The Mariners. WTF?
Well, that was spectacular. From the heady days of August 25th, when the M's were three up in the wild card and only one back in the division, had won two straight in Texas, when we were all excited about Blue-za-palooza or whatever the fuck it was...to now, after 11 losses in 12 games, when we're all pretty much in wait 'till next year mode.
You've all seen the boat sink, here are the numbers.
August 25th-September 5th
Team pitching:
100 2/3 IP, 138 H, 20 HR (!), 5.81 ERA. Opp BA .334, Opp SLG .550
Team batting:
400 AB, 41 R, 6 HR, 22 BB, 70 K, OBP .309. 3.4 runs per game.
For a little perspective, no team's had an ERA that bad since the 109-loss, 1996 Detroit Tigers, and no team's averaged so few runs per game since the 107-loss, 1988 Baltimore Orioles.
So, in the midst of a pennant race, the M's reverted to being an epochally bad hitting and pitching team. Nice!
Reporters asked John McLaren what has to change after yesterday's game.
"We'll see what we're made out of, how about that? We'll see who steps to the plate."
Who has to step up?
"We'll start with the manager and work our way through the whole team."
The M's clamber up onto the shores of Detroit tomorrow, where they'll throw Miguel Batista against Justin Verlander. The Yankees, meanwhile, fly to the friendly town of Kansas City, where Gil Meche stands between them and reducing their magic number to 20.
