The Seattle Mariners are consistently inconsistent. They’ve seen major losing skids like the eight game one earlier this year. They’ve also had streaks of solid baseball, bandied about as one of the hottest teams in the year. At the moment of this writing, from a hotel lobby in downtown Atlanta, the Mariners are in the midst of a five game winning streak after taking two on the road in Atlanta against the Braves, one of the more solid teams in the National League. They have an off-day on Friday before heading down to Tampa to face the struggling Rays. Here are some things I learned after a two day road trip in Atlanta.
Careful Lloyd, Your Pirate Is Showing
Particularly in the first game of this to game stretch, Lloyd McClendon, Mariners manager, showcased the kind of National League experience one might expect of a former manager in the lead. With what appeared, on the surface, to be a blown start by Erasmo Ramirez (big surprise!), Lloyd put in a pinch hitter in the 4th, after just nine outs (but five runs) surrendered by the flailing starter. That pinch hitter: Stefen Romero, who blasted a clutch home run. This was just one of several moves, including double switches (at one point, reliever Dominic Leone was slated to bat in the one hole) which helped turn a seemingly helpless deficit into a stolen win on the road.
Hisashi Iwakuma Continues to Recover
I drool over the opportunity for the Mariners rotation to become whole and healthy again (with the continuing slow recovery of starters Taijuan Walker and James Paxton, who knows when that will be). A rotation with the likes of Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Roenis Elias bolstered by a healthy Walker and Paxton could be one of the best in the league with a lot of youth to develop in the future. Up until Wednesday’s matinee, Kuma was still on the road to recovery but he looked decent but not the Hisashi of last year. That changed as he threw a dominant seven innings of shutout ball against the Braves.
Fernando Rodney Being Fernando Rodney
I know that he technically leads the league in saves but Fernando Rodney is one hell of a player to watch. Normally, his outings are just plain nervewracking, even when he pulls out the save (which is the vast majority of the time). As a longtime M’s fan, I tend to think of Fernando as the second coming of Jose Mesa. Even when he is steady (the closer retired all six men he faced in Atlanta), there is always some kind of show. On Tuesday, there was a delay before the bottom of the ninth. The reason? Fernando Rodney was wearing the wrong jersey. Seriously.
Fun Travel Note: Best Organist in Baseball
My brother, father and I travel on a road trip with the Mariners every year for nearly the past two decades. We come away with different impressions from each stadium and trip. Mine from Atlanta this year?
The Braves have the best organist in baseball (Twitter handle @bravesorganist). I’m completely serious. And it’s not just talent. To be honest, I am tone-deaf and have absolutely no sense of rhythm so I can’t shed too much light on talent. But I can say that Matthew Kaminski puts as much thought into the songs he plays during opponents at bats than any I’ve seen. And no, they aren’t deprecating to opponents. Some gems from the series:
– “In Bloom”, Nirvana for Willie Bloomquist
– “Puff the Magic Dragon”, Peter, Paul and Mary for Justin Smoak
– “Mrs. Robinson”, Simon and Garfunkel for Robinson Cano
– “Dust in the Wind,” Kansas for Dustin Ackley
– And my next level thinking award: “Down on the Corner,” Credence Clearwater Revival, also for Willie Bloomquist. From CCR’s album Willy and the Poor Boys. Pure and simple win.
So the Mariners head on to Tampa for a four game wrap-around series. Instead of flying on the team jet, we’ll be making the drive tomorrow, taking full use of the scheduled travel day.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
