Some games feel bigger than the one W or L that they represent on the schedule. When the M’s win in dramatic fashion on a Saturday night in front of 40,000 at Safeco, it seems odd that that win means just as much as a 10 am weekday win against Kansas City, in front of 11,000 fans. Likewise, a loss like yesterday kind of feels like 10 losses, rather than just one. The fashion in which the Mariners blew a 7-2 lead in the 5th inning yesterday, although not surprising based on how this year has gone, left me feeling frustration that should be reserved for only the most painful, playoff losses; not a regular season game in May.
I should be talking about a Mariners team that is miraculously just 5 games out of first place today. The M’s should have won yesterday, and should have won Saturday. The streak of horrible weekend games should have come to a halt, but alas, the M’s lost on Saturday and Sunday, providing further proof that while good teams find ways to win games, Seattle finds ways to lose them. Thus, they are not a good team. I have so many thoughts, opinions and observations from this weekend series because I saw every inning, and both games had so many layers. Rather than recap both games in typical style, I think I will just bullet point the good and bad that stood out.
The Depressing Stuff:
Ian Snell pitched well through 3 innings, but then I jinxed him by noticing this, and his control went haywire. I’m sure Snell will be gone at the end of the season, if not before then, and with Jack Wilson on the shelf and probably never returning to his old form, it’s probably accurate to say we lost that trade with the Pirates. I would have done it myself, and the trade won’t set the organization back much, but Jeff Clement at least has some potential, whereas Snell and Wilson don’t appear to.
Felix pitched well enough to win on Saturday, 8+ innings of 1 run ball, but the M’s offense was MIA and Brandon League showed again an inability to keep the ball in the park when it matters most.
On Sunday, Jesus Colome and Kanekoa Texeira pitched the 5th and 6th innings, and despite yielding just 2 hits, neither pitcher had much control. Of the 40 pitches they threw, 25 were balls. 4 walks were issued, plus a catcher’s interference, and suddenly the Angels had scratched out 3 runs off 2 singles, and the score was 7-5 heading into the 7th. This felt like the turning point in the game.
Yesterday, David Aardsma entered the 9th with a 1 run lead. The odds of winning may have been 75%, but in reality, it felt like a 50/50 game at this point. Aardsma had Matsui struck out on a full count, but the ump called it a ball, which was a horrible call. Once Matsui walked, I felt things slipping away. Rivera proceeded to crush a ball that somehow stayed in the yard, but it felt like a foreshadow of things to come. A fluke infield hit followed, and the wheels were coming off. Kendrick then blasted a fastball (of course) the other way and the game was over. But back to why things never feel safe when David Aardsma enters the game…
The fact is, Aardsma usually has decent control, but everyone knows he will throw a 93-96 mph fastball about 90% of the time. If that pitch is not located perfectly, it’s a meatball. There really isn’t any deception to Aardsma’s pitching. The hitters just have to sit dead red, make a nice swing, and hope the ball lands in a good spot. Effective closers need not have 3 great pitches, but if he chooses to throw 1 pitch 90% of the time, it had better be a great pitch. Aardsma’s fast ball is not a great pitch, especially if it is not properly located. Aardsma will continue to get hit well for this reason, and sometimes the ball stays in the park or he gets lucky with a ball hit right at someone, but a lot of time the outcome is what we witnessed yesterday. It’s just really frustrating, but really, who didn’t expect him to regress this year? His true colors are showing. Aardsma depends on location and luck, and often one or the other fails him. He seems like a really cool guy though, for what it’s worth.
Our 3rd base coach is awful. I talk to Andrew about this often, and yesterday’s send of Wilson was his worst of the year. Base coaches are like referees in that if no one is talking about him, he is probably doing a good job. We have talked about Mike Brumley way too much this year, thus, he is doing a bad job.
Saturday and Sunday has not been kind to the Mariners this year. Seattle is 3-13 in weekend games, including 6 straight Saturday losses, and currently the team has won just once in its past 13 weekend games. In their 13 losses, 6 have been walk-offs, and 9 have been the crushing loss type, whereby the M’s were either tied or leading in the 8th inning.
9 times the M’s have given up a walk-off hit. Conversely, Seattle has just 1 walk-off hit this season.
The Mariners are 0-6 in extra inning games this year.
Only 3 teams in baseball have a worst record than the M’s.
Do I enjoy digging up these stats? Actually, no. I don’t drink alcohol, but this team brings me closer each weekend!
Positive notes, plus hero and goat after the jump
The Positive Stuff:
Eliezer Alfonzo played well in his debut yesterday. He was 3-5 with a home run and 4 RBI, which means he trails Rob Johnson by just 3 RBI, despite Hips playing in 24 more games. In addition to the offensive production, Alfonzo was called for catcher’s interference, grounded into a double play, had the ugliest strike out I’ve seen all year, and got thrown out trying to grab an extra base. Needless to say, Alfonzo made his presence known in his first game as a Mariner.
Josh Wilson made a nice heads up play in the 6th when Aybar led off the inning and against the shift, popped up a bunt that landed in left field. In an attempt to stretch the single to a double, Aybar was gunned down at second by Wilson. It was a weird play, but a positive one for the Mariners.
Shawn Kelley looked good yet again on Sunday. Kendrick smoked a full count fastball over the center field fence (Guti almost robbed it), but aside from that solo shot, Kelley pitched 2 1/3 innings of 2 hit ball with no walks and 3 strikeouts. I would rather Sean Kelley be our closer.
5/29-
Hero: Felix Hernandez
Goat: Brandon League, The Offense
5/30-
Hero: Eliezer Alfonzo
Goat: Jesus Colome, Kanekoa Texeira, David Aardsma
-Dan
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andrewlong7
dpscansen
Joe Loughery
Matthew
The Good Guys Sports Blog 
Thanks for the recap Dan, this was one of the most brutal baseball weekends in recent memory, especially coming off the three nice wins in a row. All I care about right now is watching Cliff Lee pitch!!!
Don’t forget about watching our other ace pitch, Jason Vargas…..
You don’t forget about watching Vargas! Joe and I will forget whatever we want!
You be nice to me, I just mowed your lawn!