Padres 5, Mariners 4
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=== Chone Figgins' Howler in LF ===
Dr. D was sitting in exactly the same seat, in the mezzanine, the night that Milton Bradley did that to Doug Fister. Bradley got cut the next day. I think. Somebody run the tracer. Bradley got cut pretty much the next day. Point is, the deja vu was suffocating.
Figgins had feeb'ed a ground-into-double-play, first ups, and if you weren't there, the booing was heeeaaaav-vee.
Next ups, with one out in a one-run game, Michael Saunders took the massive risk of stealing third. The idea was that the next batter could knock him in with an out, if he made it. Chone Figgins was up next. Figgins let a 2-strike fastball sail by with zero resistance, right on the black, and then Figgins stood there for five seconds to make the statement that the ump blew it. There's such a thing as "too close to take" with two strikes; this wasn't it. This pitch was right on the black.
Figgins took these two AB's into the field with him, simply failed to run down a HIGH popup to him, and this led to the 4-run inning that caused Felix' demise. Gordon tells me that you're not supposed to commit these offenses against your ace. Let's hope that Jay-Z agrees.
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Then Figgins singled and doubled in his last two AB's, giving Dr. D the distinct impression that he'd just crawled out of the coffin. ::shrug::
Casper Wells is back; we'd presume that this was to provide a 4th outfielder vis-a-vis Figgins' powerflush. Except that Franklin Gutierrez came up to provide the 4th outfielder, and Wells the 5th.
How many vote that it's time? Raise your hands?
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=== Smoak's non-homers ===
Dr. D has been in favor of changing Safeco Field since at least Adrian Beltre's second month here.
Hey, I prefer pitcher's parks; it was hard to come inside out of the sun and watch popups go off the Kingdome baggie in right field. But when a talented young hitter "crushes" a ball "with everything he's got," when the hitter beats the pitcher fair-and-square, he can't be punished for that. It will warp his approach.
Mammals are subject to conditioning. A mammal's will power will NOT overcome electroshock therapy. The outs against Justin Smoak were not fair, end of story. If a ballpark crosses the line into unfair, you change it, don't you?
It doesn't necessarily take a lot of adjustment. Bill James suggested that a small extension to the stands be made at PETCO in San Diego; if a ball was hit into it, "that's a ground rule TRIPLE." Heh! I like creative stuff like the hill in CF in Houston. To me that's not cheesy; it's fresh. You could extend a left-center area at Safeco that was a ground-rule HR with the roof open, or a ground-rule double with it closed.
Or whatever. Just do something.
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=== Payback Time for Michael Saunders ===
The man continues to take those smooth little drives with the 1-wood, and continues to boom cannon shots to all corners of the ballpark. At this point, with the new up-the-middle swing yielding more and more hilarious results, it becomes time to ask whether Saunders is going to be a star in the big leagues.
His HR tonight off a sidearm lefty:
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The thighs and waist are NOT rotated past second base, the bat follow is NOT past the 1B line, and the invisible light ray of intentionality is up the middle. This is the half-swing we've been chatting up all year. The ball? It was over the fence to center field, on a cold Safeco night on which Justin Smoak was not capable of hitting a home run on his best swing.
Saunders has a SLG of .583 against lefthanders, precisely because they make it very easy for him to remember to keep the front side closed and the ki directed up the middle. (It would no longer occur to Saunders to come around the corner and try to take a LHP down the 1B line.) I wouldn't bet you anything I was afraid to lose that he's not on the verge of some kind of .583 SLG against all pitchers.
Saunders is a physical freak, like Randy Johnson was a physical freak, and upside scenarios are perfectly reasonable with him. Who hits a home run out of an airport with a half swing -- the other way?! I'm saying, who?
We're seeing one of these scenarios; in 2012 he already has been as effective at the plate as Jay Buhner ever was (130 OPS+, except Saunders has speed too). Never mind the leap he seems to have made the last three weeks.