ERV Boxscore for June 11, vs. Seattle

I keep telling myself during these games, "OK, this will be the one we lose." But, to be honest, I don't believe it. No matter how much my cynical Phillies-raised fandom wants to expect the worst, I just can't with this team. We ARE better than the Mariners, and we SHOULD beat them, especially with Patterson throwing like he did. And we did.

Notes:

-- I was at tonight's game with Mrs. DM, and here are some things we noticed:

(1) Mrs. DM noted that no other Mariner talked to Ichiro, ever;
(2) She ripped Bret Boone's highlighted blond hair, and thinks he's put on weight;
(3) After Guzman's double, she said "And YOU were making fun of him!";
(4) She likes Junior Spivey, as do I. No offense to Jamey Carroll, but Spivey is a real major league 2B. He motored to third on Schneider's single in the 8th.
(5) In the fourth, after Vinny Castilla got two quick strikes on him, he spit his gum out and hit it with his bat as it fell to the ground. I think it went into the crowd, and may be on eBay by now;
(6) Huppert waved Byrd home on his triple, and if he didn't slip and head back, he would have been out my a mile-and-a-half. Mrs. DM said "What was HE thinking?"
(7) Randy Winn is impressive, he hit the ball hard every time up. But once you get past him, with Beltre struggling, not much in that Seattle lineup.
(8) The Patterson-Ichiro battles were pretty good. I was sure Patterson got out of the jam when Ichiro grounded to NJ, but the ball took a wicked hop. The Mariners were lucky to get one run.
(9) Contrary to Eli Saslow's game story, Guillen was anything but "cool[ly] indifferent" about his game-winning single immediately after it was struck. He was pumping his fist standing on first, and pointed into the dugout as if to say thanks to someone (Frank? McCraw?).

-- Mrs. DM (a Reds-land native) also brought up Ken Griffey, Jr., and asked whether he overlapped with Ichiro (he didn't -- Ichiro came in '01, Junior left after '99). She thinks he would not have collapsed like he did had he stayed in Seattle. I said injuries are injuries, whether in Cincy or in Seattle. But she thinks the move to Cincy turned him into a head case, and that made things at least worst. She may be right about that part.

ERV Win: Patterson
ERV Loss: Putz

3 Most Valuable Plays:
(1) Guillen's single in the 7th (2.91)
(2) Johnson's GIDP in the 7th (-1.88)
(3) Church's walk in the 7th (1.80)





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