Hanging with the best | Road Reflections

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2-1 vs. Dodgers
1-2 vs. Yankees
2-1 vs. Red Sox


ROAD RHYTHM

~ Felix being Felix (not quite as strong in BOS as he was in LA) but definitely coming into his "ace-hood"
~ Super kudos to the bottom of the order who started to take off with the salvage game in Yankee Stadium and continued rolling on into Fenway (in 5 games the 5-9 hitters were 35 of 52 in hits, 16 of 27 in RBI and 17 of 27 in runs scored)
~ the D.A. added two more saves to his total
~ JR hit his 620th career homer in LA and his 621st in the new Yankee Stadium
~ Russell hit a MOON shot in new YS
~ Red Sox fan catches a foul ball in his cap (preventing Youks from catching it) and the inning extends and the M's get three on a double and a homer
~ Comin' from behind is always fun, but doing it in Fenway is sweet! (and on the 4th of July, no less!)



ROAD RUBBISH

~ Jason continued his road woes in LA
~ Sean struggles mightily for the first time all season (in NY and BOS)
~ Some critical errors spoil comeback in NY and BOS
~ Bullpen implosion in Fenway prevents M's from sweeping the Sox
~ Adrian decides he can no longer play through the pain - the Dodger series is his last prior to surgery

Closer than it seemed | Road Reflections

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4-5 in Baltimore, Colorado, San Diego
oh so close to at least 6-3 ;-(


ROAD RUBBISH

Very bad things tend to happen when walk after walk is issued and when pitchers throw toward something other than home plate. Unfortunately, the M's proved this time and again in the middle of their road trip in Colorado. While the third game was a bit of a blow-out (Jason was due for a bad game) the first two could have been pretty easily won if the pitchers had not committed the a fore mentioned sins. And, the other two losses (one to the O's and one to the Pads) were each by one run.



ROAD RHYTHM

The trip started and ended well at least, with the M's taking 2 of 3 from the O's and the Pads. With the exception of Brandon (who's still finding his way) the pitching in Baltimore and SanDiego was solid even in the losses and quite stellar in wins ~ especially Felix's 2-hit complete game shutout of the Padres! The bats seem a tad bit more patient (20 walks) and powerful (21 XBH) in the 9 games.

Win some, lose some | Road Reflections

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Oaktown and Disneyland (3-3)

They came OH SO close to 4-2


Two total heart-breakers...

The second game in Oakland that would have sealed the SERIES win...
Jarrod FINALLY get a tad bit of run support (3-0) and Miggy and Mark blow it in the 7th giving up four runs and that's all they would need.

The third game in Anaheim that would have meant SWEEP...
The offense FINALLY scores early and often and adds on (8-1 after top 6th) with enough to overcome the struggles that would eventually find Garrett. But, the D.A. (who has been awesome since assuming the closer's role) blows it in epic fashion in the ninth, yielding two hits, four walks and three runs (M's lose 8-9)

Here's hoping it is true what they say ...

"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

Bright Sights...

• Averaged 5.75 runs per game through the last four
• Adrian starting to come 'round ~ 4-multi-hit games
• Ichiro not only extended his hitting streak to 24 games - he collected 15 hits on the trip (including a homer and 3 doubles)
• Felix and Jason and Erik - oh Yeah!
• Jose late inning magic!

Bleak peeks...

• Jaku just never seems to have it vs. the A's ... go figure - he beats the Halos and the BoSox
• Same old, same old for Jarrod the past few years ... nearly non existent run support
• The bullpen has been the strength ... it was just a matter of time and over-use that weakened it

Early Road Warriors | Road Reflections

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Minny & Oaktown (5-2)

OK, it's early.
But it is nice to remember how if feels to have a winning road trip :-)

• 4 game split w/Minny ~ outscored the Twins 18-13
• 3 game sweep in OakTown ~ outscored the A's 14-9
• and one shut-out in each series
  

Winning is better than losing, right?
So, I will enjoy it while it lasts. Funny thing is, I see no reason why it can't last. Provided everyone stays relatively healthy ~ it's not too hard to envision a fun summer of baseball....

• the defensive improvement was nearly a given ~ so far, it has not disappointed
• we were told the offense would lean toward the fundamentals and be aggressive ~ CHECK ~ (plus, the M's lead the league in BA w/RISP .381, something they struggled mightly w/last season)
• some were a bit (OK, aLOT) unsure about the bullpen. 't was worry for naught ~ the M's lead the AL in saves (4) and are 2nd in both ERA (2.45) and BAA (.154). Brandon, as mentioned previously, is still building up his strength, but Roy, Shawn, David, Mark, Miggy and Chris are getting it done!
• as for the starters ~ it has been my contention all along that if the starters were solid, the M's could contend. Erik took a HUGE step today toward that end. We KNOW Felix is cabable, Wash had one awesome start to build upon, so that leaves Carlos and RRS ~ remains to be seen if they will be able to step up (or at least give enough innings with a strong defense behind them and an offense that can keep pace)

Fun summer, indeed!