Team on the run will get burned on the bases

The Mariners aren’t hiding the fact that they’re an aggressive team that will take an extra base if it’s there for the taking. Baserunning has been a key to their success but also a reason for many of their failures.

It was never so evident as today when the Mariners ran into three outs on the bases, two of them that shouldn’t have happened.

After a 4-2 loss to the Tigers, look for manager Don Wakamatsu to address the players on baserunning strategy Monday and possibly have them on the field running a few drills.

Pleased as he was with the Mariners’ willingness to run, Wakamatsu wasn’t so happy at some decisions that were made on the bases. Here’s his assessment after:

Chone Figgins was thrown out trying to steal second base in the first inning. That one didn’t seem so bad, considering there were two outs and Figgins was trying to get into scoring position with Jose Lopez at the plate. “It’s early and Figgy will get better jumps (off first) as he gets his legs under him,” Wakamatsu said.

Casey Kotchman for some reason never stopped after he rounded first base on his RBI single to right field. He drove home Ken Griffey Jr. from third but Eric Byrnes, running from second, clearly got a stop sign from third-base coach Mike Brumley. Magglio Ordonez made a strong throw from right field and, with Byrnes holding at third, first baseman Miguel Cabrera cut it off. Kotchman, however, was on his way to second base and became an easy rundown victim. Eventually, Byrnes sprinted toward the plate and was thrown out in a big collision with catcher Alex Avila.

“I thought there was going to be a play at the plate, but I got caught,” Kotchman said.

Wakamatsu: “We made some baserunning mistakes and we’re going to address those.”

And in the eighth, after Ichiro Suzuki had reached first with nobody out and Figgins playing the role of a No. 2 hitter to perfection (and the M’s trailing by two), you can guess what happened if you’re familiar with Ichiro’s tentativeness to steal in obvious situations. Figgins got ahead 2-1 and then 3-1 and, with right-hander Ryan Perry throwing offspeed pitches with a high leg kick, Ichiro had two nice chances to run. Instead, he stayed put until the count was 3-2 and running was a no-brainer.

Perry threw over to first a couple of times, then delivered a pitch that Figgins could drive. He did, a hard liner to Ordonez in right field. Problem was, Ichiro was running with that pitch and was doubled off first base.

No comment from Wak on that one.

Ichiro is on his own to steal and chose not to. The Mariners could have given him a steal sign, but when a guy’s heart isn’t into it, chances are he won’t get the jump required to make it work. If the club was disappointed with anything about that sequence, it’s that Ichiro had bolted all the way to second base before turning back to first when Ordonez caught the line drive. The preferred play, I was told, is for the runner to run with with the pitch with just enough caution that he can get back to first if it’s caught.

So the Mariners were burned on the bases today. Tomorrow, against the Orioles, they may win a game when Ichiro, Figgins and crew harrass the defense into mistakes with their aggressive approach on the bases.

That’s what makes this team fun to watch. And, some days, to second-guess.