.
Gordon sez,
As for tonight's game: we should have won it about 3 different times, but just couldn't hit the ball between people. It happens. Hopefully we can steal one tomorrow to balance the scales.
.
Clearly.
Kyle Seager ripped a long double to right-center, just before Gillespie knocked Cano in ... but the game's only RF/SB king ran the ball down in the gap.
Myriad such missile shots ensued. Michael Saunders hit a home run, 400 feet with a man on base, but it just happened to go to straightway CF and Ellsbury crashed into the wall, high, to pull it down. That ball goes to any other vector, the M's win yet again.
....
The Yankees were fielding a #5 starter, though, and during the game I didn't feel they were putting the sort of pressure on him that Nano deserved (1 BB, 0 HR, no speed). :: shrug ::
Ackley agreed with Gordon, though, saying that the 2 runs didn't reflect a night's worth of quality at-bats on the M's part.
"I think the way we swung the bat today didn't really indicate the score," Ackley said. "I think a lot of guys squared some balls up, but we didn't really have any luck. I think that's just gonna happen. You're gonna have those nights. We're just going to continue with the same approach."
.
The MLB recap sez,
As far as "stealing one tomorrow" ... they already poached the Erasmo vs Price game. This is what we get for thinking that was a reasonable W to accept. >:- }
The truth is, the M's aren't all that good, and this sort of surprise about a loss ...
...
The loss snapped Seattle's three-game winning streak and dropped its record to 34-30. The Mariners finished with seven hits.
"It's OK, guys," McClendon said, perhaps noticing a quiet interview room. "We just lost the game. We're going to be OK tomorrow."
...
... is not in order. Some media types obviously bought into the 8-of-9 desert mirage a little more than they'd like for us to believe.
On Monday, Seattle had:
- a .243-hitting singles hitter in LF
- Willie Bloomquist at 1B
- Cole Gillespie cleaning up because "somebody has to hit cleanup" (Lloyd's remark, pre-game)
- etc etc
Yes, I know, they have injuries, as does everybody. SSI is *glad* that Willie Bloomquist is at 1B and hopes that he extends his stay. What does that tell ya.
The M's aren't making any noises about improving this situation. They aren't sending any signals that they'd like to add to their ballclub. Other clubs do this, but the imperious Mariners never do, because MLB(tm) brass owes the city of Seattle no explanations. They've already made us a Big League City(tm).
.......
When the Spurs blew out the Heat in Game Three, Jeff van Gundy was marvelling at the Spurs' selflessness and commitment to win -- Tim Duncan accepts hard coaching, so others accept hard coaching, and it trickles down, etc. Mark Jackson asked, "does that start with Duncan or Popovich?"
van Gundy contradicted him, with gusto. "It starts with ownership."
If we can lope along, nominally in the Wild Card, with "somebody having to hit cleanup," that's great by ownership in Seattle. It's not great by me or Silentpadna. But how wonderful a .500 team looks by contrast, neh?
/bahhumbug
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Dr. D sez,
The M's remain a pleasant +4 over .500, with the rest of the Wild Card pack massed right at .500. The first thing Ken Griffey Jr. said on the broadcast when he jumped into the booth, "And we get some pitching back," drooling over Taijuan and K-Pax.
The M's did send the signal that on Monday, Taijuan's command of home plate was acceptable, so there y'go amig-O. Despite the top-down message that we're lucky to get the sniffs of bacon that we do get, the 25 players in the clubhouse might soon be ready for war.
...
Cole Gillespie, by the way, is giving a rawhide-tough AB every blinkin' time he is up there. I wonder what the precedent would be, for a skill set like his to contribute to a playoff baseball team. Pretty much all of the .280/.350/.430 batters, who stuck around, were left-handed or glove men.
Roenis Elias is improving, also, on a start-by-start basis. Very easy to visualize a 2H rotation the caliber of the 1995 Braves or, um, the 2012, 14 Oaklands.
Life's good,
Dr D