Monday, April 19, 2004
The Scott Spiezio Era Has Begun
The Mariners are now 2-0 in what will heretofore be known as the Scott Spiezio Era in Safeco. Two nice wins this weekend featuring great pitching from Moyer and good pitching from Piniero to limit the potent Rangers offense to three runs over two games. The power bats come to life a bit, as the M's launched 3 home runs yesterday, including a clutch 2-out dinger off a lefty from Raul Ibanez to take the lead. And how about Ron Villone's nifty three pitch strikeout of Hank Blalock, getting the job done yesterday. Sweet.
And Spiezio? A tidy .500 batting average after two games with a double and a home run.
Now, other bloggers are going to dismiss these wins as meaningless since they were against the Rangers, or say we shoulda swept them, or their pitching sucks or whatever. I say to them, phooey. We got off to a crappy start with bad pitching, bad hitting and bad defense. The pitching and defense are getting back to the form Mariner fans have come to expect. We're back, and we'll prove it in the series against the A's starting tonight.
As for the loss on Friday night - well, Chan Ho Park has always owned us (2.25 ERA against M's lifetime), and managed to scatter hits to only Dan Wilson and Bret Boone. How about Dan Wilson? After twelve games, Dan is hitting a solid .367 while Ben Davis has a walk to show for his 12 plate appearances. It looks like Dan will be the man fulltime for a while.
In case you missed it, the first male ballgirl made an appearance for the M's on Saturday night and made a nifty grab that had the crowd cheering. Thanks to SoB for a personal account from the man who made history, Christian Nossum.
And in the worst news of April, the Mariner Optimist somehow lost 4-2 to the Onesixteeners in the Divisional Playoffs of MBSBL. Meanwhile, the host team Sodo Oh No, moved on to the Finals by beating Mariner Musings 4-2. The fix is in.
Today's picks:
Expos (Ohka) +140 over Mets (Yates)
Giants (Williams) -120 over Padres (Wells)
Money to date: -67 (picking dog/favorite = +143/-210, 8-11, 7-6) - Mets bullpen gives up 7 in the 8th after Leiter 2-hitter and I'm in the red. Oswalt & Morris win me money, but the Tigers and Expos fail me.
And Spiezio? A tidy .500 batting average after two games with a double and a home run.
Now, other bloggers are going to dismiss these wins as meaningless since they were against the Rangers, or say we shoulda swept them, or their pitching sucks or whatever. I say to them, phooey. We got off to a crappy start with bad pitching, bad hitting and bad defense. The pitching and defense are getting back to the form Mariner fans have come to expect. We're back, and we'll prove it in the series against the A's starting tonight.
As for the loss on Friday night - well, Chan Ho Park has always owned us (2.25 ERA against M's lifetime), and managed to scatter hits to only Dan Wilson and Bret Boone. How about Dan Wilson? After twelve games, Dan is hitting a solid .367 while Ben Davis has a walk to show for his 12 plate appearances. It looks like Dan will be the man fulltime for a while.
In case you missed it, the first male ballgirl made an appearance for the M's on Saturday night and made a nifty grab that had the crowd cheering. Thanks to SoB for a personal account from the man who made history, Christian Nossum.
And in the worst news of April, the Mariner Optimist somehow lost 4-2 to the Onesixteeners in the Divisional Playoffs of MBSBL. Meanwhile, the host team Sodo Oh No, moved on to the Finals by beating Mariner Musings 4-2. The fix is in.
Today's picks:
Expos (Ohka) +140 over Mets (Yates)
Giants (Williams) -120 over Padres (Wells)
Money to date: -67 (picking dog/favorite = +143/-210, 8-11, 7-6) - Mets bullpen gives up 7 in the 8th after Leiter 2-hitter and I'm in the red. Oswalt & Morris win me money, but the Tigers and Expos fail me.
