Thursday, April 29, 2004
IT JUST CONTINUES!!! MY OH MY!!!
Pedro Martinez. Tim Hudson. Eric DuBose. One of those three does not belong. The Mariners don't seem to care.
Eric DuBose not surprisingly continued his dominance over Mariner hitting that reaches back to the stretch run of last summer. Joel Pineiro was tagged for five runs, two of which were scored by the bullpen, and zero runs would have scored in that 4th inning if Bret Boone cleanly fielded the double play ball off Miguel Tejada's bat.
All in all, just another day of a Mariner starting pitcher getting screwed, and the offense not coming back, or at least not coming back when it mattered.
On other days, the starting pitching sucks, and the lead is rendered insurmountable by the offense. Not today, though.
top 1 -- Ichiro 2-0...3-1 BB; Aurilia 1st-pitch 8; Boone 2-0...2-2...full 1B LF; Edgar 2-0...2-1 6-4-3 DP
bot 1 -- Roberts 1-1 1B RF; Mora 0-2...1-2 broken-bat 1B LF; Tejada 0-2...1-2 swing K; Palmeiro 0-1 U3; J Lopez 2-0...2-2 look K
>> So, Ichiro leads off with a walk and doesn't take off. Dave Niehaus thought he might take off on 2-2, but he hasn't caught on yet. Edgar hit into a double play, and nothing happened. Joel Pineiro showed some toughness in the first, letting the first two aboard before slicing through Miguel Tejada, Raf Palmeiro, and Javy Lopez.
top 2 -- Spiezio 1-0 8; Ibanez 1-2...2-2 4-3; Cabrera 1-0 5-3
bot 2 -- Gibbons 1-2 swing K; Surhoff 1-0 6-3; Matos 0-2 1B CF; Bigbie 1-2...2-2 swing K
>> The Mariner offense did absolutely nothing. Pineiro slipped only once, allowing the two-out hit to Luis Matos.
top 3 -- Davis 0-1 3; Winn 2-0...2-1 9; Ichiro 3-1...full 6-3
bot 3 -- Roberts 1-1 1B CF; Mora 0-1 2B LCF gap (weird route Ibanez?); Tejada 1-1 Boone (muff) IF 1B (BAL 1-0); Palmeiro 0-1 1B RF scoreboard (BAL 2-0); J Lopez 0-1 E5 (BAL 3-0); Gibbons 0-2 swing K; Surhoff 1-1 8 (backward!!) (BAL 4-0); Matos 2-2 swing K
>> The Mariner offense once again did absolutely nothing. Unlike the first inning, Joel couldn't get away with letting the first two runners aboard, but he had no help from his teammates. Tejada hit what should have been a double-play ball to Bret Boone, but Boone slipped and muffed the ball as Brian Roberts scored. Palmeiro then nearly hit one out, scoring the second Baltimore run. The a ball off Javy Lopez' bat when square through the legs of Scott Spiezio at third. Frankly, I'm surprised Spiezio hadn't had a couple of those already. Rich Aurilia got his brutal play out of the way in the first few games, it seems like. Another run came in on a sacrifice fly that could have been a lot more, as Randy Winn got crossed on the BJ Surhoff ball and nearly had it fly over his head.
top 4 -- Aurilia 2-0...3-1 8; Boone 2-0...3-1...full swing K; Edgar 2-0 F9
bot 4 -- Bigbie 1-0 8; Roberts 2-0 1B CF; Mora 2-0...3-1 1B LF (Roberts out 7-6-2 at plate); Tejada 2-0...2-2 4-3
>> Eric DuBose reached the zenith of his performance here, as Edgar's flyout marked 10 straight Mariners he'd retired. The only positive in the 4th was the Ibanez/Aurilia/Davis relay play to gun down Brian Roberts at the plate. Its still 4-0 instead of 5-0!! Yaaayyy!! Ah, the joys of being a fan of the 2004 Mariners.
top 5 -- Spiezio 2-0...2-2...full BB (DAMN close); Ibanez 0-1 2B LF soft; Cabrera 2-0...2-1 4-3 (BAL 4-1); Davis 0-2...1-2 U3 (BAL 4-2); Winn 0-1 9
bot 5 -- Palmeiro 0-1 4-3; J Lopez 1-0 5-3; Gibbons 3-1 BB; Surhoff (sketchy 1-1 pickoff move) 2-1 5-3 (Spiezio nearly throws into RF)
>> Scott Spiezio probably should have struck out looking on a full count. Nonetheless, the Mariners went on with their "big inning," driving in two runs with the ever-potent RBI groundout. Two in scoring position with nobody out, and those two get in. I guess it's something. Scott Spiezio nearly threw a ball into rightfield when forcing out Jay Gibbons at second. It was the most sketchy day out of any of Spiezio's defense days as a Mariner.
top 6 -- Ichiro 1-0 5 (1-for-11 in series); Aurilia 0-2...full broken bat 4; Boone 0-2...1-2 swing K
bot 6 -- Matos 0-1 up box 1B CF; Bigbie 1-0 4-6-3 DP; Roberts 1st-pitch 4-3
>> The top of the Mariner order did absolutely nothing. Joel Pineiro got the help of a double-play ball to ward off the leadoff single by Matos.
top 7 -- Edgar 1-0 4; Spiezio 1-2...full BB; Ibanez 0-1 9; Cabrera 1st-pitch 1B CF; Davis 0-1 5-4 FC
bot 7 -- Mora 0-2 (PUTZ, MYERS WARMING)...2-2 1B LCF; Tejada 0-1 1B CF; MYERS IN; Palmeiro 2-2...full BB; PUTZ IN; J Lopez 0-2 FC 6-4 (no DP, BAL 5-2); VILLONE IN; Gibbons 0-1 1B CF (BAL 6-2); Surhoff 1-2...full BB; (JOSE BAUTISTA PR J LOPEZ) Matos 1-0 1B CF (BAL 8-2); Bigbie 0-2 look K; Roberts 1-0 1B LF (BAL 9-2) Matos run down 7-5-4-6-5
>> Spiezio drew a one-out walk and Jolbert Cabrera got aboard with two out. Bob Melvin didn't pinch-hit for Ben Davis, which may or may not be odd, depending on who you ask. Then again, it's the Mariner bench. How much better could it be? And you probably wouldn't send Dave Hansen up there against the lefty DuBose anyway. Pineior was trotted out there for the seventh. He gave up two singles and was yanked. If I were Joel, the last thing I'd want to see would be Mike Myers coming in after me with two of my runners on base. Myers didn't let Palmeiro get a hit or a homer, but that's because he walked him. Instead of being the LOOGY, Myers instead was the L0OGY (zero for letter O). JJ Putz came in, got ahead of Javy Lopez 0-2 and forced a ground ball, which wasn't quick enough for a double play, and the Orioles led by three. Putz was pulled for Ron Villone, and Villone lit the house afire, as he surrendered a triple-decker sandwich with singles as the bread/buns and walks inbetween. On the last single, the 9th Baltimore run scored and that weird 7-5-4-6-5 rundown play nailed Matos between 2nd and 3rd. What Melvin was doing with all the pitching changes in this inning, I'm just not really sure. It may or may not have made sense, but it seemed very extraneous.
top 8 -- RYAN IN; Winn 1-2...full...BB; Ichiro 1-2...(FC E3 Palmeiro off helmet, Tejada's cheek, BAL 9-3); LUIS LOPEZ IN SS; Aurilia 0-2...(1-2 close)...full BB (pitch was there); Boone 0-1 2B LF (BAL 9-5); (Niehaus' Ryan no-pitch win story) Edgar 2-2 look K (Edgar almost argues up/away); Spiezio 2-1 6-3; Ibanez 2-0...3-1...full swing K
bot 8 -- GUARDADO IN; Mora 0-2 shallow OF 4; L Lopez 3-0...full...7; Palmeiro 2-0 (Niehaus about the bat again)...3-1...full look K
>> The Mariners mounted yet another False Hope Comeback (TM), spurred by Winn's leadoff walk and Ichiro's almost-double-play ball that Palmeiro threw off Winn's helmet and off Tejada's cheek, forcing him out of the game. Winn scored on the play to bring the Mariners within six. Aurilia took a couple really close pitches that he probably should have struck out on, but he walked. Bret Boone roped a double down the line to drive in Ichiro and Aurilia. Dave Nieuahs told the story of how BJ Ryan managed to win a game a couple years ago without throwing a pitch. Edgar then mini-argued a called third strike, which he thought was high and away. Consider it makeup for that Aurilia at-bat. Spiezio bounced out and then Ibanez lost a favorable count to whiff. As for the bottom of the 8th...you can't convince me that Eddie Guardado "needed work" in a game down by four runs in the 8th. Ridiculous. I think it's a waste, bringing all these guys into a game for the second time in the series, with a weekend series at Detroit next on the bill. Granted, the Mariners haven't had too many save situations to get this guy into, but for me, this is one of those situations where you brought a billion arms into the game already...did you really need to bring another one in? Would it have killed Bob Melvin to have Ron Villone to throw just one more inning?
top 9 -- JULIO IN; Cabrera 1-2...1B RF; PH HANSEN 0-2 7; Winn 2-0 (indiff Cabrera 2nd) 4-pitch BB; Ichiro 2-0...2-1 7; Aurilia 2-2...(WP Cabrera 3rd) full swing K
>> Jorge Julio was having some control problems, but got through it. There was a leadoff single and a 4-pitch walk to Winn, but when you've got vintage Ichiro and a struggling Rich Aurilia, no sweat.
Gameball: Joel Pineiro. He didn't deserve this. Boone boots a ball (no error given though), Spiezio has one go through his legs, and it all goes to hell. Other than that, he pitched a pretty good game.
Goat: Ichiro. I had to. He was a spectacular 1-for-13 in the series, including an 0-for-4 walk in the park today. We've seen years where there's been First-Half Awesome Ichiro and Second-Half Brutal Ichiro, but this year, Ichiro seems to have skipped the Awesome part and went straight to sucking hard.
Well, y'all, the last day of April is tomorrow. The Mariners are 7-15. Is anyone looking for better uses of their time out there? Is anyone just being evil and looking to see which new way the Mariners will pick to lose that night's game?
Brutal overtold joke of the night: Heard on the PA at the Safe: "would the mother of nine kids please come to Guest Services and pick them up? They're beating the Mariners."
Scott Spiezio is batting .340. The Mariners' winning percentage is .318.
Garcia. Johnson. Tomorrow.
Garcia. Guillen. After the game. The Friday night crowd in downtown Detroit is forewarned...
[Edit ~5:35p -- To keep with the theme, Matt Thornton was sent down and Joseph Jason "Horse Hung Harry" Putz was recalled from Tacoma and pitched today. Just had to let you know.]
Eric DuBose not surprisingly continued his dominance over Mariner hitting that reaches back to the stretch run of last summer. Joel Pineiro was tagged for five runs, two of which were scored by the bullpen, and zero runs would have scored in that 4th inning if Bret Boone cleanly fielded the double play ball off Miguel Tejada's bat.
All in all, just another day of a Mariner starting pitcher getting screwed, and the offense not coming back, or at least not coming back when it mattered.
On other days, the starting pitching sucks, and the lead is rendered insurmountable by the offense. Not today, though.
top 1 -- Ichiro 2-0...3-1 BB; Aurilia 1st-pitch 8; Boone 2-0...2-2...full 1B LF; Edgar 2-0...2-1 6-4-3 DP
bot 1 -- Roberts 1-1 1B RF; Mora 0-2...1-2 broken-bat 1B LF; Tejada 0-2...1-2 swing K; Palmeiro 0-1 U3; J Lopez 2-0...2-2 look K
>> So, Ichiro leads off with a walk and doesn't take off. Dave Niehaus thought he might take off on 2-2, but he hasn't caught on yet. Edgar hit into a double play, and nothing happened. Joel Pineiro showed some toughness in the first, letting the first two aboard before slicing through Miguel Tejada, Raf Palmeiro, and Javy Lopez.
top 2 -- Spiezio 1-0 8; Ibanez 1-2...2-2 4-3; Cabrera 1-0 5-3
bot 2 -- Gibbons 1-2 swing K; Surhoff 1-0 6-3; Matos 0-2 1B CF; Bigbie 1-2...2-2 swing K
>> The Mariner offense did absolutely nothing. Pineiro slipped only once, allowing the two-out hit to Luis Matos.
top 3 -- Davis 0-1 3; Winn 2-0...2-1 9; Ichiro 3-1...full 6-3
bot 3 -- Roberts 1-1 1B CF; Mora 0-1 2B LCF gap (weird route Ibanez?); Tejada 1-1 Boone (muff) IF 1B (BAL 1-0); Palmeiro 0-1 1B RF scoreboard (BAL 2-0); J Lopez 0-1 E5 (BAL 3-0); Gibbons 0-2 swing K; Surhoff 1-1 8 (backward!!) (BAL 4-0); Matos 2-2 swing K
>> The Mariner offense once again did absolutely nothing. Unlike the first inning, Joel couldn't get away with letting the first two runners aboard, but he had no help from his teammates. Tejada hit what should have been a double-play ball to Bret Boone, but Boone slipped and muffed the ball as Brian Roberts scored. Palmeiro then nearly hit one out, scoring the second Baltimore run. The a ball off Javy Lopez' bat when square through the legs of Scott Spiezio at third. Frankly, I'm surprised Spiezio hadn't had a couple of those already. Rich Aurilia got his brutal play out of the way in the first few games, it seems like. Another run came in on a sacrifice fly that could have been a lot more, as Randy Winn got crossed on the BJ Surhoff ball and nearly had it fly over his head.
top 4 -- Aurilia 2-0...3-1 8; Boone 2-0...3-1...full swing K; Edgar 2-0 F9
bot 4 -- Bigbie 1-0 8; Roberts 2-0 1B CF; Mora 2-0...3-1 1B LF (Roberts out 7-6-2 at plate); Tejada 2-0...2-2 4-3
>> Eric DuBose reached the zenith of his performance here, as Edgar's flyout marked 10 straight Mariners he'd retired. The only positive in the 4th was the Ibanez/Aurilia/Davis relay play to gun down Brian Roberts at the plate. Its still 4-0 instead of 5-0!! Yaaayyy!! Ah, the joys of being a fan of the 2004 Mariners.
top 5 -- Spiezio 2-0...2-2...full BB (DAMN close); Ibanez 0-1 2B LF soft; Cabrera 2-0...2-1 4-3 (BAL 4-1); Davis 0-2...1-2 U3 (BAL 4-2); Winn 0-1 9
bot 5 -- Palmeiro 0-1 4-3; J Lopez 1-0 5-3; Gibbons 3-1 BB; Surhoff (sketchy 1-1 pickoff move) 2-1 5-3 (Spiezio nearly throws into RF)
>> Scott Spiezio probably should have struck out looking on a full count. Nonetheless, the Mariners went on with their "big inning," driving in two runs with the ever-potent RBI groundout. Two in scoring position with nobody out, and those two get in. I guess it's something. Scott Spiezio nearly threw a ball into rightfield when forcing out Jay Gibbons at second. It was the most sketchy day out of any of Spiezio's defense days as a Mariner.
top 6 -- Ichiro 1-0 5 (1-for-11 in series); Aurilia 0-2...full broken bat 4; Boone 0-2...1-2 swing K
bot 6 -- Matos 0-1 up box 1B CF; Bigbie 1-0 4-6-3 DP; Roberts 1st-pitch 4-3
>> The top of the Mariner order did absolutely nothing. Joel Pineiro got the help of a double-play ball to ward off the leadoff single by Matos.
top 7 -- Edgar 1-0 4; Spiezio 1-2...full BB; Ibanez 0-1 9; Cabrera 1st-pitch 1B CF; Davis 0-1 5-4 FC
bot 7 -- Mora 0-2 (PUTZ, MYERS WARMING)...2-2 1B LCF; Tejada 0-1 1B CF; MYERS IN; Palmeiro 2-2...full BB; PUTZ IN; J Lopez 0-2 FC 6-4 (no DP, BAL 5-2); VILLONE IN; Gibbons 0-1 1B CF (BAL 6-2); Surhoff 1-2...full BB; (JOSE BAUTISTA PR J LOPEZ) Matos 1-0 1B CF (BAL 8-2); Bigbie 0-2 look K; Roberts 1-0 1B LF (BAL 9-2) Matos run down 7-5-4-6-5
>> Spiezio drew a one-out walk and Jolbert Cabrera got aboard with two out. Bob Melvin didn't pinch-hit for Ben Davis, which may or may not be odd, depending on who you ask. Then again, it's the Mariner bench. How much better could it be? And you probably wouldn't send Dave Hansen up there against the lefty DuBose anyway. Pineior was trotted out there for the seventh. He gave up two singles and was yanked. If I were Joel, the last thing I'd want to see would be Mike Myers coming in after me with two of my runners on base. Myers didn't let Palmeiro get a hit or a homer, but that's because he walked him. Instead of being the LOOGY, Myers instead was the L0OGY (zero for letter O). JJ Putz came in, got ahead of Javy Lopez 0-2 and forced a ground ball, which wasn't quick enough for a double play, and the Orioles led by three. Putz was pulled for Ron Villone, and Villone lit the house afire, as he surrendered a triple-decker sandwich with singles as the bread/buns and walks inbetween. On the last single, the 9th Baltimore run scored and that weird 7-5-4-6-5 rundown play nailed Matos between 2nd and 3rd. What Melvin was doing with all the pitching changes in this inning, I'm just not really sure. It may or may not have made sense, but it seemed very extraneous.
top 8 -- RYAN IN; Winn 1-2...full...BB; Ichiro 1-2...(FC E3 Palmeiro off helmet, Tejada's cheek, BAL 9-3); LUIS LOPEZ IN SS; Aurilia 0-2...(1-2 close)...full BB (pitch was there); Boone 0-1 2B LF (BAL 9-5); (Niehaus' Ryan no-pitch win story) Edgar 2-2 look K (Edgar almost argues up/away); Spiezio 2-1 6-3; Ibanez 2-0...3-1...full swing K
bot 8 -- GUARDADO IN; Mora 0-2 shallow OF 4; L Lopez 3-0...full...7; Palmeiro 2-0 (Niehaus about the bat again)...3-1...full look K
>> The Mariners mounted yet another False Hope Comeback (TM), spurred by Winn's leadoff walk and Ichiro's almost-double-play ball that Palmeiro threw off Winn's helmet and off Tejada's cheek, forcing him out of the game. Winn scored on the play to bring the Mariners within six. Aurilia took a couple really close pitches that he probably should have struck out on, but he walked. Bret Boone roped a double down the line to drive in Ichiro and Aurilia. Dave Nieuahs told the story of how BJ Ryan managed to win a game a couple years ago without throwing a pitch. Edgar then mini-argued a called third strike, which he thought was high and away. Consider it makeup for that Aurilia at-bat. Spiezio bounced out and then Ibanez lost a favorable count to whiff. As for the bottom of the 8th...you can't convince me that Eddie Guardado "needed work" in a game down by four runs in the 8th. Ridiculous. I think it's a waste, bringing all these guys into a game for the second time in the series, with a weekend series at Detroit next on the bill. Granted, the Mariners haven't had too many save situations to get this guy into, but for me, this is one of those situations where you brought a billion arms into the game already...did you really need to bring another one in? Would it have killed Bob Melvin to have Ron Villone to throw just one more inning?
top 9 -- JULIO IN; Cabrera 1-2...1B RF; PH HANSEN 0-2 7; Winn 2-0 (indiff Cabrera 2nd) 4-pitch BB; Ichiro 2-0...2-1 7; Aurilia 2-2...(WP Cabrera 3rd) full swing K
>> Jorge Julio was having some control problems, but got through it. There was a leadoff single and a 4-pitch walk to Winn, but when you've got vintage Ichiro and a struggling Rich Aurilia, no sweat.
Gameball: Joel Pineiro. He didn't deserve this. Boone boots a ball (no error given though), Spiezio has one go through his legs, and it all goes to hell. Other than that, he pitched a pretty good game.
Goat: Ichiro. I had to. He was a spectacular 1-for-13 in the series, including an 0-for-4 walk in the park today. We've seen years where there's been First-Half Awesome Ichiro and Second-Half Brutal Ichiro, but this year, Ichiro seems to have skipped the Awesome part and went straight to sucking hard.
Well, y'all, the last day of April is tomorrow. The Mariners are 7-15. Is anyone looking for better uses of their time out there? Is anyone just being evil and looking to see which new way the Mariners will pick to lose that night's game?
Brutal overtold joke of the night: Heard on the PA at the Safe: "would the mother of nine kids please come to Guest Services and pick them up? They're beating the Mariners."
Scott Spiezio is batting .340. The Mariners' winning percentage is .318.
Garcia. Johnson. Tomorrow.
Garcia. Guillen. After the game. The Friday night crowd in downtown Detroit is forewarned...
[Edit ~5:35p -- To keep with the theme, Matt Thornton was sent down and Joseph Jason "Horse Hung Harry" Putz was recalled from Tacoma and pitched today. Just had to let you know.]
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