Saturday, April 24, 2004
FREDDY FLINTSTONED
Freddy was just plain screwed today. No more, no less. The guy had thrown 7 1/3 shutout innings and the offense hadn't scored a single run for him. Absolutely pathetic.
top 1 -- Ichiro 0-2...2-2 line running 9; Spiezio 2-2...full looking K (inside/low...); Boone 3-1 5-3
bot 1 -- Young 1-1 4-3; Blalock (nice 1-0 change) 1-2...2-2 4-3; Soriano 1st-pitch 1B LF; Fullmer 0-2...1-2 U3
>> I thought the pitch Scott Spiezio was wrung up on was a little inside, and Ron Fairly thought it was low. The Mariners didn't do anything against Joaquin Benoit. Dave Niehaus used the word "awesome" to describe Freddy Garcia's last start, which is noteworthy because DAVE NIEHAUS used the word "AWESOME." That may never happen again. Freddy did good in the first, and was stung only for the Soriano two-out single.
top 2 -- Edgar 1st-pitch 1B LF one-hops Dellucci; Olerud 1-0 7; Aurilia 1-1 6-4-3 DP
bot 2 -- Dellucci 2-0...3-1 U3; Mench 1-1 4-3; Nix 2-1 1B CF; Laird 2-0 1-3
>> Edgar got on by singling on the first pitch. Yes, the first pitch. In related news, hell froze over. The video reel rolled of Bob Melvin saying the Mariners have to "make [their] own breaks." Edgar's leadoff single went for naught as Olerud flew out and Aurilia got his 6-4-3 on. The Rangers had a sequence in the second much like the first, as both of the first two hitters bounced out to the right side, the third hitter got aboard, then the fourth hitter grounded out. Freddy went to a three-ball count on Dave Dellucci, hit first three-ball count of the game. It'd be a while before another Ranger hitter got a three-ball count.
top 3 -- Winn 0-1 9; Wilson 0-2...2-2 1B CF; McCracken 0-2...full...look K (in corner); Ichiro 1-1 hard 1B RF; Spiezio (swings over top of another change..0-for-7 w/3 K in RISP) 1-2...2-2 swing over change K
bot 3 -- Gonzalez 0-2...1-2 change low/away swing K; Young 0-2...1-2 5-3; Blalock 1st-pitch 4-3
>> Dan Wilson hit a one-out single. Quinton McCracken, filling in for the bruised tailboned Raul Ibanez, battled to a full count from 0-2 before gazing at a ball over the inside corner. Ichiro roped a single to right, then Spiezio came to the plate. At this point, Ron Fairly said he did some research and found that the Mariners strand more runners in scoring position with two out than their opponents. I know it sure seemed like it. FSNNW flashed a graphic on the screen saying that Spiezio was 0-for-7 with 3 strikeouts this year with runners in scoring position. Swinging over the top of three changeups will make you 0-for-8 with four strikeouts on the year. Freddy set down the Rangers in order.
top 4 -- Boone 3-0...3-1 6-3; Edgar 2-2 down/away slider swing K; Olerud 3-0...3-1 BB; Aurilia (2-1 way low/away swing) 2-2...full dying quail 1B CF; Winn 0-2 swing K
bot 4 -- Soriano 0-1 7; Fullmer 0-1 F5; Dellucci 1-1 2B RF line; Mench (1st-pitch WP low/away, Dellucci to 3rd) (Mench 3-for-10 with 4 RBI with RISP) 2-1 6
>> The Mariners exhibit a small two-out flurry with the Olerud walk and the Aurilia dying quail single into centerfield. Randy Winn took his .200 average to the plate and saved everyone some time by striking out on three pitches. The Rangers then had a small two-out flurry of their own, as Dellucci doubled down the rightfield line and went to third on the wild pitch to Kevin Mench, who was hitting 3-for-10 and had driven in 4 on the year with runners in scoring position. Freddy got him to pop out to Aurilia. Freddy had some small issues with low and away pitches, but he was doing just fine.
top 5 -- Wilson 2-0...3-1 4; McCracken 0-2...1-2 5-3; Ichiro 1-0 4-3
bot 5 -- Nix 1-1 IF 1B Boone dive hole no play; Laird 1-1 8; Gonzalez 2-0 step from track 8; Young 1st-pitch charging 5-3
>> Dan Wilson had the count his way and flew out to second as the Mariners calmly bowed down 1-2-3 to Joaquin Benoit. It was in the top of the 5th that the TV broadcast showed a very damning Mariner stat: the Mariners had played in 162 innings (not sure if that was up to that game or up to that inning) and had led in only 38 of them. That's a blazing clip of 23%. OUCH. Laynce Nix got aboard on a ball in the hole behind second base. Freddy then set down the next three.
top 6 -- Spiezio 0-2 (POWELL WARMING)...2-2 1B RF; Boone (low/away slider swing on 0-1) 0-2...1-4-3 DP; Edgar 1-0 6-3
bot 6 -- Blalock 0-1 8; Soriano 1st-pitch 5-3; Fullmer 2-2...full BB (first three-ball count); Dellucci 2-0...3-1...full breaker swing K -- Freddy has second and third three-ball counts of game on Fullmer and Dellucci, already had 2 out though. 73 pitches through 6.
>> Spiezio led off with a single to extend his hit streak to 5 games. He wouldn't have to wait long to be erased from the basepaths, though, as Boone bounced into a rare 1-4-3 double play. Edgar then bounced out to short. Freddy went to a three-ball count on Brad Fullmer with two out, the first time since the second that he had gone to a three-ball count on any hitter. Fullmer then walked and Dellucci got another three-ball count before whiffing on a breaking ball. Freddy had deep counts on those last two batters and still had only thrown 73 pitches though six innings.
top 7 -- POWELL IN; Olerud 1-2 6-3; Aurilia 1-1 track 9 (close); Winn 0-2...2-2 5-3 -- 1-2-3 once again.
bot 7 -- Mench 2-2...full 5-3; Nix 3-1...full 2B off wall RF; Laird (MYERS WARMING) 3-1...full slider low/away swing K (Freddy's 3rd); Gonzalez 1st-pitch 5-3
>> Aurilia rode a ball to the track in rightfield that I thought might leave the yard, but it didn't. The Mariners went 1-2-3 against Jay Powell, and Dave Niehaus said this Mariner futility was "getting to be a tired old record." Freddy started getting into some more three-ball counts, with the streak reaching five straight batters before Adrian Gonzalez ended the inning on his first pitch. Freddy was having some issues, but still stranded a runner in scoring position.
top 8 -- Wilson 2-2 (MATEO WARMING)...1B RF; BLOOMQUIST PR; McCracken bunt FC right to 1-6 (DAMN close); Ichiro 2-1...(McCracken breaks for 2nd, Laird throw dirty into CF, McCracken to 3rd) 3-1...full look waist-high plate K; Spiezio 0-1 8
bot 8 -- Young 2-0...3-1 9; Blalock 1-1 HR CF grass (3rd HR against Freddy Garcia, TEX 1-0); Soriano 1-2 5-3; (NELSON WARMING) Fullmer 1st-pitch IF 1B Boone deep backhand close play 1st; Dellucci 1-1 1B RF; MATEO IN; Mench 2-0 track gap fastball 2B RCF (TWO SCORE, TEX 3-0); MYERS IN; Nix 1-1 4-3
>> The inning that did the Mariners in. Dan Wilson got aboard with a leadoff single. Willie Bloomquist pinch-ran. McCracken was sent to the plate to bunt, and he did so on the first pitch...RIGHT BACK TO THE PITCHER. Jay Powell threw to Young at second and Bloomquist was forced out on a real close play. Ichiro came to the plate. On the 2-1 pitch to Ichiro, McCracken broke for second and drew a throw from Gerald Laird behind the plate, who made a bad throw into centerfield. McCracken went to third on the play. Ichiro had a 3-1 count with a runner on third and one out. A sufficiently deep fly ball would have given the Mariners a 1-0 lead. On 3-1, Ichiro fouled off the pitch. On 3-2, Ichiro GAZED AT THE WAIST-HIGH FASTBALL RIGHT OVER THE PLATE. Mark April 24, 2004 in your calendars as The Day Jay Powell Posterized Ichiro. Say hello to the anticlutch. Yes, Ichiro, who had whiffed with the bases loaded and two out last night, had been caught looking tonight with the go-ahead run on third with one out. Brutal. Freddy got the first out in the 8th before Hank Blalock roped one out to the "sod farm" (Niehaus term) over the wall in center. He got ahead of Soriano and forced a groundout to Spiezio. Brad Fullmer then got aboard on an infield hit, and Dave Dellucci got his second hit of the game. With Freddy one out from getting the complete game (let's face it, the Mariner pitchers weren't going to pitch a 9th inning in this game, and I think everybody knew it), Bob Melvin yanked him. Freddy had thrown 107 pitches in this game after throwing 115 in his last start. I can somewhat sympathize with yanking him, but I wanted him to get out of his own mess. With the way the bullpen has been lately, would you really think that leaving the starter in a bit longer is worse than bringing in someone from a Rafael Soriano-less bullpen? Anyway, Julio Mateo came in, fell behind 2-0 on Kevin Mench, and grooved one right over the plate that Mench tagged into the gap in rightcenter to score all of Garcia's runners. Then Melvin didn't hesitate to bring in Mike Myers to face Laynce Nix, who grounded out. As Mateo was pulled, the first thought in my mind had to do with Mateo having more than enough experience in long relief to deal with hitters from both sides of the plate. So at that point, I was asking myself why the hell Mateo was pulled after facing only one hitter, Mike Myers' splits versus Laynce Nix (I don't know them) be damned. Anyway, I didn't like Freddy getting pulled, though I can see how it's somewhat defensible, but the Mateo pull seems a little dumb to me, that's all.
top 9 -- NELSON IN; Boone 2-2 OF grass 4-3; Edgar 1-2...1B CF; Olerud 0-1 8; Aurilia (1-1 fastball "by him" --Niehaus) 1-2 swing K -- That's it.
>> And to prove that the world is cruel, a 9th inning had to be played. Jeff Nelson came in to close. Boone bounced out to Soriano on the outfield grass. Edgar got aboard with a single, then Olerud flew out and Aurilia had some balls blown past him on the way to a strikeout. And with that, it ended.
How good was Freddy today? He was amazingly efficient. He was at 73 pitches through six innings. He hadn't encountered his second three-ball count of the game until there were two outs in the 6th. That's pretty much the point where the efficiency went by the wayside a bit, as Freddy went to three balls on five straight hitters over the 6th and 7th. He had 92 pitches after seven innings even after he had a little trouble with the ball low and away. Still, Freddy had gotten 22 hitters out and yielded zero runs. Even after it was all said and done, how often should a guy go 7 2/3 innings, give up three runs and lose? This is simply unjust.
Ron Fairly made that note during the game about the Mariners being futile with runners in scoring position with two outs. It's somewhat related, but Baseball Tonight gave out this rub-it-in stat: today, the Red Sox went 0-for-18 with runners in scoring position today AND WON in the Bronx. They are the first team since 1974 to be that futile with runners in scoring position and win.
Gameball: Freddy Garcia. For why, see two paragraphs ago. This guy got jobbed. Steve had noticed something about Freddy afterward...
Goat: Ichiro. 1-for-4, but the other numbers in his line are one strikeout and one stranded runner, both on the same play. So he gets the big contract extension in the offseason and he whiffs with the bases loaded last night and is caught looking with the go-ahead run on third with one out tonight. On this night, that even outdoes Quinton McCracken's sparkling 0-for-3 line stranding two along with the sacrifice bunt right back to the pitcher.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a bad baseball team.
For those who try to look on the bright side, I'll ask the question that I've seen being asked in a few places...
When does "it's still early" stop being a fallback for this team?
Franklin. Wasdin (yes, he still has a career). Tomorrow.
top 1 -- Ichiro 0-2...2-2 line running 9; Spiezio 2-2...full looking K (inside/low...); Boone 3-1 5-3
bot 1 -- Young 1-1 4-3; Blalock (nice 1-0 change) 1-2...2-2 4-3; Soriano 1st-pitch 1B LF; Fullmer 0-2...1-2 U3
>> I thought the pitch Scott Spiezio was wrung up on was a little inside, and Ron Fairly thought it was low. The Mariners didn't do anything against Joaquin Benoit. Dave Niehaus used the word "awesome" to describe Freddy Garcia's last start, which is noteworthy because DAVE NIEHAUS used the word "AWESOME." That may never happen again. Freddy did good in the first, and was stung only for the Soriano two-out single.
top 2 -- Edgar 1st-pitch 1B LF one-hops Dellucci; Olerud 1-0 7; Aurilia 1-1 6-4-3 DP
bot 2 -- Dellucci 2-0...3-1 U3; Mench 1-1 4-3; Nix 2-1 1B CF; Laird 2-0 1-3
>> Edgar got on by singling on the first pitch. Yes, the first pitch. In related news, hell froze over. The video reel rolled of Bob Melvin saying the Mariners have to "make [their] own breaks." Edgar's leadoff single went for naught as Olerud flew out and Aurilia got his 6-4-3 on. The Rangers had a sequence in the second much like the first, as both of the first two hitters bounced out to the right side, the third hitter got aboard, then the fourth hitter grounded out. Freddy went to a three-ball count on Dave Dellucci, hit first three-ball count of the game. It'd be a while before another Ranger hitter got a three-ball count.
top 3 -- Winn 0-1 9; Wilson 0-2...2-2 1B CF; McCracken 0-2...full...look K (in corner); Ichiro 1-1 hard 1B RF; Spiezio (swings over top of another change..0-for-7 w/3 K in RISP) 1-2...2-2 swing over change K
bot 3 -- Gonzalez 0-2...1-2 change low/away swing K; Young 0-2...1-2 5-3; Blalock 1st-pitch 4-3
>> Dan Wilson hit a one-out single. Quinton McCracken, filling in for the bruised tailboned Raul Ibanez, battled to a full count from 0-2 before gazing at a ball over the inside corner. Ichiro roped a single to right, then Spiezio came to the plate. At this point, Ron Fairly said he did some research and found that the Mariners strand more runners in scoring position with two out than their opponents. I know it sure seemed like it. FSNNW flashed a graphic on the screen saying that Spiezio was 0-for-7 with 3 strikeouts this year with runners in scoring position. Swinging over the top of three changeups will make you 0-for-8 with four strikeouts on the year. Freddy set down the Rangers in order.
top 4 -- Boone 3-0...3-1 6-3; Edgar 2-2 down/away slider swing K; Olerud 3-0...3-1 BB; Aurilia (2-1 way low/away swing) 2-2...full dying quail 1B CF; Winn 0-2 swing K
bot 4 -- Soriano 0-1 7; Fullmer 0-1 F5; Dellucci 1-1 2B RF line; Mench (1st-pitch WP low/away, Dellucci to 3rd) (Mench 3-for-10 with 4 RBI with RISP) 2-1 6
>> The Mariners exhibit a small two-out flurry with the Olerud walk and the Aurilia dying quail single into centerfield. Randy Winn took his .200 average to the plate and saved everyone some time by striking out on three pitches. The Rangers then had a small two-out flurry of their own, as Dellucci doubled down the rightfield line and went to third on the wild pitch to Kevin Mench, who was hitting 3-for-10 and had driven in 4 on the year with runners in scoring position. Freddy got him to pop out to Aurilia. Freddy had some small issues with low and away pitches, but he was doing just fine.
top 5 -- Wilson 2-0...3-1 4; McCracken 0-2...1-2 5-3; Ichiro 1-0 4-3
bot 5 -- Nix 1-1 IF 1B Boone dive hole no play; Laird 1-1 8; Gonzalez 2-0 step from track 8; Young 1st-pitch charging 5-3
>> Dan Wilson had the count his way and flew out to second as the Mariners calmly bowed down 1-2-3 to Joaquin Benoit. It was in the top of the 5th that the TV broadcast showed a very damning Mariner stat: the Mariners had played in 162 innings (not sure if that was up to that game or up to that inning) and had led in only 38 of them. That's a blazing clip of 23%. OUCH. Laynce Nix got aboard on a ball in the hole behind second base. Freddy then set down the next three.
top 6 -- Spiezio 0-2 (POWELL WARMING)...2-2 1B RF; Boone (low/away slider swing on 0-1) 0-2...1-4-3 DP; Edgar 1-0 6-3
bot 6 -- Blalock 0-1 8; Soriano 1st-pitch 5-3; Fullmer 2-2...full BB (first three-ball count); Dellucci 2-0...3-1...full breaker swing K -- Freddy has second and third three-ball counts of game on Fullmer and Dellucci, already had 2 out though. 73 pitches through 6.
>> Spiezio led off with a single to extend his hit streak to 5 games. He wouldn't have to wait long to be erased from the basepaths, though, as Boone bounced into a rare 1-4-3 double play. Edgar then bounced out to short. Freddy went to a three-ball count on Brad Fullmer with two out, the first time since the second that he had gone to a three-ball count on any hitter. Fullmer then walked and Dellucci got another three-ball count before whiffing on a breaking ball. Freddy had deep counts on those last two batters and still had only thrown 73 pitches though six innings.
top 7 -- POWELL IN; Olerud 1-2 6-3; Aurilia 1-1 track 9 (close); Winn 0-2...2-2 5-3 -- 1-2-3 once again.
bot 7 -- Mench 2-2...full 5-3; Nix 3-1...full 2B off wall RF; Laird (MYERS WARMING) 3-1...full slider low/away swing K (Freddy's 3rd); Gonzalez 1st-pitch 5-3
>> Aurilia rode a ball to the track in rightfield that I thought might leave the yard, but it didn't. The Mariners went 1-2-3 against Jay Powell, and Dave Niehaus said this Mariner futility was "getting to be a tired old record." Freddy started getting into some more three-ball counts, with the streak reaching five straight batters before Adrian Gonzalez ended the inning on his first pitch. Freddy was having some issues, but still stranded a runner in scoring position.
top 8 -- Wilson 2-2 (MATEO WARMING)...1B RF; BLOOMQUIST PR; McCracken bunt FC right to 1-6 (DAMN close); Ichiro 2-1...(McCracken breaks for 2nd, Laird throw dirty into CF, McCracken to 3rd) 3-1...full look waist-high plate K; Spiezio 0-1 8
bot 8 -- Young 2-0...3-1 9; Blalock 1-1 HR CF grass (3rd HR against Freddy Garcia, TEX 1-0); Soriano 1-2 5-3; (NELSON WARMING) Fullmer 1st-pitch IF 1B Boone deep backhand close play 1st; Dellucci 1-1 1B RF; MATEO IN; Mench 2-0 track gap fastball 2B RCF (TWO SCORE, TEX 3-0); MYERS IN; Nix 1-1 4-3
>> The inning that did the Mariners in. Dan Wilson got aboard with a leadoff single. Willie Bloomquist pinch-ran. McCracken was sent to the plate to bunt, and he did so on the first pitch...RIGHT BACK TO THE PITCHER. Jay Powell threw to Young at second and Bloomquist was forced out on a real close play. Ichiro came to the plate. On the 2-1 pitch to Ichiro, McCracken broke for second and drew a throw from Gerald Laird behind the plate, who made a bad throw into centerfield. McCracken went to third on the play. Ichiro had a 3-1 count with a runner on third and one out. A sufficiently deep fly ball would have given the Mariners a 1-0 lead. On 3-1, Ichiro fouled off the pitch. On 3-2, Ichiro GAZED AT THE WAIST-HIGH FASTBALL RIGHT OVER THE PLATE. Mark April 24, 2004 in your calendars as The Day Jay Powell Posterized Ichiro. Say hello to the anticlutch. Yes, Ichiro, who had whiffed with the bases loaded and two out last night, had been caught looking tonight with the go-ahead run on third with one out. Brutal. Freddy got the first out in the 8th before Hank Blalock roped one out to the "sod farm" (Niehaus term) over the wall in center. He got ahead of Soriano and forced a groundout to Spiezio. Brad Fullmer then got aboard on an infield hit, and Dave Dellucci got his second hit of the game. With Freddy one out from getting the complete game (let's face it, the Mariner pitchers weren't going to pitch a 9th inning in this game, and I think everybody knew it), Bob Melvin yanked him. Freddy had thrown 107 pitches in this game after throwing 115 in his last start. I can somewhat sympathize with yanking him, but I wanted him to get out of his own mess. With the way the bullpen has been lately, would you really think that leaving the starter in a bit longer is worse than bringing in someone from a Rafael Soriano-less bullpen? Anyway, Julio Mateo came in, fell behind 2-0 on Kevin Mench, and grooved one right over the plate that Mench tagged into the gap in rightcenter to score all of Garcia's runners. Then Melvin didn't hesitate to bring in Mike Myers to face Laynce Nix, who grounded out. As Mateo was pulled, the first thought in my mind had to do with Mateo having more than enough experience in long relief to deal with hitters from both sides of the plate. So at that point, I was asking myself why the hell Mateo was pulled after facing only one hitter, Mike Myers' splits versus Laynce Nix (I don't know them) be damned. Anyway, I didn't like Freddy getting pulled, though I can see how it's somewhat defensible, but the Mateo pull seems a little dumb to me, that's all.
top 9 -- NELSON IN; Boone 2-2 OF grass 4-3; Edgar 1-2...1B CF; Olerud 0-1 8; Aurilia (1-1 fastball "by him" --Niehaus) 1-2 swing K -- That's it.
>> And to prove that the world is cruel, a 9th inning had to be played. Jeff Nelson came in to close. Boone bounced out to Soriano on the outfield grass. Edgar got aboard with a single, then Olerud flew out and Aurilia had some balls blown past him on the way to a strikeout. And with that, it ended.
How good was Freddy today? He was amazingly efficient. He was at 73 pitches through six innings. He hadn't encountered his second three-ball count of the game until there were two outs in the 6th. That's pretty much the point where the efficiency went by the wayside a bit, as Freddy went to three balls on five straight hitters over the 6th and 7th. He had 92 pitches after seven innings even after he had a little trouble with the ball low and away. Still, Freddy had gotten 22 hitters out and yielded zero runs. Even after it was all said and done, how often should a guy go 7 2/3 innings, give up three runs and lose? This is simply unjust.
Ron Fairly made that note during the game about the Mariners being futile with runners in scoring position with two outs. It's somewhat related, but Baseball Tonight gave out this rub-it-in stat: today, the Red Sox went 0-for-18 with runners in scoring position today AND WON in the Bronx. They are the first team since 1974 to be that futile with runners in scoring position and win.
Gameball: Freddy Garcia. For why, see two paragraphs ago. This guy got jobbed. Steve had noticed something about Freddy afterward...
Goat: Ichiro. 1-for-4, but the other numbers in his line are one strikeout and one stranded runner, both on the same play. So he gets the big contract extension in the offseason and he whiffs with the bases loaded last night and is caught looking with the go-ahead run on third with one out tonight. On this night, that even outdoes Quinton McCracken's sparkling 0-for-3 line stranding two along with the sacrifice bunt right back to the pitcher.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a bad baseball team.
For those who try to look on the bright side, I'll ask the question that I've seen being asked in a few places...
When does "it's still early" stop being a fallback for this team?
Franklin. Wasdin (yes, he still has a career). Tomorrow.
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