Saturday, July 31, 2004
DREADLINE
The Mariners inflicted the big inning onto their opponents today, but Travis Blackley still couldn't get out of the 5th inning.
Both Kelvim Escobar and Travis Blackley got through the first two innings unscathed. However, the Mariners worked Escobar for a 29-pitch 2nd inning, yet only managed to strand Edgar Martinez on second with two out. Edgar worked Escobar for a leadoff eight-pitch walk.
Then came the ever-elusive big inning for the Mariners. Miguel Olivo got a nice fat pitch on 3-1 and belted it over the leftfield fence to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. Consecutive singles by Ichiro, Randy Winn, and Bret Boone plated another run (2-0). Edgar got down 0-2 and struck out four pitches later. Raul Ibanez got a pitch to drive on 2-2 and scaled the scoreboard in rightcenter to cap the big inning at 5-0 Mariners.
What would 21-year-old Aussie Blackley do with a 5-run lead? In the 3rd, it involved 34 pitches. Only Adam Kennedy and Chone Figgins reached base, and only advanced with two out on a 2-2 wild pitch to Garret Anderson, who lined out to Ichiro later in the at-bat. The problem? It turns out Adam Kennedy and David Eckstein aren't the only pesky guys on this Angel team. With a 2-1 count, Chone Figgins proceeded to foul off the next five pitches. Figgins took a pitch to push the count full, and fouled off the next two pitches, before the young Aussie caved in and walked him. End result: 34 pitches in the inning for Blackley, with 12 of them being to Figgins.
That said, Blackley threw a scoreless 34-pitch inning in the 3rd. He would not be so lucky in the 4th. Mariner fans saw Vlad Guerrero pitch one out of the bunker and over the leftfield fence the other night, but today they were treated to a laser beam to the leftfield stands which took about 0.25 seconds to go from bat to stands (5-1 Mariners). Jose Guillen singled and Robb Quinlan (hot bat) doubled before Tim Salmon proved his washed-upness by fouling out to Scott Spiezio at first. Bengie Molina hit a sufficiently deep fly ball to score Guillen and move Quinlan to third (Randy Winn in centerfield, 5-2 Mariners). Quinlan would score on a Miguel Olivo passed ball with Adam Kennedy at the plate (5-3 Mariners).
The Mariners would add a run in the 5th in what to me is a microcosm of the 2004 Mariner offense: three singles and a double play, with the run scoring from third (6-3 Mariners). I'd like to congratulate Scott Spiezio for driving in that run...oh, wait. That doesn't count as an RBI. You gotta love these guys!
Blackley came out to face the top of the Angel lineup in the 5th. Eckstein and Figgins needed only three pitches between them to both hit singles. Garret Anderson proved once again to not be his Mariner-bashing self, flying out to Ichiro. Blackley walked Guerrero (that happens??) to load the bases and get yanked in favor of Scott Atchison. Blackley left with the lead, but couldn't qualify for the win anyway, having not pitched five innings.
With the bases loaded and one out, Atchison proceeded to let two of Blackley's runs cross the plate. Jose Guillen would single to score Eckstein (he had a hell of a day, SEA 6-4) and Robb Quinlan drove in Figgins, but on the same play Vlad was nailed in the shoulder by Jolbert Cabrera's throw, then ran through the stop sign at third base and was tagged out by Olivo in a rundown play (Seattle 6-5). Salmon then followed with an obligatory strikeout.
Scoring plays from the 6th-8th were simple, as Jose Guillen hit a single off Atchison to plate Garret Anderson from second to tie the game (6-6). In the 8th, Shigetoshi Hasegawa was victim to a pesky David Eckstein single to drive in Darin Erstad from third to give the Angels the lead (7-6).
Also of note in the Mariner 7th was Bengie Molina taking a wild pitch off his finger. Though I only caught for one year back in my youth, I know how the fingers feel after shots like that. Bad times, bad times. This put a second Angel on the shelf after Vlad came out of the game after Jolbert Cabrera beaned him with the throw.
Rather than just lay down for Troy Percival and let Mariner fans kick back and enjoy the rest of their afternoons, Ichiro decided he'd help waste another half-hour or so of their time by ripping the first pitch over the wall in rightfield to tie the game again (7-7). The Angel half of the 9th featured Jose Guillen singling off JJ Putz, then getting nailed trying to steal second by Olivo to end the inning. Dan Wilson's nice, but he can't do THAT.
Then Putz came on in the 10th and walked Salmon to lead off. Not good. Josh Paul laid down a textbook bunt to move Alfredo Amezaga (pinch-running) to second. Adam Kennedy was walked to keep the possible inning-ending double play in order. David Eckstein came to the plate and was immediately nailed in the knee with a Putz fastball. Eckstein knew the pitch was going to be inside, and jumped away from the plate, but the ball was knee-bound. He probably would have been better off letting the ball go behind him, but flopping forward over the plate isn't exactly a reaction of instinct when a ball is coming inside at you. Somehow, Eckstein managed to shake off the beanball and trot out to first. Putz then got Figgins with a clutch strikeout before George Sherrill was summoned to face Garret Anderson. What followed were three pretty weak-looking waves at the ball from Garret at stuff breaking low and away.
The Mariners scored the way they wish they could've done all year in the 11th, in a sequence of single (Ichiro), bunt (Winn), and RBI single (Boone) to give the Mariners an 8-7 lead; warm up Eddie Guardado, the Mariners might have a chance!! Somewhat disappointing were the whiffs by Bucky Jacobsen and Ibanez, stranding Boone at first.
An 8-7 lead with Eddie Guardado coming on to nail it down. Surely he'll bounce back from the other day and put this one away, right? That's what closers do, after all. Not so fast. Curtis Pride singled on a full count. Jose Guillen got up and capped his hell of a day. He got a belt-high (approx) ball over the inside corner and simply covered/golfed it out over the leftfield fence. Angels 9-8, and yes, that's a final.
Two ties, three lead changes. That's a topsy-turvy one for you.
Gameball: Raul Ibanez. I'm only selling out for today, on the heels of a 3-for-5 day with the three-run homer. All the while on the Fox telecast, Rex "The Pot-Smoking Wonder Dog" Hudler was mentioning right before the homer that Raul had been hitting something like .215 with runners in scoring position. I remember Ron Fairly used to have an opposite knack, either using stats or saying "wouldn't a homer out of (Mariner hitter) be nice right about now?" and then having it actually happen. On another Fox crew note, it was Josh Lewin and Hudler in the booth today. Viewers withstood Lewin (Ranger TV guy) asking Hudler (Angel guy) whether they'd "throw down" in the booth like the Angels and Rangers did in batting practice not long ago. On another occasion, Hudler described a baseball attribute called "stink," which I think was in reference to David Eckstein. Apparently, "stink" is a good thing, something you don't smell, but can feel, and Lenny Dykstra had a lot of "stink." Rex Hudler, you amaze us all.
Goat: Travis Blackley. 4 1/3 innings, 5 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 95 pitches (61 strikes). Blackley's ERA stands at 10.04 after six starts in the Majors. I know there weren't a billion walks this time, but he hasn't made it past the 6th inning in any of his six starts. With no immediate signs of him being more efficient and stretching out, how much longer can they justify keeping him with the big club? I want him to develop in Seattle as much as the next guy, but with an ERA over 10 after six starts, would it be better if he found his groove again in Tacoma? This is getting almost saddening to watch.
You know the funny part about all this? The dog days of August don't start until tomorrow.
Franklin. Colon. Tomorrow.
[Edit ~9:08p -- From the wire article: The Mariners are 19-for-38 this year in save opportunities, they've blown 5-0 leads in three of the last six games, and I totally forgot to mention the Major League debut of Jose Lopez.]
Both Kelvim Escobar and Travis Blackley got through the first two innings unscathed. However, the Mariners worked Escobar for a 29-pitch 2nd inning, yet only managed to strand Edgar Martinez on second with two out. Edgar worked Escobar for a leadoff eight-pitch walk.
Then came the ever-elusive big inning for the Mariners. Miguel Olivo got a nice fat pitch on 3-1 and belted it over the leftfield fence to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. Consecutive singles by Ichiro, Randy Winn, and Bret Boone plated another run (2-0). Edgar got down 0-2 and struck out four pitches later. Raul Ibanez got a pitch to drive on 2-2 and scaled the scoreboard in rightcenter to cap the big inning at 5-0 Mariners.
What would 21-year-old Aussie Blackley do with a 5-run lead? In the 3rd, it involved 34 pitches. Only Adam Kennedy and Chone Figgins reached base, and only advanced with two out on a 2-2 wild pitch to Garret Anderson, who lined out to Ichiro later in the at-bat. The problem? It turns out Adam Kennedy and David Eckstein aren't the only pesky guys on this Angel team. With a 2-1 count, Chone Figgins proceeded to foul off the next five pitches. Figgins took a pitch to push the count full, and fouled off the next two pitches, before the young Aussie caved in and walked him. End result: 34 pitches in the inning for Blackley, with 12 of them being to Figgins.
That said, Blackley threw a scoreless 34-pitch inning in the 3rd. He would not be so lucky in the 4th. Mariner fans saw Vlad Guerrero pitch one out of the bunker and over the leftfield fence the other night, but today they were treated to a laser beam to the leftfield stands which took about 0.25 seconds to go from bat to stands (5-1 Mariners). Jose Guillen singled and Robb Quinlan (hot bat) doubled before Tim Salmon proved his washed-upness by fouling out to Scott Spiezio at first. Bengie Molina hit a sufficiently deep fly ball to score Guillen and move Quinlan to third (Randy Winn in centerfield, 5-2 Mariners). Quinlan would score on a Miguel Olivo passed ball with Adam Kennedy at the plate (5-3 Mariners).
The Mariners would add a run in the 5th in what to me is a microcosm of the 2004 Mariner offense: three singles and a double play, with the run scoring from third (6-3 Mariners). I'd like to congratulate Scott Spiezio for driving in that run...oh, wait. That doesn't count as an RBI. You gotta love these guys!
Blackley came out to face the top of the Angel lineup in the 5th. Eckstein and Figgins needed only three pitches between them to both hit singles. Garret Anderson proved once again to not be his Mariner-bashing self, flying out to Ichiro. Blackley walked Guerrero (that happens??) to load the bases and get yanked in favor of Scott Atchison. Blackley left with the lead, but couldn't qualify for the win anyway, having not pitched five innings.
With the bases loaded and one out, Atchison proceeded to let two of Blackley's runs cross the plate. Jose Guillen would single to score Eckstein (he had a hell of a day, SEA 6-4) and Robb Quinlan drove in Figgins, but on the same play Vlad was nailed in the shoulder by Jolbert Cabrera's throw, then ran through the stop sign at third base and was tagged out by Olivo in a rundown play (Seattle 6-5). Salmon then followed with an obligatory strikeout.
Scoring plays from the 6th-8th were simple, as Jose Guillen hit a single off Atchison to plate Garret Anderson from second to tie the game (6-6). In the 8th, Shigetoshi Hasegawa was victim to a pesky David Eckstein single to drive in Darin Erstad from third to give the Angels the lead (7-6).
Also of note in the Mariner 7th was Bengie Molina taking a wild pitch off his finger. Though I only caught for one year back in my youth, I know how the fingers feel after shots like that. Bad times, bad times. This put a second Angel on the shelf after Vlad came out of the game after Jolbert Cabrera beaned him with the throw.
Rather than just lay down for Troy Percival and let Mariner fans kick back and enjoy the rest of their afternoons, Ichiro decided he'd help waste another half-hour or so of their time by ripping the first pitch over the wall in rightfield to tie the game again (7-7). The Angel half of the 9th featured Jose Guillen singling off JJ Putz, then getting nailed trying to steal second by Olivo to end the inning. Dan Wilson's nice, but he can't do THAT.
Then Putz came on in the 10th and walked Salmon to lead off. Not good. Josh Paul laid down a textbook bunt to move Alfredo Amezaga (pinch-running) to second. Adam Kennedy was walked to keep the possible inning-ending double play in order. David Eckstein came to the plate and was immediately nailed in the knee with a Putz fastball. Eckstein knew the pitch was going to be inside, and jumped away from the plate, but the ball was knee-bound. He probably would have been better off letting the ball go behind him, but flopping forward over the plate isn't exactly a reaction of instinct when a ball is coming inside at you. Somehow, Eckstein managed to shake off the beanball and trot out to first. Putz then got Figgins with a clutch strikeout before George Sherrill was summoned to face Garret Anderson. What followed were three pretty weak-looking waves at the ball from Garret at stuff breaking low and away.
The Mariners scored the way they wish they could've done all year in the 11th, in a sequence of single (Ichiro), bunt (Winn), and RBI single (Boone) to give the Mariners an 8-7 lead; warm up Eddie Guardado, the Mariners might have a chance!! Somewhat disappointing were the whiffs by Bucky Jacobsen and Ibanez, stranding Boone at first.
An 8-7 lead with Eddie Guardado coming on to nail it down. Surely he'll bounce back from the other day and put this one away, right? That's what closers do, after all. Not so fast. Curtis Pride singled on a full count. Jose Guillen got up and capped his hell of a day. He got a belt-high (approx) ball over the inside corner and simply covered/golfed it out over the leftfield fence. Angels 9-8, and yes, that's a final.
Two ties, three lead changes. That's a topsy-turvy one for you.
Gameball: Raul Ibanez. I'm only selling out for today, on the heels of a 3-for-5 day with the three-run homer. All the while on the Fox telecast, Rex "The Pot-Smoking Wonder Dog" Hudler was mentioning right before the homer that Raul had been hitting something like .215 with runners in scoring position. I remember Ron Fairly used to have an opposite knack, either using stats or saying "wouldn't a homer out of (Mariner hitter) be nice right about now?" and then having it actually happen. On another Fox crew note, it was Josh Lewin and Hudler in the booth today. Viewers withstood Lewin (Ranger TV guy) asking Hudler (Angel guy) whether they'd "throw down" in the booth like the Angels and Rangers did in batting practice not long ago. On another occasion, Hudler described a baseball attribute called "stink," which I think was in reference to David Eckstein. Apparently, "stink" is a good thing, something you don't smell, but can feel, and Lenny Dykstra had a lot of "stink." Rex Hudler, you amaze us all.
Goat: Travis Blackley. 4 1/3 innings, 5 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 95 pitches (61 strikes). Blackley's ERA stands at 10.04 after six starts in the Majors. I know there weren't a billion walks this time, but he hasn't made it past the 6th inning in any of his six starts. With no immediate signs of him being more efficient and stretching out, how much longer can they justify keeping him with the big club? I want him to develop in Seattle as much as the next guy, but with an ERA over 10 after six starts, would it be better if he found his groove again in Tacoma? This is getting almost saddening to watch.
You know the funny part about all this? The dog days of August don't start until tomorrow.
Franklin. Colon. Tomorrow.
[Edit ~9:08p -- From the wire article: The Mariners are 19-for-38 this year in save opportunities, they've blown 5-0 leads in three of the last six games, and I totally forgot to mention the Major League debut of Jose Lopez.]
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