4/11/2012 Game ‘Cap

I will be perfectly honest. I turned this game off after Elvis Andrus smacked a his little solo shot. I had conceded the loss, that is until I received a text from my buddy. “How do you like that?” he said “I stopped watching what happened?” I replied. “Dude, turn the game back on!”. I rushed back to my computer screen just in time to watch John Jaso win my fluttering little heart over. One of the most beautiful jam shots up the middle I have ever seen. League then slammed the door in the ninth and what looked like hopelessness turned out to be an outstanding comeback win. Baseball can be such an emotional roller coaster.

The Mariners had gone 23.1 scoreless innings before finally pushing across a run in the 8th. The Mariner record is 30 innings, and with the way things were playing out, I think most of us believed the Mariners might eclipse that mark. Thankfully Ackley decided he had enough of this, bringing home John Jaso.

John Jaso.

There is no one else I was pulling for to have a huge game today that Jaso. Because in my mind if Jaso plays well, Olivo plays less. My mind doesn’t mesh well with reality. But regardless, Jaso delivered, coming up with a huge triple and of course the game winning RBI. Twitter was going nuts. Mariners fans want more John Jaso and after tonight’s performance, he at least deserves another start. Best case scenario is that we get to see what Jaso can offer us behind the plate sometime here soon. In all likelihood however, Olivo will once again be behind the plate tomorrow.  Disregard as Shannon Drayer checks in with this gem. Wedge would not discuss the catching situation for tomorrow, but he said that both Wells and Liddi will get starts tomorrow. It’s certainly progress. Wedge didn’t commit to Olivo, which is a step in the right direction. Seager and Saunders could get the day off tomorrow, and the potential remains for Jaso to catch his first Mariner game as well.

Today’s start for Millwood was a mixed bag. Unable to located the first few innings, Millwood issued several walks and it looked as if the game might get out of hand. There was even a “scare” that Iwakuma might beat Jaso onto the field. However, Millwood calmed down completely and shut the Rangers down for the rest of his outing, retiring 16 of the last 19 batters. Delabar replaced Millwood, and things fell apart. This is where I tuned out, and as it turns out that is when things got really interesting. Luetge was outstanding as he prevented any further damage, which contributed to the Mariners eventual comeback.  A troublesome note includes the rate at which the ‘pen has been giving up home runs; allowing 8 of them in just seven games.

The Mariners continue to find new and interesting ways to win, that don’t include traditional means of excitement such as getting into a slug fest against the Texas Rangers. But a win is a win is a win, and after the way things started out today, it’s really impossible to ask for a better outcome. Now that the Mariners have learned how to score runs again, how about the next step being dingers. I need some dingers in my life right now.