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GAME FLOW

Game #139 marked the one hundred thirty-ninth attempt by the Seattle Mariners to apply their typecase formula to the baseball game in front of them:

1) Get a small lead

2) Nurse it to the 8th

3) Hand the ball to Alex Colome and Edwin Diaz

The Achilles' heel in this formula has been, for 139 games, the 7th inning.  This time they attempted to slide by the 7th with a 1-0 lead and Adam Warren, but nothing doing.  Warren wasted no time in coughing up the lead, 1-1, on a home run by Renato Nunez.  After two more base hits, the M's turned to Zach Duke who coughed up a screaming liner and another base hit.

Nick Vincent came in after the deficit was 3-1 and served up a double to Trey Mancini and the score was 4-1.  The M's scored a couple of meaningless runs to make the final score 4-3, but the O's will have to look for their 99th loss someplace else.

Incidentally there's a Hey Bill from years back.  A reader had asked the question, "Who's to say that reliever X can't be used as a closer?  Is this anything more than a typical baseball label?"  Bill's response:

Well. .. I vividly remember commentators saying that about Mariano in the moment when he was ascending to the Yankee closer role.     I suspect that managers' thinking about this MIGHT be ahead of you, rather than behind you.   Managers understand that the "closer" is a glamour role, but that closers are sometimes overpaid and not all that meaningful.  

In the modern game the closer can't be used to pitch in the 7th inning of a tie game, but somebody has to, and it's really important that it be done well.   The 8th inning pitcher can be used in more flexible roles and can pitch more innings.    Managers keep a good man in that role because they value him more where he is than as a potential closer.  - Bill

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WADE LE BLANC

Finished with a sparkling line score of 6.0 ip, 6 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1bb, 4 k, 0 hr which left him at 8-3, 3.56.  ERA's in the mid-threes are meant to inspire offensive lineups to score runs in hopes of victories, and if LeBlanc qualified he'd be #13 in the American League.  Typically pitchers with ERA's in the top twenty in the league manage salaries at least $3M or more, but Jerry Dipoto has once again locked in a Civic at a fraction of his usual value.

Wade threw a 30-21-4 mix of fastball-change-curveball with 14 cutters mixed in between.  The O's had very few hard-hit balls all night and LeBlanc cruised with the ease one might expect of a quality pitcher facing a 40-100 team.  Unfortunately the offense wasn't up for the dance, and the only thing M's fans might do from here is apply for a local blackout rule on the broadcasts.

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VERSATILITY, Dept.

Tuesday, Kyle Seager sat down and Robby Cano took his place at 3B while Dee Gordon played 2B.  Mitch Haniger played CF as has been his wont lately, and made a nice running snag in left-center.  At the moment Mitch is running a -10 plays score in center field in "favor" of the home boys.

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UND TAKE ZIS MIT YOU

Announced attendance in Safeco tonight:  11, 265.  John and I cruised into our Club Level tickets on a $19 ($60) discount and enjoyed the night at the park, if not the 7th.

Five down, twenty-three to go.  If it were the NFL we'd be okay, though this may or may not be the NFL.

BABVA,

Dr D