Well, if there was ever a reason to just hang up the cleats and call it a season, it happened to the Ms today and last night. After a brilliant performance where he hit the first HR by a Mariners pitcher, and the first grand slam for an AL pitcher since Steve Dunning of Cleveland in 1971 (that was before the DH was introduced).
Just as my colleage Jeff Wilson was calling for the banning of the DH--or at least the use of a pitcher in that spot now and again--Hernandez went down to an ankle injury in the fifth and had to leave the game. Even amid history, bad luck finds its way to the Mariners, the way a hitter on a hot streak will hit a dying quail just out of the reach of the second baseman for a hit, while he'll catch the same ball hit by another guy on a cold streak.
Luck just happens that way, and if the Mariners didn't have bad luck, they wouldn't have any luck at all.
The good news (for now) is that King Felix vowed to make his next start, and even got up and tried to pitch again after the injury. Heck, he wanted to try again before Mel Stottlemyre showed him the better part of valor and practically had to drag him off the mound.
Even the way he got the injury was a sort of good news, because he got it blocking the plate on a passed ball. When Clement went back to retrieve the ball, Felix ran in to cover as Carlos Beltran tried to score from third. Clement ended up trying to make the play himself, but Felix was in a perfect position to block the plate with his foot--and his ankle.
Problem was, of course, is that Felix doesn't have a catcher's shin guards on, so when Beltran came sliding in, his cleat came in ugly contact with Felix's ankle, which rolled as he toppled over. The docs say it's only a sprain, and Felix said he'd make his next start.
We'll see if that happens or not, but Erik "The Dead" Bedard didn't get such good news from the docs. He's going to miss his next start with the back spasms that made him leave his last start early. He's reportedly feeling better, but the Ms are taking no chances, which is a good move. Whether he's here for the long term or trade bait for the short term, there's no sense in pushing him, not for a team that's doing as poorly as the Mariners.
With the luck they're having, maybe it would be better to just put Felix and Bedard on the shelf for the rest of the season and wait for the dust to settle from the post-Bavasi demolition. As kooky as that sounds, it's going to sound a lot smarter if Felix breaks an ankle or Bedard blows out his elbow.
Just leave the S.S. Mariner at port and let the Tacoma Rainiers take their place on the field. They can't do much worse.
Keywords: Erik Bedard, Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners, Steve Dunning
Comments
Yep - ban the DH. Make the pitchers hit. I have always been a fan of NL baseball. I love the pitchers that CAN hit - Owings, Zambrano etc. Even Ryan Dempster who was a closer last season and isnt that great a hitter can handle the bat to bunt he is hitting .172 but also has 11 sacrifice bunts. I like the fact that the Cubs have two VERY legitimate hitters in Zambrano .362 BA this year and a .234 career and Jason Marquis a .227 career hitter and owner of two outstanding seasons in 2004 and 2005 when he hit .292 on 21 for 72 and 2005 where he hit .310 on 27 for 87. This gives Piniella two pinch hitters to use off the bench which he has already in Zambrano 1 for 4 this year and Marquis who is 6 for 26 in his career as a pinch hitter. This strategically allows Piniella to carry one extra pitcher because he can use those two confidently as a pinch hitter and in Marquis case as a pinch runner. He used him last night in fact as a runner after Darryl Ward walked. Ward slower than molasses was lifted for the PR.
I like the idea of a pitcher helping himself in a start by getting a hit. It demoralizes the other team when the 'easy out" isnt recorded. BTW Ted Lilly went 2 for 4 tonight love those pitchers hits