Two years into a five-year, $64 million contract, Adrian Beltre has produced a .262 average, 44 home runs, and 176 RBIs. However, after the All Star break in 2006, Beltre slugged .552 with a whopping 18 home runs. Does this strong second half bode well for a turn-around in 2007, or will Mariners fans have to deal with 'A-Drain' once again? This blog intends to follow the 2007 season for Adrian Beltre, and the Seattle Mariners, and promises to hold no punches.
Sometimes baseball just isn't fair.
Like the times when your team's offense seems just about to start clicking, and you're licking your chops at them starting against an 8.07-ERA pitcher to help fill your team with confidence as they pad their stats. Instead, they get two-hit.
Immediately after that game, your team faces perhaps one of the most dominating left-handed Dominican pitchers to make their presence felt in the American League for quite some time. You suspect that your team's offense will flail away blindly, which is exactly what they do.
This was the fate that befell the Mariners last night, as their offense crumpled under the sheer dominance of Francisco Liriano last night. Liriano played the latest version of the Mariners' "daddy", filling the role most recently played by Rodrigo Lopez, stymying the Mariners with, according to the AP write-up on the game, a "dazzling combination of 97 mph fastballs, 90 mph sliders and 82 mph changeups."
90 mph sliders? Time to revisit the whole "life-isn't-fair" moral.
Mel Brooks may have said "It's good to be King" in History of the World, Part. I, but so far this season it's probably been more of a bummer to be Felix Hernandez. Last night was the third quality start of the season for Hernandez (six innings/less than three runs, so that discounts his five innings of one-run ball in his first start against the A's). Felix has only one won of those starts, against Tampa Bay, and has been outpitched by Justin Verlander and, now, Francisco Liriano. Not only are other teams' phenoms out-pitching the Mariners, but Felix's ERA in his three wins (5.79) is the exact same in his losses which means that Felix's win-loss record is more dependnet on the M's offense more than what he's bringing to each start, and given this offense, that's not a good thing.
At least the Mariners scored a run, stopping a scoreless streak of 21 innings. They would've had more, but Beltre attempted to score from first on a bloop single to right. Mananger Mike Hargrove might call that "aggressive" base-running. To me, that's just bad base-running, and it cost the Mariners more runs.
Beltre had two hits in four at-bats, which on the positive side raises his average to .213, though he had no RBIs and was the vicitm of poor base-running decisions. Today the Mariners face Boof Bonser, a pitcher who has the distinction of sharing the same name with Michael J. Fox's girlfriend from "Teen Wolf." This is only Boof's second major-league start, but the Mariners don't fare well in those situations, so don't be surprised if Bonser pitches a no-hitter or something....
Like the times when your team's offense seems just about to start clicking, and you're licking your chops at them starting against an 8.07-ERA pitcher to help fill your team with confidence as they pad their stats. Instead, they get two-hit.
Immediately after that game, your team faces perhaps one of the most dominating left-handed Dominican pitchers to make their presence felt in the American League for quite some time. You suspect that your team's offense will flail away blindly, which is exactly what they do.
This was the fate that befell the Mariners last night, as their offense crumpled under the sheer dominance of Francisco Liriano last night. Liriano played the latest version of the Mariners' "daddy", filling the role most recently played by Rodrigo Lopez, stymying the Mariners with, according to the AP write-up on the game, a "dazzling combination of 97 mph fastballs, 90 mph sliders and 82 mph changeups."
90 mph sliders? Time to revisit the whole "life-isn't-fair" moral.
Mel Brooks may have said "It's good to be King" in History of the World, Part. I, but so far this season it's probably been more of a bummer to be Felix Hernandez. Last night was the third quality start of the season for Hernandez (six innings/less than three runs, so that discounts his five innings of one-run ball in his first start against the A's). Felix has only one won of those starts, against Tampa Bay, and has been outpitched by Justin Verlander and, now, Francisco Liriano. Not only are other teams' phenoms out-pitching the Mariners, but Felix's ERA in his three wins (5.79) is the exact same in his losses which means that Felix's win-loss record is more dependnet on the M's offense more than what he's bringing to each start, and given this offense, that's not a good thing.
At least the Mariners scored a run, stopping a scoreless streak of 21 innings. They would've had more, but Beltre attempted to score from first on a bloop single to right. Mananger Mike Hargrove might call that "aggressive" base-running. To me, that's just bad base-running, and it cost the Mariners more runs.
Beltre had two hits in four at-bats, which on the positive side raises his average to .213, though he had no RBIs and was the vicitm of poor base-running decisions. Today the Mariners face Boof Bonser, a pitcher who has the distinction of sharing the same name with Michael J. Fox's girlfriend from "Teen Wolf." This is only Boof's second major-league start, but the Mariners don't fare well in those situations, so don't be surprised if Bonser pitches a no-hitter or something....
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