M's need to win at home
The M's have had a pretty tough schedule to open the season, and most fans are pretty happy to see them only 2 games under .500
After playing the Red Sox close in all 4 games, while it is disheartening to lose in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, it is comforting to see this team is noticeably better than last year.
If this team was losing and we had players over performing, I would be worried. But with Ichiro looking as bad as he ever has in an M's uniform, with Beltre one of the worst hitters in baseball, with Felix still in Spring training mode... well, there is reason to believe things can improve.
Beltre is really the biggest drag on the M's offense right now. It is not unreasonable to assume the M's would be .500 if he was playing like a $13 million player. To have no RBI's for so long from your #5 hitter is simply not acceptable, and the drop in the order is the logical next step. To see the M's lose so many close games while Beltre struggles will get old really fast.
Watching Beltre hit is simply mind blowing. When you see Beltre miss 88 mph fastballs left over the middle of the plate over and over, you wonder how he ever hit home runs in 2004. No mistakes are punished, and he is fast becoming Jeff Cirillo. His start is so slow the manager is forced to evaluate days on how hard the outs come.
You can almost hear the outfielders chanting "Easy out, Easy out" while they move in closer to the infield dirt. The joke about the SS digging through his pockets while he's at the plate is going to be applicable until he gets some decent timing. There are very few major league hitters who are missing such hittable balls as Beltre is today. Pitchers don't need to do anything special... Adrian is doing it all himself.
So while the M's lost a tough series in Boston, imaginary victories only go so far. This team needs to win at home if it wants to stay near .500
The past two years has seen the M's struggle to win at home. The first step towards respectability is winning in Safeco. No team plays .500 ball losing at home, so let's see Moyer and the rest of the team do well in front of the home crowd. It should be a huge advantage for the M's to play here. The weather, the crowd, the long travel... the next few weeks of home games will give us a good idea if this team will be in the race in the slow starting AL West.
The M's have had a pretty tough schedule to open the season, and most fans are pretty happy to see them only 2 games under .500
After playing the Red Sox close in all 4 games, while it is disheartening to lose in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, it is comforting to see this team is noticeably better than last year.
If this team was losing and we had players over performing, I would be worried. But with Ichiro looking as bad as he ever has in an M's uniform, with Beltre one of the worst hitters in baseball, with Felix still in Spring training mode... well, there is reason to believe things can improve.
Beltre is really the biggest drag on the M's offense right now. It is not unreasonable to assume the M's would be .500 if he was playing like a $13 million player. To have no RBI's for so long from your #5 hitter is simply not acceptable, and the drop in the order is the logical next step. To see the M's lose so many close games while Beltre struggles will get old really fast.
Watching Beltre hit is simply mind blowing. When you see Beltre miss 88 mph fastballs left over the middle of the plate over and over, you wonder how he ever hit home runs in 2004. No mistakes are punished, and he is fast becoming Jeff Cirillo. His start is so slow the manager is forced to evaluate days on how hard the outs come.
You can almost hear the outfielders chanting "Easy out, Easy out" while they move in closer to the infield dirt. The joke about the SS digging through his pockets while he's at the plate is going to be applicable until he gets some decent timing. There are very few major league hitters who are missing such hittable balls as Beltre is today. Pitchers don't need to do anything special... Adrian is doing it all himself.
So while the M's lost a tough series in Boston, imaginary victories only go so far. This team needs to win at home if it wants to stay near .500
The past two years has seen the M's struggle to win at home. The first step towards respectability is winning in Safeco. No team plays .500 ball losing at home, so let's see Moyer and the rest of the team do well in front of the home crowd. It should be a huge advantage for the M's to play here. The weather, the crowd, the long travel... the next few weeks of home games will give us a good idea if this team will be in the race in the slow starting AL West.
posted by Tom at
12:49 PM
