Thursday, July 21, 2005
GAME 93: BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 4
Blue Jays 9, Mariners 4
In 25 words or less: The starting pitching for this game and the last game makes me wish Rafael Soriano and Bobby Madritsch were healthy.
This one featured Ryan Franklin going up against Gustavo Chacin, who as I said yesterday wears the Antoine Carr glasses. Also, this thing with how the Blue Jays have their game times ending in :07 or :37 is just as irritating as when TBS used to start their shows at :05 and :35 after the hour.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
A completely anti-torrid start. Ichiro worked his count full and fouled off a pitch before tagging a ball right to Orlando Hudson up the middle. Randy Winn tagged the second pitch toward the hole on the right side, but like Ichiro, he lined out to Hudson as well. Raul Ibañez got behind 0-2 and eventually grounded to Hudson on the outfield grass.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B+
Franklin looked well-rested. Russ Adams flew out high to centerfield on the second pitch. Frank Catalanotto drilled the second pitch over Franklin's head and into centerfield for a single. Vernon Wells got ahead 2-0, fouled off two pitches, then whiffed on a breaking ball over the outside corner. Shea Hillenbrand grounded hard to Adrian Beltre, who went to second for the out and the 5-4 fielder's choice.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C-
A little too quick in this inning. Richie Sexson took a 1-2 pitch over the inside corner. Adrian Beltre got ahead 2-0 but ended up flying out to right. Mike Morse rolled out to second on the first pitch.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Franklin showed signs of promise through two innings. Aaron Hill grounded hard to Beltre, who sidesaddled and scooped the ball before throwing to first. Gregg Zaun ripped a ball through the right side for a single. Alex(is) Rios flew out high to rightfield on the first pitch. Eric Hinske waited until his second pitch to fly out to Ichiro.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C
More good plays from the Toronto defense. Jeremy Reed drag-bunted on the first pitch toward the right side, but Hudson charged hard and shoveled the ball to first in time. Jose Lopez got behind 0-2, but eventually he hit a soft liner that seemed destined for a soft single to shallow center, but Hudson ran back and caught it. Miguel Olivo took a 1-2 backdoor curve just off the ourside corner before rolling out gently to third.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: D+
The roof sprung a leak. Orlando Hudson smoked a 3-1 pitch into rightfield for a single. Adams bounced an 0-2 pitch to Sexson, who threw to Morse at short for the out, but Morse's throw back to first was quite high and pulled Sexson off the bag (3-6 FC). Catalanotto stung an 0-2 pitch past Beltre and into leftfield for a single. Wells crushed the first pitch to the wall in the gap in leftcenter, scoring Adams and Catalanotto.
»» BLUE JAYS 2, MARINERS 0
Hillenbrand took a strike, fouled off three pitches, then whiffed on a fastball down and in. Aaron Hill bashed a hanging breaking ball on the first pitch over the bullpen in leftcenter, a few rows back into the seats.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 0
Zaun bounced the second pitch to Morse, who threw low on a bounce to Sexson at first, though Sexson couldn't come up with the scoop. Still, the error went to Morse, even though the ball was pretty catchable. Rios whiffed on a 1-2 pitch down and in.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
Once again, the offense didn't muster much. Ichiro popped the second pitch out to Adams near the leftfield line. Winn barely held up on a 2-2 pitch, but flew out high to centerfield anyway on the next pitch. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and eventually walked on a full-count pitch very low and outside, ending Chacin's streak of 11 straight Mariners set down. Sexson reached for a 2-2 pitch low and away and dribbled it along the third-base line, where Hillenbrand charged, but couldn't throw in time to first as the Mariners had their first hit of the game. Beltre bounced the 0-2 pitch right to Hillenbrand, who stepped on the bag at third to force out Ibañez.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
This inning brought to you by a repeat appearance from the letter E and the threat of sign theft. Hinske worked a 1-2 count full before hitting a broken-bat fly to Ichiro in rightcenter. Hudson rolled a 2-2 pitch to Morse, who had the ball go off the end of his glove for an error. Hudson reached despite falling down in the batters' box after following through with his swing. Adams ripped the second pitch past Sexson into rightfield for a single, moving Hudson to second. Catalanotto got behind 0-2, but Franklin and Olivo had two conferences at the mound. Franklin then approached Hudson at second, possibly about Hudson trying to steal signs. Such a notion is comical since the Blue Jays were up four runs anyway. Catalanotto finally whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball change. Wells took a 1-1 dirtball curve outside for a wild pitch that went off Olivo's glove, and the runners moved to second and third. Wells got ahead 3-1 and popped a full-count pitch foul to Sexson foul near the first-base line.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C+
This one was a bit frustrating since it was their first real chance. Morse ripped a 2-1 pitch through the right side for a single. Reed fouled off a few pitches, working the count full before lining a ball softly right to Adams at short. Lopez climbed to get a pitch high and outside and drove it to rightfield for a single, moving Morse to second. Olivo flew out to leftfield. Ichiro whiffed on a low full-count breaking ball.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A
Here comes Franklin's best inning of the night. Hillenbrand flew out to left on a 3-1 pitch. Hill took a 1-2 pitch low and over the inside corner. Zaun flew out to Ichiro near the track on the second pitch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
What are these "runs" you speak of? Winn smacked a 2-1 pitch to the left side that normally would sneak through for a single, but Hillenbrand dove to his left and snared the line drive. Ibañez fouled off a 3-1 pitch before Chacin hung a pitch that was smashed into the second deck in rightfield, the first homer that Chacin has yielded this year to a lefthanded batter.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 1
Sexson reached for a low and outside 1-2 pitch and lined it for a flyout to the track in rightfield. Beltre singled through the middle on the first pitch. Morse doubled over Hillenbrand's head at third and into leftfield, as Beltre advanced to third. Reed chopped a ball to the right side and once again was robbed by Hudson, who made a backhanded flip to first this time to get Reed.
Chacin's line: 6 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 110 pitches (70 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: D+
The dam hath burst. Rios got behind 0-2, worked the count full (taking a 2-2 pitch over his head), then grounding a ball to Morse at short, who dove to his left, but Rios beat out the throw for a single. Rios broke for second on the first pitch to Hinske, but was nailed on a perfect throw by Olivo (seriously, perfect). Hinske ended up smacked a single into leftfield, which luckily carried less meaning after the Olivo gundown on the preceding play. Hudson fouled off an 0-2 pitch, took a ball, then flew out high to Reed in center. Adams worked a 1-2 count full, fouled off a couple pitches, then roped a single up the middle, moving Hinske to second. Bryan Price and Olivo conferred with Franklin on the mound before Catalanotto came to the plate. Catalanotto got behind 0-2, but eventually delivered the dagger via Canada Post, a 1-2 pitch up in the zone that Catalanotto clubbed into the first couple rows of seats in rightfield.
»» BLUE JAYS 7, MARINERS 1
Wells mashed an 0-2 pitch into the rightfield corner for a double.
JJ Putz came in for Franklin. Hillenbrand ripped a hanging second pitch over the wall in centerfield, scoring Wells. Ugh.
»» BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 1
Hill grounded the second pitch to Morse at short.
Franklin's line: 5 2/3 innings, 8 runs, 12 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 111 pitches (75 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C
Vinnie Chulk came in for Chacin. Lopez grounded the second pitch hard to third. Olivo got behind 0-2 and ended up flying out high and foul to Hinske by the first-base coaches' box. Ichiro smoked a single under Hinske and into rightfield. Winn chopped out to first on the first pitch.
Chulk's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B
Zaun stung an 0-2 pitch hard to the left side, and Beltre knocked it down, but it trickled away and Zaun had the easy single. Rios was beaned on the left elbow with a 1-2 pitch. Hinske grounded the second pitch to Sexson at first, who started the 3-6-1 double play, though the play at first was a bit close. Hudson bounced out to short.
Putz' line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 18 pitches (14 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B+
Chad Gaudin came in for Chulk. Ibañez dumped a single into centerfield. Sexson mashed a 2-0 pitch (Ron Fairly said "goodbye" immediately after contact) into the second deck in leftcenter (435 feet) to make it a tiny bit more respectable.
»» BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 3
Scott Spiezio came in to pinch hit for Beltre. Spiezio worked his count full and reached the fifth row or so in rightfield. I'll be damned. Good to see Spiezio do something.
»» BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 4
Morse got behind 0-2 and eventually whiffed on a pitch low and away. Reed chopped the second pitch to first. Lopez got behind 0-2 and would bounce out to third.
Gaudin's line: 1 inning, 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 25 pitches (17 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B
Matt Thornton came in for Putz. Adams whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball low and outside. Reed Johnson hit a pitch into the hole on the left side, where Morse backhanded it and had it go off his glove for yet another error, completing the hat trick. Wells flew out high to Lopez on the right side of the infield on the first pitch. Thornton uncorked a dirtball at Hillenbrand's feet for a 1-2 wild pitch that advanced Johnson. Hillenbrand took another ball before flying out to Chris Snelling in rightfield.
Thornton's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 15 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C-
Justin Speier came in for Gaudin. Olivo fell behind 0-2 but later whiffed nonetheless on a ball way outside. Snelling lined a 2-2 pitch right to Rios in rightfield. Winn flew out on the second pitch to leftfield. Ballgame.
Speier's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
Raul went 2-for-3 with a solo shot and a walk, and he scored half of the Mariners' runs. If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year whether I'd ever want Raul Ibañez hitting third, I would have cringed and probably given off a nervous twitch or two. As a matter of fact, when Mike Hargrove first started putting Ibañez in the three-spot, I really didn't like the idea. This is why I'm not a Major League manager. Of course, I still don't want my tying run at the plate in the ninth inning bearing the name of Scott Spiezio, homer in this game aside.
Goat: Ryan Franklin.
He wasn't burned badly by any of the Mike Morse errors, but he was burned by the double play that Morse couldn't quite turn when he overestimated Richie Sexson's height at first base. Morse's errors didn't figure too greatly into any of the scoring. All of Franklin's eight runs were indeed earned, after all. Morse errors aside, Franklin still shouldn't be giving up twelve freakin' hits. Twelve hits is enough for an entire team in a nine-inning game, and Franklin gave Toronto twelve hits in 5 2/3 innings. I guess the really odd thing is that he struck out five and didn't walk anybody, which is a bit maddening since I would have hoped he would have crapped the bed in every statistic in this game. He did serve up two gopherballs though, a true Franklin staple. Sheesh, if you look at the linescore for this game, you could look at the Blue Jays' four-spot and five-spot and swear that the Mariners' starter was Gil Meche instead of Ryan Franklin. Anyway, if I had my way, Sele and Franklin would be pitching for their jobs with their next outings. Dead serious.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 67-26 .720 -- W1
2002 58-35 .624 9 L1
2003 58-35 .624 9 W1
2000 55-38 .591 12 W2
2005 41-52 .441 26 L2
2004 36-57 .387 31 W1
Though Ryan Franklin didn't help in matters of winning, the offense wasn't horribly great either. One-third of the starting lineup went hitless. Randy Winn went 0-for-5, Jeremy Reed went 0-for-4, and Miguel Olivo reminded us he was still alive, going 0-for-4 with an obligatory strikeout. Of course, the Mariners (and Reed in particular) were robbed of hits by Orlando Hudson and the Toronto defense. Three of the Mariners' four runs came via the long ball, and the other one came in on Sexson's RBI single in the eighth.
The multi-hit games belonged to Raul Ibañez, Richie Sexson, and Mike Morse. I went over Ibañez in the gameball entry. Sexson hit yet another homer, getting up to 22 on the year. Morse thankfully wasn't completely inept in the game, getting his hits to help ease the sting of the hat trick of errors.
You know what I hate? Since this game for me was played entirely while I was gone, I waited to watch it in the MLB.tv archive. It arbitrarily goes out every 20 minutes or so, I think, but I can find my place again fairly easily. Of course, the bad part was that during the sixth, seventh, and eighth, half of my time in front of the monitor was spent waiting for buffering. 'Twas infuriating. One of these days I'm going to run into a problem that can't be soothed by thinking "hey, you live in Hawaii. Lighten the frick up."
I don't feel like sounding off on this for the billionth time, but I still don't feel safe with JJ Putz on the mound. I know he was pitching in garbage time again, but sheesh, it's getting crazy. I feel like every batter is a home-run threat with JJ Putz on the mound. Maybe they should slot Julio Mateo into Hasegawa's role (that looks like where it's going), then give Putz some long relief and/or soft landings...like what Mateo has been so good at. This of course means we should bring Masao Kida up to close. Not! Man, if I don't feel comfortable with Putz on the mound, Kida's mini-audition late last year didn't impress me a bit.
I'm not sure what else to say. I need sleep. Sleep is fun. I doubt I'll be able to pull up MLB.tv at work, since it'd be 6:30 over here and everything. So, I'll be watching the game at 5 as I did for this game. Big fun. May the Mariners win some games now?
Piñeiro. Towers. Today.
In 25 words or less: The starting pitching for this game and the last game makes me wish Rafael Soriano and Bobby Madritsch were healthy.
This one featured Ryan Franklin going up against Gustavo Chacin, who as I said yesterday wears the Antoine Carr glasses. Also, this thing with how the Blue Jays have their game times ending in :07 or :37 is just as irritating as when TBS used to start their shows at :05 and :35 after the hour.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
A completely anti-torrid start. Ichiro worked his count full and fouled off a pitch before tagging a ball right to Orlando Hudson up the middle. Randy Winn tagged the second pitch toward the hole on the right side, but like Ichiro, he lined out to Hudson as well. Raul Ibañez got behind 0-2 and eventually grounded to Hudson on the outfield grass.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B+
Franklin looked well-rested. Russ Adams flew out high to centerfield on the second pitch. Frank Catalanotto drilled the second pitch over Franklin's head and into centerfield for a single. Vernon Wells got ahead 2-0, fouled off two pitches, then whiffed on a breaking ball over the outside corner. Shea Hillenbrand grounded hard to Adrian Beltre, who went to second for the out and the 5-4 fielder's choice.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C-
A little too quick in this inning. Richie Sexson took a 1-2 pitch over the inside corner. Adrian Beltre got ahead 2-0 but ended up flying out to right. Mike Morse rolled out to second on the first pitch.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Franklin showed signs of promise through two innings. Aaron Hill grounded hard to Beltre, who sidesaddled and scooped the ball before throwing to first. Gregg Zaun ripped a ball through the right side for a single. Alex(is) Rios flew out high to rightfield on the first pitch. Eric Hinske waited until his second pitch to fly out to Ichiro.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C
More good plays from the Toronto defense. Jeremy Reed drag-bunted on the first pitch toward the right side, but Hudson charged hard and shoveled the ball to first in time. Jose Lopez got behind 0-2, but eventually he hit a soft liner that seemed destined for a soft single to shallow center, but Hudson ran back and caught it. Miguel Olivo took a 1-2 backdoor curve just off the ourside corner before rolling out gently to third.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: D+
The roof sprung a leak. Orlando Hudson smoked a 3-1 pitch into rightfield for a single. Adams bounced an 0-2 pitch to Sexson, who threw to Morse at short for the out, but Morse's throw back to first was quite high and pulled Sexson off the bag (3-6 FC). Catalanotto stung an 0-2 pitch past Beltre and into leftfield for a single. Wells crushed the first pitch to the wall in the gap in leftcenter, scoring Adams and Catalanotto.
»» BLUE JAYS 2, MARINERS 0
Hillenbrand took a strike, fouled off three pitches, then whiffed on a fastball down and in. Aaron Hill bashed a hanging breaking ball on the first pitch over the bullpen in leftcenter, a few rows back into the seats.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 0
Zaun bounced the second pitch to Morse, who threw low on a bounce to Sexson at first, though Sexson couldn't come up with the scoop. Still, the error went to Morse, even though the ball was pretty catchable. Rios whiffed on a 1-2 pitch down and in.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
Once again, the offense didn't muster much. Ichiro popped the second pitch out to Adams near the leftfield line. Winn barely held up on a 2-2 pitch, but flew out high to centerfield anyway on the next pitch. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and eventually walked on a full-count pitch very low and outside, ending Chacin's streak of 11 straight Mariners set down. Sexson reached for a 2-2 pitch low and away and dribbled it along the third-base line, where Hillenbrand charged, but couldn't throw in time to first as the Mariners had their first hit of the game. Beltre bounced the 0-2 pitch right to Hillenbrand, who stepped on the bag at third to force out Ibañez.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
This inning brought to you by a repeat appearance from the letter E and the threat of sign theft. Hinske worked a 1-2 count full before hitting a broken-bat fly to Ichiro in rightcenter. Hudson rolled a 2-2 pitch to Morse, who had the ball go off the end of his glove for an error. Hudson reached despite falling down in the batters' box after following through with his swing. Adams ripped the second pitch past Sexson into rightfield for a single, moving Hudson to second. Catalanotto got behind 0-2, but Franklin and Olivo had two conferences at the mound. Franklin then approached Hudson at second, possibly about Hudson trying to steal signs. Such a notion is comical since the Blue Jays were up four runs anyway. Catalanotto finally whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball change. Wells took a 1-1 dirtball curve outside for a wild pitch that went off Olivo's glove, and the runners moved to second and third. Wells got ahead 3-1 and popped a full-count pitch foul to Sexson foul near the first-base line.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C+
This one was a bit frustrating since it was their first real chance. Morse ripped a 2-1 pitch through the right side for a single. Reed fouled off a few pitches, working the count full before lining a ball softly right to Adams at short. Lopez climbed to get a pitch high and outside and drove it to rightfield for a single, moving Morse to second. Olivo flew out to leftfield. Ichiro whiffed on a low full-count breaking ball.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A
Here comes Franklin's best inning of the night. Hillenbrand flew out to left on a 3-1 pitch. Hill took a 1-2 pitch low and over the inside corner. Zaun flew out to Ichiro near the track on the second pitch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
What are these "runs" you speak of? Winn smacked a 2-1 pitch to the left side that normally would sneak through for a single, but Hillenbrand dove to his left and snared the line drive. Ibañez fouled off a 3-1 pitch before Chacin hung a pitch that was smashed into the second deck in rightfield, the first homer that Chacin has yielded this year to a lefthanded batter.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 1
Sexson reached for a low and outside 1-2 pitch and lined it for a flyout to the track in rightfield. Beltre singled through the middle on the first pitch. Morse doubled over Hillenbrand's head at third and into leftfield, as Beltre advanced to third. Reed chopped a ball to the right side and once again was robbed by Hudson, who made a backhanded flip to first this time to get Reed.
Chacin's line: 6 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 110 pitches (70 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: D+
The dam hath burst. Rios got behind 0-2, worked the count full (taking a 2-2 pitch over his head), then grounding a ball to Morse at short, who dove to his left, but Rios beat out the throw for a single. Rios broke for second on the first pitch to Hinske, but was nailed on a perfect throw by Olivo (seriously, perfect). Hinske ended up smacked a single into leftfield, which luckily carried less meaning after the Olivo gundown on the preceding play. Hudson fouled off an 0-2 pitch, took a ball, then flew out high to Reed in center. Adams worked a 1-2 count full, fouled off a couple pitches, then roped a single up the middle, moving Hinske to second. Bryan Price and Olivo conferred with Franklin on the mound before Catalanotto came to the plate. Catalanotto got behind 0-2, but eventually delivered the dagger via Canada Post, a 1-2 pitch up in the zone that Catalanotto clubbed into the first couple rows of seats in rightfield.
»» BLUE JAYS 7, MARINERS 1
Wells mashed an 0-2 pitch into the rightfield corner for a double.
JJ Putz came in for Franklin. Hillenbrand ripped a hanging second pitch over the wall in centerfield, scoring Wells. Ugh.
»» BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 1
Hill grounded the second pitch to Morse at short.
Franklin's line: 5 2/3 innings, 8 runs, 12 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 111 pitches (75 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C
Vinnie Chulk came in for Chacin. Lopez grounded the second pitch hard to third. Olivo got behind 0-2 and ended up flying out high and foul to Hinske by the first-base coaches' box. Ichiro smoked a single under Hinske and into rightfield. Winn chopped out to first on the first pitch.
Chulk's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B
Zaun stung an 0-2 pitch hard to the left side, and Beltre knocked it down, but it trickled away and Zaun had the easy single. Rios was beaned on the left elbow with a 1-2 pitch. Hinske grounded the second pitch to Sexson at first, who started the 3-6-1 double play, though the play at first was a bit close. Hudson bounced out to short.
Putz' line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 18 pitches (14 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B+
Chad Gaudin came in for Chulk. Ibañez dumped a single into centerfield. Sexson mashed a 2-0 pitch (Ron Fairly said "goodbye" immediately after contact) into the second deck in leftcenter (435 feet) to make it a tiny bit more respectable.
»» BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 3
Scott Spiezio came in to pinch hit for Beltre. Spiezio worked his count full and reached the fifth row or so in rightfield. I'll be damned. Good to see Spiezio do something.
»» BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 4
Morse got behind 0-2 and eventually whiffed on a pitch low and away. Reed chopped the second pitch to first. Lopez got behind 0-2 and would bounce out to third.
Gaudin's line: 1 inning, 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 25 pitches (17 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B
Matt Thornton came in for Putz. Adams whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball low and outside. Reed Johnson hit a pitch into the hole on the left side, where Morse backhanded it and had it go off his glove for yet another error, completing the hat trick. Wells flew out high to Lopez on the right side of the infield on the first pitch. Thornton uncorked a dirtball at Hillenbrand's feet for a 1-2 wild pitch that advanced Johnson. Hillenbrand took another ball before flying out to Chris Snelling in rightfield.
Thornton's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 15 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C-
Justin Speier came in for Gaudin. Olivo fell behind 0-2 but later whiffed nonetheless on a ball way outside. Snelling lined a 2-2 pitch right to Rios in rightfield. Winn flew out on the second pitch to leftfield. Ballgame.
Speier's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
Raul went 2-for-3 with a solo shot and a walk, and he scored half of the Mariners' runs. If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year whether I'd ever want Raul Ibañez hitting third, I would have cringed and probably given off a nervous twitch or two. As a matter of fact, when Mike Hargrove first started putting Ibañez in the three-spot, I really didn't like the idea. This is why I'm not a Major League manager. Of course, I still don't want my tying run at the plate in the ninth inning bearing the name of Scott Spiezio, homer in this game aside.
Goat: Ryan Franklin.
He wasn't burned badly by any of the Mike Morse errors, but he was burned by the double play that Morse couldn't quite turn when he overestimated Richie Sexson's height at first base. Morse's errors didn't figure too greatly into any of the scoring. All of Franklin's eight runs were indeed earned, after all. Morse errors aside, Franklin still shouldn't be giving up twelve freakin' hits. Twelve hits is enough for an entire team in a nine-inning game, and Franklin gave Toronto twelve hits in 5 2/3 innings. I guess the really odd thing is that he struck out five and didn't walk anybody, which is a bit maddening since I would have hoped he would have crapped the bed in every statistic in this game. He did serve up two gopherballs though, a true Franklin staple. Sheesh, if you look at the linescore for this game, you could look at the Blue Jays' four-spot and five-spot and swear that the Mariners' starter was Gil Meche instead of Ryan Franklin. Anyway, if I had my way, Sele and Franklin would be pitching for their jobs with their next outings. Dead serious.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 67-26 .720 -- W1
2002 58-35 .624 9 L1
2003 58-35 .624 9 W1
2000 55-38 .591 12 W2
2005 41-52 .441 26 L2
2004 36-57 .387 31 W1
Though Ryan Franklin didn't help in matters of winning, the offense wasn't horribly great either. One-third of the starting lineup went hitless. Randy Winn went 0-for-5, Jeremy Reed went 0-for-4, and Miguel Olivo reminded us he was still alive, going 0-for-4 with an obligatory strikeout. Of course, the Mariners (and Reed in particular) were robbed of hits by Orlando Hudson and the Toronto defense. Three of the Mariners' four runs came via the long ball, and the other one came in on Sexson's RBI single in the eighth.
The multi-hit games belonged to Raul Ibañez, Richie Sexson, and Mike Morse. I went over Ibañez in the gameball entry. Sexson hit yet another homer, getting up to 22 on the year. Morse thankfully wasn't completely inept in the game, getting his hits to help ease the sting of the hat trick of errors.
You know what I hate? Since this game for me was played entirely while I was gone, I waited to watch it in the MLB.tv archive. It arbitrarily goes out every 20 minutes or so, I think, but I can find my place again fairly easily. Of course, the bad part was that during the sixth, seventh, and eighth, half of my time in front of the monitor was spent waiting for buffering. 'Twas infuriating. One of these days I'm going to run into a problem that can't be soothed by thinking "hey, you live in Hawaii. Lighten the frick up."
I don't feel like sounding off on this for the billionth time, but I still don't feel safe with JJ Putz on the mound. I know he was pitching in garbage time again, but sheesh, it's getting crazy. I feel like every batter is a home-run threat with JJ Putz on the mound. Maybe they should slot Julio Mateo into Hasegawa's role (that looks like where it's going), then give Putz some long relief and/or soft landings...like what Mateo has been so good at. This of course means we should bring Masao Kida up to close. Not! Man, if I don't feel comfortable with Putz on the mound, Kida's mini-audition late last year didn't impress me a bit.
I'm not sure what else to say. I need sleep. Sleep is fun. I doubt I'll be able to pull up MLB.tv at work, since it'd be 6:30 over here and everything. So, I'll be watching the game at 5 as I did for this game. Big fun. May the Mariners win some games now?
Piñeiro. Towers. Today.
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