Helping Humber Achieve Perfection

Phil Humber threw his perfect game on Saturday, using just 96 pitches. The Mariner hitters could have avoided being on the receiving end of this perfecto had they worked counts, forced Humber deep into at bats, and driven his pitch count up.

But, instead, the Mariners did little to require Humber to work. Here are Humber’s pitch counts by inning, and one can quickly see that Mariner hitters played right into his longevity during the middle innings:

1. 14

2. 14

3. 11

4. 8

5. 6

6. 6

7. 12

8. 11

9. 16

The second time through the order, Humber did not even break a sweat when he needed just 20 pitches to work those three innings.

In the fourth, Figgins flew out on the first pitch. On the third pitch of his at bat, Ackley lined out sharply to deep right field. And, on his fourth pitch, Ichiro struck out.

In the fifth, Smoak popped out on the first pitch. Seager flew out on the third pitch. Then, Montero flew out on the second pitch.

The sixth trended similarly. On the second pitch, Saunders flew out. Then, Olivo popped out on his third pitch. Finally, Kawasaki attempted to bunt for a base hit on the first pitch of his at bat.

As occurred on Saturday with Humber, when a pitcher finds himself in a rhythm, opposing hitters should have taken pitches to force the pitcher to work during each at-bat—especially when a pitcher quickly gets his first two outs. That third hitter must take pitches, foul pitches off, and otherwise do whatever he can to give his own pitcher the opportunity to take a breath on the bench in the dugout.

Not until the ninth inning did Mariners hitters work a three-ball count. But, even more amazingly, from the fourth through sixth innings, the Mariners did not even work a two-ball count. It’s no wonder Phil Humber only needed 96 pitches to retire 27 Mariner hitters.

A Possible Catching Platoon?

This offseason, the Mariners traded Josh Lueke to the Tampa Bay Rays for catcher John Jaso. He, Miguel Olivo, and Jesus Montero make up the current Mariner catching corps. But, through the first 11 games this season, Jaso had only appeared once, as a designated hitter, and he notched a pair of hits, including a triple and the go-ahead single to beat Joe Nathan and the Rangers last week.

But, outside of that one game, Jaso has spent most of his Mariner career on the bench. Meanwhile, Miguel Olivo has started games at both catcher and designated hitter. But, Olivo has not exactly hit the cover off the baseball. He is 4-36, for a .111 AVG and an OPS of just .274.

Jaso and Olivo had remarkably similar seasons last year. In 2011, both Jaso and Olivo batted just .224. Jaso had a slightly better OPS than Olivo, Jaso’s .651 to Olivo’s .641.

And, neither Jaso nor Olivo will be poised to earn the next AL Gold Glove award. But, between the two of them, they could be a decent platoon hitter, as Olivo bats right handed and Jaso left handed. Over his career, Olivo has hit left handed pitching much better than he has hit right handed pitching (.228 vs. righties; .275 vs. lefties). And, on the other hand, Jaso has hit righties far better than he has hit lefties (.256 vs. righties; .188 vs. lefties).

Given their career splits, perhaps Eric Wedge should consider platooning Jaso and Olivo. Olivo could hit against left-handed pitching, while Jaso could bat versus righties. Jaso is superior in finding ways to reach base, with a career OBP of .341 (vs. Olivo’s .277), while Olivo has the edge in career SLG at .418 (vs. Jaso’s .369).

If Miguel Olivo’s bat continues to falter, as it has his first few games of 2012, Eric Wedge will be forced to make a change, especially as the ballclub currently carries three catchers. One option would be to slide Jesus Montero into a more regular role behind the plate. Another option would be to shift Olivo and Jaso into a platoon. At this point, both seem like upgrades to the current setup.

New Season, Same Story?

Were the two weekend games in Oakland a mirage? It seems like so long ago, now, that the Mariners outslugged the Athletics with timely hitting and guys running all over the base paths. But, now the Rangers shut out the Mariners in Texas? In a 1-0 game? This cannot happen. This is the new 2012 Mariners offense, with the new and improved Chone Figgins, and a mature-looking Kyle Seager and Dustin Ackley.

The past two years, opposing teams have had a field day shutting out the Mariners. In 2010, opposing pitchers shut out the Mariners 15 times. Two of those games were 1-0 shutouts. Not to be outdone, though, opposing pitchers shut out the Mariners 16 times last season. In three of those shutouts, Mariner pitchers allowed just one run.

But, the past two seasons, the Mariners waited until at least game 15 in 2010 and game 8 in 2011 to be shutout. This year, the Mariners offense failed to score by the sixth game. Improvement?

Tonight’s shutout should come as no surprise when one considers Neftali Feliz’s track record against the Mariners. Before allowing a two-out single to Justin Smoak in the top of the fourth inning, Feliz held the Mariners hitless in their first 58 at bats. Feliz allowed just four hits to the Mariners in his seven innings of work. This is comforting, considering the Mariners will face the Rangers another 17 times this season.

Mariner fans cannot stomach the idea of another season being shut out sixteen times. But, nobody really expects the offense to be as anemic as it has been in past years. Right?

An Old Friend Takes on his Former Team

In today’s Cactus League action, the Mariners took on an old friend, Jamie Moyer. Moyer pitched five innings—allowing just one earned run (four runs total), while striking out five. King Felix cruised through four innings of shutout baseball, and the Mariners coasted to a 7-2 victory. Today’s matchup showed two world’s colliding—the pitcher currently holding many Mariner pitching records, versus the pitcher who, by the time he takes off his Mariner uniform, will hopefully takeover many of those same records.

It’s relatively rare that Jamie Moyer takes on the Mariners. In fact, one has to go back to May 21, 1996, to find the last time Jamie took on the Mariners in a regular season game. On that warm and wet evening at Fenway Park, the Red Sox’s Jamie Moyer squared off against Mariner right-hander Chris Bosio. Times were sure different then.

The Mariners trotted out a real potent offense, with an order featuring 2-3-4-5 of Alex Rodriguez; Ken Griffey, Jr.; Edgar Martinez; and, Jay Buhner. 43 games into that season, each of these guys had an OPS over .930. The lowest batting average in the starting lineup was the nine-hole hitter, Russ Davis, who was batting .244 with a .708 OPS. By contrast, the Mariner starting lineup in the 43rd game last season featured a 2-3-4-5 of Figgins, Smoak, Cust, Kennedy. None of those players had an OPS over .884. The Red Sox 3-4-5 included Mo Vaughn, Jose Canseco, and Reggie Jefferson—each of whom carried an OPS over 1.043.

Mariner reliever and Yakima native, Bob Wells, earned the victory in long relief. He threw 4.1 innings, allowing just one run. Moyer ultimately lasted just three innings, surrendering four runs on eight hits. But reliever Vaughn Eshelman picked up the loss after allowing six earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning (A-Rod RBI 1B; 3-run HR to Griffey; 2-run HR to Buhner).

So, yes, at age 49 today, Jamie Moyer pitched better than the last time he faced the Mariners sixteen years ago.