Maybe I wrote too soon

A week ago I marveled that the Mariners were looking pretty sharp and had a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL West at the end of May. Apparently this recognition from the West Seattle Weisenheimer was more than the club could bear. They've gone 2-5 since, are on a four-game losing skid after today's 3-1 loss to Kansas City, and will probably wind up a half game out, in second, if Oakland's 5-0 lead over Texas holds up.

Weisenheimer actually attended Tuesday afternoon's home game against the Rangers. It was the first time I've paid for a ticket in several years. I just couldn't bear giving money to the inept Bavasi regime; they'd just go blow it on Carlos Silva or something. But I'm on staycation this week and it seemed the best thing I could do; one can only have so many naps. 

Anyway, Tuesday's game underscored the fact that this M's team is a far cry from the Junior-Edgar-Bone-PayRod offensive juggernauts of the glory days. Through nine innings Tuesday the M's had ONE hit against the legendary Vicente Padilla, who came into the game with a robust ERA of 7.42. The M's scratched out a run without a hit in the sixth and were tied 1-1 before Denny Stark imploded in the tenth. It was an entertaining game to watch, as Erik Bedard held the Rangers in check save for one loooong homer.

Other than that the pitching wasn't so great this week, either, as Seattle was outscored 42-27 in the last seven games. Felix Hernandez had his first shaky outing of the year, and Silva has been just plain horrible.

Tuesday's game had Sweetie, the official scorer, pondering a change to the "dandy" rules. (A dandy is a game in which fewer than five runs scored, neither team with more than three, and in which no errors are committed.) A Texas error eliminated the 1-1 game from consideration. Late in the game the Mariners made a great play to snuff out a run at the plate. Sweetie, perhaps hoping for a dandy some time, suggested that a tremendous defensive play could negate an error and move a game back into the dandy column. I'm not sure that one will get out of committee, however.