Tuesday, July 27, 2004
WALK ON
"I know it aches, how your heart it breaks..." --Bono, U2, "Walk On"
Walk on they did, as the Mariner pitching staff allowed 14 free passes tonight on the way to a 14-5 stinker of a loss to the Oakland A's. All in all, what a great start to a 14-game road trip. By the way, Ichiro's hitting streak is edging out the Mariners' road losing streak by a margin of 18-13.
I'd like to start out by saying that I left the house right after Travis Blackley got out of the jam in the second, and mowed down the A's 1-2-3 in the 3rd. The Mariners had a 5-0 lead a half-inning later, and Blackley had walked only two batters. Blackley was missing with the claw/cricket changeup at that point, but as they'd tell us back in Legion ball, Travis "lived down," with an alternative version of that adage being "if you're going to miss, miss low." Of course, it goes without saying that you can't miss too much, and I feel safe saying that even though I didn't see the innings after that, that's more than likely what happened.
In the early innings, the Mariners staked out the Aussie to a 5-0 lead, thanks in part to RBI singles by Raul Ibanez and Ichiro, a Justin Leone moon shot, and (what's this?) a 2-run double into the LCF gap by Willie Bloomquist. I have to say, it might be a slam-moratorium here at Sports and B's tonight for Willie Bloomquist, unless I make him partially to blame on Scott Hatteberg's RBI "double" in the 8th that got between him, Randy Winn, and Ibanez, but it's mostly Winn's fault. On a truly nit-picky note, Bloomquist was way out on his front foot hitting that ball, but you can't argue with results in this instance. The other reason for the Mariners' early surge in offense was the lack of sharpitude from Barry Zito. The big 75 was missing high with his curveball, leaving the Mariner hitters to guess between only the fastball and the changeup, while laying off the obvious out pitch. The only time I saw Zito's curve in top form was the triple-whiff Bret Boone strikeout to lead off the third. A refreshing moment was when Zito tried to sneak a fastball past Edgar Martinez to lead off the 2nd, but Edgar mashed it to left for a double.
And since I missed most of the ruckus involved with the retracted Fox Sports report saying that Joel Pineiro had a torn elbow ligament and would need ligament replacement (i.e., Tommy John) surgery, I guess I'm glad I didn't get too caught up in it. That said, I probably think there's nothing to gain if the Mariners think Joel and Raf Soriano should see the mound for the big club this year. They won't be 100%, the team's not in a pennant race; shut them down, or just have them do sim games, throw on the side, winter ball, who knows. I just don't think there's any benefit to having them on the big club for the rest of the year. That said, Bobby Madritsch, here's your rotation spot, now do something with it. That's what I'd tell him, at least.
Before I toss out the gameball and goat, I'll throw in two bonuses here that come with me waiting for the phone line to clear up (damn 56k).
Bonus number one: Travis Blackley is 21 years old.
The guy above is 18 in the picture, but is 22 now. He's only about 15-20 pounds heavier at the moment, and just took some decent hacks (batting cage) the other day. He's okay defensively and has no worse than a Randy Winn arm. Luis Ugueto's on the AAA team, right? This guy at least has to get a Tacoma spot, but he'll totally settle for a spot on the San Antonio roster.
Bonus number two: I jotted notes from KJR's Baseball's Best Postgame Show, which tonight was Jason Puckett flying solo, doing a half-hour by himself, but taking no calls. It may remind you of the Canuck radio postgame jotting I did a few months ago. Enjoy...
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KJR POSTGAME (Jason Puckett monologue)
What a great way to start the trip. Joel Pineiro will miss some time. Not a pretty ballgame. Unable to get anything going. Travis Blackley wild, 9 walks. Lead of 5-0 blown. 3rd inning was his best. Only good outing is the Houston Astros (ed.: actually Texas, I think). Probably not ready for Major League. Nageotte and Thornton sent down right away after having control problems. Walks too plentiful. One might say it's exactly what Blackley needs (5-0 lead). In the 4th, against Kotsay, if he gets out of that situation, he gives up less runs.
Mariners get their hits, Ichiro. Pitching staff can't control itself though. Blackley 4 IP, 3 hits, walks 9, 6 ER, 94 pitches (41 strikes). Sherrill 1 IP. Putz 4 H, 5 R (4 ER), 21 pitches (9 strikes). Young'uns not getting it done right now. Nerves or whatever it is is haunting the Mariners right now. Mariners had 5-0 lead, then Kielty walked, Miller singled, got dangerous when Byrnes walked. Scutaro popped up (big out, 2 outs). Got two strikes on Kotsay, who battles back. Breaking ball broke over, didn't get call. Fastball was (umpire) low and away. Melvin and Price (ejected when Crosby was up) mad at the call. Chavez singled, Crosby nailed at third by Bucky. SEA 5-4, but Oakland came back against Sherrill, walking too many guys, putting too many on base. SEA had opportunities, Zito not sharp.
Mariners scoring runs early and getting to starting pitchers, which they did in the homestand.
One good start against Houston. Blackley booed when he gave up three home runs in a game. This is supposedly the cream of the crop of the pitching, but have we seen anything yet? Has anyone thoroughly impressed you? Nageotte's first start was awesome. Blackley's first start was good. It was fun. Is it living up to the hype right now? One might say no, but what were really the expectations for the Blackleys, Nageottes, Putzes, etc.? This team is 21 games under .500. They're not working on getting back into the race, they're getting ready and developing players for next season. This is part of the growing pains.
Mariners 12 hits, but only 5 runs. Innings 4-8 did the damage for Oakland, namely the 4th-6th (12 runs). Offense for Mariners is Ichiro (3-5, RBI 2 LOB), Ibanez (1-5, 6 LOB), Mariners total 19 LOB. Leone another mammoth HR (3rd, 4 LOB). One thing encouraging about Leone is power to CF, problem is offspeed stuff. For Oakland, Kotsay 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI. Lost Chavez, but stayed in race, Chavez 3 hits. Miller, Byrnes 3 hits each.
How can Oakland continue to do what they've done, losing stars and getting injured? Impressive to watch.
Young Seattle pitching staff continuing to show its youth. From not missing a start last year to becoming big concern. Pineiro has strained flexor bundle, experienced some soreness in 8th inning last night. Not a ligament tear. FOX Sports originally reported ligament tear and ligament replacement surgery, later retracted. Will be reevaluated after the road trip. That's Pineiro and Soriano that are on the shelf, possibly shut down for the rest of the season (who knows?). Would you even try to bring these guys back this year? Is it worth it even if they're 90% healthy? Might be running risks; how much would they have to gain from late-season action? Pineiro might not have serious ligament damage, but this is a pitching elbow. You don't want to risk anything, especially with the histories the Mariners have had with Ryan Anderson, Meche, etc. Somewhat scary for organization banking on young arms...don't want to say they've failed yet. Blackley hasn't had enough experience yet, but you can't be pleased about the amount of walks that all of these young guys have been giving up.
Zito wasn't awful, but was missing high with the curve and missing with the fastball.
Does Villone stay in rotation? Give a shot to Bobby Madritsch in the rotation? Something so concrete over the last few years (rotation) seems suddenly not so stable.
14 BB given up by Mariner pitching.
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Gameball: Edgar Martinez. 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. I really liked the double I saw him hit tonight, and I also saw the walk. I know the legs won't come back, but if the eye does, maybe we'll all be treated to some more magic out of that bat than we've been seeing these first four months.
Goat: Raul Ibanez. 1-for-5, 1 RBI, stranding six. The one hit was a nice hit, I'll give him that. Stranding six runners though...all I think of the guy when he steps to the plate is "they overpaid for the guy...they overpaid for the guy..." When he gets a hit, it makes me think for a second that "okay, they're getting some return from the investment..." When he strands six runners, I think about instigating a chunk-spewing session, which in this case would involve digested Taco Bell Grilled Stuft Burrito (beef, if you were wondering).
Will Ichiro make it 19? Will the Mariners make it 14? Only tomorrow will tell...
Franklin. Redman. Tomorrow.
Walk on they did, as the Mariner pitching staff allowed 14 free passes tonight on the way to a 14-5 stinker of a loss to the Oakland A's. All in all, what a great start to a 14-game road trip. By the way, Ichiro's hitting streak is edging out the Mariners' road losing streak by a margin of 18-13.
I'd like to start out by saying that I left the house right after Travis Blackley got out of the jam in the second, and mowed down the A's 1-2-3 in the 3rd. The Mariners had a 5-0 lead a half-inning later, and Blackley had walked only two batters. Blackley was missing with the claw/cricket changeup at that point, but as they'd tell us back in Legion ball, Travis "lived down," with an alternative version of that adage being "if you're going to miss, miss low." Of course, it goes without saying that you can't miss too much, and I feel safe saying that even though I didn't see the innings after that, that's more than likely what happened.
In the early innings, the Mariners staked out the Aussie to a 5-0 lead, thanks in part to RBI singles by Raul Ibanez and Ichiro, a Justin Leone moon shot, and (what's this?) a 2-run double into the LCF gap by Willie Bloomquist. I have to say, it might be a slam-moratorium here at Sports and B's tonight for Willie Bloomquist, unless I make him partially to blame on Scott Hatteberg's RBI "double" in the 8th that got between him, Randy Winn, and Ibanez, but it's mostly Winn's fault. On a truly nit-picky note, Bloomquist was way out on his front foot hitting that ball, but you can't argue with results in this instance. The other reason for the Mariners' early surge in offense was the lack of sharpitude from Barry Zito. The big 75 was missing high with his curveball, leaving the Mariner hitters to guess between only the fastball and the changeup, while laying off the obvious out pitch. The only time I saw Zito's curve in top form was the triple-whiff Bret Boone strikeout to lead off the third. A refreshing moment was when Zito tried to sneak a fastball past Edgar Martinez to lead off the 2nd, but Edgar mashed it to left for a double.
And since I missed most of the ruckus involved with the retracted Fox Sports report saying that Joel Pineiro had a torn elbow ligament and would need ligament replacement (i.e., Tommy John) surgery, I guess I'm glad I didn't get too caught up in it. That said, I probably think there's nothing to gain if the Mariners think Joel and Raf Soriano should see the mound for the big club this year. They won't be 100%, the team's not in a pennant race; shut them down, or just have them do sim games, throw on the side, winter ball, who knows. I just don't think there's any benefit to having them on the big club for the rest of the year. That said, Bobby Madritsch, here's your rotation spot, now do something with it. That's what I'd tell him, at least.
Before I toss out the gameball and goat, I'll throw in two bonuses here that come with me waiting for the phone line to clear up (damn 56k).
Bonus number one: Travis Blackley is 21 years old.
The guy above is 18 in the picture, but is 22 now. He's only about 15-20 pounds heavier at the moment, and just took some decent hacks (batting cage) the other day. He's okay defensively and has no worse than a Randy Winn arm. Luis Ugueto's on the AAA team, right? This guy at least has to get a Tacoma spot, but he'll totally settle for a spot on the San Antonio roster.
Bonus number two: I jotted notes from KJR's Baseball's Best Postgame Show, which tonight was Jason Puckett flying solo, doing a half-hour by himself, but taking no calls. It may remind you of the Canuck radio postgame jotting I did a few months ago. Enjoy...
---
KJR POSTGAME (Jason Puckett monologue)
What a great way to start the trip. Joel Pineiro will miss some time. Not a pretty ballgame. Unable to get anything going. Travis Blackley wild, 9 walks. Lead of 5-0 blown. 3rd inning was his best. Only good outing is the Houston Astros (ed.: actually Texas, I think). Probably not ready for Major League. Nageotte and Thornton sent down right away after having control problems. Walks too plentiful. One might say it's exactly what Blackley needs (5-0 lead). In the 4th, against Kotsay, if he gets out of that situation, he gives up less runs.
Mariners get their hits, Ichiro. Pitching staff can't control itself though. Blackley 4 IP, 3 hits, walks 9, 6 ER, 94 pitches (41 strikes). Sherrill 1 IP. Putz 4 H, 5 R (4 ER), 21 pitches (9 strikes). Young'uns not getting it done right now. Nerves or whatever it is is haunting the Mariners right now. Mariners had 5-0 lead, then Kielty walked, Miller singled, got dangerous when Byrnes walked. Scutaro popped up (big out, 2 outs). Got two strikes on Kotsay, who battles back. Breaking ball broke over, didn't get call. Fastball was (umpire) low and away. Melvin and Price (ejected when Crosby was up) mad at the call. Chavez singled, Crosby nailed at third by Bucky. SEA 5-4, but Oakland came back against Sherrill, walking too many guys, putting too many on base. SEA had opportunities, Zito not sharp.
Mariners scoring runs early and getting to starting pitchers, which they did in the homestand.
One good start against Houston. Blackley booed when he gave up three home runs in a game. This is supposedly the cream of the crop of the pitching, but have we seen anything yet? Has anyone thoroughly impressed you? Nageotte's first start was awesome. Blackley's first start was good. It was fun. Is it living up to the hype right now? One might say no, but what were really the expectations for the Blackleys, Nageottes, Putzes, etc.? This team is 21 games under .500. They're not working on getting back into the race, they're getting ready and developing players for next season. This is part of the growing pains.
Mariners 12 hits, but only 5 runs. Innings 4-8 did the damage for Oakland, namely the 4th-6th (12 runs). Offense for Mariners is Ichiro (3-5, RBI 2 LOB), Ibanez (1-5, 6 LOB), Mariners total 19 LOB. Leone another mammoth HR (3rd, 4 LOB). One thing encouraging about Leone is power to CF, problem is offspeed stuff. For Oakland, Kotsay 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI. Lost Chavez, but stayed in race, Chavez 3 hits. Miller, Byrnes 3 hits each.
How can Oakland continue to do what they've done, losing stars and getting injured? Impressive to watch.
Young Seattle pitching staff continuing to show its youth. From not missing a start last year to becoming big concern. Pineiro has strained flexor bundle, experienced some soreness in 8th inning last night. Not a ligament tear. FOX Sports originally reported ligament tear and ligament replacement surgery, later retracted. Will be reevaluated after the road trip. That's Pineiro and Soriano that are on the shelf, possibly shut down for the rest of the season (who knows?). Would you even try to bring these guys back this year? Is it worth it even if they're 90% healthy? Might be running risks; how much would they have to gain from late-season action? Pineiro might not have serious ligament damage, but this is a pitching elbow. You don't want to risk anything, especially with the histories the Mariners have had with Ryan Anderson, Meche, etc. Somewhat scary for organization banking on young arms...don't want to say they've failed yet. Blackley hasn't had enough experience yet, but you can't be pleased about the amount of walks that all of these young guys have been giving up.
Zito wasn't awful, but was missing high with the curve and missing with the fastball.
Does Villone stay in rotation? Give a shot to Bobby Madritsch in the rotation? Something so concrete over the last few years (rotation) seems suddenly not so stable.
14 BB given up by Mariner pitching.
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Gameball: Edgar Martinez. 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. I really liked the double I saw him hit tonight, and I also saw the walk. I know the legs won't come back, but if the eye does, maybe we'll all be treated to some more magic out of that bat than we've been seeing these first four months.
Goat: Raul Ibanez. 1-for-5, 1 RBI, stranding six. The one hit was a nice hit, I'll give him that. Stranding six runners though...all I think of the guy when he steps to the plate is "they overpaid for the guy...they overpaid for the guy..." When he gets a hit, it makes me think for a second that "okay, they're getting some return from the investment..." When he strands six runners, I think about instigating a chunk-spewing session, which in this case would involve digested Taco Bell Grilled Stuft Burrito (beef, if you were wondering).
Will Ichiro make it 19? Will the Mariners make it 14? Only tomorrow will tell...
Franklin. Redman. Tomorrow.
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