First in ERA, First in Your Hearts, Last In the American League
To paraphrase an old joke about the Brooklyn Dodgers, if we have the right team. *Washington Senators, as Spec points out below. :- )
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=== SIZZLER: M's Pennant Chances ===
Was surprised to read a bunch of panicky "are they out of it?!" shtick after the M's lost three in Colorado.
Hey, look. Sometimes you run into a hot team, kiddies! If, the last week or so, Troy Tulowitzki is slugging .765, then for that particular week you might as well be facing Lou Gehrig. If Chris Ianetta is .300/.500/.700 the last ten days, then in the games you're facing him, you might as well be pitching against Albert Pujols. If Brad Hawpe's recent OPS is > 1.000 (and it is), there's Manny in their lineup. If Spilborgh's OBP is .444 recently (and it is), then *for the series you face him,* that's like they've got Boggs too.
If the moon is full and Vlad Radmanovic comes out and lights you up for 25 by halftime, then for that particular game, you might as well have been facing Larry Bird. For the particular series the M's played the Rockies, they might as well have been facing the NL All-Stars. They lost. So what?
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Usually you've got a couple players who are very hot. Right now, the Mariners have Beltre and Branyan real hot, and Lopez kinda hot (though with a .240 OBP lately). ... but what happens when you get six guys red-hot together? You go on a 10-game winnings streak. The M's ran into that.
We as fans tend to see each game as a success or failure on the part of the Mariners. But half the time, it was the other team that won or lost the game, not us. :- )
The M's are 5 out, and the only reason Texas' pitching looks respectable is because Kevin Millwood is running a 171 ERA+. The M's are in the pennant race.
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=== SIZZLER: LF-1B-DH ===
Was extremely interested to note that after a game or two, Ken Griffey Jr. played LF in the interleague games, and not Endy Chavez. Griff didn't play LF in spots; he sat out the first Colorado game, and then he played the next five (5) consecutive games on defense.
It's possible that the move was political -- that Junior went in and had it out with Wok -- but I doubt it. Far more likely, Wok reasoned "I'm going to need Junior's lefty bat if we're going to make a push," and that's why his team spent the time with Griffey in the batting cage that they did.
Griff *did* look like he was heating up this week. Let's hope. In Thursday's game, he screamed one down the RF line barely foul, and then the NEXT PITCH he socked one off the wall. That's a good sign.
So if Griffey is for choice in an interleague game -- then why wouldn't he be a candidate for LF in the American League? Conversely, if he's not the best choice for LF in the American League, then what was he doing out there in San Diego?
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So let's say that Mike Carp, or Michael Saunders, or Redman or Clement or anybody else, could provide an offensive jolt. Why wouldn't you move Carp or Saunders into the lineup in the LF/DH slot? (And Carp has played some games in LF at Cheney.)
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Look, amigos. The Mariners are #1 in ERA, by 46 ERA points. And they are losers, below .500. Where do you go from there? Your D is by far the best, and you're losing. You MUST make changes to bring in more offense, end of story.
I don't care whether you like pretty defense or not. You have no choice but to bring in offense.
Cheers,
Dr D