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M's-Rangers: Tuesday postgame thoughts

A year and a half ago, when the Mariners announced they'd signed Miguel Batista, I called someone I knew would give an accurate scouting report: former M's pitching coach Bryan Price.

Price had Batista in 2006 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and praised him for his work ethic and his competitiveness. But Price also said Seattle fans should brace themselves for moments when Batista would pitch like he had no idea where the plate was.

“What we saw here were stretches when he would walk guys,” Price said. "His walks would be in an inning when he’d get out of kilter and he’d be erratic. But all of a sudden he’d go out the next inning you wouldn’t see it again. It wasn’t something that happened every game.”

Right now, it's happening every other game and it's worse than anything Price ever saw, and that's got to be a huge concern to the Mariners. Batista has walked 14 in the past 10 innings he has pitched, and twice in three games he hasn't gotten through three innings. Tuesday night, he walked six in 2 1/3 innings of what became a 10-1 loss to the Texas Rangers.

Batista, 37, bragged a few starts ago that he had changed something in his delivery that would extend his career five years. A few reporters tried to figure it out, while some veteran observers -- and those who are familiar with Batista's quirkiness -- simply rolled their eyes.

"I think he's decided to breathe through his eye lids," one of those guys said before Tuesday's game.

Maybe he needs to use his nose next time he pitches.