This is fun
Do you remember the last time rooting for the Mariners was this enjoyable? The game was on ESPN last night, so I endured the 10:10 pm first pitch for a chance to watch the game on a real tv. A month ago, I would have been in bed. But this team, playing this way, is a joy to watch. Even when Washburn gave up the lead and we trailed 5-2, my first thought was “it’s only three runs, and the Dodgers bullpen isn’t very good.” For the first time in a while, I was anticipating a come from behind win. That’s a nice feeling.
The team is now 13-5 in June. The surge has been almost entirely due to the offense. Take a look at some of these June numbers.
Ichiro: .463/.494/.638. Also 6 SB, 0 CS. Player of the Month.
Ibanez: .348/.421/.682.
Beltre: .303/.369/.579. And just smoking the ball right now.
Those three are carrying the offense. And the guys who aren’t hitting like MVPs are still hitting. Sexson is slugging .522. Betancourt is at .317/.348/.476. Reed, Lopez, and Johjima are putting up good enough lines, considering their positions. Carl Everett is the only guy who is playing with regularity and not hitting.
All this has led to a .295/.352/.498 line for the month and the team is averaging 5.9 runs per game. You score that many runs, you’re going to win a lot. Obviously, they’ll cool off eventually, but we were optimistic about the offense going into the season, and the fact that they’ve been able to hit well for three weeks validates some of that.
This still isn’t a great team. They have some major flaws, and while this season may not end with a championship parade, they’ve made a huge step forward – it’s no longer painful to be a Mariner fan.
Hooray for hope.
Soriano is a counting-stats illusion. Then again, ring up enough of those, and the rest doesn’t much matter. Except for his monstrously overpriced contract, that is.
Soriano is hitting .286/.348/.575 in an extreme pitcher’s park. Contract year or not, he’s been freaking awesome so far in ’06.
He’s in an extreme pitcher’s park, but he’s hitting much better at home: .366 OBP, .619 SLG. I don’t say that to discount his performance, just to note that we might not expect the same performance from him in our park.
Re #148: At this point, there’s no reason not to expect Clement to catch in the majors. He won’t be Bob Boone back there, but he isn’t going to be Mike Piazza/Ted Simmons/Earl Johnson, either.