Sunday, August 17, 2003
TODAY'S GAME, AND OTHER STUFF
Freddy really found it today. Before the last three starts, we would expect him to fall off the wagon after giving up that tater to Trot Nixon in the 3rd. But the guy settled down. It's ironic in the worst way that Freddy seems to have a tendency to only be good if the rest of the rotation is off. Case in point: Piñeiro has been somewhat off his last three starts, Meche sandwiched the brilliant Yankee Stadium outing with some control-lacking starts, Moyer wasn't that sharp last time out, and Franklin has been hot and cold, though the run support in the earlier part of the season was nonexistent. So after stinking up the Safe the day after the deadline, Freddy has gone 2-1 in three starts and has gotten into the 7th twice and the 8th once (today). The Mariners and Bob Melvin were especially thankful of the eight innings today because the bullpen was being a little overused (of course, the overuse was thankfully curtailed by Brian Sweeney's Major League debut on Saturday in 3 1/3 innings of spotless relief).
Raf Soriano came in for Freddy with two on in scoring position in the 8th and Nomar up. Raf just blew the first two pitches right past Nomar, who swung, but had absolutely no chance. The third pitch seemed a little low and outside, but the umpire didn't think so. By the way, SportsCenter and some of the east coast biased freaks out there were all over the strike zone and the discrepancies of the pitches Burkett wasn't getting and the pitches Freddy was getting. I tell you, the east coast will never give this team their due. I think the Red Sox/Mariners highlights were fourth in order of showing on Baseball Tonight, even behind the Royals and Twins, two teams shockingly close to .500. Back to my first topic of the paragraph, Soriano is just in another world right now, and his stuff is just electric. He's automatic right now. If you get the chance to go to the Safe and see him throw or even see this guy on TV, take it. The ball just explodes out of his hand.
Also, Shigetoshi Hasegawa is also pitching out of his mind. His ERA is microscopic, and I think he might be in a zone similar to Soriano's. He is perfect in his 13 save opportunities, and Bob Melvin is going to ride this streak until it runs out, as well he should. Sasaki's not back to top form yet (not pitching for a couple months will do that to you) and Benitez has had a couple of cardiac outings and probably isn't that dependable right now.
That said, the lineup the Mariners trotted out there today was absolutely brutal. Yesterday's was awful, too with Randy Winn in the 3-hole, and McLemore, Mabry, Wilson, and Bloomquist in the bottom end of the lineup. Today's had Mac second, Mabry sixth, and Bloomquist ninth. This will be one of the many times we say it here on this board, but Bloomquist is not good by any stretch of the imagination, and that's not just the anti-South Kitsap sentiment I have boiling inside of me. The guy's just not good, and I have no idea what he is doing up with the big club because he never proved in the minors that he could hit on a regular basis. Once Cirillo gets his shoulder back in tow, he will get his job back automatically, and the Gold Glove will be back at third. Complain all you want about Cirillo, but there's pretty much nothing the Mariners can do with him and the huge contract. Don't look now, but Cirillo has homered in two straight games with the Rainiers. This may be a stretch, but if Cirillo can come up and even hit .250, that'd be great for this team. Gillick caught lightning in a bottle when picking up Rey Sanchez, and having him hit fairly well, and having a .250-hitting Cirillo would patch things up a little more nicely.
And getting Todd Zeile (cut today by the Yankees) would still help deepen the Mariners' putrid bench. It would also give them two players handed down from the Mets and Yankees (Benitez the other).
As of now, 14 days until the waiver trade deadline. The Nelson/Benitez & cash deal sure caught us all by surprise, and there's still some needs the Mariners need to fill on this roster (lefty reliever, bench help, third base), so let's all hope Gillick isn't in such work-friendly envirnments as Hawaii or his house in Toronto (yes, that's a joke).
Off day tomorrow. I'll post something. Different topic? Who knows.
The posts won't all be that long, I promise.
Final funny note: During the Mariner radio broadcast today, there was a 6-3 groundout from Sanchez to Mabry. Niehaus said something like "ground ball to short...Rey Quiñones picks it up and fires it to first...in time." I almost soiled myself laughing. If this is the first hint of Niehaus senility, then I like it.
Raf Soriano came in for Freddy with two on in scoring position in the 8th and Nomar up. Raf just blew the first two pitches right past Nomar, who swung, but had absolutely no chance. The third pitch seemed a little low and outside, but the umpire didn't think so. By the way, SportsCenter and some of the east coast biased freaks out there were all over the strike zone and the discrepancies of the pitches Burkett wasn't getting and the pitches Freddy was getting. I tell you, the east coast will never give this team their due. I think the Red Sox/Mariners highlights were fourth in order of showing on Baseball Tonight, even behind the Royals and Twins, two teams shockingly close to .500. Back to my first topic of the paragraph, Soriano is just in another world right now, and his stuff is just electric. He's automatic right now. If you get the chance to go to the Safe and see him throw or even see this guy on TV, take it. The ball just explodes out of his hand.
Also, Shigetoshi Hasegawa is also pitching out of his mind. His ERA is microscopic, and I think he might be in a zone similar to Soriano's. He is perfect in his 13 save opportunities, and Bob Melvin is going to ride this streak until it runs out, as well he should. Sasaki's not back to top form yet (not pitching for a couple months will do that to you) and Benitez has had a couple of cardiac outings and probably isn't that dependable right now.
That said, the lineup the Mariners trotted out there today was absolutely brutal. Yesterday's was awful, too with Randy Winn in the 3-hole, and McLemore, Mabry, Wilson, and Bloomquist in the bottom end of the lineup. Today's had Mac second, Mabry sixth, and Bloomquist ninth. This will be one of the many times we say it here on this board, but Bloomquist is not good by any stretch of the imagination, and that's not just the anti-South Kitsap sentiment I have boiling inside of me. The guy's just not good, and I have no idea what he is doing up with the big club because he never proved in the minors that he could hit on a regular basis. Once Cirillo gets his shoulder back in tow, he will get his job back automatically, and the Gold Glove will be back at third. Complain all you want about Cirillo, but there's pretty much nothing the Mariners can do with him and the huge contract. Don't look now, but Cirillo has homered in two straight games with the Rainiers. This may be a stretch, but if Cirillo can come up and even hit .250, that'd be great for this team. Gillick caught lightning in a bottle when picking up Rey Sanchez, and having him hit fairly well, and having a .250-hitting Cirillo would patch things up a little more nicely.
And getting Todd Zeile (cut today by the Yankees) would still help deepen the Mariners' putrid bench. It would also give them two players handed down from the Mets and Yankees (Benitez the other).
As of now, 14 days until the waiver trade deadline. The Nelson/Benitez & cash deal sure caught us all by surprise, and there's still some needs the Mariners need to fill on this roster (lefty reliever, bench help, third base), so let's all hope Gillick isn't in such work-friendly envirnments as Hawaii or his house in Toronto (yes, that's a joke).
Off day tomorrow. I'll post something. Different topic? Who knows.
The posts won't all be that long, I promise.
Final funny note: During the Mariner radio broadcast today, there was a 6-3 groundout from Sanchez to Mabry. Niehaus said something like "ground ball to short...Rey Quiñones picks it up and fires it to first...in time." I almost soiled myself laughing. If this is the first hint of Niehaus senility, then I like it.
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