M's 5 …
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Logan Morrison
The M's were down, 0-1, in the bottom of the 3rd. LoMo had singled sharply, and with Austin Jackson at the plate, LoMo took off - pretty much a straight steal. (His speed index is about ML average - which is good for a 1B.)
Jackson singled right at Colby Rasmus in CF. Rasmus, hurrying, had the ball bounce off him, about 6-8 yards away. He looked up, didn't see it, looked right, saw it, scrambled over to the ball in short CF. He picked it up and fired it back in.
Incredibly, LoMo was already roaring around 3B and forced a bad throw to home plate. M's were even on the scoreboard, but were ahead two touchdowns psychologically. Like in a 7-7 football game at CLink, and you've got a QB sack followed by a false start.
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In 1969, Jim Bouton was traded, late in the season, from the lowly AL Seattle Pilots to the contending NL Astros. The Astros won a game based on a botched defensive play and Bouton wrote "We got a great game from one of our aces tonight, and we've got another ace going tomorrow, and we won tonight because their shortstop made an error in the 10th inning and we stepped in. Just like the old (1961-62) Yankees used to. I think I'm going to cry."
Normally, over the period 1977-2013, the Mariners make the Bad News Bears plays when the play matters most. But they are as sharp as a tack right now - only 1 strikeout against J.J. Happ - and they are putting pressure on the other club.
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Media types do overplay this thing, "LoMo has a 13-game hitting streak." But you, the savvy SSI reader don't take hitting streaks as non-info. You read that as "That's a cue to investigate whether LoMo is swinging the bat great." Hey, LrKrBoi29, when you hear "[Joe Shlabotnik] has a 25-game hitting streak," that [Joe] name ain't going to be Endy Chavez.
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LoMo is razor-sharp at the plate, but there are lizards in the cellar. Lloyd grumbled about LoMo a coupla days ago, "Hits are fine for you guys. But I need my first baseman to hit the ball out of the ballpark."
I doubt that LoMo has the swing shape to do that at Safeco.
They keep saying, "He is soooooo hot; it's only a matter of time before the balls start finding the seats." And here's another night where his best shot is a topspin line drive into the power alley, one hop off the wall. He looks great, but I don't like the intersection of
- LoMo's topspin swing shape (without a lot of walks)
- His position at 1B
- His being a Safeco Field player
How about asking for a little more out of RF, Lloyd. On this one, you might be barkin' up the wrong tree.
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Kendrys Morales
We use the term "Rauuuul is who he is." That sounds feebleminded at first, a tautology.
But words are little wheelbarrows that carry ideas from one mind to another, which is why only humans can use them. The "Kendrys is who he is" phrase is a wheelbarrow carrying a heavy payload:
- He has a well-defined set of skills ...
- ... without huge upside
- ... but with considerable value
- He's done it before, consistently -- and easily ("he hits .280 falling out of bed")
- He'll do it again, consistently
- Visually, you can see that he hasn't lost anything
- Steady Eddie
We used to say this about Ibanez.
In the last 2 games, Kendrys has swatted 3 extra-base hits into his pull field. As you know, SSI can be counted on for tomorrow's news today. Like Kendrys, Dr. D is who he is.
Nah, Kendrys' timing ain't quite there yet. But it's gonna be.
Consider this problem about the 2014 Mariners: the ballclub has no players who "are who they are." Maybe now Austin Jackson.
Even pitching, there's only one guy I can think of, who is reliable enough, to get the mild compliment of "Is who he is." That being Chris Young.
Two things, then:
- It's one reason the 2014 Mariners look better, then worse, then better than who they are
- It's the main reason you don't care if Kendrys takes a little while to get his timing
Included in Kendrys' skill set is that he likes Safeco.
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Jack has done a great job in keeping the door open with Boras, never rubbed it in the way 2014 worked out, etc. SSI wouldn't be opposed to Kendrys in future seasons.
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4 Runs a Game? You sure you got the right number, bro'?
LoMo is part of the rah-rah brigade, which is great. He is the one who shoots the arrow with Rodney, the guy who fires the ball around the infield and points at guys, etc.
He said the magic number is 4. "Our job is to score 4, and we'll win."
This of course means that they can relax into a manufactured run, early in the game. Who knows, you might hold your hitting K's to 1, against a lefty who fanned 12 his last time out... Dustin Ackley's RBI single, he took almost a pepper swing to line the ball the other way. Very little weight behind the swing, but he did stay back.
True that 4 runs are enough, but from behind our monitors we can also be aware that 3 runs are enough. The M's are playing .611 ball when they score exactly 3. Contrast that with other AL teams, who are .3xx winners when scoring 3.
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