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It became clear what Bazooka Joe was talking about, that Montero didn't "get" Saunders' game last time around.  The typical inning has around 15 pitches, and in those 15 pitches his Monday mix was:

Saunders pitches even more like Jarrod Washburn than we gave him credit for.  He wants to "pitch to contact," to challenge (right hand) batters to do something with a located fastball.  In theory, that's fine, provided you're not missing out and over the plate, allowing two home runs to mess up an otherwise pleasant evening.

Bazooka Joe wants to mix only enough offspeed to keep the (right hand) batters from cheating on his fastball.  I didn't get this before tonight, and I kinda doubt Jesus Montero did, either.  Montero favors offspeed pitches, but tonight it was almost like "Okay, pal, you like fastballs so much, I'll just put down the 1 every time."

Actually Montero was looking into the dugout a lot.  Very possible that Wedge settled it by patting Saunders on the back:  "Okay, Joe, we'll call a couple of games from the dugout until the kid gets the hang of it."

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=== Let's Go With "Estimable" ===

There is one thing that's kind of special about Bazooka Joe ... well, not special.  What's kind of like special, but sort of like 60% transluscent of special?  Okay, he has a signature weapon...

He's really pretty good with that shin-high fastball.  He releases it from over the top, and it angles down, and it cuts BELOW knee level, and it is effective.  Then he comes back with a high fastball for a swinging strike.

He's got a few things to attack with.  Kind of.  ::golfclap precisely three claps::

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=== Bank It ===

SSI has an expression:  Saunders "is what he is."  That's not a tautology:  it's a reference to the fact that a player has no UPside and no DOWNside.  You pencil in his baseline performance, and you move on to other problems.  It's like canceling fractions.  For ten years, Raul was what he was.  Kelly Shoppach is what he is.  Joe Saunders is... y'know.

Saunders has run a 103, 100, and 107 ERA+ the last three years.  The next number in that sequence is about 100.  He throws 200 IP per year -- last year, it was 185, counting playoffs.  

I know you don't want to hear this, but that's going to make him a good #4 starter.  And since he is what he is :- ) that also means that the Mariners have an unusually stable #4 slot.

Of course, the #3 is the question.  It says here that Brandon Maurer has it covered.  If he doesn't, Erasmo or Hultzen will need to.  But Joe Saunders is fine at #4, as we said after he got splattered last week, and we can't wait to see what we get for him in July, as we said after he got splattered last week.

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=== UP Indicators ===

Somebody said that Saunders is now 7-0 in Safeco.  True, the fences are now in.  But Joe Saunders is a mammal, and is subject to classical conditioning.  Deep in the wiring of his brain, he is very confident when pitching in Seattle.  He expects warm fuzzies when he lets go of the ball.

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In the 3rd inning, the Lastros' leadoff man sliced one into the right-center gap.  Guti's catch looked great on TV, we're sure ... it looked much, much better than that from the rail next to the dugout.  The ball was low, and it was slicing away, and my guess is that maybe 5 center fielders in baseball make the catch.  To a ballplayer in the dugout, THAT is the ball that gets Franklin Gutierrez a gold glove.

So, instead of the tying run on 2B, none out, there is one out and nobody on.  Joe Saunders waited behind the mound to catch Guti's eye and couldn't.  They threw the ball around the horn and he still couldn't.  Seager flipped it to Saunders, who looked out to CF and still couldn't get Guti's eye.  

Finally Guti looked in, wondering why play hadn't started.  Saunders pointed out and nodded.  I didn't notice Guti react.  Probably he did.

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The very next play, a patented Brendan Ryan backhand play to rob another hit.  Cindy complained about the one-hop throw.  "Well, honey, if he loops the throw high, the ball has to travel a long way..."

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Two impact defenders, right up the middle.  And there's a center fielder playing RF.  And two really good defenders at 2B and 3B.  SSI hopes that, in Joe Saunders' games, Eric Wedge goes with his defensive lineup.  Play Michael Saunders against the LHP's when it's Saunders Day.

Joe Saunders is a guy who challenges you to do something with a fastball on your hands.  His ERA+ will be 90 in the wrong context, or 110 in the right context.  You can probably bet on the 110+ this year, and I still hope they get something good on July 30.

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Don't get me wrong.  There's only so far you're going to go with a guy who throws 89 MPH to the outside third of the plate.

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=== The X's and O's of "Execution Style Slayings" ===

Kendrys Morales with not one, but two big RBI, in the first and third innings.  He put the game on ice early, and the M's cruised from there.

The game felt scripted, like if the M's had been pressed they'd have just chosen to score a couple more runs.  That's not actually true, but Dr. D was on the wrong end of a lot of execution-style baseball slayings from 1977-1988.  This was maybe the first game, ever, when he understood what it felt like from the other side.  

One of the Yankees of the 1980's remarked, "They got a guy or two there who can drive in runs if somebody happens to get on base, but if we play hard, we should win."  Get off the court, man, y'know what I'm saying?

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Philip Humber is an average-decent MLB starting pitcher when his arm feels good.  His first two starts, this season, he's been Good Humber.  Probably within a month or two he'll start feeling sore again.

But right now he's feeling good, and in his first game he locked down Texas.  Six innings, one run, the game was 0-0 going into the 6th.  Don't assume that just because it's the Astros, each individual Houston player must have performed below ML standard on Monday.  Life doesn't work that way.  

Humber was pretty good, was one of the Astros who was decently up to MLB standard.  He was good enough (on these two nights) to pitch for the Mariners or Angels, and the M's did a nice job battling him.  They took an early lead, and continued to line into hard outs up the middle, and won convincingly.

.................

Last time I saw Erikkk, he looked miles better than in 2012.  He had his upright, regal motion back.  Could be that Tuesday will be no picnic, either, as far as the bottom half of the inning goes.  The top half of the inning WILL be a piece of cake.  Time for Mr. Maurer to make SSI look good.

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Where would the M's kids be right now without Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse?  As bridge players -- men who are there to get the kids from point A to point B -- those two players are executing Jack Zduriencik's 2013 game plan to perfection.

As a completely separate issue, they are doing it exactly at that moment in time in which the kids' confidence could sag and collapse.  Morales and Morse have carried the Mariners early.  They've grabbed the ballclub by the scruff of the neck and single*-handedly hauled it into the thick of the April fight.

I got yer "most mediocre players in baseball" right here, pal.  Hamilton and Pujols wouldn't be doing more for the ballclub in this critical early stage.

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Morales actually reminds me -- look up the definition of "remind" -- of The Edgar.  Minus, what, fifty or a hundred walks, I guess.  But it feels so secure, having him come to the plate with men on base.  It's a whale of a lot of fun watching him hit 3, and Morse hit 4.  

Sudden thought:  our Men Of The Match are the Angels' castoffs!  OH NOOOoooooo...

Morse cut his swing back down on Monday, lined a couple balls up the middle.  Maybe Tuesday will be his turn.  

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