Mariners Are Bad. Rockies Are Worse

Rockies 3, Mariners 10

There really isn’t much to be said about a train wreck like this, so I will make just three points and then I’ll leave you alone.

1. Christian Friedrich is both better and worse than he appears. Yes, today’s outing was awful compared to his first two (5 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 3 K’s). And many people on Twitter were hating on him for being unable to pitch at altitude the way he pitched on the west coast. There is certainly some truth to that. I myself intend to back the I Love Friedrich truck up and consider the fact that he will not be as effective at Coors. His command definitely wasn’t quite as crisp as it was at sea level. On the other hand, he made some fantastic pitches that should not go unnoticed. It took him a few innings to get his curveball under control – prior to that, he was releasing it wrong and it was curving into the dirt – but more than once he fooled a hitter with it, and occasionally he managed to paint a corner or two as well. He hides the ball well, so if he can work on hitting the spot the catcher wants it, he’ll be much harder to hit. I’m not saying he’s our knight in shining armor, just that he’s still someone to keep our eyes on.

2. .300 is the new Mendoza line. What is up with our hitters? Like, ALL of them? Regulars Marco Scutaro, Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, Ramon Hernandez, Wilin Rosario, Michael Cuddyer – all hitting below .300 right now. When not one starter can make quality contact 3 times out of 10, the team does not score runs, so it’s no wonder we can’t win to save our lives right now. This is highly disturbing, because even in last year’s horrible disappointment of a season, a couple guys managed to finish above .300. It’s not looking good on that front.

3. Esmil Rogers is still bad. Rogers came in with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 6th, and anybody could have told you that was a bad idea. Rogers threw three pitches and just like that the bases were cleared. Well, not exactly. All of his inherited runners scored and then he put another on first for good measure. Somehow he kept that guy from scoring, but that was a miracle, quite frankly.

This team is so bad you guys. So bad. I will take anything that is not a sweep tomorrow. Anything at all.

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