Nothing like seeing Baltimore on the schedule to cheer up a blue Mariners fan. They are really bad. And yesterday, we looked really good. It appears the team is rallying around the Griffey story and if that’s what it takes to come together, then I’m all for it.
The quick analysis is Cliff did his thing, the Tacoma bats continued their hot hitting, and the M’s took care of business in efficient fashion. Speaking of those Tacoma bats, Langerhans, Wilson, and Saunders combined to go 5-11 with a homer, 2 RBI, and 9 total bases. I especially love seeing Michael Saunders play well, because left field is a position of need for the M’s. If his early success continues, we may look back and point to his call up from Tacoma as the turning point in this season.
Cliff Lee is fun to watch. I love his first pitch strikes. I love how fast he works. I love that he doesn’t walk batters. I love his cool demeanor. I love you Cliff. Now, please engage in the following conversation, because I’ve had this dream a couple times already.
Jack Z: Hey Cliff, thanks for coming in, take a seat.
Cliff: Whats up?
Jack Z: Well, I noticed your contract is up at year’s end and, well, let’s see if we can’t figure something out to keep you a Mariner a little while longer.
Cliff: Hmm, I usually don’t do this type of thing mid-season, but I sure love being part of baseball’s best 1-2 punch. Awe heck, let’s bang something out.
Jack Z: Perfect. How about 3 years, 52 million.
Cliff: That is generous, but 55 million has a better ring to it. Deal?
Jack Z: Deal! Now, excuse me while I go get you some bats. I hear Mauer is available, let’s see what Minnesota thinks of Rob Johnson.Then I wake up from my dream.
Some more quick notes and hero/goat after the jump!
Hero: Cliff Lee. I’ll take 7.1 innings of 1 run ball every time. 3rd consecutive start with 0 walks. It’s getting to the point where I am legitimately surprised when teams score off Lee.
Goat: Jose Lopez. Lopey was 0-5 in the clean-up spot.
Game 2 today at 4:05 pm. Rowland-Smith vs. Bergesen. Come on Hyphen, time to get back on track!
All hail the T-town boys!
-Dan
did you really have that dream?
I guess it was more of a day dream…
Saunders is a stud. I love the guy too… Langerhans and Josh Wilson are high on my list as well. They all play hard and within themselves.