Saturday, September 30, 2006
GAME 161: MARINERS 3, RANGERS 1
[posted in full Sun 8 Oct ~3:58p]
In 25 words or less: The last start for Felix Hernandez was supposed to be five days ago. He was also supposed to only throw six innings in this game.
This one featured Kevin Millwood going up against Felix Hernandez. The roof on Safeco Field was closed for this game. Unlike his start five days earlier against the White Sox, it turns out this start will really be his final start of the season. They're limiting him to six innings in this game. Also, this was a Saturday game, and I'm not in the Seattle area, so that means I'd have to wait to actually watch the game. However, a lot of what's below is off the radio. Forgive me if I don't feel like actually watching a game that's meaningless for both teams. Still, it's fun knowing Hernandez might do some fun things during the course of a game, depending on whether he's living-up-to-potential Felix or struggling-and-growing Felix. Needless to say, Mariner fans were hoping for something more along the lines of the former than the latter for the second-to-last game of the season. Plus, it's always fun to beat the Rangers and shut down their power hitters and whatnot. Of course, it was Millwood starting for the other guys, so it'd be a bit tough.
TOP 1ST
Gary Matthews, Jr. got ahead 3-1 and whiffed on a full count. Michael Young tapped to Lopez on the right side on a 2-2 pitch. Mark Teixeira flew out to left on the second pitch. Hernandez threw 13 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro rode the second pitch toward the gap in leftcenter, but Matthews ran it down. Adrian Beltre nubbed a 2-0 pitch in front of the plate that was easy work for Laird, who made the throw to first. Kenji Johjima flew out to center on the first pitch. Millwood threw six pitches.
TOP 2ND
Carlos Lee grounded the second pitch to short. Hank Blalock took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner. Ian Kinsler flew out to center on a 2-0 pitch. Hernandez threw nine pitches and had 22 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Raul Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and took a 2-2 fastball down the pipe. Richie Sexson flew out to deep left on the second pitch. Ben Broussard drilled the first pitch into the leftcenter gap for a double. Jose Lopez got ahead 2-0 but ended up flying out to right. Millwood threw 12 pitches and had 18 total.
TOP 3RD
Gerald Laird grounded the first pitch to Beltre on the left side. Jerry Hairston, Jr. grounded an 0-2 pitch to Betancourt deep in the left-side hole, but Hairston beat the throw to first. Nelson Cruz took a high 2-2 pitch, and Johjima gunned down Hairston trying to steal second. Cruz popped to Betancourt in shallow left on the next pitch. Hernandez threw ten pitches and had 32 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Chris Snelling fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 fastball over the inside corner. Yuniesky Betancourt whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Ichiro lined a single into rightfield. Beltre watched a 1-1 high breaking ball as Ichiro stole second. Beltre crushed a full-count fastball to the back fence of the Mariner bullpen in leftcenter.
»» MARINERS 2, RANGERS 0
Johjima flew out to fairly deep center on the second pitch. Millwood threw 24 pitches and had 42 through three.
TOP 4TH
Matthews fell behind 0-2 and one-hopped to Sexson at first on a 1-2 pitch. Young took a first-pitch slider and landed awkwardly and grimaced afterward, attracting members of the training staff to come to the mound immediately. Hernandez stayed in the game. Young ended up grounding to Beltre on the left side. Teixeira rolled a single up the middle. Lee hit a broken-bat roller on a 2-2 pitch softly to the left side, where Beltre moved over to barehand it and make the throw to first. Hernandez threw 15 pitches and had 47 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Ibañez grounded the second pitch to second. Sexson got ahead 3-1 and roped a full-count pitch off the middle of the centerfield fence to the right of the 405ft marker, his 40th double of the season, making him the sixth Mariner in franchise history to reach that mark. Broussard flew out to shallow right on a 2-0 pitch. Lopez grounded a 2-2 pitch to third. Millwood threw 17 pitches and had 59 through four.
TOP 5TH
Blalock grounded to second, and the high throw from Lopez was caught by the vertically blessed Sexson. Kinsler lined out to Betancourt on the first pitch. Laird checked his swing on an 0-2 pitch, but it was moot because the pitch itself was a strike. Hernandez threw eight pitches and had 55 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Snelling foul-tipped an 0-2 change into Laird's glove. Betancourt was up 3-0 but foul-tipped a full-count pitch into Laird's glove. Ichiro popped the second pitch to Hairston just on the foul side of the line just behind third base. Millwood threw 11 pitches and had 70 through five.
TOP 6TH
Hairston grounded a 2-2 pitch to short. Cruz was down 0-2 and chopped a 2-2 pitch high to short, where Betancourt waited for it to come down, and it finally did, but Betancourt lost the ball on the transfer (scored a single). Matthews grounded a 2-0 pitch to second to start a 4-6-3 double play. Hernandez threw 13 pitches and had 68 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Beltre rocked the first pitch just over the wall in rightcenter.
»» MARINERS 3, RANGERS 0
Johjima got ahead 2-0 before punching a single through the left side on the eleventh pitch of the at-bat (he fouled off seven pitches along the way). Ibañez grounded an 0-2 pitch to second to start a 4-6-3 double play. Sexson flew out to shallow right. Millwood threw 18 pitches and had 88 through six.
Millwood's line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 88 pitches (58 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Young hit a low liner to Lopez in shallow right on an 0-2 pitch. Teixeira was down 0-2 but walloped a 1-2 pitch over the rightfield wall.
»» MARINERS 3, RANGERS 1
Lee took an 0-2 pitch for strike three. Blalock got ahead 2-0 and checkswung on a 2-2 pitch, but the pitch itself was called a strike.
Hernandez' line: 7 innings, 1 run, 4 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 84 pitches (58 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Ron Mahay came in for Millwood. Broussard got ahead 2-0 and ended up flying out to Lee near the leftfield track. Lopez lined out to center on the second pitch. Willie Bloomquist, hitting for Snelling, flew out to Cruz near the rightfield corner on the first pitch.
Mahay's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (4 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Joel Piñeiro came in for Hernandez. Kinsler grounded a 1-2 pitch to the hole on the left side, where Betancourt made the backhand and spinning throw, and first-base umpire Mike Muchlinski (of Tacoma) called Kinsler safe, as Sexson did come off the bag, but he also came back down with the tag near Kinsler's pocket before Kinsler got to the bag. The out call was given after Muchlinski conferred with the other umpires in the crew. Buck Showalter came out to argue with plate umpire Angel Hernandez on the logistics of the call. Laird got behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Hairston flew out to a running Ichiro in shallow leftcenter on an 0-2 pitch. Piñeiro threw 11 pitches.
Piñeiro's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (9 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Nick Masset came in for Mahay. Betancourt popped the second pitch to Matthews in shallow center. Ichiro tapped an 0-2 pitch back to the mound. Beltre whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Masset threw ten pitches.
Masset's line: 1 inning 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 10 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Piñeiro. Cruz whiffed on a 1-2 pitch, the 100th strikeout of the season for Putz. Matthews hit a broken-bat line drive into right for a single on the second pitch. Young took the second pitch as Matthews stole second (no indifference was given). Young whiffed on a 1-2 fastball out of the zone. Teixeira foul-tipped a 3-0 pitch and ended up taking a 3-1 pitch away. Lee tapped the second pitch to second.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 17 pitches (10 strikes)
---
Gameball: Felix Hernandez.
So there we have it. With a final start of seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball and five strikeouts, the sun sets on the first full season in what should be a fabulous career for Hernandez. He once again was a groundball machine, getting ten groundball outs to five flyouts. If it weren't for the Mariners' management looking to limit his innings, Hernandez could have easily gotten through eight innings and possibly into the ninth. Nonetheless, the line we end up with for Felix this year is a record of 12-14 in 31 starts. He threw 191 innings, giving up 105 runs (96 earned) and 195 hits. He walked 60 and struck out 176 for nearly a 3-to-1 ratio, and that's even considering there were some times when his control was just shot. The other end of that is the 23 homers he gave up. His ERA works out to 4.52, but if you take it on a per-start basis, he gives up 3.10 runs per start. His average line per start is 6 innings, 3.4 runs (3.1 earned), 6.3 hits, 1.9 walks, 5.7 strikeouts, and 98.7 pitches. If he shows improvement next season, I say they just sign him to a ten-year contract and be done with it.
Goat: Chris Snelling.
If he was an incredible defensive outfielder with pretty good pop in his bat, I could put up with it, but Snelling struck out waaaaaay too much in his first prolonged stint in the big leagues. If nothing else, he was able to stay healthy enough to play 36 games, and thankfully he was part of the long-awaited move of Ichiro to centerfield. He went 24-for-96 for a .250 average, hitting six doubles, a triple, and three homers. He drove in eight runs. He walked 13 times, which is nice considering he was generally regarded as a pretty patient hitter, but that attribute doesn't hold much water when you see that he struck out 38 times. Yes, that's 38 times in 36 games, easily a shade over one strikeout per game. There were some things we knew about Snelling already, like his no-holds-barred approach to the game, and his general ability to make solid contact. What I didn't think would happen was that he'd stay healthy (first surprise) and that he'd strike out in 38 of 96 at-bats this season. He struck out 39.6% of the time he came to the plate this season.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 116-45 .720 -- W6
2002 93-68 .578 23 L1
2003 92-69 .571 24 W2
2000 90-71 .559 26 W1
2006 77-84 .478 39 W1
2005 69-92 .429 47 L1
2004 63-98 .391 53 L1
Tejeda. Woods. Tomorrow.
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GAME 160: RANGERS 6, MARINERS 5
[posted in full Sun 8 Oct ~3:22p]
In 25 words or less: I'm not sure whether to call these games fall-from-ahead losses, but the Mariners have had too many lately.
This one featured Vicente Padilla going up against Ryan Feierabend. For Feierabend, it was his second start in the big leagues. It was Fan Appreciation Night at Safeco Field. News came down that Mark Lowe would be undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow. MLB.tv pulled a jack move and showed the intro to Athletics/Angels, then switched over correctly to Rangers/Mariners right before the first pitch. The Mariners were hoping not to lose their third straight game, because that would just be bad. Nearing the end of the season, it's generally bad to lose five of six games, and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth as you're left wondering what could've been, though the Mariners have been doing that ever since the horrid 11-game losing streak. The Mariners were also seeking a win to meet my preseason expectation for the team, which I had pegged at 77 wins. So, the Mariners were gunning for lucky number 77.
TOP 1ST
Gary Matthews, Jr. got ahead 3-1 before hitting a low liner to shallow rightcenter on a full count. Michael Young laced the second pitch into the leftfield corner for a double, his 51st of the season, a new Ranger single-season record. Mark Teixeira was down 0-2 and foul-tipped a 1-2 fastball up and in into Johjima's glove. Carlos Lee worked an 0-2 count full (fouling a 2-2 pitch off his toe and tumbling to the ground in a heap in the process) before lasering a pitch back to Feierabend, who reached up with the glove while falling to the ground. Feierabend threw 22 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and pushed a 2-2 pitch deep into the right-side hole, where Kinsler ranged over to spin and make a throw to second, but Ichiro barely legged out the single. Adrian Beltre hadn't taken a pitch when Padilla faked a throw to first (a no-no for a righty) and was called for a balk, moving Ichiro to second. Beltre laid wood on an 0-2 pitch, putting it just over the rightfield wall near the corner.
»» MARINERS 2, RANGERS 0
Kenji Johjima popped the first pitch to DeRosa near the third-base line. Raul Ibañez walked on a full-count pitch that was low. Richie Sexson was ahead 2-0 and grounded the full-count pitch hard to the left-side hole, where Arias ranged and made a nice play, gloving the ball and making a quick throw to second to force out Ibañez, and Sexson beat out the throw to first that would have made it a double play. Ben Broussard looped a pitch into shallow right, where Cruz slid too early trying to make the catch and had it drop and get past him for a double that moved Sexson to third. Jose Lopez worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing on a fastball. Padilla threw 37 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Mark DeRosa walked on four pitches. Ian Kinsler had an 0-1 count on him when Feierabend caught DeRosa leaning off of first (1-3-6 putout). Kinsler parachuted an 0-2 pitch into shallow right in front of Snelling for a single. Rod Barajas walked on four pitches, moving Kinsler to second. Nelson Cruz worked a 1-2 count for a walk to load the bases. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves hurriedly jogged out to the mound. Joaquin Arias bounced an 0-2 pitch to third, where Beltre threw home for the force on Kinsler and Johjima had no other play and the bases remained loaded. Matthews had the hitters' counts before chopping a 3-1 pitch high to third. Feierabend threw 27 pitches and had 49 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Chris Snelling rode the first pitch into the leftcenter gap, but it was caught on the run by Matthews. Yuniesky Betancourt popped the second pitch to Matthews in shallow center. Ichiro got ahead 2-0 but bounced to first, where Teixeira underhanded to the covering Padilla, but Padilla had the ball hit the heel of his glove and roll away (error), enabling Ichiro to reach first. Beltre walked on a 3-1 breaking ball low and away, moving Ichiro to second. Johjima was down 0-2 and foul-tipped a 1-2 pitch into Barajas' glove. Padilla threw 18 pitches and had 55 through two.
TOP 3RD
Young was up 3-1 and flew out to Snelling at the rightfield track on a full count. Teixeira whiffed on an 0-2 change. Lee flew out to Betancourt in shallow left on the second pitch. Feierabend threw 12 pitches and had 61 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Ibañez smacked a single past the reach of a diving Kinsler and through the right side for a single. Sexson stroked a 3-1 pitch to the wall in rightcenter for a double, scoring Ibañez from first thanks to a less-than-good throw home.
»» MARINERS 3, RANGERS 0
Broussard popped the second pitch to Arias in shallow left. Lopez lined the second pitch hard in front of Cruz for a single, moving Sexson to third. Snelling had a 3-0 count but whiffed on a full-count fastball over the outer half. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into Barajas' glove. Padilla threw 23 pitches and had 78 through three.
TOP 4TH
DeRosa poked the first pitch through the mound and into center for a single. Kinsler grounded hard to third on a 1-2 pitch, and Beltre tried turning two, but only got the first out (6-4 putout) as Kinsler reached. Barajas popped the second pitch to fairly deep center. Cruz hadn't had a pitch thrown to him when Feierabend got called for a balk, moving Kinsler to second. Cruz bounced a ball through the left side for a single, scoring Kinsler as the throw home was late.
»» MARINERS 3, RANGERS 1
Arias grounded the first pitch very hard to short, where it nearly ate up Betancourt, but he came up with it and threw to second for the force on Cruz. Feierabend threw 11 pitches and had 72 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Ichiro lined a 2-0 pitch to a charging and sliding Lee in shallow left. Beltre flew out high to right on an 0-2 pitch. Johjima grounded hard to a diving DeRosa behind the bag at third, who managed to make the throw in time to first. Padilla threw seven pitches and had 85 through four.
TOP 5TH
Matthews whiffed on a 2-2 change way off the plate outside. Young got ahead 3-1 and fouled off four full-count pitches before lining out to center. Teixeira tagged a 2-0 pitch inside the third-base bag and toward the angled wall in foul ground for a double. Lee dumped the first pitch into shallow center for a single to score Teixeira.
»» MARINERS 3, RANGERS 2
DeRosa popped a 2-2 pitch to Betancourt near the back of the mound. Feierabend threw 24 pitches and had 96 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and bounced up the middle to Arias, who threw to first. Sexson whiffed on a 1-2 inside fastball. Broussard worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Lopez took a 2-1 pitch way outside and Broussard stole second. Lopez walked on a 3-1 pitch outside, making the steal a bit moot. Snelling took a 1-2 belt-high fastball for strike three. Padilla threw 17 pitches and had 112 through five.
TOP 6TH
Feierabend came out to warm up, but then a call went to the bullpen.
Emiliano Fruto came in for Feierabend. Kinsler walked on four pitches. Barajas reached and chopped the second pitch through the right side on a hit-and-run, moving Kinsler to third. Cruz whiffed on a 1-2 fastball over the outer half. Arias poked the first pitch inside the third-base bag and toward the angled wall in foul ground, scoring Kinsler and moving moving Barajas to second.
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 3
Matthews fell behind 0-2 and flew out to Ichiro in rightcenter as the runners held. Young tagged a double into the leftcenter gap, easily scoring Barajas and Arias.
»» RANGERS 5, MARINERS 3
Teixeira looped a 1-2 pitch in foul ground to the left side, where Beltre ran all the way over and got turned around by the stands and had the ball in his glove before it fell out. Teixeira worked the 1-2 count full and whiffed on a breaking ball away. Fruto threw 25 pitches.
Feierabend's line: 5 innings, 2 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 96 pitches (59 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Betancourt rolled the first pitch to second. Ichiro had the hitters' counts and stroked a 3-1 pitch into the rightcenter gap, rolling it to the wall for a triple.
Scott Feldman came in for Padilla. Beltre flew out to deep center on a 3-1 pitch, scoring Ichiro from third.
»» RANGERS 5, MARINERS 4
Johjima fell behind 0-2 and singled up the middle under a diving Arias on a 1-2 pitch.
John Rheinecker came in for Feldman. Ibañez flew out to deep right on the second pitch.
Padilla's line: 5 1/3 inning, 4 runs, 7 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts, 118 pitches (69 strikes)
Feldman's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 10 pitches (6 strikes)
Rheinecker's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 pitches (2 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Lee walked on a 3-1 pitch down andd away. DeRosa was down 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch down and in as Lee stole second. DeRosa took a 2-2 pitch to the left shoulder. At this point, multiple infielders were making separate visits to the mound in a hilarious display of stall tactics before Mike Hargrove came to the mound.
Jon Huber came in for Fruto. Kinsler bunted in front of the plate, where Huber ran over to field the ball but lost his footing (single), and he threw to first, but it was too late as the bases were loaded. Barajas ripped a 2-0 pitch right into Beltre's glove as he went to a knee to make the catch. Cruz grounded a 2-0 pitch toward the left-side hole to Betancourt, who bobbled a bit and turned and threw to short, but it led Lopez off the bag at second as everyone was safe and Lee scored, with the bases remaining loaded.
»» RANGERS 6, MARINERS 4
Arias flew out to very shallow right as the runners held. Matthews took a first pitch that went off Johjima's glove and rolled past, but DeRosa held at third. Matthews flew out to left on a 2-0 pitch. Huber threw 15 pitches.
Fruto's line: 1 inning, 4 runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 38 pitches (20 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Frank Francisco came in for Rheinecker. Sexson fought off the first pitch, poking it through the right side for a single. Broussard flew out to a running Cruz in rightcenter, who was nearly taken out at the legs by Matthews, who slid away from the ball at the last second. Lopez grounded the first pitch into the right-side hole, where Kinsler made a diving stop and threw to second for the force on Sexson, though it too too much time to get Lopez at first, who beat the throw. Snelling took the first pitch in the dirt inside, and it got away far enough to move Lopez to second. Snelling grounded hard to Teixeira behind the bag at first.
Francisco's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (7 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Young popped the second pitch to Snelling barely on the foul side of the rightfield line. Teixeira flew out to left. Lee grounded an 0-2 pitch to second, where Lopez bobbled and booted it multiple times and had no play (error). DeRosa flew out to deep right on the second pitch. Huber threw ten pitches and had 25 total.
Huber's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 25 pitches (14 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Wes Littleton came in for Francisco. Betancourt grounded an 0-2 pitch deep into the hole on the right side, and despite Arias' best efforts and throw, Betancourt legged out the single. Ichiro flew out to deep left on a 1-2 pitch. Beltre bounced a 2-0 pitch to third, moving Betancourt to second. Johjima chopped the second pitch to short, and Teixeira had a not-too-bad pick of the throw to first. Littleton threw 12 pitches.
TOP 9TH
Joel Piñeiro came in for Huber. Kinsler flew out deep to left on the second pitch. Barajas tapped to third. Cruz bounced out to third.
Piñeiro's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (5 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Ibañez drove a long fly ball to the covered equipment tunnel in rightcenter.
»» RANGERS 6, MARINERS 5
Sexson chopped a full-count pitch high to third.
CJ Wilson came in for Littleton. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Broussard, whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball down and in. Lopez rolled softly to short.
Littleton's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 21 pitches (13 strikes)
Wilson's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (6 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jon Huber.
How impressive has this guy been? Granted, I hope his arm doesn't explode from throwing all those sliders, but my, what a slider it is. I like my chances in 2007 if I'm in the seventh or eighth against a tough lineup and I can sandwich George Sherrill between Huber and Mark Lowe. That is, if you don't make Lowe a starter. I'm very open to the idea of Lowe becoming a starter, and also the idea of Rafael Soriano becoming a starter again, but that's a discussion for another time. Huber has racked up 15 appearances since his call-up, with the first outing coming on August 30th. He's given up only two earned runs for a sparkling ERA of 1.23. I was somewhat surprised to see the strikeout-to-walk ratio to be a little worse than I thought it'd be, but in any event, it's 11 strikeouts to six walks, not quite 2-to-1, which is surprising considering the slider, but on the other end, you can't argue with the fact that Huber is just plain getting outs. He got six flyouts in this game, but before that, he'd gotten 22 groundouts and six flyouts, which is very impressive.
Goat: Emiliano Fruto.
Ryan Feierabend left the game with a 3-2 lead. His chances of picking up his first Major League win would have been much greater if the Mariners would have quickly piled up some runs. The offense didn't do that in the bottom of the fifth. Feierabend's chances for a win also would have been a lot greater if it wasn't Fruto that headed to the mound for the sixth inning. Fruto set the game ablaze, facing nine hitters over an inning-plus and retiring only three. There were also three hits and two walks. It just wasn't good. Just really not good. His command, or lack thereof, is just maddening at times. At times he's looked pretty good like he would have some potential, and at other times he's looekd completely discombobulated in terms of control and command, and even with the heat that he throws, it means nothing without control and command, though you could say the same thing about any young pitcher out there who can throw heat. I only dish this out because I like Fruto and I think he could be meaningful in the Mariners' future plans, but not by throwing the ball all over the place. He knows how to throw, now he just has to learn how to pitch.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 115-45 .719 -- W5
2002 93-67 .581 22 W1
2003 91-69 .569 24 W1
2000 89-71 .556 26 L2
2006 76-84 .475 39 L3
2005 69-91 .431 46 W2
2004 63-97 .394 52 W1
Millwood. Hernandez. Today.
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Thursday, September 28, 2006
GAME 159: ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 6 (10 INNINGS)
[posted in full Sun 8 Oct ~2:53p]
In 25 words or less: It looked like a typical game against the A's at the start, then the Mariners roared back, then ended with a whimper.
This one featured Jason Windsor going up against Gil Meche. With Oakland having already taken the AL West division title, six of their regulars were given the night off. This night marked the final television telecast for Ron Fairly, who is stepping out of the Mariner broadcast booth after the season (he didn't do a lot of television this year, but it's still of note). The Mariners hoped to win this game to keep from losing four of five, which is a good way to put a damper on some of your end-of-season goals before heading out to the golf course to shave some strokes off that handicap. Or the Mariner players could spend the offseason much like I did when I was out of school and just run a sports blog, eat Chex Mix, and wonder why you don't have a job. Yes, it's good clean fun.
TOP 1ST
Hiram Bocachica tapped a 1-2 pitch slowly to third, where Beltre tried the barehand-and-throw play even though he had no chance, and it was well wide of Sexson (error) and went to the tarp, enabling Bocachica to get to second. Marco Scutaro stung the first pitch just inside the first-base bag and toward the corner for a double, scoring Bocachica.
»» ATHLETICS 1, MARINERS 0
Bobby Kielty got ahead 2-0 and whiffed over a 2-2 curve. Nick Swisher chipped an 0-2 pitch into the leftfield corner and it bounced over the wall into some foul seats for a double, scoring Scutaro.
»» ATHLETICS 2, MARINERS 0
Dan Johnson flew out to a running Ichiro in shallow leftcenter. Adam Melhuse was up 3-0 before rolling a full-count pitch slowly to second. Meche threw 27 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro got ahead 3-1 and walked on a full-count pitch up and away. Adrian Beltre got a pitch up and in and was jammed, flying out to Scutaro in shallow center. Kenji Johjima fell behind 0-2 and took a 2-2 breaking ball over the inside corner. Raul Ibañez nubbed a 2-0 pitch to Perez on the left side. Windsor threw 18 pitches.
TOP 2ND
D'Angelo Jimenez fell behind 0-2 and walked on a 2-2 pitch down and away. Jeremy Brown lasered the first pitch into Beltre's glove at third. Antonio Perez tagged a 2-0 pitch to the wall in the rightcenter gap for a triple that scored Jimenez from first.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 0
Bocachica popped the first pitch to Snelling in shallow right as Perez held at third. Scutaro took a full-count pitch down and away for a walk. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves visited the mound. Kielty rolled out to second. Meche threw 21 pitches and had 48 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Richie Sexson drove an 0-2 pitch to the leftcenter gap, bouncing off the track and wall for a double. Ben Broussard looped an 0-2 pitch to shallow left, but Jimenez ranged way back to catch it. Jose Lopez grounded to short on a 1-2 pitch, moving Sexson to third. Chris Snelling grounded hard to first on the first pitch. Windsor threw 12 pitches and had 30 through two.
TOP 3RD
Swisher lined out to second. Johnson took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Melhuse ripped the first pitch down the rightfield line and into the corner for a double. Jimenez fouled off four 0-2 pitches and whiffed on a 1-2 change on the outer half. Meche threw 18 pitches and had 66 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Yuniesky Betancourt flew out to fairly deep left. Ichiro tagged a 2-0 pitch down the leftfield line and into the corner, and it rattled around and shot past a diving Swisher and banked around in the corner, enabling Ichiro to get a triple out of it. Beltre flew out to Kielty near the rightfield line on a 3-1 pitch, scoring Ichiro from second.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 1
Johjima flew out to Kielty in rightcenter. Windsor threw 14 pitches and had 44 through three.
TOP 4TH
Brown grounded to the hole on the left side, where Beltre made a diving stop and threw from a knee in time to first. A Perez was ahead 3-0 before flying out to Lopez in shallow right. Bocachica got ahead 3-1 and walked on a full-count breaking ball down and in. Scutaro got ahead 3-0 and took a 3-1 high fastball, moving Bocachica to second. Chaves visited the mound. Kielty grounded the first pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first. Meche threw 26 pitches and had 92 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Ibañez lined the first pitch into rightfield, and Kielty cut it off from going to the wall, holding Ibañez to a single. Sexson worked an 0-2 count full and clubbed a full-count pitch much like he did in his last at-bat, doubling to the wall in leftcenter, but this time scoring Ibañez from first.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 2
Broussard tagged a 2-2 pitch hard through the right side for a single, but it was hit too hard to score Sexson, who held at third. Windsor got a visit from his pitching coach. Lopez bounced slowly along the left side, where Windsor came off the mound to field it, but he had no play once he got to it as Sexson scored, Broussard moved to second, and Lopez had the single.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 3
Snelling bunted the first pitch softly out in front, where Melhuse pounced and made a wild-looking throw that still got the out at first as Broussard and Lopez moved to third and second. Betancourt rolled out to short on the first pitch, scoring Broussard and moving Lopez to third. MLB.tv cut to commercial break slides for a few seconds before someone at the control room realized the inning wasn't yet over.
»» MARINERS 4, ATHLETICS 3
Ichiro roped a 2-2 pitch into center for a single after it nearly nailed second-base umpire Mike Reilly. The hit scored Lopez.
»» MARINERS 5, ATHLETICS 3
Beltre fell behind 0-2 before flying out to shallow right on a 1-2 pitch. Windsor threw 28 pitches and had 72 through four.
TOP 5TH
Swisher walked on four pitches. Johnson punched the second pitch through the right side for a single, moving Swisher to second. Melhuse fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 curve down and away. Jimenez whiffed over an 0-2 curve inside. Brown whiffed on a 1-2 curve down and in. Meche threw 17 pitches and had 109 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Johjima flew out to rightcenter on a 2-0 pitch. Ibañez got ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch up and away. Sexson bounced the first pitch to third for an easy 5-4-3 double play.
Windsor's line: 5 innings, 5 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 81 pitches (47 strikes)
TOP 6TH
A Perez flew out to Sexson on the right side on a 3-1 pitch. Bocachica bounced a 2-2 pitch to a diving Sexson behind the bag at first, who underhanded in time to a covering Meche at first. Scutaro got ahead 3-1 and took a full-count pitch for strike three.
Meche's line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts, 125 pitches (74 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Brad Halsey came in for Windsor. Broussard popped a 1-2 pitch to Kielty near the rightcenter track. Lopez whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball way outside. Snelling worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Betancourt rolled the first pitch to Scutaro in the hole on the right side. Halsey threw 17 pitches.
TOP 7TH
Joel Piñeiro came in for Meche. Kielty walked on a 3-1 fastball away. Swisher got ahead 3-1 and whiffed over a full-count breaking ball. Johnson bounced a 1-2 pitch to the left side where Beltre tried to toss to second, but couldn't get a hold of it well enough, then threw in time to first as Kielty moved to second. Melhuse got ahead 3-0 and bounced a full-count pitch through the right side for a single, scoring Kielty (Johjima dropped Snelling's throw), and Melhuse went to second on the throw.
»» MARINERS 5, ATHLETICS 4
Jimenez took a 1-2 fastball over the outside corner.
Piñeiro's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 25 pitches (13 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Ichiro bounced up the middle to Jimenez. Beltre got ahead 2-0 and flew out to the leftfield track on a 2-2 pitch. Johjima punched a single through the left side. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and chopped a 2-2 pitch near first, and Ibañez beat the throw from Scutaro in shallow rightfield as Johjima moved to second.
Kiko Calero came in for Halsey. Sexson rolled up the middle to Jimenez behind second, who underhanded to Scutaro at the bag for the out on Ibañez.
Halsey's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 33 pitches (21 strikes)
Calero's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 4 pitches (2 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Jon Huber came in for Piñeiro and TJ Bohn came in to play right. Brown worked a 1-2 count for a walk. A Perez walked on a pitch down and in. Bocachica lined out to left. Scutaro grounded to short to start a 6-4-3 double play.
Huber's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (7 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Ron Flores came in for Calero. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Broussard, popped the second pitch to second. Lopez knocked the second pitch into rightcenter, and it snuck through sliding stop attempts from Bocachica and Kielty for a double. Bohn got ahead 2-0 before popping to Johnson in foul ground near the bag at first. Betancourt ripped the second pitch into the leftfield corner for an easy double that scored Lopez.
»» MARINERS 6, ATHLETICS 4
Ichiro whiffed on a 2-2 pitch away and in the dirt.
Flores' line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 15 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Huber. Kielty push-bunted the first pitch past the left side of the mound, where Betancourt charged in for it but had no play (single). Swisher knocked a 2-0 pitch into shallow right for a single, moving Kielty to second. Johnson got behind 0-2 and wickedly stung a 2-2 pitch to center that got under Ichiro's glove and through to the wall to score Kielty and Swisher, and Johnson got a triple out of it.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 6
Melhuse foul-tipped an 0-2 fastball into Johjima's glove. Jimenez was intentionally walked. Brown grounded the second pitch to third, where Beltre threw straight home and Johjima stood in front of the plate and blocked it as Johnson sort of pushed him over, but he was out anyway (didn't decide to blast him) as Jimenez moved to second. A Perez whiffed on an 0-2 fastball.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 23 pitches (15 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Jay Witasick came in for Flores. Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball down and way off the plate outside. Johjima smacked an 0-2 pitch up the middle, which Scutaro made a nice backhanded sliding stop on, and he threw in time to first. Ibañez whiffed badly over a 2-2 breaking ball in the dirt.
Witasick's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 13 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 10TH
George Sherrill came in for Putz. Bocachica got ahead 2-0 and whipped a 2-2 pitch into left for a single. Scutaro got ahead 2-0 and bunted to the right side, where Sherrill came off to field it and threw to first as Bocachica threw to second. Kielty drove a ball out to the centerfield wall for a double, scoring Bocachica.
»» ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 6
Swisher was walked intentionally. Johnson fell behind 0-2 and grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to third, where Beltre threw to second for the out on Swisher as Kielty moved to third. Melhuse flew out to center.
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (12 strikes)
BOTTOM 10TH
Huston Street came in for Witasick. Sexson whiffed over an 0-2 breaking ball down and in. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Perez, whiffed over an 0-2 change down and away. Lopez whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
Street's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 11 pitches (9 strikes)
---
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
It wasn't a six-RBI day for Sexson in this one, and it wasn't even a multi-homer game. He merely went 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. As a matter of fact, the 12 doubles he's hit in September have been the most he's hit in any month, and beats the pants off his previous high for a month this season, which was seven. The six homers he's hit in September rank behind the eight-homer June and the nine-homer July. Though the homer production has dropped a bit from Sexson, it's the new onslaught of doubles (more likely fly balls that are going off walls and barely missing being homers) that is keeping his slugging percentage high. He's sitting with a .498 slugging percentage after this game. The last time he had consecutive hitless games, he was slugging .444 (August 2nd). At the All-Star break, he was slugging .418. He came into the month of June slugging .355. In short, it's been a pretty insane second half for the tall one. I've enjoyed another season of mammoth homers, and I just hope next season's a little more consistent, but that's what I'm hoping for out of the whole team.
Goat: Gil Meche.
Three runs, not so bad. Six hits, not so bad. Seven strikeouts, decent. Six innings, passable. Five walks? Terrible. The fact the Mariners had a 5-3 lead when Meche left the game was a minor miracle. At the same time, you have to figure he was facing a lineup that didn't have Frank Thomas in it, and considering the season he's had, his inclusion in the lineup makes the offense a whole lot better and a whole lot harder lineup to face pitchingwise. Still, it was the A's inability to punch across the walks that preserved the Mariners' lead until the incredibly bad events occurred in the top of the ninth inning. In any event, any time Meche walks five hitters, there's no way he's going to get a gameball from me, even if he throws a complete game. If he walks five guys in a game, there's a good chance he'll end up in this part of the game post, and that's exactly where he is after this game. Quite a team to watch, these guys. The Mariners have hitters that are taught not to walk, and therefore don't draw enough walks. Then the pitchers walk too many hitters. The walk party is supposed to go the other way.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 114-45 .717 -- W4
2002 92-67 .579 22 L1
2003 90-69 .566 24 L2
2000 89-70 .560 25 L1
2006 76-83 .478 38 L2
2005 68-91 .428 46 W1
2004 62-97 .390 52 L1
Padilla. Feierabend. Tomorrow.
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Wednesday, September 27, 2006
GAME 158: ATHLETICS 12, MARINERS 3
[posted in full Sun 8 Oct ~2:22p]
In 25 words or less: Now that Oakland has the AL West division title, they just have to find out who will eliminate them in the Division Series.
This one featured Rich Harden going up against Jake Woods. Oakland had a magic number of two heading into this game to clinch the American League West division. The loss by the Angels came first. The green and gold team would merely have to finish off the Mariners to lock up a division title and a playoff spot. Of course, when the formidable competition trying to prevent Oakland form accomplishing such a feat was the great Jake Woods, well...I think you know where I'm going with this. The Mariners would have to do something against Harden to prevent the whole division-clinching thing, and seeing as to how the Mariners never do anything against Harden, the final outcome wasn't in much doubt.
TOP 1ST
Jason Kendall tapped the second pitch up the middle for a single. Bobby Kielty took an 0-2 fastball across the inside corner. Milton Bradley flung his bat while whiffing at the second pitch, flinging the bat behind the plate. Bradley watched an 0-2 pitch as Kendall easily stole second. Bradley failed to check his swing on a 2-2 fastball just off the outside corner. Frank Thomas ripped a full-count pitch into center for a single, easily scoring Kendall.
»» ATHLETICS 1, MARINERS 0
Jay Payton shot the first pitch past a diving Betancourt and into center for a single, moving Thomas to second. Eric Chavez bounced an 0-2 pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first. Woods threw 20 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Willie Bloomquist walked on a high full-count pitch. Jose Lopez popped a full-count pitch to Payton in rightcenter. Adrian Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball down and away. Raul Ibañez whiffed on the second pitch as Bloomquist stole second without a throw. Ibañez worked an 0-2 count full before bouncing to Ellis deep in the hole on the right side. Harden threw 23 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Nick Swisher rocked a 1-2 pitch to the back of the visitors' bullpen in left. If Gameday's not lying to me, Swisher has 34 freakin' homers.
»» ATHLETICS 2, MARINERS 0
Mark Ellis grounded an 0-2 pitch right to Lopez at second. Marco Scutaro worked an 0-2 count for a walk. Kendall slapped the second pitch into shallow right for a single, moving Scutaro to second. Kielty chopped the first pitch to the mound, where Woods threw to second to force out Kendall and move Scutaro to third. Bradley roped the first pitch ten rows into the rightfield seats.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 0
Thomas worked an 0-2 count full and walked on a tenth-pitch fastball inside. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves visited the mound. Payton lined the second pitch into left for a single, moving Thomas to second. Chavez popped a 2-2 pitch to left. Woods threw 35 pitches and had 55 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Richie Sexson popped an inside second pitch to Ellis in shallow center. Ben Broussard grounded an 0-2 pitch up the middle to Scutaro. Yuniesky Betancourt was up 2-0 and grounded hard to Chavez behind the bag at third. Harden threw ten pitches and had 33 through two.
TOP 3RD
Swisher tagged the first pitch through the middle for a single. Ellis flew out to center. Scutaro slapped a second pitch past Snelling and to the rightfield wall for a double, moving Swisher to third. Kendall lined out to right on a 2-0 pitch, and Snelling came up throwing, but for some reason Swisher hesitated halfway down the line but kept going, and that was an easy 9-2 putout. Woods threw nine pitches and had 64 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Chris Snelling looped a high first pitch into center for a single. Rene Rivera had the hitters' counts before looping a 3-1 pitch into rightcenter for a single, moving Snelling to second. Bloomquist laid the bat on the ball and hit a low liner to shallow left, and Kielty nearly was able to double Snelling off of second. Lopez flew out to the rightfield track on the second pitch, moving Snelling to third. Beltre took the first pitch off the left side of his ribcage under his left arm, loading the bases, though not before a bit of a staredown to Harden. Harden got a visit from the pitching coach. Ibañez was ahead 3-0 before whiffing on a full-count fastball up and in. Harden threw 19 pitches and had 52 through three.
TOP 4TH
Kielty fell behind 0-2 and tapped a 1-2 pitch to third. Bradley walked on a 3-1 pitch up and in. Thomas reached down and pushed a single up the middle to move Bradley to second. Payton took a first-pitch ball and Rivera came out to talk with Woods. Payton punched a 1-2 pitch through the left side for a single to score Bradley and move Thomas to second.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 0
Chavez took an 0-2 pitch barely outside before popping a 1-2 pitch to Bloomquist in shallow rightcenter. Swisher grounded the first pitch to third for a 5-4 force on Payton at second. Woods threw 25 pitches and had 89 through four.
Woods' line: 4 innings, 6 runs, 11 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 89 pitches (61 strikes)
BOTTOM 4TH
Sexson whiffed on an high 0-2 splitter. Broussard was ahead 2-0 and foul-tipped a full-count pitch into Kendall's glove for strike three. Betancourt lined the first pitch into Scutaro's glove at short. Harden threw ten pitches and had 62 through four.
TOP 5TH
Jorge Campillo came in for Woods. Ellis got ahead 3-1 and rolled a full-count pitch to third. Scutaro whiffed on a big slow 0-2 curve away. Kendall grounded hard to third. Campillo threw 13 pitches.
BOTTOM 5TH
Snelling whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Rivera rolled the second pitch to short. Bloomquist drove a full-count pitch to center that got Payton turned around, but he went back and made the catch.
Harden's line: 5 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 76 pitches (45 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Kielty rolled to the right side for a 3-1 putout. Bradley flew out to Bloomquist at the track in center on a 3-1 pitch. Thomas flew out high to shallow center on a 2-2 pitch. Campillo threw 14 pitches and had 27 total.
BOTTOM 6TH
Kirk Saarloos came in for Harden. Lopez fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a low 2-2 breaking ball. Beltre blasted the first pitch four rows into the elevated leftfield bleachers for the third Mariner hit of the night.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 1
Ibañez worked a 1-2 count full and lined a homer into the first row of seats just to the right of the hitters' backdrop (rightcenter). A fan caught the ball barehanded with the right hand with a beverage in the left, which was truly impressive.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 2
Sexson worked a 1-2 count for a walk.
Joe Kennedy came in for Saarloos. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Broussard, worked a 1-2 count full and grounded hard to Chavez behind the bag at third to start a 5-4-3 double play. Kennedy threw six pitches.
Saarloos' line: 1/3 inning, 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Payton lined the second pitch into leftcenter and made the turn toward second as Bloomquist came up throwing, but his throw was kind of wide and Payton had the double. Chavez got ahead 3-1 and laced a full-count pitch for a single near the rightfield corner that easily scored Payton.
»» ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 2
Swisher worked a 1-2 count full and grounded to first, where Sexson threw to second (3-6) for the force on Chavez, but Swisher beat the back end of the play. Ellis drilled the first pitch into the leftfield corner for a double, moving Swisher to third. Scutaro rode his fourth pitch for a double off the base of the rightfield wall near the corner, scoring Swisher and Ellis.
»» ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 2
Emiliano Fruto came in for Campillo. Kendall singled a 2-2 pitch into shallow right, moving Scutaro to third. Kielty flew out to Bloomquist in rightcenter on the first pitch, and Scutaro scored without a throw.
»» ATHLETICS 10, MARINERS 2
Bradley worked a 1-2 pitch for a walk, moving Kendall to second. Thomas got ahead 2-0 and flew out high to right. Fruto threw 16 pitches.
Campillo's line: 2 1/3 innings, 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 46 pitches (28 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Betancourt stung the first pitch right into the glove of Swisher at first. Mike Morse, hitting for Snelling, popped high to Ellis on the right side. Rivera took an 0-2 pitch over the inside corner. Kennedy threw six pitches and had 12 total.
Kennedy's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Payton broke his bat on the first pitch, rolling to short, but Betancourt bobbled it and couldn't make a play (error). Chavez rolled the second pitch to short to start what was nearly a 6-4-3 double play, but Lopez' throw was a bit high, and he'd hesitated a bit before the throw. Swisher whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball down and in on which he fell to a knee trying to check his swing and get out of the way of the ball. Ellis blistered the second pitch to the leftfield wall near the corner for a double, moving Chavez to third. Scutaro fouled the first pitch back off the chin guard of plate umpire Andy Fletcher's mask. Scutaro took a 3-1 pitch up and in, loading the bases. Kendall lined the first pitch into center for a single, scoring Chavez and Ellis and moving Scutaro to third.
»» ATHLETICS 12, MARINERS 2
Kielty grounded the first pitch to Sexson for a 3-1 putout.
Fruto's line: 1 2/3 innings, 2 runs (unearned), 3 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 34 pitches (19 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Chad Gaudin came in for Kennedy. At this point, the camera crew pointed out that the manual scoreboard operator had inserted the number 18 upside-down in the hit column for Oakland, but it might as well have been 81 hits. Bloomquist fell behind 0-2 and nubbed a 1-2 pitch to Ellis in the hole on the right side. Lopez flew out to Bradley near the rightfield line on the first pitch. Beltre worked a 1-2 count full before poking a single into leftcenter. Ibañez popped an 0-2 pitch to Payton in leftcenter, who had Kielty ducking under his glove in a near-collision. Gaudin threw 17 pitches.
TOP 9TH
Eric O'Flaherty came in for Fruto, Greg Dobbs came in to play first, Morse stayed in to play third, TJ Bohn came in to play right, Bloomquist moved over to left, and Adam Jones came in to play center. Dan Johnson, hitting for Bradley, whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball down and away. Adam Melhuse, hitting for Thomas, punched a 2-0 pitch for a single past Morse and into left. Payton looped the first pitch to Dobbs, who got turned a bit and made the catch near the tarp in foul ground on the right side. Chavez flew out to left on a full count.
O'Flaherty's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 14 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Dobbs poked the first pitch just inside the third-base bag for a double. Perez lined a hanging 1-2 pitch and flew out to left. Oswaldo Navarro lined the second pitch for a hard single into right, moving Dobbs to third. Morse bounced to third to score Dobbs and move Navarro to second.
»» ATHLETICS 12, MARINERS 3
Rivera flew out to shallow right on an 0-2 pitch. Onto the field came the entire team of Oakland Athletics, who celebrated in jubilation at their division crown.
Gaudin's line: 2 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 34 pitches (19 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adrian Beltre.
He had a putrid April, hitting .189. He had a better May, hitting .264. Spending the month of June hitting behind Ichiro, he hit .324 for his only hot month of the season. From that point, while he didn't hit .324 for the rest of the season or anything, Beltre's batting average has hovered in the .254-to-.268 range for the last three months of the season. The positive here is obvious -- hopefully the Mariners are getting the Beltre they expected when they signed him. He hit his 22nd homer of the season in this game, which is more than he's had in all but two of his past seasons, one being the crazy 2004, and the other being the 23-homer season he had in 2003. He also drove in his 81st run in this game, more than all but two of the years he had with the Dodgers (the crazy year and an 85-RBI season in 2000), and six less than last year in Seattle with four games left to play. Defensively, the Seahawks for a few years had the best left side in football, and now it appears the Mariners have the best left side in baseball, at least on the infield. Here's hoping for a better year next year for everyone involved.
Goat: Jake Woods.
If this is his final start of the season, I hope it's his final start in a Mariner uniform. I hope this one put the stake through any possibility of him starting for this team in 2007. In what most would probably call his worst start of the season, Woods threw four innings and gave up six runs on 11 hits, walking three and striking out two. Two of the 11 hits were homers. In seven starts since taking over Joel Piñeiro's rotation spot, Woods has given up 19 runs in 36 innings, good for a 4.75 ERA. Although Woods is definitely not a strikeout pitcher, you generally don't like to see that he's walked 14 and struck out 20 in those starts. Even if he did just turn 25 years of age, how high is the upside on Woods? Should these innings probably go to an even younger guy? I'd have to say so. I just don't know if Jake Woods' best every five days is enough for what I want out of the back end of this rotation, especially when I know his best pitching won't always come every time out. For me, he's just completely unimpressive. Just my take.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 113-45 .715 -- W3
2002 92-66 .582 21 W4
2003 90-68 .570 23 L1
2000 89-69 .563 24 W3
2006 76-82 .481 37 L1
2005 67-91 .424 46 L4
2004 62-96 .392 51 W2
Windsor. Meche. Tonight.
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Tuesday, September 26, 2006
HE'S CRUTCH
Yeah, so it turns out Shaun Alexander will be gone for a few weeks or more ("at least a couple weeks," in Holmgren's words) hence my horrible graphic representation of a copy of Madden NFL 07 being burned in protest of the curse taking someone from the very team for which we root.
Thus, Mo Morris now has the chance to take hold of the flame. This is what they've held onto Morris for, so he'll have to step up and make the running game meaningful. Given the carries they've been giving Mack Strong already this season, he'll be helping to shoulder the load as well.
The next four weeks for the Seahawks take them to Chicago, back home for a week off, to Saint Louis, and back home for Minnesota. I say they've got to take two of those three games. Thus, they obviously want to finish 8-0 at home, so they need the Minnesota game. They can't be losing division games, so they need the Saint Louis game. So, that leaves Sunday's game at Chicago. However, I don't want this team losing to a team quarterbacked by Rex freakin' Grossman. So, that makes me greedy. I want 6-0 after Week 7 for a team that just lost its MVP running back for a month or more.
I hope everyone's a quick learner on that practice field. Nate Burleson and Deion Branch are still getting used to the new system, Rob Sims got significant time in the offensive line against the Giants due to a Chris Gray injury, Chris Spencer is being plugged in for the injured Pork Chop Womack, and to top that off, the patchwork offensive line has to try to blow open holes for someone other than Shaun Alexander and they have to work these four-wide sets into the mix. Matt Hasselbeck hasn't exactly been running a ton of four-wide as a Seahawk either.
I do know one thing -- that ESPN Mobile ad where John Clayton delivers an immediate news update when Alexander slips and falls in the kitchen will now be a lot less funny. Unless they pull the ad altogether, in which case I wouldn't complain.
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GAME 157: MARINERS 10, ATHLETICS 9 (10 INNINGS)
[posted in full Sun 8 Oct ~1:34p]
In 25 words or less: Weird things would have to happen to break a 15-game losing streak against Oakland, and happen they did.
This one featured Esteban Loaiza going up against Cesar Jimenez. The latter was making his first start in the big leagues. Cha Seung Baek was placed on the 60-day disabled list with right forearm tendinitis, and Jorge Campillo, a tad over one year departed from elbow tendon replacement surgery, came up to take his roster spot. Other than increasing their win total by exactly one, all the Mariners could hope for with a win was to throw a temporary monkeywrench into the division-clinching plans of the Oakland Athletics. A loss in this game would make it a losing streak of three for the Mariners. A win would get them to 76 on the year, one short of what I expected for the Mariners back in spring training. But how instrumental would the newbie Jimenez be in the hunt for win number 76?
TOP 1ST
Jason Kendall hit a sinking liner to a running Snelling in rightcenter. Bobby Kielty worked an 0-2 count full before driving a ball right at Ichiro, who moved back and had the ball go into and out of the outer webbing of his glove, going to the wall for a double. Milton Bradley watched as Jimenez buried the second pitch in front of the plate and it got away from Johjima, moving Kielty to third. Bradley fell behind 0-2 and watched Bradley golf a 1-2 pitch eight rows into the seats in leftfield.
»» ATHLETICS 2, MARINERS 0
Frank Thomas lined the second pitch into the rightcenter gap, where Snelling camped under the ball, but there was miscommunication as Snelling crouched down as Ichiro caught the ball and was taken out at the legs by Snelling. Jay Payton was ahead 2-0 and couldn't check his swing on a full-count breaking ball down and in. Jimenez threw 22 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro stung a single up the middle. Adrian Beltre fouled off three 2-2 pitches but lined the fourth to the rightfield track. Kenji Johjima popped to Bradley in somewhat deep rightcenter. Raul Ibañez popped the seocnd pitch to Kendall reaching over a railing behind the plate and to the left side. Loaiza threw 16 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Eric Chavez rolled up the middle, and Lopez moved over with a backhand and leaping spin-throw to first. Nick Swisher popped the second pitch to Johjima behind the plate. Mark Ellis flew out to Ichiro in rightcenter. Jimenez threw nine pitches and had 31 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Richie Sexson obliterated the second pitch eight rows into the seats in rightcenter.
»» ATHLETICS 2, MARINERS 1
Ben Broussard fell behind 0-2 and foul-tipped a 2-2 change into Kendall's glove. Jose Lopez bounced an 0-2 pitch high to third. Chris Snelling whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Loaiza threw 15 pitches and had 31 through two.
TOP 3RD
Marco Scutaro took an 0-2 fastball over the inside corner. Kendall bounced the second pitch to short. Kielty looped the first pitch into shallow right for a single. Bradley bounced a 1-1 pitch off his right shoulder and kept running to first (foul), then drilled a 2-2 pitch into shallow center for a single, moving Kielty to second. Thomas blistered an 0-2 change into center for a single, scoring Kielty and moving Bradley to second.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 1
Payton fell behind 0-2 and took a 2-2 pitch in the dirt away that escaped Johjima and moving Bradley and Thomas to third and second. Payton worked an 0-2 count full and bounced to Lopez in shallow rightfield, where he threw to first for the out. Jimenez threw 21 pitches and had 52 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Yuniesky Betancourt drilled a 2-2 pitch past Chavez and down the leftfield line, ringing it off the angled wall in front of the stands in foul ground for a double. Ichiro pushed a 1-2 pitch through the left side for a single, moving Betancourt to third. Beltre bulleted a 2-0 pitch up the middle, where Scutaro gloved the ball on a dive, then shoveled the ball with the glove to second, and Ellis managed to get Beltre at first for the amazing 6-4-3 double play as Betancourt scored.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 2
Johjima ripped a full-count pitch to left that Kielty tried to spear on the run, but it got over him and bounced to the wall for a double. Ibañez punched a 2-2 pitch up the middle for a single, and Payton's throw home looked to have beaten Johjima to the plate, but he just barely got under the tag of Kendall, who didn't block the plate. Ibañez took second on the throw.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 3
Sexson fell behind 0-2 and lasered a 1-2 outside pitch to right that was hit too hard to score Ibañez, who moved only to third on the single. Broussard took a full-count pitch*** for strike three. Loaiza threw 37 pitches and had 68 through three.
TOP 4TH
Chavez grounded a 1-2 pitch to short. Swisher broke his bat but singled a 3-1 pitch into centerfield anyway. Ellis grounded a 2-0 pitch down the leftfield line for a double to move Swisher to third. ***Scutaro took a 3-1 pitch inside to load the bases. Kendall knocked the second pitch near the rightfield corner for a double to score Swisher and Ellis and move Scutaro to third.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 3
Kielty bounced the second pitch high in front of the plate, where Johjima got it and threw to first as the runners held. Bradley grounded hard to short on the first pitch.
Jimenez' line: 4 inings, 5 runs, 8 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 74 pitches (45 strikes)
BOTTOM 4TH
Lopez worked an 0-2 count full before driving the ninth pitch to fairly deep left for a flyout. Snelling got ahead 2-0 and grounded hard to Swisher behind the bag at first. Betancourt flew out high to Bradley in rightcenter on the first pitch. Loaiza threw 15 pitches and had 83 through four.
TOP 5TH
Travis Chick came in for Jimenez. Thomas worked a 1-2 count full and foul-tipped an inside fastball into Johjima's glove. Payton got ahead 3-0 before walking on a 3-1 low fastball. Chavez singled into right on the first pitch, moving Payton to third. Swisher took a full-count fastball down and in to load the bases. Ellis fell behind 0-2 and smacked a 1-2 pitch past Beltre and into the leftfield corner for a double, scoring Payton and Chavez and moving Swisher to third.
»» ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 3
Scutaro worked a 1-2 count for a walk, loading the bases. Mike Hargrove came out to the mound and gave Chick a stern talking-to. Kendall worked a 1-2 count for a walk, scoring Swisher and keeping the bases loaded.
»» ATHLETICS 8, MARINERS 3
Francisco Cruceta came in for Chick. Mark Kotsay, hitting for Kielty, lined the second pitch into rightfield for a single to score Ellis and keep the bases loaded.
»» ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 3
Bradley whiffed on an 0-2 change, lost his grip, and flung the bat past first base. Thomas reached down and hit a sinking liner on the second pitch, but Ichiro caught it on the run in shallow leftcenter. Cruceta threw seven pitches.
Chick's line: 1/3 inning, 4 runs, 2 hits, 4 walks, 1 strikeout, 38 pitches (18 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Kotsay stayed in to play center as Payton moved over to left. Ichiro stroked the second pitch into center for a single. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 fastball up and away. Johjima flew out high to left on the second pitch. Ibañez bashed the first pitch into the rightfield seats just inside the foul pole.
»» ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 5
Sexson bounced the first pitch to short.
Loaiza's line: 5 innings, 5 runs, 9 hits, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 93 pitches (66 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Payton fell behind 0-2 and popped a 1-2 pitch to Johjima in foul ground on the right side. Chavez whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball low and away. Swisher rolled slowly off of Cruceta, and the ball rolled to Lopez, who threw to first. Cruceta threw 11 pitches and had 18 total.
BOTTOM 6TH
Joe Kennedy came in for Loaiza. Broussard bounced out to second. Lopez took an 0-2 pitch over the inside corner. Mike Morse, hitting for Snelling, knocked a 2-0 pitch into shallow right for a single. Betancourt flew out to Kotsay in deep centerfield on the second pitch.
TOP 7TH
Morse stayed in to play rightfield. Ellis got ahead 2-0 before flying out to Ichiro on the centerfield track. Scutaro spanked the second pitch into center for a single. Kendall got ahead 3-0 and slapped a 3-1 pitch through the right side for a single on a perfect hit-and-run that moved Ellis to third. Kotsay bounced to first to start a 3-6-3 double play. Cruceta threw 12 pitches and had 30 total.
BOTTOM 7TH
Ichiro dumped the first pitch in front of Bradley in right, who came up short on the sliding catch attempt, and it bounced past him to the wall, enabling Ichiro to get a triple, his 48th as a Mariner, tying Harold Reynolds' franchise record. Beltre took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Johjima bounced the first pitch slowly to third, scoring Ichiro.
»» ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 6
Ibañez chopped the second pitch along the right side, where Kennedy moved over quickly to field the ball, but he never had it, but still slid toward first, and Ibañez had to hop over him and had to dive back to the bag before Swisher tagged him after picking up the ball (single).
Justin Duchscherer came in for Kennedy. Sexson reached down and chipped an 0-2 pitch into center for a single, moving Ibañez to second. Broussard flew out right to Payton in left on a 1-2 pitch. Duchscherer threw seven pitches.
Kennedy's line: 1 2/3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 21 pitches (15 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Bradley looped a 2-2 pitch to Sexson in foul ground along the rightfield line. Thomas got ahead 2-0 before walking on a full-count low breaking ball. Payton flew out to the leftfield track on a 1-2 pitch.
George Sherrill came in for Cruceta. Chavez grounded out to second.
Cruceta's line: 3 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 48 pitches (31 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 pitches (2 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Lopez flew out to right. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Morse, fell behind 0-2 and cracked a 2-2 pitch into the gap in rightcenter for a double. Betancourt flew out to Kotsay in deep center as Dobbs held at second. Ichiro whiffed on an 0-2 low breaking ball. Duchscherer threw 17 pitches and had 24 total.
Duchscherer's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 24 pitches (18 strikes)
TOP 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Swisher popped the second pitch high to Beltre on the left side. Ellis whiffed on an 0-2 fastball up and in. Scutaro bounced a 1-2 pitch to second. Putz threw ten pitches.
BOTTOM 9TH
Huston Street came in for Duchscherer. Beltre bounced the second pitch off the rightcenter track and over the wall for a double. Johjima whipped the second pitch into left for a single, moving Beltre to third. Ibañez spanked the second pitch through the left side for a single, scoring Beltre and moving Johjima to second. Street got a visit from the pitching coach. Adam Jones came in to run for Johjima.
»» ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 7
Sexson lasered the second pitch very hard past Scutaro at short for a single to load the bases. Willie Bloomquist came in to run for Sexson. Broussard fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball low and away. Lopez popped the first pitch to the rightfield corner, deep enough to score Jones, draw an ill-advised throw from Bradley, and move Ibañez to third.
»» ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 8
Dobbs slapped the second pitch along the leftfield line for a single, scoring Ibañez and moving Bloomquist to second.
»» ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 9
Betancourt got ahead 2-0 and bounced right to Chavez, who stepped on the third-base bag to force out Bloomquist.
Street's line: 1 inning, 3 runs, 5 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 19 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 10TH
Rene Rivera came in to catch. Kendall was down 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 inside fastball. Kotsay whiffed on a 1-2 splitter away. Bradley fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 fastball up and away.
Putz' line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 23 pitches (18 strikes)
BOTTOM 10TH
Kiko Calero came in for Street. Ichiro bounced the first pitch to a diving Chavez at third, who dove for the ball and tried throwing quickly to first, but it skipped over and Ichiro beat it out. Beltre bunted the first pitch foul as I said "what the hell?!" at my computer monitor. Beltre showed bunt on the second pitch, a pitchout, then bunted the next pitch foul. Beltre watched with a 1-2 count as a pickoff throw to first hit Ichiro in the back of the right shoulder as he was diving back to the bag. The ball bounced into the camera well in foul ground, moving Ichiro to second. Beltre lined a 1-2 pitch to center, too hard for Ichiro to move to third. It should be noted I was almost screaming at my computer at this point as Dave Henderson had been begging for Beltre to lay down the bunt and ground to the right side, but who wants to see Beltre do that? I want him to hit it hard somewhere. Rivera whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball away. Ibañez was intentionally walked. Bloomquist stroked a 2-2 hanging breaking ball into leftcenter for a single to score Ichiro. I'll be damned.
»» MARINERS 10, ATHLETICS 9
Calero's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 20 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
When the Mariners pound out 21 hits in 10 innings against Oakland, that's always a good day and it's a good way to get the frustration out from losing 15 straight games to the same team. It's also good when Ichiro, Ibañez, and Richie Sexson combine to go 13-for-16 with a triple, two homers and five RBIs. Ibañez himself was 4-for-5 with four of those RBIs and drew a walk as well. When most everyone else in the lineup was underperforming earlier in the season, Ibañez was noticed by everybody to be the most consistent hitter in the lineup. While that was mostly true, I didn't think there was any way that the consistency would end up with the kind of numbers that Ibañez has put up this season. He's just been incredible, and I never thought the Mariners were going to see the year out of Ibañez that they've seen this year. I've said it quite a few times, but I've never been so happy to be completely wrong about a player the way I have been with Ibañez. If I'd had my way, the Mariners would have picked up Jose Cruz, Jr. instead that offseason. It would have given them a Gold Glove outfielder, anyway.
Goat: Travis Chick.
Before we try evaluating his performance, we have to establish what the Mariners have gotten with Chick. The Mariners traded Eddie Guardado for him. Guardado was a great closer in Seattle up until the early part of this season, when he lost the closing role and never pitched well enough to get it back. What can you expect in return for a closer who hadn't thrown well in months? I say probably not much. For whatever reason, the Mariner brass decided to bring up Chick as one of the September call-ups. This is the third game he's pitched since ascending to the Majors, and his outings have gone from iffy to bad to worse. This was unquestionably the worst of the three, to the point where yoiu could almost hear it in the tones of the voices of the Mariner broadcast crew. They felt sorry for the guy because he just couldn't throw a strike. Really, that was the reality for the second straight outing. Chick walked five hitters and recorded five outs a week earlier in Texas, but in this game he walked four and only recorded one out. In his last two outings, he's thrown 85 pitches, but only 36 of them have been strikes. Ouch.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 112-45 .713 -- W2
2002 91-66 .580 21 W3
2003 90-67 .573 22 W1
2000 88-69 .561 24 W2
2006 76-81 .484 36 W1
2005 67-90 .427 45 L3
2004 61-96 .389 51 W1
Harden. Woods. Tonight.
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Sunday, September 24, 2006
TARNISHED FINISH
I'll add to this later [later came at 2:21a Monday morning] since I have other pressing needs to get to throughout the rest of the day.
I said last week that the Seahawk receivers needed to cut down on the drops this week and that the defense needed to cut down on the third-down conversions. The third-down thing was more than snuffed (the Giants finished 2-for-9) and the drops were severely cut down, with the only ones I can remember offhand being one to Nate Burleson (who was actually a factor today) and a short one to Mack Strong with about a three-yard cushion.
What do they take away from this? Well, the running game still needs to get going.
But the obvious thing?
They need to play SIXTY MINUTES of football, NOT forty-five. I said it in the thread, and I'll say it again: things like Week 5 against the Rams in 2004 need to stay in the past and never ever come back.
I'll add to this
I don't have anything really thought out in terms of layout or outline or structure, so I'm just going to riff...
--- Deion Branch played and though he only caught two passes for 23 yards, you could see the impact he already has on the offense. People have brought it up already, but the Seahawks have a whole new facet to their offense with the four-wide/single-back sets they can throw out there now. Branch got eight yards on that end-around play. Anyway, something different with the offense is something the Seahawks can really use in future weeks, starting in a big way with next week.
--- Branch was in, and Chris Cooper was cut to make roster room for him. That meant DJ Hackett stayed, which I was happy about, but Hackett is still the odd man out. Hackett was on the list of inactives for the game. I'm really glad the Seahawks didn't cut Hackett though. He might not play, though I'll still want him on the team. The obvious thing is that the Seahawks have a receiver like Hackett, and he wasn't even active for the game...which means the depth at wide receiver on this team is now incredible. That and the Seahawks are still well aware of Darrell Jackson's proclivity for injury.
--- Nate Burleson, welcome to Seattle. The Seahawks' home opener was last week, but Burleson's real homecoming on the field was in this game. He had one pretty icky drop, but for now I'll take the four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown. That's even with a messed-up thumb that very few people knew about.
--- What happens when Jerramy Stevens comes back? If Hasselbeck has all these receivers and Stevens or Itula Mili as targets at tight end, sheesh. That was Will Heller out there catching three passes for 28 yards and a touchdown. Do we call him this year's Ryan Hannam?
--- The running game averaged 2.6 yards a carry. Shaun Alexander got 20 carries for 47 yards (though he did have two catches for 12 yards), and he's still got that sore foot. Despite the low per-carry yardage, what good comes out of the running game? Well...
--- That third-quarter drive was truly a thing of beauty. The Seahawks marched from their own 30-yard line and marched to the end zone in 17 plays (with the aid of only one Giant penalty) and ate up an incredible 9:58 of clock en route to increasing their lead to 42-3. I know they've got 13 games to go and everything, and I don't want to say this drive might be the best they have all year, but...this drive might be the best one they'll have all year. Other future drives might be good, but they'll be good in different ways.
--- A key thing to that third-quarter drive was that 11 of the 17 plays were running plays. In the first half, the offense threw 24 times and ran 17 times. I might be reading into it too much or drawing crazy conclusions, and I do know the game seemingly got out of reach somewhere late in the second quarter, but Mike Holmgren never abandoned the running game.
--- People in the national media were buying the Steve Hutchinson departure thing as a reason the offense hadn't clicked. I think I even heard Mark Schlereth last week say Hutchinson was "the embodiment of the offensive line" as a Seahawk (I say bullcrap since there's this guy named Walter Jones). I think Hutchinson departure argument might only be valid when talking about the running game, which hasn't taken off yet. Floyd Womack got injured last week, and Chris Spencer was plugged in at left guard. In the second quarter, Chris Gray left the game with a left knee sprain and rookie Rob Sims was plugged into the line as well. Quick, how many times was Matt Hasselbeck sacked in this game? It's the same number as the number of times I'll be watching the just-added reruns of Scrubs on Comedy Central. It's also the same number of times I sat through reruns of Sports Night too. Bring back the Saturday Night Live and Kids in the Hall reruns, stat. The only time Hasselbeck was close to getting hit was when his arm was batted on the Fred Robbins interception.
--- The Giants might be thinking of running a no-huddle offense, though they have two weeks to think about it (along with the New York media) before they host the Redskins in Week 5. From what we saw in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks might have one week to think about how to defend against the no-huddle offense. Of course, if it happened next week, it'd be against a Rex Grossman-led offense. The Chicago offense is doing some things this year, but all told, they still make their bread and butter with their defense. Rex Grossman is also Rex Grossman, and he doesn't have a lot of NFL starts under his belt. I have a feeling Grossman might be on the way to a season like Jake Plummer had last year. Plummer rediscovered himself in the AFC title game.
--- Before that third quarter, the Seahawk defense was simply on fire. Ken Hamlin picked Eli Manning twice, and Michael Boulware chipped in with a pick as well. Marcus Trufant forced the Plaxico Burress fumble that Leroy Hill recovered.
--- The success of the Seahawk defense in this game isn't something that can be measured in sacks, though Darryl Tapp had a bigtime sack for the second straight week (also the their only sack of the day). The Seahawks had the ball for 38 minutes to the Giants' 22. Though the Giants' defense watched the Seahawks' third-quarter possession for 9:58, the Seahawks also had the ball for a combined 9:58 in the second quarter as well. Nonetheless, Lofa Tatupu had six tackles and a pass defensed, Trufant had five tackles and the forced fumble, Jordan Babineaux had four tackles and three assists, and Boulware had the four tackles, two assists, the interception, and two passes defensed. Hamlin had three tackles, an assist, the two picks, and two passes defensed.
--- The only good thing that can come out of the fourth-quarter ickiness by the defense is that it'll eat at them all week and hopefully they'll come out ticked off next week. You can bet Tatupu is ticked off about all of it. Look no further than this for proof.
That's it for now. I still have the game notes, and I'll get to the drive-by-drive stuff hopefully sooner than I did last week.
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GAME 156: WHITE SOX 12, MARINERS 7
[posted in full Sun 8 Oct ~12:31p]
In 25 words or less: The Mariners end up taking two games in a series where they should have had at least three of four. That's fitting.
This one featured Ryan Feierabend going up against Freddy Garcia. Feierabend was making his first big-league start. Jermaine Dye came back to play in the game after coming up with an injury trying to get out of the mud on his way to first after Saturday's rain delay. A win in this game would give the Mariners five wins in six games, six in eight games, and seven in ten games. A loss would give the Mariners their first losing streak in ten games. It would also land the Mariners a mere split in the four-game series instead of three out of four. Of course, greedy me thinks the Mariners should have ended up with a sweep of the series, but the way the rest of the year has gone, that's a completely unreasonable expectation.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro looped an 0-2 pitch to Iguchi in shallow center. Adrian Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 change. Kenji Johjima took the second pitch off his left-elbow body armor. Raul Ibañez popped the second pitch to Crede on the outfield grass. Garcia threw 12 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Pablo Ozuna stung a 2-2 pitch past Beltre and into leftfield for a single. Tadahito Iguchi hadn't had a pitch thrown to him when Feierabend tried a pickoff move to first and first-base umpire Brian Gorman called a balk. Iguchi bunted the first pitch along the third-base line to Beltre, who came halfway down the line and had to avoid Feierabend to make the barehand-charge-and-throw move to get Iguchi at first, moving Ozuna to third. Jermaine Dye was up 3-1 and whiffed on a belt-high full-count fastball. Jim Thome bounced out to second. Feierabend threw 15 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Richie Sexson couldn't hold a checkswing on a 2-2 curve over the outside corner. Ben Broussard popped very high to Anderson in rightcenter. Jose Lopez tapped the second pitch to third. Garcia threw eight pitches and had 20 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Paul Konerko got ahead 2-0 before flying out on a full count to leftcenter, where Ibañez nearly overran the ball, running to his left and reaching to his right at the last second. Joe Crede worked a 1-2 count full before nubbing out to second. AJ Pierzynski slapped the second pitch to the gap in leftcenter, reaching the wall for a double. Juan Uribe whiffed on a high 0-2 fastball. Feierabend threw 17 pitches and had 32 through two.
TOP 3RD
Chris Snelling fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch off his left foot. Yuniesky Betancourt popped the first pitch to Dye just in front of the stands in foul ground along the rightfield line, but an alert Snelling tagged and went to second. Ichiro pop-bunted the first pitch to Crede coming in from third. Beltre rolled the second pitch to short. Garcia threw eight pitches and had 28 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Brian Anderson cranked an 0-2 pitch five rows into the seats in leftcenter.
»» WHITE SOX 1, MARINERS 0
Ozuna popped the first pitch to Broussard just foul along the first-base line. Iguchi had the hitters' counts before taking a low full-count pitch. Dye took a 2-1 pitch that skipped on Johjima and bounced away, moving Iguchi to second. Dye took a 3-1 pitch down and away for a walk. Thome looped the second pitch into shallow rightcenter for a single, scoring Iguchi and moving Dye to third. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves visited the mound.
»» WHITE SOX 2, MARINERS 0
Konerko fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 change down over the outer half. Crede popped the first pitch to Ichiro in fairly deep rightcenter. Feierabend threw 22 pitches and had 54 through three.
TOP 4TH
Johjima popped the second pitch high to Uribe on the left side. Ibañez smacked a low 0-2 pitch into right for a single. Sexson popped a 1-2 pitch high to Anderson in leftcenter with Ozuna right next to him as there was nearly a low-speed collision. Broussard looped a 2-2 pitch into shallow center between Anderson and Iguchi for a single to move Ibañez to third. Lopez bounced to short for a 6-4 force on Broussard at second. Garcia threw 20 pitches and had 48 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Pierzynski bounced the second pitch past Sexson and into rightfield for a single. Uribe let a low liner on an 0-2 pitch bounce just in front of him, and he started a 4-6-3 double play, surely bringing an ear-to-ear grin from Ron Fairly in the booth. Anderson worked a 1-2 count full before shooting a hard grounder off Beltre's leg at third and it rolled away (error). Ozuna lined the second pitch toward short, where Betancourt climbed the ladder to glove it. Feierabend threw 13 pitches and had 67 through four.
TOP 5TH
Snelling popped to Uribe, who ran a long way into leftfield and toward the line for the catch. Betancourt looped a 1-2 pitch just in front of Anderson in shallow center for a single. Ichiro nubbed a 2-0 pitch just past the mound, where Crede charged over but the ball came out of his glove as Ichiro got the single and Betancourt moved to second. Beltre got ahead 2-0 and lined a 2-2 pitch into leftcenter for a single, scoring Lopez and moving Ichiro to second.
»» WHITE SOX 2, MARINERS 1
Johjima bounced an 0-2 pitch right to third for an easy 5-4-3 double play. Garcia threw 19 pitches and had 67 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Iguchi popped the second pitch to a running Ichiro in leftcenter. Dye had the hitters' counts and took a high full-count fastball. Thome popped the second pitch to Beltre at the third-base coaches' box. Konerko had the hitters' counts*** before lofting a full-count pitch into the Chicago bullpen just over the wall in left.
»» WHITE SOX 4, MARINERS 1
Crede golfed a 2-2 low breaking ball twelve rows into the leftfield seats.
»» WHITE SOX 5, MARINERS 1
Pierzynski bounced the second pitch to first. Feierabend threw 23 pitches and had 90 through five.
TOP 6TH
Ibañez fouled off five 2-2 pitches before smoking a liner right into Iguchi's glove at second. Sexson popped the first pitch high to Iguchi at second. Broussard served a 1-2 pitch into left for a single. Lopez bounced the first pitch to third. Garcia threw 18 pitches and had 85 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Uribe whiffed on a 2-2 fastball. Anderson singled in front of Ibañez in left on the second pitch. Ozuna popped the first pitch very high to second. Iguchi popped to Lopez just foul of the rightfield line.
Feierabend's line: 6 innings, 5 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, 101 pitches (61 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Ryan Sweeney came in to play leftfield. Snelling whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball. Betancourt popped high to Anderson in fairly deep rightcenter on the second pitch. Ichiro lashed a single through the right side. Beltre showed bunt and pulled back on the second pitch as Ichiro stole second without a throw. Beltre took a 3-1 pitch off the outside corner. Johjima took the second pitch as Ichiro stole third base without a throw (44th of the season). Johjima made it all moot and roped the next pitch four rows into the leftfield seats to the right of the Chicago bullpen.
»» WHITE SOX 5, MARINERS 4
Matt Thornton came in for Garcia. Ibañez whiffed on a 2-2 fastball that bounced off Pierzynski's glove and to the backstop (passed ball) as Ibañez reached first.
Mike MacDougal came in for Thornton. Sexson lined out to a sliding Dye in rightfield on the second pitch.
Garcia's line: 6 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 8 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 104 pitches (73 strikes)
Thornton's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 5 pitches (3 strikes)
MacDougal's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 pitches (1 strike)
BOTTOM 7TH
Emiliano Fruto came in for Feierabend. Dye had the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 inside pitch. Thome got ahead 2-0 and Chaves visited the mound. Thome got ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch up and away, moving Dye to second. Konerko fisted the second pitch into shallow center for a single to load the bases. Crede whiffed on an inside 1-2 pitch. Josh Fields was announced as a pinch-hitter for Pierzynski.
George Sherrill came in for Fruto. Fields worked a 1-2 count for a walk to force Dye across.
»» WHITE SOX 6, MARINERS 4
Joel Piñeiro came in for Sherrill. Uribe golfed the second pitch five rows into the seats in leftcenter.
»» WHITE SOX 10, MARINERS 4
Anderson chopped over the mound to Betancourt, who made the play to first. Sweeney bounced over the mound to second.
Fruto's line: 1/3 inning, 3 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (7 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 0 innings, 1 run, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (2 strikes)
Piñeiro's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (5 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Neal Cotts came in for MacDougal. Broussard drove a 2-2 pitch that got to the left edge of the hitters' backdrop over the centerfield wall.
»» WHITE SOX 10, MARINERS 5
Lopez slapped a 2-0 pitch just over the rightfield wall into the Bullpen Sports Bar. Adam Jones was announced as the pinch-hitter for Snelling.
»» WHITE SOX 10, MARINERS 6
Dustin Hermanson came in for Cotts. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Jones, dropped a double into deep rightcenter that one-hopped Anderson on a sliding catch attempt. Betancourt popped the second pitch to Sweeney in shallow left. Ichiro popped a 2-0 pitch high to Alomar behind the plate. Beltre tapped to the left side, where Hermanson came off the mound to field it and throw to first. Hermanson threw 13 pitches.
Cotts' line: 0 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (4 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Francisco Cruceta came in for Piñeiro. Iguchi drove the first pitch, lining it off the base of the centerfield wall for a double. Dye tapped slowly toward short, where Betancourt charged and threw to first as Iguchi went to third. Thome took a second pitch down and in that bounced away from Johjima, but Iguchi was a little too opportunistic and took off from third and Cruceta covered home to take a toss from Johjima and tag Iguchi at the plate. Thome got ahead 3-0 before walking on a full-count pitch. Konerko clubbed the first pitch five rows into the seats in leftcenter.
»» WHITE SOX 12, MARINERS 6
Crede was down 0-2 before popping a 2-2 pitch to right.
Cruceta's line: 1 inning, 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 18 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Johjima whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball away. Ibañez reached down on a semi-hanging breaking ball of a 2-2 pitch, putting it five rows into the rightfield seats for his 30th homer in what has been an incredible season for him.
»» WHITE SOX 12, MARINERS 7
Sexson was up 3-1 before grounding to third on a full count. Broussard worked an 0-2 count full before whiffing on a pitch over the outside corner.
Hermanson's line: 2 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 35 pitches (21 strikes)
---
Gameball: Ben Broussard.
It wasn't too long ago that I was giving the goat to Broussard for every game he played until he got a hit. The hits have become somewhat more plentiful lately, and this 3-for-5 game with a homer is just part of that. Though he's been nowhere near as good with Seattle as he was with Cleveland earlier in the season, fans have to keep in mind that he's still a .293 hitter for the season, and the Mariners have his contract for next year, so he can still be quite useful. This game brought Broussard up to a .241 average, a .287 on-base mark, and a .434 slugging percentage. He hit .321, had an on-base percentage of .361, and slugged .519 for Cleveland before the trade near the end of July. Also, his homer in this game gave him 21 for the season, building upon his career high, which was 19 last season. To top all of this off, this was his 30th birthday, so it appears Broussard should have a good year or two left before it all starts tailing off and the Mariners hopefully get a younger and glitzier lefthanded bat that can play a couple of positions.
Goat: Emiliano Fruto.
If it weren't for that real nice big-league debut, I might think that Fruto is total crap. Way back on May 13th, Fruto relieved Gil Meche with one out in the sixth and a 7-4 lead. Fruto ended up finishing off the Angels in Anaheim that day, allowing one hit through 3 2/3 shutout innings, and he walked only one. What happens when you take away that first outing? You get 18 runs in 29 2/3 innings for a stellar ERA of 5.46. He's also walked 19 batters against 31 strikeouts without that first outing. The ideal ratio, of course, is 2-to-1 in favor of strikeouts, and 31 to 19 isn't quite there. I guess what's somewhat maddening is that sometimes he looks pretty dominant out there, but if he's not, it's because his command is terrible. If he can harness that, he's got some potential, but if not, he'll just be another hard-throwing, no-command guy that couldn't do anything in the Majors. If nothing else, he's the best Colombian pitcher in the Majors. He's also the only one and the first ever to make it to the Majors.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 111-45 .712 -- W1
2002 90-66 .577 21 W2
2003 89-67 .571 22 L1
2000 87-69 .558 24 W1
2006 75-81 .481 36 L2
2005 67-89 .429 44 L2
2004 60-96 .385 51 L1
Loaiza. Jimenez. Monday.
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GIANTS AT SEAHAWKS, 9/24/06
New York GIANTS at Seattle SEAHAWKS, 1:15p (Fox)
Yes, it's the rematch of last year's nutty overtime affair.
Shaun Alexander will start after nursing a foot injury.
Deion Branch has been activated and will play.
Fortunately, DJ Hackett was not cut to clear a spot for Branch (that was Chris Cooper).
The offense has to get rolling fast, and the defense can do what they've been doing.
The Fox NFL traveling pregame show (tell me Joe Buck doesn't have a high standing at that network) is in town.
I got fired up when Mike Golic picked the Giants to win this game on NFL Live on Friday, even though it's only Mike Golic.
All I'm hoping is that the final result is the same as last year.
I just want a win. That's all.
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GAME 155: WHITE SOX 11, MARINERS 7
[posted in full Sun 8 Oct ~12:45a]
In 25 words or less: The White Sox didn't have to face Felix Hernandez after the rain delay and got the win. Now they'll just worry about Jermaine Dye's health.
This one featured Felix Hernandez going up against Mark Buehrle. This was to be the final start of the season for Hernandez. Mike Morse got the start in rightfield against the lefthanded Buehrle. I woke up in the middle of this game when it really happened, but due to Fox blackout rules, I didn't see it on local television and MLB.tv wasn't showing it. I figured I'd wait until it was over, then the archived feed would show up later in the day. The archived feed didn't show up until a few days later. I didn't actually see this game until Thursday night. The time of the game for this one was two hours and 31 minutes. The rain delay after the bottom of the fifth came out to an hour and 57 minutes. The umpires waited much too long to call the tarps onto the field after the fifth, but for some reason the game resumed with the field in much-too-muddy conditions, but they decided to trudge on anyway, safety be damned. The White Sox, slim as their playoff hopes were, got a scare when Jermaine Dye had issues getting out of the batters' box at one point.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro was down 0-2 and rolled a 2-2 pitch to short. Adrian Beltre drove a 2-2 pitch just over the rightfield wall.
»» MARINERS 1, WHITE SOX 0
Jose Lopez was down 0-2 and lined a 1-2 pitch over Crede at third and toward the leftfield corner for a double. Raul Ibañez bounced to second on the second pitch, moving Lopez to second. Richie Sexson walked on four pitches. Eduardo Perez looped a single into shallow center, scoring Lopez and moving Sexson to second.
»» MARINERS 2, WHITE SOX 0
Mike Morse popped the second pitch to center. Buehrle threw 26 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ross Gload flew out to left on an 0-2 pitch. Juan Uribe bounced the second pitch to third. Jermaine Dye parachuted the second pitch over Lopez and into shallow rightcenter for a single. Jim Thome got ahead 3-0 and put the barrel on a 3-1 fastball, depositing it just over the wall in left.
»» WHITE SOX 2, MARINERS 2
Paul Konerko flew out to Morse near the rightfield line on the second pitch. Hernandez threw 14 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Rene Rivera worked an 0-2 count for a ten-pitch walk. Willie Bloomquist had a 2-0 count and watched as Buehrle caught Rivera redhanded leaning off of first. Bloomquist lined out to left on a 3-1 pitch. Ichiro foul-tipped a 2-2 breaking ball into Pierzynski's glove. Buehrle threw 20 pitches and had 46 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
AJ Pierzynski grounded the second pitch hard to first. Joe Crede flew out to a running Morse in rightcenter on the second pitch. Alex Cintron took an 0-2 fastball over the outside corner. Hernandez threw eight pitches and had 22 through two.
TOP 3RD
Beltre flew out high to Anderson in leftcenter on an 0-2 pitch. Lopez grounded hard to first on a 1-2 pitch. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 before one-hopping a double to the wall in rightcenter. Sexson got ahead 2-0 before popping a hanging breaking ball into the Chicago bullpen in left.
»» MARINERS 4, WHITE SOX 2
Perez got ahead 3-0 and hit a weak liner into Uribe's glove at short. Buehrle threw 21 pitches and had 67 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Brian Anderson whiffed on an 0-2 curve inside. Gload took a second-pitch strike, though Rivera had the ball go off his glove and take a piece out of plate umpire Eric Cooper. Gload fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 wicked curve. Uribe popped the second pitch in front of the first-base dugout, where Rivera moved over but had the ball bounce in and out of his glove. Uribe ended up popping to Lopez in shallow right. Hernandez threw 12 pitches and had 34 through three.
TOP 4TH
Morse popped the second pitch high to Konerko in front of the mound. Rivera fell behind 0-2 and flew out to right on a 2-2 pitch. Bloomquist popped high to Crede on the left side. Buehrle threw ten pitches and had 77 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Dye flew out to a running Morse near the rightfield corner on a 1-2 pitch. Thome worked an 0-2 count full (Hernandez might have twisted an ankle on the 0-2 pitch, and the trainers came out) and whiffed on a curve over the outside corner. Konerko worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing over a low curve. Hernandez threw 19 pitches and had 53 through four.
TOP 5TH
Ichiro was ahead 2-0 before bouncing out to first. Beltre bounced the first pitch just past a diving Crede and toward the leftfield corner for a double. Lopez got ahead 3-1 and foul-tipped a low full-count change into Pierzynski's glove. Ibañez lined a 1-2 pitch into deep right for a single that scored Beltre and it got past Dye and bounced to the wall (error), enabling Ibañez to move to second.
»» MARINERS 5, WHITE SOX 2
Sexson was intentionally walked. Perez lined the first pitch into left for a single, scoring Ibañez and moving Sexson to second.
»» MARINERS 6, WHITE SOX 2
Morse fisted a 2-2 pitch, dumping it into shallow center just over Uribe for a single, scoring Sexson and moving Perez to third on what could have been an error on Uribe.
»» MARINERS 7, WHITE SOX 2
Charlie Haeger came in for Buehrle. Rivera rolled slowly to second on the first pitch. Haeger threw one pitch.
Buehrle's line: 4 2/3 innings, 7 runs, 9 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 102 pitches (60 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
The rain was really picking up in Chicago. Pierzynski roped a double off the base of the wall in leftcenter and was nearly thrown out at second by Ichiro. Crede lined out to a running Morse in right on a 2-2 pitch. Cintron flew out to center on the first pitch. Anderson whiffed on a 2-2 curve away. The rain was falling very hard at this point, and both the Fox crew and the Mariner radio crew thought the umpires waited way too long to cover up the field with the tarp.
Hernandez' line: 5 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts, 67 pitches (49 strikes)
TOP 6TH
After a rain delay of one hour and 57 minutes and tons of diamond dry, play resumed with the infield still quite muddy. Bloomquist was ahead 3-1 and popped to Cintron near the rightfield line on a full count. Ichiro whiffed on an 0-2 high knuckleball. Oswaldo Navarro, hitting for Beltre, whiffed over a 2-2 highish knuckleball. Haeger threw 14 pitches and had 15 total.
BOTTOM 6TH
Eric O'Flaherty came in for Hernandez, Navarro stayed in to play short, and Bloomquist moved to third. Gload rode a fly ball to leftcenter that Ichiro jogged over and caught. Uribe grounded hard to first on a 2-0 pitch. Dye grounded to short, where Navarro knocked it down, then airmailed it over and wide of Sexson and into foul ground (error), enabling Dye to move to second. Thome dumped the first pitch near the leftfield corner, where Ibañez tried making a diving catch but was barely short, enabling Dye to score and Thome to pull in with the double.
»» MARINERS 7, WHITE SOX 3
Konerko singled into shallow center, scoring Thome.
»» MARINERS 7, WHITE SOX 4
Pierzynski slapped an 0-2 pitch through the left side, moving Konerko to second. Chaves visited the mound. Crede knocked the second pitch up the middle for a single to load the bases. Cintron looped to shallow right, where Lopez ranged back and had the ball in his glove, but it bounced out, scoring Konerko and Pierzynski and moving Crede to third. Cintron fell over after tripping over the bag at first, another sign of the horribly deteriorated field conditions. Ozzie Guillen requested some additional tidying up around the bag at first after Cintron tripped over the bag at first.
»» MARINERS 7, WHITE SOX 6
Jon Huber came in for O'Flaherty. Anderson whiffed over a 1-2 slider low and off the plate outside. Huber threw four pitches.
O'Flaherty's line: 2/3 inning, 4 runs (unearned), 5 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 23 pitches (15 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Lopez tapped an 0-2 pitch to second. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and whiffed over a high 2-2 knuckler. Sexson took a 1-2 knuckler over the inner half. Haeger threw 13 pitches and had 17 total.
BOTTOM 7TH
Gload rolled to second on the second pitch. Uribe cranked a line drive that Ibañez trotted back and nearly caught it in front of the wall, but it went off his glove (yes, he should have had it) and went off the wall for a double. Dye rolled the second pitch to short, where Navarro threw to third for a tag play on Uribe, then Bloomquist threw to first for the out on Dye. This was no normal play since Dye stumbled and fell to his hands and knees and didn't get back up until the play was over. He did not return to the game.
Huber's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Ryan Sweeney came in to play rightfield for Dye. Perez was down 0-2 and lined a 1-2 pitch lined softly to first. Morse tapped the first pitch back to the mound. Rivera was ahead 2-0 but whiffed on a 2-2 knuckler away.
Haeger's line: 3 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 39 pitches (28 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
George Sherrill came in for Huber. Thome worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Jerry Owens came in to run for Thome.
Joel Piñeiro came in for Sherrill. Konerko bashed a hanging down-the-pipe 1-2 curve into the fifth row of seats in leftcenter.
»» WHITE SOX 8, MARINERS 7
Pierzynski walked on four pitches. Crede got ahead 2-0 and got a visit from Chaves. Crede got to 3-0 and took a low 3-1 pitch, moving Pierzynski to second. Cintron bunted the first pitch foul, but got the next one, rolling it slowly to third to move Pierzynski and Crede to third and second. Rob Mackowiak, hitting for Anderson, was intentionally walked to load the bases. Gload grounded hard to first, where Sexson hesitated a tiny bit, then threw home for the force on Pierzynski, then Rivera threw back to first, but it wasn't in time as the bases stayed loaded. Uribe slapped the second pitch off the top of the first-base bag, and Sexson ran into first-base umpire Gerry Davis, but he had no play as Crede scored and the bases remained loaded.
»» WHITE SOX 9, MARINERS 7
Sweeney chipped the second pitch into center for a single and Ichiro threw to third to hang up Uribe between third and second. Uribe ran back to second, which Sweeney occupied, so Sweeney went into the book as the runner called out. Still, Mackowiak and Gload scored ahead of all the rundown stuff.
»» WHITE SOX 11, MARINERS 7
Sherrill's line: 0 innings, 1 run, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (3 strikes)
Piñeiro's line: 1 inning, 4 runs, 3 hits, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts, 25 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Bobby Jenks came in for Haeger, Sweeney moved over to center, and Mackowiak stayed in to play rightfield. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Bloomquist, poked the second pitch near the leftfield line for a single. Ichiro rolled the first pitch slowly to second, moving Dobbs to second. Ben Broussard, hitting for Perez, whiffed over an 0-2 breaking ball in the dirt. Lopez whiffed over an 0-2 breaking ball in the dirt away.
Jenks' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 11 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
He just continues to have a torrid second half. He went only 1-for-2, but the one hit was a homer, which is good for the ol' slugging percentage, and he walked twice, which is good for the ol' on-base percentage. This is a guy who was hitting .221 when everyone went to sleep on the night of August 5th. Now he's hitting .259. His on-base percentage went from .289 to .336, and his slugging percentage went from .445 to .494. I like to use the date of August 2nd as the last edge of suck from Sexson, as it was the last time he'd gone hitless in consecutive games. Since, he's 57-for-164 (.348) with 17 doubles, nine homers, and 31 RBIs. He's also walked 25 times and struck out 39 times in that span. The slugging mark since the last set of consecutive hitless games comes out to a fairly impressive .616. Though it's no secret that Sexson would prefer not to have the first half of the season that he had (including a .213 April and a .198 May), it's great that he's cranking it up now. Sure, one would prefer that he did it when the games still sort of mattered, but oh well.
Goat: Joel Piñeiro.
I don't know what more to bring to the table when it comes to Piñeiro. Granted, the fact that this game wasn't called final after five innings (and the Mariners given the win) was complete crap, it doesn't take away from the fact that Piñeiro gave up four runs on three hits in one inning, and he walked three guys to boot. I can't claim to know everything about sports or the Mariners or anything I write on this weblog, but what I do know is that if the Mariners for some reason Piñeiro ends up on the Opening Day roster next season, they should just sell this team and move it because it just wouldn't be worth it. I'm just beside myself that this is the guy the Mariners were basically calling untouchable when other teams came to them with trade offers a few years ago. Now all hope is shredded. On the list of things more gratifying to watch than a Piñeiro appearance: watching rock being blasted to drill a tunnel through the Alps on Extreme Engineering on the Science Channel. They blast that rock almost as badly as other teams blow up Piñeiro when he's on the mound.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 110-45 .710 -- L1
2002 89-66 .574 21 W1
2003 89-66 .574 21 W2
2000 86-69 .555 24 L3
2006 75-80 .484 35 L1
2005 67-88 .432 43 L1
2004 60-95 .387 50 W1
Feierabend. Garcia. Today.
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