| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2008 9:24 pm |
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• M's-White Sox: Saturday postgame thoughts May 10 • Sexson suspension cut to five games May 10 • Something completely different: a Mariners team willing to fight May 8 • Pitchers can't get caught up in the hitting problems May 8 • It ain't over 'till it's September May 7 |
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• BASEBALL: Griffey pays off debt with 150,000 pennies May 15 • Braun agrees to $45M, 8-year deal with Brewers May 15 • Mariners rally, avoid being swept in Texas May 15 • BASEBALL: Rays' Kazmir agrees to $28.5 million, 3-year extension May 15 • BASEBALL: Bonds faces same amount of prison time May 15 • AL ROUNDUP: Yankees respond to criticism May 15 • NL ROUNDUP: Zimmerman homers as Nats beat Mets May 15 • BASEBALL NOTES: Steinbrenner criticizes Yanks May 15 • BASEBALL: Cubs sign Edmonds May 15 • BASEBALL: Reds' Keppinger to miss 4-to-6 weeks with broken kneecap May 15 |
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M's-White Sox: Saturday postgame thoughts The Mariners' losing streak has reached five, they've lost 10 of 11 and they're a league-worst 10 games under .500 after an 8-4 thumping from the White Sox. But hey, the M's got nine hits and scored four runs! They actually had runners in scoring position and such a thing as the tying run at the plate! Since they can't celebrate a victory, they'll have to feel good about the little things. That's nice. But there were some other little things that were the difference in losing. Raul Ibanez let a fly bounce off his glove in the second inning. He'd made a long run to get to a high drive by Orlando Cabrera. It was rightfully ruled a double, but it's a play that needs to be made. It would have been the third out of the inning and limited the White Sox to four runs. Instead, it prolonged the inning and pitcher Jarrod Washburn, who struggled mightily, gave up a two-run homer to the next hitter, Carlos Quentin. -The Mariners inexplicably tried a double steal that backfired into the third out of the inning. They were behind by three runs and, with Willie Bloomquist on first base and Ichiro Suzuki on third, Adrian Beltre had a 3-1 count against White Sox reliever Octavio Dotel. Nobody from the dugout called for a double steal. But manager John McLaren did take off the red light for Bloomquist because Dotel was paying no attention to the runners. Bloomquist broke for second and Dotel paid attention this time, pulling the old fake-to-third-throw-to-first move. That play never works, right? This time it did, in the strangest way. Bloomquist never broke stride and Dotel, instead of throwing to first, awkwardly threw to Juan Uribe at second base. The ball was in the dirt, but Uribe dug it out. Too late to get Bloomquist, but for some reason Suzuki decided to break for home. Uribe threw him out on a close play at the plate. Beltre, who had homered and singled in his previous two at-bats, looked dumbfounded at the opportunity that was lost after he's worked a great hitter's count, 3-1. You've got to wonder why anyone was running in the first place, since the Mariners trailed by three runs. Maybe Bloomquist was trying to stay out of an easy forceout at second, but the deal here is that Beltre deserved a chance to produce. He'd comprised most of the Mariners' production to that point. Here's Suzuki's explanation -- through a translator -- to reporters on why he decided to run: “There’s a high probability that the last out was going to be made at second base. That’s something that must not happen. If there was an out to be made in that situation, it should be at home plate, not at second base.” I'm not sure what to make of that explanation, other than this: It's not a play that lost the game for the Mariners. But good teams don't waste opportunities like that. Desperate teams do. Right now, the Mariners are very desperate. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Sexson suspension cut to five games In days gone by -- OK, until a couple of years ago -- players who were handed suspensions had to wait weeks before Major League Baseball heard their appeals. Now, when a player is suspended, MLB conducts a hearing within days via conference call. In the case of Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson, that's a good thing and a bad thing. Two days after Sexson charged the mound Thursday and was handed a six-game suspension, his case was heard this afternoon. The suspension was trimmed to five games and Sexson began serving it immediately. MLB's quick handling of the matter is good in the sense that Sexson and the Mariners don't want it hanging any longer than possible. However, it could be a bummer tonight because he has a career .400 average against White Sox starter Javier Vazquez. Still, Sexson said it's best to start serving the suspension now. He won't go on the road trip to Texas -- good thing, because the Rangers and their fans could be laying for him -- and will be eligible to play again Friday at Safeco Field against the Padres. "I don't want to get hot in Augusst and then have to serve the suspension," Sexson said. Mariners fans had better hope Sexson gets hot before August. Other pregame notes: With Sexson out, manager John McLaren said he would mix and match at first base. Tonight, he has Miguel Cairo playing first. This is one of McLaren's more interesting lineups because he also has benched shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt for at least a game in an effort to temper his wild-swinging tendency. Willie Bloomquist is starting at short. Here's the lineup: Ichiro Suzuki, center field Willie Bloomquist, shortstop Adrian Beltre, third base Raul Ibanez, left field Jose Lopez, second base Jeff Clement, DH Kenji Johjima, catcher Wladimir Balentien, right field Miguel Cairo, first base McLaren also has dropped Lopez down in an effort to get more production out of the middle of the order. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Something completely different: a Mariners team willing to fight On their way to another ho-hum, tweedle-dee-dum performance by the Mariners' offense, something utterly shocking just occurred in the fourth inning against the Rangers. No, not a two-run rally. The Mariners actually showed a little fire. They finally decided they weren't going to take any more of what's been happening to them. It started when Felix Hernandez hit Ian Kinsler between the numbers with a fastball in the top of the fourth inning in Kinsler's first at-bat after hitting a two-run homer in the second inning. Kinsler took one step toward the mound and then stopped, and the clearly agitated Hernandez held out his arms as if to say "bring it on." In the Rangers' dugout, catcher Gerald Laird leaped to the top step and shouted to the mound, obviously angry after he'd been hit on his left elbow by a Hernandez pitch in the second inning. Then it all blew up in the bottom of the fourth. Rangers starter Kason Gabbard, a left-hander, threw a couple of breaking pitches high and tight to Raul Ibanez and Yuniesky Betancourt -- with no response from the two Mariners. Then Gabbard threw a chin-high fastball to Richie Sexson -- it was over the plate, not inside -- and Sexson snapped. He threw down his bat, took off his helmet, carrying it in his right hand as he sprinted to the mound. He met Gabbard with a hard right with the helmet to the pitcher's back, then tackled him and tried to get off a few punches. Laird was in quick pursuit, steamrolling the Sexson-Gabbard embrace. Then it turned into a classic baseball fight, with lots of pushing and yelling with no big blows delivered. Oh, there was anger. Hernandez, being held back by Kenji Johjima and, of all people, Rangers reliever Eddie Guardado (a former Mariner), did his best to go after Kinsler, who was barking from across the field. Laird also stayed at the edge of the pile and yipped at the Mariners, until Rangers DH Milton Bradley picked him up like a 50-pound bag of potatoes and carried him away. When the game resumed, Sexson had been ejected, with a good-sized suspension likely to be coming his way. Gabbard remained on the mound, although he was pulled after two more hitters, more than likely feeling the bruises from his confrontation with Sexson. While a baseball fight is one of the goofier things you'll see in sports -- Miguel Batista ran onto the field without shoes -- this one was the first evidence that this Mariners team has a pulse. Whether that translates into anything meaningful, like hitting with runners in scoring position, we'll see. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Pitchers can't get caught up in the hitting problems In 2003, when the Mariners won 93 games, pitching was a big part of their success. They finished the season with a 3.76 staff earned run average. The following year, with basicallly the same pitching staff, the team ERA jumped to 4.76 and the Mariners lost 93 games. Among the many theories for the decline in pitching, believe it or not, was the Mariners' offensive problems in 2004. The Mariners scored 97 fewer runs in 2004 than 2003 and several of the pitchers I spoke with after that season ended admitted they tried to do too much to make up for the lack of offense. Knowing they might get beat if they allowed one or two runs, they tried to be too fine with their pitches or make the perfect pitch. As a result, they fell behind in the ball-strike count and were forced to throw a pitch over the plate, which often got hammered. In essence, the Mariners' offensive problems in 2004, when they scored only 698 runs, became a factor in a pitching staff that didn't perform as it had the previous season. The 698 runs in 2004 were the Mariners' fewest since 1994, and the 4.76 ERA was the highest since 1999. That look back is a long-winded way of saying that the 2008 Mariners, as well as they're pitching, must guard against doing too much to make up for the lack of offense. There's already been a feeling they must throw the perfect pitch or one run might beat them. "This is without question the best pitching staff I’ve ever been a part of," Jarrod Washburn said. " When you take the hill and you know that the team’s struggling, you have a tendency at times to try to do too much, try to be too fine. It’s something you can’t do, but it creeps into your mind. You just try your best to block it out and pitch your normal game." All the pitchers can do is be themselves and not get caught up in the hitting failures around them. If that happens, we're really going to see the definition of ugly baseball. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
It ain't over 'till it's September Contrary to what we're hearing from discouraged Mariners fans, skeptics, writers and those leaping from the back exit of the bandwagon, 128 games remain. That means the Mariners still can win the American League West by 120. They're 7 1/2 behind the first-place Angels and, to those who say it's a margin that can't be overcome, I say take a chill pill and see how the season develops. We're barely six weeks into a 26-week season. Yeah, things haven't looked good at all. The hitters look like they don't have a plan at the plate and a few of the defenders (Jose Lopez, Yuniesky Betancourt) are way too casual at a time when nobody can ease up for even a second. Overall, this team seems to lack an edge, a mean streak, a killer instinct, a complete disdain for what has happened so far. Losing will make it look that way, however. If they'd won 25 games by now and shown the same demeanor, we'd be saying how they're going about their business in just the right way. Yes, things have got to change. But too many things can happen -- like injuries, trades, winning streaks, losing streaks and maybe even personnel shakeups. My guess is that the Mariners will experience most of those things, but so will the Angels. While it's too late to say it's early, it's also way too early to say it's over, even if the Mariners fiddle away this homestand against the Rangers and White Sox. It's how the M's -- from the players to the front office -- react to such a dose of adversity that will tell us just where this team is headed. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
M's-Rangers: Tuesday postgame thoughts A year and a half ago, when the Mariners announced they'd signed Miguel Batista, I called someone I knew would give an accurate scouting report: former M's pitching coach Bryan Price. Price had Batista in 2006 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and praised him for his work ethic and his competitiveness. But Price also said Seattle fans should brace themselves for moments when Batista would pitch like he had no idea where the plate was. “What we saw here were stretches when he would walk guys,” Price said. "His walks would be in an inning when he’d get out of kilter and he’d be erratic. But all of a sudden he’d go out the next inning you wouldn’t see it again. It wasn’t something that happened every game.” Right now, it's happening every other game and it's worse than anything Price ever saw, and that's got to be a huge concern to the Mariners. Batista has walked 14 in the past 10 innings he has pitched, and twice in three games he hasn't gotten through three innings. Tuesday night, he walked six in 2 1/3 innings of what became a 10-1 loss to the Texas Rangers. Batista, 37, bragged a few starts ago that he had changed something in his delivery that would extend his career five years. A few reporters tried to figure it out, while some veteran observers -- and those who are familiar with Batista's quirkiness -- simply rolled their eyes. "I think he's decided to breathe through his eye lids," one of those guys said before Tuesday's game. Maybe he needs to use his nose next time he pitches. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Griffey in Seattle again? Bring him on Last summer, after Ken Griffey Jr. warmed every Seattle fan's heart by saying he'd like to retire as a Mariner, I wrote a column saying he could help that team. Nearly 11 months later, Griffey can still help the M's. I realize he's batting .238 but, as the GM types like to say, he has pop. And oh, does this team need pop. Griffey has four homers and 15 RBI this season, and unless his swing has deteriorated to the point of, say, Brad Wilkerson's, I'd suspect he would play well at Safeco Field. After all, the reachable right-field seats were built with him in mind. Griffey said last year after his warm reception at Safeco that he'd like to end his career here. After a story today in USA Today repeated that theme, Griffey's Cincinnati-based agent, Brian Goldberg, did a little damage control by saying that could mean Junior signs a contract and plays one game whenever the end arrives, just to grant that wish. But it also could mean Griffey would play some meaningful games for the Mariners again. I can't think of a more meaningful time than now. Besides a jolt to the offense, the Mariners could use a bump at the turnstiles. Monday night's crowd of 16,637 was the smallest at Safeco Field this season. Griffey would put fannies in the seats and, like he did in the 1990s, force people to watch on TV (at least when he comes to bat). ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
M's-Rangers: Monday postgame thoughts If the Mariners could package everything it takes to win a game, Monday's performance in their 7-3 victory over the Rangers would serve as the good place to start. They showed patience at the plate -- that's a relative term with this team, because I can't recall too many pitches that Yuniesky Betancourt didn't swing at. Still, the more-patient Mariners didn't make life easy on Rangers starter Kevin Millwood, and as a result they got pitches to drive. Richie Sexson and Wladimir Balentien both homered in the Mariners' four-run third inning, which ended Millwood's night. They got quality starting pitching, from Jarrod Washburn of all guys. It's usually Washburn whose pitch count is driven up quickly by a patient hitting approach. Monday, he challenged the Rangers with his fastball and kept them off-kilter with a nice curve. Of his 87 pitches through six-plus innings, all but 30 were strikes. Of course, even a Mariners victory has its dark side this season, and that happened in the seventh when Washburn came out of the game with a stiff right calf. He felt it while warming up before the game, then felt it pop on his last pitch of the sixth inning. The Mariners believe it's not serious and Washburn won't miss a start, although he said he was hurting pretty bad after the game and he would know more about his status on Tuesday. The Mariners can only hope Washburn's injury turns out as good as MIguel Batista (groin) and Carlos Silva (quad), who left outings early because of injuries but made their next starts. Of the five starters, only Felix Hernandez has been unscathed this season. Finally, the pitching behind Washburn was solid. Sean Green gaveup a double in the seventh but got three outs to stop the Rangers in that inning, plus three strikeouts in the eighth. Then closer J.J. Putz, still shaking off the rust after his stint on the disabled list in April, pitched around two hits in a scoreless ninth. Putz has struggled to locate his fastball, and it was here one pitch and there another pitch this time. He threw numerous splitters, but also tossed in enough 95 mph fastballs to show he's getting back to form. By Kirby Arnold Herald Writer SEATTLE _ It wasn’t quite an episode of “Jarrod Washburn, this is your life.” But what he saw from the Seattle Mariners’ dugout Monday night was frighteningly familiar. On the mound, Texas Rangers pitcher Kevin Millwood suffered what Washburn had experienced too often already this season. He would fall behind in the count against a patient group of hitters, then find himself out of the game early as his pitch count soared. This time, the Mariners’ hitters were doing it to Millwood, and it led to a 7-3 victory over the Rangers at Safeco Field that ended a five-game losing streak. Talk about a turnaround. The Mariners’ beleaguered hitters not only produced 10 hits and seven runs, they produced their first multiple-homer game since April 24. Richie Sexson hit a solo home run and Wladimir Balentien followed with a three-run drive in the third inning, when the M’s scored four times. Millwood, who had pitched six or more innings in six of his previous seven starts, was finished after three. “The guys did a great job being patient and waiting for a good pitch to hit, and when they got that hit they didn’t miss it,” said Washburn, who has known the feeling too well. He hadn’t made it to the sixth in half of his six previous starts. “They made Millwood throw a lot of pitches those first three innings. When they got a mistake, they capitalized on it.” It started in the first inning when Ichiro Suzuki led off with a double, Jose Lopez singled and Raul Ibanez hit a two-run double. Lopez hit an RBI single in the second for a 3-0 lead, and the big bats finally emerged for the Mariners in the third. Sexson drove a fastball over the center field fence for his seventh homer this season and, after Jeff Clement walked and Kenji Johjima singled, Balentien launched a fastball into the Rangers’ bullpen beyond the left-field fence. It was his second homer since being called up from Class AAA Tacoma last week. “I tried to do too much the first couple of games after I came up,” said Balentien, who entered Monday with a .167 average and seven strikeouts in 18 at-bats. “I was swinging at everything. Tonight was different. I was looking for my pitch and not the pitcher’s pitch.” Washburn went about protecting the seven-run lead with a well-placed fastball, a curve that kept the Rangers off balance, and a secret. His right calf was killing him. Washburn felt a twinge in the calf while he was warming up before the game and he told pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre to keep an eye on his mechanics. Everything seemed fine as Washburn carved through the Rangers in the first five innings, allowing only German Duran’s two-out single in the third. Then in the sixth, on a pitch that Ian Kinsler hit into a double play, Washburn felt a pop. “Like an idiot, I tried pitching through it,” he said. He went back out for the seventh and gave up three straight hits, including Milton Bradley’s two-run double, before Stottlemyre, manager John McLaren and a trainer went to the mound. Trainers told McLaren that Washburn should be able to make his next start, but Washburn said he’ll have a better idea today. It’s the same calf he injured two years ago when he missed most of the final month. Already this season, four of the Mariners’ five starters have either missed a start or been lifted early because of injury. Only Felix Hernandez has remained healthy while Erik Bedard spent time on the disabled list with a bad hip, Miguel Batista left a start after one inning because of a sore groin and Carlos Silva suffered a tight quad during one outing. All but Bedard made their next starts. Sean Green got three outs in the seventh, then struck out the side in the eighth, before closer J.J. Putz pitched the ninth in a non-save situation. It finished a victory that the Mariners hope is a start to better things after they’d fallen six games below .500. They’re now 14-19. “Hopefully we can get this thing snowballing,” McLaren said. “Right now, our thoughts are .500. Let’s get to .500 and we’re out of the hole, and then we’ll go from there.” Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! M's-Rangers: Monday pregame notes Some good news: The sun came up this morning in Seattle and the Mariners weren't spooked by their own shadows. But there really is something positve going into the Mariners' four-game series against the Texas Rangers. M's closer J.J. Putz believes he has found his fastball again. Putz, who had no control of that pitch Thursday in Cleveland, has thrown three times in the bullpen since and today's session was by far his best. "Today's bullpen was wonderful," said Putz, who missed most of April because of inflammation in his ribs. "It’s something that I knew would come. I wasn’t worried about it." He likened his control problem to a golfer trying to find his swing after a long layoff. There's nothing better than repetition to help him find consistency with the fastball. The next step is to take it into a game, which is where the rest of the Mariners come in. If they can take a lead into the ninth inning, Putz will be in there to finish it off. Of course, in order to take a lead, they'll need to score runs. And to score runs, they'll need to hit. And we know what that has been like lately. We'll see what tonight brings as the M's face right-hander Kevin Millwood, who's 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA and already one complete game this season. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
M's-A's: Sunday postgame thoughts Rants from a 4-2 loss to Oakland: There are the early pleasantries -- Mariners take a 2-0 lead and Felix Hernandez looks like he'll face the minimum through three innings There are the middle-inning moments of nervousness -- M's don't take advantage of chances to add to that lead and Felix is starting to look human. You realize this game is far from decided Then there are the final two fateful innings -- Poor at-bats squander what little opportunity remains offensively, and there are curious decisions on when to pull Hernandez and who replaces him in relief.. Where do you begin with this one? Let's not focus on the real reason this game (and so many others so far) was lost: an incomplete offense that needs in the least a left-handed hitter like Jeff Clement rakikng, or at least a left-handed hitter like Brad Wilkerson raking like Clement can. I'm more intrigued by the pitching decisions in the eighth inning. After all, whether the score is 2-0 or 10-8, if this bullpen is as strong as the Mariners (and I) believe it can be, then a two-run lead should have been enough at that point. The idea is to hand a lead to those guys and let them get six outs. Hernandez stayed out too long. He had a 2-0 lead after seven masterful innings and went back out for the eighth, as he should have. However, at the first sign of fatigue, why not get him out of there? It seemed he wasn't controlling his fastball like he had earlier, his curve was starting to hang, and before he knew it, the bases were loaded. Looked like a tired pitcher to me, and a perfect time to hand this game to the bullpen. Instead, Hernandez told his pitching coach he was strong and he stayed out. Then he hung another curve and Emil Brown stung it for a two-run single, tying the score. There stil wasn't anybody out, the A's had runners on first and second, and what the M's needed more than anything was a strikeout, a double play or both. Sean Green, with his sinker, is the best guy in the bullpen at getting a ground ball for a double play, but it was Brandon Morrow who was ready. He did get a strikeout, but that was in the midst of a walk and two RBI singles that put the A's ahead 4-2. Green did appear, getting that strikeout the M's had needed and, in the ninth, a double-play grounder. Too late. Afterward, manager John McLaren described how missed opportunities early in a game often come back to haunt a team late. What the Mainers hope is that victories squandered in April don't haunt them in September. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Saturday pregame notes 5 P.M. UPDATE: The Mariners announced that they've optioned relief pitcher Roy Corcoran to Class AAA Tacoma, which clears room for Erik Bedard to be activated from the disabled list for tonight's start. ------------- The sun is shining, the roof is pulled back and so are the sleeves on my fleece. As Danica Patrick said in victory lane last week: Finally! It doesn't look like there will be a DL situation with MIguel Batista, who was walking with a slight limp Saturday after he came out of Friday night's game because of a strained groin. Manager John McLaren expects Batista to make his next start, scheduled for Thursday at Cleveland. McLaren's biggest concern is getting the offense going, and two of his slumping regulars -- DH Jose Vidro (.195 average) and catcher Kenji Johjima (.194) are on the bench tonight. Greg Norton (3-for-8 this season) is the DH and Jamie Burke (.214) will catch. McLaren said this is Johjima's day off, and that he'll catch Sunday afternoon's game. He also called it a day off for Vidro, although he made it clear some hitters need to get going or we'll see more lineup shuffling like this. "We need to get some guys going here," McLaren said. "We’re a month into the season now. Wev'e gone far enough. We’ve given everybody an opportunity. This game is about winning, it’s not about me being everybody’s best friend. It’s about doing what’s best for the Seattle Mariners." McLaren said he'd deliver that message to the team after batting practice. The Mariners are 1-7 in one-run games this season and aren't doing the little things that could turn that record around. For example, Yuniesky Betancourt went back to his flailing ways at the plate Friday night with the bases loaded and one out, lunging at the second pitch he saw and grounding into a rally-killing double play. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
From the land of tweaks, pulls and strains It's a crisp night at the ballpark, and I don't mean in the pace of the game. This one seems headed for three hours plus. It's cool, and if you're a penguin that's OK. If you're MIguel Batista, it's not. Batista just walked off the mound with what's being described as a mild strain of his right groin. If that's what caused his problems in the first inning (two hits, four walks, a wild pitch, three runs), we know why. If that wasn't the reason, then Batista needs to find another Greg Maddux secret (maybe it's pitching in warm Southern California). These muscle tweaks have become way too common around here. Erik Bedard has a bad hip (although he's scheduled to start tonight), Carlos Silva a sore thigh (won't miss a start) and now Batista. We'll learn more about Batista's status when he is examined again today. Most of the pregame talk today centered around the three-year contract extension for catcher Kenji Johjima (worth $24 million, according to the Associated Press). Actually, most of the talk was about what this now means to Jeff Clement, the catching prospect who's tearing the cover off the ball at Class AAA Tacoma. With Johjima locked in through 2011, it seems Clement's future with the Mariners is at another position. Despite an obvious need for a run-producer in this struggling offense, GM Bill Bavasi said Clement will remain with Tacoma and the M's will hope their scuffling hitters will get healthy and get on the stick. My two cents: It's still too early to give up on guys like Brad Wilkerson and Jose Vidro, but I'd be surprised if another month goes by and Clement isn't called up. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
M's-Orioles: Thursday's postgame thoughts Here's what I make of the Mariners' bullpen after a monumental meltdown in an 8-7 loss to the Orioles: This is a pen that's set up well to protect a lead in the last two, maybe three innings. Ask the relievers to go four and you're inviting some major trouble (as with most bullpens). Starter Jarrod Washburn was suffering from the flu, and it didn't help that he was hit on the foot by a hard grounder in the first inning. Whether that's the reason his pitch count climbed and he lasted only five innings, nobody will know. We've seen Washburn do this plenty of times when he's been in perfect health. Hurting or not, it's important that a pitcher shut down the other team after his hitters give him a lead, and that didn't happen with Washburn or the M's bullpen. The Mariners led 5-0 after scoring four runs in the third, but Washburn gave up single runs in the fourth and fifth to make it 5-2. As the Mariners went through nearly everyone they had in the bullpen to get through this game, the only one who looked good was Brandon Morrow. He pitched impressively in the ninth, when he struck out Jay Payton with a 98 mph fastball. Roy Corcoran, Arthur Rhodes, Mark Lowe and Sean Green all gave up runs. As the demise unfolded, one thought struck me. I still think this is a better pen than what we've seen this month, especially when the starter can go no less than six innings and M's can line up closer J.J. Putz behind guys like Morrow, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Rhodes and Lowe for the last couple of innings. When a starter puts in a short outing like Washburn did, it's important for someone to come out of the pen and give the M's at least two innings. Who might that be? Hmmm, let's see. Cha Seung Baek is down there, but he must be on some kind of sabbatical because he hasn't pitched in 11 days. I realized he has a reputation for needing a few days to bounce back, but this is a little overboard. Do you think R.A. Dickey is sitting around with the Tacoma Rainiers wondering what's going on? Other notes and observations: --Umpires had a tough night, too. Orioles starter Adam Loewen should have been called for a balk when he picked Ichiro Suzuki off first base in the first inning. Loewen clearly was moving toward the plate -- he even stepped that direction -- before he flung the ball to first base as Suzuki took off. Then there was the Arthur Rhodes Affair in the seventh. He thought he'd thrown a couple of good pitches to Nick Markakis, who walked. Manager John McLaren thought the same thing, and he unloaded on plate umpire Casey Moser, who ejected him. --Except for a flash of production in the third inning, the offense sputtered again. McLaren is urging the M's to get on base and make things happen, and they did in the third when they drew two walks, got three hits and pulled off a double steal. The result was a four-run inning that gave them a 5-0 lead. Then they went back to their old ways and managed six baserunners the rest of the game, scoring only on Suzuki's two-run homer in the seventh. --The crowd of 16,727 was the third smallest for a Mariners game in Safeco Field history. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Thursday clubhouse notes, quotes It's another perfect late afternoon at Safeco Field. If you're a kite. With a strong wind blowing from the west, it'll be a chilly night at the ballpark. Here are a few notes from the clubhouse this afternoon: --Pitcher Carlos Silva, who left Wednesday night's game because of a tight right thigh, rode a stationary bike (you thought he might pedal around Seattle?) for 40 minutes. He said he's fine and manager John McLaren expects him to make his next start. --Pitcher Erik Bedard threw his last bullpen session before he's scheduled to come off the disabled list and pitch Saturday against the Oakland A's. --Right fielder Brad Wilkerson's tight hamstring apparently is better, but McLaren said he probably wouldn't start tonight or Friday against left-handed pitching. --Tonight will be the 4,000th game for Mariners trainer Rick Griffin, who began working with the team in 1983. --McLaren made it clear he's not happy with the lack of offense in recent games. "We just need to start hitting better. That's all there is to it. We haven't faced some of the elite pitchers, either. We've faced some good young pitching, but I don't care who's pitching, we need to start picking it up." ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
M's-Orioles: Wednesday's postgame thoughts The Mariners won't know until Thursday, but it appears they dodged one potentially major problem with the leg injury to pitcher Carlos Silva. Silva came out of tonight's 3-2 loss to the Orioles in the seventh inning because of tightness in his right thigh. Both he and the team say it's not major, and Silva was emphatic when he said he'll be OK. "I will make my next start," he said. If he's so sure, then why didn' t Silva continue pitching? They didn't want him to let one bit of discomfort lead to a more serious injury -- either to the leg or his arm. The last thing the Mariners need is another Erik Bedard (on the DL until Saturday, they hope, because of a bad hip) or Miguel Batista (sore back through spring training after he pitched in pain and didn't tell anyone in his first exhibition outing). Except for one game-changing pitch, the M's bullpen picked up Silva well. Problem was, Ryan Rowland-Smith couldn't sneak a first-pitch fastball past Nick Markakis in the eighth, and he hit it into the right field seats for a home run that broke a 2-2 tie. Of greater concern out of this game was another poor night by the M's hitters, and especially the failure to produce a big inning when they had Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera in serious trouble in the fourth inning. The Mariners loaded the bases with nobody out but scored only one run when Jose Vidro grounded out (pushing home a run), Richie Sexson hit a soft liner to third and Kenji Johjima grounded out. Cabrera, who has great stuff but tends to walk the world (he led the league last year), didn't walk a hitter in his eight innings. Former Mariner George Sherrill pitched the ninth and, despite Raul Ibanez's leadoff single, put the M's away with ease by getting Adrian Beltre on a fly, Vidro on a strikeout and Sexson on a foul popup. Sherrill has seven saves this season, four against the Mariners. The M's not only can push aside the sour memory of this one in the series finale Thursday, they also will learn if their injury report is as good as they think it will be. They'll know more about Silva, but also Bedard, who will throw his final bullpen this afternoon before his scheduled return from the DL on Saturday, when he'll start against the A's. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Silva joins the walking wounded Just when it seemed the Mariners had gotten over their injury problems, they're banged up again. One day after Mike Morse had season-ending shoulder surgery and Brad Wilkerson suffered a tight right hamstring, pitcher Carlos Silva has joined the gimpy. Silva left tonight's game in the seventh inning of a 2-2 tie after experiencing tightness in his right thigh. He'd just walked Aubrey Huff on five pitches and thrown strike one to Adam Jones when he hesitated on the mound. Trainer Rick Griffin and manager John McLaren went to the mound to check on Silva and, after a brief discussion, McLaren waved in a new pitcher. Silva walked to the dugout without a noticeable limp, but after he took a seat on the bench he was pointing to the side of his right thigh. Sean Green took over and struck out Jones. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! On Morse, on Wilkerson, on Donner and Blitzen... On what's looking like another frigid night at Safeco Field, here are some news and notes from an hour in the clubhouse this afternoon: --Right fielder Brad Wilkerson's right hamstring is still "tight" and he's not in the lineup tonight (Willie Bloomquist is starting in right). With left-handers facing the Mariners Thursday and Friday, don't look for Wilkerson to start again until the weekend. Manager John McLaren did say Wilkerson would be available for pinch-hitting (Yeah, sure. He's batting .178). --With Mike Morse out for six months (or the rest of the season, basically), look for Bloomquist to get most of the starts in right field against left-handed pitching, as he has done since Morse injured his left shoulder on April 13. --Turns out bullpen coach Norm Charlton was heavily involved in Mark Lowe's nifty shaving cream pie attack on closer J.J. Putz after Tuesday night's game. Lowe hid in Putz's locker and sprang from behind his clothing to nail Putz. "All those things Rob Dibble did with the Reds? Those were Norm's ideas," McLaren said. OK, time to bundle up for another frosty night at Safeco Field. I expect Santa Claus to land on the roof any time. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Morse has surgery for torn labrum The day after Mike Morse injured his shoulder diving for a fly ball on April 13, there was an unspoken fear that he was hurt much worse than anyone was saying. Wednesday, we learned how bad it was. Morse had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn labrum, and he'll be out about six months. He should be able to start swinging a bat in four months. Morse made the team after setting Mariners record with a .492 batting average at spring training. Manager John McLaren platooned him with Brad Wilkerson in right field, which clearly wasn't Morse's strongest position based on his struggles there during spring training. Then, in a game April 13 against the Angels, he landed awkwardly as he made a headlong dive for a fly. The Mariners originally thought he'd suffered a separated shoulder. Tuesday, when team physician Dr. Edward Khalfayan operated on Morse, it became obvious that there was significant damage to repair. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Mariners-Orioles: postgame thoughts Pick your hero in tonight's 4-2 victory over the Orioles. Felix Hernandez got himself together after two tough innings -- in which he threw 52 pitches and it seemed he'd be lucky to get through five -- and put together an impressive outing. He went seven innings, allowed two runs and did what a starter needs to do: give his team a chance to win. Jose Vidro, the much-maligned designated hitter, was on his way to another why-is-this-guy-here game when he poked a two-run single into right field in the eighth inning, driving home two runs to break a 2-2- tie. The hit lifted Vidro's average to, ahem, .211. Arthur Rhodes pitched a scoreless eighth inning, showing again that he can be a valuable part of the bullpen as long as his surgically repaired left elbow holds up. When the Mariners scored in the bottom of the inning, it gave Rhodes his first victory since May 23, 2005, when he pitched for the Indians. And closer J.J. Putz, hours after he came off the disabled list, pitched impressively in the ninth to record his second save. Putz's only mistakes were a high fastball that Aubrey Huff pushed to left field for a leadoff double, then being caught unaware when fellow reliever Mark Lowe jumped from behind the clothes in his locker and smacked him with a towel full of shaving cream. It was perhaps the most impressive hit of the night by the Mariners, but had only five during the game. Right fielder Brad Wilkerson's rough start continued. He struck out in his only at-bat, dropping his average to .178, then suffered a tight right hamstring and was replaced in the fourth inning by Willie Bloomquist. On the upside, the Mariners finally have the bullpen they've wanted, and needed, since the season began. Putz is healthy, Brandon Morrow is back to provide late-inning heat and take that load off Lowe, and Rhodes so far has been what Eric O'Flaherty couldn't provide in the left-handed specialty role. If the starters can give at least six quality innings and the offense scratches out four or five runs a game, the bullpen gives the Mariners a solid chance to win. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Putz back; Dickey sent down; Bedard to pitch Saturday It's already been a busy day at the ballpark, in a good way if you're J.J. Putz and a bad way if you're R.A. Dickey. The Mariners brought Putz back from the disabled list, a move that has been expected for several days as he returned successfully from pain in the ribs on his right side. What came as a surprise was the M's decision to option Dickey back to Class AAA Tacoma. He pitched well in his start Friday at Anaheim and, as a knuckleball pitcher who can be used in multiple roles, it seemed he would stick around at least a few more days until starting pitcher Erik Bedard's status was determined. Bedard, on the DL with a bad hip, threw a pain-free session in the bullpen today and was deemed ready to join the rotation again. He'll pitch Saturday's game against the A's. With that decided, the club chose to send Dickey to Tacoma. The man still standing is right-handed reliever Roy Corcoran, who the Mariners called up from Tacoma when Putz was hurt. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Let's be frank, but not with Thomas Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said he and his scouts would discuss the plusses and minuses of having Frank Thomas in the lineup. Given the Mariners' need for more offensive punch, I would expect nothing less. And, after they talk about it, nothing more. Along with the possibility that Thomas would bring a power bat, it's more certain that his ego and contract needs would stand in the way of any offensive contribution he might make. And besides, Safeco Field has been the undoing of some so-called right-handed power hitters. If the Mariners truly are ready to look beyond Jose Vidro for a DH with power, why not Jeff Clement? Yeah, I know he needs more work in the minor leagues to develop as a catcher. But if the Mariners see this season as their best opportunity to reach the playoffs -- and if a strong left-handed hittter is a key to that quest -- then it's time to consider calling up Clement and playing him every day. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Morrow is back with the M's The official announcement will come later this afternoon, but Brandon Morrow is being called up to the Mariners and will be in Oakland tonight. Morrow fills the roster spot that became vacant Tuesday when starter Erik Bedard was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to April 9) because of his bad hip. It's got to be a huge day for Morrow, and not just because he's back in the big leagues after enduring a spring training shoulder problem and subsequent stint at Class AA West Tennessee. He's a Bay Area native and rejoins the Mariners in his hometown. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! |
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