.

And by "watch their playoff chances vanish" we don't mean in the sense of the old sportswriter cliche.  Well, we do mean it that way, but more we mean that the Seattle Mariners stood out on Petco Field and watched the San Diego Padres play baseball.

... sorry we weren't around as much last week, kiddies.  Circumstances intervened.  But we're here this week, even if the M's aren't.  The A's came from a 3-1 deficit to beat Charlie Morton 4-3, so the standings are:

.

It woulda been one thing if the Mariners got locked down by Dallas Keuchel, or something.  But Jacob Nix is a 22-year old with a 93 MPH fastball making his fourth start of the season; his previous two starts he left after 5.0 innings and got K.O'ed in the 1st.  His curve is a roller; he threw it 21 times against 51 fastballs.  His line for the night?  8.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB 0 K.  79 pitches.  

Let me read that strikeouts line again.  It was a nothing game by a nothing pitcher; you don't face easier opposition than Nix.  The M's answered him with a long string of lazy fly balls and two-hoppers to second.

The Padres themselves are in the same situation as Nix.  They're headed for 100+ losses and every move they make looks like it.  Make a nice defensive stab at a grounder, roll over, and gun to first?  Yeah, yawn, OK, glad that happened.  Roll a single through the hole at SS and 3B?  Oh, ok, I'm on first?  The Padres played almost as limply as the M's did ...

... which, we'll go with what Bill Kreuger said after the game. All Nix did was throw fastballs for strikes, and and yet took a 60-something pitch count into the 9th inning.  That's you call "mailing it in"; the Mariners played as flatly as if they were 12 games back.

..... 

In the 9th inning, if you actually watched the game, you saw some vigor, just for contrast.  All of a sudden Nelson Cruz jumped into the box to hit a long home run ... Denard Span fought with an idea of what he wanted to do at the plate, and saw 8 pitches .... Kyle Seager did about the same thing, grimly fouling off 2-strike pitches like he cared about the AB ...

If you wanted to see a team bearing down on a 100-game loser like the game should be theirs, you just hadda watch the 9th.  Only question is, what happened before then?

....

Felix Hernandez looked "promising" once again, looked like a guy who finally is accepting that he's got to pitch like an innings eater.  Like Kreuger said, for ten years it's been Pick a Number, 1, 2, 3, wipeout pitch, you're out.  Now he's got to learn how pitches fit together.  That'll do for us too.

In this one he had good extension again, averaged 90-92 MPH on the fastball and mixed his pitches.  Specifically he threw 42-35-24 fastballs, curves, and changes.

And as Kreuger pointed out, does Zack Grienke have any better actual stuff?  His average fastball is 89.5 MPH and he pitches backwards; Greinke uses the Shaun Marcum pitch philosophy of 48-17-13-21 reading from fastball through slider and curve through change.  Greinke went through some adjustment problems too mid-career, but has figured out the keys to tricking people any more.

Yes, we know, Greinke commands the ball better.  But it still sez here that if Felix wants more of these 9 K, 2 ER Ultra Quality Starts, keeping 'em guessing on 0-0 is a good place to start.

BABVA,

Dr D