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.



One Game Stop at Jacobs Field (I'm Scared)


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Of course the Mariners would be stymied by a young pitcher making his first start against them, just a day after knocking out a Hall of Famer in the fourth inning. Its almost clockwork with these guys.

Not many pitchers can out pitch Felix Hernandez. Even Daisuke Matsuzaka came up short. But in 83 inning s over six innings in today's 2-1 Padre victory, Justin Germano wove a selection of curveballs, change-ups, and two-seamers that kept the mariners' batters off-balance. The only run scored by the Mariners off Germano was an unearned run in the second inning- Lopez knocking in Betancourt from second after Kahlil Greene's throwing error- keeping Germano's ERA after his three-start beginning to his 2007 major league season to a microscopic 0.47. Germano was more Madduxish than Maddux himself was in yesterday's ballgame.

Although Felix struggled again with his control, if he had been the beneficiary of any offensive support he pitched well enough to win. Felix tossed 103 innings over five full innings, 60 of which went for strikes. He allowed eleven base-runners, including three walks, struck out nine, and also threw two wild pitches- all which racked up the number of pitches he tossed in a less-than-economical performance. Still, the Padres could only push across two runs against Felix, as they spent most of the afternoon standing around on the bases rather than running home, with a total of 15 runners being abandoned on the basepaths by the Friars.

A day after a new-look line-up hammered Greg Maddux, only nine singles were all that could be mustered by the Mariners against the Padres' pitching. Adrian Beltre went 1-for-4, to bring his average to .255. Perhaps his key at-bat came in the bottom of the ninth inning, when after Jose Guillen and Ben Broussard greeted another future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffmann with lead-off singles, Beltre worked the count to 2-1. On the next pitch, Beltre made a questionable decision as he attempted to move the runners along with a sacrifice bunt.

There are some who will argue that sacrificing and moving runners along is practicing good baseball strategy, while there are others who insist that you only have 27 outs in a baseball game to work with and you should never give up any at any cost. I don't necessarily fall into either camp, but I will say that when the tying run was staring across the diamond at Beltre and he all ready had one strike against him, attempting a bunt is probably not the best strategy Beltre should've considered. I mean, a week ago Beltre hit a go-ahead home-run from another Hall of Fame closer in Mariano Rivera. As the win probability for the game revealed, the chances for the M's to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat were turning in their favor after Broussard's single. But Beltre's botched bunt attempt followed by a weak foul pop to first confirmed the inevitable, as the game was all but decided by the ill-advised bunt attempt. Beltre was praised on-air by Mike Blowers and Dave Sims for attempting to move the runners along, but in truth, whether it was indeed Beltre playing 'unselfish' baseball or Hargrove showing his usual lack of understanding baseball strategy, it was a boneheaded move that quickly killed any momentum they had going for themselves.

Oh well. The M's can think about how a two-run outing tossed by Felix went in vain as they fly half-way across the country for a quick stop at Jacobs Field to play one of the four snowed-out make-up games against the Indians. Last time we saw the Mariners batting at Jacobs Field, they were futilely waving their bats to no avail as Paul Byrd had the benefit of falling snowflakes to hide his pitches among on his way to nearly five no-hit innings. That game was called, as was the rest of the four-game series, and Jacobs Field has all but ensured to be a house of horrors for the M's this season for multiple reasons. Not only will they have to interrupt their road trips and spend off-days to make a beeline to Cleveland, they have to play an Indians time that has been en fuego and appear to be a very solid and intimidating ballclub.

The Mariners have their work cut out for them. The Indians moved into first place in the Central Dvision over the weekend, and are off to a 16-4 start at home, their best home start in over a decade. The Indians have won six of their past eight, and have their ace, C. C. Sabathia, on the mound to face the M's tomorrow afternoon. Not only is Sabathia off to the best start of his career at 6-1 with a 3.65 ERA (assisted with nearly seven runs a game by Clevelands' bats), but he has also put up some solid numbers against the M's. In 68 innings over ten starts, Sabathia holds a 4-3 record with a 3.03 ERA and a nearly 3-to-1 striekout-to-walk ratio. The M's will need a big game from Ichiro to be able to hold their own against the Indians' ace, as Ichiro enjoys burly numbers against Sabathia: .429 with a 1.229 OPS in 35 at-bats, with three home runs and three stolen bases. Expect Ichrio to keep his multiple-hit streak going.

Raul Ibanez also enjoys success against Sabathia, with a .278 average and .861 OPS in 36 at-bats. Of course, Ibanez has been suffering from back spasms, so weshould not expect to see him in tomorrow's ballgame. However, Raul's likely replacement, Willie Bloomquist, has hit one of his four career home runs off of Sabathia. As for Beltre, he'll be looking for his first career base-hit off Sabathia in eight at-bats.

Cha Seung Baek was failed by the Mariners' defense in his only career start against the Indians. He allowed only one earned run in five innings, but four unearned runs as well. The sample sizes of the Indians' batters practically are nonexistent against Baek, so for a change the Mariners will have the advantage of trotting out an unknown quantity against the slugging Indians line-up, an unknown who allowed three runs over six innings in last week's loss to the Angels. Today's scouting methods may negate any advantages an unknown pitcher may have on a line-up, but as the Mariners have proven time and again, including in this afternoon's ballgame, that young pitchers can have an advantage the first time they're facing a team's line-up.

But the Indians' line-up is simply too strong from top to bottom, and they definitely get the nod in tomorrow's game. 7-3, Indians.

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