And three great hitters are better than two. In the latter half of the 90's, we had Griffey, A-Rod, and Edgar in the same lineup and yes, there were some good teams, but not what you would call great. Not great like the Tigers are this year. But we had a legit murderer's row, and not-great pitching. And for these Tigers, it isn't just about those two hitters. Note that they have Ian Kinsler batting leadoff and having a pretty darn good year, and Rajai Davis batting ninth as a second leadoff man. Davis would be leading off on most other teams instead of batting ninth. Then there's that starting rotation, which is just flat-out solid. My point is that, as a team, the Tigers are doing well because they're strong in multiple dimensions of the game.
The Mariners are basically the opposite of the Tigers. I don't see the problem as the lack of that second big bat behind Cano. The problem is that they're young and as team, they don't have any areas of strength like the Tigers do. As a team, they aren't really awesome at anything. There was the hope that Paxton and Walker would do that for the starting rotation and maybe that's what we'll see in the second half of the season that we can point to going into 2015. Now, if the Mariners did go out and get that second really good hitter, you could point to that as an area of strength. Nothing wrong with that. But there are a lot of areas where they can improve which will help them win games. And they are doing that I think. This team is better than last year's team, and in Miller, Franklin, Romero, and Zunino, we have three rookies or near-rookies that probably aren't the players now that they will be two years from now, or so we hope. But then, that's where talent evaluation comes in, especially with your own players.
Okay, I think I said what I needed to say.
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Noon Friday
Bob Dutton gave an excellent primer on the situation after the Mariners optioned Maurer out. Dr. D is big on quick-scans, and he lives to serve, so here is Dutton in a box:
- "Anyone" is not better than a 7.52 ERA starter. Good stuff Bob :- )
- Taijuan looked "rusty" and the M's don't wanna do that
- So it's Erasmo, unless they make a 40-man move
- No 40-man moves for short-term benefit. That's amateurish
- But if they did, Jordan Pries is the Rainier pitching well right now
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Dinnertime Friday
Dutton reports that it's probably Erasmo, for the sake of making Taijuan prove that he's sharp before he gets the esteemed privilege of donning an MLB (TRADEMARK) uniform.
Dr. Detecto infers that --- > this can only be out of fear that Taijuan Walker would be psychologically destroyed by the experience. We know for sure that they have no qualms about losing a game or two; that's not it.
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Bedtime Friday
(Although, as you might be vaguely aware, Dr. D doesn't usually retire by 10:16 pm.)
Dutton, oh-so-gingerly, busts the Mariners' chops for the difference between a "competitive" team and a team like the Detroit Tigers. He and I were apparently thinking exactly the same thing while watching the out-gunned Mariners try to win a Verlander vs Iwakuma duel.
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Bonus, Just Because SSI Is Such a Sweeeeet Site
Or is it the TNT that's now a sweet site? I guess it could be both. :: grudgingly ::
Anyway, in the "Minor Details" section of this column, Dutton wryly notes that "something clicked" for DJ Peterson recently.
That being, he decided to stop being "pull happy."
Fill in your own punch line,
Jeff
Comments
Walker went two innings, walked four guys and hit another one in AAA last night. He ain't ready. It's not like the 'prove you are better than Erasmo and Maurer" bar is all that high.