......
=== Play Eight ===
In the 2nd, Dustin Ackley tags up and scores on a medium-short fly ball. His chances were no better than 50-50, but there were two out and Franklin Gutierrez up. Guti grounded out on the next play.
It's a POTD for another day, but guess what? The 2011 Mariners just now realized that they have to take chances on the bases.
It is a mathematical fact that the lower the run-scoring environment, the more it benefits a baseball team to run. That means that this team needs to run constantly -- it will become a better team with 3-4 SB attempts every night.
That isn't opinion. It's a demonstrable fact. The Mariners' break-even point on SB's has now fallen below 60%. Let me read that sentence again.
***
The game in ten plays: the Mariners stole three bases, they "stole" home on the tagup play, and their running was the difference between a W and an L on Tuesday.
There is improvement to be had, simply by choosing to run a lot more. I suspect that the Mariners' stats crew has just now convinced Wedge of this. I could be wrong.
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=== Play Nine ===
In the 9th, Brandon League gives up an opposite-field double to a LH hitter on a predictable outside fastball. And he gave up the RBI single on a first-pitch fastball to a LHB.
But I'm not going to bust his chops in this particular case. Nobody's perfect, and I didn't feel that his pitch charts were specifically the problem on Tuesday.
This game was just one of those things, as I saw it. With the Mariners playing 2-1 games every night, League gets more than his share of "tough saves." It's one thing to come into a 97% save when up by three runs, a completely different thing to come into an 82% one-run game. They should be different stats, saving 3-runners and saving 1-runners.
Anyway, League gave up a run, so sue him.
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=== Play Ten ===
In the 10th, Jamey Wright retires Kurt Suzuki for the second out. The first out had been Kennedy's adroit little scoop-climb-and-throw. On a 1-2 count, Wright threw a HUUUGGGE-breaking curve ball to Suzuki, who defensively chopped it at Brendan Ryan for out two.
That pitch dropped the A's chances of winning from 4% to 1%.
And in Jamey Wright's 500th career ML game, he picked up his 1st save. Think that baseball goes on his shelf?
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BABVA,
Dr D