News

... Mariners 2. M's lead World Series, 2-1

=== PUT ME IN, COACH ===

The boys at USSM have argued that LF defense is extra important in Safeco. On Sunday, it was.

In the first inning, with two on and two out, Ben Francisco lofted a short popup to the no man's land behind SS .... you know that spot equidistant SS-CF-LF?

I wondered if Gutierrez was going to get it... probably not. We're down 0-2 in the first?!

Guti didn't get it, but Greg Halman did. Never thought for a moment the left fielder could get anywhere near it.

Ackley's Glove - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Q. The Ugly: how "natural" did Ackley look out there?

A. He didn't look natural, whatsoever. He looked like a Michael Jordan-level athlete, playing out of position.

An example, the bouncer that Ryan Howard hit to him early in the game, Ackley had been playing several steps on the outfield grass. He correctly charged the ball, taking control of it, but now check his position just as he reaches the ball:

Capt. Jack, Mike Hammer, Olivo the Sequel and Mr. Wiffleball

Baker's Solution

Geoff Baker's fix for the Dustin Ackley situation is elegant, effective, and laced with quotes from the shot-caller's office. He would have:

Ackley at 2B
Kennedy as McLemore-type super sub (1-2 days at 2b, 1 day at DH, 1B, and 3B)
Carp in LF first, maybe Halman later, possible deadline trade

Baker called Zduriencik like 2 seconds before he published the article. News you can't get anywhere else, man.

Can We Do a "Cliff Lee" Package for a Bat -- Like, Tomorrow?

Oh ya, youbetcha.

Dependent upon, only, (1) making room in the budget for the incoming player -- which, in turn, means (A) moving Jack Wilson's (or . . . Chone Figgins'?) salary, or (B) getting the top brass to commit to "Believe Big," or both; and (2) figuring out who is actually in charge of the Dodgers.

'Ave At Thee!

'TIS BUT A SCRATCH: The M's are -5 games behind at the quarter pole.

Minors Radar Scan

==Back on the Radar==

League and his Sasaki Syndrome, 2

=== 2001 Redux ===

The 116-win M's lost the 2001 ALCS in large part because the Yankees had the pitch-count tendencies and my man Lou Piniella didn't worry about them much. The blow of the series, by Alfonso Soriano, was an HR off Kazuhiro Sasaki in a pitch count on which Sasaki threw almost 100% the same pitch all year.

It's the same as pitch-tipping.

M's Scream By Red Sox In AL, Continue 139-Game Win Streak

PROPS TO JACK CUST who got a 95 mph fastball from Bobby Jenks, let it travel deep into the strike zone, and turned on it with sudden-ness. He socked it hard and far, off the Green Monster. The blow decided the ballgame.

M's 7, Tigers 3 - Props and Slops

PROPS TO WHOEVER SAID HITTING IS CONTAGIOUS - For three-point-two innings Tuesday, not only the M's fans but also Eric Wedge were thinking the classics (those being, brown bags over their faces).

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