Sunday, July 25, 2004
ANGEL DUST
Though I didn't see the entire game tonight, I'll try to see if I can pick out any positives...
-- The Randy Winn/Raul Ibanez double steal got Bengie Molina to make a wild throw into center(Winn scored), so I guess the Mariners may have actually forced the play there. Imagine that.
-- In the 5th, Ichiro beat David Eckstein's throw to get aboard. For some reason, the Angels pitched out on 2-1, leaving Aaron Sele to face Randy Winn with Ichiro on second and a 3-1 count. Ichiro took off, and Winn drove one into the LCF gap for a triple.
-- JJ Putz didn't give up a run in the 9th. Every other Mariner pitcher didn't fare as well.
Before I say anything else here, I must say one thing. I know I've been gone and not totally in the know over the last six weeks (i.e., I've been hearing nothing more than broadcasts and ESPN Radio), but it sure seems to me like the broadcast crew grossly overrates how well Ron Villone's starts are actually going. I was listening to Dave Henderson on the radio today (yes, my IQ did decrease) saying that part of Villone's "success" was due to him being "effectively wild," in turn keeping the hitters off balance. If you're a young Randy Johnson with mid- to high-90s stuff and can handle huge workloads, great. If you're Ron Villone, all that being effectively wild does is put a bunch of runners on base, ramp up your pitch count, and burn the bullpen. I know I'm saying this even though he's the spot starter, and there should be a lower expectation there, but man, I just don't think he's doing all that great.
No Vlad Guerrero? No Garret Anderson? No problem at all, says Robb Quinlan, who went nuts by hitting a solo shot on a cheap fly ball to rightfield, and drove in three runs total. Also, Bengie freakin' Molina managed to grab a hat trick's worth of hits.
The big blows, though, belonged to Darin Erstad and Josh Paul in the 7th. Julio Mateo had been yanked after Quinlan's game-tying RBI double. Mike Myers came in to face Darin Erstad (lefty/lefty, you know) and a 1-2 pitch was straight down Broadway. Erstad, well, HE GOT ALL OF IT!! Wire story says 415 feet. That gave the Angels the lead they would never relinquish, and then Josh Paul mashed one over the Mariner pen for his first of the year to rub it in.
You know, when I was at field camp (yes, still glad to be done with it), there was an optional field trip day/off day originally scheduled at the end of the first week. That optional field trip was then made mandatory. Angry and sports-deprived, I went to Bleachers in Bend at the end of the second week and saw some much-needed baseball and one of the first things I saw was Francisco Rodriguez throwing that filthy slider. Man alive. When he threw in tonight's game, and they had the behind-the-plate camera view going, it was just sick. He could probably throw a 40-foot slider and I'd hack at it and corkscrew myself into the ground.
Gameball: Randy Winn. 2-for-4 with a walk, triple, steal, and 2 RBI
Goat: Bucky Jacobsen. 0-for-4 with a strikeout, stranding five runners. If there's any Backers out there reading this, I will defend myself by saying that if I was in full posting capacity over the last six weeks, you can bet the ranch that Bucky would have gotten a couple of gameballs.
Ortiz (Washburn was scratched). Pineiro. Tomorrow.
-- The Randy Winn/Raul Ibanez double steal got Bengie Molina to make a wild throw into center(Winn scored), so I guess the Mariners may have actually forced the play there. Imagine that.
-- In the 5th, Ichiro beat David Eckstein's throw to get aboard. For some reason, the Angels pitched out on 2-1, leaving Aaron Sele to face Randy Winn with Ichiro on second and a 3-1 count. Ichiro took off, and Winn drove one into the LCF gap for a triple.
-- JJ Putz didn't give up a run in the 9th. Every other Mariner pitcher didn't fare as well.
Before I say anything else here, I must say one thing. I know I've been gone and not totally in the know over the last six weeks (i.e., I've been hearing nothing more than broadcasts and ESPN Radio), but it sure seems to me like the broadcast crew grossly overrates how well Ron Villone's starts are actually going. I was listening to Dave Henderson on the radio today (yes, my IQ did decrease) saying that part of Villone's "success" was due to him being "effectively wild," in turn keeping the hitters off balance. If you're a young Randy Johnson with mid- to high-90s stuff and can handle huge workloads, great. If you're Ron Villone, all that being effectively wild does is put a bunch of runners on base, ramp up your pitch count, and burn the bullpen. I know I'm saying this even though he's the spot starter, and there should be a lower expectation there, but man, I just don't think he's doing all that great.
No Vlad Guerrero? No Garret Anderson? No problem at all, says Robb Quinlan, who went nuts by hitting a solo shot on a cheap fly ball to rightfield, and drove in three runs total. Also, Bengie freakin' Molina managed to grab a hat trick's worth of hits.
The big blows, though, belonged to Darin Erstad and Josh Paul in the 7th. Julio Mateo had been yanked after Quinlan's game-tying RBI double. Mike Myers came in to face Darin Erstad (lefty/lefty, you know) and a 1-2 pitch was straight down Broadway. Erstad, well, HE GOT ALL OF IT!! Wire story says 415 feet. That gave the Angels the lead they would never relinquish, and then Josh Paul mashed one over the Mariner pen for his first of the year to rub it in.
You know, when I was at field camp (yes, still glad to be done with it), there was an optional field trip day/off day originally scheduled at the end of the first week. That optional field trip was then made mandatory. Angry and sports-deprived, I went to Bleachers in Bend at the end of the second week and saw some much-needed baseball and one of the first things I saw was Francisco Rodriguez throwing that filthy slider. Man alive. When he threw in tonight's game, and they had the behind-the-plate camera view going, it was just sick. He could probably throw a 40-foot slider and I'd hack at it and corkscrew myself into the ground.
Gameball: Randy Winn. 2-for-4 with a walk, triple, steal, and 2 RBI
Goat: Bucky Jacobsen. 0-for-4 with a strikeout, stranding five runners. If there's any Backers out there reading this, I will defend myself by saying that if I was in full posting capacity over the last six weeks, you can bet the ranch that Bucky would have gotten a couple of gameballs.
Ortiz (Washburn was scratched). Pineiro. Tomorrow.
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