Saturday, May 29, 2004
SINGLE STEAL
The Mariners waited for Freddy Garcia to have one of his suspect and slightly disturbing outings to get him some meaningful run support, as the Mariners stole a game in a series in which they probably should have been swept.
The Mariners showed a hacktastic offensive game plan earlier this year against Tim Hudson, and it failed miserably. They've used it a couple other times (though I can't name a particular instance), with mixed results. Today, the Mariners use of hacktasticism seemed to work, and with Tim Wakefield throwing butterflies on the mound, it probably was the right plan to go with.
The Mariners scored all five of their runs in the second and third innings. They sent eight batters to the plate in the 2nd and six batters in the 3rd.
Pitchers per batter in the 2nd and 3rd innings...
2nd: Boone 1, Olerud 3, Hansen 2, Aurilia 1, Wilson 1, Ichiro 2, Winn 4, Spiezio 3; 17-pitch inning
3rd: Ibanez 2, Boone 2, Olerud 2, Hansen 9 (snuck in there), Aurilia 2, Wilson 3; 20-pitch inning
Quick math says the average number of pitches per batter was 2.64, but if you take out Dave Hansen's outlier, you get 2.15.
Of course, these second and third innings saw the Mariners get seven of their hits (one homer, three doubles, three singles) and score their five runs with the benefit of an error and no benefit of any walks.
Offensively, that was pretty much it for the Mariners. Though the point is moot, the Mariners still had the bases loaded with nobody out with the score 3-0 in the second, and the top of the lineup popped out (Ichiro), struck out (Randy Winn), and flew out (Scott Spiezio). That's poor, kids. In the 4th, the Mariners had Ichiro on third with one out, and he didn't score. Tim Wakefield then found his groove until he walked two straight with two out in the 7th, and threw a ball that Jason Varitek (not personal catcher Doug Mirabelli at that point) let by him. Dave Hansen was intentionally walked and Wakefield was pulled. The Boston bullpen did allow four baserunners over the final two innings, but a double play and some assorted machinations of Mariner futility made sure nobody else scored.
Now we get to Freddy. The first part of his outing reminded me of the outing Joel Pineiro had yesterday. One difference was that Freddy slipped up an inning earlier than Joel did. Freddy looked pretty good in the first three innings, and seemed like he was almost in the zone. However, in the 4th, he gave up the two-run homer to Manny Ramirez (off the Sports Authority sign above the Monster), and then poured some lighter fluid on the fire, allowing a double (Brian Daubach) and a single (Kevin Millar). The next two hitters grounded out, though one run came across. The Mariners still led 5-3. The flurry of hits against Garcia coincided with the fact that the Boston lineup was facing Freddy the second time through (sans Johnny Damon).
Freddy got two quick outs in the 5th, but then ran into some trouble, in the form of a walk (Mark Bellhorn), a double (David Ortiz), and another walk (Manny Ramirez). I'm fairly sure it was this inning in which Freddy was showing some of the mental vulnerability that he really hasn't shown since last year. He was getting squeezed on a few calls (though I think he was getting some himself), and at one point, he had a very 2003-like moment with Dan Wilson; you know, the moment where Dan Wilson has put down about five signs and Freddy keeps shaking him off, then Dan comes out to the mound and Freddy looks ticked off? That moment appeared in the game today, and Freddy's show of frustration was exhibited in the form of throwing the ball up in the air to himself.
I was talking with Jeremy (you know, the other Bremertonian) yesterday, and he used a very repeatable phrase for the Mariners, though I can't remember the exact context. The phrase: Even when they win, they lose. How does that apply here? Well, the Mariners won in Boston where not many teams have won this year. They beat the knuckleballer, and that's not always easy to do. Eddie Guardado recorded the first opponents' save in Fenway in 2004. So how do the Mariners lose today? If Freddy has now opened the lid that suppressed all the mental struggles that he was having last year, it's no stretch to say that this could screw the Mariners in the trade market. This could be yet another brutal turning point in a horrible year for the Mariners. Of course, Freddy could pitch three complete games in a row and this could mean nothing. Freddy could also realize that if he's letting his mind get the best of him this year, it's not going to help him on the free-agent market next winter. But the bottom line is, if he starts sucking and falls into a black hole, no one's going to want to trade anything of worth Seattle's way for the big Venezuelan.
Yes, the Mariners can't have everything go right. Even in an outing where the bullpen threw 3 1/3 shutout innings (2 hits), what happened on the mound in the bottoms of the 5th and 6th innings could be yet another black eye on the Mariners' 2004 season.
Gameball: Mike Myers. He struck out Johnny Damon with a man (Freddy's) on second and two out in the 6th. He struck out all three batters he faced (13 pitches). Yep, a gameball to Myers from someone who believes that nothing good can come out of bringing in Myers out of the pen at Fenway. Lastly, the postgame celebration tonight is at Komrade's. It's a Communist party.
Goat: Scott Spiezio. As the number 3 hitter in the Mariner lineup today, Speez went 0-for-6, striking out once and stranding six runners. Holy hell, that's bad. John Olerud's average crawled up to .270 today, but Scott Spiezio's average has sunk to .247. Remember when he came off the DL and was doing pretty well to start off? Looks like that's gone down in flames.
The Mariners are probably hoping for a rainout or they might schedule a mysterious early-morning charter flight to avoid playing the game tomorrow. Why?
Franklin. Schilling. Tomorrow.
The Mariners showed a hacktastic offensive game plan earlier this year against Tim Hudson, and it failed miserably. They've used it a couple other times (though I can't name a particular instance), with mixed results. Today, the Mariners use of hacktasticism seemed to work, and with Tim Wakefield throwing butterflies on the mound, it probably was the right plan to go with.
The Mariners scored all five of their runs in the second and third innings. They sent eight batters to the plate in the 2nd and six batters in the 3rd.
Pitchers per batter in the 2nd and 3rd innings...
2nd: Boone 1, Olerud 3, Hansen 2, Aurilia 1, Wilson 1, Ichiro 2, Winn 4, Spiezio 3; 17-pitch inning
3rd: Ibanez 2, Boone 2, Olerud 2, Hansen 9 (snuck in there), Aurilia 2, Wilson 3; 20-pitch inning
Quick math says the average number of pitches per batter was 2.64, but if you take out Dave Hansen's outlier, you get 2.15.
Of course, these second and third innings saw the Mariners get seven of their hits (one homer, three doubles, three singles) and score their five runs with the benefit of an error and no benefit of any walks.
Offensively, that was pretty much it for the Mariners. Though the point is moot, the Mariners still had the bases loaded with nobody out with the score 3-0 in the second, and the top of the lineup popped out (Ichiro), struck out (Randy Winn), and flew out (Scott Spiezio). That's poor, kids. In the 4th, the Mariners had Ichiro on third with one out, and he didn't score. Tim Wakefield then found his groove until he walked two straight with two out in the 7th, and threw a ball that Jason Varitek (not personal catcher Doug Mirabelli at that point) let by him. Dave Hansen was intentionally walked and Wakefield was pulled. The Boston bullpen did allow four baserunners over the final two innings, but a double play and some assorted machinations of Mariner futility made sure nobody else scored.
Now we get to Freddy. The first part of his outing reminded me of the outing Joel Pineiro had yesterday. One difference was that Freddy slipped up an inning earlier than Joel did. Freddy looked pretty good in the first three innings, and seemed like he was almost in the zone. However, in the 4th, he gave up the two-run homer to Manny Ramirez (off the Sports Authority sign above the Monster), and then poured some lighter fluid on the fire, allowing a double (Brian Daubach) and a single (Kevin Millar). The next two hitters grounded out, though one run came across. The Mariners still led 5-3. The flurry of hits against Garcia coincided with the fact that the Boston lineup was facing Freddy the second time through (sans Johnny Damon).
Freddy got two quick outs in the 5th, but then ran into some trouble, in the form of a walk (Mark Bellhorn), a double (David Ortiz), and another walk (Manny Ramirez). I'm fairly sure it was this inning in which Freddy was showing some of the mental vulnerability that he really hasn't shown since last year. He was getting squeezed on a few calls (though I think he was getting some himself), and at one point, he had a very 2003-like moment with Dan Wilson; you know, the moment where Dan Wilson has put down about five signs and Freddy keeps shaking him off, then Dan comes out to the mound and Freddy looks ticked off? That moment appeared in the game today, and Freddy's show of frustration was exhibited in the form of throwing the ball up in the air to himself.
I was talking with Jeremy (you know, the other Bremertonian) yesterday, and he used a very repeatable phrase for the Mariners, though I can't remember the exact context. The phrase: Even when they win, they lose. How does that apply here? Well, the Mariners won in Boston where not many teams have won this year. They beat the knuckleballer, and that's not always easy to do. Eddie Guardado recorded the first opponents' save in Fenway in 2004. So how do the Mariners lose today? If Freddy has now opened the lid that suppressed all the mental struggles that he was having last year, it's no stretch to say that this could screw the Mariners in the trade market. This could be yet another brutal turning point in a horrible year for the Mariners. Of course, Freddy could pitch three complete games in a row and this could mean nothing. Freddy could also realize that if he's letting his mind get the best of him this year, it's not going to help him on the free-agent market next winter. But the bottom line is, if he starts sucking and falls into a black hole, no one's going to want to trade anything of worth Seattle's way for the big Venezuelan.
Yes, the Mariners can't have everything go right. Even in an outing where the bullpen threw 3 1/3 shutout innings (2 hits), what happened on the mound in the bottoms of the 5th and 6th innings could be yet another black eye on the Mariners' 2004 season.
Gameball: Mike Myers. He struck out Johnny Damon with a man (Freddy's) on second and two out in the 6th. He struck out all three batters he faced (13 pitches). Yep, a gameball to Myers from someone who believes that nothing good can come out of bringing in Myers out of the pen at Fenway. Lastly, the postgame celebration tonight is at Komrade's. It's a Communist party.
Goat: Scott Spiezio. As the number 3 hitter in the Mariner lineup today, Speez went 0-for-6, striking out once and stranding six runners. Holy hell, that's bad. John Olerud's average crawled up to .270 today, but Scott Spiezio's average has sunk to .247. Remember when he came off the DL and was doing pretty well to start off? Looks like that's gone down in flames.
The Mariners are probably hoping for a rainout or they might schedule a mysterious early-morning charter flight to avoid playing the game tomorrow. Why?
Franklin. Schilling. Tomorrow.