By Patrick
 |
| We know, you're back. Calm down already. |
Can anyone stop the bleeding here? Not even Felix was up to the Angels challenge yesterday, but the way the Angels foiled him perplexed most hardcore fans. A pinch-hit grand slam to Alberto Callaspo? Really Felix? Besides that pitch and a solo blast for Pujols, Felix pitched decently in front of the retro King's Court on Saturday evening. But a grand slam, especially a half inning after the M's finally gave him a lead, really takes the air out of anything the Mariners want to do offensively.
There were some plus sides to last night. Mike Carp and Dustin Ackley both came through with RBI singles with runners in scoring position. Ackley really looked terrible besides that though. Justin Smoak went yard again as well. His promising power is encouraging, but he really needs to work on consistency more than occasional ripping power. Steve Delabar also looked great out of the bullpen, and may have thrown his hat in the ring for the vacant closer position for the time being that most fans assume belongs to Tom Wilhelmsen.
May 27: "Jason Vargas" (2-5, 5.26) vs. CJ Wilson (5-4, 2.90)
Hector Noesi has to be the guy to stop the bleeding I guess. That sucks, because he's not really a stopper kind of pitcher. Noesi is developing as a major league starter, and his starts don't really contribute to the overall Mariners momentum. Here's what I mean by that: his starts seem to exist outside of the realm of the Mariners 2012 season. Felix will pitch, Vargas will pitch, Beavan will pitch, Millwood will pitch, and fans will look at the results of the games. With Noesi, nobody really cares who wins or loses, because if you look at his starts that way, you will rarely see any bright spots. Sure, he lost last week to the Rangers, but he only allowed runs in one inning, and gave up three hits in an eight inning start. All in all, a win for Noesi. Today, he takes on CJ Wilson, who as a tough lefty, will most likely stymie the Mariners' offense. So today, if you want to feel good about something, get pumped when Noesi strikes out Pujols, or gets through an inning quickly, or completes a solid start in a losing effort. At this point, 2013 is way more important than 2012 at this point.
Players to Watch:
Ichiro: Ich has to give us something today. CJ Wilson is a lefty, and Ichiro struggles against him, hitting just .209 with 11 career strikeouts. But the Mariners need Ichiro to hit today. Even his little infield singles would help. The M's need base runners to win this game. CJ WIlson could easily come up with a Dan Haren start tonight, and the Mariners could look just terrible again. But they need to stop the bleeding. And they need Ichiro, their "veteran leader," to come through for them.
Alberto Callaspo: I don't like you very much. He ruined the Mariners Turn Back the Clock Night yesterday, with a pinch-hit grand slam in the sixth inning. Felix made a bad pitch, and Callaspo cranked it. He was only hitting .234 coming into that at bat, but the power he showed yesterday earned him the start at third base in the two-hole this afternoon. Noesi needs to get him out to be successful, since a red hot Albert Pujols will wait on deck each time.
Prediction:
Angels 4, M's 2: The way this series has gone, I can't feel good about picking the M's to win this game. It's just been all bad in every game. They got shutout, Brandon League blew a save badly, and then Felix got humbled by a terrible pinch-hitter yesterday. How could it go any worse? Well, they could lose today to complete the sweep. Noesi will pitch well again, but CJ WIlson will prove too much and Pujols will hit another homer just to make sure the Mariners know he's in the division now. Also, Chone Figgins starts today for the Mariners. Further proof that it will be a long day at Safeco. Go M's.
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