Weakened Mariners’ Offense Not Cruzin’
Before the trading deadline, the Seattle Mariners rebuilt their bullpen with deals that cost them Jose Cruz Jr.
Now they’ve suddenly quit hitting and they may miss Cruz more than they thought in their attempt to outlast the Anaheim Angels in the A.L. West.
“We didn’t hit with men on base,” manager Lou Piniella said after the Mariners had six hits in a 5-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers to complete a homestand at 4-4. “Maybe the road trip will bring better success.”
“Seattle’s not swinging the bats like they normally do although I think they will,” Milwaukee manager Phil Garner said.
If the Mariners don’t start hitting soon, the pressure will build at the the Kingdome soon as many thought this team was headed to the World Series.
“We are supposed to win,” All-Star designated hitter Edgar Martinez said.
In a weekend series with the Chicago White Sox, the Mariners had three hits each in two of the games. For the homestand, they hit .224 and scored 32 runs - and 11 of those runs came in an 11-1 victory Monday night.
The Brewers’ Bob Wickman got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning Tuesday, getting Martinez to hit into a forceout at the plate and striking out Jay Buhner.
“My fourth-place hitter (Martinez) is hitting .455 lifetime against Wickman and Buhner’s hitting over .300,” Piniella said.
That’s true, but Buhner is in a 4-for-26 slump since Aug. 2. And he’s one of the Mariners’ big boppers with 27 homers and 82 RBIs.
Two years ago, the Mariners saved major league baseball for Seattle by coming out of nowhere in August to catch the Angels to win the A.L. West. They trailed the Angels by 13 games on Aug. 2 and were 12-1/2 back on Aug. 20.
The magical season provided the impetus for a new $414 million outdoor stadium that the Mariners owners said they needed to make the sport work in Seattle. It is expected to be ready in July 1999.
The Mariners, who open a six-game road trip in Baltimore tonight, are a half-game up in the division over the Angels, who lost at Chicago 5-2 Wednesday night.
The Mariners need Buhner and company to start hitting again. Left-handers Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer and Jeff Fassero are a combined 39-14 - and Seattle’s bullpen looks much more capable of holding leads with the additions of Mike Timlin, Heathcliff Slocumb and Paul Spoljaric.
But with six weeks to go, the bats must soon get hot.
“That’s what you need to do in a pennant race,” Piniella said. “You need to combine both elements (pitching and hitting) together.”
In August 1995, the Mariners were playing for the A.L. wild-card playoff berth. The New York Yankees or the Baltimore Orioles, whichever team doesn’t win the A.L. East, is expected to win the league’s wild-card berth this season.
“We’re checking the scoreboard every once in a while, but we’ve just got to take care of business here,” Johnson said. “If we do that, we’ll dictate our own fate.”
“We know we have a good team,” Martinez said. “We know we’re in a good position to win it. Now, all we have to do is go out and play up to our potential.”
The Mariners thought they’d be battling the defending champion Texas Rangers down to the wire. Instead, they’re locked in a duel with the Angels.
“I think it’s going to come down to the last two weeks,” All-Star shortstop Rodriguez said. “I hope the Angels keep playing well.”
“They win and we win. We lose and they lose. It seems like nobody can get the edge,” Moyer said.
Pressure? What’s that?
“There definitely can be if you want it to be,” the M’s Mike Blowers said. “But this is a veteran group of guys and a majority of them have been through it before.”
xxxx ON DECK Randy Johnson (16-3, 2.35) and the Mariners will play at Baltimore today at 4:35 p.m. The game will be shown on TCI Cable channel 25.