Things to Take Away from the First Week of Baseball

 By: Anthony 

 Well the Mariners are 3-4 going into their home opener tonight. They have left some wins on the table and also have gotten away with some wins, this is all to be expected. There is no point to freak out, yet. The number of panicked texts from Patrick about the team has been relatively low for this week, although I think that may be more a part of him being at the Elite Eight and Final Four than with the amount he is panicking already. Here are some things that I have noticed.

Full disclosure though I haven’t actually watched a game yet. I have had other things on my plate and forgot the password for the MLB.tv account I used last year.

           

Dustin Ackley is not the new Brendan Ryan

It is really easy to look at his current batting average or really any batting stat and write off Ackley already. But before we cut the guy one pick from Stephen Strasburg after a week into his junior season, he has changed his stance and it will take him some period of adjustment. I actually saw this in Spring Training and failed to bring it up. He starts with his bat on his shoulder and basically swings from that point. He cut out a lot of the extra movement before his swing. In theory, this will keep his body relaxed and allow him to see the ball better. It hasn’t worked yet, but Ackley has hit the ball hard and those will start falling in for hits.

"Hit the ball out there please"

Mike Morse is Strong

Patrick has texted me this a few times after some of his more impressive home runs this season. And I’ll be clear, I am not opposed to Morse as a hitter, just as any position other than DH. His defense has been shaky by all accounts and that has not helped the rotation out much. However, Homeruns!! Yay!!! And 10 K’s in 29 at-bats!!! This is essentially the Josh Hamilton approach that I preached against when we were courting him. It’s not sustainable and if he doesn’t change it pitchers will stop throwing him pitchers that he can hit 450 feet. But hey, Homeruns!!!

Joe Saunders is the new Kevin Millwood

Congratulations to you Joe, you have received the dubious honor of being my least favorite pitcher in the rotation. I don’t know if it is the AAA game I saw you give up numerous runs to AAA players or just something about you being awful. But welcome to the Kevin Millwood Club, I hope you don’t get comfortable.

I still love your beard Brandon

Brandon Maurer Welcome to the Big Leagues

So Brandon Maurer wasn’t stellar in his first start, sorry folks who thought we had the next Stephen Strasburg hidden under the radar. I still need to watch one of his games to issue some judgment of my own, but I heard he was struggling with his fastball command. That’s something that happens, he could have been nervous, but any pitcher will get an ERA of 9.00 when they can’t command their fastball.