Mariners vs. Angels

Mariners Briefly

I saw the Catch by Ichiro the other day.

Congratulations, Shin-Soo Choo!
Getting a first MLB hit and a RBI.
(it came today in the Bot. ninth, two out bloop single to LF,
off Scot Shields. M's second run of 5-2 loss)

Apart from that two bright spots,
nothing much was memorable in the first two games
against the Halos.
Offence: re-run of 2004.
Beltre in mighty slump. With bases-loaded, terrible.
No solid contact from Olivo, quite puzzling.

Randy Winn gives his money's worth, though.
He is hitting above .300 now.
He doesn't put up any unrealistic numbers
but always shows up ready to play.
Pretty steady performance.

Anaheim, better than the rest of the Western Division team,
in one category: aggressive base running, among other things.
Scioscia forces the opponent to play perfect.
Also their bullpen, lights out.

Chone Figgins continues to dazzle me.
He's now a favourite player.
He's fun to watch.

About Betre,
If Jeter or A-Rod are hitting .230 four weeks into the season,
they are even scarier, because you know they are due to go on a tear any day.
If Adrian were to become a franchise player like them,
he would need to prove he's worth five years 64 million dollars
(I know he is trying the best he can, but he has had only one great season so far).
The argument that he's new to the league is, to a certain point, valid.
But when bases are loaded, the count 3-2, the pitcher has to throw a strike,
he should be able to put the ball in play, at least.
He was very good at that earlier in April.

Vladimir Guerrero never had the same problem of
learning new pitchers when he came to AL.

His philosophy: see the ball, hit it.

One never walks out of Dominican Republic.

He was quite fun to watch in Montreal.

Briefly, the BlueJays are a contender!
They shut out the O's today.