never go away. There are a few things that will never change in life: death, taxes, and Ichiro getting 200 hits. He may be 37 years old, but he will certainly continue to be a force on defense and will collect over 200 hits. Japanese ownership dictates that he will always hit from the leadoff spot (in contrast to the 3 hole that many feel like he would be better in), but he will continue to get on base and move around the bases as Figgins and others should improve offensively and get Ichiro home. Ichiro may be aging a bit, but he is still one of the fittest guys on the team, and will continue his streak of 200+ hits and will be the same ol' Ichiro that has been on the team for the past 10 years.

SHOULD Ichiro actually get injured (which is doubtful, considering he has missed 30 games of the 1620 that have occurred during his career), two guys should be the ones that will contend for a backup spot in Spring Training. Young guy Greg Halman played in 9 games late last year, and certainly has a lot of promise. He has had at least 25 HRs in the minors for the last three years, but his average (.243 last year) and his strikeout rate (166 per year for the past four seasons) mean that he can be a bit of a free swinger. Should he be solid in Spring Training, I would expect him to make the team as a backup outfielder.

Ryan Langerhans will also be in the competition for a backup spot, as he looks to stay on the team for a third consecutive season. He is a nonroster invitee, and has a minor league contract, but at 30 years old and with so much talent in the minors in the outfield, I would not be surprised if he is released if he does not make the big club. Langerhans has a career .228 average with average power, but has proved to be a useful defensive specialist in the past few years. He can play all the outfield positions as well as 1B, so he has that edge over Halman. However, Halman has a better future within the team and has more power, so I would not be surprised if Langerhans is not on the team come Opening Day.

24 year old Carlos Peguero is also listed on the active roster as a right fielder, but considering he has only played A ball at High Desert, I would consider him to be a huge stretch to make the Mariners. I expect him to see significant playing time at Jackson (formerly West Tenn) and Tacoma as he continues to develop for the future. 21 year old Johermyn Chavez is in the same situation with his only playing experience being at High Desert, and will spend another year in the minors.

Despite the questions at backup outfielder, Ichiro will be the right fielder. He will collect around 230-240 hits, and will steal 40 bases. He will continue to be spectacular on defense, and will look oddly similar to the Ichiro of [insert any year in between 2001 and 2010]. Halman will win the backup spot and Langerhans won't be on the team anymore, but Halman will bounce a bit in between AAA and the majors. Don't expect anything different from right field.