May 13, 2009 (The Seattle Times delivered by Newstex ) --
Those of you who listened to KJR AM 950 and my Talkin' Baseball segment with Mitch Levy this morning know that I came down pretty hard on the team in general. Players, coaches and the GM. When a team loses seven of eight in a division this poor, mainly because the offense keeps scoring one run per night, the time for patience starts to run out. In fact, it's quite obvious the time to do something about it has arrived.
That wasn't the case a week ago. But now, the Mariners are below .500 and drifting the wrong way in the division. By month's end, the Angels will start to get healthy again and then look out. With a bunch of games coming up against the Angels these next few weeks, it's imperative for the M's to get their act together. Not on the pitching and defense front. There have been some minor hiccups there that have largely been dealt with.
No, we're talking about the offense. It's simply not major league caliber at the moment and that can't continue. For all the teeth gnashing about Carlos Silva, the hitting is a far bigger concern and has been for some time.
So, what to do about it?
The first thing is to make some moves with what you've got.
I'm told Ronny Cedeno is ready to play in a game and that's probably why manager Don Wakamatsu seemed to single out Yuniesky Betancourt (without mentioning him by name) last night. Thing is, Betancourt last night was no different than he'd been all week. His defense is heading south and his hitting has become predictably bad. When you can sit in the pressbox and predict exactly when he's going to take a pitch (usually the first one because I'm sure the team has drilled it into his head by now that he has to see at least one offering) and then swing at something (usually the second pitch) then the opposing pitcher's job becomes far too easy.
Thing is, the Mariners were not able to do anything about it up until now. And that's entirely their fault.
Read more...Newstex ID: 34899074
