HeraldNet: M's-Padres series: Turnaround or a mirage?



RECENT POSTS:
• Underachievers, overachievers and Griffey October 7 • Frick Award voting continues without Rizzs October 6 • What to do with a stubborn first ... uh .. second baseman September 30 • Riggleman on discipline and the Mariners' future September 28 • Bedard surgery report: No labrum tear September 26

Archives:



RELATED ARTICLES:
• 2007 World Series MVP out for Red Sox October 7 • Retro feel to this year's NLC series October 7 • MLB NOTES: Schilling ponders come back October 7 • Angels beat Bosox in 12 to stay alive October 5 • Dodgers' most compelling number: Zero October 5 • Sabathia looking for more than money October 5 • Phillies advance to NLCS October 5 • White Sox stay alive, beat Rays 5-3 October 5 • Phillies' lefty, switch hitters concern Dodgers October 5 • Dodgers eliminate Cubs October 4


ADVERTISEMENT <script language=JavaScript src="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/169233/0/vj?z=heraldnet&ct=122081&dim=169231&abr=$scriptiniframe"></script><noscript><a href="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/169233/0/cc?z=heraldnet"><img src="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/169233/0/vc?z=heraldnet&ct=122081&dim=169231&abr=$imginiframe" width="160" height="600" border="0"></a></noscript>

Mariners Blog

May 18, 2008

M's-Padres series: Turnaround or a mirage?

Posted at 12:01 am by By Kirby Arnold

No doubt, the Mariners had to feel better about themselves (as manager John McLaren loves to say) after winning two of three from the Padres and, going back to Wednesday's victory at Texas, three of their last four games.

Before you think this team has fixed its problems, think again. They won a series from the Padres; geez, everybody's doing that.

More important, the Mariners really haven't solved the root of their offensive issues -- poor at-bats and wild swings that wiped out most of the few scoring opportunities they had this weekend. Basically, two swings of the bat gave them two victories over the Padres, Adrian Beltre's two-run homer Saturday and Jose Lopez's two-run double today.

A half-dozen times or more today, Mariners hitters had a 2-0 count only to let the Padres' pitchers back into it by swinging at whatever was thrown their way on the next pitch. The Mariners would either swing and miss or foul off the pitch, eventually letting the pitchers get the count back in their favor, or slap into a weak out.

Opposing teams are well aware of the Mariners' lack of plate discipline, and pitchers aren't afraid to throw something off the plate even when they're behind in the count. They know the M's will be hacking anyway.

You want an example of plate discipline? Look at video of Edgar Martinez's at-bats. Until he had two strikes against him, he'd look for a pitch in a spot the size of a paper cup, something he could drive hard. And, unlike this group of Mariners that seems determined to hit a home run in every at-bat, Martinez almost always focused on driving the ball up the middle.

Thankfully for the Mariners, Erik Bedard and Felix Hernandez gave them a couple of pitching performances that made it possible to win with four runs Saturday night and three today.

Unless the hitters change a season-long pattern of giving away at-bats, the M's will need that kind of pitching the rest of the year if they truly want to feel good about themselves.

Return to Mariners Blog

TODAY'S TOP JOBS

View All Top Jobs

>> view all top homes

>> view all homes

<script language=JavaScript src="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/105699/0/vj?z=heraldnet&dim=100749&abr=$scriptiniframe"></script><noscript><a href="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/105699/0/cc?z=heraldnet"><img src="http://ads.heraldnet.com/servlet/ajrotator/105699/0/vc?z=heraldnet&dim=100749&abr=$imginiframe" width="728" height="90" border="0"></a></noscript>
\|Contact Us \|Advertiser Services \|Home Delivery \|Newsstand Locations \|Classifieds \|Feedback \|About the Company \|Work@the Herald \|Site Map	© 2008 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA.