Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
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Mariners Win Game in Ninth, Red Sox Continue NY Pitching Woes


The Mariners looked like they were going down to another lifeless defeat at the hands of a tailender when their offense woke up and scored three times in the ninth inning to beat the Orioles 3-2.

Ichiro continued his slide last night, in fact, some of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays I talked with yesterday observed that the Mariners catalyst is swinging a very slow bat these days and chasing pitches all over the strike zone.

Same thing happened with Ichiro last season as he ran out of gas when the Seattle ballclub most needed his bat. Bret Boone has the weight of this team on his back and until someone else stands up and hits with authority I think you are going to see more games like last night’s for Seattle the rest of the way home.

John Olerud ripped a potential double play ball at Oriole secondbaseman Brian Roberts with one out in the ninth last night, but Roberts couldn’t stop the ball and two runs scored on the hard smash winning the game.

You could hear the sigh of relief from the Seattle ball club all the way to Oakland.

Today the Mariners send out Gil Meche who has been one good, one bad all month against the Orioles best pitcher Damian Moss. Moss walks so many batters that Seattle may put some runs on the board today, but who knows what Meche will give his team.

The Red Sox showed once again two things:

One, they can pound the ball at home, and two, the Yankees pitching, a problem all season, is still a problem the Bombers will have to deal with in September and October.

Today, things should look different in Fenway with Pedro Martinez facing lefty Andy Pettitte.

Click below for more!The A’s continue to roll through weaker teams with ease, a sure sign that the team is on their way into the playoffs.

I know many awards are based purely on numbers, but if you watch Tim Hudson pitch day after day, you realize that only Pedro Martinez can dominate a game in this league like the A’s righty, who is now 14-4 on the year.

Esteban Loiaza may be an MVP to his team (White Sox), but Hudson is the best in the league right now until further notice.

Minnesota came back on the Texas bullpen and pulled out a nice game last night. Today their most reliable starter Johann Santana goes against Mickey Callaway, formerly of the Angels.

More importantly, the Twins bullpen threw six shut out innings after Joe Mays was knocked silly by the Rangers. Matt LeCroy, former Clemson star, is also hitting quite well in the DH spot for the Twins. Shannon Stewart had two hits last night also.

One last thought on the Twins, Carlos Pulido who started his career with the Yankees in the eighties somehow has resurfaced in the majors with Minnesota and is a useable lefty out of the pen. Pulido had been hiding in the Mexican League until Minnesota found him. It seems he last pitched in the majors in the early 90’s.

KC turns to Brett Voyles today aginst the Angels and Scott Shields. At some point Allan Baird, KC GM has to go out and find one more starter for his team. Baird is GM of the year for the work he has done so far adding to this team on the fly during the summer.

For some reason the White Sox melt at the sight of the Tigers. Jon Garland better have his stuff today or Mike Maroth may keep that 100th loss of the season at bay for one more day until Loiaza comes calling tomorrow.

The Giants psyche is taking a big hit with all the offensive troubles the team has. Barry Bonds is expected back today, but all the mixing and matching Felipe Alou does really comes home to roost on the road where the Giants are a different team.

Arizona needs wins right now, the division is a distant blur, but the wild card is there for someone’s taking and these guys would look better if they took this series from SF.

Jerome Williams has given up too many homers lately and he matches up with the “new” Randy Johnson in an interesting game.

Montreal let one get away last night as the Marlins rallied to beat them in the ninth inning. With Livan Hernadez pitching today in Miami, where he starred in 1997, this one will be in the Montreal win column when the day is done even with former Expo, Carl Pavano on the hill for the Fish. The Marlins stopped hitting about two weeks ago and it is now a big problem.

Can Shawn Estes keep his team in the game long enough to beat the Brewers who are due for a let down? Brewer starter Matt Kinney isn’t half bad so this one will come down to the Cubs bullpen which isn’t good news for Dusty Baker.

Houston misses injured Jeff Kent big time. More importantly the rotation is slowing down and not giving the bullpen a chance last in the game. San Diego has to feel better with Brian Giles in the lineup so let’s see what gives today as Pat Jarvis who has just gotten creamed lately goes against the Astros.

St. Louis has the best lineup in the division no doubt about it. St. louis has bullpen pitching just south of the Cubs, so that tells you the problem Tony La Russa, the bullpen master, faces every game.

Brett Tomko versus Aaron Harang, better get Garrett Stephenson ready in the Cardinal pen.

How about Edgar Renteria, two more hits last night and hitting .335.

Ted Lilly better be careful as the Devil Rays like to push the envelpoe and will run at will against Lilly if they have the chance.

The A’s continue to play championship defense which is beautiful to watch.

If Erubiel Durazo doesn’t come around soon teams will stop pitching to Miguel Tejada who is playing every night like the MVP he is.

The A’s have eight more games against Tampa Bay and Baltimore. It would be a good idea to have a four game lead over Seattle by the end of those games, since division play will be more intense and it starts on Sept 8th against Anaheim.

This thing ain’t over until it’s over, but one more good week and one more bad week for Seattle and I think it will be sayanora for the Mariners.

By the way, the A’s are only two games behind NY for the best record in the league.

Could be important if NY and Oakland meet somewhere down the road.

Pedro versus Pettitte in Fenway, now that’s baseball.

0 comments

1 Anonymous { 08.30.03 at 1:20 pm }

Totally agree with you about Hudson. If he wins 4 of his last 5 starts and does not blow up in any, I think he may get that Cy Young. And if Louiza (who is his only legitimate competition) blows up like he did against the Rangers in any remaining start, then it should belong to Hudson regardless. Hudson is in such a zone right now out there. You could see how angry he was about giving up 2 runs–and that intensity is rubbing off on the other pitchers. Zito was talking to himself after giving up the late run on Weds. night.

And T Long has returned to his home in left and is soo happy. Great throw to 3rd. There is a lot of confidence out on the field right now. Defensive gems every game. Fun to watch.

2 Anonymous { 08.30.03 at 1:53 pm }

Marty

Big start for Lilly today IMO. If he dominates Tampa Bay like he should, then maybe the A’s feel good enough about him to pass on acquiring another starter.
I still would like to see a Hudson, Zito, Hentgen 3 man rotation for the playoffs.

I think our bullpen is shaping up to be 2002 Anaheim Angel-like for the postseason. Chad Harville’s pitching reminds so much of Brendan Donnelly’s right now. They were both late bloomers too, so there’s a certain maturity from the school of hard knocks that they can draw from.
There is a rumor floating that the A’s want to pick up Jesse Orosco and that would be good but it would mean some like Halama and Bowie would probably not make the playoff roster. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Speaking of playoff rosters. Who does not go if Dye comes back strong and makes the playoffs?
Byrne’s speed makes him an asset in tight contests. McMillon has been the best of the bench players at pinchhitting, Menechino is your only backup middle infielder. Could be quite a quandry as all are deserving to be rewarded for their contributions during the season. My guess its McMillon that goes as Guillan may move to centerfield upon Dye’s return relegating Singleton to a bench role.

Reno Bill

3 marty { 08.30.03 at 2:35 pm }

Excellent question about the playoff roster. They may want to go with one less pitcher and have a full bench. The front office likes McMillon a whole lot, so I think they will do everything they can to keep him on the roster. Let’s see what shakes out before midnight tomorrow. Many teams are optioning players to the minors this weeeknd (see the Cards) to set the correct number of pitchers and position players for the post season, perhaps the A’s will do that with a pitcher.
The defense has been fabulous bailing out some rough pitches thrown by the bullpen. The A’s need some innings tonight. Pedro not himself today, gone after four and poor velocity.
Marty

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