Backward Baseball
Ask people in the know what makes a successful baseball team and they’ll tick off a few general items: a fireball-throwing ace “number one” starter (e.g., Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson), a slugging outfielder or corner infielder (e.g., Barry Bonds, Jim Thome), a lights-out closer (John Smoltz, Eric Gagne), maybe a pinch-hitting threat off the bench, and a scheming genius of a manager. Those are the basic core items of any quality team. Champions have those items, plus a few other goodies (great defense, a career year or two from unexpected players, etc.). History shows that blue pinstripes on the uniforms is a good indicator of World Series success as well. But that’s pretty much the size of it.
This year, my hometown Seattle Mariners are leading the American League West by turning the rule book upside down. Their ace pitcher is soft-tossing 40-year-old lefthander Jamie Moyer, whose fastball is lucky to crack 85 on the radar gun (Johnson and Clemens throw in the high 90s). They generate little power from their outfield and none from the corner infielders. Their closer, Kazuhiro Sasaki, has been on the shelf since May with injuries (a bizarre self-inflicted mishap, though sources disagree as to its actual cause and nature) and was inconsistent even when healthy. Their bench is, bar none, the worst in baseball, featuring a bunch of washed-up utility guys and raw rookies, all helpless at the plate. As to genius in the dugout, suffice it to say that local wags refer to the manager, Bob Melvin, as “box of rocks” (or “box” for short).
Nevertheless, they lead the A’s by 4 games, have left the World Champion Anaheim Angels and the Alex Rodriguez-powered Rangers in the dust, and are right up there with the Yankees and their $150M+ payroll at the top of the standings. Howe have they done it? So far, by dominating the marginal categories:
- Outfield defense: Instead of lumbering power hitters, the Mariners field three gazelles with bazookas for arms. Last night, RF Ichiro Suzuki threw out a runner trying to take an extra base, and the surprise is not that the laser-like throw nailed him by five feet, but why anyone would try to run on Ichiro in the first place. By limiting other teams’ ability to get extra-base hits, they keep their pitchers out of trouble and prevent the dreaded “big inning” that blows open games.
- Back-of-the-rotation pitchers: The 3-4-5 starters in the Mariners’ five-man starting pitching rotation have all been consistently excellent this year. Since they pitch as often as the ace, and usually face lesser competition in their starts, success here can win a lot of games. I saw a statistic that favorably compared Seattle’s 3-4-5 pitchers with the highly-touted “big 3” starters that are the heart of the Oakland A’s staff.
- Middle relief. While there’s a hole at the top of the bullpen, the Mariners may have the best middle relief corps in baseball history this year. Two hard-throwing rookies, Juleo Mateo and Raphael Soriano, have proven nearly unhittable. Opposing players do not want to see these guys come into the game, as they will stop a 5th or 6th inning rally cold, usually with a strikeout. Journeyman reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa, now filling in as the closer, has not been scored on in 25 appearances, and if he continues this performance, will finish the season with an earned run average (ERA) well under 1.00, which would be historic. Middle relief is consistently under-rated, with money and attention going to the big starters and closers. The Mariners’ success in this area – this year in particularly, and over the past several years as well – is starting to change some minds.
- Power from unlikely sources. The Mariners’ offense is powered by second baseman Brett Boone and designated hitter Edgar Martinez. Second base is historically the most unusual place for a power hitter. There have been only a handful in baseball (Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg come to mind). The power guys are usually at first or third, or, recently, shortstop, but most typically in the outfield. Boone also discovered his power stroke late in his career, putting up numbers the last three years so far out of line with his previous performance that it’s almost like looking at a different player. Martinez, one of the best right-handed hitters in recent baseball memory, is, nonetheless, 40 years old. He is also, charitably speaking, not fleet of foot. For Edgar to get a triple, the ball would have to go over the outfielder’s head, get lost in the vines of the wall, and the outfielder would need to collapse with a seizure while tracking it down. He has no chance to beat out an infield hit, and one of these days will be thrown out at first base by the right fielder. Still, he’s hitting over .300 with excellent power numbers.
As a contrarian and hardcore fan of the sport, I love watching any team that can patch together a few wins with string and chewing gum (and it’s a special bonus that they play in my hometown so I can catch the games). Whether this odd formula will take them to the playoffs and beyond remains to be seen, but it sure is interesting to watch.
9:51:39 AM 
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