Mariners' Loss To Twins A Secondary Concern

(Bill Smith is the general manager of the Twins)

Smith: Look, Jack, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, I really do.
Smith: I get that you're always thinking about the next move to make.
Zduriencik: Come on, it's just a couple hours.
Smith: I know it's just a couple hours, but it's the end of a long season, and -
Smith: I mean, what can we even do right now? Nothing can get done until November anyway.
Zduriencik: I swear, it won't take long, and you'll like what you see.
Smith: It's just not what I want to think about right now, you know?
Smith: I need a break. You understand. It's draining. We'll re-visit in a month.
Zduriencik: You need to see this. You need to see this guy.
Smith: Jack...
Zduriencik: One game. One pitcher.
Smith: ...Jack...
Zduriencik: Just watch this one pitcher and tell me what you think. Then that's it. That's all.
Smith: Fine. All right. I'll do it, because you begged.
Zduriencik: I didn't beg.
Smith: You be-
Smith: Why do you always have to make things so difficult?
Zduriencik: I don't always make things difficult.
Smith: Stop that!

Beavan: /warms up
Beavan: /throws scoreless 1st, 2 strikeouts
Smith: This is a waste of my time, Jack.
Zduriencik: He isn't usually like that, keep watching.
Beavan: /throws scoreless 2nd, 2 strikeouts
Smith: Why this guy? This isn't doing it for me. No interest.
Zduriencik: Just be patient. Trust me here.
Beavan: /3rd inning, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks
Smith: Hmm.
Beavan: /4th inning, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks
Smith: All right, yeah.
Beavan: /5th inning, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks
Smith: Dear god!
Beavan: /6th inning, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks
Smith: Dear god, he's incredible!
Beavan: /7th inning, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks
Smith: This pitcher of yours is fantastic!
Zduriencik: So what do you think?
Smith: Yes!
Zduriencik: You think yes?
Smith: Why didn't you tell me! He's perfect!
Zdurienck: You like?
Smith: I love!
Zduriencik: I thought you might.
Smith: We must talk in November, because I need to have him! I'll give you gold!
Zduriencik:
Smith: ...I don't have players.
Zduriencik:
Smith:
Zduriencik: You have gold?

Once again, this recap is going up very late. I wouldn't even say it's a recap. It's more of a blog post that's kind of related to this afternoon's baseball game. And I only have a few bullet holes because I was paying half attention. So uh...so let's continue!

• Everybody always talks about first wins. First hits. First home runs. First successes. There's so much attention paid to a player's first bit of success in the Major Leagues, because every player, no matter who he is, has a story to tell, and that first is such a heartwarming moment. Every single player in the Major Leagues has put in a ton of work to overcome a series of challenging obstacles, and so that first anything is a moment the player will never forget.
  
  Fewer people talk about the first failures. Not long ago, Steve Delabar made his improbable Major League debut. Soon thereafter, he picked up his first Major League win. Today, he got tagged with his first Major League loss. He got a break when Miguel Olivo threw out a baserunner, but still, a walk and a double later, Delabar allowed the winning run, and the Twins won for the first time since before you read a single Moneyball movie review.
  
  Success? It's awesome to see players have their first success. It's been awesome to watch Steve Delabar have success. But failure? Now you're a Mariner, Steve. Now you fit in.
  
  
• Said Delabar after the game:
  

  
  "Those walks always come around and get you," Delabar said. "I've got to do a better job next time making him earn his way on."
  
  

  I know that Delabar was just pulling from the big book of cliches, but in the very same inning that a walk came around to score, an earlier walk was erased from the basepaths. Fifty percent of the time, those walks come around and get you, in Steve Delabar's experience, today.
  
  
• Speaking of that erased baserunner:
  
  
  If that looks weird to you, it's because it is, and Luis Rodriguez's sliding catch and tag might have cost him the rest of the season since he got his hand spiked by the runner and had to come out. The best individual frame:
  
  
  It looks like the baserunner is just going to turn around and go back.
  
  
• Blake Beavan threw 95 pitches, of which 71% went for strikes. You don't want to read too much into any individual start, especially an individual start against the current version of the Minnesota Twins, but Beavan's now riding a three-start stretch over which he's thrown 71% strikes, with a decent number of missed bats. He had nine today, nine the last time out, and nine the time before that. Nine missed bats in a start isn't spectacular, but it's spectacular for Blake Beavan, and it's good to see him finishing strong. Whether or not this stretch is in any way meaningful is a subject for another day, a day that isn't this one.
  
  
• Michael Saunders finally picked up his first hit since returning from Tacoma. This was his hit:
  
  
  It was a groundball. It didn't even sneak through the infield, or at least the infielders. It was just slow enough, and placed well enough, for him to beat out the throw to the bag. Yesterday, he hits a drive to the wall that gets caught. Today, he reaches base on this pile of crap. I feel good about neither. One line drive single! It's all that I ask!