M's At SD series thread

[Troy McClure]

M's were up 5-0 at one point but now it's extra innings in the 11th and mid post Rauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul Ibanez hits his first homer since like forever now the m's are up 6-5

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Yeah, it really was a crazy game. Miguel Batista was looking unhittable until the 7th inning, when he just imploded.

Nice to see Raul get another homer though. I really didnt think it was going to get out of the park, but he put a charge into it.

And, we all know, that if we have a lead with Putz coming in, its all ova!!!


Oh, and congrats to my boy Yuni for extended that hitting streak to 19 games.

[Sweezo]

ESPN has the Padres as the #1 team in the league right now. While I might disagree with that vehemently, the Padres are still a quality team and I'm glad to see the M;s take them down.

Oh, and congrats to my boy Yuni for extended that hitting streak to 19 games.

...while also committing his 14th error of the season. The hitting streak is nice, especially since he's getting RBIs as well, but man...the guy's really having trouble throwing the ball.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Agreeing with something you said earlier, as long as he is staying the hottest hitter in our entire lineup, I can put up with the mistakes. But you're right, he really does need to do something about his accuracy. I dont know, maybe he could try throwing over the top. Just a thought.

As long as we win this series, I'll be extremely happy. Dont really have a lot of hope for tonight though with you know who going.

[Sweezo]

Agreeing with something you said earlier, as long as he is staying the hottest hitter in our entire lineup, I can put up with the mistakes. But you're right, he really does need to do something about his accuracy. I dont know, maybe he could try throwing over the top. Just a thought.

I don't think it's mechanics, as he's not throwing any differently than the way that's brought him success in the past. It's mental. It has to be. I understand it, because I've certainly had my bouts with wildness when I played high school baseball.

Look what happened to the careers of Chuck Knoblauch and Rick Ankiel. Once you start uncorking wild throws, and everyone notices, it gets in your head a little bit. If you can't overcome it, well...

Which isn't to say I think it's time to hit the "panic" button. Far from it...

Yuni just has to clear his mind. Easier said than done, of course. And I'm not sure what the coach can do about it. Sit him for a couple days to let him relax? That could backfire because he might sit and think "I'm hitting the ball well, I'm not tired...I must be sitting because of the throws" which means he focuses on the problem and continues to press.

As long as we win this series, I'll be extremely happy. Dont really have a lot of hope for tonight though with you know who going.

Just don't say his name and we might be OK! It's kind of like when you have a no hitter going, you don't talk about it...

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Oh hell, you dumbass, Guillen. The last thing you need when you have a struggling pitcher on the mound is to make errors behind him.

But shesh, does Weaver ever get any groundballs? Everything he throws is way too high in the strikezone.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Weaver actually pitched pretty well. Didnt walk a single batter, and basically shut San Diego down.

But anyways:

YES YES YEEESSSS!!!!!!!!

Another come from behind win, and I'm lovin it! Sexson with the huge game-tying homer in the 8th, and Jose Lopez coming up with another clutch hit to seal it.

JJ had me worried in the ninth, but got the job done.

And Yuni extends the hitting streak to 20! YES BABY GO MARINERS!

[Sweezo]

I didn't see the game, but it appears Weaver was removed because of a back injury. Did you see anything?

Putz: Best closer in MLB? Cordero's been on fire but he absolutely imploded today.

I'm not joking about that either. When I see Putz come in, I tend to turn off the radio or the TV.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

I definitely think Putz is the best closer in baseball. He hasn't blown a save in 17 chances, is second in ERA (for closers), and sports a crazy .53 WHIP.

The only reason I worried tonight was because he walked Giles after getting the first two batters, and then fell behind Cruz Jr. I just...wasn't used to JJ walking anybody, haha. He eventually went 3-2 on Cruz before striking him out with a BEAUTIFUL splitter.

As for Weaver, I didnt notice anything during the actual game, but after walking off the mound in the 4th, he seemed to grimace a bit. He seemed rather upset in the dugout about getting pulled though. Pitched well though, I was impressed.

[NateMustGo]

Another great game even Weaver became part of the team tonight!6 games over WOOHOO!

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

....and JJ Putz just recorded his 3rd save in as many days as Seattle concluded its sweep of San Diego.

Man, we sure do like to get on Bloomquist's case, but his steal of 3rd base was beyond huge. It basically won the game for us. What a job, and damn, Burke has been awesome as our backup catcher. Guy just goes out and racks up the hits.

Decent outing by Felix except for a few poor pitches, and damn, another good outing by the bullpen. Not sure why Batista was in there in the 8th, but oh heeeellll yeah, we are playin well. 7 games over!

[Sweezo]

SWEEEEEP!!!

That's pretty **** awesome. The last two days may not have been the pretty games ever played, but they still found a way to win. Hell yeah.

Putz with three one run saves in a row? Damn right.

And the Angels finally dropped a game, too.

[Sweezo]

Man, we sure do like to get on Bloomquist's case, but his steal of 3rd base was beyond huge. It basically won the game for us.

For all his bad qualities, Bloomquist does run the bases very well. If he was less of a utility man and more of a Rich Amaral off the bench, I'd be happy.

What a job, and damn, Burke has been awesome as our backup catcher. Guy just goes out and racks up the hits.

Burke's been huge. The impact of one role player over the course of a season is usually fairly low, but having a catcher who gets on base and allows us to give Johjima days off when needed without feeling like we're punting the catcher spot for the day is fairly nice.

A nice change over what we've had to deal with the last couple seasons.

And that slide today? Fine play. Without that slide, we don't win.

Decent outing by Felix except for a few poor pitches, and damn, another good outing by the bullpen. Not sure why Batista was in there in the 8th, but oh heeeellll yeah, we are playin well. 7 games over!

Batista was definitely an interesting call...but he has experience coming out of the pen, and it's nice to see a player willing to do whatever the team needs of him.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

The reason I found the move odd was because we had Morrow, O'Flaherty, and Sherrill, all who had not pitched since the first game of the series, so they had that day off in between. I'm glad Miguel pitched well, or else I would have blamed bringing him in for the loss.

Only downer to the day was Yuni's hitting streak came to an end.

[bennith13]

We actually are not doing that bad. I am so suprised we just swept the Padres and Felix isnt even pitching that well right now. I am almost getting excited. I can't believe it. Its still hard to root for them as much as I want to becuase of my disdain for Bavasi though. Oh well... GO M's

[PhilipNelsonFan]

I am almost getting excited. I can't believe it. Its still hard to root for them as much as I want to becuase of my disdain for Bavasi though.

I share your feelings.

Seeing as how I thought this team would struggle for 60 wins, they're just playing solid baseball right now. Timely hitting, pitchers lasting deep into games, and strong play from the role players.