Saturday, September 03, 2005
MULTIPURPOSE THREAD?
Since I think Jeremy has pretty much alienated the idea of putting up threads for Ryan Franklin's starts (and because he's gone for the weekend), this thread can be about the Mariners or all the college football that's going on today or just about anything. The only sporting event I've watched with any attentiveness other than the Mariner game last night was the Penn State/Hawaii women's volleyball match (Hawaii won the first two games and dropped the final three) last night. Anyway, if anyone's still sitting there bored on a Saturday night of Labor Day weekend, then here's your thread. If you like, you can even ramble aimlessly in the comment box if you find yourself alone. I do that all the time.
Thread is open.
Thread is open.
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GAME 134: ANGELS 4, MARINERS 1
Angels 4, Mariners 1
In 25 words or less: The Mariners had an early lead until Jamie Moyer's road pitching took effect. Also, the bats couldn't fly with the Byrd.
This one featured Jamie Moyer going up against Paul Byrd. Both pitchers are not young. Yes, two men enter, but only one man escapes with the win. The other gets the complete opposite. Could the Mariners build a streak after splitting the home series with the Yankees?
TOP 1ST
Grade: B+
Ichiro bunted the first pitch near the third-base line, and Byrd came off the mound and had no play. Jeremy Reed got ahead 2-0 and watched as Ichiro stole second on the next pitch. Reed ended up popping a full-count pitch high to third. Raul Ibañez bounced the second pitch hard to first for a 3-1 putout, moving Ichiro to third. Richie Sexson got ahead 2-0 and pounded a bullet past Kennedy and all the way to the wall for a double, easily scoring Ibañez.
»» MARINERS 1, ANGELS 0
Beltre was ahead 2-0 and eventually smoked a 2-2 pitch to Robb Quinlan at third, who stopped and threw in time to first.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B+
Minimal turbulence. Chone Figgins bounced the second pitch to second. Orlando Cabrera flew out on the second pitch high to fairly deep centerfield. Garret Anderson golfed a double off the rightfield wall. Vladimir Guerrero rolled the first pitch to first for a 3-1 putout.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C
Quashed. Dave Hansen fell behind 0-2 and wound up checkswung a 2-2 dribbler off the mound to Byrd on the right side, who tossed to first. Jose Lopez shoveled an 0-2 pitch over Darin Erstad in shallow rightfield near the line for a single. Yorvit Torrealba fell behind 0-2, took a 2-2 pitch barely high, then whiffed on a full-count breaking ball, and Lopez was nailed trying to take second.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Decent. Bengie Molina hit a sinking liner to leftfield which was caught by Ibañez with a sliding catch. Darin Erstad popped foul to Torrealba in foul ground on the right side. Robb Quinlan ripped a 1-2 pitch down the leftfield line and into the corner for a double. Juan Rivera flew out to centerfield on the second pitch.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C
Ho hum. Yuniesky Betancourt reached down on an 0-2 pitch and flew out to centerfield. Ichiro shot a grounder right to Quinlan on the infield grass on the left side. Reed dribbled the second pitch past Adam Kennedy and through the right side for a single. Ibañez grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to Kennedy plugging the hole on the right side.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C+
Dent. Adam Kennedy walked on four pitches. Figgins bunted along the first-base line, where Sexson picked it up and tagged him, moving Kennedy to second. Cabrera got ahead 2-0 and watched his 2-1 pitch as Kennedy stole third, with Beltre having to get in front of the wide throw. Cabrera wound up dribbling the 3-1 pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Kennedy.
»» ANGELS 1, MARINERS 1
Cabrera took second without a throw on the first pitch to Anderson, who fell behind 0-2 and eventually bounced the 1-2 pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first, moving Cabrera to third. Guerrero grounded the second pitch hard to third.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C-
Nada. Sexson flew out to leftfield on a 1-2 pitch. Beltre hit the first pitch off of Byrd's foot (kick save) to Cabrera, who threw over in time. Hansen got ahead 2-0 and flew out high to short on a 2-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Aversion. Molina rolled a single past Betancourt's glove side and into centerfield. Erstad bounced the 0-2 pitch to the right side for a 4-6 fielder's choice (Molina forced). Quinlan lined the first pitch into leftfield for a single. Rivera popped the second pitch to the left side, but Betancourt climbed the ladder and caught it as the runners held. Kennedy bounced a 3-1 pitch to Sexson for a 3-1 putout.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C-
Bottom third. Lopez flew out high to second on an 0-2 pitch. Torrealba popped the second pitch to centerfield. Betancourt flew out just short of the leftfield track on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
More. Figgins dumped the second pitch into shallow leftfield just in front of Ichiro. Cabrera bunted the first pitch near the first-base line, where Moyer threw over to first, moving Figgins to second. Anderson watched the first pitch and saw Figgins take third, just beating Beltre's tag. Anderson ended up golfing to Reed on the rightfield track, though Reed dropped the ball after the catch. Figgins scored nonetheless.
»» ANGELS 2, MARINERS 1
Guerrero blistered the second pitch well over the wall in leftcenter for his 300th career home run.
»» ANGELS 3, MARINERS 1
Molina got ahead 2-0 and bounced to third on a full count.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C
Sigh... Ichiro lofted the second pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a double. Reed popped the first pitch to leftfield. Ibañez bounced out to short, moving Ichiro to third. Sexson got under the second pitch, flying out to Figgins in deep leftcenter.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C+
Even more. Erstad clubbed the first pitch just over the rightfield wall for a homer.
»» ANGELS 4, MARINERS 1
Quinlan grounded hard to Beltre behind the bag at third. Rivera lined out to centerfield. Kennedy smashed the first pitch to Beltre, who knocked it down and threw from his knees in time to first.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
Bored. Beltre popped high to rightfield on the second pitch. Hansen fell behind 0-2 before popping the 1-2 pitch high to Quinlan down the leftfield line. Lopez flew out to deep centerfield on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C+
Somehow a zero. Figgins got ahead 2-0 before popping high to Beltre along the leftfield line just past the bag. Cabrera ripped the second pitch down the leftfield line for a double. Anderson bounced the first pitch through the right side for a single, moving Cabrera to third (he was held there).
Julio Mateo came in for Moyer. Guerrero got the hitters' counts and walked on a low full-count pitch, loading the bases. Molina whiffed badly on a 1-2 dirtball way outside. Erstad whiffed over a 2-2 low breaking ball.
Moyer's line: 6 1/3 innings, 4 runs, 10 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 89 pitches (54 strikes)
Mateo's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 16 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C-
Same crap. Torrealba popped the first pitch to centerfield. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and flew out to Figgins in leftcenter. Ichiro served an 0-2 pitch into Anderson's glove in leftfield.
Byrd's line: 8 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 92 pitches (65 pitches)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Mateo. Quinlan looped a flyout to centerfield. Rivera got ahead 3-0 and wound up bouncing out to short on a full count. Kennedy popped to Lopez in shallow rightfield on the second pitch.
Hasegawa's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C
Francisco Rodriguez came in for Byrd. Reed whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball low and inside. Ibañez poked a single through the left side. Sexson bounced the second pitch over the mound, where Cabrera charged and threw to first, moving Ibañez to second. Beltre got ahead 2-0 and eventually popped near the leftfield corner on a full count. Ballgame.
Rodriguez' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (10 strikes)
---
Gameball: Julio Mateo.
Since there was maybe only one situation after the first inning where the bats failed in the clutch (there rarely were opportunities to begin with), Mateo gets the nod here. I realize I'm doing these even though he walked the first batter he faced, Vladimir Guerrero. That's not such a bad thing sometimes, considering Vlad is good. That did load the bases, however. Mateo got out of that hole by striking out the next two hitters he faced. Granted, Bengie Molina and Darin Erstad don't really strike fear into people, but he struck out the next two guys after the cleanup hitter, so that's got to go for something. As a result, the score stayed 4-1, and if the Mariners were doing anything with their bats at all, they might have had a fighting chance to win this game. Either way, Mateo took over with two of Moyer's runners on base, and none of them came around to score. In related news, if Ryan Franklin leaves with the bases loaded on Saturday and Matt Thornton comes in and gives up a grand slam, I'll laugh. Okay, that's not so related, but it's there.
Goat: Jamie Moyer.
The home-road splits are holding up a little too well. He's 8-0 at home and 3-6 on the road. Having a pitcher that's perfectly suited to his home ballpark is one thing, but the same pitcher still has to throw half the time away from the friendly digs. Today obviously was a road game, and Jamie was banged around for ten hits, three of them doubles and two of them being homers, including a Vladimir Guerrero MegaBlast (ask for it by name). I didn't realize it until right after I typed that last sentence, but half of the hits that Moyer gave up went for extra bases. I don't have to tell you that that's probably a bad ratio (the homers make it more so). Luckily he only walked one batter. However, Moyer didn't strike out a single batter in his 6 1/3 innings of work. He faced thirty batters and didn't issue a single strikeout. Basically what I guess that means is go to Lookout Landing or something to see further analysis of balls in play, because there was a buttload of them with Moyer's line (1 walk + 0 strikeouts + 10 hits + 11 groundouts + 8 flyouts = 30 batters).
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 96-38 .716 -- W2
2002 79-55 .590 17 W1
2003 77-57 .575 19 L2
2000 72-62 .537 24 L2
2005 57-77 .425 39 L1
2004 51-83 .381 45 L3
What an unabashed non-show by the offense. Someone forgot to tell the Mariners that it wasn't 2002 again. In other words, Paul Byrd isn't supposed to be good. He's no longer one of countless additions the Mariners could have made at the 2002 trade deadline. Are the Mariners fazed by the old-skool windup of Byrd? It can't be hyperspeed or a horseshoe curve or anything like that. It's got to be the windup. Do chicks did the old-skool windup? The obvious answer is no, since only Byrd does it these days at the Major League level. On the other hand, the question I just posed could provide for a completely outlandish college term paper idea. If you get the right english professor, though, I think you could convince him or her to go along with it. Of course, the whole thing would degenerate into a scope-out of players' wives and/or girlfriends in the form of a term paper. It'd be a total joke of a term paper...but that'd be the whole point, wouldn't it?
I'd mentioned in Mateo's gameball entry that the offense hadn't gotten into much situations after the first with which to fail in the clutch. I guess I'm defining these situations as having a runner in scoring position with less than two out. The only situation that fits this bill in the rest of the game after the first would be the sixth, where Ichiro led off with a double and advanced to third only when the second out was made. Sure, that opens you up for a scoring opportunity if Byrd throws a wild pitch or something, but when this is the only scoring opportunity I'm mentioning, it has to be bad. When you get an early lead and then see the Angels tack on four more runs after that while you don't do anything, that's bad too. Yes, it's possible for the Mariners to get shut out after the first inning and still be an offensive team, it's just that the word "offensive" takes on a different meaning.
I've noticed broadcasts from both Mariner feed and opposing feeds showing the Mariner defense graphic and pointing out how they have the least errors (correct me if I'm wrong) in the American League. I'm not sure what kind of consolation I'm supposed to take from that. I'm quite satisfied with the left side of the infield defensively, and I'm satisfied with Richie Sexson at first. I remember the Jose Lopez defensive adventure last year, though I'll watch his batch of games this year and I'll hope that he's improved. If it turns out that he can hit but can't field...maybe in a twisted world he'd be in a battle with a 6'4" guy to play second base. I'm not sure how much easier a healthy Chris Snelling would have made this entire situation (it is an intriguing thought), but leftfield is a hole again, the starting rotation is full of gaping holes, I'll assume that Eddie Guardado's gone, and I hope there's no way Jeff Nelson's back next year. Could it be Seattle Mariners: Rebuilding Year #3? I sure hope not. I was expecting 77 wins this year and a pennant race next year. I guess by "pennant race," I want meaningful baseball in September.
Owner of the only multi-hit game for the Mariners in this one, Ichiro is now sitting on 166 hits for the season. If he gets at-bats at the same pace he's been getting them for the season (560 at-bats in 134 games, 4.18 at-bats per game)...
-- he needs 34 hits to reach 200 for the season; he'd need to hit .291 for the remainder of the season, and that'd leave him with a .295 season average.
-- he needs 37 hits to finish with a .300 average for the season; he'd need to hit .316 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 203 hits.
-- he needs 51 hits to finish with a .320 average (.321) for the season; he'd need to hit .436 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 217 hits.
Can the Mariners keep their hopes alive for a series win in Orange County this weekend? Probably not. Look who's starting for the Mariners tonight. For what it's worth, Jarrod Washburn won't have to pitch to that guy from Port Orchard, on account of his injury and everything.
Franklin. Washburn. Tonight.
In 25 words or less: The Mariners had an early lead until Jamie Moyer's road pitching took effect. Also, the bats couldn't fly with the Byrd.
This one featured Jamie Moyer going up against Paul Byrd. Both pitchers are not young. Yes, two men enter, but only one man escapes with the win. The other gets the complete opposite. Could the Mariners build a streak after splitting the home series with the Yankees?
TOP 1ST
Grade: B+
Ichiro bunted the first pitch near the third-base line, and Byrd came off the mound and had no play. Jeremy Reed got ahead 2-0 and watched as Ichiro stole second on the next pitch. Reed ended up popping a full-count pitch high to third. Raul Ibañez bounced the second pitch hard to first for a 3-1 putout, moving Ichiro to third. Richie Sexson got ahead 2-0 and pounded a bullet past Kennedy and all the way to the wall for a double, easily scoring Ibañez.
»» MARINERS 1, ANGELS 0
Beltre was ahead 2-0 and eventually smoked a 2-2 pitch to Robb Quinlan at third, who stopped and threw in time to first.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B+
Minimal turbulence. Chone Figgins bounced the second pitch to second. Orlando Cabrera flew out on the second pitch high to fairly deep centerfield. Garret Anderson golfed a double off the rightfield wall. Vladimir Guerrero rolled the first pitch to first for a 3-1 putout.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C
Quashed. Dave Hansen fell behind 0-2 and wound up checkswung a 2-2 dribbler off the mound to Byrd on the right side, who tossed to first. Jose Lopez shoveled an 0-2 pitch over Darin Erstad in shallow rightfield near the line for a single. Yorvit Torrealba fell behind 0-2, took a 2-2 pitch barely high, then whiffed on a full-count breaking ball, and Lopez was nailed trying to take second.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Decent. Bengie Molina hit a sinking liner to leftfield which was caught by Ibañez with a sliding catch. Darin Erstad popped foul to Torrealba in foul ground on the right side. Robb Quinlan ripped a 1-2 pitch down the leftfield line and into the corner for a double. Juan Rivera flew out to centerfield on the second pitch.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C
Ho hum. Yuniesky Betancourt reached down on an 0-2 pitch and flew out to centerfield. Ichiro shot a grounder right to Quinlan on the infield grass on the left side. Reed dribbled the second pitch past Adam Kennedy and through the right side for a single. Ibañez grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to Kennedy plugging the hole on the right side.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C+
Dent. Adam Kennedy walked on four pitches. Figgins bunted along the first-base line, where Sexson picked it up and tagged him, moving Kennedy to second. Cabrera got ahead 2-0 and watched his 2-1 pitch as Kennedy stole third, with Beltre having to get in front of the wide throw. Cabrera wound up dribbling the 3-1 pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Kennedy.
»» ANGELS 1, MARINERS 1
Cabrera took second without a throw on the first pitch to Anderson, who fell behind 0-2 and eventually bounced the 1-2 pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first, moving Cabrera to third. Guerrero grounded the second pitch hard to third.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C-
Nada. Sexson flew out to leftfield on a 1-2 pitch. Beltre hit the first pitch off of Byrd's foot (kick save) to Cabrera, who threw over in time. Hansen got ahead 2-0 and flew out high to short on a 2-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Aversion. Molina rolled a single past Betancourt's glove side and into centerfield. Erstad bounced the 0-2 pitch to the right side for a 4-6 fielder's choice (Molina forced). Quinlan lined the first pitch into leftfield for a single. Rivera popped the second pitch to the left side, but Betancourt climbed the ladder and caught it as the runners held. Kennedy bounced a 3-1 pitch to Sexson for a 3-1 putout.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C-
Bottom third. Lopez flew out high to second on an 0-2 pitch. Torrealba popped the second pitch to centerfield. Betancourt flew out just short of the leftfield track on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
More. Figgins dumped the second pitch into shallow leftfield just in front of Ichiro. Cabrera bunted the first pitch near the first-base line, where Moyer threw over to first, moving Figgins to second. Anderson watched the first pitch and saw Figgins take third, just beating Beltre's tag. Anderson ended up golfing to Reed on the rightfield track, though Reed dropped the ball after the catch. Figgins scored nonetheless.
»» ANGELS 2, MARINERS 1
Guerrero blistered the second pitch well over the wall in leftcenter for his 300th career home run.
»» ANGELS 3, MARINERS 1
Molina got ahead 2-0 and bounced to third on a full count.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C
Sigh... Ichiro lofted the second pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a double. Reed popped the first pitch to leftfield. Ibañez bounced out to short, moving Ichiro to third. Sexson got under the second pitch, flying out to Figgins in deep leftcenter.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C+
Even more. Erstad clubbed the first pitch just over the rightfield wall for a homer.
»» ANGELS 4, MARINERS 1
Quinlan grounded hard to Beltre behind the bag at third. Rivera lined out to centerfield. Kennedy smashed the first pitch to Beltre, who knocked it down and threw from his knees in time to first.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
Bored. Beltre popped high to rightfield on the second pitch. Hansen fell behind 0-2 before popping the 1-2 pitch high to Quinlan down the leftfield line. Lopez flew out to deep centerfield on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C+
Somehow a zero. Figgins got ahead 2-0 before popping high to Beltre along the leftfield line just past the bag. Cabrera ripped the second pitch down the leftfield line for a double. Anderson bounced the first pitch through the right side for a single, moving Cabrera to third (he was held there).
Julio Mateo came in for Moyer. Guerrero got the hitters' counts and walked on a low full-count pitch, loading the bases. Molina whiffed badly on a 1-2 dirtball way outside. Erstad whiffed over a 2-2 low breaking ball.
Moyer's line: 6 1/3 innings, 4 runs, 10 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 89 pitches (54 strikes)
Mateo's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 16 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C-
Same crap. Torrealba popped the first pitch to centerfield. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and flew out to Figgins in leftcenter. Ichiro served an 0-2 pitch into Anderson's glove in leftfield.
Byrd's line: 8 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 92 pitches (65 pitches)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Mateo. Quinlan looped a flyout to centerfield. Rivera got ahead 3-0 and wound up bouncing out to short on a full count. Kennedy popped to Lopez in shallow rightfield on the second pitch.
Hasegawa's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C
Francisco Rodriguez came in for Byrd. Reed whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball low and inside. Ibañez poked a single through the left side. Sexson bounced the second pitch over the mound, where Cabrera charged and threw to first, moving Ibañez to second. Beltre got ahead 2-0 and eventually popped near the leftfield corner on a full count. Ballgame.
Rodriguez' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (10 strikes)
---
Gameball: Julio Mateo.
Since there was maybe only one situation after the first inning where the bats failed in the clutch (there rarely were opportunities to begin with), Mateo gets the nod here. I realize I'm doing these even though he walked the first batter he faced, Vladimir Guerrero. That's not such a bad thing sometimes, considering Vlad is good. That did load the bases, however. Mateo got out of that hole by striking out the next two hitters he faced. Granted, Bengie Molina and Darin Erstad don't really strike fear into people, but he struck out the next two guys after the cleanup hitter, so that's got to go for something. As a result, the score stayed 4-1, and if the Mariners were doing anything with their bats at all, they might have had a fighting chance to win this game. Either way, Mateo took over with two of Moyer's runners on base, and none of them came around to score. In related news, if Ryan Franklin leaves with the bases loaded on Saturday and Matt Thornton comes in and gives up a grand slam, I'll laugh. Okay, that's not so related, but it's there.
Goat: Jamie Moyer.
The home-road splits are holding up a little too well. He's 8-0 at home and 3-6 on the road. Having a pitcher that's perfectly suited to his home ballpark is one thing, but the same pitcher still has to throw half the time away from the friendly digs. Today obviously was a road game, and Jamie was banged around for ten hits, three of them doubles and two of them being homers, including a Vladimir Guerrero MegaBlast (ask for it by name). I didn't realize it until right after I typed that last sentence, but half of the hits that Moyer gave up went for extra bases. I don't have to tell you that that's probably a bad ratio (the homers make it more so). Luckily he only walked one batter. However, Moyer didn't strike out a single batter in his 6 1/3 innings of work. He faced thirty batters and didn't issue a single strikeout. Basically what I guess that means is go to Lookout Landing or something to see further analysis of balls in play, because there was a buttload of them with Moyer's line (1 walk + 0 strikeouts + 10 hits + 11 groundouts + 8 flyouts = 30 batters).
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 96-38 .716 -- W2
2002 79-55 .590 17 W1
2003 77-57 .575 19 L2
2000 72-62 .537 24 L2
2005 57-77 .425 39 L1
2004 51-83 .381 45 L3
What an unabashed non-show by the offense. Someone forgot to tell the Mariners that it wasn't 2002 again. In other words, Paul Byrd isn't supposed to be good. He's no longer one of countless additions the Mariners could have made at the 2002 trade deadline. Are the Mariners fazed by the old-skool windup of Byrd? It can't be hyperspeed or a horseshoe curve or anything like that. It's got to be the windup. Do chicks did the old-skool windup? The obvious answer is no, since only Byrd does it these days at the Major League level. On the other hand, the question I just posed could provide for a completely outlandish college term paper idea. If you get the right english professor, though, I think you could convince him or her to go along with it. Of course, the whole thing would degenerate into a scope-out of players' wives and/or girlfriends in the form of a term paper. It'd be a total joke of a term paper...but that'd be the whole point, wouldn't it?
I'd mentioned in Mateo's gameball entry that the offense hadn't gotten into much situations after the first with which to fail in the clutch. I guess I'm defining these situations as having a runner in scoring position with less than two out. The only situation that fits this bill in the rest of the game after the first would be the sixth, where Ichiro led off with a double and advanced to third only when the second out was made. Sure, that opens you up for a scoring opportunity if Byrd throws a wild pitch or something, but when this is the only scoring opportunity I'm mentioning, it has to be bad. When you get an early lead and then see the Angels tack on four more runs after that while you don't do anything, that's bad too. Yes, it's possible for the Mariners to get shut out after the first inning and still be an offensive team, it's just that the word "offensive" takes on a different meaning.
I've noticed broadcasts from both Mariner feed and opposing feeds showing the Mariner defense graphic and pointing out how they have the least errors (correct me if I'm wrong) in the American League. I'm not sure what kind of consolation I'm supposed to take from that. I'm quite satisfied with the left side of the infield defensively, and I'm satisfied with Richie Sexson at first. I remember the Jose Lopez defensive adventure last year, though I'll watch his batch of games this year and I'll hope that he's improved. If it turns out that he can hit but can't field...maybe in a twisted world he'd be in a battle with a 6'4" guy to play second base. I'm not sure how much easier a healthy Chris Snelling would have made this entire situation (it is an intriguing thought), but leftfield is a hole again, the starting rotation is full of gaping holes, I'll assume that Eddie Guardado's gone, and I hope there's no way Jeff Nelson's back next year. Could it be Seattle Mariners: Rebuilding Year #3? I sure hope not. I was expecting 77 wins this year and a pennant race next year. I guess by "pennant race," I want meaningful baseball in September.
Owner of the only multi-hit game for the Mariners in this one, Ichiro is now sitting on 166 hits for the season. If he gets at-bats at the same pace he's been getting them for the season (560 at-bats in 134 games, 4.18 at-bats per game)...
-- he needs 34 hits to reach 200 for the season; he'd need to hit .291 for the remainder of the season, and that'd leave him with a .295 season average.
-- he needs 37 hits to finish with a .300 average for the season; he'd need to hit .316 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 203 hits.
-- he needs 51 hits to finish with a .320 average (.321) for the season; he'd need to hit .436 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 217 hits.
Can the Mariners keep their hopes alive for a series win in Orange County this weekend? Probably not. Look who's starting for the Mariners tonight. For what it's worth, Jarrod Washburn won't have to pitch to that guy from Port Orchard, on account of his injury and everything.
Franklin. Washburn. Tonight.
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Friday, September 02, 2005
GAME 133: MARINERS 5, YANKEES 1
Mariners 5, Yankees 1
In 25 words or less: It's a come-from-behind victory, with the Mariners pulling it off late. It was also an odd pitchers' duel early on.
[***NOTE -- Not testing this time. I was having trouble pulling up the MLB.tv feed all night after I got home, though I eventually did see the game in its entirety. I'll type the rest of the endpiece at a later time so that I'm not a complete zombie at work on Friday morning. No, I haven't been there long enough to skip out on Friday and make it a four-day weekend.]
This one featured overrated free-agent of last winter Carl Pavano (10-19 in day games) going up against...Joel Piñeiro.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C+
A Joel-like first. Derek Jeter popped the second pitch high into centerfield. Hideki Matsui lofted a 2-0 single into shallow centerfield. Gary Sheffield took a 3-0 pitch inside. Alex Rodriguez poked the first pitch into shallow leftcenter for a single, scoring Matsui and moving Sheffield to second.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 0
Jason Giambi got ahead 2-0, prompting a visit from Bryan Price. Giambi got ahead 3-0 but later took a full-count breaking ball over the plate for strike three. Bernie Williams fell behind 0-2 and wound up chopping a 2-2 pitch to second.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C
Mundane. Ichiro got the hitters' counts before grounding hard to Giambi, who knocked it down and looked around quickly to find it before grabbing it and diving to the bag in time. Jeremy Reed flew out high to centerfield on a 3-1 pitch. Raul Ibañez walked on a 3-1 pitch high and away for a walk. Richie Sexson fouled the second pitch hard off his front shin but stayed in and wound up lining a 1-2 pitch to Williams short of the track in centerfield.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
Not overly treacherous. Matt Lawton got ahead 2-0 and ended up grounding deep on the right side to Sexson for a 3-1 putout. Jorge Posada took a 2-2 breaking ball over the outer half for a strikeout. Robinson Cano roped the first pitch near the leftfield corner for a double. Jeter rolled a 1-2 pitch to second.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C
A baserunner at least. Adrian Beltre worked a 1-2 count full before flying out to fairly deep centerfield. Dave Hansen chipped a single into shallow leftfield. Jose Lopez chopped a 1-2 pitch slowly to Cano on the right side, moving Hansen to second. Yuniesky Betancourt bounced an 0-2 pitch to short.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A-
Very nice. Matsui got ahead 2-0 and wound up whiffing on a high full-count pitch. Sheffield fell behind 0-2 and tapped a 1-2 pitch back to the mound. Rodriguez whiffed on a 2-2 low breaking ball.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
Curing insomnia. Miguel Ojeda popped high to Williams in leftcenter. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 before lining a 2-2 pitch at Jeter's feet for the out. Reed got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch. Ibañez flew out to Williams in leftcenter on the first pitch.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A-
Slightly impressive. Giambi grounded a 2-2 pitch deep into the hole on the right side, where Lopez made the play. Williams took a full-count breaking ball down and over the inside corner. Lawton nubbed the first pitch slowly along the right side, where Lopez scooped it with the glove and shoveled it in time to first.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Zzzzz. Sexson cracked a 2-2 pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a double, limping into second as an effect of the earlier foul ball off the ankle. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and wound up chopping a 1-2 pitch off the mound to the left side, where Wright made the play as Sexson held. Hansen lined the second pitch right at Williams in centerfield. Lopez popped high to third.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B+
Not bad. Posada bounced over the middle to Betancourt. Cano lashed a single into rightfield. Jeter flew out to Reed in centerfield on the second pitch. Matsui popped high to Ibañez in leftfield.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
Bored. Betancourt flew out high to Posada near the first-base line in foul territory. Ojeda bounced the first pitch to short. Ichiro smoked the first pitch right at Giambi near the third-base bag.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B+
Solid. Sheffield fell behind 0-2 and ended up lining to Betancourt's backhand side in the hole on the right side. Rodriguez took an 0-2 pitch to the back of the left shoulder. Giambi ripped a single up the middle, moving Rodriguez to second. Williams popped the second pitch into foul ground along the leftfield line, where Beltre ran a good distance and made the over-the-shoulder basket catch. Lawton whiffed on a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
Scratch out. Reed bounced hard to short. Ibañez got the hitters' counts and wound up drilling the 3-1 pitch off of Wright for a single. Wright got up on one knee immediately after taking the line drive to the collarbone on his right side, but he was able to walk off on his own power. X-rays later came back negative.
Tanyon Sturtze came in for Wright. Sexson fell behind 0-2 took the next four pitches for a walk (last pitch outside), moving Ibañez to second. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and after a mound visit from Mel Stottlemyre, popped the 2-2 pitch to Sheffield in rightcenter. Hansen tagged a 2-2 pitch through the left side for a single, scoring Ibañez and moving Sexson to second.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 1
Lopez popped the 2-0 pitch to leftfield.
Wright's line: 5 1/3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 85 pitches (49 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: B+
Recover. Posada bounced out to third. Cano got ahead 2-0 and later whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball, but it got away from Ojeda behind the plate, and both runners were safe. Jeter fell behind 0-2 and ended up popping high to centerfield on a full count on the eighth pitch of the at-bat.
George Sherrill came in for Piñeiro. Matsui watched three strikes go by on three pitches, the last being a heater over the outer half.
Piñeiro's line: 6 2/3 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 112 pitches (68 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B
Unlikely source. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and golfed a 1-2 flyout to left. Ojeda cranked a 2-0 pitch about four rows above the manual scoreboard in leftfield.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 1
Alan Embree came in for Sturtze. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and bounced a 1-2 pitch to second. Reed got ahead 2-0 and ended up bouncing the 2-2 pitch to second.
Sturtze's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 26 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: A
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Sheffield fell behind 0-2 before drilling a 2-2 pitch into centerfield, where Reed had to run a long distance to make the catch. Rodriguez chopped the second pitch along the third-base line to Beltre. Giambi popped a 1-2 pitch in foul ground near the plate to Ojeda.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A
Kablooie! Ibañez lashed the first pitch into rightcenter for a single.
Ramiro Mendoza came in for Embree. Sexson whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball outside. Beltre got ahead 2-0 and wound up bashing the 2-2 pitch off the wall in rightcenter, scoring Ibañez.
»» MARINERS 3, YANKEES 1
Hansen bounced the second pitch to second. Lopez fouled off a 2-0 pitch but blistered the next pitch to the back of the visitors' bullpen in leftfield.
»» MARINERS 5, YANKEES 1
Betancourt rolled a 2-0 pitch up the middle to Jeter, who made a good play on the ball, ranging to his left.
Embree's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
Mendoza's line: 1 inning, 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B+
Eddie Guardado came in for Putz. Williams ripped a ball up the middle, and Guardado hit the deck to avoid it (single). Ruben Sierra, hitting for Lawton, pounded the second pitch into the hole on the left side, where Betancourt backhanded it and threw in time to second to force out Williams. Posada popped the second pitch high to Lopez in shallow rightfield. Cano grounded the first pitch hard to Guardado, who went to the ground again, but knocked it down and threw to first in time. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (5 strikes)
---
Gameball: Joel Piñeiro.
Kind of a vintage Piñeiro start, in a way. He started out with a crappy first and got it together after that. After the struggles in the first, Piñeiro had a stretch where he set down eight straight Yankees. He got a bit shaky in the sixth, nailing Alex Rodriguez with an 0-2 pitch and allowing a Jason Giambi single, but put the clamps down after that and didn't allow any more damage to occur. Right now with Joel, I really don't know what to think. His season was crap up until he strung together those three good starts in a row, then he reverted back to mostly crappy for a while, and then came this game. I'm really not sure what to think at this point. I remember when it was just easy to pan him off as being hurt, and one might still be able to make that argument. More likely, you can rationalize a scenario where a certain pitcher is consistently inconsistent, as in the doubt that Piñeiro can go out to the mound in five days and have a performance as good as this one. In fact, one may expect the complete opposite.
Goat: Ichiro.
He chimed in with his second straight 0-for-4 game. He hit .244 in the month of August, just barely beating out his worst hitting month as a Major Leaguer, the .242 month of August back in 2003. Though he's set a Major League career personal best for himself with the 15 homers and it's just two less than Raul Ibañez' homer total on the season (that's scary), his doubles are waaaaay down this season. Since he got to these shores, he's hit 34, 27, 29, and 24 doubles. With a month to go, he currently has hit only 15 doubles in 2005. Other than hits and batting average, that seems to be the only conventional bubblegum card stat that seems to be off.
Back to current times, Ichiro is still sitting on 164 hits for the season. Provided he gets at-bats at the same pace he's been getting them for the season (556 at-bats in 133 games, 4.18 at-bats per game)...
-- he needs 36 hits to reach 200 for the season; he'd need to hit .297 for the remainder of the season, and that'd leave him with a .295 season average.
-- he needs 39 hits to finish with a .300 average for the season; he'd need to hit .322 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 203 hits.
-- he needs 53 hits to finish with a .320 average for the season; he'd need to hit .437 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 217 hits.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 95-38 .714 -- W1
2002 78-55 .586 17 L2
2003 77-56 .579 18 L1
2000 72-61 .541 23 L1
2005 57-76 .429 38 W1
2004 51-82 .383 44 L2
Moyer. Byrd. Tonight.
In 25 words or less: It's a come-from-behind victory, with the Mariners pulling it off late. It was also an odd pitchers' duel early on.
[***NOTE -- Not testing this time. I was having trouble pulling up the MLB.tv feed all night after I got home, though I eventually did see the game in its entirety. I'll type the rest of the endpiece at a later time so that I'm not a complete zombie at work on Friday morning. No, I haven't been there long enough to skip out on Friday and make it a four-day weekend.]
This one featured overrated free-agent of last winter Carl Pavano (10-19 in day games) going up against...Joel Piñeiro.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C+
A Joel-like first. Derek Jeter popped the second pitch high into centerfield. Hideki Matsui lofted a 2-0 single into shallow centerfield. Gary Sheffield took a 3-0 pitch inside. Alex Rodriguez poked the first pitch into shallow leftcenter for a single, scoring Matsui and moving Sheffield to second.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 0
Jason Giambi got ahead 2-0, prompting a visit from Bryan Price. Giambi got ahead 3-0 but later took a full-count breaking ball over the plate for strike three. Bernie Williams fell behind 0-2 and wound up chopping a 2-2 pitch to second.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C
Mundane. Ichiro got the hitters' counts before grounding hard to Giambi, who knocked it down and looked around quickly to find it before grabbing it and diving to the bag in time. Jeremy Reed flew out high to centerfield on a 3-1 pitch. Raul Ibañez walked on a 3-1 pitch high and away for a walk. Richie Sexson fouled the second pitch hard off his front shin but stayed in and wound up lining a 1-2 pitch to Williams short of the track in centerfield.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
Not overly treacherous. Matt Lawton got ahead 2-0 and ended up grounding deep on the right side to Sexson for a 3-1 putout. Jorge Posada took a 2-2 breaking ball over the outer half for a strikeout. Robinson Cano roped the first pitch near the leftfield corner for a double. Jeter rolled a 1-2 pitch to second.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C
A baserunner at least. Adrian Beltre worked a 1-2 count full before flying out to fairly deep centerfield. Dave Hansen chipped a single into shallow leftfield. Jose Lopez chopped a 1-2 pitch slowly to Cano on the right side, moving Hansen to second. Yuniesky Betancourt bounced an 0-2 pitch to short.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A-
Very nice. Matsui got ahead 2-0 and wound up whiffing on a high full-count pitch. Sheffield fell behind 0-2 and tapped a 1-2 pitch back to the mound. Rodriguez whiffed on a 2-2 low breaking ball.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
Curing insomnia. Miguel Ojeda popped high to Williams in leftcenter. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 before lining a 2-2 pitch at Jeter's feet for the out. Reed got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch. Ibañez flew out to Williams in leftcenter on the first pitch.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A-
Slightly impressive. Giambi grounded a 2-2 pitch deep into the hole on the right side, where Lopez made the play. Williams took a full-count breaking ball down and over the inside corner. Lawton nubbed the first pitch slowly along the right side, where Lopez scooped it with the glove and shoveled it in time to first.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Zzzzz. Sexson cracked a 2-2 pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a double, limping into second as an effect of the earlier foul ball off the ankle. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and wound up chopping a 1-2 pitch off the mound to the left side, where Wright made the play as Sexson held. Hansen lined the second pitch right at Williams in centerfield. Lopez popped high to third.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B+
Not bad. Posada bounced over the middle to Betancourt. Cano lashed a single into rightfield. Jeter flew out to Reed in centerfield on the second pitch. Matsui popped high to Ibañez in leftfield.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
Bored. Betancourt flew out high to Posada near the first-base line in foul territory. Ojeda bounced the first pitch to short. Ichiro smoked the first pitch right at Giambi near the third-base bag.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B+
Solid. Sheffield fell behind 0-2 and ended up lining to Betancourt's backhand side in the hole on the right side. Rodriguez took an 0-2 pitch to the back of the left shoulder. Giambi ripped a single up the middle, moving Rodriguez to second. Williams popped the second pitch into foul ground along the leftfield line, where Beltre ran a good distance and made the over-the-shoulder basket catch. Lawton whiffed on a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
Scratch out. Reed bounced hard to short. Ibañez got the hitters' counts and wound up drilling the 3-1 pitch off of Wright for a single. Wright got up on one knee immediately after taking the line drive to the collarbone on his right side, but he was able to walk off on his own power. X-rays later came back negative.
Tanyon Sturtze came in for Wright. Sexson fell behind 0-2 took the next four pitches for a walk (last pitch outside), moving Ibañez to second. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and after a mound visit from Mel Stottlemyre, popped the 2-2 pitch to Sheffield in rightcenter. Hansen tagged a 2-2 pitch through the left side for a single, scoring Ibañez and moving Sexson to second.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 1
Lopez popped the 2-0 pitch to leftfield.
Wright's line: 5 1/3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 85 pitches (49 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: B+
Recover. Posada bounced out to third. Cano got ahead 2-0 and later whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball, but it got away from Ojeda behind the plate, and both runners were safe. Jeter fell behind 0-2 and ended up popping high to centerfield on a full count on the eighth pitch of the at-bat.
George Sherrill came in for Piñeiro. Matsui watched three strikes go by on three pitches, the last being a heater over the outer half.
Piñeiro's line: 6 2/3 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 112 pitches (68 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B
Unlikely source. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and golfed a 1-2 flyout to left. Ojeda cranked a 2-0 pitch about four rows above the manual scoreboard in leftfield.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 1
Alan Embree came in for Sturtze. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and bounced a 1-2 pitch to second. Reed got ahead 2-0 and ended up bouncing the 2-2 pitch to second.
Sturtze's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 26 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: A
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Sheffield fell behind 0-2 before drilling a 2-2 pitch into centerfield, where Reed had to run a long distance to make the catch. Rodriguez chopped the second pitch along the third-base line to Beltre. Giambi popped a 1-2 pitch in foul ground near the plate to Ojeda.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A
Kablooie! Ibañez lashed the first pitch into rightcenter for a single.
Ramiro Mendoza came in for Embree. Sexson whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball outside. Beltre got ahead 2-0 and wound up bashing the 2-2 pitch off the wall in rightcenter, scoring Ibañez.
»» MARINERS 3, YANKEES 1
Hansen bounced the second pitch to second. Lopez fouled off a 2-0 pitch but blistered the next pitch to the back of the visitors' bullpen in leftfield.
»» MARINERS 5, YANKEES 1
Betancourt rolled a 2-0 pitch up the middle to Jeter, who made a good play on the ball, ranging to his left.
Embree's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
Mendoza's line: 1 inning, 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B+
Eddie Guardado came in for Putz. Williams ripped a ball up the middle, and Guardado hit the deck to avoid it (single). Ruben Sierra, hitting for Lawton, pounded the second pitch into the hole on the left side, where Betancourt backhanded it and threw in time to second to force out Williams. Posada popped the second pitch high to Lopez in shallow rightfield. Cano grounded the first pitch hard to Guardado, who went to the ground again, but knocked it down and threw to first in time. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (5 strikes)
---
Gameball: Joel Piñeiro.
Kind of a vintage Piñeiro start, in a way. He started out with a crappy first and got it together after that. After the struggles in the first, Piñeiro had a stretch where he set down eight straight Yankees. He got a bit shaky in the sixth, nailing Alex Rodriguez with an 0-2 pitch and allowing a Jason Giambi single, but put the clamps down after that and didn't allow any more damage to occur. Right now with Joel, I really don't know what to think. His season was crap up until he strung together those three good starts in a row, then he reverted back to mostly crappy for a while, and then came this game. I'm really not sure what to think at this point. I remember when it was just easy to pan him off as being hurt, and one might still be able to make that argument. More likely, you can rationalize a scenario where a certain pitcher is consistently inconsistent, as in the doubt that Piñeiro can go out to the mound in five days and have a performance as good as this one. In fact, one may expect the complete opposite.
Goat: Ichiro.
He chimed in with his second straight 0-for-4 game. He hit .244 in the month of August, just barely beating out his worst hitting month as a Major Leaguer, the .242 month of August back in 2003. Though he's set a Major League career personal best for himself with the 15 homers and it's just two less than Raul Ibañez' homer total on the season (that's scary), his doubles are waaaaay down this season. Since he got to these shores, he's hit 34, 27, 29, and 24 doubles. With a month to go, he currently has hit only 15 doubles in 2005. Other than hits and batting average, that seems to be the only conventional bubblegum card stat that seems to be off.
Back to current times, Ichiro is still sitting on 164 hits for the season. Provided he gets at-bats at the same pace he's been getting them for the season (556 at-bats in 133 games, 4.18 at-bats per game)...
-- he needs 36 hits to reach 200 for the season; he'd need to hit .297 for the remainder of the season, and that'd leave him with a .295 season average.
-- he needs 39 hits to finish with a .300 average for the season; he'd need to hit .322 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 203 hits.
-- he needs 53 hits to finish with a .320 average for the season; he'd need to hit .437 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 217 hits.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 95-38 .714 -- W1
2002 78-55 .586 17 L2
2003 77-56 .579 18 L1
2000 72-61 .541 23 L1
2005 57-76 .429 38 W1
2004 51-82 .383 44 L2
Moyer. Byrd. Tonight.
/ Click for main page
Thursday, September 01, 2005
NOT WALKING ON SUNSHINE
(Note: No game thread today, because quite frankly, what I'm about to say is much more meaningful than a game thread for a last-place ballclub. Truth hurts.)
Throughout the last couple of days, I've watched the coverage of Hurricane Katrina. The devastation that this hurricane has caused along the Gulf Coast is indescribable. While I'm in Jonesboro, Arkansas, which is 464 miles away from New Orleans, I can't help but feel for the people who have been impacted by this horrible tragedy.
I've been through two major earthquakes. The first one was in 1989 when I lived in Alameda, California. The Loma Prieta quake. 7.1. October 17, 1989. I still remember my dad yelling for me when the ground shook (I was on the swing set in my playground; military housing, baby!). The second one was in February 2001, the 6.8 quake that could have been a lot worse. I was in Cheney at the time, attending Eastern Washington. Thank God it wasn't as bad as it should have been.
I will be happy to go through another earthquake before I experience my first hurricane. For the most part, I'm a fearless guy. But for the love of God, I don't want to experience a hurricane. Luckily for me, I'm far enough north where I won't have to worry about it. Yes, there's always the chance of tornadoes. But I digress.
Back to Hurricane Katrina...
New Orleans will never be the same. In fact, the entire Gulf South region will never be the same. I'm sure some yuppie assh*le in Seattle is probably thinking, "hey, God is just trying to get rid of the scum of the earth". That's the attitude that some people in this country have when it comes to the South. It's bullsh*t.
Personally, I think this is as big of a tragedy as September 11. It hits home for me. I'm less than 500 miles away from the carnage, folks. There are people from Louisiana and Mississippi who are more than likely staying in hotels up here in northeast Arkansas right now. There are people here at Arkansas State University who have family and friends down in Louisiana and Mississippi. I can't imagine what those people must be going through. My problems, such as being a transfer student/out-of-state student at an Arkansas college, don't compare to what the people in the Gulf South are experiencing. I hate to use the cliche "putting things in perspective", but let's face it, a lot of us are putting things in perspective this week when it comes to our normal lives.
As far as sports go in this horrible tragedy, the impact is huge. It's not official yet, but I can't see how the New Orleans Saints are going to play a single game in the Superdome this season. In fact, I don't think they'll ever play in New Orleans again. The last thing on the state of Louisiana's mind right now is a new stadium for Tom Benson's football team. If I were a betting man, I think the Saints end up in either Los Angeles or San Antonio on a permanent basis in the next year or so.
The Tulane football team will most likely not play in the Superdome this season. At Tulane, it isn't just the football team that is affected. Every fall sports team may not play at all this season. Up in Baton Rouge, LSU's Tiger Stadium may sit empty for a while. While football and sports in general would be a great diversion for the people in Louisiana, I just don't see how those teams are going to be able to play a game in the state for the foreseeable future.
In case you've forgotten, there's also an NBA team in New Orleans, the Hornets. The New Orleans Arena is located next to the Superdome. There's a good chance that the Hornets won't be playing their home games in the Crescent City this year either.
The sports world when it comes to the state of Louisiana is affected, but it's nowhere near the impact felt by the residents in the region. Thousands of people have died already and there will be more deaths in the coming days, if not sooner. It's a sad chapter of this story, indeed.
This isn't a pledge drive. But if you want to help the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina, please visit the American Red Cross. I believe there's a pledge drive of some sort going on today here on campus, so I plan on donating a little chunk of change to the relief efforts. It's the least that I can do. You don't have to do a thing if you don't want to. I'm just bringing this up because I want to.
Thanks for allowing me this forum to speak on this unfortunate issue. I promise that I'll have a more lighthearted post tomorrow.
Throughout the last couple of days, I've watched the coverage of Hurricane Katrina. The devastation that this hurricane has caused along the Gulf Coast is indescribable. While I'm in Jonesboro, Arkansas, which is 464 miles away from New Orleans, I can't help but feel for the people who have been impacted by this horrible tragedy.
I've been through two major earthquakes. The first one was in 1989 when I lived in Alameda, California. The Loma Prieta quake. 7.1. October 17, 1989. I still remember my dad yelling for me when the ground shook (I was on the swing set in my playground; military housing, baby!). The second one was in February 2001, the 6.8 quake that could have been a lot worse. I was in Cheney at the time, attending Eastern Washington. Thank God it wasn't as bad as it should have been.
I will be happy to go through another earthquake before I experience my first hurricane. For the most part, I'm a fearless guy. But for the love of God, I don't want to experience a hurricane. Luckily for me, I'm far enough north where I won't have to worry about it. Yes, there's always the chance of tornadoes. But I digress.
Back to Hurricane Katrina...
New Orleans will never be the same. In fact, the entire Gulf South region will never be the same. I'm sure some yuppie assh*le in Seattle is probably thinking, "hey, God is just trying to get rid of the scum of the earth". That's the attitude that some people in this country have when it comes to the South. It's bullsh*t.
Personally, I think this is as big of a tragedy as September 11. It hits home for me. I'm less than 500 miles away from the carnage, folks. There are people from Louisiana and Mississippi who are more than likely staying in hotels up here in northeast Arkansas right now. There are people here at Arkansas State University who have family and friends down in Louisiana and Mississippi. I can't imagine what those people must be going through. My problems, such as being a transfer student/out-of-state student at an Arkansas college, don't compare to what the people in the Gulf South are experiencing. I hate to use the cliche "putting things in perspective", but let's face it, a lot of us are putting things in perspective this week when it comes to our normal lives.
As far as sports go in this horrible tragedy, the impact is huge. It's not official yet, but I can't see how the New Orleans Saints are going to play a single game in the Superdome this season. In fact, I don't think they'll ever play in New Orleans again. The last thing on the state of Louisiana's mind right now is a new stadium for Tom Benson's football team. If I were a betting man, I think the Saints end up in either Los Angeles or San Antonio on a permanent basis in the next year or so.
The Tulane football team will most likely not play in the Superdome this season. At Tulane, it isn't just the football team that is affected. Every fall sports team may not play at all this season. Up in Baton Rouge, LSU's Tiger Stadium may sit empty for a while. While football and sports in general would be a great diversion for the people in Louisiana, I just don't see how those teams are going to be able to play a game in the state for the foreseeable future.
In case you've forgotten, there's also an NBA team in New Orleans, the Hornets. The New Orleans Arena is located next to the Superdome. There's a good chance that the Hornets won't be playing their home games in the Crescent City this year either.
The sports world when it comes to the state of Louisiana is affected, but it's nowhere near the impact felt by the residents in the region. Thousands of people have died already and there will be more deaths in the coming days, if not sooner. It's a sad chapter of this story, indeed.
This isn't a pledge drive. But if you want to help the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina, please visit the American Red Cross. I believe there's a pledge drive of some sort going on today here on campus, so I plan on donating a little chunk of change to the relief efforts. It's the least that I can do. You don't have to do a thing if you don't want to. I'm just bringing this up because I want to.
Thanks for allowing me this forum to speak on this unfortunate issue. I promise that I'll have a more lighthearted post tomorrow.
/ Click for main page
GAME 132: YANKEES 2, MARINERS 0
Yankees 2, Mariners 0
In 25 words or less: Teacher outdoes pupil. Also, the Yankee offense is way better than that of Seattle, though only two pitches did in Felix.
This one featured Randy Johnson going up against Felix Hernandez, in other words, the most anticipated pitching matchup of the year in Seattle. It sure beats something like Ryan Franklin against Jake Westbrook or something. Gil Meche against Josh Towers. Most of the matchups you can think of this year involving a non-Felix/non-Moyer pitcher.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B+
Taking hold. Derek Jeter walked on a 3-1 dirtball that got away. Hideki Matsui bounced the second pitch to short, starting the 6-4-3 double play. Gary Sheffield got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 high and inside change. Alex Rodriguez took an 0-1 pitch barely inside and eventually rolled to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Dominant. Ichiro badly whiffed on a 2-2 slider way outside. Jamal Strong bounced an 0-2 pitch to short. Raul Ibañez got ahead 3-0 before taking a full-count slider over the outside corner.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Solid. Jason Giambi lined the second pitch to Strong in fairly deep centerfield. Tino Martinez took an 0-2 deathly curve over the outer half for strike three. Matt Lawton got ahead 3-0 before grounding a 3-1 pitch to Richie Sexson for a 3-1 putout.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Sheesh. Richie Sexson got under a fly ball to centerfield. Adrian Beltre took a full-count pitch down and in for a walk. Jose Lopez whiffed on a 1-2 fastball. Mike Morse took a 1-2 fastball over the inside corner.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B
Tarnish. John Flaherty whiffed on a 1-2 deathly and dirty curve low and away. Robinson Cano golfed the second pitch just over the rightfield wall.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 0
Jeter took a 1-2 fastball over the outside corner. Matsui bounced a 2-2 pitch to second.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Still nothing. Yorvit Torrealba bounced a 2-2 pitch to short. Yuniesky Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and ended up grounding a 1-2 pitch hard to short. Ichiro chopped a ball down the third-base line, where Rodriguez ranged into foul territory and threw off-balance and in time to first on a great play.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B
Another small stain. Sheffield jumped on the second pitch, a high fastball, and crushed it into the Mariner bullpen.
»» YANKEES 2, MARINERS 0
Rodriguez got ahead 2-0 before taking a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Giambi took a 1-2 curve barely off the outside corner before walking on a high full-count breaking ball. Martinez grounded to first for a 3-6-1 double play.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Shutdown. Strong chopped the first pitch up the middle to Cano. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 before grounding out hard to third. Sexson took a questionable low 2-0 strike before walking on a 3-1 pitch inside. Beltre smoked a ball right to Rodriguez at third.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
Better. Lawton bounced a 3-1 pitch to second. Flaherty whiffed on a high 0-2 fastball. Cano grounded a 1-2 pitch to third.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
Zeroes galore. Lopez popped an 0-2 pitch to Matsui in leftcenter. Morse fell behind 0-2 and later fisted a 1-2 pitch to a charging Matsui in centerfield. Torrealba supposedly couldn't hold a 1-2 checkswing.
TOP 6TH
Grade: A
Settling? Jeter bounced the first pitch to second. Matsui took an 0-2 curve over the outside corner for strike three. Sheffield got the hitters' counts and bounced out to third on the 3-1 pitch.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C
Frustrating. Betancourt bounced a 1-2 pitch off the track and wall by the manual scoreboard in leftfield. Ichiro bounced the second pitch to short, moving Betancourt to third. Strong took a 2-2 fastball over the inner half. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 before popping a 1-2 pitch high and foul in front of the stands on the right side, where he moved to the wall and drifted back, taking the ball off the heel of his glove. Ibañez hit a 1-2 broken-bat grounder to third on the next pitch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: B+
Treacherous. Rodriguez walked on four pitches. Giambi lashed a single into rightfield, moving Rodriguez to second. Martinez hti a broken-bat 0-2 bouncer up the middle to Betancourt, who stepped on second and converted the 6-3 double play as Rodriguez moved to third. Lawton lined a 3-0 pitch right into Beltre's glove at third.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
This one's a loss. Sexson took a 2-2 fastball probably a bit high and in for strike three. Beltre crushed the second pitch right to Rodriguez, whose wide throw (rushed) luckily took Martinez off the bag at first. Lopez lasered an 0-2 pitch up the middle for a single, moving Beltre to second. Morse popped the second pitch to Matsui drifting back in centerfield, moving Beltre to third. Torrealba had some words with Ron Kulpa behind the plate after a 2-1 inside fastball, then rolled the 2-2 pitch to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice (close play).
Johnson's line: 7 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, 116 pitches (79 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: A-
Nice finish. Flaherty fell behind 0-2 before poking a 1-2 pitch up the middle off of Hernandez and to Lopez for a 1-4-3 putout. Cano poked a 2-0 pitch up the middle. Jeter bunted the first pitch along the first-base line, moving Cano to second. Matsui whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball curve.
Hernandez' line: 8 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts, 108 pitches (60 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
Tom Gordon came in for Johnson. Betancourt flew out high to centerfield on a 2-2 pitch. Ichiro flared the second pitch to Cano in shallow rightcenter. Jeremy Reed, hitting for Strong, whiffed on a 2-2 pitch outside.
Gordon's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B-
Jeff Nelson came in for Hernandez. Sheffield hit a fly to leftfield, and Morse went back on it, letting it drop in front of him for a single on the first ball to him in leftfield this season. Rodriguez popped to Lopez on the right side.
Matt Thornton came in for Nelson. Giambi flew out high to leftfield on a 1-2 pitch (yay Morse). Bernie Williams, hitting for Martinez, got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch way outside. Lawton popped high to Ichiro in shallow rightfield.
Nelson's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (4 strikes)
Thornton's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (6 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: C-
Mariano Rivera came in for Gordon. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 before splintering his bat on a 1-2 popout to rightfield. Sexson poked the first pitch up the middle for a single. Beltre whiffed on an 0-2 fastball that was about a foot high. Lopez flew out to shallow rightfield on a 2-0 pitch. Ballgame.
Rivera's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adrian Beltre.
Aside from his strikeout in the ninth on a pitch that was about a foot high, Beltre was one of only two Mariners (Richie Sexson) to reach base twice. Twice he ripped the ball hard toward Alex Rodriguez at third. The first time, the ball was lined right into Rodriguez' glove. The second time, Rodriguez' throw was wide, giving Beltre the single. He also drew a walk. With that, Beltre finished with a .288 average in the month of August, though he didn't homer after the 20th. It was his best month since his .321 May. He's raised his slugging percentage in each of the last three months, with August being his sluggingest month with a .545 mark. He's been coming along slowly but surely, which is good to see him finally do, though I know he's nowhere close to being all the way to where he's supposed to be. Defensively, I think it'll hard for him to get a Gold Glove since Eric Chavez is overrated (though less so now than before) and Alex Rodriguez now plays third. Since Beltre is having an off year at the plate, he'll get the Jeff Cirillo shaft in the Gold Glove voting.
Goat: Mike Morse.
Sure, he wasn't the only Mariner that went 0-for-3 against Randy Johnson. People go 0-for-3 against Randy Johnson, there's nothing you can do about that. This game, however, marked the grand opening of the Mike Morse Leftfield Experience. After making his first start in leftfield and somehow not having a ball hit to him, he took a first step back on a Gary Sheffield shallow fly ball but took a little too long to judge it, eventually letting it drop in front of him. Frankly, it reminds me of the leftfield adventures before Randy Winn came to Seattle. Let's all take a moment to the times of Glenallen Hill, Butch Huskey, Al Martin...good times, huh? Might we be back to the times where leftfield will truly be a place where you just sort of stick a guy and hope his bat comes through? It's definitely what they've done with Morse, though his bat hasn't gotten crazy hot in his most recent accumulation of playing time. I know we're all probably hoping for him to rip it up like he did his first few weeks with the big club, but it'll probably be a while before that happens again. This wouldn't be such a problem if Chris Snelling was healthy. Snelling's injured so much that I can't even remember the injury that put him out for the rest of this season.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 94-38 .712 -- L2
2002 78-54 .591 16 L1
2003 77-55 .583 17 W1
2000 72-60 .545 22 W1
2005 56-76 .424 38 L1
2004 51-81 .386 43 L1
What can you say? Randy Johnson dominated the Mariners. What few scoring chances the Mariners had were easily snuffed out by Randy and the Yankees. None of the scoring chances came until the sixth since the Mariners didn't get a hit until Yuniesky Betancourt led off the inning with the only Mariner extra-base hit of the night. Ichiro moved him to third before Jamal Strong was humbled and Raul Ibañez couldn't take advantage on the blown foul fly to Tino Martinez. Adrian Beltre was on second with one out in the seventh and never crossed the plate. That was it for the night as the Mariners were completely fazed by Randy Johnson. They couldn't hit him. Five baserunners in seven innings won't exactly add up to a win. If those five baserunners reached on five solo homers, then it might add up to a win, but the odds of this particular team doing such a thing are beyond astronomical. Five solo shots on the road would be one thing, but five solo shots at a home game would be even more crazy. Yes, I miss offense.
As for Felix, he walked Derek Jeter to lead off the game, and though it didn't set an overriding tone to the game, Hernandez just wasn't quite as sharp as we've seen him. The other thing to consider is that we're saying this about Felix despite the fact that he got through eight innings, struck out seven, and only surrendered four hits. The bad thing was that he made the two mistakes to Robinson Cano and Gary Sheffield which scored the only runs of the game. I'm raising more of an eyebrow with the four walks than the two homers, because homers are going to happen every once in a while. I guess the positive thing out of the homers is that he managed to yield them both with nobody on base. Even still, I look at the line for Felix in this game, and I have to say that if these are what the growing pains are going to be like for Felix, I'll be sitting with baited breath just waiting for how it'll be when he's actually good. He's been crazy-good already, but it's mind-blowing to think he could be better than we've seen so far.
Since there were no multi-hit games for the Mariners, I'll jump right into the Ichiro thing. He went hitless in this game, going 0-for-4. Ichiro is still sitting on 164 hits for the season. Provided he gets at-bats at the same pace he's been getting them for the season (552 at-bats in 132 games, 4.18 at-bats per game)...
-- he needs 36 hits to reach 200 for the season; he'd need to hit .287 for the remainder of the season, and that'd leave him with a .295 season average.
-- he needs 39 hits to finish with a .300 average for the season; he'd need to hit .311 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 203 hits.
-- he needs 53 hits to finish with a .320 average for the season; he'd need to hit .422 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 217 hits.
I'd have to say the goal for the series was to take two of the four games against the Yankees, but the day game has Joel Piñeiro starting, so chances probably aren't good. However, Jaret Wright will be throwing for the other guys, so maybe there's a chance.
Wright. Piñeiro. Today.
In 25 words or less: Teacher outdoes pupil. Also, the Yankee offense is way better than that of Seattle, though only two pitches did in Felix.
This one featured Randy Johnson going up against Felix Hernandez, in other words, the most anticipated pitching matchup of the year in Seattle. It sure beats something like Ryan Franklin against Jake Westbrook or something. Gil Meche against Josh Towers. Most of the matchups you can think of this year involving a non-Felix/non-Moyer pitcher.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B+
Taking hold. Derek Jeter walked on a 3-1 dirtball that got away. Hideki Matsui bounced the second pitch to short, starting the 6-4-3 double play. Gary Sheffield got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 high and inside change. Alex Rodriguez took an 0-1 pitch barely inside and eventually rolled to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Dominant. Ichiro badly whiffed on a 2-2 slider way outside. Jamal Strong bounced an 0-2 pitch to short. Raul Ibañez got ahead 3-0 before taking a full-count slider over the outside corner.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Solid. Jason Giambi lined the second pitch to Strong in fairly deep centerfield. Tino Martinez took an 0-2 deathly curve over the outer half for strike three. Matt Lawton got ahead 3-0 before grounding a 3-1 pitch to Richie Sexson for a 3-1 putout.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Sheesh. Richie Sexson got under a fly ball to centerfield. Adrian Beltre took a full-count pitch down and in for a walk. Jose Lopez whiffed on a 1-2 fastball. Mike Morse took a 1-2 fastball over the inside corner.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B
Tarnish. John Flaherty whiffed on a 1-2 deathly and dirty curve low and away. Robinson Cano golfed the second pitch just over the rightfield wall.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 0
Jeter took a 1-2 fastball over the outside corner. Matsui bounced a 2-2 pitch to second.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Still nothing. Yorvit Torrealba bounced a 2-2 pitch to short. Yuniesky Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and ended up grounding a 1-2 pitch hard to short. Ichiro chopped a ball down the third-base line, where Rodriguez ranged into foul territory and threw off-balance and in time to first on a great play.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B
Another small stain. Sheffield jumped on the second pitch, a high fastball, and crushed it into the Mariner bullpen.
»» YANKEES 2, MARINERS 0
Rodriguez got ahead 2-0 before taking a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Giambi took a 1-2 curve barely off the outside corner before walking on a high full-count breaking ball. Martinez grounded to first for a 3-6-1 double play.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Shutdown. Strong chopped the first pitch up the middle to Cano. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 before grounding out hard to third. Sexson took a questionable low 2-0 strike before walking on a 3-1 pitch inside. Beltre smoked a ball right to Rodriguez at third.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
Better. Lawton bounced a 3-1 pitch to second. Flaherty whiffed on a high 0-2 fastball. Cano grounded a 1-2 pitch to third.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
Zeroes galore. Lopez popped an 0-2 pitch to Matsui in leftcenter. Morse fell behind 0-2 and later fisted a 1-2 pitch to a charging Matsui in centerfield. Torrealba supposedly couldn't hold a 1-2 checkswing.
TOP 6TH
Grade: A
Settling? Jeter bounced the first pitch to second. Matsui took an 0-2 curve over the outside corner for strike three. Sheffield got the hitters' counts and bounced out to third on the 3-1 pitch.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C
Frustrating. Betancourt bounced a 1-2 pitch off the track and wall by the manual scoreboard in leftfield. Ichiro bounced the second pitch to short, moving Betancourt to third. Strong took a 2-2 fastball over the inner half. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 before popping a 1-2 pitch high and foul in front of the stands on the right side, where he moved to the wall and drifted back, taking the ball off the heel of his glove. Ibañez hit a 1-2 broken-bat grounder to third on the next pitch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: B+
Treacherous. Rodriguez walked on four pitches. Giambi lashed a single into rightfield, moving Rodriguez to second. Martinez hti a broken-bat 0-2 bouncer up the middle to Betancourt, who stepped on second and converted the 6-3 double play as Rodriguez moved to third. Lawton lined a 3-0 pitch right into Beltre's glove at third.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
This one's a loss. Sexson took a 2-2 fastball probably a bit high and in for strike three. Beltre crushed the second pitch right to Rodriguez, whose wide throw (rushed) luckily took Martinez off the bag at first. Lopez lasered an 0-2 pitch up the middle for a single, moving Beltre to second. Morse popped the second pitch to Matsui drifting back in centerfield, moving Beltre to third. Torrealba had some words with Ron Kulpa behind the plate after a 2-1 inside fastball, then rolled the 2-2 pitch to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice (close play).
Johnson's line: 7 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, 116 pitches (79 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: A-
Nice finish. Flaherty fell behind 0-2 before poking a 1-2 pitch up the middle off of Hernandez and to Lopez for a 1-4-3 putout. Cano poked a 2-0 pitch up the middle. Jeter bunted the first pitch along the first-base line, moving Cano to second. Matsui whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball curve.
Hernandez' line: 8 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts, 108 pitches (60 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
Tom Gordon came in for Johnson. Betancourt flew out high to centerfield on a 2-2 pitch. Ichiro flared the second pitch to Cano in shallow rightcenter. Jeremy Reed, hitting for Strong, whiffed on a 2-2 pitch outside.
Gordon's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B-
Jeff Nelson came in for Hernandez. Sheffield hit a fly to leftfield, and Morse went back on it, letting it drop in front of him for a single on the first ball to him in leftfield this season. Rodriguez popped to Lopez on the right side.
Matt Thornton came in for Nelson. Giambi flew out high to leftfield on a 1-2 pitch (yay Morse). Bernie Williams, hitting for Martinez, got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch way outside. Lawton popped high to Ichiro in shallow rightfield.
Nelson's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (4 strikes)
Thornton's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (6 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: C-
Mariano Rivera came in for Gordon. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 before splintering his bat on a 1-2 popout to rightfield. Sexson poked the first pitch up the middle for a single. Beltre whiffed on an 0-2 fastball that was about a foot high. Lopez flew out to shallow rightfield on a 2-0 pitch. Ballgame.
Rivera's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adrian Beltre.
Aside from his strikeout in the ninth on a pitch that was about a foot high, Beltre was one of only two Mariners (Richie Sexson) to reach base twice. Twice he ripped the ball hard toward Alex Rodriguez at third. The first time, the ball was lined right into Rodriguez' glove. The second time, Rodriguez' throw was wide, giving Beltre the single. He also drew a walk. With that, Beltre finished with a .288 average in the month of August, though he didn't homer after the 20th. It was his best month since his .321 May. He's raised his slugging percentage in each of the last three months, with August being his sluggingest month with a .545 mark. He's been coming along slowly but surely, which is good to see him finally do, though I know he's nowhere close to being all the way to where he's supposed to be. Defensively, I think it'll hard for him to get a Gold Glove since Eric Chavez is overrated (though less so now than before) and Alex Rodriguez now plays third. Since Beltre is having an off year at the plate, he'll get the Jeff Cirillo shaft in the Gold Glove voting.
Goat: Mike Morse.
Sure, he wasn't the only Mariner that went 0-for-3 against Randy Johnson. People go 0-for-3 against Randy Johnson, there's nothing you can do about that. This game, however, marked the grand opening of the Mike Morse Leftfield Experience. After making his first start in leftfield and somehow not having a ball hit to him, he took a first step back on a Gary Sheffield shallow fly ball but took a little too long to judge it, eventually letting it drop in front of him. Frankly, it reminds me of the leftfield adventures before Randy Winn came to Seattle. Let's all take a moment to the times of Glenallen Hill, Butch Huskey, Al Martin...good times, huh? Might we be back to the times where leftfield will truly be a place where you just sort of stick a guy and hope his bat comes through? It's definitely what they've done with Morse, though his bat hasn't gotten crazy hot in his most recent accumulation of playing time. I know we're all probably hoping for him to rip it up like he did his first few weeks with the big club, but it'll probably be a while before that happens again. This wouldn't be such a problem if Chris Snelling was healthy. Snelling's injured so much that I can't even remember the injury that put him out for the rest of this season.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 94-38 .712 -- L2
2002 78-54 .591 16 L1
2003 77-55 .583 17 W1
2000 72-60 .545 22 W1
2005 56-76 .424 38 L1
2004 51-81 .386 43 L1
What can you say? Randy Johnson dominated the Mariners. What few scoring chances the Mariners had were easily snuffed out by Randy and the Yankees. None of the scoring chances came until the sixth since the Mariners didn't get a hit until Yuniesky Betancourt led off the inning with the only Mariner extra-base hit of the night. Ichiro moved him to third before Jamal Strong was humbled and Raul Ibañez couldn't take advantage on the blown foul fly to Tino Martinez. Adrian Beltre was on second with one out in the seventh and never crossed the plate. That was it for the night as the Mariners were completely fazed by Randy Johnson. They couldn't hit him. Five baserunners in seven innings won't exactly add up to a win. If those five baserunners reached on five solo homers, then it might add up to a win, but the odds of this particular team doing such a thing are beyond astronomical. Five solo shots on the road would be one thing, but five solo shots at a home game would be even more crazy. Yes, I miss offense.
As for Felix, he walked Derek Jeter to lead off the game, and though it didn't set an overriding tone to the game, Hernandez just wasn't quite as sharp as we've seen him. The other thing to consider is that we're saying this about Felix despite the fact that he got through eight innings, struck out seven, and only surrendered four hits. The bad thing was that he made the two mistakes to Robinson Cano and Gary Sheffield which scored the only runs of the game. I'm raising more of an eyebrow with the four walks than the two homers, because homers are going to happen every once in a while. I guess the positive thing out of the homers is that he managed to yield them both with nobody on base. Even still, I look at the line for Felix in this game, and I have to say that if these are what the growing pains are going to be like for Felix, I'll be sitting with baited breath just waiting for how it'll be when he's actually good. He's been crazy-good already, but it's mind-blowing to think he could be better than we've seen so far.
Since there were no multi-hit games for the Mariners, I'll jump right into the Ichiro thing. He went hitless in this game, going 0-for-4. Ichiro is still sitting on 164 hits for the season. Provided he gets at-bats at the same pace he's been getting them for the season (552 at-bats in 132 games, 4.18 at-bats per game)...
-- he needs 36 hits to reach 200 for the season; he'd need to hit .287 for the remainder of the season, and that'd leave him with a .295 season average.
-- he needs 39 hits to finish with a .300 average for the season; he'd need to hit .311 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 203 hits.
-- he needs 53 hits to finish with a .320 average for the season; he'd need to hit .422 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 217 hits.
I'd have to say the goal for the series was to take two of the four games against the Yankees, but the day game has Joel Piñeiro starting, so chances probably aren't good. However, Jaret Wright will be throwing for the other guys, so maybe there's a chance.
Wright. Piñeiro. Today.
/ Click for main page
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
PRAY FOR FELIX, 8/31/05 YANKEES AT MARINERS
Hey y'all.
Randy Johnson. Felix Hernandez.
The past. The present/future.
I will do everything in my power to get back to my dorm by 9 p.m. Central tonight to catch Felix and Randy. I should be able to, but hey, the way things are going, who knows what's next for me.
Two days until I leave for Kansas City. Can't forget about St. Louis, of course.
Show me, son! Show me!
Randy Johnson. Felix Hernandez.
The past. The present/future.
I will do everything in my power to get back to my dorm by 9 p.m. Central tonight to catch Felix and Randy. I should be able to, but hey, the way things are going, who knows what's next for me.
Two days until I leave for Kansas City. Can't forget about St. Louis, of course.
Show me, son! Show me!
/ Click for main page
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
GAME 131: MARINERS 8, YANKEES 3
Mariners 8, Yankees 3
In 25 words or less: The Big Inning is a friend for once, and the Mariners pound another Yankee starting pitcher, not that fans should get used to that.
[***NOTE -- Same reason as the last game. Testing tomorrow, gotta study. Should have it up within a couple days. Still watched the game, though. I don't have priorities in order as much as I burn the candle at both ends. I'm way better at the latter, or at least I end up doing that more.]
This one featured Shawn Chacon going up against Jeff Harris. Willie Bloomquist's hamstring strain in Monday night's game resulted in him being placed on the 15-day disabled list, with Jose Lopez being called up from Tacoma in his place.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C+
Shaky. Derek Jeter rolled the second pitch weakly to short. Hidek Matsui took a four-pitch walk. Alex Rodriguez fell behind 0-2 but worked a walk out of it. Jason Giambi fell behind 0-2 and wound up working the count full before lacing a single to rightfield on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Bernie Williams popped the first pitch to centerfield. Jorge Posada popped the second pitch to Yuniesky Betancourt in shallow leftfield.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Startless. Ichiro lashed a flyout to leftfield. Jeremy Reed chopped to Jason Giambi near the bag at first. Raul Ibañez bounced out to second.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
Not too bad. Matt Lawton took a 1-2 pitch to the backside. Mark Bellhorn chopped a 1-2 pitch to second, where Jose Lopez lost the ball on the transfer (4-6 fielder's choice). Robinson Cano popped the first pitch to Ichiro near the corner. Jeter bounced a single through the left side, moving Bellhorn to second. Matsui fell behind 0-2 before flying out to centerfield.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A
Merry go round! Richie Sexson got ahead 2-0 before fisting a single over Jeter at short. Adrian Beltre singled up the middle on the first pitch, moving Sexson to second. Mike Morse took the second pitch off the forearm, loading the bases. Jose Lopez took the first pitch in the dirt, and it got away from Posada toward the first-base side, allowing Sexson to slide in just under the tag as the other runners moved up ninety feet. Also, I hope Sexson never slides headfirst again.
»» MARINERS 1, YANKEES 0
Lopez got ahead 3-0 and ended up talking the 3-1 breaking ball way outside and low, reloading the bases. Yorvit Torrealba got ahead 2-0 and chopped the 2-2 pitch to Cano behind the mound, who flipped to second for the out as Beltre scored and Morse moved to third.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 0
Yuniesky Betancourt popped the second pitch to centerfield, and Morse didn't tag up from third on the play despite Bernie Williams' arm (or lack thereof). Ichiro lined a 3-1 pitch into the rightfield seats, scoring Morse and Torrealba.
»» MARINERS 5, YANKEES 0
Reed drilled a 2-0 pitch into the rightfield corner for a double. Ibañez bounced the second pitch to second.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C
Rebuttal. Rodriguez got ahead 3-1 before walking on a full-count pitch inside. Giambi got the hitters' counts and took a 3-1 pitch up and away, luring Bryan Price to the mound. Williams whiffed on a low 0-2 change. Posada cranked the first pitch into rightcenter, scoring Rodriguez and moving Giambi to third.
»» MARINERS 5, YANKEES 1
Lawton got ahead 2-0 before bouncing to Lopez, who took the ball off the heel of his glove and was able to only get the out at first as Giambi scored (Posada to second).
»» MARINERS 5, YANKEES 2
Bellhorn tapped the second pitch back to the mound.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B+
Add on. Sexson took a four-pitch walk. Beltre popped to Cano in shallow rightfield. Morse took a full-count pitch way inside and got beaned again. Lopez drilled a 1-2 pitch into rightcenter, where Lawton had trouble fielding it, and since Lawton's throw shorthopped Cano (E9), Lopez had the double and got to third as Sexson and Morse scored.
»» MARINERS 7, YANKEES 2
Torrealba foul-tipped an 0-2 pitch into the catcher's glove. Betancourt bounced a ball over Lawton's head in rightfield, off the track, and into the rightfield seats for a ground-rule double, scoring Lopez easily.
»» MARINERS 8, YANKEES 2
Ichiro took a 3-1 pitch outside. Reed bounced to Giambi on the right side for a 3-1 putout.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A-
Good. Cano got ahead 2-0 before taking a 2-2 breaking ball over the outside corner. Jeter couldn't hold his swing at an 0-2 slider low and away. Matsui chopped a 1-2 pitch to a leaping Harris on the mound.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
Settling. Ibañez grounded a 2-0 pitch to Giambi, who knocked it down and completed the 3-1 putout. Sexson got under one, flying out high to shallow rightfield. Beltre whiffed on an 0-2 pitch up and away.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
Chime in. Rodriguez crushed a 1-1 pitch onto the cover over the rightfield tunnel.
»» MARINERS 8, YANKEES 3
Giambi bounced the second pitch to second. Williams popped an 0-2 pitch high to Reed in shallow centerfield. Posada took a 2-2 breaking ball down the pipe.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C+
Nearly something. Morse flew out to Lawton in rightcenter on the first pitch. Lopez drilled a double off one bounce and into the leftfield corner. Torrealba grounded up the middle to Cano, moving Lopez to third. Betancourt watched the second pitch get away from Posada, but Lopez stopped and went back to third. Betancourt later took a 3-1 pitch outside. Ichiro whiffed badly at an 0-2 fastball up and away.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
Still putting out fires. Lawton rolled out to second. Bellhorn fell behind 0-2 and rolled out to second. Cano laced the first pitch into rightfield for a single. Jeter lasered a single into rightfield, moving Cano to second. Matsui tapped the first pitch back to Harris.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C
Drag. Reed shot the second pitch to Giambi near the bag at first. Ibañez dumped the second pitch near the leftfield line for a single. Sexson popped an 0-2 pitch to Giambi along the right side. Beltre flew out to Lawton in rightcenter on an 0-2 pitch.
Chacon's line: 6 innings, 8 runs, 8 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 113 pitches (62 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: B
Nice end for Harris. Rodriguez popped to a charging Reed in centerfield. Giambi got ahead 3-0 and took a low 3-1 pitch for a walk.
George Sherrill came in for Harris. Williams lined a 1-2 pitch to Lopez, reaching high to make the grab. Posada whiffed on a 3-2 high fastball away.
Harris' line: 6 1/3 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts, 112 pitches (69 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Felix Rodriguez came in for Chacon. Morse grounded a 1-2 pitch hard back to the mound, and it bounced high into the air off of pitcher Rodriguez, who couldn't come up with it on the way to first. Jamal Strong came in to run for Morse. Lopez flew out to leftfield. Torrealba took the first pitch three feet over the head of Posada and to the backstop, allowing Strong to easily move to second. Torrealba later chopped a 2-2 pitch to short, moving Strong to third. Betancourt chopped out to short.
TOP 8TH
Grade: A-
Solid. Lawton popped a 1-2 pitch to Torrealba behind the plate. Bellhorn worked an 0-2 count full before flying out high to rightfield. Cano popped high to rightfield.
Sherrill's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 26 pitches (16 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C+
Could have been better. Ichiro got ahead 2-0 before whiffing on a full-count fastball foul-tip up and away. Reed fell behind 0-2 before digging a low and outside 1-2 pitch into leftfield for a single. Ibañez got ahead 3-0 and wound up walking on a 3-1 pitch up and away. Sexson popped very high to Matsui in shallow leftcenter. Beltre had a 3-1 pitch nearly take him out at the knees, loading the bases. Strong grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice.
Felix Rodriguez' line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 44 pitches (24 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B+
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Jeter whiffed on an outside 0-2 pitch. Matsui bounced to Sexson at first for a 3-1 putout. Rodriguez got ahead 2-0 and wound up walking on an inside pitch. Giambi watched as Rodriguez took second on the first pitch (catcher's indifference). Giambi later flew out to Strong in front of the track in leftfield. Ballgame.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (10 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jeremy Reed.
Goat: Yorvit Torrealba.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 94-37 .718 -- L1
2002 78-53 .595 16 W1
2003 76-55 .580 18 L6
2000 71-60 .542 23 L2
2005 56-75 .427 38 W1
2004 51-80 .389 43 W5
Ichiro (sitting on 164 hits), given he averages 4.18 at-bats per game for the rest of the season...
-- needs 36 hits to get to 200 hits on the season (would need to hit .278 the rest of the way and end with a .295 season mark)
-- needs 39 hits (203 hits for the season) to get to a .300 season average (would need to hit .301 the rest of the way)
-- needs 53 hits (217 hits on the season) to reach a .320 season mark (.409 the rest of the way)
Johnson. Hernandez. Tomorrow.
In 25 words or less: The Big Inning is a friend for once, and the Mariners pound another Yankee starting pitcher, not that fans should get used to that.
[***NOTE -- Same reason as the last game. Testing tomorrow, gotta study. Should have it up within a couple days. Still watched the game, though. I don't have priorities in order as much as I burn the candle at both ends. I'm way better at the latter, or at least I end up doing that more.]
This one featured Shawn Chacon going up against Jeff Harris. Willie Bloomquist's hamstring strain in Monday night's game resulted in him being placed on the 15-day disabled list, with Jose Lopez being called up from Tacoma in his place.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C+
Shaky. Derek Jeter rolled the second pitch weakly to short. Hidek Matsui took a four-pitch walk. Alex Rodriguez fell behind 0-2 but worked a walk out of it. Jason Giambi fell behind 0-2 and wound up working the count full before lacing a single to rightfield on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Bernie Williams popped the first pitch to centerfield. Jorge Posada popped the second pitch to Yuniesky Betancourt in shallow leftfield.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Startless. Ichiro lashed a flyout to leftfield. Jeremy Reed chopped to Jason Giambi near the bag at first. Raul Ibañez bounced out to second.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
Not too bad. Matt Lawton took a 1-2 pitch to the backside. Mark Bellhorn chopped a 1-2 pitch to second, where Jose Lopez lost the ball on the transfer (4-6 fielder's choice). Robinson Cano popped the first pitch to Ichiro near the corner. Jeter bounced a single through the left side, moving Bellhorn to second. Matsui fell behind 0-2 before flying out to centerfield.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A
Merry go round! Richie Sexson got ahead 2-0 before fisting a single over Jeter at short. Adrian Beltre singled up the middle on the first pitch, moving Sexson to second. Mike Morse took the second pitch off the forearm, loading the bases. Jose Lopez took the first pitch in the dirt, and it got away from Posada toward the first-base side, allowing Sexson to slide in just under the tag as the other runners moved up ninety feet. Also, I hope Sexson never slides headfirst again.
»» MARINERS 1, YANKEES 0
Lopez got ahead 3-0 and ended up talking the 3-1 breaking ball way outside and low, reloading the bases. Yorvit Torrealba got ahead 2-0 and chopped the 2-2 pitch to Cano behind the mound, who flipped to second for the out as Beltre scored and Morse moved to third.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 0
Yuniesky Betancourt popped the second pitch to centerfield, and Morse didn't tag up from third on the play despite Bernie Williams' arm (or lack thereof). Ichiro lined a 3-1 pitch into the rightfield seats, scoring Morse and Torrealba.
»» MARINERS 5, YANKEES 0
Reed drilled a 2-0 pitch into the rightfield corner for a double. Ibañez bounced the second pitch to second.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C
Rebuttal. Rodriguez got ahead 3-1 before walking on a full-count pitch inside. Giambi got the hitters' counts and took a 3-1 pitch up and away, luring Bryan Price to the mound. Williams whiffed on a low 0-2 change. Posada cranked the first pitch into rightcenter, scoring Rodriguez and moving Giambi to third.
»» MARINERS 5, YANKEES 1
Lawton got ahead 2-0 before bouncing to Lopez, who took the ball off the heel of his glove and was able to only get the out at first as Giambi scored (Posada to second).
»» MARINERS 5, YANKEES 2
Bellhorn tapped the second pitch back to the mound.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B+
Add on. Sexson took a four-pitch walk. Beltre popped to Cano in shallow rightfield. Morse took a full-count pitch way inside and got beaned again. Lopez drilled a 1-2 pitch into rightcenter, where Lawton had trouble fielding it, and since Lawton's throw shorthopped Cano (E9), Lopez had the double and got to third as Sexson and Morse scored.
»» MARINERS 7, YANKEES 2
Torrealba foul-tipped an 0-2 pitch into the catcher's glove. Betancourt bounced a ball over Lawton's head in rightfield, off the track, and into the rightfield seats for a ground-rule double, scoring Lopez easily.
»» MARINERS 8, YANKEES 2
Ichiro took a 3-1 pitch outside. Reed bounced to Giambi on the right side for a 3-1 putout.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A-
Good. Cano got ahead 2-0 before taking a 2-2 breaking ball over the outside corner. Jeter couldn't hold his swing at an 0-2 slider low and away. Matsui chopped a 1-2 pitch to a leaping Harris on the mound.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
Settling. Ibañez grounded a 2-0 pitch to Giambi, who knocked it down and completed the 3-1 putout. Sexson got under one, flying out high to shallow rightfield. Beltre whiffed on an 0-2 pitch up and away.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
Chime in. Rodriguez crushed a 1-1 pitch onto the cover over the rightfield tunnel.
»» MARINERS 8, YANKEES 3
Giambi bounced the second pitch to second. Williams popped an 0-2 pitch high to Reed in shallow centerfield. Posada took a 2-2 breaking ball down the pipe.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C+
Nearly something. Morse flew out to Lawton in rightcenter on the first pitch. Lopez drilled a double off one bounce and into the leftfield corner. Torrealba grounded up the middle to Cano, moving Lopez to third. Betancourt watched the second pitch get away from Posada, but Lopez stopped and went back to third. Betancourt later took a 3-1 pitch outside. Ichiro whiffed badly at an 0-2 fastball up and away.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
Still putting out fires. Lawton rolled out to second. Bellhorn fell behind 0-2 and rolled out to second. Cano laced the first pitch into rightfield for a single. Jeter lasered a single into rightfield, moving Cano to second. Matsui tapped the first pitch back to Harris.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C
Drag. Reed shot the second pitch to Giambi near the bag at first. Ibañez dumped the second pitch near the leftfield line for a single. Sexson popped an 0-2 pitch to Giambi along the right side. Beltre flew out to Lawton in rightcenter on an 0-2 pitch.
Chacon's line: 6 innings, 8 runs, 8 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 113 pitches (62 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: B
Nice end for Harris. Rodriguez popped to a charging Reed in centerfield. Giambi got ahead 3-0 and took a low 3-1 pitch for a walk.
George Sherrill came in for Harris. Williams lined a 1-2 pitch to Lopez, reaching high to make the grab. Posada whiffed on a 3-2 high fastball away.
Harris' line: 6 1/3 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts, 112 pitches (69 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Felix Rodriguez came in for Chacon. Morse grounded a 1-2 pitch hard back to the mound, and it bounced high into the air off of pitcher Rodriguez, who couldn't come up with it on the way to first. Jamal Strong came in to run for Morse. Lopez flew out to leftfield. Torrealba took the first pitch three feet over the head of Posada and to the backstop, allowing Strong to easily move to second. Torrealba later chopped a 2-2 pitch to short, moving Strong to third. Betancourt chopped out to short.
TOP 8TH
Grade: A-
Solid. Lawton popped a 1-2 pitch to Torrealba behind the plate. Bellhorn worked an 0-2 count full before flying out high to rightfield. Cano popped high to rightfield.
Sherrill's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 26 pitches (16 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C+
Could have been better. Ichiro got ahead 2-0 before whiffing on a full-count fastball foul-tip up and away. Reed fell behind 0-2 before digging a low and outside 1-2 pitch into leftfield for a single. Ibañez got ahead 3-0 and wound up walking on a 3-1 pitch up and away. Sexson popped very high to Matsui in shallow leftcenter. Beltre had a 3-1 pitch nearly take him out at the knees, loading the bases. Strong grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice.
Felix Rodriguez' line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 44 pitches (24 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B+
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Jeter whiffed on an outside 0-2 pitch. Matsui bounced to Sexson at first for a 3-1 putout. Rodriguez got ahead 2-0 and wound up walking on an inside pitch. Giambi watched as Rodriguez took second on the first pitch (catcher's indifference). Giambi later flew out to Strong in front of the track in leftfield. Ballgame.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (10 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jeremy Reed.
Goat: Yorvit Torrealba.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 94-37 .718 -- L1
2002 78-53 .595 16 W1
2003 76-55 .580 18 L6
2000 71-60 .542 23 L2
2005 56-75 .427 38 W1
2004 51-80 .389 43 W5
Ichiro (sitting on 164 hits), given he averages 4.18 at-bats per game for the rest of the season...
-- needs 36 hits to get to 200 hits on the season (would need to hit .278 the rest of the way and end with a .295 season mark)
-- needs 39 hits (203 hits for the season) to get to a .300 season average (would need to hit .301 the rest of the way)
-- needs 53 hits (217 hits on the season) to reach a .320 season mark (.409 the rest of the way)
Johnson. Hernandez. Tomorrow.
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GAME 130: YANKEES 7, MARINERS 4
Yankees 7, Mariners 4
In 25 words or less: The Mariners pull off something out of the ordinary. This doesn't necessary mean they won a game or anything.
[***NOTE: I'll be posting the usual postgame spiel probably some time later in the week. I got some tests tomorrow. Of course, this game itself didn't much motivate me to do my usual postgame unloading.]
This one featured Mike Mussina going up against Ryan Franklin. Would Mussina have his usual way with the Mariners? Would Franklin carry on with his post-suspension ineffectiveness?
TOP 1ST
Grade: A-
Decent. Derek Jeter flew out high to rightfield on the first pitch. Hideki Matsui whiffed on a 2-2 fastball. Gary Sheffield fouled the second pitch into the upper deck in leftfield before flying out to the track in centerfield.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B-
It's something. Ichiro lashed the second pitch into the seats in the second row in rightfield.
»» MARINERS 1, YANKEES 0
Willie Bloomquist got ahead 3-1 before tapping a full-count pitch right back to the mound. Raul Ibañez fell behind 0-2 before clubbing a 1-2 pitch into the gap in rightcenter, but for some reason Ibañez tried to turn it into a triple, but the relay nailed him at third by about five feet. Richie Sexson lined an 0-2 pitch right to Cano.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
Damage control. Alex Rodriguez bounced to Bloomquist up the middle, but the throw to first barely pulled Sexson off the bag. Jason Giambi walked on four pitches. Bernie Williams got ahead 2-0 and whiffed on a full count, and Miguel Ojeda nailed Rodriguez at third by five feet. Matt Lawton popped high to leftfield on the first pitch.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C
Meah. Adrian Beltre 9-ironed the first pitch to the track in rightfield. Greg Dobbs sharply doubled the second pitch down the rightfield line. Yuniesky Betancourt flew out to rightfield on an 0-2 pitch. Jeremy Reed rolled out to short.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B
Passable. Jorge Posada grounded a 3-1 pitch into the hole on the right side, where Bloomquist dove for a stop and threw in time to first. Robinson Cano took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner. Jeter chopped a 2-2 pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first, where he stepped on the bag.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B-
Squandered. Miguel Ojeda scooped the second pitch into centerfield for a single. Ichiro laced the second pitch into rightfield for a single, moving Ojeda to second. Bloomquist bunted the second pitch in front of the plate, where Mussina picked it up and threw to first, moving Ojeda to third and Ichiro to second. Ibañez walked on four pitches. Sexson took a 3-0 pitch inside, forcing Ojeda across the plate and keeping the bases loaded.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 0
Beltre popped the second pitch to Cano in shallow rightfield. Dobbs sliced the 2-2 pitch to the track in rightfield.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A-
Not bad. Matsui popped to Betancourt in front of the bag at second. Sheffield chopped a 1-2 pitch to a charging Betancourt. Rodriguez rolled a full-count pitch to Beltre behind the bag at third, whose throw had to be scooped by Sexson.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
More? Betancourt walked on a 3-1 pitch low and away. Reed got ahead 2-0, and Betancourt took second on the next pitch. Reed got ahead 3-0 and later push-bunted the 3-1 pitch along the third-base side, and Rodriguez couldn't come up with the handle after charging, though he probably wouldn't have had Reed anyway. Betancourt moved to third on the play, and Reed was safe at first. Ojeda just missed a 1-1 double down the leftfield line and worked a 1-2 count full, attracting pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre to the mound. Ojeda took the full-count pitch very low and away, loading the bases.
Aaron Small came in for Mussina. Ichiro grounded the second pitch hard to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice, scoring Betancourt (Ojeda out).
»» MARINERS 3, YANKEES 0
Bloomquist fell behind 0-2 before nubbed a 1-2 pitch to second for the same play, as Bloomquist barely beat out the double play (Ichiro out) as Reed scored. Bloomquist, who was more than likely out on the play, pulled up with a hamstring or quad and came out of the game (later revealed as a left hamstring strain). Mike Morse came in to run for him.
»» MARINERS 4, YANKEES 0
Ibañez took a 3-1 dirtball for a walk. Sexson popped to shallow rightfield on the first pitch.
Mussina's line: 3 innings, 4 runs, 6 hits, 4 walks, 0 strikeouts, 65 pitches (36 strikes)
TOP 5TH
Grade: C-
Spiro comes out rusty. Giambi reached the Hit It Here Cafe windows high above the rightfield wall, missing the bulls-eye in the sign by only a few feet.
»» MARINERS 4, YANKEES 1
Williams got the hitters' counts before walking on a 3-1 pitch high and away. Lawton worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing, and Ojeda gunned down Williams easily at second. Posada golfed a 3-1 pitch off the track and wall in rightfield for a double. Cano took the first pitch in the dirt, a pitch which got past Ojeda and rolled to the backstop, advancing Posada to third. Cano ended up lacing a 1-2 meatball up the middle for a single, scoring Posada easily.
»» MARINERS 4, YANKEES 2
Jeter rolled over an 0-2 pitch, grounding to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C
Not fun. Beltre rolled over on a 2-2 pitch, grounding it to short. Dobbs ripped the second pitch into the gap in leftcenter, and he was able to take advantage of Williams' slowitude and got a double out of it. Betancourt clubbed a 2-0 pitch to leftcenter, where Williams somehow made the running catch on the track. Reed golfed the first pitch to the track in centerfield.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
I laughed. Matsui grounded the first pitch to Sexson for a 3-1 putout. Sheffield took a four-pitch walk. Rodriguez worked a 1-2 count full before walking on a pitch low and away.
Matt Thornton came in for Franklin. Giambi smashed a hanging slider off the facing of the suite level in rightfield.
»» YANKEES 5, MARINERS 4
Williams walked on four pitches, then Mike Hargrove came out to the mound and grilled Thornton pretty hard. Lawton chopped the second pitch to third, moving Williams to second. Posada rolled out to short.
Franklin's line: 5 1/3 innings, 4 runs, 4 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, 93 pitches (50 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
Nothing. Ojeda worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Ichiro popped the second pitch high to Cano in shallow rightcenter. Morse grounded a 3-1 pitch into a 4-6-3 double play.
TOP 7TH
Grade: B+
Holding the fort. Cano bounced the second pitch to short.
Julio Mateo came in for Thornton. Jeter whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Matsui doubled into the rightfield corner. Sheffield popped the second pitch high to centerfield.
Thornton's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 15 pitches (7 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
Same crap. Ibañez bounced out to second. Sexson popped the second pitch just short of the track in centerfield. Beltre got ahead 3-0 before walking on a pitch inside. Dobbs popped an 0-2 pitch to Giambi in front of the bag at first.
Small's line: 4 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts, 50 pitches (29 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C-
Daggers. Rodriguez crushed the first pitch into the Mariner bullpen in leftcenter.
»» YANKEES 6, MARINERS 4
George Sherrill came in for Mateo. Giambi whiffed on a high 1-2 fastball. Williams fell behind 0-2 before flying out high to Betancourt in shallow rightfield. Lawton crushed a 3-1 pitch about twelve rows into the rightfield seats.
»» YANKEES 7, MARINERS 4
Posada popped the first pitch to Sexson on the infield grass.
Mateo's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (7 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 14 pitches (9 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
Tom Gordon came in for Small (in the field, Tino Martinez came in for Giambi and Bubba Crosby came in for Williams). Betancourt whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball (2-3 putout). Reed flew out to Jeter in shallow leftfield on a 1-2 pitch. Ojeda got ahead 3-1 and wound up whiffing on a full count.
Gordon's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 16 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Sherrill. Cano bounced the second pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first (unassisted). Jeter popped short of the track in rightfield on a full count. Matsui grounded along the third-base line to Hasegawa, whose throw was picked by Sexson at first.
Hasegawa's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (7 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade:
Mariano Rivera came in for Gordon (Felix Escolona came in for Rodriguez). Ichiro drove the second pitch into rightcenter, where Crosby came down with it. Morse whiffed on a full-count pitch outside. Ibañez worked an 0-2 count full before whiffing. Ballgame.
Rivera's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 18 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
Goat: Ryan Franklin.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 94-36 .723 -- W5
2002 77-53 .592 17 L2
2003 76-54 .585 18 L5
2000 71-59 .546 23 L1
2005 55-75 .423 39 L1
2004 50-80 .385 44 W4
Chacon. Harris. Today.
In 25 words or less: The Mariners pull off something out of the ordinary. This doesn't necessary mean they won a game or anything.
[***NOTE: I'll be posting the usual postgame spiel probably some time later in the week. I got some tests tomorrow. Of course, this game itself didn't much motivate me to do my usual postgame unloading.]
This one featured Mike Mussina going up against Ryan Franklin. Would Mussina have his usual way with the Mariners? Would Franklin carry on with his post-suspension ineffectiveness?
TOP 1ST
Grade: A-
Decent. Derek Jeter flew out high to rightfield on the first pitch. Hideki Matsui whiffed on a 2-2 fastball. Gary Sheffield fouled the second pitch into the upper deck in leftfield before flying out to the track in centerfield.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B-
It's something. Ichiro lashed the second pitch into the seats in the second row in rightfield.
»» MARINERS 1, YANKEES 0
Willie Bloomquist got ahead 3-1 before tapping a full-count pitch right back to the mound. Raul Ibañez fell behind 0-2 before clubbing a 1-2 pitch into the gap in rightcenter, but for some reason Ibañez tried to turn it into a triple, but the relay nailed him at third by about five feet. Richie Sexson lined an 0-2 pitch right to Cano.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
Damage control. Alex Rodriguez bounced to Bloomquist up the middle, but the throw to first barely pulled Sexson off the bag. Jason Giambi walked on four pitches. Bernie Williams got ahead 2-0 and whiffed on a full count, and Miguel Ojeda nailed Rodriguez at third by five feet. Matt Lawton popped high to leftfield on the first pitch.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C
Meah. Adrian Beltre 9-ironed the first pitch to the track in rightfield. Greg Dobbs sharply doubled the second pitch down the rightfield line. Yuniesky Betancourt flew out to rightfield on an 0-2 pitch. Jeremy Reed rolled out to short.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B
Passable. Jorge Posada grounded a 3-1 pitch into the hole on the right side, where Bloomquist dove for a stop and threw in time to first. Robinson Cano took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner. Jeter chopped a 2-2 pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first, where he stepped on the bag.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B-
Squandered. Miguel Ojeda scooped the second pitch into centerfield for a single. Ichiro laced the second pitch into rightfield for a single, moving Ojeda to second. Bloomquist bunted the second pitch in front of the plate, where Mussina picked it up and threw to first, moving Ojeda to third and Ichiro to second. Ibañez walked on four pitches. Sexson took a 3-0 pitch inside, forcing Ojeda across the plate and keeping the bases loaded.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 0
Beltre popped the second pitch to Cano in shallow rightfield. Dobbs sliced the 2-2 pitch to the track in rightfield.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A-
Not bad. Matsui popped to Betancourt in front of the bag at second. Sheffield chopped a 1-2 pitch to a charging Betancourt. Rodriguez rolled a full-count pitch to Beltre behind the bag at third, whose throw had to be scooped by Sexson.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
More? Betancourt walked on a 3-1 pitch low and away. Reed got ahead 2-0, and Betancourt took second on the next pitch. Reed got ahead 3-0 and later push-bunted the 3-1 pitch along the third-base side, and Rodriguez couldn't come up with the handle after charging, though he probably wouldn't have had Reed anyway. Betancourt moved to third on the play, and Reed was safe at first. Ojeda just missed a 1-1 double down the leftfield line and worked a 1-2 count full, attracting pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre to the mound. Ojeda took the full-count pitch very low and away, loading the bases.
Aaron Small came in for Mussina. Ichiro grounded the second pitch hard to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice, scoring Betancourt (Ojeda out).
»» MARINERS 3, YANKEES 0
Bloomquist fell behind 0-2 before nubbed a 1-2 pitch to second for the same play, as Bloomquist barely beat out the double play (Ichiro out) as Reed scored. Bloomquist, who was more than likely out on the play, pulled up with a hamstring or quad and came out of the game (later revealed as a left hamstring strain). Mike Morse came in to run for him.
»» MARINERS 4, YANKEES 0
Ibañez took a 3-1 dirtball for a walk. Sexson popped to shallow rightfield on the first pitch.
Mussina's line: 3 innings, 4 runs, 6 hits, 4 walks, 0 strikeouts, 65 pitches (36 strikes)
TOP 5TH
Grade: C-
Spiro comes out rusty. Giambi reached the Hit It Here Cafe windows high above the rightfield wall, missing the bulls-eye in the sign by only a few feet.
»» MARINERS 4, YANKEES 1
Williams got the hitters' counts before walking on a 3-1 pitch high and away. Lawton worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing, and Ojeda gunned down Williams easily at second. Posada golfed a 3-1 pitch off the track and wall in rightfield for a double. Cano took the first pitch in the dirt, a pitch which got past Ojeda and rolled to the backstop, advancing Posada to third. Cano ended up lacing a 1-2 meatball up the middle for a single, scoring Posada easily.
»» MARINERS 4, YANKEES 2
Jeter rolled over an 0-2 pitch, grounding to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C
Not fun. Beltre rolled over on a 2-2 pitch, grounding it to short. Dobbs ripped the second pitch into the gap in leftcenter, and he was able to take advantage of Williams' slowitude and got a double out of it. Betancourt clubbed a 2-0 pitch to leftcenter, where Williams somehow made the running catch on the track. Reed golfed the first pitch to the track in centerfield.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
I laughed. Matsui grounded the first pitch to Sexson for a 3-1 putout. Sheffield took a four-pitch walk. Rodriguez worked a 1-2 count full before walking on a pitch low and away.
Matt Thornton came in for Franklin. Giambi smashed a hanging slider off the facing of the suite level in rightfield.
»» YANKEES 5, MARINERS 4
Williams walked on four pitches, then Mike Hargrove came out to the mound and grilled Thornton pretty hard. Lawton chopped the second pitch to third, moving Williams to second. Posada rolled out to short.
Franklin's line: 5 1/3 innings, 4 runs, 4 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, 93 pitches (50 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
Nothing. Ojeda worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Ichiro popped the second pitch high to Cano in shallow rightcenter. Morse grounded a 3-1 pitch into a 4-6-3 double play.
TOP 7TH
Grade: B+
Holding the fort. Cano bounced the second pitch to short.
Julio Mateo came in for Thornton. Jeter whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Matsui doubled into the rightfield corner. Sheffield popped the second pitch high to centerfield.
Thornton's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 15 pitches (7 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
Same crap. Ibañez bounced out to second. Sexson popped the second pitch just short of the track in centerfield. Beltre got ahead 3-0 before walking on a pitch inside. Dobbs popped an 0-2 pitch to Giambi in front of the bag at first.
Small's line: 4 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts, 50 pitches (29 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C-
Daggers. Rodriguez crushed the first pitch into the Mariner bullpen in leftcenter.
»» YANKEES 6, MARINERS 4
George Sherrill came in for Mateo. Giambi whiffed on a high 1-2 fastball. Williams fell behind 0-2 before flying out high to Betancourt in shallow rightfield. Lawton crushed a 3-1 pitch about twelve rows into the rightfield seats.
»» YANKEES 7, MARINERS 4
Posada popped the first pitch to Sexson on the infield grass.
Mateo's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (7 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 14 pitches (9 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
Tom Gordon came in for Small (in the field, Tino Martinez came in for Giambi and Bubba Crosby came in for Williams). Betancourt whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball (2-3 putout). Reed flew out to Jeter in shallow leftfield on a 1-2 pitch. Ojeda got ahead 3-1 and wound up whiffing on a full count.
Gordon's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 16 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Sherrill. Cano bounced the second pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first (unassisted). Jeter popped short of the track in rightfield on a full count. Matsui grounded along the third-base line to Hasegawa, whose throw was picked by Sexson at first.
Hasegawa's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (7 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade:
Mariano Rivera came in for Gordon (Felix Escolona came in for Rodriguez). Ichiro drove the second pitch into rightcenter, where Crosby came down with it. Morse whiffed on a full-count pitch outside. Ibañez worked an 0-2 count full before whiffing. Ballgame.
Rivera's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 18 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
Goat: Ryan Franklin.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 94-36 .723 -- W5
2002 77-53 .592 17 L2
2003 76-54 .585 18 L5
2000 71-59 .546 23 L1
2005 55-75 .423 39 L1
2004 50-80 .385 44 W4
Chacon. Harris. Today.
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Monday, August 29, 2005
YANKEES VS MARINERS 8/29/05
Let's just say that we're not walking on sunshine here in the South, folks.
I'm not in Louisiana, but my area did get a little bit of Katrina's wrath today. When it rains, it pours. That's how the Southern rainstorms go, I tell ya.
Please pray for the South. Oh, you can definitely pray for Felix as well. But please pray for the South, especially the good people of the New Orleans area. I'll be happy as hell to go through a third earthquake in my lifetime than to experience a hurricane. Hurricanes aren't my thing, that's for sure.
There is a game tonight. Why I'm doing a game post for a Ryan Franklin start, I have no idea. I can't wait until Franklin is no longer a member of this ballclub. That goes without saying, though.
Felix vs Randy on Wednesday. Oh my goodness.
I'm not in Louisiana, but my area did get a little bit of Katrina's wrath today. When it rains, it pours. That's how the Southern rainstorms go, I tell ya.
Please pray for the South. Oh, you can definitely pray for Felix as well. But please pray for the South, especially the good people of the New Orleans area. I'll be happy as hell to go through a third earthquake in my lifetime than to experience a hurricane. Hurricanes aren't my thing, that's for sure.
There is a game tonight. Why I'm doing a game post for a Ryan Franklin start, I have no idea. I can't wait until Franklin is no longer a member of this ballclub. That goes without saying, though.
Felix vs Randy on Wednesday. Oh my goodness.
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Sunday, August 28, 2005
GAME 129: MARINERS 9, WHITE SOX 2
Mariners 9, White Sox 2
In 25 words or less: An old friend makes Seattle happy once again. Of course, this time he had terrible results, but it was a good thing.
This one featured Freddy Garcia going up against Jamie Moyer. Two-fifths of Mariner rotations of the good times now were to square off against one another. Would the Mariners avoid the sweep? They would need Jamie Moyer to hold to his form of being crazy-good at home this year.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B-
Long. Pablo Ozuna bunted the first pitch along the first-base line where Richie Sexson tossed over to the bag, but Jamie Moyer fell across the bag and Ozuna, who was safe. Ozuna stole second on the 1-1 pitch to Tadahito Iguchi, drawing a late throw. Iguchi ended up grounding a 1-2 pitch to second as Ozuna held. Carl Everett whiffed on a 1-2 change, and the dropped pitch resulted in the batter's box tag from Yorvit Torrealba. Paul Konerko got the hitters' counts before doubling into the rightfield corner, scoring Ozuna.
»» WHITE SOX 1, MARINERS 0
Aaron Rowand grounded a full-count pitch to the hole on the right side, but Mike Morse pulled Sexson off the bag with his throw, though it went for a single. Chris Widger grounded a 2-2 pitch into a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B
Weird. Ichiro poked the second pitch down the rightfield line for a double past a diving Geoff Blum. Willie Bloomquist lined the first pitch to rightfield, and Ichiro scored.
»» WHITE SOX 1, MARINERS 1
Raul Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 pitch, but Bloomquist took second on the play. Richie Sexson whiffed on a 1-1 pitch that got away from Widger, and Bloomquist took third. Sexson ended up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch. Adrian Beltre took an 0-2 pitch that got away from Widger and to the screen, allowing Bloomquist to score.
»» MARINERS 2, WHITE SOX 1
Beltre bounced a 1-2 pitch past Iguchi at second and into rightfield for a single. Greg Dobbs popped the second pitch to centerfield.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Settle. Dave Hansen came in for Sexson at first. Juan Uribe popped out to shallow rightfield. Geoff Blum popped a full-count pitch to Ibañez on the leftfield track. Brian Anderson fell behind 0-2 and lined a 2-2 pitch right to Beltre at third.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A
Where is this coming from? Mike Morse flew out to Rowand reaching to make the catch on the track in rightcenter on a 2-0 pitch. Jeremy Reed walked on a high 3-1 pitch and stole second on the 0-1 pitch (throw wide) to Yorvit Torrealba. Torrealba watched as Reed stole third on the 0-2 pitch. Torrealba ended up chopping over Ozuna at third and down the line for a double, scoring Reed.
»» MARINERS 3, WHITE SOX 1
Ichiro bounced a 2-0 pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Torrealba. Rowand's throw home from centerfield field airmailed Widger and went to the backstop, allowing Ichiro to move to second.
»» MARINERS 4, WHITE SOX 1
Bloomquist whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Ibañez was intentionally walked. Dave Hansen lined a 1-2 pitch off of Iguchi's glove and into rightfield, scoring Ichiro.
»» MARINERS 5, WHITE SOX 1
Beltre flew out to rightfield on the second pitch.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Blazingly quick. Ozuna bunted the second pitch in the air in foul ground, where Torrealba dove and made the catch near the third-base line. Iguchi bounced a 2-2 pitch to third. Everett rolled out to short.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Turnabout. Dobbs grounded the second pitch to short. Morse grounded the 2-2 pitch hard to first. Reed chopped out to a charging Iguchi on the left side.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B
Not spotless. Konerko dumped a 2-2 single into shallow rightcenter. Rowand hit a bullet over Bloomquist at second and it rolled all the way to the wall in rightcenter, scoring Konerko.
»» MARINERS 5, WHITE SOX 2
Widger fell behind 0-2 before popping to shallow rightfield, as Rowand held at third for Ichiro's arm. Uribe worked a 1-2 count full before popping foul to Torrealba near the third-base dugout. Blum grounded a 2-2 pitch hard to short, where Morse threw high to first, but Hansen pulled it down.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Not cashing in. Torrealba whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Ichiro grounded the second pitch to second. Bloomquist laced the first pitch into rightcenter for a single, and he stretched it into a double thanks to a wide throw from rightfield. Bloomquist was nearly picked off of second with the count 0-1 to Ibañez, and took another pickoff throw off his helmet. Ibañez ended up lining out right to Rowand in centerfield.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B+
Nothing much, and that's good. Anderson popped to Torrealba behind the plate. Ozuna grounded the first pitch past Bloomquist's backhand side for a single. Iguchi whiffed on a 2-2 change low and away. Everett fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a low 1-2 change.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B+
There's more? Hansen golfed a second-pitch homer about ten or twelve rows back into the rightfield seats.
»» MARINERS 6, WHITE SOX 2
Beltre looped the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Dobbs flew out to centerfield, and Beltre had to come back from making the turn at second and ran back to first, sliding hard. Morse scooped an 0-2 pitch into shallow centerfield, moving a limping Beltre to second. Yuniesky Betancourt ran for Beltre, who was pulled. Reed dumped the first pitch into shallow leftfield for a single, scoring Betancourt, who had run through the stop sign, but the throw home was wide, where Garcia stopped it, which was good except he probably shouldn't have been in front of the plate and not backing up the play.
»» MARINERS 7, WHITE SOX 2
Jon Adkins came in for Garcia. Torrealba got ahead 2-0 and ended up grounding a full-count pitch deep into the hole on the left side, and Uribe ranged over but his throw to second was late as the bases were loaded. Ichiro grounded to first for a 3-6 fielder's choice, scoring Morse and putting runners on the corners.
»» MARINERS 8, WHITE SOX 2
Bloomquist grounded to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
Garcia's line: 4 1/3 innings, 8 runs, 11 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 88 pitches (57 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Grade: A-
In the field, Bloomquist moved to third and Betancourt took second. Konerko fell behind 0-2 and popped to Morse in shallow leftfield on a 2-2 pitch. Rowand got ahead 2-0 and popped a 2-1 pitch that was barely missed by Torrealba sliding into the wall in foul ground. Rowand ended up flying out to left on a 2-2 pitch. Widger lofted a liner into centerfield on a 2-2 pitch, but Reed grabbed the ball off his shoetops to make the catch, stumbling afterward.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
Unnecessary insurance. Ibañez walked on a full-count pitch outside. Hansen lined a full-count single into rightfield, moving Ibañez to second. Betancourt popped the first pitch to Rowand in shallow centerfield. Dobbs popped to Ozuna behing the bag at third on the second pitch. Morse ripped a single through the middle, scoring Ibañez thanks to a throw home from Rowand that hit the back of the mound.
»» MARINERS 9, WHITE SOX 2
Reed fell behind 0-2 before popping the 1-2 pitch near to Ozuna near the third-base dugout.
TOP 7TH
Grade: A-
Still cruising, this Moyer guy. Uribe got the hitters' counts and flew out to Morse in shallow leftfield on the 3-1 pitch. Blum took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Anderson grounded the 1-2 pitch hard to third.
Moyer's line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 6 hits, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 117 pitches (74 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
Quick. Torrealba flew out to leftfield on the second pitch. Ichiro chopped out to third. Bloomquist got ahead 2-0 and ended up taking a 2-2 pitch over the outer half.
TOP 8TH
Grade: B-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Moyer. Ozuna flew out to shallow rightfield. Iguchi got ahead 2-0 before walking on a full count. Everett poked the second pitch into centerfield for a single, moving Iguchi to second. Konerko softly lined the first pitch right to Betancourt, who caught it and stepped on the bag at second to double off Iguchi.
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
They had all the runs they needed already. Ibañez grounded hard back to the mound. Hansen popped a 1-2 pitch to Widger, who barely had to move out of his crouch. Betancourt bounced a 2-2 pitch to short.
Adkins' line: 3 2/3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 59 pitches (35 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B+
A nice end. Rowand dropped a single into shallow centerfield. Widger bounced the second pitch to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Uribe fell behind 0-2 and wound up flying out to leftfield on a 2-2 pitch. Ballgame.
Hasegawa's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 25 pitches (14 strikes)
---
Gameball: Yorvit Torrealba.
Mike Hargrove keeps running Torrealba out there in the day game following a night game, but the results were nice today. A day after going 0-for-3 in the seventh slot in the lineup, Hargrove put Torrealba back in the ninth slot, and he responded with a 2-for-4 day and an RBI. Torrealba is hitting .319 as a Mariner, and is hitting .389 since taking the full reins of the starting catcher job. For the amount of time that we've viewed any offense from the catching position as a bonus, it's a breath of fresh air to see a Mariner catcher doing something at the plate and not being a defensive liability, the latter of which Torrealba proved in a few occurrences today. He dove to catch Pablo Ozuna's pop bunt in the third, and he made a nice sliding effort on a foul ball going near the stands in the sixth. Sure, he's not the catcher of the future by any means, but between Jesse Foppert (who'll probably be throwing when I post this) and Torrealba, I like what we're getting out of the Randy Winn trade so far. Also with Torrealba, he looks more and more each day like a serviceable stopgap until Jeff Clement gets up to the big club.
Goat: Greg Dobbs.
Even in a 9-2 walkover, someone's gotta be the goat. Dobbs was 0-for-4 and left four runners on the basepaths. Raul Ibañez went 0-for-3, but walked twice, so it's a bit more forgivable. None of Dobbs' four outs were on balls that were hit very hard. The good thing about Dobbs being out there every day now is that he at least gets the chance to be erratic out there from day to day. Before, he'd just pinch hit and deliver maybe once every couple weeks. Now, we see him get a good hit every once in a while and then hang up a zero. The Mariners are at least getting some payoff from him now, though. This we know. We also know he can reach the upper deck in the Metrodome, which I never thought he'd be able to do. Of course, I've been witness to stranger things before, like when Randy Winn reached the Hit It Here Cafe in 2003, something else I never thought would happen. I don't think I see Dobbs on this roster for next season, so at the very least I have to thank him once again for signing my Carlos Guillen batting practice ground-rule double ball when the Winter Caravan went through Bremerton last winter.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 93-36 .721 -- W4
2002 77-52 .597 16 L1
2003 76-53 .589 17 L4
2000 71-58 .550 22 W1
2005 55-74 .426 38 W1
2004 49-80 .380 44 W3
The Mariners had lost seven of nine going into this game. In the race against 2004, the Mariners stayed six games up as last year's team was in the third game of a five-game win streak, after which they would lose seven straight and ten of twelve. Today, August 28th, the Mariners got their 55th win of the season in their 129th game. In 2004, the Mariners obtained win number 55 in game number 145 on the 15th of September. If the Mariners hold their current .429 winning percentage for the rest of the season, they'll end up with 69 wins (69-93 record). To meet my prediction from last offseason, the Mariners would have to finish the season 23-11 to get to a 77-85 mark. I guess that even with my pessimism going into this season, I still undershot how bad the team was going to be, though nowhere nearly as bad as last season. How the Mariners went from the solid starting rotation of 2003 to what it was this year is just flabbergasting. Jamie Moyer's at least moderately holding up his end of the bargain. Freddy Garcia's gone, sure. Did anyone expect Gil Meche, Joel Piñeiro, and Ryan Franklin to all stink it up this badly, and this quickly? It's just amazing how the rotation went from a team strength to a tattered mess.
Though the Mariners were only three days removed from a lopsided win, they really hadn't had an easy win since the final game of the series at Kansas City on the 17th. The Mariners won 8-3 in ten innings at Minnesota, but that game obviously had to go to ten innings. They won 8-2 in the final game of the Texas series, but that game wasn't easy until Ichiro hit the grand slam in the ninth. Thusly, the Mariners could have used an easy game like this, and they got it. Jamie Moyer was able to go seven and rest the bullpen sufficiently, and Shigetoshi Hasegawa was given a couple of low-pressure innings to see how well he's coming off his injury. He came through okay. Moyer held up like he usually has this year in Seattle. Dave Hansen did crazy things. Probably the only bad thing about the game is that Richie Sexson left early with blurry vision in his right eye and that Adrian Beltre slid hard into first and banged up his knee. Let's hope that both injuries don't turn out to be devastating. Of course, if they're going to be injured for any length of time, let's make it this year when they're not in a pennant race.
Multi-hit games for Mariner hitters in this game went to Ichiro, Willie Bloomquist, Dave Hansen, Adrian Beltre, Mike Morse, and Torrealba (gameball). That's two-thirds of the lineup. Not bad. Ichiro was 2-for-5 with a double and a couple of RBIs. Bloomquist was 2-for-5 with a double, a steal, and an RBI. Hansen went nuts, going 3-for-4 with a homer and a couple of RBIs after replacing Sexson. Beltre went 2-for-3. Morse had a nice game at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, and his two outs were nicely-hit balls as well. The only Mariner with a "1" next to his name in the hit column was Jeremy Reed, who stole second and third in the second inning to nearly singlehandedly account for the Mariners' third run making for a 3-1 lead at that point. He also drove in the Mariners' seventh run in the fifth with a single.
Now comes what may end up being a daily Ichiro counter, only this time he's not trying to break some hit record. He's just trying to get to 200 hits, which I think he'll get easily enough unless he falls off the wagon with force. Ichiro is averaging about 4.18 at-bats a game this season. There are 33 games remaining in the season, leaving Ichiro with 137.9 at-bats for the rest of the season. To get to 200 hits, Ichiro would have to hit .283 the rest of the way, and that would leave him with a 2005 average of .295. I've been saying that my realistic expectation of Ichiro coming off the 262-hit season was for him to hit .320. To reach the .320 mark, Ichiro would have to finish with 217 hits (58 more), something that would require him to hit .406 the rest of the way. To exceed his Major League career-worst .312 average from 2003, Ichiro would have to end up with 212 hits for a .313 average, and he'd have to hit .370 the rest of the way to get there. In other words, I think it's safe to say this will be the year where Ichiro has his worst season average in the Majors. I can see the 200 hits being a possibility, but not .312 or .320. Also his 2-for-4 outing today lifted his August average to .245.
As for Moyer, what can you say about him that hasn't already been said? He's a blatant home pitcher this season, but he keeps making his case for his number to be retired at the Safe. I think it should happen. I'd have to say 11, 24, 50, and 51 (Randy). If you wanted to, you could add 21 since Alvin Davis is already in the Mariner Hall of Fame. If you added 21, you'd unquestionably have to add 19. You could add 3 because Alex grew up here and did have a 40/40 season in a Mariner uniform, helped along the 1997 and 2000 runs, etc. If you really wanna stretch, you could add Mark Langston's 12, but that might be a reach. This has to be one of my favorite Mariner debate topics, though I'm not getting fully into it right now. This could be an end-of-year post, or a post whenever Jamie decides to retire.
I still can't believe the schedule wizards didn't put any of the series against the Yankees on weekends in Seattle this season, but oh well. It's a quad set against that Bronx team, and we're really only looking forward to one of the games, and it's definitely not tomorrow's game.
Mussina. Franklin. Tomorrow.
In 25 words or less: An old friend makes Seattle happy once again. Of course, this time he had terrible results, but it was a good thing.
This one featured Freddy Garcia going up against Jamie Moyer. Two-fifths of Mariner rotations of the good times now were to square off against one another. Would the Mariners avoid the sweep? They would need Jamie Moyer to hold to his form of being crazy-good at home this year.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B-
Long. Pablo Ozuna bunted the first pitch along the first-base line where Richie Sexson tossed over to the bag, but Jamie Moyer fell across the bag and Ozuna, who was safe. Ozuna stole second on the 1-1 pitch to Tadahito Iguchi, drawing a late throw. Iguchi ended up grounding a 1-2 pitch to second as Ozuna held. Carl Everett whiffed on a 1-2 change, and the dropped pitch resulted in the batter's box tag from Yorvit Torrealba. Paul Konerko got the hitters' counts before doubling into the rightfield corner, scoring Ozuna.
»» WHITE SOX 1, MARINERS 0
Aaron Rowand grounded a full-count pitch to the hole on the right side, but Mike Morse pulled Sexson off the bag with his throw, though it went for a single. Chris Widger grounded a 2-2 pitch into a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B
Weird. Ichiro poked the second pitch down the rightfield line for a double past a diving Geoff Blum. Willie Bloomquist lined the first pitch to rightfield, and Ichiro scored.
»» WHITE SOX 1, MARINERS 1
Raul Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 pitch, but Bloomquist took second on the play. Richie Sexson whiffed on a 1-1 pitch that got away from Widger, and Bloomquist took third. Sexson ended up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch. Adrian Beltre took an 0-2 pitch that got away from Widger and to the screen, allowing Bloomquist to score.
»» MARINERS 2, WHITE SOX 1
Beltre bounced a 1-2 pitch past Iguchi at second and into rightfield for a single. Greg Dobbs popped the second pitch to centerfield.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Settle. Dave Hansen came in for Sexson at first. Juan Uribe popped out to shallow rightfield. Geoff Blum popped a full-count pitch to Ibañez on the leftfield track. Brian Anderson fell behind 0-2 and lined a 2-2 pitch right to Beltre at third.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A
Where is this coming from? Mike Morse flew out to Rowand reaching to make the catch on the track in rightcenter on a 2-0 pitch. Jeremy Reed walked on a high 3-1 pitch and stole second on the 0-1 pitch (throw wide) to Yorvit Torrealba. Torrealba watched as Reed stole third on the 0-2 pitch. Torrealba ended up chopping over Ozuna at third and down the line for a double, scoring Reed.
»» MARINERS 3, WHITE SOX 1
Ichiro bounced a 2-0 pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Torrealba. Rowand's throw home from centerfield field airmailed Widger and went to the backstop, allowing Ichiro to move to second.
»» MARINERS 4, WHITE SOX 1
Bloomquist whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Ibañez was intentionally walked. Dave Hansen lined a 1-2 pitch off of Iguchi's glove and into rightfield, scoring Ichiro.
»» MARINERS 5, WHITE SOX 1
Beltre flew out to rightfield on the second pitch.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Blazingly quick. Ozuna bunted the second pitch in the air in foul ground, where Torrealba dove and made the catch near the third-base line. Iguchi bounced a 2-2 pitch to third. Everett rolled out to short.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Turnabout. Dobbs grounded the second pitch to short. Morse grounded the 2-2 pitch hard to first. Reed chopped out to a charging Iguchi on the left side.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B
Not spotless. Konerko dumped a 2-2 single into shallow rightcenter. Rowand hit a bullet over Bloomquist at second and it rolled all the way to the wall in rightcenter, scoring Konerko.
»» MARINERS 5, WHITE SOX 2
Widger fell behind 0-2 before popping to shallow rightfield, as Rowand held at third for Ichiro's arm. Uribe worked a 1-2 count full before popping foul to Torrealba near the third-base dugout. Blum grounded a 2-2 pitch hard to short, where Morse threw high to first, but Hansen pulled it down.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Not cashing in. Torrealba whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Ichiro grounded the second pitch to second. Bloomquist laced the first pitch into rightcenter for a single, and he stretched it into a double thanks to a wide throw from rightfield. Bloomquist was nearly picked off of second with the count 0-1 to Ibañez, and took another pickoff throw off his helmet. Ibañez ended up lining out right to Rowand in centerfield.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B+
Nothing much, and that's good. Anderson popped to Torrealba behind the plate. Ozuna grounded the first pitch past Bloomquist's backhand side for a single. Iguchi whiffed on a 2-2 change low and away. Everett fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a low 1-2 change.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B+
There's more? Hansen golfed a second-pitch homer about ten or twelve rows back into the rightfield seats.
»» MARINERS 6, WHITE SOX 2
Beltre looped the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Dobbs flew out to centerfield, and Beltre had to come back from making the turn at second and ran back to first, sliding hard. Morse scooped an 0-2 pitch into shallow centerfield, moving a limping Beltre to second. Yuniesky Betancourt ran for Beltre, who was pulled. Reed dumped the first pitch into shallow leftfield for a single, scoring Betancourt, who had run through the stop sign, but the throw home was wide, where Garcia stopped it, which was good except he probably shouldn't have been in front of the plate and not backing up the play.
»» MARINERS 7, WHITE SOX 2
Jon Adkins came in for Garcia. Torrealba got ahead 2-0 and ended up grounding a full-count pitch deep into the hole on the left side, and Uribe ranged over but his throw to second was late as the bases were loaded. Ichiro grounded to first for a 3-6 fielder's choice, scoring Morse and putting runners on the corners.
»» MARINERS 8, WHITE SOX 2
Bloomquist grounded to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
Garcia's line: 4 1/3 innings, 8 runs, 11 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 88 pitches (57 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Grade: A-
In the field, Bloomquist moved to third and Betancourt took second. Konerko fell behind 0-2 and popped to Morse in shallow leftfield on a 2-2 pitch. Rowand got ahead 2-0 and popped a 2-1 pitch that was barely missed by Torrealba sliding into the wall in foul ground. Rowand ended up flying out to left on a 2-2 pitch. Widger lofted a liner into centerfield on a 2-2 pitch, but Reed grabbed the ball off his shoetops to make the catch, stumbling afterward.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
Unnecessary insurance. Ibañez walked on a full-count pitch outside. Hansen lined a full-count single into rightfield, moving Ibañez to second. Betancourt popped the first pitch to Rowand in shallow centerfield. Dobbs popped to Ozuna behing the bag at third on the second pitch. Morse ripped a single through the middle, scoring Ibañez thanks to a throw home from Rowand that hit the back of the mound.
»» MARINERS 9, WHITE SOX 2
Reed fell behind 0-2 before popping the 1-2 pitch near to Ozuna near the third-base dugout.
TOP 7TH
Grade: A-
Still cruising, this Moyer guy. Uribe got the hitters' counts and flew out to Morse in shallow leftfield on the 3-1 pitch. Blum took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Anderson grounded the 1-2 pitch hard to third.
Moyer's line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 6 hits, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 117 pitches (74 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
Quick. Torrealba flew out to leftfield on the second pitch. Ichiro chopped out to third. Bloomquist got ahead 2-0 and ended up taking a 2-2 pitch over the outer half.
TOP 8TH
Grade: B-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Moyer. Ozuna flew out to shallow rightfield. Iguchi got ahead 2-0 before walking on a full count. Everett poked the second pitch into centerfield for a single, moving Iguchi to second. Konerko softly lined the first pitch right to Betancourt, who caught it and stepped on the bag at second to double off Iguchi.
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
They had all the runs they needed already. Ibañez grounded hard back to the mound. Hansen popped a 1-2 pitch to Widger, who barely had to move out of his crouch. Betancourt bounced a 2-2 pitch to short.
Adkins' line: 3 2/3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 59 pitches (35 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B+
A nice end. Rowand dropped a single into shallow centerfield. Widger bounced the second pitch to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Uribe fell behind 0-2 and wound up flying out to leftfield on a 2-2 pitch. Ballgame.
Hasegawa's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 25 pitches (14 strikes)
---
Gameball: Yorvit Torrealba.
Mike Hargrove keeps running Torrealba out there in the day game following a night game, but the results were nice today. A day after going 0-for-3 in the seventh slot in the lineup, Hargrove put Torrealba back in the ninth slot, and he responded with a 2-for-4 day and an RBI. Torrealba is hitting .319 as a Mariner, and is hitting .389 since taking the full reins of the starting catcher job. For the amount of time that we've viewed any offense from the catching position as a bonus, it's a breath of fresh air to see a Mariner catcher doing something at the plate and not being a defensive liability, the latter of which Torrealba proved in a few occurrences today. He dove to catch Pablo Ozuna's pop bunt in the third, and he made a nice sliding effort on a foul ball going near the stands in the sixth. Sure, he's not the catcher of the future by any means, but between Jesse Foppert (who'll probably be throwing when I post this) and Torrealba, I like what we're getting out of the Randy Winn trade so far. Also with Torrealba, he looks more and more each day like a serviceable stopgap until Jeff Clement gets up to the big club.
Goat: Greg Dobbs.
Even in a 9-2 walkover, someone's gotta be the goat. Dobbs was 0-for-4 and left four runners on the basepaths. Raul Ibañez went 0-for-3, but walked twice, so it's a bit more forgivable. None of Dobbs' four outs were on balls that were hit very hard. The good thing about Dobbs being out there every day now is that he at least gets the chance to be erratic out there from day to day. Before, he'd just pinch hit and deliver maybe once every couple weeks. Now, we see him get a good hit every once in a while and then hang up a zero. The Mariners are at least getting some payoff from him now, though. This we know. We also know he can reach the upper deck in the Metrodome, which I never thought he'd be able to do. Of course, I've been witness to stranger things before, like when Randy Winn reached the Hit It Here Cafe in 2003, something else I never thought would happen. I don't think I see Dobbs on this roster for next season, so at the very least I have to thank him once again for signing my Carlos Guillen batting practice ground-rule double ball when the Winter Caravan went through Bremerton last winter.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 93-36 .721 -- W4
2002 77-52 .597 16 L1
2003 76-53 .589 17 L4
2000 71-58 .550 22 W1
2005 55-74 .426 38 W1
2004 49-80 .380 44 W3
The Mariners had lost seven of nine going into this game. In the race against 2004, the Mariners stayed six games up as last year's team was in the third game of a five-game win streak, after which they would lose seven straight and ten of twelve. Today, August 28th, the Mariners got their 55th win of the season in their 129th game. In 2004, the Mariners obtained win number 55 in game number 145 on the 15th of September. If the Mariners hold their current .429 winning percentage for the rest of the season, they'll end up with 69 wins (69-93 record). To meet my prediction from last offseason, the Mariners would have to finish the season 23-11 to get to a 77-85 mark. I guess that even with my pessimism going into this season, I still undershot how bad the team was going to be, though nowhere nearly as bad as last season. How the Mariners went from the solid starting rotation of 2003 to what it was this year is just flabbergasting. Jamie Moyer's at least moderately holding up his end of the bargain. Freddy Garcia's gone, sure. Did anyone expect Gil Meche, Joel Piñeiro, and Ryan Franklin to all stink it up this badly, and this quickly? It's just amazing how the rotation went from a team strength to a tattered mess.
Though the Mariners were only three days removed from a lopsided win, they really hadn't had an easy win since the final game of the series at Kansas City on the 17th. The Mariners won 8-3 in ten innings at Minnesota, but that game obviously had to go to ten innings. They won 8-2 in the final game of the Texas series, but that game wasn't easy until Ichiro hit the grand slam in the ninth. Thusly, the Mariners could have used an easy game like this, and they got it. Jamie Moyer was able to go seven and rest the bullpen sufficiently, and Shigetoshi Hasegawa was given a couple of low-pressure innings to see how well he's coming off his injury. He came through okay. Moyer held up like he usually has this year in Seattle. Dave Hansen did crazy things. Probably the only bad thing about the game is that Richie Sexson left early with blurry vision in his right eye and that Adrian Beltre slid hard into first and banged up his knee. Let's hope that both injuries don't turn out to be devastating. Of course, if they're going to be injured for any length of time, let's make it this year when they're not in a pennant race.
Multi-hit games for Mariner hitters in this game went to Ichiro, Willie Bloomquist, Dave Hansen, Adrian Beltre, Mike Morse, and Torrealba (gameball). That's two-thirds of the lineup. Not bad. Ichiro was 2-for-5 with a double and a couple of RBIs. Bloomquist was 2-for-5 with a double, a steal, and an RBI. Hansen went nuts, going 3-for-4 with a homer and a couple of RBIs after replacing Sexson. Beltre went 2-for-3. Morse had a nice game at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, and his two outs were nicely-hit balls as well. The only Mariner with a "1" next to his name in the hit column was Jeremy Reed, who stole second and third in the second inning to nearly singlehandedly account for the Mariners' third run making for a 3-1 lead at that point. He also drove in the Mariners' seventh run in the fifth with a single.
Now comes what may end up being a daily Ichiro counter, only this time he's not trying to break some hit record. He's just trying to get to 200 hits, which I think he'll get easily enough unless he falls off the wagon with force. Ichiro is averaging about 4.18 at-bats a game this season. There are 33 games remaining in the season, leaving Ichiro with 137.9 at-bats for the rest of the season. To get to 200 hits, Ichiro would have to hit .283 the rest of the way, and that would leave him with a 2005 average of .295. I've been saying that my realistic expectation of Ichiro coming off the 262-hit season was for him to hit .320. To reach the .320 mark, Ichiro would have to finish with 217 hits (58 more), something that would require him to hit .406 the rest of the way. To exceed his Major League career-worst .312 average from 2003, Ichiro would have to end up with 212 hits for a .313 average, and he'd have to hit .370 the rest of the way to get there. In other words, I think it's safe to say this will be the year where Ichiro has his worst season average in the Majors. I can see the 200 hits being a possibility, but not .312 or .320. Also his 2-for-4 outing today lifted his August average to .245.
As for Moyer, what can you say about him that hasn't already been said? He's a blatant home pitcher this season, but he keeps making his case for his number to be retired at the Safe. I think it should happen. I'd have to say 11, 24, 50, and 51 (Randy). If you wanted to, you could add 21 since Alvin Davis is already in the Mariner Hall of Fame. If you added 21, you'd unquestionably have to add 19. You could add 3 because Alex grew up here and did have a 40/40 season in a Mariner uniform, helped along the 1997 and 2000 runs, etc. If you really wanna stretch, you could add Mark Langston's 12, but that might be a reach. This has to be one of my favorite Mariner debate topics, though I'm not getting fully into it right now. This could be an end-of-year post, or a post whenever Jamie decides to retire.
I still can't believe the schedule wizards didn't put any of the series against the Yankees on weekends in Seattle this season, but oh well. It's a quad set against that Bronx team, and we're really only looking forward to one of the games, and it's definitely not tomorrow's game.
Mussina. Franklin. Tomorrow.
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WHITE SOX VS MARINERS 8/28/05
White Sox at Mariners, 1:05 p.m. Pacific (FSN Northwest)
Freddy Garcia vs Jamie Moyer
I figured that since I'm on the computer right now, I might as well post today's game thread. Why not?
Anyways, this Labor Day weekend is going to be a big one for me. Saturday, I'll be in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City for the Missouri-Arkansas State football game. Later that night, I'll be at Kauffman Stadium to check out the Rangers-Royals ballgame. But wait, there's more!
On Labor Day, I'm going to St. Louis to watch the first game of the final Cubs-Cardinals regular season series in Busch Stadium. Needless to say, I'm going to be busy as hell this upcoming weekend. I want to be busy, dammit.
Arrowhead, Kauffman, and Busch. All in one weekend.
Unbelievable.
Freddy Garcia vs Jamie Moyer
I figured that since I'm on the computer right now, I might as well post today's game thread. Why not?
Anyways, this Labor Day weekend is going to be a big one for me. Saturday, I'll be in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City for the Missouri-Arkansas State football game. Later that night, I'll be at Kauffman Stadium to check out the Rangers-Royals ballgame. But wait, there's more!
On Labor Day, I'm going to St. Louis to watch the first game of the final Cubs-Cardinals regular season series in Busch Stadium. Needless to say, I'm going to be busy as hell this upcoming weekend. I want to be busy, dammit.
Arrowhead, Kauffman, and Busch. All in one weekend.
Unbelievable.
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GAME 128: WHITE SOX 4, MARINERS 3
White Sox 4, Mariners 3
In 25 words or less: The first two-thirds of the game were infinitely boring as the bats were once again dominated. The final third was entertaining, yet not satisfying.
This one featured Jose Contreras going up against Joel Piñeiro. Would fans see the good Piñeiro that had three good starts in a row, or would they see the bad one from the last start? It'd be somewhere in the middle this time.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B
Laborious. Timo Perez rolled out along the first-base line to Richie Sexson near the bag. Tadahito Iguchi looped a full-count single into shallow centerfield in front of Jamal Strong. Carl Everett popped a 3-1 pitch high to Betancourt in shallow leftfield. Paul Konerko got the hitters' counts and lined the 3-1 pitch right to Raul Ibañez in leftfield.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Yawner. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and lined a 1-2 pitch to centerfield, where Brian Anderson ran under it for the catch. Willie Bloomquist bounced out deep in the hole at short, to the chagrin of Bloomquist, Mike Hargrove, and the crowd. Replays show Bloomquist may have been safe, and it was a lot closer than I originally thought since I thought it was an out. Raul Ibañez flew out to Jermaine Dye in rightcenter.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C
Start early. AJ Pierzynski dumped a single into shallow centerfield that nearly handcuffed Strong, though he kept it in front of him. Jermaine Dye bashed the second pitch into the back of the Mariner bullpen.
»» WHITE SOX 2, MARINERS 0
Geoff Blum lined the second pitch right to Strong in centerfield. Juan Uribe flew out high to Ichiro in rightfield on the second pitch. Brian Anderson bounced a 1-2 pitch to third.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C+
Grr. Richie Sexson fell behind 0-2 and laced a 1-2 single into centerfield. Adrian Beltre fell behind 0-2 and later whiffed on a 1-2 dirty breaking ball. Greg Dobbs bounced a 2-0 pitch to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice. Yorvit Torrealba got ahead 2-0, and Dobbs stole second on the next pitch. Torrealba also got ahead 3-1 and later whiffed on a full-count curveball over the outside corner.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B-
Still uncomfortable. Perez flew out high to Bloomquist on the outfield grass. Iguchi took a 3-1 pitch about half a foot outside. Everett grounded to short, where Betancourt flipped to Bloomquist, but Everett beat out the double play (6-4 fielder's choice). Konerko got the hitters' counts and took the 3-1 pitch low and away. Pierzynski whiffed on a low and inside 0-2 curve.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Nothing. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a bullet right to third, where Blum straightened up and threw in time. Jamal Strong rolled a 2-2 pitch to third. Ichiro flew out high to rightfield on the second pitch.
TOP 4TH
Grade:
Dye cranked the second pitch into the gap in rightcenter for a double. Blum reached down to poke a single into rightfield, though Dye had to hold at third. Uribe singled the first pitch to leftfield, scoring Dye and moving Blum to second.
»» WHITE SOX 3, MARINERS 0
Anderson was brushed back on a bunt attempt before popping to Betancourt with the infield fly rule in effect. Perez lined to Ichiro in shallow rightfield, and Ichiro threw to second to force out Uribe. Iguchi whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
Mastery. Bloomquist tapped the second pitch over the mound, where Uribe made the play. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and later whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Sexson whiffed on an 0-2 fastball.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
Order. Everett got ahead 2-0 before popping to Betancourt in shallow leftfield. Konerko tapped a 1-2 pitch to third, where Beltre threw off-balance and in time to first for the out. Pierzynski got ahead 3-1 and ended up grounding to Bloomquist in the hole on the right side, who threw to Piñeiro.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
Too quick. Beltre popped a 2-0 pitch to rightfield. Dobbs bounced the first pitch to first. Torrealba fell behind 0-2 before bouncing out to third.
TOP 6TH
Grade: A-
Better. Dye gapped a 1-2 pitch to rightcenter for yet another double. Blum popped the first pitch to Strong in rightcenter. Uribe fouled off a couple of 2-2 pitches before flying out to Ibañez on the track in leftcenter as Dye had to hold. Anderson took an 0-2 pitch on the inside corner.
Piñeiro's line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 101 pitches (65 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
Hopeless. Betancourt took a full-count pitch for strike three. Strong fell behind 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 splitter down and in. Ichiro flew out to shallow centerfield on the second pitch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C+
Matt Thornton came in for Piñeiro. Perez whiffed on a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Iguchi fell behind 0-2 and later bounced a full-count pitch to second. Everett crushed a homer into the Mariners' bullpen.
»» WHITE SOX 4, MARINERS 0
Konerko bounced the first pitch to Beltre behind the bag at third.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B-
A morsel. Bloomquist poked the first pitch into leftfield for a single. Ibañez ripped the second pitch into rightfield for a single, moving Bloomquist to third. Sexson got ahead 2-0, attracting pitching coach Don Cooper to the mound. Sexson ended up holding a checkswing before fouling off a couple pitches, ending with a whiff on a pitch down and in. Beltre took an 0-2 pitch off of himself, loading the bases. Dobbs poked the second pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Bloomquist and Ibañez and moving Beltre to second.
»» WHITE SOX 4, MARINERS 2
Torrealba tapped a 1-2 along the first-base line, where Contreras had to throw from behind Torrealba going down the line, but made the throw, moving Beltre and Dobbs to third and second. Betancourt flew out to shallow rightfield.
TOP 8TH
Grade: B
Quite a finish. Pierzynski rolled the first pitch to third. Dye lined a single over Bloomquist and into rightfield. Dye took second base on a 2-2 pitch to Blum, and took third on a full-count pitch way inside to Blum, who took the walk.
Jeff Nelson came in for Thornton. Uribe took the first pitch for a strike, and Torrealba threw to second in pursuit of Blum trying to steal second. Blum got into a rundown but Dye wandered a little too far off of third. Betancourt made a great throw to third to nab Dye. Uribe popped to Beltre in foul ground.
Thornton's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 29 pitches (18 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B-
Strong fell behind 0-2 and wound up poking a single over the shortstop.
Neal Cotts came in for Contreras. Ichiro took a 3-1 pitch off the plate outside, moving Strong to second. Bloomquist air-bunted the second pitch to Pierzynski. Ibañez took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner.
Bobby Jenks came in for Cotts. Sexson doubled a 101mph pitch down the rightfield line, scoring Strong. Ichiro came around third, but was out on the relay throw from Dye and Iguchi (9-4-2).
»» WHITE SOX 4, MARINERS 3
Contreras' line: 7 innings, 3 runs, 5 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 97 pitches (62 strikes)
Cotts' line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (5 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A-
Bullpen hijinks. Anderson popped an 0-2 pitch high to rightfield.
George Sherrill came in for Nelson. Aaron Rowand, hitting for Perez, flew out high to centerfield on a 2-2 pitch.
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Iguchi got ahead 2-0 but later tapped back to the mound.
Nelson's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 5 pitches (5 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 5 pitches (3 strikes)
Putz' line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 4 pitches (2 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: C
False hope. Beltre tapped a 1-2 pitch along the third-base line, and Jenks came off the mound to field, but lost some footing, enabling Beltre to slide in safely to first. Dobbs bunted the second pitch down the first-base line, where Konerko fielded it. Beltre went to second on the bunt.
Damaso Marte came in for Jenks. Mike Morse, hitting for Jeremy Reed and Torrealba, took a full-count pitch high for a walk. Betancourt grounded the second pitch hard to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Ballgame.
Jenks' line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (7 strikes)
Marte's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (5 strikes)
---
Gameball: Greg Dobbs.
This was a game where it was highly difficult to pick a non-obvious gameball. Richie Sexson was the only Mariner with more than one hit. Thus, I was limited to five batters that had one hit apiece. Since Dobbs drove in two of the Mariners' three runs and never struck out, he'll get the gameball. The two RBIs came in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, cutting the Mariners' deficit in half and making it a 4-2 game. His RBI single was an authoritative hit, right back up the middle to score two. This hit and Richie Sexson's double off of Bobby Jenks in the eighth were the two biggest and most clutch hits of the game. It's a good thing, considering that if the top half of the Mariner lineup gets runners on and Adrian Beltre has already hit, I don't expect anything out of the lineup until it turns over. Hitters six through nine in the Mariner lineup went 2-for-13 in this game, but Dobbs had one of the two hits, and it was a very vital one. Not only was it vital for the Mariners' chances to possibly win the game, it was vital for me to at least pique my interest in a game that was boring up until that point unless you have a thing for being dominated by Jose Contreras.
Goat: Ichiro.
An 0-for-3 outing and getting thrown out at the plate representing the tying run in the eighth seems to beg for an excursion into some stupid numbers regarding Ichiro, also called me messing with an Excel chart. He's gotten an average of about 4.17 at-bats per game this season. There are 34 games remaining in the season, which would leave him with about 141.8 at-bats (we'll say 142). Ichiro currently has 159 hits on the season. To get to 200 hits, he would have to hit .289 over the remainder of the season (he's hitting .238 for August). If he did hit .289 for the rest of the season, it'd leave him with a season average of .296. I said last night that my realistic expectation of Ichiro coming off the 262-hit season was a year where he'd hit .320. To finish with a 2005 mark of .320, Ichiro would have to finish with 217 hits and go on a .409 rampage over the last month-plus of the season. We're pretty far along in the season, so it's going to take a tear one way or the other to get his average moving. For instance, his 0-for-3 outing for this game only dropped his average from .299 to .298. Granted, since all hitters are on the low side of .500, averages climb more with hits than they descend with outs.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 92-36 .719 -- W3
2002 77-51 .602 15 W2
2003 76-52 .594 16 L3
2000 70-58 .547 22 L3
2005 54-74 .422 38 L2
2004 48-80 .375 44 W2
Watching the Mariners' cushion over the 2004 team shrink to six games is one thing, but trying to do it with what for me was a broke-ass MLB.tv feed for this game is quite another. What's weird is that when I get choppy feed, it tries to do the buffering thing and then come right back in, basically kinda like pausing live TV, except you're stuck with the delay the whole time, and the feed never uses the commercials to catch up with the closer-to-real-time happenings. Point being, my feed today wasn't the kind that rebuffered. I was getting still frames about 99% of the time, and the other one percent, I was actually getting moving pictures. The TV feed's audio would cut in and out, but would remain live. What rubbed it in was a couple times when I couldn't connect to the Mariner radio feed during the game. Basically, from the fourth inning until the end of game, I was watching the hackneyed feed while cooking spaghetti. Not good times.
What do you say when both The Artist Formerly Known As El Duque along with The Artist Formerly Known As Jose Contreras end up shutting your team down? I know the White Sox are a good team this season and everything, but El Duque and Contreras aren't that good. Just couple everything with Mark Buehrle and Freddy Garcia and everything turns out all right. Of course, the Contreras/Duque statement has something to do with the Mariners too -- they're not that good either. As a matter of fact, they're pretty bad. So should it be a surprise if an okay pitcher shuts down a below-average team? Probably not, and especially in this part of the season where the Mariners are just waiting to expand the roster to throw some callups out to the field. It's the type of month where Willie Bloomquist comes up from the minors, has a decent twelve games against other AAA callups, and brainwashes half the organization into thinking he needs more playing time.
The only Mariner multi-hit game here belonged to Richie Sexson, who singled and had the double down the rightfield line that nearly tied the game. Sexson got by with two hits while five other Mariners got by with a single hit. The rest of the Mariners got jack since the hits added up to seven and I already accounted for them.
Another series loss. What's new? The bad part is that the Mariners have the one game tomorrow followed by four with the Yankees, and three each on the road against Orange County and Oakland. After possibly a slight respite of the good teams with a three-game home series against Baltimore, the Mariners draw the Angels for three again at home. So, they've got a tough schedule through the first half of the month, sure. What comes next? Why, it's what I've been bitching about since the day I saw the schedule for the first time -- an 11-game freakin' east coast road trip. They'll be done in by the opponents, then done in by the travel and homesickness. It's enough to make your head spin, either before or after the Little League game in the morning. I'm not sure what kind of party crowd the Hawaiians are after they win big things, but I'm hoping it's not like Montreal or Columbus, or else my carport and/or house might burn to the ground. I doubt it, though. They seem pretty chill here.
Garcia. Moyer. Today.
In 25 words or less: The first two-thirds of the game were infinitely boring as the bats were once again dominated. The final third was entertaining, yet not satisfying.
This one featured Jose Contreras going up against Joel Piñeiro. Would fans see the good Piñeiro that had three good starts in a row, or would they see the bad one from the last start? It'd be somewhere in the middle this time.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B
Laborious. Timo Perez rolled out along the first-base line to Richie Sexson near the bag. Tadahito Iguchi looped a full-count single into shallow centerfield in front of Jamal Strong. Carl Everett popped a 3-1 pitch high to Betancourt in shallow leftfield. Paul Konerko got the hitters' counts and lined the 3-1 pitch right to Raul Ibañez in leftfield.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Yawner. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and lined a 1-2 pitch to centerfield, where Brian Anderson ran under it for the catch. Willie Bloomquist bounced out deep in the hole at short, to the chagrin of Bloomquist, Mike Hargrove, and the crowd. Replays show Bloomquist may have been safe, and it was a lot closer than I originally thought since I thought it was an out. Raul Ibañez flew out to Jermaine Dye in rightcenter.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C
Start early. AJ Pierzynski dumped a single into shallow centerfield that nearly handcuffed Strong, though he kept it in front of him. Jermaine Dye bashed the second pitch into the back of the Mariner bullpen.
»» WHITE SOX 2, MARINERS 0
Geoff Blum lined the second pitch right to Strong in centerfield. Juan Uribe flew out high to Ichiro in rightfield on the second pitch. Brian Anderson bounced a 1-2 pitch to third.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C+
Grr. Richie Sexson fell behind 0-2 and laced a 1-2 single into centerfield. Adrian Beltre fell behind 0-2 and later whiffed on a 1-2 dirty breaking ball. Greg Dobbs bounced a 2-0 pitch to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice. Yorvit Torrealba got ahead 2-0, and Dobbs stole second on the next pitch. Torrealba also got ahead 3-1 and later whiffed on a full-count curveball over the outside corner.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B-
Still uncomfortable. Perez flew out high to Bloomquist on the outfield grass. Iguchi took a 3-1 pitch about half a foot outside. Everett grounded to short, where Betancourt flipped to Bloomquist, but Everett beat out the double play (6-4 fielder's choice). Konerko got the hitters' counts and took the 3-1 pitch low and away. Pierzynski whiffed on a low and inside 0-2 curve.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Nothing. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a bullet right to third, where Blum straightened up and threw in time. Jamal Strong rolled a 2-2 pitch to third. Ichiro flew out high to rightfield on the second pitch.
TOP 4TH
Grade:
Dye cranked the second pitch into the gap in rightcenter for a double. Blum reached down to poke a single into rightfield, though Dye had to hold at third. Uribe singled the first pitch to leftfield, scoring Dye and moving Blum to second.
»» WHITE SOX 3, MARINERS 0
Anderson was brushed back on a bunt attempt before popping to Betancourt with the infield fly rule in effect. Perez lined to Ichiro in shallow rightfield, and Ichiro threw to second to force out Uribe. Iguchi whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
Mastery. Bloomquist tapped the second pitch over the mound, where Uribe made the play. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and later whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Sexson whiffed on an 0-2 fastball.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
Order. Everett got ahead 2-0 before popping to Betancourt in shallow leftfield. Konerko tapped a 1-2 pitch to third, where Beltre threw off-balance and in time to first for the out. Pierzynski got ahead 3-1 and ended up grounding to Bloomquist in the hole on the right side, who threw to Piñeiro.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
Too quick. Beltre popped a 2-0 pitch to rightfield. Dobbs bounced the first pitch to first. Torrealba fell behind 0-2 before bouncing out to third.
TOP 6TH
Grade: A-
Better. Dye gapped a 1-2 pitch to rightcenter for yet another double. Blum popped the first pitch to Strong in rightcenter. Uribe fouled off a couple of 2-2 pitches before flying out to Ibañez on the track in leftcenter as Dye had to hold. Anderson took an 0-2 pitch on the inside corner.
Piñeiro's line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 101 pitches (65 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
Hopeless. Betancourt took a full-count pitch for strike three. Strong fell behind 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 splitter down and in. Ichiro flew out to shallow centerfield on the second pitch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C+
Matt Thornton came in for Piñeiro. Perez whiffed on a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Iguchi fell behind 0-2 and later bounced a full-count pitch to second. Everett crushed a homer into the Mariners' bullpen.
»» WHITE SOX 4, MARINERS 0
Konerko bounced the first pitch to Beltre behind the bag at third.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B-
A morsel. Bloomquist poked the first pitch into leftfield for a single. Ibañez ripped the second pitch into rightfield for a single, moving Bloomquist to third. Sexson got ahead 2-0, attracting pitching coach Don Cooper to the mound. Sexson ended up holding a checkswing before fouling off a couple pitches, ending with a whiff on a pitch down and in. Beltre took an 0-2 pitch off of himself, loading the bases. Dobbs poked the second pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Bloomquist and Ibañez and moving Beltre to second.
»» WHITE SOX 4, MARINERS 2
Torrealba tapped a 1-2 along the first-base line, where Contreras had to throw from behind Torrealba going down the line, but made the throw, moving Beltre and Dobbs to third and second. Betancourt flew out to shallow rightfield.
TOP 8TH
Grade: B
Quite a finish. Pierzynski rolled the first pitch to third. Dye lined a single over Bloomquist and into rightfield. Dye took second base on a 2-2 pitch to Blum, and took third on a full-count pitch way inside to Blum, who took the walk.
Jeff Nelson came in for Thornton. Uribe took the first pitch for a strike, and Torrealba threw to second in pursuit of Blum trying to steal second. Blum got into a rundown but Dye wandered a little too far off of third. Betancourt made a great throw to third to nab Dye. Uribe popped to Beltre in foul ground.
Thornton's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 29 pitches (18 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B-
Strong fell behind 0-2 and wound up poking a single over the shortstop.
Neal Cotts came in for Contreras. Ichiro took a 3-1 pitch off the plate outside, moving Strong to second. Bloomquist air-bunted the second pitch to Pierzynski. Ibañez took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner.
Bobby Jenks came in for Cotts. Sexson doubled a 101mph pitch down the rightfield line, scoring Strong. Ichiro came around third, but was out on the relay throw from Dye and Iguchi (9-4-2).
»» WHITE SOX 4, MARINERS 3
Contreras' line: 7 innings, 3 runs, 5 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 97 pitches (62 strikes)
Cotts' line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (5 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A-
Bullpen hijinks. Anderson popped an 0-2 pitch high to rightfield.
George Sherrill came in for Nelson. Aaron Rowand, hitting for Perez, flew out high to centerfield on a 2-2 pitch.
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Iguchi got ahead 2-0 but later tapped back to the mound.
Nelson's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 5 pitches (5 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 5 pitches (3 strikes)
Putz' line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 4 pitches (2 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: C
False hope. Beltre tapped a 1-2 pitch along the third-base line, and Jenks came off the mound to field, but lost some footing, enabling Beltre to slide in safely to first. Dobbs bunted the second pitch down the first-base line, where Konerko fielded it. Beltre went to second on the bunt.
Damaso Marte came in for Jenks. Mike Morse, hitting for Jeremy Reed and Torrealba, took a full-count pitch high for a walk. Betancourt grounded the second pitch hard to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Ballgame.
Jenks' line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (7 strikes)
Marte's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (5 strikes)
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Gameball: Greg Dobbs.
This was a game where it was highly difficult to pick a non-obvious gameball. Richie Sexson was the only Mariner with more than one hit. Thus, I was limited to five batters that had one hit apiece. Since Dobbs drove in two of the Mariners' three runs and never struck out, he'll get the gameball. The two RBIs came in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, cutting the Mariners' deficit in half and making it a 4-2 game. His RBI single was an authoritative hit, right back up the middle to score two. This hit and Richie Sexson's double off of Bobby Jenks in the eighth were the two biggest and most clutch hits of the game. It's a good thing, considering that if the top half of the Mariner lineup gets runners on and Adrian Beltre has already hit, I don't expect anything out of the lineup until it turns over. Hitters six through nine in the Mariner lineup went 2-for-13 in this game, but Dobbs had one of the two hits, and it was a very vital one. Not only was it vital for the Mariners' chances to possibly win the game, it was vital for me to at least pique my interest in a game that was boring up until that point unless you have a thing for being dominated by Jose Contreras.
Goat: Ichiro.
An 0-for-3 outing and getting thrown out at the plate representing the tying run in the eighth seems to beg for an excursion into some stupid numbers regarding Ichiro, also called me messing with an Excel chart. He's gotten an average of about 4.17 at-bats per game this season. There are 34 games remaining in the season, which would leave him with about 141.8 at-bats (we'll say 142). Ichiro currently has 159 hits on the season. To get to 200 hits, he would have to hit .289 over the remainder of the season (he's hitting .238 for August). If he did hit .289 for the rest of the season, it'd leave him with a season average of .296. I said last night that my realistic expectation of Ichiro coming off the 262-hit season was a year where he'd hit .320. To finish with a 2005 mark of .320, Ichiro would have to finish with 217 hits and go on a .409 rampage over the last month-plus of the season. We're pretty far along in the season, so it's going to take a tear one way or the other to get his average moving. For instance, his 0-for-3 outing for this game only dropped his average from .299 to .298. Granted, since all hitters are on the low side of .500, averages climb more with hits than they descend with outs.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 92-36 .719 -- W3
2002 77-51 .602 15 W2
2003 76-52 .594 16 L3
2000 70-58 .547 22 L3
2005 54-74 .422 38 L2
2004 48-80 .375 44 W2
Watching the Mariners' cushion over the 2004 team shrink to six games is one thing, but trying to do it with what for me was a broke-ass MLB.tv feed for this game is quite another. What's weird is that when I get choppy feed, it tries to do the buffering thing and then come right back in, basically kinda like pausing live TV, except you're stuck with the delay the whole time, and the feed never uses the commercials to catch up with the closer-to-real-time happenings. Point being, my feed today wasn't the kind that rebuffered. I was getting still frames about 99% of the time, and the other one percent, I was actually getting moving pictures. The TV feed's audio would cut in and out, but would remain live. What rubbed it in was a couple times when I couldn't connect to the Mariner radio feed during the game. Basically, from the fourth inning until the end of game, I was watching the hackneyed feed while cooking spaghetti. Not good times.
What do you say when both The Artist Formerly Known As El Duque along with The Artist Formerly Known As Jose Contreras end up shutting your team down? I know the White Sox are a good team this season and everything, but El Duque and Contreras aren't that good. Just couple everything with Mark Buehrle and Freddy Garcia and everything turns out all right. Of course, the Contreras/Duque statement has something to do with the Mariners too -- they're not that good either. As a matter of fact, they're pretty bad. So should it be a surprise if an okay pitcher shuts down a below-average team? Probably not, and especially in this part of the season where the Mariners are just waiting to expand the roster to throw some callups out to the field. It's the type of month where Willie Bloomquist comes up from the minors, has a decent twelve games against other AAA callups, and brainwashes half the organization into thinking he needs more playing time.
The only Mariner multi-hit game here belonged to Richie Sexson, who singled and had the double down the rightfield line that nearly tied the game. Sexson got by with two hits while five other Mariners got by with a single hit. The rest of the Mariners got jack since the hits added up to seven and I already accounted for them.
Another series loss. What's new? The bad part is that the Mariners have the one game tomorrow followed by four with the Yankees, and three each on the road against Orange County and Oakland. After possibly a slight respite of the good teams with a three-game home series against Baltimore, the Mariners draw the Angels for three again at home. So, they've got a tough schedule through the first half of the month, sure. What comes next? Why, it's what I've been bitching about since the day I saw the schedule for the first time -- an 11-game freakin' east coast road trip. They'll be done in by the opponents, then done in by the travel and homesickness. It's enough to make your head spin, either before or after the Little League game in the morning. I'm not sure what kind of party crowd the Hawaiians are after they win big things, but I'm hoping it's not like Montreal or Columbus, or else my carport and/or house might burn to the ground. I doubt it, though. They seem pretty chill here.
Garcia. Moyer. Today.
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