... Tigers 1
In the 9th tonight, Dr. D couldn't see himself pulling back up to the platform with his 15-18 record intact.
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=== SrFrBoi43 ===
Walked the leadoff hitter, Austin Jackson.
Please ponder this a moment. It's a 2-1 game, your second ace has gone nutsoid, you bring in your closer and .... he walks the tying run on with nobody out. Let me know the next time the Angels or Rangers cut you that break.
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It so happened that the next man, Boesch, hit a screaming meemie that tore Brendan Ryan's glove off. Now, read this next sentence a little slower than you did the last one: standing 120 feet away, Brendan Ryan couldn't catch the ball. (Supposing that he dropped it on purpose, which we doubt, he certainly was helter-skelter on it.)
Let's stop and think about that for a second. Suppose Stephen Strasburg threw a pitch from second base, and the pitch was too hot for the catcher to handle? How hard would the pitch have to be?
And of course it was a patterened Brandon League "sinker" that was high and away. Our 97 MPH, super-splitter closer pitching like a groundballer. Nobody was killed on the play, which is good. It's also good that the line drive missed its 90% chance to go through the infield, which would have left 2 on, 0 out, and Miguel Cabrera - Prince Fielder coming to the plate against a wild closer telegraphing his pitches.
The M's lucked out, and they won. No discussion of the closer, then. Oh well whatever nevermind. There's something I don't get about sabermetrics: if a guy is hitting .370 but has a .420 BABIP, we instantly and confidently make the "sell" stock call. But we're human. For single games we are hypnotized by the ERA, W, and SV stats, aren't we? :- )
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By the way, League was 8-for-8 throwing fastballs in hitters' counts (of which Boesch's rope was admittedly not one).
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Wedge has been holding together a bullpen with baling wire and duct tape. Just because the Mariners are getting away with it, shouldn't mean that they don't fix it. Okay, your car sputtered and coughed and got you home last night. Since it crawled into the driveway, you taking it out again next week with no maintenance?
Wedge said something I liked a lot after the game. He said he pulled Vargas, at 90-ish pitches "because the top of the lineup was coming up again." Craig Wright's Law of the #28 Batter. I love it.
Happy Felix Day,
Dr D