Smoke and Mirrors

So there are basically two camps after HoRam's (Horacio Ramirez) start last night. Those that are impressed, and those that say it was just a lucky game. Final line: 7.0 ip, 5h, 2r, 0bb, 1k, 1 hr, 83 pitches ( 56 strikes) Also, this was his first start coming off the DL after more then a month of inactivity. Now many will claim that he WAS facing the Orioles so this should be taken with a grain of salt. I don't care if this was the rookie team for the O's, 7 innings of 2 run ball with ZERO walks is impressive at any level. HoRam got ahead of hitters and threw a ton of strikes, something that has no correlation to the oppenents. Maybe Markakis - Millar isnt exactly Sheffeild - Ordonez, but he pounded the strike zone and the hr he gave up could have been an out if we didn't have Raul roaming LF. Of course there were a few things HoRam didn't do well, including putting hitters away. He got ahead 0-2 in many counts, and then would nibble at the plate and let the batter back in, but a few times it was the result of the ump calling a tight zone. And as said before it was his first major league start in more then a month so there was some rust to be expected. All in all I see him in the Jamie Moyer mold in that hes a soft tosser who relies on location rather then power. That scares some people, but as Morrow has shown, power doesn't neccasarily mean production. While I would like to see him face a better line-up, I think that if he can exhibit the control he did Monday evening then he should be a valuable lefty in our rotation. and if worse comes to worse, we start him in home games ala Ervin Santana. (Horam, like santana, has MUCH better home splits then away).
Whats being said about ol HoRam? Well USS Mariner says, and I quote, "I’m encouraged that we won a game where we started one of the worst pitchers in baseball." Ouch. The Seattle PI is a little more impressed to say the least. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times also liked HoRam's outing, and also pointed out an interesting statistic. Seattle has lost FOUR starters to the DL for a month or more (Felix, Weaver, HoRam,Baek), tied for most with the Yankees (although of the yankees four only hughes and pavano would actually be in the rotation, and thats being generous to Pavano). Teams like Cleveland (2), Boston (1), Detroit (1), Angels and Twins (0) that we are competing with have all fared much better. This stat brings up two points:

1. The M's have not only been resilient in dealing with those injuries and still being where we are, but it shows the depth we have at our supposed weakest position.
2. Rick Griffin and his training staff have been doing a wonderful job of not only rehabbing our guys, but getting them back to full strength and sometimes better then before injury (although I will never forgive Griffin for lying to my face about Gil Meche 5-6 years ago)

Now some will say what depth are you talking about in SP? Feierabend was SHELLED unmercifully in a couple starts, and Baek wasn't exactly lighting things up. The fact remains that we still have lost FOUR rotation guys to injury for a month or longer and still are only 2.5 out of the division and 1 back in the wild card. I wouldn't bet on that luck to hold up all season but it's gotten us to the all-star break, and with guys getting healthy and comfortable now we should be in pretty good shape. Add in the inevitable call-up of AJ and I think the M's look set for the stretch run, especially with Green and Sherrill (GS52) as the right-left set up guys for Putz.

*UPDATE*: Just in case something happens to HoRam or any other starter, the M's signed some insurance in the way of Tomo Ohka to a minor league deal. He started last night for AAA Tacoma. His Final Line:

IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

5.1 13 10 10 2 1 2 9.13

HoRam's start looks even more impressive now...

On another note, HAPPY FELIX DAY! I myself will be in attendance tonight to see him for the first time this season. Of everything we have talked about with the Mariners, from AJ to the bullpen and possible trades for starters, Felix is the key to the playoff run. He is the Staff Ace, and if he pitches like he is capable of down the stretch, the Mariners will be a VERY dangerous team, especially with the ability to pitch him 2-3 times in a 7 game series. Happy Huntin Felix.