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.
So the Mariners were able to sratch a victory against the Big Unit and the Yankees, bookending a 2-4 road trip with wins against two tough AL East opponents in Toronto and New York. However, by being unable to match that .500 mark that the M's had played against the Al East so far this season prior to the road trip (mostly at the expense of the Baltimore Orioles) the Mariners have dropped two games in the standings during this road trip, and now return to the Safe to play Boston and then Toronto again. There is no letting up in this portion of their mid-summer schedule.
As advertised, the pitching match-up between Randy Johnson and Gil Meche was a dandy. Both pitchers came out dueling, throwing strikes and getting ahead of the batters. Over the 112 pitches Gil threw over his six innings of work, 75 of them went for strikes. And while Randy had to labor to toss 129 pitches over 8 innings, 89 of them went for strikes, with Randy eventually striking out 11- the first double-digit strikeout performance for RJ this season- which isn't that hard of a feat against these free-swinging Mariners.
Gil was unable to pick up the win despite delivering another quality start for the Mariners' pitching on this road trip, with the starters ending up at simply 1-1 along with a 3.49 ERA, despite pitching lights out against two very tough offenses. Instead, Mark Lowe, who was recently toiling down at AA, received his first major-league win. Fantastic!
Beltre went 1-for-4 with a double to continue his miserable July, in which he is now hitting .220 with a .292 OBP and slugging .373. Indeed, couple Beltre's offensive futility with Jose Lopez's lousy July (in which he is both batting and slugging .273) and it's plain to see why the Mariners have had such a struggle scoring runs when the calendar flipped from June to July. Indeed, the 3.83 runs averaged during the six-game road trip is a far cry from the 4.79 runs per game averaged during the team's first 89 games.
When your #2 and #3 batters combine to go 28-for-117 with a combined OPS of .641, then its time to alter your line-up a bit. I mean, Yuniesky Betancourt and his .345 July average is being wasted in the number eight slot. At least when Betancourt was batting ninth, Ichiro was able to get a few at-bats with runners on. But now with Adam Jones still trying to figure things out in the ninth slot, there is absolutely no reason why Betancourt is batting eighth and not second. I mean, it sure would be nice if the two batters after Ichiro in the line-up weren't automatic outs!
Of course, for Hargrove to swap Betancourt into the second slot would mean he'd have to exhibit some managerial decision-making. And as we saw painfully clear in the extra-innings losses this past week, Hargrove does not have a surplus of such strategerial tactics available at his disposal.
The Red Sox are flying high after back-to-back 1-0 shut-outs of the Kansas City Royals, the first time Red Sox pitchers have done that since 1930. (And not, contrary to what was said on Sportscenter this afternoon, with Babe Ruth on the Sox pitching staff.) Luckily for the M's, after jetting home after the close win over the Yankees for a day off in Seattle, the Red Sox have to stay in town to make up a game against the Rangers that was rained out in last month's New England flooding.
Does that mean the Red Sox will be tired out come Friday night? Hardly. The least the Red Sox could do is bring the Texas Rangers, currently losing 3-1 to Toronto, yet another half-game closer to the Mariners' grasp. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Kansas City cast-off Kyle Snyder takes the mound for the Red Sox on Friday's game. The former first-round draft pick in 1999 had labrum surgery in 2004, and now with only 31 career starts under his belt, Snyder carries a 3-10 career won-loss record into tonight's game, mostly due to playing for the hapless Royals. In three starts this season split between Boston and KC, Snyder has allowed 17 runs in 11.2 innings. He has never faced the Seattle Mariners, and while it might be tempting to scoff at the numbers Snyder has and feel confident that the Mariners will trounce on Snyder's offerings, reemmber that pitchers facing the Mariners for the first time give the team trouble. Both Beltre and Everett are the only Mariners to have faced Snyder, with Beltre going hitless in two at-bats and Everett going 2-for-6.
Jamie Moyer, on the other hand, has flat-out pitched horribly in his career against Boston. Over 113 innings spanning 19 career starts, Jamie Moyer holds a 6.39 ERA versus the Red Sox, allowing 20 home-runs and holding a 6-10 career won-lost record against Boston. To nobody's surprise, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez have feasted on the offerings of the soft-tossing left-hander, combining to go 28-for-81 with 13 homers and 27 RBIs. Ortiz holds a career 1.391 OPS versus Moyer, and Ramirez holds a 1.405 OPS. Moyer's start last Saturday is more than likely an indication of things to come Friday night, and folks going to the Safe to watch the game will probably be pretty busy chasing balls hit into the stands.
Final prediction? Snyder will probably be what the M's bats needs to get out of their latest funk, but Moyer has no chance in keeping the Red Sox bats in check. I believe the final score will fall along the lines of 13-11, with anybody's guess as to who the victor will be, but most of the signs are pointing Boston's way....
As advertised, the pitching match-up between Randy Johnson and Gil Meche was a dandy. Both pitchers came out dueling, throwing strikes and getting ahead of the batters. Over the 112 pitches Gil threw over his six innings of work, 75 of them went for strikes. And while Randy had to labor to toss 129 pitches over 8 innings, 89 of them went for strikes, with Randy eventually striking out 11- the first double-digit strikeout performance for RJ this season- which isn't that hard of a feat against these free-swinging Mariners.
Gil was unable to pick up the win despite delivering another quality start for the Mariners' pitching on this road trip, with the starters ending up at simply 1-1 along with a 3.49 ERA, despite pitching lights out against two very tough offenses. Instead, Mark Lowe, who was recently toiling down at AA, received his first major-league win. Fantastic!
Beltre went 1-for-4 with a double to continue his miserable July, in which he is now hitting .220 with a .292 OBP and slugging .373. Indeed, couple Beltre's offensive futility with Jose Lopez's lousy July (in which he is both batting and slugging .273) and it's plain to see why the Mariners have had such a struggle scoring runs when the calendar flipped from June to July. Indeed, the 3.83 runs averaged during the six-game road trip is a far cry from the 4.79 runs per game averaged during the team's first 89 games.
When your #2 and #3 batters combine to go 28-for-117 with a combined OPS of .641, then its time to alter your line-up a bit. I mean, Yuniesky Betancourt and his .345 July average is being wasted in the number eight slot. At least when Betancourt was batting ninth, Ichiro was able to get a few at-bats with runners on. But now with Adam Jones still trying to figure things out in the ninth slot, there is absolutely no reason why Betancourt is batting eighth and not second. I mean, it sure would be nice if the two batters after Ichiro in the line-up weren't automatic outs!
Of course, for Hargrove to swap Betancourt into the second slot would mean he'd have to exhibit some managerial decision-making. And as we saw painfully clear in the extra-innings losses this past week, Hargrove does not have a surplus of such strategerial tactics available at his disposal.
The Red Sox are flying high after back-to-back 1-0 shut-outs of the Kansas City Royals, the first time Red Sox pitchers have done that since 1930. (And not, contrary to what was said on Sportscenter this afternoon, with Babe Ruth on the Sox pitching staff.) Luckily for the M's, after jetting home after the close win over the Yankees for a day off in Seattle, the Red Sox have to stay in town to make up a game against the Rangers that was rained out in last month's New England flooding.
Does that mean the Red Sox will be tired out come Friday night? Hardly. The least the Red Sox could do is bring the Texas Rangers, currently losing 3-1 to Toronto, yet another half-game closer to the Mariners' grasp. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Kansas City cast-off Kyle Snyder takes the mound for the Red Sox on Friday's game. The former first-round draft pick in 1999 had labrum surgery in 2004, and now with only 31 career starts under his belt, Snyder carries a 3-10 career won-loss record into tonight's game, mostly due to playing for the hapless Royals. In three starts this season split between Boston and KC, Snyder has allowed 17 runs in 11.2 innings. He has never faced the Seattle Mariners, and while it might be tempting to scoff at the numbers Snyder has and feel confident that the Mariners will trounce on Snyder's offerings, reemmber that pitchers facing the Mariners for the first time give the team trouble. Both Beltre and Everett are the only Mariners to have faced Snyder, with Beltre going hitless in two at-bats and Everett going 2-for-6.
Jamie Moyer, on the other hand, has flat-out pitched horribly in his career against Boston. Over 113 innings spanning 19 career starts, Jamie Moyer holds a 6.39 ERA versus the Red Sox, allowing 20 home-runs and holding a 6-10 career won-lost record against Boston. To nobody's surprise, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez have feasted on the offerings of the soft-tossing left-hander, combining to go 28-for-81 with 13 homers and 27 RBIs. Ortiz holds a career 1.391 OPS versus Moyer, and Ramirez holds a 1.405 OPS. Moyer's start last Saturday is more than likely an indication of things to come Friday night, and folks going to the Safe to watch the game will probably be pretty busy chasing balls hit into the stands.
Final prediction? Snyder will probably be what the M's bats needs to get out of their latest funk, but Moyer has no chance in keeping the Red Sox bats in check. I believe the final score will fall along the lines of 13-11, with anybody's guess as to who the victor will be, but most of the signs are pointing Boston's way....
Beltre is a freak
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