Final Score: Giants 4, Mariners 2
The Mariners’ last win was the no-hitter started by Kevin Millwood last week. With the Mariners’ marketing team already having jumped on the opportunity by giving away a poster commemorating the achievement last night, it seems like that last win was ages ago. In that game, six pitchers were used by the Mariners, generating the ‘No-No-No-No-No-No’ slogan.
That slogan also can be used for the six games after the no-hitter, the sixth being tonight’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants. Did the Mariners win either of the remaining games against the Dodgers? No and no. Did they win a single one against the Padres? No, no and no. Were they able to get back on track in the series opener against the Giants? No.
The Mariners scored two runs tonight, but truthfully they shouldn’t have scored any. The first run came across on a fielder’s choice off of the glove of Ryan Vogelsong, the Giants’ starter who lasted seven innings en route to his seventh win of the season. The second run scored on a double-play ball that Pablo Sandoval bobbled, only allowing him to get one out.
Jason Vargas lasted eight innings and was okay, but he did allow ten hits and two walks while giving up four runs. Both Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera had solo shots off of Vargas, who is now 7-6 on the year.
Today’s game saw Dustin Ackley dropped in the lineup and hitting seventh, while Ichiro stayed on top as the leadoff hitter. This team is supposed to be built around youth. Dustin Ackley as an OBP of .316. Ichiro has an OBP of .290.
I don’t even know what to say in conclusion. This team, which seemed poised for a decent rebound a week and a half ago, has collapsed. Hopefully this is the bottom. I know that it’s useless to overreact to losing streaks and to feel like the team is going to the playoffs after a few wins, but something feels different. Some people speculate that Safeco has ‘gotten into the heads’ of the hitters while others look to Eric Wedge as the reason this team isn’t reaching its full potential.
This team is in a dangerous position right now. In 2010 it was clear that Ken Griffey, Jr. was done. He wasn’t good anymore and you couldn’t expect anything positive when he came up to bat. In fact, most fans expected a strikeout or shallow pop-fly. It became hard to even envision what a Griffey home run would even look like anymore. The 2012 Mariners aren’t to that point quite yet, but it’s getting close. Is there any real reason to think this team could win tomorrow? ’Kevin Millwood Stymies Giants While Lincecum Implodes.’ It just seems silly to write. A lot of faith is being lost in this team. Can Wedge, Zduriencik and ownership afford for this team to endure another 100-loss season with declining attendance numbers?
No-No-No-No-No-No.
