Mariners, blown call beat Twins 2-1 in 10 innings

Seems like they’ve just been especially abysmal this year.

Yes, it was a blown call, but as Jon noted, it was a very close call and unfortunately the second base umpire was on the wrong side of the bag to make the call as Hardy partially blocked his view of the throw from Tolbert.

What killed me about the call is what happened afterward:

Non Heads-Up Play #1: I understand Hardy being surprised at the blown call, but a heads up fielders has to IMMEDIATELY turn around and check for the runner coming home. The split seconds he lost making facial expressions at Dale Scott is what allowed Langerhans to make it home.

Non Heads-Up Play #2: Why in hell does Jose Mijares cut that ball off in front of Mauer? Is he seriously trying to hold Ichiro at first and avoid the fourth run from scoring? Mauer’s body language after Mijares cut off the ball was priceless. I’d guess it was habit for Mijares though…
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I agree it’s hard to give Cuddyer a “dud” call like I did with Morneau yesterday. Especially since he nailed that line drive right at the shortstop in the ninth inning. But, we’re still talking about a few runs left on the table in situations where we had a runner on third base with one out.

In the end, I had Cuddyer at -0.11 runs for the game.

1. Second Inning, bases empty, one out. Infield single to third base: +0.31 runs.
2. Fourth Inning, second and third, one out. Strikeout: -0.76 runs.
3. Seventh Inning, leadoff batter: Homerun: +1.0 runs.
4. Ninth Inning, runner on third, one out: Lineout to shortstop: -0.66 runs.

I wouldn’t have given Cuddyer a “dud”, if everyone contributed the same number of runs as he did we would have scored three or four runs. I reserve “dud” status for Jason Kubel (-1.61 runs), Delmon Young (-0.92) and Denard Span (-0.80). Heck, even Tolbert (-0.69, mostly due to -0.48 running) and Punto (-0.24) weren’t that bad…

Mauer (0.67, +0.23 of which was base running due to the passed ball) and Morneau (0.36) were the only two hitters in the black.

I always appreciate specious arguments

Valencia is nothing like Punto, in many, many ways. A thorough comparison would take too much time (you can look it up yourself). But Nick Punto had nothing like the minor league career that Danny Valencia has had. Just because Danny’s struggled some in AAA does not mean he’s not a good prospect.

Punto was never a good prospect, is seven years older and, by any estimation, is a far weaker hitter. He’s a better defender. But at third base, his primary defensive skill (range) is not as important in the grand scheme of things.

Last year, he came up to AAA and was on fire, hitting everything. When you think you’re invincible, you start swinging at everything and get out of whack with his usual plate discipline. When he slumped, he was not able to get on base at all. His walk rate at AAA was 3 something. This year, it’s 7 something. He still has work to do to get back to his usual double-digit walk rate, but it’s improved.

The other thing that people seem to forget is that he started the year by hitting .111 through the first two weeks of the season. In the last seven weeks, his OPS is in the high 800s. That includes a double-digit walk rate.

It’s a common problem for prospects who have a great spring, especially the last cuts. It’s such a let down going back to AAA that they slump out of the gate. But he’s about where he needs to be now. As you say, hopefully he makes such an impression that they send Tolbert back when Cuddy comes off to give him a longer look. Then when Casilla comes back, they’ll have a tough decision to make.