Tuesday, May 10, 2005
GAME 32: YANKEES 4, MARINERS 3
Yankees 4, Mariners 3
In 25 words or less: It was a close and competitive game, but the Mariners never led. As always, it sucks to lose to the Yankees.
This one featured Gil Meche up against some guy named Randy Johnson. The number 41 has also been worn by such Yankee luminaries as Sterling Hitchcock. The same tired list of former Mariners would only continue as the game went on.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
Johnson didn't give in early. Ichiro whiffed on an outside pitch. Randy Winn fouled off three pitches with two strikes before tapping back to the mound. Adrian Beltre hit the first pitch to Derek Jeter at short, who threw wide of first (error); Beltre was aboard. Richie Sexson whiffed at a 1-1 pitch, and Johnson tweaked the groin a bit on the follow-through. Joe Torre and the Yankees' trainer came out to the mound, but Johnson would be okay. More than okay. Sexson took Hideki Matsui to the track in centerfield to end the inning. Johnson threw 18 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade:
Meche got touched up, but this wouldn't be the Big Inning. Derek Jeter grounded out to short. Meche inexplicably got behind 3-0 on Tony Womack, who took the 3-1 pitch outside for a walk. Meche then went bipolar and got ahead 0-2 on Gary Sheffield. It mattered none, though, as Sheffield singled two pitches later, sending Womack to third. Hideki Matsui got the bat on a hanging pitch and bounced it up the middle to easily score Womack.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 0
Meche got behind 3-0 on Alex Rodriguez, who took the green light and grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. If that's not worth a laugh, I don't know what is. Meche threw 18 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C-
Absolutely nothing doing for the bats in this frame. Bret Boone hit a ball just short of the track in centerfield. Raul Ibañez got behind 0-2 and whiffed at some offspeed stuff two pitches later. Wiki Gonzalez realized his true worth and went away swinging. Johnson threw 12 pitches.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A-
Meche had little trouble. Tino Martinez hit a ball behind the bag at first, and Sexson's momentum took him backward. The out was made when Sexson sort of made a turnaround hook shot with the ball to Meche covering the bag. Jorge Posada worked an 0-2 count full, but then watched a pitch over the plate. Jason Giambi had a 3-1 count, but later flew out to centerfield to end the inning. Meche threw 14 pitches.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B
The Mariners would tie the game. Willie Bloomquist flew out on the first pitch to Robinson Cano on the grass in rightfield. Wilson Valdez took a 3-1 pitch down and in and headed to first. Valdez stole second on the 0-1 pitch to Ichiro (Jeter missed the tag at second). On the next pitch, Ichiro bounced a ball slowly, and Cano had to come a long way for it. He never came up with the ball cleanly, but it's doubtful he could have gotten Ichiro anyway, who was credited with the single. Valdez went to third on the Ichiro single, and scored on Randy Winn's first-pitch flyout to leftfield.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 1
Beltre flew out to rightfield to end the inning. Johnson threw 12 pitches.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B
Meche ended the inning with a flourish. Robinson Cano flew out to Ichiro to lead off. Jeter hit the first pitch over Beltre's head and into leftfield for a single. Womack tapped back to the mound, and Meche got the lead runner at second, though the play probably didn't unfold quickly enough to turn two. Sheffield never saw a pitch as Meche picked Womack off of first. Meche threw only six pitches.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C-
The whole lotta nothin' train was chugging along, and Johnson got 0-2 counts on every hitter in the inning. Sexson fouled off two pitches and whiffed on the third. Boone was caught looking at an inside pitch. Ibañez put the ball in play, flying out to left. Johnson threw nine pitches.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
It wasn't a Big Inning, but it was still big in the scope of the game. Sheffield was caught looking at a curve on a full count. Matsui grounded one to Sexson. Rodriguez doubled a 2-1 pitch into the gap in rightcenter, yet I felt strangely bored. Bill Krueger on FSNNW hours later lamented over whether Tino Martinez knew exactly what was coming to him in his at-bat, and it's not entirely unfathomable since Wiki Gonzalez was behind the plate and Rodriguez is a shifty guy and he was seeing all the signs from second. Either way, Tino saw the curve not long before Meche hung the 2-2 pitch, and Tino mashed it out to rightfield.
»» YANKEES 3, MARINERS 1
Posada flew out to Winn to end the inning. Meche threw 25 pitches.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
With two outs? No, really? Gonzalez led off with a groundout to third. Bloomquist lined out to Cano at second. Valdez chipped in his one hit per week, doubling down the leftfield line and off that wall where the stands jut out. Ichiro singled over Jeter's head to cut the Yankees' lead in half.
»» YANKEES 3, MARINERS 2
With the count 2-2 on Winn, Ichiro was caught leaning the wrong way off of first base. The out went in the books as 1-3-4. Johnson threw 19 pitches.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A-
Meche would toughen up a bit. Giambi had a 3-0 count and bounced the 3-1 pitch to second. Cano whiffed on a pitch high and outside. Jeter got ahead 2-0 and grounded out to Boone on a full count. Meche threw 18 pitches in an unnecessarily long 1-2-3 inning.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
The Mariners were fit to be tied, but no more than that. Winn grounded out to second to lead off. Beltre got ahead 3-0 and Johnson had to come in with the 3-1 pitch. Beltre sent that pitch to the left of the bullpens in leftcenter, and a first-row fan with a glove managed to catch the ball.
»» YANKEES 3, MARINERS 3
Sexson had a 2-0 count, fouled off three pitches, took a ball, and then bounced a single up the middle. Boone had a 3-0 count and hit the 3-1 pitch to second for a 4-6-3 double play to keep that rally going. Johnson threw 19 pitches and was at 89 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B+
Meche would get another 1-2-3 frame. Womack got ahead 2-0, but ended up tapping to the mound. Sheffield grounded the 2-0 pitch deep in the hole on the right side, but Boone went all the way back there and made the play, trying to make us forget about that rally he'd just killed at the plate. Matsui tapped back to the mound to end the inning. Meche threw 13 pitches and was at 96 through six.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C
Another rare happening, but nothing to show for it. Ibañez fouled off three pitches before rolling one to second. Gonzalez parachuted a 2-0 pitch in front of Womack in leftfield for a single, though I think the latter might have taken the wrong first step out there. Bloomquist hit a broken-bat flyout to center on the first pitch. Valdez had a 2-0 count, but on the 2-2 pitch he was fooled badly, holding back his swing, but spinning his body around so much that the check didn't matter. Johnson threw 13 pitches and was at 102 through seven.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B-
Pitch count be damned, Meche was trotted to the hill. He appeared to want no part of Rodriguez, walking him on an inside 3-1 pitch. Martinez grounded into an odd 3-6-3 double play -- Sexson tagged the bag, threw to Valdez at short, and then caught the throw to tag Alex, who was jumping out of the baseline anyway. Too bad for the Yankees, because Posada hit the first pitch through the hole on the left side for a single.
In a move that both surprised and scared me, Matt Thornton was brought in for Meche. I thought he got a bit of help behind the plate on Giambi's 0-1 pitch, which barely caught the outside corner, but was called a strike. In another surprise, Wiki Gonzalez actually got in front of a ball in the dirt and didn't let it go by him (does anyone have a Wiki Scale of Laziness out there? Anyone?). Giambi was caught looking on a 2-2 breaking ball right over the plate.
Meche's line: 6 2/3 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 102 pitches (56 strikes)
Thornton's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 5 pitches (3 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade:
Johnson would again get by unscathed. Ichiro bounced the first pitch to Jeter. Winn lined a single into rightfield to make it interesting. Beltre fouled off an 0-2 pitch before bouncing out to third a couple pitches later. Winn was sent on the pitch, and took second safely, thwarting any double-play possibility. Sexson was intentionally walked to get to Boone, which of course makes total sense. Boone got down 0-2 and everyone in the damn stadium in addition to everyone at home knew exactly what he was getting -- slider down and in. The pitch hit the dirt, and Boone probably didn't come within a foot of it with the bat.
Johnson's line: 8 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, 119 pitches (77 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
In a weird turn of events, but probably just to stall time for a warmup, Thornton was sent to the mound and then taken out in favor of Jeff Nelson. Rey Sanchez hit for Cano, and did just that, ripping a pitch over the glove of Valdez and into leftfield for a single. Jeter bunted on the first pitch, and Nelson threw to a covering Boone. Womack took a strike and then hit a ball with eyes up the middle and into centerfield. There goes the tie, there goes the ballgame. The wrong part of the lineup was coming up for the Mariners in the 9th, so the game was almost a foregone conclusion.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 3
Wiki continued doing weird things, snapping a throw to first in an attempt to pick Womack off of first. Later in that at-bat, Sheffield grounded out to Valdez, but Womack ran on the pitch to avoid a double play.
Villone came in for Nelson because he doesn't have it anymore. What's more likely to be told is that Hargrove wanted to go lefty/lefty against Matsui. It worked. Matsui struck out on three pitches, whiffing at an outside offering for strike three.
Nelson's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
Villone's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C-
Mariano Rivera came in to close it out, and the Mariners don't have Edgar on their side anymore, so nobody can hit him. Ibañez chopped an 0-2 pitch high above the mound, Rivera speared it out of the air, and threw to first. Gonzalez grounded the first pitch to second, brilliantly executing the hurry-up offense. Greg Dobbs came on to pinch hit for Bloomquist. Posada put the glove way up high on 1-2, Rivera threw to the spot, and Dobbs hopelessly whiffed. Ballgame.
Rivera's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 8 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Wilson Valdez.
1-for-2 with a walk and a steal out of the nine-spot in the lineup. I was hoping he'd do okay after sitting out both ends of the doubleheader on Saturday so that Willie Bloomquist could start twice at short. In even more pathetic news, Valdez is sitting at .213 and Bloomquist is at .138. Since I have my doubts about whether we'll actually see Pokey Reese set foot on the field for the Mariners this season, it appears that the pre-Jose Lopez stopgap that we've been promised has come in the form of Wilson Valdez. I doubt he has Pokey's range or anything, but he's definitely got his bat, so nobody's losing anything there. Valdez also is cheap, and a soft blow to the payroll of your Seattle Mariners.
Goat: Bret Boone.
I thought about hanging this on Jeff Nelson for his heroics in the bottom of the 8th, but then I looked at Boone's trail of destruction (0-for-4, 2 strikeouts, stranding three). He almost took a ball to the warning track to lead off the 2nd. With one out in the 4th, he took strike three. He singlehandedly killed the rally in the 6th that could have gotten the Mariners the lead by rolling a 3-1 pitch for a double play. That of course set up the game-ending (theoretically) strikeout in the 8th. Did anyone really think he was getting anything other than a slider down and in?
I've learned over the last few months that if your team never leads in a game, it sucks way more if you're watching basketball than it does if you're watching baseball. This game, though frustrating at times, was competitive. That's way more than we can say about the week of games leading up to Sunday's nightcap in Boston. Gil Meche has had some good starts in the Bronx before, and although this definitely wasn't his best one, it was a lot like Ryan Franklin's start the night before in Boston -- not all-out stellar, but more than good enough to win. He got into the 7th and left with the game tied at 3. No awful huge inning and no early-inning hyperventilation, just pitching and giving the team a good chance to win. Congrats to Meche for a solid start and congrats to he and Franklin for two solid starts in a row from the rotation.
Though it's still sad that a 1-for-4 day actually raises his batting average, it's good to see Adrian Beltre stinging the ball over the past few games. His wallop in the 6th was one of clutchitude (kinda like Bret Boone's grounder not long after...okay, that's evil sarcasm). Let's hope it's just the beginning for Beltre. We were all hoping he'd never end up on the Pump, though he was inching way too close there for a while.
It's odd to think that Randy's that far along to where he doesn't strike out 10 guys per outing every time out like he used to. The dude's getting old, as is widely noted, and muscles like groins and whatnot hold up less and less nicely. It's still wrong to see that guy in pinstripes, though, considering all the memories in this region that are attached to seeing that guy beating guys in pinstripes as a guy on our team. Anyway, it's apparent that Randy is rickety as hell, and that the Mariner brass here was incredibly right back in 1998, because he was done at that point. It's going to soon be seven years since that trade, but oh well. In Woody we trusted. It also makes me miss David Segui for one reason and one reason only. That quote. "That's a f#*$ing horsesh#* trade." Luckily, the three guys they got back were integral parts of the run from 2000-03, but it still didn't get a World Series up here.
Looking at the box here, there's still some deficiencies when it comes to the lower parts of the lineup. Hitters four through nine were brutal once again, going 2-for-17 with six strikeouts. Wilson Valdez and Wiki Gonzalez had those hits, and I'll try not to think about that for too long. I also know that Olivo hasn't played since Sunday morning, but I get this nervous eyelid twitch when I think about Wiki Gonzalez catching any two games in a row for this team. I would much rather have brought up Ryan Christianson in Dan Wilson's place than Wiki Gonzalez. It'd be a celebration, since he would have finally made it, though probably for a week or two until he either got injured or inadvertently violated the substance abuse policy, though it's more lax in the Majors, as we've figured out. Of course, there's also the possibility Christianson could break an ankle walking down the street while I'm reading this, though I hope not.
I just saw a clip of Bob Melvin getting thrown out in a home game against the Nationals, and I laughed. I continued laughing because the Diamondbacks lost. I need to see the clip again so I can gauge how much better or worse Melvin's arguing skills have progressed. He may have even cursed during the argument, who knows. Maybe he threw some root-beer barrels, Sugar Daddies, Air Heads, etc.
The streak is over with, but now we just have to hope that phrases like "lost eight of nine" can go away. Adrian Beltre's bat seems to be warming up, and that's good. What's bad? Things like Bret Boone being stuck on 999 RBI since last year, it seems like. I guess the one thing that goes in Boone's favor is that since he got here in 2001, he's been good in odd-numbered years. He was good in 2001 and 2003, and was beyond crap in 2002 and 2004. If he keeps trudging along at this pace, he won't be helping his plight for a contract from any team, let alone this one, which more than likely won't happen anyway. Of course, he could also be deadline bait. I wonder what the Mariners could get for Bret Boone, I really do.
Until then, more games.
Sele. Wang. Tonight.
In 25 words or less: It was a close and competitive game, but the Mariners never led. As always, it sucks to lose to the Yankees.
This one featured Gil Meche up against some guy named Randy Johnson. The number 41 has also been worn by such Yankee luminaries as Sterling Hitchcock. The same tired list of former Mariners would only continue as the game went on.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
Johnson didn't give in early. Ichiro whiffed on an outside pitch. Randy Winn fouled off three pitches with two strikes before tapping back to the mound. Adrian Beltre hit the first pitch to Derek Jeter at short, who threw wide of first (error); Beltre was aboard. Richie Sexson whiffed at a 1-1 pitch, and Johnson tweaked the groin a bit on the follow-through. Joe Torre and the Yankees' trainer came out to the mound, but Johnson would be okay. More than okay. Sexson took Hideki Matsui to the track in centerfield to end the inning. Johnson threw 18 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade:
Meche got touched up, but this wouldn't be the Big Inning. Derek Jeter grounded out to short. Meche inexplicably got behind 3-0 on Tony Womack, who took the 3-1 pitch outside for a walk. Meche then went bipolar and got ahead 0-2 on Gary Sheffield. It mattered none, though, as Sheffield singled two pitches later, sending Womack to third. Hideki Matsui got the bat on a hanging pitch and bounced it up the middle to easily score Womack.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 0
Meche got behind 3-0 on Alex Rodriguez, who took the green light and grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. If that's not worth a laugh, I don't know what is. Meche threw 18 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C-
Absolutely nothing doing for the bats in this frame. Bret Boone hit a ball just short of the track in centerfield. Raul Ibañez got behind 0-2 and whiffed at some offspeed stuff two pitches later. Wiki Gonzalez realized his true worth and went away swinging. Johnson threw 12 pitches.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A-
Meche had little trouble. Tino Martinez hit a ball behind the bag at first, and Sexson's momentum took him backward. The out was made when Sexson sort of made a turnaround hook shot with the ball to Meche covering the bag. Jorge Posada worked an 0-2 count full, but then watched a pitch over the plate. Jason Giambi had a 3-1 count, but later flew out to centerfield to end the inning. Meche threw 14 pitches.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B
The Mariners would tie the game. Willie Bloomquist flew out on the first pitch to Robinson Cano on the grass in rightfield. Wilson Valdez took a 3-1 pitch down and in and headed to first. Valdez stole second on the 0-1 pitch to Ichiro (Jeter missed the tag at second). On the next pitch, Ichiro bounced a ball slowly, and Cano had to come a long way for it. He never came up with the ball cleanly, but it's doubtful he could have gotten Ichiro anyway, who was credited with the single. Valdez went to third on the Ichiro single, and scored on Randy Winn's first-pitch flyout to leftfield.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 1
Beltre flew out to rightfield to end the inning. Johnson threw 12 pitches.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B
Meche ended the inning with a flourish. Robinson Cano flew out to Ichiro to lead off. Jeter hit the first pitch over Beltre's head and into leftfield for a single. Womack tapped back to the mound, and Meche got the lead runner at second, though the play probably didn't unfold quickly enough to turn two. Sheffield never saw a pitch as Meche picked Womack off of first. Meche threw only six pitches.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C-
The whole lotta nothin' train was chugging along, and Johnson got 0-2 counts on every hitter in the inning. Sexson fouled off two pitches and whiffed on the third. Boone was caught looking at an inside pitch. Ibañez put the ball in play, flying out to left. Johnson threw nine pitches.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
It wasn't a Big Inning, but it was still big in the scope of the game. Sheffield was caught looking at a curve on a full count. Matsui grounded one to Sexson. Rodriguez doubled a 2-1 pitch into the gap in rightcenter, yet I felt strangely bored. Bill Krueger on FSNNW hours later lamented over whether Tino Martinez knew exactly what was coming to him in his at-bat, and it's not entirely unfathomable since Wiki Gonzalez was behind the plate and Rodriguez is a shifty guy and he was seeing all the signs from second. Either way, Tino saw the curve not long before Meche hung the 2-2 pitch, and Tino mashed it out to rightfield.
»» YANKEES 3, MARINERS 1
Posada flew out to Winn to end the inning. Meche threw 25 pitches.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
With two outs? No, really? Gonzalez led off with a groundout to third. Bloomquist lined out to Cano at second. Valdez chipped in his one hit per week, doubling down the leftfield line and off that wall where the stands jut out. Ichiro singled over Jeter's head to cut the Yankees' lead in half.
»» YANKEES 3, MARINERS 2
With the count 2-2 on Winn, Ichiro was caught leaning the wrong way off of first base. The out went in the books as 1-3-4. Johnson threw 19 pitches.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A-
Meche would toughen up a bit. Giambi had a 3-0 count and bounced the 3-1 pitch to second. Cano whiffed on a pitch high and outside. Jeter got ahead 2-0 and grounded out to Boone on a full count. Meche threw 18 pitches in an unnecessarily long 1-2-3 inning.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
The Mariners were fit to be tied, but no more than that. Winn grounded out to second to lead off. Beltre got ahead 3-0 and Johnson had to come in with the 3-1 pitch. Beltre sent that pitch to the left of the bullpens in leftcenter, and a first-row fan with a glove managed to catch the ball.
»» YANKEES 3, MARINERS 3
Sexson had a 2-0 count, fouled off three pitches, took a ball, and then bounced a single up the middle. Boone had a 3-0 count and hit the 3-1 pitch to second for a 4-6-3 double play to keep that rally going. Johnson threw 19 pitches and was at 89 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B+
Meche would get another 1-2-3 frame. Womack got ahead 2-0, but ended up tapping to the mound. Sheffield grounded the 2-0 pitch deep in the hole on the right side, but Boone went all the way back there and made the play, trying to make us forget about that rally he'd just killed at the plate. Matsui tapped back to the mound to end the inning. Meche threw 13 pitches and was at 96 through six.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C
Another rare happening, but nothing to show for it. Ibañez fouled off three pitches before rolling one to second. Gonzalez parachuted a 2-0 pitch in front of Womack in leftfield for a single, though I think the latter might have taken the wrong first step out there. Bloomquist hit a broken-bat flyout to center on the first pitch. Valdez had a 2-0 count, but on the 2-2 pitch he was fooled badly, holding back his swing, but spinning his body around so much that the check didn't matter. Johnson threw 13 pitches and was at 102 through seven.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B-
Pitch count be damned, Meche was trotted to the hill. He appeared to want no part of Rodriguez, walking him on an inside 3-1 pitch. Martinez grounded into an odd 3-6-3 double play -- Sexson tagged the bag, threw to Valdez at short, and then caught the throw to tag Alex, who was jumping out of the baseline anyway. Too bad for the Yankees, because Posada hit the first pitch through the hole on the left side for a single.
In a move that both surprised and scared me, Matt Thornton was brought in for Meche. I thought he got a bit of help behind the plate on Giambi's 0-1 pitch, which barely caught the outside corner, but was called a strike. In another surprise, Wiki Gonzalez actually got in front of a ball in the dirt and didn't let it go by him (does anyone have a Wiki Scale of Laziness out there? Anyone?). Giambi was caught looking on a 2-2 breaking ball right over the plate.
Meche's line: 6 2/3 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 102 pitches (56 strikes)
Thornton's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 5 pitches (3 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade:
Johnson would again get by unscathed. Ichiro bounced the first pitch to Jeter. Winn lined a single into rightfield to make it interesting. Beltre fouled off an 0-2 pitch before bouncing out to third a couple pitches later. Winn was sent on the pitch, and took second safely, thwarting any double-play possibility. Sexson was intentionally walked to get to Boone, which of course makes total sense. Boone got down 0-2 and everyone in the damn stadium in addition to everyone at home knew exactly what he was getting -- slider down and in. The pitch hit the dirt, and Boone probably didn't come within a foot of it with the bat.
Johnson's line: 8 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, 119 pitches (77 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
In a weird turn of events, but probably just to stall time for a warmup, Thornton was sent to the mound and then taken out in favor of Jeff Nelson. Rey Sanchez hit for Cano, and did just that, ripping a pitch over the glove of Valdez and into leftfield for a single. Jeter bunted on the first pitch, and Nelson threw to a covering Boone. Womack took a strike and then hit a ball with eyes up the middle and into centerfield. There goes the tie, there goes the ballgame. The wrong part of the lineup was coming up for the Mariners in the 9th, so the game was almost a foregone conclusion.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 3
Wiki continued doing weird things, snapping a throw to first in an attempt to pick Womack off of first. Later in that at-bat, Sheffield grounded out to Valdez, but Womack ran on the pitch to avoid a double play.
Villone came in for Nelson because he doesn't have it anymore. What's more likely to be told is that Hargrove wanted to go lefty/lefty against Matsui. It worked. Matsui struck out on three pitches, whiffing at an outside offering for strike three.
Nelson's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
Villone's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C-
Mariano Rivera came in to close it out, and the Mariners don't have Edgar on their side anymore, so nobody can hit him. Ibañez chopped an 0-2 pitch high above the mound, Rivera speared it out of the air, and threw to first. Gonzalez grounded the first pitch to second, brilliantly executing the hurry-up offense. Greg Dobbs came on to pinch hit for Bloomquist. Posada put the glove way up high on 1-2, Rivera threw to the spot, and Dobbs hopelessly whiffed. Ballgame.
Rivera's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 8 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Wilson Valdez.
1-for-2 with a walk and a steal out of the nine-spot in the lineup. I was hoping he'd do okay after sitting out both ends of the doubleheader on Saturday so that Willie Bloomquist could start twice at short. In even more pathetic news, Valdez is sitting at .213 and Bloomquist is at .138. Since I have my doubts about whether we'll actually see Pokey Reese set foot on the field for the Mariners this season, it appears that the pre-Jose Lopez stopgap that we've been promised has come in the form of Wilson Valdez. I doubt he has Pokey's range or anything, but he's definitely got his bat, so nobody's losing anything there. Valdez also is cheap, and a soft blow to the payroll of your Seattle Mariners.
Goat: Bret Boone.
I thought about hanging this on Jeff Nelson for his heroics in the bottom of the 8th, but then I looked at Boone's trail of destruction (0-for-4, 2 strikeouts, stranding three). He almost took a ball to the warning track to lead off the 2nd. With one out in the 4th, he took strike three. He singlehandedly killed the rally in the 6th that could have gotten the Mariners the lead by rolling a 3-1 pitch for a double play. That of course set up the game-ending (theoretically) strikeout in the 8th. Did anyone really think he was getting anything other than a slider down and in?
I've learned over the last few months that if your team never leads in a game, it sucks way more if you're watching basketball than it does if you're watching baseball. This game, though frustrating at times, was competitive. That's way more than we can say about the week of games leading up to Sunday's nightcap in Boston. Gil Meche has had some good starts in the Bronx before, and although this definitely wasn't his best one, it was a lot like Ryan Franklin's start the night before in Boston -- not all-out stellar, but more than good enough to win. He got into the 7th and left with the game tied at 3. No awful huge inning and no early-inning hyperventilation, just pitching and giving the team a good chance to win. Congrats to Meche for a solid start and congrats to he and Franklin for two solid starts in a row from the rotation.
Though it's still sad that a 1-for-4 day actually raises his batting average, it's good to see Adrian Beltre stinging the ball over the past few games. His wallop in the 6th was one of clutchitude (kinda like Bret Boone's grounder not long after...okay, that's evil sarcasm). Let's hope it's just the beginning for Beltre. We were all hoping he'd never end up on the Pump, though he was inching way too close there for a while.
It's odd to think that Randy's that far along to where he doesn't strike out 10 guys per outing every time out like he used to. The dude's getting old, as is widely noted, and muscles like groins and whatnot hold up less and less nicely. It's still wrong to see that guy in pinstripes, though, considering all the memories in this region that are attached to seeing that guy beating guys in pinstripes as a guy on our team. Anyway, it's apparent that Randy is rickety as hell, and that the Mariner brass here was incredibly right back in 1998, because he was done at that point. It's going to soon be seven years since that trade, but oh well. In Woody we trusted. It also makes me miss David Segui for one reason and one reason only. That quote. "That's a f#*$ing horsesh#* trade." Luckily, the three guys they got back were integral parts of the run from 2000-03, but it still didn't get a World Series up here.
Looking at the box here, there's still some deficiencies when it comes to the lower parts of the lineup. Hitters four through nine were brutal once again, going 2-for-17 with six strikeouts. Wilson Valdez and Wiki Gonzalez had those hits, and I'll try not to think about that for too long. I also know that Olivo hasn't played since Sunday morning, but I get this nervous eyelid twitch when I think about Wiki Gonzalez catching any two games in a row for this team. I would much rather have brought up Ryan Christianson in Dan Wilson's place than Wiki Gonzalez. It'd be a celebration, since he would have finally made it, though probably for a week or two until he either got injured or inadvertently violated the substance abuse policy, though it's more lax in the Majors, as we've figured out. Of course, there's also the possibility Christianson could break an ankle walking down the street while I'm reading this, though I hope not.
I just saw a clip of Bob Melvin getting thrown out in a home game against the Nationals, and I laughed. I continued laughing because the Diamondbacks lost. I need to see the clip again so I can gauge how much better or worse Melvin's arguing skills have progressed. He may have even cursed during the argument, who knows. Maybe he threw some root-beer barrels, Sugar Daddies, Air Heads, etc.
The streak is over with, but now we just have to hope that phrases like "lost eight of nine" can go away. Adrian Beltre's bat seems to be warming up, and that's good. What's bad? Things like Bret Boone being stuck on 999 RBI since last year, it seems like. I guess the one thing that goes in Boone's favor is that since he got here in 2001, he's been good in odd-numbered years. He was good in 2001 and 2003, and was beyond crap in 2002 and 2004. If he keeps trudging along at this pace, he won't be helping his plight for a contract from any team, let alone this one, which more than likely won't happen anyway. Of course, he could also be deadline bait. I wonder what the Mariners could get for Bret Boone, I really do.
Until then, more games.
Sele. Wang. Tonight.
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