Mariners Morsels - aka "Free Adam Moore and Rich Poythress! (George Sherrill is FREE!)"

What. The. Heck???

Is there something wrong with JJ Putz that the team isn't letting out?

Rick White is not a major league quality pitcher, let alone one that can be counted on in a high-leverage situation. He proved that with the Vlad Guerrero at-bat. He proved it again tonight with a game-losing bases-loaded walk. There's no way he should've pitched tonight, especially in that situation.

I had high hopes for Johnny Mac. I gave him a break for making his managerial debut in historically unique and challenging circumstances. But now, in the middle of a pennant race, when he's been Lou's sounding board during MANY pennant races, I'm cutting him no more slack.

The only excuse for bringing in White in the situations he was brought in over the last couple games (last night was probably OK -- after the game was well out of hand) is if JJ Putz is injured. Even still, Rick White has proven his value -- it's as the top player on the DFA list, followed by Horacio Ramirez.

I mean John McLaren can't be THAT big of an idiot. Can he???

Labels: Booooooo, bullpen, DFA, John McLaren, Losses, Managers, relief pitchers, struggles, stupid managing

So, I'm really starting to get tired of Felix being crowned king already. Yeah, he's got great stuff. He's got excellent pitches -- the best I've ever seen, too. Problem is -- he seems to have issues knowing what to throw when. It seems like the hitters are ignoring his good stuff, and just sitting on his fastball, knowing that he's going to give it to them -- up in the zone, just where they want to see it.

Although I didn't watch the game yesterday, I saw the highlights. And, I heard enough of Bill Krueger to know that Bill was way off base. No, Felix doesn't need to lay off of his breaking stuff. He needs to establish his curve, his slider, and his 2-seamer. He needs to throw those for strikes. It sounds like the defense was sort of an issue yesterday, as Ellison was a little rusty in CF, and Lopez had issues turning the DP. Still, Felix wasn't getting people to swing and miss, which is vitally important to how he pitches. He was being hit hard -- and in the post-game interview (in English, admirably), he even admitted that he was struggling mightily with his command.

I'm still wondering if it's pitch selection he's struggling with. And, he really needs to recall the first two games from his mental memory bank. That could make the difference between the M's staying in the hunt (either for the Wild Card or the Division) and falling back down into the cellar. Or, is he really healthy? His last few performances may suggest otherwise. He's definitely not the Felix I saw in the first two games of the season.

He's got the potential, and he's still very young. Still, if he's as other-worldly as people believe he is, it's time he starts showing it. I'm very tired of seeing the Felix of 2006. This is 2007, and he was off to such a great start...

Labels: Felix Hernandez, pitching, struggles