Regression Has Hit the Mariners Hard

Do you remember a few days ago, when everyone around baseball, and on ESPN, was talking about how great the Mariners pitching staff was? Well, those days may be over.

The Mariners gave up 10+ runs for the third game in a row today, and 9+ for the fourth game in a row, in an 11-4 loss to the Blue Jays. The other three times, we could make excuses. We could say it was because we weren’t putting forward good starting pitchers, or we could say Bedard was still hurt. Today was different though, today was Felix day.

Even Felix Hernandez, who wasn’t really due for any regression, couldn’t stop the downward spiral the Mariners are in right now. The King just wasn’t sharp tonight, he didn’t choose hit pitches well, and he had a lot of bad luck. The M’s had a 4-3 lead heading into the sixth, and after getting two quick outs, proceeded to allow four runs on five hits and a walk. At that point, Felix was pulled from the game, and Sean White was brought in.

White, who was due for regression, got out of the sixth, but then gave up four runs (three earned), in 2 1/3 innings pitched. David Aardsma, who hadn’t pitched in four days, came in and pitched a scoreless ninth – not that it mattered.

So, is four straight blowout losses with the deadline four days away enough? Is it enough to push Jack Zduriencik to sell? I hope so. As of right now, Jarrod Washburn is still on this team, and as of now, he is pitching tomorrow – for the Mariners.

The Angels lost again today – blew a two run lead in the ninth – and there has been no new information available on the Mariners trade talks with the Brewers. What that means is, at this moment, no one really know what’s going to happen. No one except for our general manager. It can be fun to speculate, but things are just too foggy right now to get a clear picture. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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