Second Guesser's Club - The Mariners

[absintheofmalaise]

[tablegrid= Probable Starters ]   W L G GS IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP LOB% GB% HR/FB ERA FIP xFIP Game 1: 7:10 Felix Hernandez RHP 13 4 26 26 185.1 9.57 1.55 0.39 0.261 75.60% 56.00% 6.60% 1.99 2.15 2.41   Joe Kelly RHP 0 1 3 3 17 4.76 6.88 1.06 0.255 71.40% 48.10% 11.80% 5.29 5.9 5.62                                   Game 2: 1:35 Chris Young RHP 12 6 25 24 146.2 5.65 2.88 1.17 0.224 82.50% 23.00% 7.20% 3.07 4.59 5.14   Brandon Workman RHP 1 7 15 11 69.2 6.85 3.49 1.16 0.254 66.30% 39.30% 11.00% 4.26 4.5 4.29                                   Game 3: 1:35 Hisashi Iwakuma RHP 12 6 21 21 147 7.35 0.73 0.86 0.272 81.20% 49.80% 10.90% 2.57 2.98 2.83   Allen Webster RHP 3 1 5 5 26.2 4.39 6.08 0.34 0.247 66.50% 46.30% 3.30% 4.73 5.01 5.93 [/tablegrid]

 

[DanoooME]

I don't know what's more impressive: that Chris Young has such a low ERA compared to his FIP/xFIP or that he has actually made 24 starts this season.

 

[absintheofmalaise]

Nava 1B
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Craig RF
Middlebrooks 3B
Bogaerts SS
Betts CF
Vazquez C
Kelly RHP

 

[mfried]

So many pitching stats, so few in which our three guys bear comparison...

 

[mfried]

Nava 1B
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Craig RF
Middlebrooks 3B
Bogaerts SS
Betts CF
Vazquez C
Kelly RHP

Sparing Brock the necessity of facing Felix.

 

[The Gray Eagle]

A hobbling Craig playing RF in Fenway? Wouldn't this be a good game to let Cespedes get some experience out there?

 

[Plympton91]

Wow. Glad I was watching a movie instead of that nut punch.

Two years of karma equalizing in one night? Or, when 40 year ok relievers lose it, the lose it really really quickly.

 

[Stitch01]

Some of A, but man his splitter is unrecognizable. Hopefully just a tired arm or mechanical thing, contending in 15 is a thin enough tightrope at this point without having to find someone to anchor the bullpen.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Toward the end of the inning, the M's were getting RBI hits on bloopers. It was reminiscent of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.
 
If Nava had run toward that ball to right field with more urgency, I think the go-ahead run would not have scored. The M's broadcasters called him out for that. But the game was already tied.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Never mind, the ball to Nava scored the 5th run.

Still, the ball that eluded Holt was ALCS-worthy.

 

[mabrowndog]

Toward the end of the inning, the M's were getting RBI hits on bloopers. It was reminiscent of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

 
Exactly. It's gotten to the point where if Koji allows any ball-in-play contact at all, instead of magically whiffing every hitter he faces, all the panic buttons of RSN get pressed simultaneously.
 
Clearly he hasn't been as sharp in his last three outings as he's been all season, and the HR pitch that Castro crushed is still fresh in everyone's mind. But I'm not about to declare him instantly-over-the-cliff, Eric Gagne style.
 
Yes, advancing age is slowly and inevitably creeping up on him, but his August numbers prior to the 16th vs the Astros were 8 IP, 5 singles, 1 double, 0 BB and 6 K against 30 batters for a .207/.233/.241/.475 line. I'll chalk his latest issues up to a couple of mistake pitches, batted-ball randomness, and some late-season fatigue. Hopefully Farrell downshifts a bit on his usage over the final 5 weeks. I'd rather see some more of the 9th-inning work go to Mujica or the September call-ups (Hembree, Wilson).

 

[absintheofmalaise]

Holt 6
Pedroia 4
Ortiz DH
Cespedes 7
Napoli 3
Craig 9
Middlebrooks 5
Betts 8
Vazquez 2
Webster RHP