Thoughts on last nights 4-3, 16 inning game
While sitting in the stands trying to watch Melvin use his bullpen AND try to figure out my early all-star balloting...
First of all, I think the M's have to feel pretty lucky they won the game. Certainly if Eddy had closed out the game in the 9th like he's supposed to, they win the game, but all those plays at the plate could have gone either way. I'll just say the M's caught a break, which they needed, and have to feel a little lucky they took home a win last night.
They also have to feel lucky the Yanks came back and beat the A's, and Texas lost. All in all, when you win a game and two of your division rivals lose, it's a heck of a day. So I'm not complaining at all.
But, on the same day Melvin gets his contract extension, I still go crazy watching him manage his bullpen in extra innings games. Is it just me or does Melvin seem to have abandoned the idea of a long reliever this year??
I thought the advantage of having guys like Villone on hand was they are fully capable of being starters- ie. they can pitch 5+ innings if necessary. Once we blew the save in the 9th, I'd like to see Mateo or Villone come in and pitch for 3 or more innings. Instead we see a parade of relievers come in and deplete the bullpen for the next couple of days. What was up with Soriano coming in and facing two batters?? Did he build up his arm strength or not?? I don't understand the thought process on this at all.
So we go into tonight with a depleted bullpen, and the good news an $85 million Mariners team just "committed" $550,000 to their current manager.
To put this into perspective, the money the M's are paying Jarvis this year could just about buy a Decade long extension for Melvin.
In other words, the M's have actually made a very small commitment to Melvin, which is why he was hardly celebrating yesterday after hearing the news. (if the M's had announced a new 4 year deal at $2 million a year, of course my response would be different.)
So let's hope Joel can pitch some quality innings tonight, and see if the M's can start winnings series again before the big, bad Yankees come to town.
While sitting in the stands trying to watch Melvin use his bullpen AND try to figure out my early all-star balloting...
First of all, I think the M's have to feel pretty lucky they won the game. Certainly if Eddy had closed out the game in the 9th like he's supposed to, they win the game, but all those plays at the plate could have gone either way. I'll just say the M's caught a break, which they needed, and have to feel a little lucky they took home a win last night.
They also have to feel lucky the Yanks came back and beat the A's, and Texas lost. All in all, when you win a game and two of your division rivals lose, it's a heck of a day. So I'm not complaining at all.
But, on the same day Melvin gets his contract extension, I still go crazy watching him manage his bullpen in extra innings games. Is it just me or does Melvin seem to have abandoned the idea of a long reliever this year??
I thought the advantage of having guys like Villone on hand was they are fully capable of being starters- ie. they can pitch 5+ innings if necessary. Once we blew the save in the 9th, I'd like to see Mateo or Villone come in and pitch for 3 or more innings. Instead we see a parade of relievers come in and deplete the bullpen for the next couple of days. What was up with Soriano coming in and facing two batters?? Did he build up his arm strength or not?? I don't understand the thought process on this at all.
So we go into tonight with a depleted bullpen, and the good news an $85 million Mariners team just "committed" $550,000 to their current manager.
To put this into perspective, the money the M's are paying Jarvis this year could just about buy a Decade long extension for Melvin.
In other words, the M's have actually made a very small commitment to Melvin, which is why he was hardly celebrating yesterday after hearing the news. (if the M's had announced a new 4 year deal at $2 million a year, of course my response would be different.)
So let's hope Joel can pitch some quality innings tonight, and see if the M's can start winnings series again before the big, bad Yankees come to town.
posted by Tom at
11:10 AM
